Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 115

That’s when it happened.

“……Umm.”

Luatisha, who had been tossing and turning uncomfortably, rubbed her eyes and sat up.

“Ah.”

Their eyes met.

For a moment, Luatisha stared at Marquis Tarenka without any reaction.

Then, slowly, the corners of her lips lifted, and she smiled brightly.

“You’re awake.”

“……Yes.”

A dry, scratchy voice.

Luatisha’s smiling face began to crumble, and her eyes filled with tears.

“I’m sorry.”

Marquis Tarenka moved his stiff body with effort and hugged his granddaughter.

The little one burrowed into his arms, sobbing.

Feeling his chest warmly soaking, Marquis Tarenka continued to stroke the child’s back.

His nose tingled.

How could he have thought he had no regrets, leaving this young one behind?

“If you, hic, didn’t wake up, I was never, sob, going to forgive you…….”

Luatisha’s face, as she looked up, was a mess of tears and snot.

Marquis Tarenka wiped her face with his hand and smiled.

“That won’t do. If I want to be forgiven by my little one, I need to shake it off and get up quickly.”

“Hmph…….”

Luatisha sniffled and nodded.

Turning his gaze, he saw his grandsons and son-in-law, who had come in at some point.

Marquis Tarenka’s gaze towards them was deep.

If they were truly people with no affection for him, they wouldn’t have come upon hearing the news of his awakening.

The four men said nothing.

They didn’t cry like Luatisha, nor did they express joy or relief.

But now, Marquis Tarenka could see the hearts of the four men within.

“……I met Inaisse.”

Flinch.

The four men were shaken by the unexpected name.

“She told me she wouldn’t forgive me if I made her daughter cry.”

How could the mother and daughter be so alike, starting with the words ‘I won’t forgive you’?

Marquis Tarenka wiped the tears still clinging to his granddaughter’s eyes.

“So stop now. You’ll hurt yourself.”

The child’s temperature was hot, as if she had cried too intensely.

Marquis Tarenka soothed his granddaughter and looked at his grandsons.

“Inaisse told me to tell you that she loves you.”

“…….”

Zeon, Ares, and Ixion’s faces seemed expressionless at first glance.

But in the past few weeks, Marquis Tarenka, having put aside his prejudices and spent time with his grandsons, saw something different.

Marquis Tarenka gave a pained smile.

‘How could you close your eyes so early, leaving behind such children, Inaisse?’

He shifted his gaze to Duke Paeraton.

“She said she was sorry to her husband.”

“……There’s nothing for her to be sorry about to me.”

A silent reply.

“When I said that, she said she seduced an innocent man and made him a widower?”

At those words, Luatisha, who was in Marquis Tarenka’s arms, raised her head sharply.

She glanced at her grandfather and then stared intently at her father.

Her eyes, still filled with tears, were unusually bright.

Duke Paeraton looked at his daughter with slightly embarrassed eyes before opening his mouth.

“What are you talking about? I was the one who seduced her.”

Oh, dear…….

Marquis Tarenka and Luatisha both sighed inwardly.

It was clear to anyone that Inaisse had been the one who seduced him.

* * *

Although he had regained consciousness, Marquis Tarenka’s condition had not recovered enough for him to move around immediately.

So, he naturally ended up occupying a room in the Paeraton ducal residence.

Marquis Tarenka felt a little strange.

Seeing his son-in-law and grandsons visiting him made him feel even more peculiar.

He remembered the time when he had lost his mind from the shock after his daughter passed away.

And the years he had spent in seclusion, refusing all visitors.

“…….”

It wasn’t that his grandsons or son-in-law were warmly taking care of him and chattering about what had happened.

Rather, there were more times when they said nothing.

There were more times when they said nothing than when they exchanged words.

Weakened by his declining strength, he would wake up to find his grandsons occasionally watching over him.

Whenever he read the worry in their eyes, even the pain seemed to disappear.

At that moment, the door opened.

Ixion, who was entering, stopped when his eyes met Marquis Tarenka’s.

“Have you come?”

Ixion didn’t answer.

He approached and stared at Marquis Tarenka’s face for a long time before blurting out.

“Old man, get well soon.”

“Are you worried about this old man?”

“W-Worried, my foot! It’s just annoying that that cotton ball is always here.”

Ixion frowned and turned his head away.

The grandson’s cheeks, which were briefly visible, were slightly red.

Marquis Tarenka smiled.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Ixion glanced at Marquis Tarenka, who was nodding, and moved his lips as if to say something.

He had said he wasn’t worried at all, but he seemed bothered by the acceptance.

But Ixion eventually kept his mouth shut.

“Anyway, don’t misunderstand.”

He left the room quickly, leaving only those words behind.

Marquis Tarenka smiled as he looked at his grandson’s retreating figure and the closed door.

‘Yes, this is what it means to live.’

Life was like this.

During his long period of seclusion, Marquis Tarenka had not only confined his body but also his heart and mind.

As if joy and happiness didn’t exist in the world, he endlessly blamed and hated himself, dwelling on his mistakes.

As if punishing himself.

That was how he could endure this life.

But when he actually met his daughter, he realized that she didn’t want that.

Inaisse wanted him to be a good family to her children.

More than anything, she wanted even this flawed father to live happily until the end.

Marquis Tarenka turned his head.

Kyuu.

On the bed where he was lying, stuffed animals were gathered together.

A baby cat, a chick, a sheep, a rabbit, a baby deer.

All of them were gifts from Luatisha.

‘What kind of image do my grandchildren and son-in-law have in that child’s eyes?’

He thought he had become quite familiar with his grandsons and son-in-law, but he still couldn’t understand them at all.

At that moment, the door opened, and his granddaughter entered with a tray.

Luatisha smiled when she saw Marquis Tarenka looking at the dolls.

“Do you like them? They suit Dad and my brothers perfectly, right?”

“…….”

Looking at his excited granddaughter’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to say that they didn’t suit them at all.

“Why isn’t there a hamster doll?”

“I told you, that’s not me!”

Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster.

Marquis Tarenka hid his thoughts and quickly nodded.

“I’m curious. Why am I a deer?”

Luatisha looked at Marquis Tarenka for a moment before placing the tray on the side table.

Then, she sat on the scallop chair, which was practically her designated seat.

“Do you know that story? The old tale about the rabbit and the tortoise racing.”

“Of course, I know it. It’s the story where the fast rabbit is lazy and falls asleep, losing to the slow tortoise who walks steadily without rest.”

He remembered reading it to his young daughter and son a long time ago.

Luatisha nodded.

“The tortoise is slow, right?”

Marquis Tarenka looked at his granddaughter.

He wondered why she was giving such an irrelevant answer to the question of why he was a deer, but since she was a clever child, there must be some meaning to this riddle.

“But it eventually arrived.”

And he was right.

Marquis Tarenka slowly nodded.

“……Yes.”

He, too, had realized it too slowly, like a tortoise, but he had finally arrived.

“And tortoises live a long time.”

He could feel the heart of his granddaughter, who had been facing death.

“But why a deer? Not a tortoise.”

Luatisha tilted her head as if asking something obvious.

“You look like one, Grandpa? A baby deer.”

“Huh, I look like one?”

It was something he had never heard in his entire life.

Marquis Tarenka, during his active days, was famous for his sharp charisma.

“If I resemble a deer, wouldn’t a stag with magnificent antlers be more fitting?”

Marquis Tarenka playfully furrowed his brow.

At those words, Luatisha pondered seriously, “Hmm.”

Bambi and Bambi’s father deer.

Bambi’s father deer and her grandfather looked a little similar on the outside, but…….

“Nah, Grandpa is Bambi.”

“Bambi?”

“Yes. Oh, and in some countries, deer are also a symbol of longevity. They protect against misfortune and disease.”

The deer was even one of the ten symbols of longevity.

“Well, I guess I have to cheer up and live a long, long time.”

“Of course!”

Luatisha smiled brightly and opened the lid of the bowl on the tray.

She blew on the potage [a thick soup], took a spoonful, and offered it to her grandfather.

“Ah? Say ah.”

“I said I could eat it myself.”

Marquis Tarenka said that, but he obediently opened his mouth without taking the spoon until he had completely emptied the bowl.

“Good job.”

Luatisha said proudly, looking at the clean bowl.

“My, you’re treating me like a child.”

“Now, you have to chew and swallow this too.”

Luatisha took out a Gongjin pill [a traditional Korean medicine] and offered it to him.

Marquis Tarenka chewed and swallowed the Gongjin pill familiarly.

At first, he thought it was a candy and refused, but it wasn’t.

It was a medicine he had never seen before, but it definitely boosted his energy when he took it.

“For dessert, this!”

“Dessert is usually sweet, isn’t it?”

“There are so many that aren’t sweet.”

Marquis Tarenka chuckled and drank the Sipjeondaebo-tang [another traditional Korean herbal medicine, often used as a tonic].

When he drank it, he could feel the energy that had permeated his body while he was wandering between life and death.

“You have to swallow it all, even if it’s bitter!”

Even though he had never left any behind, his granddaughter always nagged him like that.

But he didn’t dislike it.

“Good job. I’ll give you chocolate.”

“Thank you.”

In fact, neither the Gongjin pill nor the Sipjeondaebo-tang was difficult to take.

At first, he felt a bit of aversion because of the unique scent, but as he continued to take them, he found them to his liking.

Luatisha must have thought that taking the two medicines was a very painful task, judging from her taste.

He found it amusing and cute, so Marquis Tarenka let his granddaughter’s misunderstanding continue.

“Now, let’s share.”

More than anything, when he split the chocolate in half like this, his granddaughter would look at him with very touched eyes.

He wondered why a child who could eat chocolate whenever she wanted was so touched.

“The preciousness of chocolate after taking bitter medicine is on a different level from ordinary chocolate.”

She had given him this answer last time.

“From today, we’ll take walks outside instead of just walking around the room.”

Luatisha said, pushing the empty bowl aside.

“We have to go out for a walk every day from now on.”

“Every day?”

“Your stamina has decreased a lot. I heard from the people of the Marquisate that you haven’t taken a single walk in ten years and have been cooped up inside.”

“No, it’s not exactly…….”

“You’re always stuck in the bedroom or the waterway. And even the places you go are fixed.”

Marquis Tarenka stopped making excuses.

The face of the butler, who must have excitedly told her everything in detail, came to mind.

“That won’t do.”

His granddaughter put her hands on her hips and scolded him.

“I was wrong.”

“Okay. So, you’ll take a walk every day from now on?”

“I will.”

Luatisha smiled brightly and supported Marquis Tarenka.

Thanks to the Gongjin pill and Sipjeondaebo-tang, which had received the buff of divine power and a genius heroine, he had fully recovered his energy. Moreover, he had been moving around with Luatisha in the room, so he didn’t have any difficulty moving.

Marquis Tarenka smiled as he slowly walked, holding his granddaughter’s small hand.

Looking at his granddaughter, who was smiling brightly, saying that the flowers were blooming beautifully, his heart was full.

He felt like he could take such a walk all day long.

However, there were those who were watching the scene with displeasure…….

“It’s a relief. Seeing you come out for a walk, you must have recovered completely now.”

“If you’re well enough to move around, isn’t it time for you to slowly return to Tarenka Manor?”

“Shouldn’t an adult be supporting you? The cotton ball is too small and young.”

The Paeraton sons, who had rushed over, glared at Marquis Tarenka with jealousy burning in their eyes.

They had let it go right after Marquis Tarenka had overcome death and awakened.

They, too, felt strange, so they didn’t care much.

But wasn’t this going too far?

For days now, Marquis Tarenka had been monopolizing their youngest sibling all by himself.

It was truly a situation where a rolling stone had driven out the embedded stone [an idiom meaning a newcomer has displaced someone established].

“Then, will my brothers support you?”

Luatisha thought it was a good thing.

She had been wondering if she should start preparing soon since she had a promise with Echen a little later.

Ixion frowned immediately.

“Why would I一.”

“You don’t want to? Then there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to keep supporting him.”

“……I’ll do it.”

Zeon strode over and linked arms with Marquis Tarenka.

Luatisha couldn’t help but laugh at how awkward he looked.

You could tell from his posture that he had never supported anyone before.

“You have to praise me later.”

Zeon looked at Luatisha with a serious face.

“Okay.”

“Then I’ll take the other side……!”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to earlier? I should support him.”

Ixion and Ares bickered with each other, saying they would support him for their youngest sibling’s praise.

Luatisha smiled as she watched the scene.

The shadows created by the four people were connected as one.

She liked the sight of her grandfather and brothers standing close, even as they bickered.

“Since it’s come to this, you should just get well soon.”

“So my sister doesn’t have to feed you.”

“If you become healthy and busy, our youngest won’t have to talk to you either.”

And we’ll take that place.

The Paeraton sons’ eyes shone with determination.

They would somehow make him healthy and recapture their youngest sibling.

That’s when it happened.

“Lulu.”

Everyone turned around at the voice heard from behind.

Duke Paeraton, who had come out to the garden at some point, spoke to his daughter.

“Daddy’s sick.”

Excuse me?

With a face that was too healthy and firm to be called sick, he opened his mouth again.

“Daddy’s sick.”

Erckel, who couldn’t stand watching from the side, coughed and added.

“His Excellency is not feeling well and hasn’t been able to eat properly.”

……Huh?

Everyone’s gaze turned to Duke Paeraton’s limbs, which were made of solid muscles.