Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 106

☆ Chapter 107 ☆

“The Empire has received a great blessing. To have a princess so intelligent and discerning.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Then, the Empress quickly approached, eager to show her closeness with me.

“Ruatisha, you truly play with my heart. I already knew you were innocent, but do you know how worried I was?”

Sparks flew between the Empress and the Queen, each holding one of my hands.

“You are the first to make this old man lift his heavy bottom. The princess is truly the future that will lead the Empire.”

“Haha, I recognized our princess’s exceptional qualities from the first time I saw her!”

Even the Grand Empress Dowager and the Emperor approached to congratulate me.

‘Since when was I “our princess”?’

The four royals were all smiling, but the tension as they sized each other up was palpable.

‘Hmm, a familiar dynamic.’

It felt like looking at my own family.

* * *

Clartier watched Ruatisha surrounded by the royals, clenching her fist tightly.

It was the scene she had longed for.

She had thought that she would be in that position, proudly making her name known as Aurora.

But.

“What, acting so nice and polite, but in the end, she was doing such dirty things behind our backs?”

“Wow, she was secretly working with Miss Sellando and Miss Brante’s group.”

“Didn’t Miss Tarenka step in to stop that group from bullying other young ladies?”

“It was all an act. Ugh, I really didn’t expect her to be so different on the inside.”

“I didn’t like her from the start. People who approach you first and act all friendly are usually from powerful families.”

“It was obvious she was selective about who she associated with while pretending not to be. In contrast, Princess Paeraton gets along well with everyone, regardless of their status….”

“Right, Princess Ruatisha treated the Prince the same way without currying favor.”

“It was funny how the young ladies who were close to Miss Tarenka were secretly criticizing Princess Paeraton.”

“I heard it too. They were saying that Princess Paeraton should be more gentle like her cousin, Miss Tarenka.”

“I much prefer someone who speaks their mind confidently over someone who pretends to be nice.”

“Me too, me too!”

“I never thought it was all an act. How could she try to frame someone for cheating in the competition of all things?”

“Come to think of it, I heard that Miss Tarenka’s father was a con artist and was kicked out of the family.”

“Oh my, she’s just like her father.”

Snickers echoed from all directions.

Clartier covered her ears.

The thought of not showing a disgraceful appearance and remaining dignified didn’t even cross her mind.

From the start, Clartier was not a strong-willed person.

‘Why did it turn out like this?’

Clartier couldn’t understand the current situation at all.

Until she submitted the opinion paper, she thought it was a guaranteed win.

‘Was this all a trap?’

When she saw Ruatisha at the dawn festival, she initially scoffed.

She was getting some attention thanks to her status as Princess Paeraton, but that was it.

It was clear that she would soon reveal her lack of substance and become a laughingstock.

‘I only feel sorry for my great-uncle and cousins. Because of someone like her, even Paeraton will become a laughingstock.’

That’s what she thought.

But the situation turned out differently than expected.

Ruatisha didn’t pretend to be innocent among the people, nor did she join the elite group.

Yet, the majority of people were showing Ruatisha favorable attention.

Why?

I work so hard.

I always smile and treat even annoying kids kindly.

Why does she receive people’s attention without much effort,

acting as she pleases, saying everything she wants to say?

Why are the young ladies who associate with her, who aren’t even from powerful families, receiving envious glances?

It’s unfair.

Why does she always have it easy?

Shouldn’t there be a reward for those who work hard?

That’s how it should be.

But the world was going wrong.

Rumors were spreading that Princess Paeraton would become the winner of the dawn festival and become the next Aurora.

It’s all because newspapers and gossip magazines are stirring things up.

There are no decent reporters these days.

‘Then I’ll have to correct it.’

Simply switching the opinion paper wouldn’t be enough.

Ruatisha was receiving favor from the Empress and the Prince.

The Prince wasn’t a judge, but he could talk to his mother, the Queen.

If that’s the case, even if the content of the opinion paper is somewhat strange, she might still be able to advance to the finals.

Since the world is going crazy, if Ruatisha advances to the finals, she might actually beat me and win.

‘That can’t happen!’

Then that’s the only option.

Ruatisha getting disgraced for committing fraud and being kicked out of the dawn festival.

‘My dad said. She’s just like her mother, taking what others should receive.’

So, I’m just letting people know Ruatisha’s true nature.

At first, she was thinking of using the foolish and simple Miss Poshette.

But for some reason, Miss Poshette stayed by Ruatisha’s side until the end.

It was a stroke of luck that Ruatisha left her seat in the middle.

The story with Miss Sellando, who had a grudge against Ruatisha, was already settled.

Miss Sellando copied Ruatisha’s scribbled ideas and told them to her.

‘Fool, she even wrote down the name of the report she was referencing from the library? I’ll make good use of it.’

That’s what she thought at the time.

Not knowing it was a trap.

She hurriedly wrote two identical opinion papers and submitted them first.

She thought it was a little strange that Ruatisha didn’t come to the library to reference the report, but she didn’t pay much attention to it.

Because no matter what content she wrote, it wouldn’t be submitted.

Miss Sellando giggled, saying she easily switched the opinion paper.

“She acted so smart, but when you get to know her, she’s stupid? How could she not even know that the opinion paper was switched and just go with it?”

“She’s originally lacking in many ways. If the opinion paper envelope fell on the ground, she would have checked it at least once, but she doesn’t even have that basic common sense.”

“Thanks to her, we’re doing well.”

She barely managed to suppress the urge to celebrate immediately.

Even while eating the banquet, she was nervous about when the Emperor would issue a stern order.

She didn’t have any thoughts of wrongdoing.

This is justice.

Since reality is wrong, she’s just correcting it.

But the Emperor’s stern order fell on her, not Ruatisha.

The ridicule of the young ladies and gentlemen.

The royals who were criticizing her and being friendly to Ruatisha.

‘This is… not what I wanted—’

“Clartier, Sister.”

A whispering voice echoed in her ear.

Huh, she raised her head and saw Ruatisha smiling brightly.

“How does it feel to be caught in your own trap?”

“What….”

“You should have lived a little nicer. If you hadn’t played such tricks, you would have advanced to the finals without any problems and had a decent reputation in society. Why did you have such greed?”

She couldn’t believe the voice that was chattering while covering her mouth with a fan.

“Ah, I guess you had no choice. You know it too, right, Sister? That you can never win.”

“What?”

“You knew that you couldn’t even be my opponent, didn’t you? You didn’t want to admit it, so you were struggling like a bug.”

Ruatisha curved her eyes.

“But it was quite fun. Playing with you. It was a bit boring because the outcome was so obvious, though.”

Ruatisha patted Clartier’s shoulder.

“Good job. It was a good way to kill time.”

Sparks flew from Clartier’s eyes.

“You, what are you…!”

The moment Clartier, who had lost her reason, screamed and reached out to Ruatisha.

The door to Dilucullum Hall opened.

* * *

Tarenka County.

The waterway in the glass garden inside the castle.

“Lord Marquis.”

The Marquis of Tarenka frowned at the chief butler who was approaching with an urgent look.

“What’s going on?”

“There’s a problem in the capital.”

At those words, the wrinkles etched on the Marquis’s forehead deepened.

The Marquis of Tarenka is not currently involved in central politics.

He had been staying in the county without moving since he handed over the title to his incompetent son, and the same was true even after he took back the title.

There was no reason for the capital to contact him about political matters.

Then there’s only one possibility.

“Did that child cause trouble?”

“…Yes, Lord Marquis.”

“Is it a problem that Mrs. Austin can’t handle? Mrs. Austin usually takes care of most things.”

“Originally, Mrs. Austin was planning to take care of it herself, but….”

“But?”

“At that time, we thought the young lady was the victim of cheating, but the matter has grown….”

“Cheating? Why is cheating coming up?”

“That’s… she was caught cheating at the dawn festival.”

“What?”

The Marquis of Tarenka’s face contorted.

“Not just a fight with her peers, but cheating? Ha!”

The Marquis of Tarenka rubbed his forehead.

“I’m sorry. But it’s not just cheating, she’s said to have tried to frame another young lady by switching their answers.”

“Heo….”

The Marquis of Tarenka chuckled.

The butler, reading the anger within, swallowed hard.

“What should we do? Should I tell Mrs. Austin to take care of it?”

“What do you mean, take care of it! It’s not just anything, she got caught trying to frame someone else!”

“Then….”

“Just leave her alone! She needs to get hurt once to know what she did wrong! If an adult steps in and solves it with money and power, she won’t even know it’s wrong and will do the same thing again!”

The butler lowered his head at the Marquis of Tarenka’s anger.

“That’s very true.”

Even as he said that, the butler’s face was not good.

The Marquis of Tarenka understood the butler’s feelings.

He must be worried.

And in fact, he himself was also worried.

The Marquis of Tarenka clicked his tongue and got up from his seat.

“Bring the teleport scroll.”

The butler’s face brightened.

“Even if she did something wrong, she’s still my granddaughter. The other parents will be rushing over right away, so I can’t not go.”

That’s not polite to the other party either.

“I’m going to the capital.”

* * *

Inside the Dilucullum Hall of the Imperial Palace.

“What the hell is going on here!”

A roar like thunder poured out.

Clartier, who had grabbed Ruatisha’s hair, froze.

It was a voice she never thought she would hear in the capital.

Forcing her uncooperative body to turn, she looked at the door of the hall.

“G, Grandfather?”

Clartier hurriedly let go of Ruatisha’s hair.

Although she showed a somewhat embarrassing appearance, hope sprouted.

‘Still, Grandfather came himself!’

He will somehow fix this.

Those who ignore her won’t dare to raise their faces in front of her grandfather, the true ruler of Tarenka.

The Emperor won’t do anything to her either, now that her grandfather has come in person.

“Grandfather…!”

Clartier ran to the Marquis of Tarenka, shedding tears of relief.

But something was strange.

The gaze of her grandfather, who she thought would naturally be looking at her as she ran towards him, was fixed on one place.

‘Could it be….’

Clartier stopped walking without realizing it and turned around, following his gaze.

There, Ruatisha was brushing back her disheveled hair.

Clartier’s large eyes trembled.

‘Why… is it her again?’

* * *

The Marquis of Tarenka was shocked as soon as he opened the door to the hall.

Because his granddaughter, who he thought was at least well-behaved, was grabbing a small child’s hair.

As a natural course, his gaze, which had been directed at his granddaughter, moved to the child whose hair was being grabbed.

First, the pink hair.

It was the same sweet color as his daughter’s.

For some reason, a corner of his heart stirred.

And when he saw her gentle and soft face, his heart sank.

It was as if his daughter had come back to life.

He couldn’t help but recognize it at a glance.

That child was his granddaughter.

“Ruatisha?”

At those words, the child who was fixing her hair raised her head and looked at him.

When her large, paraiba-colored eyes turned to him, his heart throbbed.

“Who are you?”

Even the way she tilted her head was so much like her mother.

The Marquis of Tarenka’s nose tingled.

He turned his head to hide his face.

“Grandfather….”

Clartier, who had approached him, called him quietly.

Then Ruatisha said.

“Ah, you’re Miss Tarenka’s grandfather. Nice to meet you, Marquis Tarenka.”

Seeing her greeting him like a complete stranger, his chest felt tight.

“I am… also your maternal grandfather.”

“Is that so?”

Ruatisha widened her eyes as if she didn’t know.

“Yes.”

At those words, Ruatisha’s face brightened.

The Marquis of Tarenka’s heart was relieved at the smile spreading across his granddaughter’s face.

But.

“Dad!”

The smile on his granddaughter’s face was not directed at him.

The Duke of Paeraton entered the hall with a stiff face.

The Dukes of Paeraton followed behind him as if it were natural.

“Yes, Dad’s here.”

The Duke of Paeraton, who hugged his daughter tightly and stroked her hair, shone his eyes sharply.

“Who bullied my daughter?”