Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 130

☆ Chapter 130 ☆

“Why did you rely solely on the Duke? It includes your grandfather and brothers, too,” Marquis Tarenka gently reproached Duke Paeraton.

‘You’re not the only one who receives my granddaughter’s affection!’ he seemed to imply.

“Well, Marquis, you’re not wrong,” Duke Paeraton conceded.

“The youngest explicitly mentioned family,” Ixion and Zion chimed in, siding with Marquis Tarenka.

Duke Paeraton frowned. ‘That sly old fox seemed to think he was weak on his own, so he brought in his sons,’ he thought, annoyed.

While Duke Paeraton, Marquis Tarenka, Ixion, and Zion glared at each other, Ares leaned back in his chair, a smile as warm as the spring sunshine on his face.

“Who she trusts is clear when looking back at past experiences, isn’t it? My sister has relied on me and caused trouble before, so naturally, I would be the first one she thought of.”

He was referring to the time when he ousted Count Yozenheim, the former head of the Senate.

“Ares! Bad man made me hurt!”

“My brother’s here, so you’re all dead!”

“My brother is so cool, so strong, and so smart! Right?” Thinking about that time brought an involuntary smile to his face.

“If we’re going that far, I’m no different! When the fluffball went on a picnic last time……,” Ixion began, and soon they were all growling at each other, each claiming that the youngest relied on them.

The box seat was instantly filled with murderous intent.

‘……I don’t think the youngest lady has any idea what’s going on,’ Erkel, the Baron and Duke Paeraton’s chief aide, muttered inwardly, suffering through this metaphorical whale fight [an intense, overwhelming conflict]. She probably just brought up family because it worked well, without thinking of anyone in particular. He knew it, but this family really has thick Lulu-tinted glasses on [seeing everything through a biased, overly affectionate lens when it comes to Lulu].

“Are you alright?” Marquis Tarenka’s aide cautiously spoke to Baron Erkel.

“Just leave them be. If the box seat breaks, we can compensate the Imperial Family then…….”

“Excuse me? It’ll break?”

“No. Recently, they haven’t been breaking things unless it’s because the youngest lady is cute or some boy approached her, so you can rest assured.”

“Excuse me?”

“Haha, just ignore it.” The aide didn’t fully understand what he was saying, but he understood that he should just ignore it, so he nodded blankly.

In fact, he was feeling left out. That’s why he felt a sense of kinship with Baron Erkel, who had been receiving abuse (?) from the Paeraton family and had a glazed look in his eyes. He seemed like the most normal one. He cautiously spoke again, “Is it alright to brag like that, saying she relied on them and caused trouble?”

“Haha, it’s not something to brag about.”

“Right. More than that, shouldn’t you stop a child from causing—”

“Stop her?” Baron Erkel, who had been smiling, looked at Marquis Tarenka’s aide with a serious expression. “Why would we stop our youngest lady from doing what she wants to do?”

“Excuse me? No…….”

Marquis Tarenka’s aide began to get confused. Is it strange to stop her?!

“If the lady acts like that, the aftermath…….”

“That’s a problem for the people she relies on to handle. Hmm, but no matter who she trusts and causes trouble with, I end up helping with the cleanup anyway, so as a result, our youngest lady must trust me after all…….”

“……Yes, I see. That’s great for you.” He pretended not to be like the Paeraton men and Marquis Tarenka, but in fact, Baron Erkel also had Lulu-tinted glasses on thicker than anyone else.

* * *

‘Luatisha Paeraton! That arrogant little girl again……!’ If the Paeraton Duchess hadn’t stopped her, Lady Michellone would have been dragged away without saying a word. Then she could have somehow erased her name from this incident!

“Empress, what is the meaning of this?!” Upon entering the box seat for the Imperial Family, the Emperor shouted, his face furious. “This isn’t just your problem, Empress. It’s a matter of the Imperial Family’s prestige!”

The Empress Dowager’s scolding made the Empress grit her teeth. Even that old hag in the back, who had been living cautiously, was now looking down on her! But she couldn’t argue in this situation.

“Your Majesty, I am wronged. This is a frame-up. Lady Michellone was clearly bribed by—”

“So?”

“So, I am saying that I am wronged…….”

“Haa, Empress,” the Emperor sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Is that important now?”

“If my innocence isn’t important, then what is?”

“What I want to hear isn’t a clumsy excuse.”

The Empress clenched her fist at the Emperor’s words. The Emperor really didn’t care what happened to her. He was furious with the Empress for causing this situation and dragging the Imperial Family’s prestige through the mud.

“And you know very well that excuse is meaningless.” The Empress lowered her head and bit her lip tightly. The Emperor had already concluded that Lady Michellone’s words were true. Claiming innocence here would only bring annoyance and revulsion.

‘Damn it, what was that little girl thinking, exposing it where everyone could see!’ The Empress thought that Lady Michellone would never tell anyone else. Lady Michellone was quiet and cautious and valued honor according to her family traditions. The moment she exposed it, the Michellone Marquis family’s corruption would be revealed, and their honor would plummet. What was she thinking?

‘Thinking about how she trembled in front of me back then makes even less sense.’ She wasn’t a reckless child who did things without thinking. But where did she get that courage?

“Ha, the reporters will be excited to print extras. And there are nobles gathered below right now. The more time we waste here—”

“Your Majesty, nobles led by Count Fermaine have demanded a public trial!”

“What?! How dare they……!” The Fermaine Count’s faction was based in the Northwest and was a noble faction centered around local magnates who were at odds with the central government, including the Emperor. The public trial they demanded was about Lady Michellone, but it was practically the same as putting the Empress on trial.

The Emperor glared at the Empress with fierce eyes. “What are you going to do about this!”

“……I am sorry.” The Emperor ignored the Empress’s words and told his attendant, “Prepare for a conference in the hall. Even if it’s not a public trial, if we don’t end this here, there will be bigger trouble.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” The Emperor called his aides and headed to the small conference room. They had to discuss how to handle this situation to protect the Imperial Family’s honor. At that moment, Count Chessia, who had approached the Emperor, handed him a note and whispered, “This is from the Paeraton Duchess…….”

The Paeraton Duchess?!

The Emperor’s eyes widened. The intention of secretly handing him a note in this situation could only be one thing. ‘Yes, how could that child, who is so intelligent, have acted without thinking?’ The Paeraton Duchess’s intervention allowed Lady Michellone to expose the Empress. Because of that, the Emperor was a little angry with Luatisha.

‘I was unnecessarily hasty in misunderstanding the Duchess.’ What new brilliant idea would the pretty and lovely child, who had suggested a way to solve the troublesome Northwest problem, come up with this time!

* * *

As soon as Sidrian saw Luatisha blocking Lady Michellone, he jumped up from his seat and headed to the interview room.

“Your Highness? Only the ladies taking the exam are allowed here……,” the officials in charge of the proceedings pretended to stop him, but they couldn’t dare to block the Prince’s path. There was a test irregularity, and even the Empress’s name was mentioned. If they acted wrongly at this time, they couldn’t guarantee what would happen. Above all, this young Prince had the charisma to make way.

Sidrian, who was walking without hesitation, paused and turned around. Turning the corner, he saw Luatisha sitting with Lady Michellone in a lounge created with partitions. Sidrian stopped walking. Lady Michellone’s voice was heard.

“I said before, I look forward to a good match in the finals.”

“I remember.”

“I said that, but I ruined the match myself. But now I can finally look the Duchess in the face properly.”

Luatisha quietly looked at Lady Michellone, who was speaking calmly even in this situation, and blurted out, “It’s okay.”

Before Lady Michellone could react, Luatisha hugged her tightly. Pat, pat.

“You were scared. It’s okay now. It’s all okay.” Luatisha, who was ten years old, was much smaller than Lady Michellone, who was fourteen. Even so, she bent her knees and somehow hugged Lady Michellone, patting her back and letting her rest her face on her chest.

Lady Michellone was completely frozen and couldn’t react, just stiffly receiving the pats. Only for a moment.

“Hic, sob……. Hwaaaaa!” Lady Michellone’s face contorted, and she began to cry uncontrollably.

“It’s okay. Cry if you want to. You must have been very scared alone. I’ll be by your side now.”

“Sniffle, sob…….” Lady Michellone reached out and hugged the child who was hugging her. Now, it wasn’t Luatisha hugging Lady Michellone, but Lady Michellone hugging Luatisha.

Sidrian quietly watched the scene. ‘You are kind, affectionate, and gentle to everyone.’ Like sunlight scattering light, like raindrops wetting the ground, she shares that kindness with those who need light and water.

Sidrian was proud of that, but also tormented. Just as sunlight and raindrops don’t discriminate against people, neither does Luatisha. It’s not that she’s more special and precious, so she reaches out and offers her embrace. It’s just because she’s there and she can do it.

‘I know too.’ She was just doing a favor that she could do without much meaning to him. But he couldn’t blame her. If she didn’t have that personality, Luatisha would have pretended not to see him even when she saw him. That being fair is such a happy and miserable thing.

“……Are you disappointed in me?” Lady Michellone, who had been crying for a long time, said as if mumbling. “I pretended to be confident, saying I can finally look you in the face properly, but what face do I have to say that? It’s not like the fact that I confessed disappears.”

Lady Michellone couldn’t lift her face.

“But admitting and revealing the mistake in that situation is not something anyone can do. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

“If it were the Duchess, she wouldn’t have received the leaked questions in the first place.”

“Um, I’m grateful that you see it that way……,” Luatisha gave an ambiguous smile. ‘They’re threatening me with my family’s corruption, would I be crazy to say, “Then reveal it! Because that’s justice!”‘ It broke my heart to think of my dad and brothers, who were in prison, unable to eat properly, crying, “I miss our youngest!” If you live in a place like that, even handsome faces will be ruined.

‘If it were me, I would have erased all the evidence of my family’s corruption and then caught the Empress off guard, and as an example, so that no one could ever threaten my family again…….’

“Duchess?”

“I’m much worse than you think,” Luatisha grinned. It was a mischievous smile. At that smile, Lady Michellone’s lips also loosened slightly. She was afraid of being pointed at and looked at with cold eyes, but the child in front of her showed no such signs at all.

“Lady Michellone needs to relax her shoulders a little more. You act too much like an adult.”

“……It feels strange to hear that from the Duchess.”

“Woong? Lulu is a ten-year-old baby at first glance, you know?” Luatisha widened her eyes and tilted her head. At that sight, Lady Michellone finally burst into laughter. Her nose was red, and her eyes were slightly watery, but it was still a genuine laugh from the bottom of her heart.

Luatisha smiled at the sight. ‘It’s a little embarrassing, but it’s okay because my sister is smiling…….’ Compared to how much I embarrass my family, this is familiar now. ‘No, I shouldn’t get used to it?!’ Luatisha steeled her heart, feeling like she was crossing a river she couldn’t return from.

Lady Michellone, who had been laughing for a while, opened her mouth with a darkened face again. “My mother, my father…….”

“They’ll be proud of you.”

“But I am the family’s—”

“If Lady Michellone were my sister, I would have hung up banners in the neighborhood saying that my sister is so brave, smart, sincere, and just, you know?” Lady Michellone quietly smiled as she looked at Luatisha, who was winking.

Is that really so? I hope my parents think that way even a little bit. At that time, Luatisha lowered her voice and asked cautiously, “……By the way, that family corruption that the Empress used to threaten you. What exactly is it about?”

* * *

“This dawn festival is never without wind. From the preliminary final competition to the main final competition…….”

“I came lightly, intending to enjoy the winner’s celebration party after the competition, but I didn’t know it would turn out like this.”

“It’s not a children’s fight, but an affair involving the Empress…….”

Amid the commotion, the Emperor, Empress, Imperial Concubine, and Empress Dowager appeared in the main hall on the first floor. The nobles who had been whispering fell silent at once. The Emperor only sat on the seat of honor prepared on the platform and said nothing.

“……?”

The Empress looked at the Emperor with a bewildered expression. If the Emperor doesn’t speak at this moment, who will? As the Emperor took such a bystander’s stance, everyone’s attention turned to the Empress. The Empress had no choice but to open her mouth.