Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 36

As the silence hung heavy in the assembly hall, punctuated by the disbelief etched on everyone’s faces,

“Puhaha…!”

A burst of refreshing laughter shattered the tension.

It was Ixion.

He had followed Duke Paeraton into the hall and was now doubled over with hearty laughter.

“Viscount Winchelern, I told you to take better care of your ‘chika-chika’ [a playful term, possibly referring to security or watchfulness],” Ixion said, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.

Viscount Winchelern’s face darkened.

“Young Master.”

“What? Oh, you mean coming in through this door? I came with His Excellency, so it should be fine, right?” Ixion shrugged, feigning innocence.

“…Never mind.”

Viscount Winchelern, unable to shake off the embarrassment of failing to do ‘chika-chika’ properly, conceded.

Ixion sauntered over and plopped down in his empty seat with a nonchalant air.

Seeing this, the retainers exchanged knowing glances.

“Young Master Ixion is attending the Grand Assembly…”

“It’s been so long.”

The return of Duke Paeraton, the meteoric rise of the youngest daughter, and now, Ixion’s attendance at the Grand Assembly – it seemed a wind of change was indeed blowing through the Paeraton Duchy.

“Then, let us begin the final monthly regular Grand Assembly of this year,” a solemn voice declared, signaling the start of a meeting filled with hidden agendas.

* * *

I quietly observed the atmosphere of the Grand Assembly and reopened the quest I had checked earlier.

The culprit behind the kidnapping, former butler Allen, confessed during interrogation that he was instigated by Nicholas Tarenka.

He received a large sum of money from Nicholas and commissioned a crime clan to kidnap you, Reader.

But what’s this nagging feeling?

Such a shady crime occurred within the Paeraton Duchy, and no one noticed?

Please find out, Reader!

– Condition: Identify those involved in the kidnapping

– Reward: 2000 Cash Gacha Ticket [virtual currency for a lottery-style reward system], Activation of hint for Quest

– Hint: You are not alone now.

Allen was plotting this with my uncle’s backing.

It was former Marquis Tarenka’s last-ditch effort.

I understand why he didn’t tell me directly.

‘I can’t tell a kid, “Your uncle tried to kidnap you,” of course.’

‘But I thought this was all over.’

There are still people involved; who could it be?

The Paeraton Duchy was a much larger family than I thought.

It would be good to identify the factions at today’s Grand Assembly.

[Quest Alert!]

Reader!

You are conquering the Paeraton Duchy well!

If you are a romance fantasy reader, you would have guessed who the next target is, right?

– Condition: Gain Ares’ recognition as a member of the family

– Reward: 5000 Cash Gacha Ticket, Increased influence within the Paeraton Duchy, Proceed with linked quest

I was confident about this quest.

‘Won’t I be breaking my own record for the fastest quest completion I set recently?’

Hehe.

Since it wasn’t automatically completed, I guess I have to talk to Ares directly.

‘I should talk to him after the meeting. There was also a quest to eat something delicious with Ares.’

[Since a related quest has been opened, Quest will be revealed.]

[Quest Alert!]

Reader, you are so clever!

The Reader stayed at the Tarenka Marquis estate for about 3 years.

Surely the Paeraton Duchy, which paid a huge amount of alimony every quarter, wouldn’t have had any supervision?

Even if Duke Paeraton was absent, it doesn’t make sense!

The Duchy is neither that easy nor that sloppy!

Then there is only one conclusion: there was an internal collaborator.

The Duchy, where the owner has been away for 3 years, is full of all kinds of parasites and mold.

Let’s clean it thoroughly!

– Condition: Expose the traitor who was in contact with Nicholas Tarenka

– Reward: 3000 Cash Gacha Ticket, Increased influence within the Paeraton Duchy

was a quest that came up when I suspected what Nicholas Tarenka was relying on to commit all those acts last time.

At that time, the related quest was not open and was marked as unable to be revealed.

‘Now that it’s revealed, it means this quest is related to another quest.’

Being recognized by Ares as a member of the family and revealing those involved in the kidnapping.

Of course, the latter is related, right?

‘Then, could it be that the person involved in my kidnapping is the traitor who colluded with Marquis Tarenka?’

If this is correct, it’s quite important information.

The fact that the perpetrator of the two incidents is the same person is a big clue.

That’s when it happened.

“Therefore, I plan to formally launch Luatisha’s advisory group.”

I was startled and raised my head at the sudden mention of my name.

However, the reaction to it came not from my mouth, but from the mouths of others.

“Your Excellency! Isn’t that too hasty a decision…!”

“The young lady is still too young! She will barely be five years old in a few days.”

“How old was the second one when he first formed an advisory group?”

“…He was four years old.”

“What about the first?”

“He did it when he was three.”

“The third was at the same time as the youngest. He formed it at the age of five. Ixion hated it, but he pushed it through as a direct obligation of the ducal family.”

Duke Paeraton’s red eyes swept across the hall.

“That was all of you.”

The retainers fell silent.

However, they also had a clear reason to object.

“The young masters and young ladies are different. The Paeraton’s amazing growth rate and excellence are due to their innate magic.”

“The youngest lady is not much different from an ordinary child. Look how small she is now. She is even smaller than the average four-year-old.”

However, if there are those who oppose, there are also those who agree.

“What ordinary child of only four years old can reveal her uncle’s fraud and receive compensation!”

“If the young lady hadn’t revealed it, Paeraton would have suffered the humiliation of being complicit in the fraud. The young lady protected Paeraton’s honor!”

The retainers who had known me since the Duke’s residence in Jedo and were familiar with me took my side.

A fierce confrontation ensued.

I nodded at the back-and-forth arguments.

Honestly, I understand why they are against it.

It’s obvious that the Paeraton Duchy is an inhumanely powerful bloodline from a romance fantasy world.

I wasn’t born with that special power, so of course, they wouldn’t trust entrusting the family’s affairs to a child.

At that time, one of the retainers raised his head and asked Dad.

“Now that Your Excellency has returned, we need to reorganize and reallocate our duties. Which of these are you going to give to the young lady that you are setting up an advisory group for?”

It seems they are worried that I will take away the rice bowl [livelihood] they have been sharing.

“I have no intention of entrusting existing businesses to her. Not yet.”

“Yes?”

“What the youngest wants is the mana stone mining business.”

“Are you referring to the mana stone mine that Nicholas Tarenka defrauded?”

“That’s right.”

At that, the noisy hall fell silent at once.

“Well, in that case…”

“It’s not bad for the young lady to gain experience.”

The people who had been resisting because they wouldn’t share the rice bowl quickly backed down.

Of course, there were still people who opposed it.

However, they were only opposed to promoting a business that would waste money by mining empty mana stones.

‘Hmm…’

Then the people who were against it earlier but are now actively in favor are the most suspicious.

‘They know it’s a doomed business, but they are strongly in favor of it, which means they want me to fail, right?’

The traitor who colluded with Marquis Tarenka would never want my position in the family to be strengthened.

‘I need to remember the list. Oh, Viscount Winchelern, who doesn’t do ‘chika-chika’, is also there?’

Viscount Winchelern pretended not to care, but he was concerned, and his lips moved like a goldfish whenever he spoke.

‘But.’

I glanced up at Dad.

‘Does Dad really not know?’

That there is a traitor inside who colluded with my uncle, Nicholas Tarenka.

Until now, I have been constantly going in and out of Dad’s office.

So I know.

‘My dad is really good at his job.’

There’s no way he wouldn’t have noticed.

Dad quickly compared the documents and immediately picked out several molds [corrupt individuals] that had been embezzling assets.

‘He not only noticed the existence of the traitor but also knows who it is.’

Seeing that the quest has appeared, Dad has not executed the traitor.

Then.

‘…Was bringing me to this Grand Assembly just a whim?’

I once said in the office that I wanted to do the mana stone mining business, and Dad had already talked to the retainers at that time.

Of course, it’s different now that he’s officially saying it in the Grand Assembly, so the weight is different.

Only a few people who were reporting were there in the office.

‘But it was enough people to pass the word on to others.’

Those who failed to stop Dad would have gone to other high-ranking people.

‘Those high-ranking people would have come to Dad, of course.’

They would have opposed or protested against setting up my advisory group, or something.

I looked around.

The Grand Assembly hall was vast. The faces of those in the lowest seats were not even visible properly.

Naturally, the closer the seat is to the head of the family, Duke Paeraton, the higher the seat is.

Therefore, I could tell at once.

‘The elders have been silent since earlier.’

All the elders’ seats were just watching this situation.

‘Strange.’

If I start taking on tasks, a new force will be created in the rice bowl fight.

If I achieve success, there may be changes in the succession structure.

‘Then shouldn’t the elders be expressing their opinions most fiercely on this matter?’

They are not old people who are just trying to maintain their dignity; the elders are still active.

‘Ah, I see!’

It’s already a set game.

I smiled.

‘What’s important now is not whether they set up an advisory body for me or not.’

That’s just bait thrown to those who are obsessed with it and raising their voices.

At the same time, it’s also a foundation for setting up a real advisory group for me after this.

What’s important is 一.

‘Revenge is in my hands. The person who made the mess cleans it up.’

一They are testing me.

Whether I, who was not born with magic, have the ability to handle the major and minor affairs of the Paeraton family.

‘The elders came to Dad. It’s too early to entrust the family’s affairs to me.’

Dad would have made a deal.

The internal traitor who colluded with Nicholas Tarenka and contributed to abusing me.

My daughter will catch that bastard.

Proof of ability.

The elders would have nodded under that condition.

They may have thought I couldn’t do it, or they may have thought that if I had that much ability, they couldn’t stop me.

It’s cheating for Dad to tell me to find the traitor.

‘That’s why he brought me to the Grand Assembly.’

Dad is thinking that I would notice.

I actually noticed.

Strangely, the corners of my lips went up.

My heart is pounding.

‘I didn’t know I had this.’

Desire to win. Desire to achieve.

The desire to prove myself.

“Hoo…”

The excitement came out through my lips and scattered.

Being recognized and expected.

Having the opportunity to show my abilities.

That was really a great thing.

* * *

Duke Paeraton looked down at his daughter, who was sitting quietly during the Grand Assembly.

Plump cheeks. Big, gentle eyes.

She has an innocent and soft face, but in reality, she is suppressing her presence like a beast aiming for prey.

Those who look down on this child just by looking at her appearance will pay the price.

Could there be another child who is so Paeraton-like?

A chuckle escaped his lips.

“Then, I will adjourn the Grand Assembly. Thank you for your hard work.”

And finally, when the meeting was over.

“Dad!”

Luatisha hugged Duke Paeraton’s neck tightly.

The retainers who were getting up from their seats stopped at the sight of the child acting spoiled.

It was a heartwarming sight, but in another sense, it was a heart-fluttering sight.

But there was something even more shocking left.

Kiss!

The youngest daughter planted a kiss on her dad’s cheek with a bang!

And she whispered something in his ear and giggled.

As if the child’s sunshine-like smile had rubbed off, a faint smile spread across Duke Paeraton’s cold face.

“Huh…”

“I’ve heard rumors, but it seems it was true.”

“During the attempted kidnapping incident, there were quite a few people who were spared the death penalty thanks to the youngest lady’s words.”

Seeing the glancing retainers, Duke Paeraton hugged his daughter tightly.

As if showing off.

In an instant, the retainers wore envious expressions.

Duke Paeraton smiled as if to show off and gently pinched his daughter’s soft cheeks.

‘What, what is it…’

‘Childish…’

‘But 一.’

Because of the magic emitted by the young masters, there was not a single child in the vast duchy, let alone near it.

In other words, Luatisha was the only baby in this area.

‘一I want to pinch her once.’

It was inevitable that the retainers inadvertently thought that as they watched Duke Paeraton turn around and leave.

* * *

When I whispered to Dad, “Thank you! For believing in me!”, a smile returned.

As expected, my guess was correct.

I jumped out of Dad’s arms.

It’s time to move quickly by quickly proceeding with the easy quests!

“Ares!”

I found Ares’ back as he came out of the Grand Assembly hall and ran to him.

“Let’s eat cookies together! With marshmallows and chocolate, warm and gooey!”

Ares, who was walking along the hallway with his retainers, turned around at my call.

I stopped when I saw Ares’ face.

‘Huh?’