Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 4

Runs a Romance Fantasy with Baby Cash – Episode 4

☆ Episode 4 ☆

The Duke’s lowered voice was scary, but I really couldn’t eat any more.

I’m already having trouble breathing, huffing and puffing.

‘What should I do…….’

It was when I was at a loss for what to do.

“Y-Your Grace, Duke.”

The maid, who had been standing there as if she didn’t exist, stepped forward and knelt.

“May I dare to say something?”

Her face was determined.

It was a familiar atmosphere.

It was just like when a loyal subject in a historical drama would advise a tyrant with a heart full of patriotism.

I wonder what she’s going to say.

“The youngest lady’s stomach is small. It’s different from the young masters. If she eats any more, she will have a stomachache.”

Huh?

The words she spat out as if she were prepared to die were a bit strange.

Duke Paeraton stared down at the maid for a moment without saying a word.

I couldn’t read anything on his cold face.

Eventually, his well-shaped lips moved slowly.

“You are?”

“I-I’m Anna.”

So, her name was Anna.

I see her face every day, but I just found out her name now.

I thought about asking her name several times, but I gave up because she seemed to put up an iron wall before I could even speak.

I was used to giving up because I had been ignored so much at the Tarenka Marquis [a noble title, similar to a Marquessate].

Anna spoke while trembling, but the Duke indifferently turned his head.

“You will be this child’s exclusive attendant from now on.”

He left only those words.

Anna glanced up at the Duke and bowed deeply.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

I stared blankly at the scene, and a thought flashed through my mind.

If he’s assigning me a personal maid, maybe…….

“Um, can I stay here?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

A cold answer came back.

But I know he’s not planning to kick me out.

‘Well, from the Duke’s point of view, it would be a bit much to kick out his daughter on paper anyway.’

I left her at a relative’s house.

Up to this point, it’s understandable.

But taking back a child who was abused in that relative’s house and then kicking her out again is a different matter.

‘Since he’s a noble, things like honor must be important to him.’

Even if he doesn’t like me, he won’t send me anywhere else.

Mm-hmm. Good.

My personal safety is secured.

‘I should have thought about it sooner. I’ve been too scared all this time.’

Well, I’ve been denied my existence for almost my entire life since I was born here.

I can’t help it.

“Really can’t eat any more?”

The Duke asked with sharp eyes.

I was afraid he would tell me to eat more, so I quickly nodded and said, “Yes.”

“Okay.”

And then there was a moment of silence.

Hmm.

I rolled my eyes around, trying to act as if nothing was wrong because of the awkwardness.

The Duke kept staring at me without taking his eyes off me.

I was eating a while ago, but now it was very uncomfortable to receive that gaze without doing anything.

I fidgeted with my hands for no reason.

‘It’s like he’s wondering what to do with this rat-like thing.’

Someone, please save me.

“Your Grace, Duke.”

Did he hear my wish?

The Duke’s aide opened the door and entered with a knock.

Thanks to him, I was able to escape the Duke’s fierce gaze.

Oh, I thought my cheeks were going to be pierced.

“I’m sorry. Because you returned home urgently today, there was a call from the Imperial Palace…….”

The Duke, who had been glaring at the aide with an icy face, let out a faint sigh and stood up from his seat.

I wondered why he came home early for once, but it seemed he had returned urgently due to an unplanned event.

Before leaving the dining room, the Duke turned to look at me.

“Don’t do anything useless and stay still.”

Hmph, how clean is the window I wiped.

To call my noble labor useless.

But I only thought that in my heart, and I nodded like a good child, saying, “Yes.”

How can a tenant argue with the landlord?

‘Life is hard.’

I grabbed my full stomach and moved with a groan.

There’s no need to try so hard for someone who doesn’t think of me as a daughter. I realized that enough in my previous life.

‘If I keep living here, I don’t have to worry about my personal safety.’

When the time comes, food will come out, and warm water will come out, so what’s so hard about it?

Life at the Tarenka Marquis was

Aside from that, it was honey compared to my previous life.

“Um, youngest lady.”

Anna, who I thought would retreat right after arriving at the room, hesitated and then spoke to me as if she had made up her mind.

“Do you understand now? His Grace has no intention of kicking you out.”

“Yes.”

Because I realized that kicking me out could cause problems with the Paeraton Duke’s reputation.

“You don’t have to do chores like mopping or sweeping here.”

“Yes.”

“You’re still too young, and you’re His Grace’s only daughter.”

Huh?

“So, relax and only think happy thoughts.”

Relax.

I thought I wasn’t showing it at all, but Anna must have thought I looked very anxious.

When I didn’t say anything, the other maids also cautiously opened their mouths.

Until Anna started talking, they seemed to be trying to stop her.

“You keep having nightmares while suffering in that young body…….”

“If you’re sick, tell us. Don’t hold it in. The calf treatment must have been hard too…….”

Oh?

I looked at the maids in surprise.

Didn’t these people find me annoying?

I thought they were just taking care of me because it was their job, and they didn’t care about me at all.

In the meantime, they quietly appeared, did only what they had to do, and disappeared.

Even if I tried to talk to them, they would answer in monosyllables, so I closed my mouth as well.

But.

“Were you worried about me?”

“Of course!”

Anna, who shouted loudly with a tearful face, blushed, realizing it.

“Ahem, of course, we were.”

“I thought you hated me.”

“Why would you misunderstand…….”

“You didn’t talk to me, and even when I talked to you, you seemed like you didn’t want to answer.”

“How dare we…….”

The maids looked at me with somewhat cloudy faces and asked quietly.

“Would the youngest lady like to talk to us?”

“Yes.”

When I looked up and nodded, faint smiles appeared on the maids’ faces.

“The youngest lady is different from the other dukes.”

“That’s right. You could say she’s like an ordinary child.”

Hehe, Anna exclaimed in surprise at the words she said while laughing, “Nancy……!” and shouted softly.

Nancy. It’s Nancy.

As I savored the names Anna and Nancy, Nancy’s face turned pale.

“I-I’m sorry, Lady. I misspoke…….”

Well, I’m not an ordinary child because I was reincarnated.

But is that something to apologize for?

“It’s okay. I like being ordinary.”

It was real.

I always wanted to be ordinary.

An ordinary child. An ordinary student. An ordinary office worker.

I wanted to live like that.

“You’re so kind…….”

Nancy looked at me with very moved eyes, so I laughed haha.

It was awkward for someone who had been acting as if she had no emotions to be so easily moved.

But I didn’t hate it.

It was as if the maids, who had seemed like a single still life, had come to life.

It was the first time I had tasted the vitality of people since coming here.

A smile appeared on my face without me realizing it.

* * *

After the maids left, I quietly crossed the room and went to the mirror.

‘Only daughter.’

The words I heard earlier echoed in my heart.

‘……Family.’

Family, huh?

Can you call it a family just because you live in the same house?

I don’t know. I’ve never had a family before.

But.

“It’s obvious that your frivolous mother gave birth to you outside.”

“So, Duke Paeraton abandoned you. You don’t even have mana [magical energy].”

“Be grateful to me for taking away the shame of the family.”

A mother I’ve never seen.

I tried to think that my mother wasn’t that kind of person, but I grew up hearing those words for the rest of my life in this life.

‘Well, if I’m Duke Paeraton’s ‘real daughter’ as Anna said, I don’t have to be anxious.’

Because he won’t kick me out anyway.

But what if I’m not the Duke’s blood?

If I’m a bastard born from my mother’s affair, won’t I be kicked out the moment it’s revealed?

No matter what you do with the seed of adultery, there’s no way it will cause problems with your reputation.

I bit my lip tightly and looked at the mirror.

Duke Paeraton and I didn’t have anything in common.

The Duke’s face, as sharp as a refined sword.

My face, which anyone can see is gentle.

The Duke’s eyes are blood red.

My eyes are blue like Paraiba [a type of gemstone].

‘Besides, my hair is…….’

Unlike the Duke’s jet-black hair, my hair was a very, very delicate pink color like spring petals.

‘There’s nothing alike.’

Besides, I don’t have mana.

I don’t know much, but there must be a reason why the Marquis mentioned mana when he treated me like a bastard.

‘Mana must be passed down in the Paeraton Duke’s family.’

I heard that it gives you abilities and I was reincarnated, but I don’t even have the mana that everyone in the Duke’s family has.

More and more puzzle pieces are coming together that I’m not the Duke’s real child.

‘If I’m really a child born from my real mother’s affair…….’

Wouldn’t he kill me out of betrayal, not just kick me out?

My romance fantasy radar says.

Duke Paeraton is a tyrant/blackmailer/villain.

‘Ugh, if I want to survive, I have to try on my side anyway.’

Like a real daughter.

So that he doesn’t kill me at least because of the affection he raised me with.

I know the code of conduct for times like this very well.

‘Well, I’ve read thousands of romance fantasy novels!’

The me in the mirror was grinning slyly.

* * *

I clenched my potato-like fists and took a deep breath as I looked at the large door.

Huff and puff.

Okay, I can do it!

I vowed with my eyes wide open, but as I looked at the huge door that felt oppressive, my courage slowly wagged its tail.

It’s said to be the Duke’s office, but I didn’t know even the door would be so intimidating.

‘Let’s stop making excuses.’

I actually know.

The reason why I’ve been pacing back and forth in front of the door for several minutes.

It took a lot of courage to approach first, knowing that I would be rejected and knowing that they hated me.

“What is this skinny rat?”

The words the Duke said when he first saw me kept coming to my mind.

Ah, in this situation, I have to act like nothing’s wrong, and of course, I have to be friendly.

Romance fantasy heroines, you had so much courage!

I finally realized how great the heroines who survived under so many tyrant fathers were.

‘Hoo, let’s just count to ten and go in.’

I put my hand on my pounding heart and was counting to 4 when.

The heavy door opened silently.

I was startled and took a step back without realizing it, and the Duke’s aide said through the open door.

“Youngest Lady, His Grace the Duke has asked you to come in.”

How did he know I was in front of the door?

The aide opened the door wide as if telling me to come in quickly, so I swallowed hard and stepped into the office.

The office was bigger than I thought, and there were more people inside than I imagined.

However, those many people only existed as background, and only Duke Paeraton came into my eyes.

An unrivaled presence.

Sitting on the sofa in a relaxed posture, he was more like a lazy beast than a person.

Very dangerous and cruel.

The Duke’s red eyes coldly stared at me.

I patted my heart, which kept getting smaller, and smiled brightly.

“Daddy!”

I ran to him and clung to his leg.

“I missed you.”

I looked up at the Duke with a smile.

They say you can’t spit on a smiling face. Let’s smile, let’s smile.

I have to see him a lot to get attached, so I can’t be scared.

I was trying to endure the Duke’s gaze attack when,

“……Gasp.”

A sound like someone’s breath being cut off came from somewhere.

When I turned my head, an old man was grabbing his collar with a face that looked like he was about to faint.

No, I’m the one who’s scared, why is the old man scared?

Not only that old man. Everyone in the office had frozen expressions.

Faces that looked like they would shatter if you touched them.

Like they had touched a ticking time bomb.

‘I-Is this not it?’

The arm that was tightly hugging the Duke’s leg slowly lost strength.

‘Usually, shouldn’t he be looking at me with a happy face and praising me for being cute or asking if Daddy missed me?’

I should have acted spoiled and received love to know, but I was an orphan in my previous life, so it was really awkward for me to act spoiled to adults.

The Duke didn’t kick me with his foot because he was annoyed by me rustling at his feet…… he just lifted me up.

‘Oh, you scared me.’

Why does he keep lifting me up like a dog?

“You missed me?”

The Duke asked slowly with his chin propped up crookedly.

A threatening tone, darkly shining red eyes.

I tried to calm my trembling body and just nodded.

The words to act spoiled went into my stomach and my mouth became mute.

“……You were uncomfortable.”

I’m still very uncomfortable.

‘No, more than that, did you know I was uncomfortable?!’

That kind of person stared at me with scary eyes when I was eating?

Don’t tell me you stared at me on purpose to make me choke!

“No, I’m not uncomfortable.”

Unlike my inner thoughts that were arguing, I shook my head.

“It’s because it’s unfamiliar.”

The Duke raised one eyebrow.

“Because I haven’t met Daddy in the meantime.”

“…….”

“So, I want to be with you now.”

I stretched out my hands towards his face, which was slightly away from me.

“They said I have to stick close to not be unfamiliar!”

Yeah, yeah, you have to stick together to get attached.

I have to have the affection I raised him with so that he doesn’t kill me even if he knows I’m not his real daughter.

Of course, of course.

“…….”

The Duke didn’t say anything.

Could his arm be getting numb?

His hand holding my body was shaking.

Accordingly, I was also staggering in the air, and my two hands stretched out towards the Duke’s face were…….

“Heok……!”

I poked the Duke’s cheek.

A sound of gasping for breath was heard simultaneously from all over the place.

I thought it was a chorus.

Can’t those old men make any other expressions besides looking like they’re about to leave the world?

I looked at the old men beyond the sofa and took a deep breath.

Let’s calm down.

There’s no way I did ‘pretty things’ on the Duke’s cheek.

The feeling of this touching my palm right now was too soft to be skin.

I must have touched the Duke’s clothes. You’re wearing silk, Duke.

It’s warm like a person’s body temperature, but.

No, it can’t be. Please…….

I glanced down.

The Duke was looking at me with a stern expressionless face.

A charismatic face that made my heart flutter just by facing it. That face was a little different than usual.

Because my cute palm was pressing against the Duke’s cheek.

Hehe, you’re a married man with a child, but your skin is so good.

It’s as soft as a baby.

Sweat started to flow from my eyes.

It was that moment.

Letters appeared in front of my eyes.

[Condition met.]

[Identifying… Contractor of . Verification complete.]

[Awakens trait .]

‘What, what is it……!’