Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 45

☆ Chapter 45 ☆

* * *

Ares’s single statement created enormous repercussions.

‘Does that mean he’s going to oust Count Yozenheim?’

‘Surely not a declaration of war against the Council of Elders?!’

‘And he’s standing up for the youngest Princess?’

‘That Ares?!’

The meaning of his words and the person who said them were both incredibly surprising.

But the most surprised person of all was Ares himself.

He couldn’t believe what he had said.

‘But—’

Ares patted Luatisha, who was sobbing in his arms.

‘I don’t want to take it back.’

“You’ve become such a crybaby, my sister.”

“I’m not a crybaby. I was scared. You reminded me of Uncle.”

Ares’s hand paused at those words.

He gently wiped away the tears that had gathered in Luatisha’s eyes.

“Alright, then you’re being brave. Good job telling me.”

“Yes!”

Ares flicked Luatisha’s nose as she giggled.

“Young Lord Ares, are you speaking sincerely? Please consider your words carefully.”

“To think you saw me as someone who would say something I’d take back. Is the Count getting old?”

Seeing Ares’s eyes curving into a smile, Count Yozenheim’s beard trembled.

‘Someone who hasn’t even lost their baby fat, not taking back a single word!’

“Young Lord Ares, no matter what, attacking the Council of Elders without any evidence is too much.”

The elders around Count Yozenheim began to speak up, one by one.

“Even if there is evidence, you must follow at least the minimum procedures. Please respect the vassals who have served Paeraton for so long.”

“The Council of Elders is not a place that even the head of the family can arbitrarily dismiss if they don’t like them.”

“Let’s make one thing clear. Count Yozenheim is only the head of the Council of Elders. Questioning his guilt is not the same as persecuting the Council of Elders.”

“Excessively pressuring the head without due process is certainly—”

“Or does that mean the entire Council of Elders participated in Count Yozenheim’s crimes?”

The elders who were speaking fell silent at those words.

The elder who had been silent until then finally spoke. It was the very elder Luatisha had called Grumpy Grandpa.

“What the Young Lord says isn’t wrong.”

“Count Kandor!”

“Isn’t that so? Of course, it would have been better if procedures had been followed.”

Count Kandor’s sharp eyes turned to Ares.

Ares didn’t change his expression, and Count Kandor continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

“I have no intention of bearing Count Yozenheim’s sins with him. I never received money through back channels with Count Yozenheim. Can the same be said for you all?”

“Wh, what are you saying? Of course, we have nothing to do with it either.”

“Alright, then there’s no need for us to step in. Didn’t the Young Lord say earlier that it was just suspicions about Count Yozenheim personally? Isn’t that right, Young Lord?”

‘Indeed, Count Kandor.’

Ares was impressed.

Count Kandor’s statement drew a line between himself and Count Yozenheim, and at the same time, it was a warning to Ares.

He had stepped in to clean things up, and with his previous statements, he was telling Ares not to touch the Council of Elders.

Ares smiled faintly.

“Count Kandor heard correctly. I certainly said that.”

“Then it seems there’s nothing for us to get involved in.”

As expected, the elders also softened their stance and retreated.

‘Damn it, why did that Kandor bastard have to interfere!’

Count Yozenheim gnashed his teeth inwardly.

He had tried to drag the Council of Elders in with him, but that old man ruined it by stepping in.

But he couldn’t back down here.

‘There’s no evidence. I’m sure of it.’

If there was any, he would have mentioned it when they were talking about evidence earlier.

“I misjudged you, Young Lord. I thought you were the most reasonable of the direct descendants.”

“Oh dear. It seems you’ve become unable to understand the younger generation. Perhaps it’s time for you to step down from the front lines.”

Neither side yielded an inch.

What broke the tense standoff was Duke Paeraton, who came out after hearing the commotion.

“What’s going on?”

Count Yozenheim’s face lit up when he saw Duke Paeraton.

“Your Grace, you’ve come at the perfect time. Do you know what’s happening right now?”

Without going through any procedures, and without any evidence, he was impeaching the head of the Council of Elders, which was a clear wrong.

Duke Paeraton was known for not coddling his own children, so it was clear how he would judge this matter.

“Young Lord Ares is—”

“Hmph, Daddy, Lulu hurts.”

At that moment, the youngest Princess, who was being held in Ares’s arms, reached out to Duke Paeraton.

“Mean Grandpa made Lulu hurt.”

Count Yozenheim sneered at Luatisha.

‘Does she think that will work? How foolish. He’s Duke Paeraton, after all.’

He had heard that the youngest Princess received some favor from the Duke.

But there was no way Duke Paeraton would tolerate someone interfering without permission during an official matter.

But.

“He made you hurt?”

Duke Paeraton’s voice was ominous.

The gaze that slowly turned from Luatisha to Count Yozenheim was chilling.

‘Huh? Th, this isn’t right?’

Belatedly, Count Yozenheim realized something was wrong, but it was already too late.

“For the head of the Council of Elders to not only fail to assist the direct line of the ducal family but to actually hurt her. How dare he.”

“Y, Your Grace…….”

“It seems I’ve been away from my seat for too long.”

Step, step.

Duke Paeraton’s footsteps echoed through the silent banquet hall.

The chief aide, Baron Erkel, who was behind the Duke, with a pale face, said,

“Your Grace! Even so, Count Yozenheim is the head of the Council of Elders!”

“So what.”

Baron Erkel became gaunt at the sight of Duke Paeraton’s gaze as he glanced back at him.

‘Just look at him, his eyes are going crazy over his daughter saying she’s hurt!’

“Paeraton isn’t some insignificant family with a small rural territory, but a great family with a territory larger than a kingdom! Even so, there is order within the family…….”

It was okay to execute Count Yozenheim.

But not here, not at this moment, without proper procedure or reason.

‘Of course, I know that Your Grace has a perfectly good reason, but!’

Anyway, it’s not allowed!

People around him began to help Baron Erkel and dissuade the Duke.

“Um, Your Grace. First of all, the young lady accused Count Yozenheim of taking bribes, saying he embezzled money from her.”

“It’s wrong to roughly pressure a child, but he didn’t actually hit her……. The Count probably didn’t intend to harm her either. He must have been flustered.”

“He roughly pressured my daughter?”

Duke Paeraton’s gaze became even sharper.

‘I’m doomed…….’

This man is only listening to what he wants to hear.

“F, first, let’s hear what the young lady has to say. We need to understand what happened.”

Please say something!

Anything but saying she’s hurt or telling him to kill him!

He won’t listen to anyone else right now!

Baron Erkel looked at Luatisha, sweating instead of crying.

Luatisha nodded in response to his desperate gaze.

“Yes, Daddy, that grandpa is a bad guy.”

‘Huh?’

That’s not what I meant!

“A bad guy?”

“Yes, he took bribes.”

The repercussions of those words were incomparable to what had happened earlier.

“Princess Luatisha!”

Count Yozenheim’s face turned red with anger and embarrassment as he shouted.

“Now, you can’t get away with saying she’s young or doesn’t know any better! I will raise this matter with the Council of Elders and formally protest! This is unacceptable!”

“Quiet, Count.”

“Your Grace!”

“Lulu, there must be a reason why you said that.”

“Yes, the people I saw when I was at Uncle’s are here. They’re those men.”

The people Luatisha pointed to flinched.

David Allua and Sorbi Ante.

Both of them had gone to Marquis Tarenka’s residence as surveillance.

Duke Paeraton’s eyes narrowed.

“I heard those men talking to Uncle.”

With that one statement, the atmosphere changed.

The elders and other vassals all listened to Luatisha’s words.

“He asked if the handling was going well. Then those men said that Count Yozenheim was behind them, so there was nothing to worry about, and not to worry about getting caught.”

It was a simple statement, but the meaning it contained was enormous.

Everyone was shocked by the meaning and couldn’t say anything.

In the silence, Duke Paeraton’s voice rang out.

“Hoo.”

His red eyes turned to Count Yozenheim.

“Is that so?”

“Th, th, that is…….”

“The auditors who colluded with Marquis Tarenka and made false reports said, ‘The Count is backing us.’ That’s solid testimony.”

“Ah, the young lady must have misheard! How could I do such a thing!”

“The name she misheard just happened to be the name of the head of the Council of Elders……. At that time, Luatisha wouldn’t have known the names of the vassals properly. It’s too much to call it a coincidence.”

“It’s slander! I have never received bribes or favors from them. So what else could the young lady have heard but slander?”

“My daughter, upon hearing the Count’s name, whom she has no connection to, immediately fabricated a story involving Marquis Tarenka and slandered him?”

It was an absurd statement to anyone who heard it.

“What for?”

But Count Yozenheim could not admit the charges.

Because then it would really be over.

“The young lady said she would start a business as soon as she returned to the estate. This means she has a great desire for the family’s affairs. So, by ousting me—”

“Instead of trying to bring the head of the Council of Elders, who is neutral among the heirs, to her side, she’s trying to cut off his head.”

Duke Paeraton chuckled.

“So what does my daughter gain from that?”

“Th, that’s as an example…….”

“And if that was really her intention, she wouldn’t have proceeded so sloppily.”

“That’s right! Instead, I would have gone to Grandpa separately, pressured him, and then controlled the Council of Elders as I pleased!”

Luatisha waved her hands around and interjected.

Huh?

Baron Erkel and the vassals looked at Luatisha with bewildered faces.

“Do you think I’m that stupid? Geez! You’ve been talking about slander and my schemes since earlier, but should I show you what a real scheme is?”

Luatisha, who was showing off her biceps and getting angry, finally noticed the countless gazes directed at her.

Oops.

Rolling her eyes around, Luatisha stuck both hands to her cheeks.

“Lulu is good. She’s an angel without wings. Grandpa is a bad guy, so I just said that bad guys are bad.”

“…….”

“…….”

Oh, this young lady.

Baron Erkel rubbed his forehead, and Ares burst into laughter.

And Duke Paeraton pressed his daughter’s head down as if he had never been sharp before.

“Indeed, that makes sense. There’s no way my daughter isn’t an angel.”

Um, that’s a bit…….

A miracle was created by the power of the wingless angel Luatisha.

The hearts of the many people in the grand banquet hall became one.

Our Duke must be crazy…….

* * *

The peaceful New Year’s banquet turned into chaos in an instant.

It was truly a scene of expulsion.

“My sister is making a spectacular debut,” Ares muttered.

Luatisha sighed at Ares’s muttering.

‘That’s not what I intended.’

Why did the penalty have to explode critically at this important moment?

Originally, she had planned to quietly find out who was backing them and end it there.

‘I’m glad I came to my senses just when Dad arrived.’

Otherwise, Ares would have been quite embarrassed.

“Ares…….”

“Yeah?”

Luatisha fidgeted with her fingers because there was no annoyance or displeasure on Ares’s face as he looked down at her.

“Sorry. You must have been very embarrassed. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…….”

Ares looked at the child who was drooping and sullen.

‘There’s no need to be so discouraged.’

Thanks to her, didn’t they manage to wipe out those who were eating away at the family?

Count Yozenheim was a vassal with a large power base within the family, and it was difficult to expel him under normal circumstances.

Ares suddenly realized something was strange.

Luatisha had messed up the agreed-upon plan, and as a result, Ares was almost in trouble.

Above all, Ares hated situations he couldn’t control.

But he was setting all that aside.

‘And to think that he’s not even thinking that the child should be upset because things turned out well in the end.’

Goodness.

“Still, still, Ares took my side—. Ares might be annoyed, but still.”

The child fidgeted with her small hands in his arms, mumbled, and then looked up at Ares as if she had made up her mind.

“I was really happy!”

A bright smile spread across Luatisha’s face.

A smile without a single shadow, a smile that showed her emotions as they were.

Ares’s eyes wavered.

This child is too.

Like a body naturally relaxing in lukewarm water.

Like rainwater seeping into a grassy field.

Like that.

“Ares will be the most wary of Luatisha among his other siblings.”

“Because she’s an enemy he’s never faced before.”

“What do you mean…….”

“An enemy that makes him weak.”

An enemy that disarms him. An enemy that makes him want to give everything.

An enemy that makes him think that nothing else matters when he looks at that smile.

More deadly than any other opponent.

And more than any other being, she—.”

Slowly, Ares’s lips curved upward.

Soon, a complete smile bloomed on his face.

It was a smile that showed all his emotions as they were.

Luatisha, seeing Ares’s face, unknowingly opened her mouth.

She had seen Ares smile many times.

‘But I’ve never seen a face like that before.’

It was a smile that made her heart flutter just by looking at it.

The moment Luatisha smiled back,

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Favorability began to rise like crazy.

And.

[83431]

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[Error!]

[Unable to measure favorability!]

[Favorability score is too high!]

[Favorability meter overload!]

[Exploding!]

Huh?