Chapter 82
No, that wasn’t it. Ron wasn’t the Grand Duke’s child.
Was that why Ron had been so unusually incompetent for a son of the Grand Duke?
‘He does resemble him quite a bit on the outside.’
Even in the novel, there had been talk that he was so incapable it was hard to believe he was the Grand Duke’s child. Was that why the Grand Duke had never even considered Ron as his heir?
“W-What are you saying right now? It sounds as if you think our Ron isn’t your real son!!”
“Well. The truth is something only the person concerned would know. Or would you prefer to hear something from my mouth?”
“……”
“This is my final warning. Do not torment the children. If there is even the slightest sign that you have made them suffer, I will cast you out.”
At those words, the Grand Duchess’s face turned deathly pale.
“Does that even make sense? Cast me out? Me? You would cast me out?? Does that make any sense? Do you know how I have led this Grand Duke’s household?!”
“That is precisely why I’m telling you to restrain yourself if you don’t want to end up in such a state.”
“……I was trying to get along. With the children too. But that child kept getting in the way.”
Suddenly, the Grand Duchess’s finger pointed at me, as if shifting all the blame onto me.
“If it weren’t for that child, none of this would have happened.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“What did I do wrong?”
“What?”
“If I did something wrong, I’ll apologize. So please tell me.”
The Grand Duke stepped forward as if to stop the situation, but upon seeing my actions, he instead looked at the Grand Duchess, as though asking what she would do now.
“Where did a worm like you crawl in from, daring to tell me to speak? Ordering me around?”
“It’s not an order. You say I did something wrong, but I don’t think I did, so I’m only asking you to tell me what it was. Or is there nothing?”
In a completely emotionless tone, I delivered each word to her. I had no intention of getting along with her anyway. Not from the beginning, and not now.
“Y-You…!”
“I’m just an impurity anyway, aren’t I? So I’ve lived carefully, watching my place… But if you say I did something wrong… what was I supposed to do? Should I have just stayed silent?”
I pretended to look a little pitiful. There was no need to confront the Grand Duchess head-on here. Today, she had moved exactly as I wanted, and thanks to that, I had gained some unintended benefits.
I could change rooms, and I had learned the secret of Ron’s birth, the Grand Duchess’s son.
‘And the Grand Duke no longer relied on the Grand Duchess as he used to when dealing with the twins.’
That alone was more than perfect gain.
“T-That girl! She’s really talking like she’s the victim!”
“Enough. I don’t know what you’re trying to do to an eight-year-old child.”
“No, no. That child, that child…!”
Sometimes being young becomes a shield. Just like now.
“That cunning child is only acting like that because you’re here! In front of you! In front of me… in front of me she said she would hold my hand and move as I wished, but now…!”
“What did she say?”
“That’s….”
If it’s so hard for you to say it, I’ll say it for you.
“She asked me to inform her of the twins’ every move. I didn’t answer her about that, but I suppose she misunderstood because of it.”
“Y-You…!”
“Oh, was it a secret?!”
“……Ha, really….”
“Using a young child like this. Well done indeed, Grand Duchess. Until I say otherwise, do not even think of leaving your palace.”
In the end, the enraged Grand Duke gave the Grand Duchess a firm order.
“Wait. Are you… are you saying you’ll lock me up? Me? Helen Blair, the Grand Duchess?”
“Why? Are you now saying you will ignore even the orders of me, the Grand Duke?”
“No, that’s not it… I’m saying it’s unfair… Let’s talk, just the two of us for a moment.”
“There is nothing to discuss at this point. If you confine yourself to your room and reflect sincerely, I may reconsider then. Let us go inside.”
And the Grand Duke entered his room.
Rohen glared fiercely at the Grand Duchess, then went inside without even looking back, clearly displeased. I followed them in, then quickly turned back and approached the Grand Duchess again.
“Oh, and Grand Duchess Mama. Thank you for sending the physician. But it seems we didn’t actually need one. Lari is about to wake up. The High Priestess healed Lari.”
“What? The High Priestess? Why?”
“I asked her last time. To wake Lari up.”
“What? Then why did you ask me to summon a physician, and why did you take that person to the temple?”
Looking at the furious Grand Duchess, I smiled brightly.
“To provoke you, Grand Duchess Mama.”
“What?”
“That makes me sound not very childlike, doesn’t it? I’m joking. Please relax your face. I just said it. I didn’t know she would recover all at once just because the High Priestess used her power. Anyway, thank you for calling the physician. I wanted to say that.”
“Y-You… are you playing with me?”
“Please don’t misunderstand. I had no such intention. Well then, I’ll be going. Please head inside, Grand Duchess Mama. Ah, when Lari wakes up, I’ll come greet you once!”
The Grand Duchess stretched out her hand as if she would devour me on the spot, but the knights guarding the Grand Duke’s room stopped her.
I looked at her for a moment, then went inside the Grand Duke’s room.
“Why would you bother dealing with someone like that!”
Rohen, who had come in a moment later, snapped at me in anger.
“Ah… no, I just had something to say….”
“If you had something to say, you should’ve gone together with us! What if she had done something to you?!”
“Sorry.”
I felt like I had to apologize somehow. I had only gone to say a few words.
“And what was that earlier? Did she really say that to you? That you should report our every move?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Looking at it that way, you handled it pretty cleverly. If you’d refused outright while alone with the Grand Duchess, it wouldn’t have ended well for you. Ignoring her was probably the best option. Aisha. You seem quite smart.”
For some reason, the Grand Duke praised me.
It was a little different from usual. The praise felt heavy somehow. As if it carried an intention.
“Aisha has always been smart. You’re only realizing that now, Dad?”
“Y-Yes. I didn’t know.”
“Seriously, everyone’s so clueless. Aisha is really smart.”
Rohen puffed his shoulders proudly and let out a small laugh. He was now openly calling the Grand Duke “Dad.” Perhaps pleased by that, the Grand Duke smiled warmly before looking at me.
“Since it’s come to this, you should take on a task.”
“Me?”
“Yes. I think we need to show the Grand Duchess something.”
Why did my spine suddenly feel cold? Show her what?
“Show… what…?”
“Run the Grand Duke’s household.”
“…What?”
What kind of crazy talk was that? I blinked at him.
“Me? Someone as lowly as me? Weren’t you the one who disliked me for not even knowing where I came from?”
“Well. I did then. But after observing you, you truly seem to cherish my children. And you seem quite intelligent. So you should show her. How foolish she has been all these years.”
Only then did it click why he had suddenly said this.
“When someone thinks there’s no problem, that in itself is almost worthy of praise. I pointed out each and every thing I did wrong in the past and fiercely criticized myself, saying someone like me couldn’t properly run the Grand Duke’s household and entrusted everything to you… and yet, this is not even as good as entrusting it to an eight-year-old child.”
No wonder his expression had been unusual when he said that earlier.
But to think the reason was to have me manage the Grand Duke’s household.
“Do it well and flatten the Grand Duchess’s nose. Show her directly that what she has done for years is inferior to what you, an eight-year-old with no proper education, can do.”
“Ah, but really… I… I don’t think I’m suitable. Wouldn’t it be better to appoint someone else?”
“I don’t trust them.”
“No, but… wouldn’t I be even less trustworthy?”
“No. You are trustworthy. I’ve watched you for a long time. You’re very trustworthy.”
“No… really….”
“You have to show what you can do so the Grand Duchess will be struck by it. What do you think, Rohen?”
“Uh. I haven’t really agreed with Dad much before, but this time I can. Aisha. Dad’s right. You should do it. Out of everyone I’ve seen, including adults, you’re the smartest.”
Why do they work together so well at times like this?
The Grand Duke patted Rohen’s shoulder proudly, and Rohen nodded in satisfaction.
“What if I ruin everything? What if I do worse than the Grand Duchess…?”
“Even if you did it with your feet, you’d do better than her. So understand that. This is an order.”
“N-No….”
“Hm… If an order doesn’t work, then if you want to continue staying with the children, do it.”
Wow, threatening me with that? What a petty man for a Grand Duke.
I stared at him in disbelief, mouth hanging open, but in the end, I had no choice but to nod.
“Alright….”
“You must do better than the Grand Duchess. Though there isn’t much to do.”
“…Ha. Your Grace, I….”
I really don’t think I’m the kind of person who should be doing this. I’m just smarter than my peers because I know the future, because I’ve already lived as an adult… But I couldn’t possibly say that out loud.
“I trust you.”
“I trust you too, Aisha.”
The two of them, with identical faces, gripped my hands tightly as if cheering me on.
It was then.
“Uuung….”
From the Grand Duke’s arms, Lari’s body stirred, and at the same time, a faint groan escaped the child’s lips.
