Chapter 21
The personal physician of the marquisate grumbled as he was suddenly dragged in.
“If a guest is ill, you should call another doctor—”
But when he saw the state of my arm, he shut his mouth. After making eye contact with the Duke’s icy gaze:
“Medicine exists for the good of all. Yes, I was born for this purpose,”
…he mumbled and sat in front of me. The Duke left the room with a curt “Take good care of her.”
The doctor began by disinfecting my arm. The ugly puncture wounds were revealed, and he sighed.
“What in the world bit you, my lady?”
“A monster dog. It’s my fault. I went in to pick a flower and was punished for it… Waaaah!”
“Please don’t cry! Crying will make the bleeding worse!”
Sniffle.
I bit my lower lip hard. The doctor didn’t miss the opportunity and started wrapping my arm in bandages.
Though I had been eating well at the Duke’s mansion, my arm was still slender. It seemed to make it a bit harder for the doctor to wrap.
Meanwhile, chatter started in the hallway.
— What happened?
— I heard the Duke’s daughter wandered deep into the flowerbeds.
— How deep did she go for a monster dog to appear?
— …Could it be the Duke pushed her in on purpose?
Talking like that next to the patient? Then again, considering the Duke’s personality, it’s a valid suspicion.
Soon, Marquis Godell burst into the room in a huff.
“My lady, just how far in did you go?”
“I’m sorry. The flowers were just too pretty… I walked in without thinking.”
“…Hoo. Look here, my lady.”
Glancing around, the marquis suddenly whispered in a low voice.
“Be honest with your uncle. I’ll protect you no matter what.”
“…What?”
“Did your father make you act as a lookout while he searched for something, using you as bait for the monster dog?”
Wow. No one trusts the Duke, huh? I shook my head.
“No! It was just that your garden was so beautiful, I couldn’t help going in. It was like a secret garden from a fairy tale!”
“…Thanks for the compliment.”
“Then some scary-looking dogs attacked. I’m really sorry… But if my father hadn’t come, I’d be dead.”
“He really saved you?”
“Yes! He’s my dad!”
I nodded emphatically. The marquis’s face contorted like he’d just heard, “Actually, I’m your mom.” No way he could be more shocked.
“No way. He… saved his adopted daughter?”
“What seems to be the problem, Marquis Godell?”
A low voice rang through the room. The Duke had returned.
The atmosphere instantly froze. The chattering nobles fell silent. Only the marquis managed to raise his head.
“Well, that is…”
“I apologize for my daughter wandering through your garden. Send the bill for restoration. However.”
“H-However…?”
“Leaving monster dogs loose and allowing them to attack my daughter—how will you compensate for that?”
The Duke’s eyes were particularly cold.
The marquis swallowed hard like he’d swallowed an ice cube and answered carefully.
“We don’t let our monster dogs roam freely. And it’s hard to believe the young lady would willingly walk into a danger zone.”
“So?”
“We’ll investigate in the morning how exactly the young lady ended up in the innermost part of the garden…”
“Are you implying that someone endangered my daughter?”
A chilling aura leaked from the Duke’s eyes. The room physically dropped in temperature. The marquis let out a frightened squeak.
To be honest, the marquis probably wanted to say, “You! *You’re the one who endangered your daughter!” But if he said that now, the whole mansion might literally freeze.
While everyone else silently doubted the Duke in their hearts, I sat up in bed and reached toward him.
“Dad… Don’t fight.”
“Sol.”
He rushed over immediately and sat at the edge of the bed, gripping my hand tightly.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“Yeah, a whole lot. But I didn’t cry because crying makes it hurt worse. So, please praise me like you do at home.”
“…”
This villain—does he even know what “praise” means? Fortunately, he had the sense to gently stroke my hand.
“You did well holding it in, my little princess.”
The marquis and the others were stunned. Their faces said it all:
What nonsense did I just hear?
Oh, come on. If you’re shocked already, just wait—there’s more.
Soon, the Duke took a small, picture frame-sized ice sculpture from his pocket. At first, I thought it was just ice, but when I looked closely—
“Wow… Dad, this!”
“Yes, it’s the flower you went in to pick. I brought it encased in ice so it wouldn’t wither.”
The very flower I had told him to pick was now frozen beautifully in ice.
If he’d just brought it normally, it would’ve wilted quickly and lost its charm. But framed in ice, it looked like something from a fairy tale. My smile was genuine.
I hugged the ice flower tightly and said,
“Eee! Thank you, Daddy! You really know exactly what I like!”
“Does it still hurt?”
“I can bear it. And Dad, don’t fight with the marquis. It’s my fault for wanting the pretty flower. Marquis, may I keep this?”
Both the Duke and I turned to look at the marquis. He, still stunned by the Duke, belatedly nodded.
“Y-Yes, of course, little lady. You may… keep it.”
“Yay! Thank you!”
The Duke also gave a slight nod.
“Marquis Godell, thank you for your cooperation. I won’t hold you responsible for my daughter’s injury. As for the dead monster dog and damaged garden—send the invoice to the House of Schlaeger.”
“U-Understood…”
“Would you allow father and daughter some rest now?”
“Of course! Please rest well. If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to let us know, Your Grace!”
Honestly, the marquis should be angry. A guest got hurt at his banquet, yet the guest is the one making demands. But he looked relieved simply because the Duke wasn’t on a rampage.
The other guests left, followed by the doctor and the marquis. Now only the two of us remained. I pressed the ice flower against my throbbing right arm.
“Ahh, that’s nice. I feel better already.”
“Hah, and here I was just thinking where the whining child went.”
“Maybe she disappeared with the dad who was worried about her.”
“…Hahaha! You joke well for a kid.”
The Duke’s lips twitched into a smile. He didn’t seem used to it.
“Your Grace, do you think it worked?”
“The marquis seems to think it’s a miracle I didn’t destroy his mansion. As for the other guests, we’ll see tomorrow.”
“That’s a relief… Okay then! Since we’re in the same boat now, tell me—what were you doing in the garden?”
“….”
The Duke hesitated but eventually said,
“Very well. We are in the same boat.”
He pulled a thumb-sized object from his coat—it looked like a shiny black telescope.
“What’s this?”
“A loupe. A magnifier with a short focal length. Usually used to appraise gems or minerals. But this one’s special. Take a look.”
He held the loupe to my eye. Everything looked warped…
Wait.
“There! Over there—something’s glowing! But it doesn’t look like lights…”
“They’re mana pearls embedded in the pillars during the mansion’s construction.”
“Mana pearls? The precious gemstones that contain magic?”
“Yes. This loupe helps you find them.”
My jaw dropped.
Even finding one mana pearl could change your life—this thing was incredible! But wait, that’s not the point!
“So basically, you were stealing…”
“No, this tool itself is stolen property. The craftsman who made it snuck a bit of silver dragon mana from our ancestor. Dragons were originally the ones who could sense hidden treasure.”
“Ah… But will the marquis accept that? This is a valuable tool. He’ll probably go berserk.”
“I disguised it with silver dragon aura and made a perfect replica. He won’t notice.”
Should I be impressed? Using stolen mana to make a stolen object to retrieve stolen property?
But the Korean in me cheered at the idea of reclaiming something stolen from our ancestors. So I stopped thinking too hard.
“So, Your Grace, does this mean you’ll be able to find tons of mana pearls now?”
But the Duke shook his head. He pointed at his deep blue eyes, like ocean waves.
“I don’t need it. The heir of Schlaeger can see the flow of mana thanks to the silver dragon’s power.”
“…Wait. So you can find mana pearls without this thing?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you bring it? To avenge your ancestor for getting robbed?”
“I just don’t want others to find mana pearls easily.”
“…Wow.”
What a personality.
“So what are you going to do with it?”
“Hm… Shall I give it to you?”
“Me?”
“Play with it like a toy.”
“C-Can I really? Isn’t it valuable?”
“Judging by your personality, you won’t treat it carelessly. And you’re smart enough not to show it off.”
He sounded serious. I should definitely take this opportunity.
Mana pearls are worth more than gold. A tool to find them? That’s like getting next week’s winning lottery numbers.
Even if the Duke took it back and kicked me out later, I could still use what I saw to get rich on my own!
“Thank you! You can take it back anytime, but please give me a heads-up first!”
“Don’t be scared. Don’t feel pressured.”
“How can I not feel pressured…”
“You sacrificed your arm for me today. This is my way of expressing trust.”
“Ah…”
“Now, rest. Even if the rest was just an act, the pain was real, wasn’t it?”
Before he left, he looked down at me and awkwardly raised his hand. Oh, was he going to try petting my head?
“Yes! Go ahead! You need to practice for playing the doting dad in public!”
“…No, forget it.”
“You need to practice! Come on, come on!”
I moved closer. He flinched and said in disbelief,
“You’re not afraid of me?”
“I’m terrified.”
“Yet you keep approaching.”
“Better than being thrown out for being useless.”
“…”
“Practice! I won’t complain no matter how scary your touch is!”
He seemed to consider it, but in the end, didn’t touch my head.
“…We’ve had a long day. Go rest now.”
“Hmm? Haha, it was exhausting, but not bad overall.”
I got to prove my worth to the Duke and even scored a rare item!
“You have low standards for what counts as ‘not bad.’”
“Better than being overly picky.”
“…True. But around me, you might want to raise your standards a bit.”
Huh? Why are you saying things you can’t take responsibility for?
While I stared blankly, the Duke finished what he wanted to say and walked into his room.
