Chapter 29
Cecile felt incredibly embarrassed and awkward about the situation.
“It’s already humiliating enough to fall on my own—what’s with all this fuss?”
And it wasn’t like they were alone here, either.
Around them stood footmen and maids, holding parasols or bringing sherbet, assisting as needed.
“I’m fine, really. I’m not that hurt.”
Cecile spoke hastily, hoping he would put her down. But when the duke looked at her legs, his face hardened.
“You’re badly injured.”
Cecile glanced down at her knees. Both were drenched in blood, with drops trickling down.
But Cecile was a dark mage. She’d been on the run for a long time, fought many battles, and gotten injured plenty of times.
As a fugitive, she couldn’t exactly call a doctor. Even with life-threatening wounds, Cecile had always treated herself.
To her, this level of bruising was just a scrape. So she couldn’t understand the duke’s reaction.
Before she could say more, the duke sat her down on the edge of the fountain.
“Bring a doctor.”
After giving instructions to the footman, the duke knelt before her and examined the wounds more closely.
“This is mortifying…”
With all eyes on her, Cecile wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear.
“I… I don’t really understand why you’re making such a big deal out of this.”
“You’re hurt, aren’t you?”
“But it’s just a small scratch, nothing serious.”
“It is serious, Cecile. Most children your age wouldn’t be able to endure it—they’d be crying right now.”
When Cecile looked confused, the duke gave her a look as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Was this normal for you?”
“What?”
“In the imperial palace. Were injuries like this common?”
Cecile searched through her memories of life in the palace.
Now that she thought about it—yes, it had been. She was always getting hit by someone like the 13th prince or being harassed in ways that left her hurt, even if not directly beaten.
Maybe it was back then that she’d first started getting used to pain.
Cecile nodded slightly.
In that instant, a dangerous light flickered in the duke’s golden eyes.
“Those bastards…”
The words slipped out through clenched teeth, seething with rage and hatred.
It was the first time Cecile had seen him so angry, and his voice sounded completely unfamiliar.
“I-I really am fine! It was so long ago!”
It wasn’t that she had forgiven her royal family or was trying to act noble.
It was simply that the duke looked so terrifying—like he might storm the imperial palace any second.
And that wasn’t what Cecile wanted.
“I do want revenge, but more than that, I want to live a peaceful and stable life until I’m strong enough to fully recover my mana. If the relationship between the dukedom and the imperial family worsens, that all goes down the drain.”
“I really mean it. Living here like this… I’m genuinely happy.”
Cecile spoke each word with intention.
But the duke didn’t look convinced. Strangely enough, he looked even more distressed.
He took a deep breath as if trying to suppress his emotions, then nodded.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
His voice was tight, as if something were being held back.
“But Cecile, you must take better care of your body. I can’t compromise on that.”
“I do think I take pretty good care of myself…”
She muttered under her breath, but the duke simply shook his head, took off her shoes, and guided her feet into the fountain.
“Let’s clean the wounds before the doctor arrives.”
“You… you really don’t have to call a doctor. It’ll heal on its own…”
“Cecile, if you want to take care of your body—”
He scooped water with his hand while holding her gently from behind.
“—you must treat injuries the proper way.”
Then he began washing the blood from her knees.
“Ugh…!”
The water was freezing cold, and each touch stung like a blade on her wounds.
Cecile, who hadn’t made a peep when she fell, now flinched and let out muffled whimpers.
The duke, with his broad frame shielding her back, gently but steadily cleaned her wounds.
It stung and ached, but being held in his warm embrace gave her an odd sense of comfort.
“This is such a strange feeling.”
Cecile thought.
“To be taken care of over something like this…”
She had never been cared for when injured—not in the imperial palace, not during her time on the run. She had always been the only one to treat her wounds.
Being the center of attention like this was thoroughly embarrassing, but… at the same time…
She found herself wanting to stay in his arms just a little longer.
“How could someone this kind betray me? Is this warmth just another lie?”
The painful doubt stirred faintly in a corner of her heart.
But even so… as she basked in his warmth, it somehow didn’t seem to matter right now.
“I don’t know anymore. I’ll just believe in this kindness—at least for this one moment. Even if it’s only for a little while.”
With that, Cecile closed her eyes.
The cold water and the sting faded gradually, replaced by a cooling, soothing sensation.
✧ ✧ ✧
After coming to the duke’s mansion, Cecile started reading the newspaper every morning.
It would look strange for an eight-year-old to be reading the paper, so she couldn’t ask the maids to bring it to her.
But during the morning hours, the servant quarters were filled with papers discarded after reading. Cecile would simply pick one up and read it.
“Alright, what kind of articles do we have today?”
A few days had passed since she planted bulbs in the duke’s back garden. When she opened the paper, her eyes sparkled.
On page two was the very article she’d been waiting for.
“Looks like it’s time. The bulbs I’ve been stockpiling are finally going to pay off.”
Two summers ago, a massive trade ship arrived from the Kingdom of Turc, carrying rare goods—art, jewels, exotic animals and plants.
The nobility and wealthy were enthralled by these unique and beautiful items, so different from anything in the empire.
Most notable among them were the tulips.
Tulips were unlike any flower previously seen in the empire, with a wide array of colors and patterns.
They became the perfect status symbol for nobles, who often used exotic flowers and imported goods to flaunt their wealth.
Tulips quickly became the fashion of the social elite.
Anyone not decorating their homes and clothing with tulips was deemed hopelessly out of touch.
Nobles began spending enormous sums of money for tulips—especially those with rare colors and patterns.
Prices skyrocketed, and everyone rushed to buy bulbs and cultivate them.
Now, lavish tulips could be seen everywhere—from the imperial palace to Count O’Neill’s estate.
“In this kind of atmosphere, a duchy without a single tulip is the strange one.”
Cecile guessed it was due to Duke Baltholomew’s disinterest in trends or flaunting wealth.
“Which made getting bulbs a little more annoying… But that’s all in the past now.”
Even after her initial tulip experiment in the duke’s garden, Cecile kept purchasing more bulbs using her mayonnaise profits and part of the money from Count O’Neill.
She had only bought ordinary red tulip bulbs, so they weren’t expensive—and before she knew it, she’d collected around 1,200.
[Tulip prices have risen enough. Time to sell! And I’ve got the growth accelerator to instantly bloom the flowers from bulbs, after all.]
Even though they were just ordinary red tulips, the general rise in tulip value had pushed their price up a little too. With 1,200 bulbs, it added up to a tidy profit.
But Cecile shook her head.
“This isn’t nearly enough to satisfy me.”
[That’s our girl. I’m sure you’ve got a brilliant trick up your sleeve, don’t you?]
At Nibelung’s comment, Cecile’s lips curled into a mischievous grin.
“Just watch. I’m going to pull off a con so legendary, it’ll go down in history. And my target? The royal family.”
