Chapter 13
It was a strange kind of lesson.
But once she heard it out, it sounded oddly convincing.
‘Well, true enough. If I grow tall and broad like Duke Calix, it’ll be much easier to bully others, won’t it?
After all, the intimidation a shorty could muster would be pitiful at best.
Penelope forced herself to organize the situation logically.
“Yes, sir! Since Your Grace is tall and broad, you may eat as selectively as you like. But as for me, since I’m still a shorty, it would be problematic to start being picky already… Is that what you mean?”
When Penelope nodded and said she would only begin to be picky once she had grown bigger than everyone else, the duke’s face twisted.
“No. You are forbidden from being picky for the rest of your life.”
“What? But Your Grace does it yourself!”
That was far too unfair. Penelope couldn’t accept it. She had to commit evil deeds, raise her infamy, and gather demonic energy!
Of course, since she actually liked eating, being forbidden from picky eating was a far better outcome for her…
‘But to block me from committing one whole category of evil deeds forever…’
Penelope’s light green eyes filled with disappointment and despair. Duke Calix’s hand, resting on her shoulder, twitched faintly.
“…I’m a duke. It’s fine for me. Once you inherit the dukedom, you may do as you please. But until then, no. As long as I am the master of this house, you must always live like a piglet.”
It sounded strange, but the meaning behind it was enormous.
No—this was a tremendous declaration. It was practically a statement that he truly intended to raise Penelope as his successor.
But neither Duke Calix nor Penelope seemed the least bit concerned with such a “trivial” detail.
“So… you’re saying I should gobble down food like a piglet, right?”
“Finally, we’re speaking the same language. A piglet is far better than a sewer rat. Understood?”
“Yes, I’ll follow your words, Your Grace.”
When Penelope agreed obediently, Duke Calix added,
“It’s good that you want to emulate me.”
“Really?”
The duke recalled the advice Johannsen had given him yesterday about dealing with children.
‘Master, children need a proper amount of praise.’
“Striving to learn and improve is never a bad thing. But before you act, seek my permission first.”
Because…
“A child must learn by watching a proper adult.”
…said Duke Calix, the man infamous throughout the capital as the vilest villain and eccentric.
Luckily, Penelope’s dream was to become the greatest villain.
‘To become a villain, I must follow a villain’s words! Could it be His Grace intends to personally teach me his secret methods?’
Penelope looked up at him, unable to hide her pounding excitement.
“Then… may I come to you with my questions whenever I’m curious about something?”
It was a grand opportunity. Just dining with him once a week gave her tremendous inspiration—yet now she was being allowed to seek his teachings whenever she wished!
Her eyes sparkled like fresh sprouts in the sunlight.
Unable to tear his gaze away from those large, shining eyes, Duke Calix muttered,
“…Very well. I permit it.”
“Really? Thank you! I’ll truly do my best! I’ll work hard so that I can win Your Grace’s approval!”
A chance once gained must never be lost!
Clenching her little fists, Penelope burned with determination.
* * *
Penelope set down the fairy tale book she’d been reading and threw open her door.
“Frederick. Ben.”
The two knights standing guard at the door stiffened instantly.
“Y-Yes, Young Lady!”
“Come inside for a moment.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Penelope tugged at the ribbons tied around their necks and led them into her room.
Once she sat down, Frederick and Ben naturally dropped to one knee before her, like dogs before their master.
…The thought made Penelope scratch her cheek.
‘Aren’t the knights getting more and more dog-like with each passing day?’
For knights of the Calix Ducal House’s prestigious Black Hawk Order to turn into dogs—such a thing should not be allowed to continue.
“The reason I’ve called you here today is because I think your punishment has lasted long enough. I’ve grown tired of treating you as dogs. Come here. I’ll untie your leashes.”
She reached out to undo the ribbons herself, but the two knights recoiled in panic.
“L-Lady Penelope! We would much prefer to remain as your dogs!”
…What on earth was that? That was sheer nonsense.
As Penelope’s expression hardened, the knights hurried to explain.
“If it’s a burden to you, we can remain your dogs for another half year—or even a full year!”
“Yes! With that much time, we’ll surely gain the strength to defeat the vice-captain…!”
“Shh! Quiet, Frederick!”
Their whispered exchange was clearly suspicious. Penelope narrowed her eyes.
“Being treated like dogs can’t be pleasant. What’s your real motive?”
Though they were merely knights of single-barony rank, they were still noblemen. And nobles were supposed to have pride in spades.
On top of that, Frederick and Ben belonged to the duke’s personal knight order. They were surely brimming with confidence in their own strength.
‘And such men actually want to continue living as dogs to a little child?’
She also recalled how, a few days ago, other knights had crowded in, barking and begging to be made her dogs.
Penelope glared.
“You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you? Otherwise, why would the other knights come to me and bark like mutts too?”
“Ugh…”
Such sharp deduction coming from an eight-year-old child was remarkable.
The two knights looked as if their weak spot had been struck.
“Don’t even think of lying to me. If you do, I’ll run straight to His Grace and tell him that my dogs tried to deceive me.”
She even invoked the duke’s authority to press them! Despite her origins in the slums, this girl’s grasp of situations was no ordinary thing.
‘We thought we could brush it off by saying it’s because we like her…!’
‘But this is the very girl who boldly told His Grace she would treat us as dogs! There’s no way such an excuse will work.’
Penelope’s eyes gleamed with fierce authority.
[Oppression…! Might…! Glare…! Authority…!]
Just as Demonia had advised, she poured every drop of authority she had—real or imagined—into her gaze.
Luckily, the knights quickly crumbled beneath her pressure.
“To speak truthfully… Your training of us as ‘dogs’ has genuinely helped our skills improve.”
“Not only that—being near you has also dramatically increased our vitality.”
They explained briefly.
At first, they had hated being treated as dogs. But recently, they realized in sparring that their abilities had grown significantly. It must be thanks to the young lady’s influence.
“Even vitality—which usually hardly increases through training—has been rising fast. Somehow, just by staying near you, we’re brimming with energy.”
“And when we’re in physical contact with you, the effect is even stronger.”
“The others… well, the other knights don’t know all the details, but they’ve noticed something. After all, our skills have soared since becoming your dogs.”
“And so, the other knights too began coveting the position of Lady Penelope’s dogs.”
Mouth agape, Penelope listened to the full explanation.
Having never even heard of things like “vitality” before, she found the whole situation absurd.
“Frederick, Ben—have you no pride? Just for something like that, you’d rather be treated as dogs?”
“It’s not just something trivial—it’s vitality!”
“If our vitality rises enough, even the path to Sword Master becomes possible!”
“Skill matters a hundred times more than pride!”
Their booming voices nearly made her ears ring.
But Penelope had no intention of prolonging this “dog game,” no matter how desperately they pleaded.
‘Do they have any idea how exhausting it is to treat people like dogs?’
Besides…
“…This only benefits you two, doesn’t it? Why should I do this for you?”
She had only done it thinking it was an evil deed. But if the knights felt no malice—if they actually enjoyed it—then it wasn’t evil at all!
‘They actually liked it?!’
[Emergency…! Emergency…!]
[Demonic energy increase… reduced…!]
Demonia, too, sounded the alarm. The guilt Penelope felt from treating others like dogs had plummeted, and she could no longer gain notoriety among the knights for it.
‘This dog game is just a waste of time now.’
She already barely had enough hours in a day to commit misdeeds. She wasn’t about to waste them on something so pointless.
With a huff, she turned her head away.
“Hmph. No. I don’t want to. I’m bored of treating you like dogs. I’m tired of it.”
“Lady Penelope!”
“How could you betray the deep affection you showed us the day you gave us these green ribbons!”
“I never did that.”
“But we remember it clearly!”
The two knights begged before her.
The sight of two burly men whining was unpleasant to behold.
Penelope considered calling a maid to have them thrown out… then paused, resting her chin on her hand as a new thought crossed her mind.
Seeing her expression change, the knights’ eyes shone brightly.
“We’ll do anything you command!”
“Shall we bare our bellies right now?”
She waved a hand dismissively at their eager response.
Then, with deliberate slowness, she spoke.
“There’s no need for that. But tell me… have you ever done many bad things?”
“…Excuse me?”
