Chapter 27
Olga chose her words carefully and spoke as gently as she could. She was trying to be considerate of Ibi, who had only recently woken up after experiencing something terrible.
“Don’t worry, Lady Ibi. The bad person who tried to abduct—no, secretly take you away was caught by the Duke, who went ‘Grr, you rascal!’ and nabbed him.”
“Zzu….”
(It wasn’t “Grr, you rascal!” but more like crunch, crack, Olga.)
Ibi thought that to herself but quietly accepted the kindness. Beside her, Lisa nodded.
“Also, the maid who helped that bad person has been caught too.”
“That’s right! Our head of household figured it out just in time and they caught that maid right before she could cross the border. Wow, it was thrilling.”
“Yes. So you don’t have to worry about bad people coming again. Of course those people will be pun—”
Lisa, who had been speaking with a smile, casually changed her words.
“No, they got a smack.”
“Y-yes. They got a good spanking.”
A spanking named “decapitation,” huh…?
When Ibi didn’t react, Olga and Lisa began to fidget anxiously, as if regretting that they might have said too much and wondering, Did she notice everything? Ibi glanced around, then covered her eyes with both hands.
“Zzu-zzut zzuppi. (Scary smack.)”
“Oh my, right? A smack is scary!”
“If anyone bullies Lady Ibi again, we’ll smack them all!”
Only then did the two breathe easy and laugh. Whew. Protecting adults’ childlike hearts is hard work, Ibi thought, feeling a bit proud.
Then Olga shared another piece of news.
“Oh, right. The maid who took care of Ibi will be severely punished too. The one who was on duty when Ibi was being taken.”
“Zzu?”
Huh? Why her?
“She left you alone on duty so you were abducted. She should be punished.”
“Zzu-zzut?!”
Ibi shook her head in surprise.
“Zzuppippi! (No way!)”
What could an ordinary maid have done against an intruder who planned the abduction?
“If an innocent person dies because of me, I’ll have nightmares for ten years!”
“Zzu-zzut zzu! (I must tell the Duke!)”
Ibi jumped up urgently and imitated the Duke’s stern expression.
“Oh my, that face.”
Lisa’s eyes widened at the clear meaning behind the expression.
“You want to go see the Duke? To rescue that maid, perhaps? How sweet of you, Lady Ibi…”
Lisa looked moved and proud of Ibi, while Olga wore a worried expression as if thinking, “She’s too kind, what should we do?” Olga nodded.
“Shall we go out right away? It’s the middle of the morning meeting now… but since you just woke up and might feel stiff, a walk will do nicely until it’s over.”
“Wait, Olga.”
Lisa glanced at the maid, who stood awkwardly almost unnoticed.
“The head of household ordered that when Lady Ibi wakes up she must wear a certain item, didn’t he? Could you bring it?”
“Huh? But that’s my job…”
“…oh my.”
Lisa smiled gently, but there was a shadow on her face.
“What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine too. I’ll be offended if you don’t listen.”
“Gah. L-Lady Lisa, do as you wish!”
When the pleasant-looking Lisa smiled darkly, it was chilling.
Lisa, scary….
“Lady Ibi. Please stay still a moment.”
From the box the maid had brought, Lisa took something out and carefully wrapped it around Ibi’s neck, tying it behind.
“All done.”
“Zzu?”
Ibi checked her reflection in Lisa’s hand.
It was a red ribbon Lisa had tied around her neck. A cute pink diamond ornament hung at the ribbon’s center.
“Zzuang! (Wow!)”
Pretty!
And it looked extremely expensive!
Ibi’s eyes widened and she quickly hopped down to the floor. The moment her foot hit the ground—
Boing.
Boing boing.
Every time she stepped, the ribbon made a cute little sound. Lisa smiled contentedly as she explained.
“That ribbon is a magic tool that makes sound in time with your movement. If you move much faster than normal, it will sound an alarm.”
Some sort of safety device?
“It doesn’t have tracking or attack magic.”
So it’s just a flashy safety gadget?
“If you trigger it or if the alarm rings for a certain period, the head of household will be summoned to your location. It also has a recording function to verify dangerous situations.”
Now that’s a gadget worth the money!
Seeing that they’d given her something like this… maybe the talk of adopting her as a daughter wasn’t just empty words, Ibi thought, feeling a warm flutter. She walked a few steps for no reason.
Boing boing boing.
“You’re insane…”
Olga collapsed, nose bleeding.
“Lady Lisa! I’ve brought the lukewarm water, the warm towels, porridge and snacks to fill her empty stomach—what’s wrong, Olga? Why are you fainted?”
“Zzu-pit! (Snacks!)”
Pew pew pew!
“This—ugh.”
Thud.
After Olga, even Baird fainted. Nosebleeds flowed from the siblings’ noses. Lisa moved so Ibi wouldn’t see the sight.
“This way. Now, shall we go see the head of household?”
“Ppi.”
Boing boing. Gathering snacks, Ibi and Lisa left the room, leaving the bloodied siblings behind.
Even today the Duke’s retainers were hard at work.
“We cleared out the piles that had been driven into the Riches Plain.”
“We’ve repaired the roads and public security, so the fruit orchards and flower farms in the Riches area should recover.”
“Since the winters are mild here, it could be a good tourist spot… My lord?”
The retainers paused their reports and looked at the Duke. Seated perfectly upright, the Duke wore his usual cold, expressionless face. But his gaze had been fixed on the corner of some papers for some time, and he kept scribbling. On closer inspection, what he was doodling with his pen wasn’t notes about the report at all. It was flying squirrel doodles.
There were already ten little flying squirrels drawn; every time he finished one, the corner of the Duke’s mouth twitched upward.
“E-excuse me, my lord? Are you listening?”
“Do I look like I’m playing?”
The Duke glared at the retainer who pointed at the doodled page. With a perfectly straight face, he feigned innocence and the retainers were at a loss for words—until the Duke himself spoke.
“A bold remark I heard the other day won’t leave my head.”
“A bold remark?”
Who would be bold enough to say that to my lord?
“She called me ‘daddy’.”
“……!”
At the word “daddy,” the retainers tensed reflexively.
“But she hasn’t humanized yet, has she?”
“Yes. But I heard it clearly. It wasn’t ‘father,’ it was ‘daddy.’”
“…….”
The retainers exchanged suspicious looks.
“Not ‘father’ but ‘daddy.’ Hearing that made my chest burn. I felt an urge to break something—an almost violent impulse.”
‘My chest is burning?’
‘Violent enough to want to smash things?’
‘This is serious!’
The retainers began to sweat. They knew the Duke doted on Ibi, but the topic of a daughter had been a sensitive issue for him for a long time. So however much he cherished the child, he wouldn’t tolerate the title ‘daddy.’ Seeing the retainers’ grim faces, they agreed on a plan: they would do their best to defend Ibi.
“My lord, please be merciful. Children do say things.”
“……What? Children all do that?”
“Of course. Children call out for their parents when they’re ill.”
“That’s right. My boy called ‘daddy’ and kept calling when he had a fever. He even mistook the butler for me and grabbed his hand.”
“It seems Lady Ibi is the same.”
“The same…?”
The Duke’s speech slowed, shocked. The retainers mistook his pause for confirmation and eagerly affirmed it.
“That’s right! Lady Ibi didn’t mean the Duke!”
“It was just a slip of habit.”
“The Duke is just her temporary guardian!”
“It meant nothing!”
“Exactly!”
Gnash.
They heard the sound of teeth grinding.
“My lord…?”
“Shut up.”
The retainers, who had been excited at having successfully protected Ibi, froze. The Duke’s black hair and fur cloak whipped through the air as a chilling darkness settled. His aura—like that of a high-level swordsman—rammed into the room.
“Ibi has promised to become my daughter. I am no longer her temporary guardian; I am her father.”
Slowly, a rolled document unfurled from the filing cabinet. It was an adoption application, already filled out carefully—only Ibi’s signature line was empty. The retainers, stunned, asked.
“T-that document… are you really going to adopt her? Why didn’t you tell us?”
“…….”
Why wouldn’t he? He had been confessed to—asked to be her father—and yet Ibi had offered no answer. This morning she had even shoved him out. Then the Duke realized something. Ibi might refuse the adoption. Ever since, the sight of the adoption form made his palms sweat.
“My lord? Wouldn’t it have been better to inform us beforehand?”
“…Do I have to report every single thing to you? Since when did you become so presumptuous?”
“N-no, of course not!”
The retainers swallowed the thought that they at least should have known the Duke’s family situation and bowed their heads. The Duke let out a hot breath and crossed his legs arrogantly.
“In any case, I’ve already decided. I will never send Ibi to another man.”
“Y-you’re serious….”
The retainers were greatly surprised by the Duke’s resolute decision. Wasn’t he the one who always longed for his lost youngest daughter? Because of that he had been indifferent even to the young masters. ‘The young masters still can’t get over thoughts of the youngest miss… If they found out about this, how would they react…’ The retainers fell silent with worry, and the Duke slammed one foot down on the table.
“Is there anyone who opposes Ibi becoming my daughter?”
One retainer hesitantly raised a hand.
“My lord—”
Swoosh!
“Now there isn’t, right?”
The retainer who stood was instantly silenced—his bangs sheared off in a chunk—and he collapsed foaming. The others trembled. But those who had served close to the Duke before mustered the courage to speak.
“N-no, we do not oppose it. There is only one issue that remains.”
“What will you do about Count Rusten?”
Right. There was still the problem of that man.
