Chapter 03…
The Villainous Heir’s Daughter?!
“……!”
At that moment, the servants all straightened their posture at once and lined up in a row.
I immediately realized that the owner of the laughter was none other than Marquis Leo.
I turned toward the door along with them.
This was my first time seeing him in person.
What would Marquis Leonardo actually look like?
‘Because of his reckless behavior, his only daughter died young… I’ve been wanting to see that handsome face of his.’
I still remembered his last line clearly.
It was the scene where he raged furiously at the Duke and the Shablin family for abandoning him.
‘You senile old bastard! Do you think I have nowhere else to go except here? I’ll never come back to this miserable house again, so remember that!’
He had gone on a fiery rampage, not caring at all about the young daughter who had been abandoned alongside him.
The description from that time suddenly dug into my chest.
‘His only daughter, Erusha, trembled in fear.’
‘To be thrown out of the house overnight… this is the worst.’
Especially someone as soft-hearted and fragile as Erusha, how great must the shock have been?
Her father wasn’t someone she could rely on either.
As I shook my head, the heavy sound of friction echoed and the door began to open.
Through the gap, a slightly cold breeze entered along with a thick fragrance. It was deep, fresh like blooming flowers, and sweet.
‘What is this? This almost intoxicating scent?’
Could it be the enchanting fragrance unique to Marquis Leo that I had only read about in text? It was said that people would fall for him just by catching a whiff of it.
To me, however, it was nothing more than an over-the-top scent.
“HAHAHA!”
Marquis Leo burst into hearty laughter as he strode inside.
His long, flowing silver hair and golden eyes instantly brightened the room. With his long limbs and tall stature, the vast mansion suddenly felt small.
His overwhelming presence made me frown slightly.
‘Wow, the novel didn’t exaggerate at all.’
I widened my eyes, wondering if that insane level of beauty could really belong to a human.
Skin smoother than sculpture, long and elegant eyes, a perfectly balanced nose bridge, even his philtrum and lips were handsome.
His tall, well-proportioned body with neatly defined muscles, and a radiant face that seemed to emit light… he truly looked like a humanized elf.
Jewels dangled from his ears and neck, adding even more brilliance to his already dazzling appearance.
A flawless beauty with no equal.
His looks were so unreal that one could forget he was a trashy father.
‘Is he an angel?’
I stared in admiration for a moment before snapping back to my senses and frowning.
I had momentarily forgotten that this man was the reckless father I needed to reform.
Then I noticed the half-empty liquor bottle in his hand. Looking closer, his cheeks were slightly flushed and his steps a bit unsteady.
‘As expected, he’s drunk.’
Considering Marquis Leo was said to be drunk 365 days a year, it made sense.
“Roro! Where is Roro?”
Roro?
As he searched for someone, Helen quickly signaled Abbott again. It looked like they were about to send me away, so I hurriedly ran toward Marquis Leo.
“Abudi!”
The servants’ surprised gazes all turned to me at once.
Marquis Leo also tilted his head in confusion and looked down at me.
I clasped my hands together and smiled as brightly as possible.
Flattering him already felt cheap and humiliating, but I had to get his permission to hire a tutor.
‘The Marquis probably won’t agree. He thinks a child as young as you doesn’t need advanced education.’
Even though Abbott believed it was hopeless, I couldn’t just give up without trying.
Marquis Leo stared at me intently, narrowing his eyes.
Then he suddenly spoke.
“Roro?”
He spread his arms wide and looked around at the servants in confusion.
“Since when did Roro dye his fur purple?”
“……Huh?”
Woof! Woof!
At that moment, barking was heard from somewhere, and the servants approached Helen, handing something over to her.
A fluffy, snow-white creature with perked ears… a Spitz.
Helen carried the puppy over to the Marquis.
“Roro is here, Marquis. That child is your daughter, Lady Erusha.”
“What?”
Only then did he blink at me.
Did he just mistake me for a dog?
It seemed this father was so drunk he couldn’t even tell his own child apart from a puppy.
He stared at me for a long time, then suddenly his expression darkened as if splashed with cold water.
“…Right. My mistake. You’re small, so I got confused. But why isn’t the child asleep yet? Take her away and put her to bed.”
Whoosh.
He tossed the liquor bottle into the air, and the startled servants rushed to catch it.
Sway, sway.
As he walked past me, my jaw dropped.
‘He’s really ignoring me like this?’
It had clearly been a long time since he’d seen me.
He took the puppy from Helen and smiled sweetly.
“Roro. Daddy’s here.”
Smack.
He even kissed Roro.
What is this?
Even though I wasn’t the real Erusha, I felt like tears might start pouring out from shock and hurt.
‘I want to leave. I want to smack the back of his head and leave right now.’
That’s supposed to be a father?
But I desperately suppressed my anger and ran up to him with a smile.
“I waited for you, Abudi!”
“For me?”
Marquis Leo stopped and looked down at me again. When I stepped closer, he took a step back.
“?”
Was it because it had been so long since he’d seen his daughter that he needed some distance? If so, I could respect that a little.
I stepped closer again.
He took two steps back and asked suspiciously,
“What is it? Why were you waiting for me?”
“Hm?”
His eyes were full of wariness.
Well, it made sense. Erusha had never approached him first like this before.
I took a deep breath.
Then, resolutely, I spoke.
“Erusha has a request.”
“…A request?”
All kinds of uneasy emotions flickered across his eyes. Then he spoke firmly.
“If that’s the case, there are plenty of others you can ask. I don’t know what it is, but the servants will handle it.”
After firing off his words rapidly, he turned his body as if ready to flee.
I quickly stopped him.
“Erusha!”
“!”
“Erusha needs a teacher. Erusha wants to learn!”
“A teacher?”
That, you didn’t expect, did you?
Giving a tutor to a daughter he ignored shouldn’t be difficult.
And if that tutor helped my genius reach grandfather’s ears, I might avoid being kicked out!
I clasped my hands tighter and pleaded more earnestly.
“Erusha wants to study too. Erusha needs a teacher!”
“…….”
The Marquis narrowed his eyes in displeasure.
Roro jumped out of his arms, barking, but he paid no attention.
Come on, just agree already.
The smell of alcohol and that overwhelming scent was too much for a five-year-old.
But the Marquis spoke firmly.
“No.”
“Huh?”
Why not? It’s just a tutor!
His eyes suddenly became clear, as if he had never been drunk, and he began to speak passionately.
“Do you even know what kind of studies they force on you? The tutors of the Shablin ducal house are all utterly ruthless. They are shameless people who teach fifteen-year-old material to five-year-olds.”
“…….”
“Do you want to end up like your cousin Oscar, already plagued by dark circles at the age of six? Buried in homework every night?”
Aren’t they just doing addition and subtraction anyway?
For me, children’s lessons would be ridiculously easy.
“You don’t need to step into that annoying old man’s den. Don’t even dream of having a teacher.”
“!”
With that, the Marquis completely turned away, as if there was nothing more to discuss.
