ALL NOVEL Chapter 11
“Excuse me, Duke.”
“What.”
“Have you ever gone out to buy something with your children?”
“…That’s a nonsensical question.”
His eyebrows narrowed slightly.
“It’s not my job to go to the market. Even if I want something else, I just have to call the merchant.”
“Ah…”
This is the spirit of a VVIP.
They don’t go out to buy groceries. The market comes to them.
“But you went to the market with me today?”
“I was the one who unexpectedly adopted you and bewildered the servants. As a master, I should know how to clean things up like that.”
“Aha.”
“But why did you ask about my sons?”
“You said earlier that this was the first time you saw merchants being so defenseless!”
“It was.”
“If you had gone out together with your sons when they were younger, you would have seen a similar reaction!”
“The basis is.”
“…Hmm.”
What should I say?
‘Why do you think it’s touching to see a gangster picking up a kitten and raising it?’
I tried to imagine this example, but if I said so—
‘So you’re saying I’m a gangster?’
…is the only response I think I’ll get in return. Someone, give me some custom training for villains.
Fortunately, the Duke didn’t expect long from me.
“There’s no need to worry. It’s not an expression you’ll see again anyway.”
“Do you care about that?”
“Yes.”
Oh, how honest.
However, the Duke’s next words immediately took away my admiration.
“If nobles could make the walls of their hearts come down in front of me like that… I would be able to stab them in the back much more easily.”
Hey, villain!
After confidently reciting, he looked at me and smiled.
“You can talk as much as you want about what we just shared. No one will believe me anyway.”
I don’t have ten lives, so why would I speak about that.
Well, by the way.
“…Wouldn’t it be possible to use the same way used on employees on nobles?”
“Hmm, which way?”
“I asked, ‘How dare I wear the same coat as Your Grace?’ and the Duke replied, ‘It’s natural because you’re my daughter.’”
“I did.”
“The employees were impressed. The fearsome Duke called a girl from an orphanage his daughter!”
“…Is that the end?”
The Duke sighed.
“‘A man in power adopts an orphan.’ This is just a common element of a new drama and shouldn’t be highly evaluated as a ‘way.’ I guess those at the clothing store were particularly emotional.”
“Hm? Of course, that alone doesn’t explain it. The adoption of an orphan by a powerful person is usually a good story, but honestly, the Duke’s notoriety is so enormous that adoption alone can’t be glorified.”
“…”
His eyes became cold.
Ah, did I speak too harshly? But! I already kicked him in the shin once at the orphanage and was even prepared to die!
“So! In addition to adoption! We need a plus alpha!”
“…”
The Duke’s silence is long. He wants me to tell him before he kills me? Since I was given a chance, I had to use it!
“What we need here is the adopted daughter’s narrative. I’m still scared of the Duke. I was trembling and said ‘How dare I’ right? Can you see that my self-esteem is extremely low?”
“…”
“Right then! The Duke said, ‘You’re my daughter.’ And not in front of people who needed to be seen, but in a local store! This is important. Honesty is the selling point!”
Before I knew it, strange words were flowing out of my mouth. I think I know what it is. This is the sales pitch of the scammers who ruined my twenties.
…Damn, I didn’t want to remember.
Yet my mouth didn’t stop. Well, it’s not like I’m cheating the Duke. If you lose something, you must gain something!
“Honestly! The Duke’s adoption of an orphan is more like the beginning of a ghost story than a good story. But when the interaction with the adopted one comes out, it turns into a touching narrative and makes the employees smile.”
“…”
“It may not apply to everyone, but anyway, here’s my analysis. That’s it.”
I barely finished the explanation.
To be honest, I didn’t even expect the Duke to listen seriously. Surprisingly, he listened to everything in silence and seemed to be thinking deeply about something.
Um… did it work?
Or is he trying to figure out where to throw me away like a fraud? Finally the Duke raised his head, looked at me, and the first thing he said was—
“In other words, what you said earlier about how you dared to wear the same clothes as the duke was a lie made up out of the wit of the moment.”
Kegh.
“Oh, no! I was serious! To be honest, it was burdensome to receive clothes that were too expensive for my subject…”
“There is no need to talk at length. Prove your honesty with your actions.”
“Yes! What action?”
“Try burping.”
“…”
Hello. Did it not end on a warm note like ‘listen carefully from now on’?
“Sol, didn’t you tell me at the orphanage that you can burp anytime, anywhere?”
Yes, I said that bullshit because I didn’t want to be adopted by you.
The Duke crossed his legs and looked down at me with his cold blue eyes. Even his voice was cold.
“Was that a lie too?”
“…W-W-Wait!”
I tried pounding my chest and pressing my upper abdomen for no reason. What comes out of my mouth is…
“
Hiccup
!
Cough
! Just a little!”
“…Stop.”
“
Cough
! Really, if you just wait a moment… I’ll try to collect the gas…”
“Enough.”
What is enough? My life?
However…
Somehow, the Duke’s blue eyes seemed to be gently curved with a mischievous smile.
Was it even fun? Although his voice was still cold.
“I knew you lied because you didn’t want to be adopted. You couldn’t have said out loud, ‘I don’t want to live with the Duke,’ so it was a good improvisation for a child.”
“…”
“A smart child isn’t disliked.”
Oh, was this a survival route…?
“But only if it’s true wisdom.”
It wasn’t. I was still standing at the crossroads between life and death.
“I plan to introduce you as my daughter at a banquet for local nobles soon. I will judge you again after seeing your actions then.”
“Are you introducing me as your daughter?”
“We will start etiquette training tomorrow, so study hard. Behave without forgetting that you’re the daughter of the Schlager family.”
…Someone’s daughter.
This is what I wanted to hear most during the ten years I spent at the orphanage. I never thought I would hear it like this. It’s fine. The desire to have a guardian disappeared a long time ago. Because I’m an adult on the inside, I can play the role of a smart daughter perfectly.
I proudly puffed out my chest. I gave up imitating children anyway. Proving my usefulness is the way for me to survive for the next six years.
“Don’t worry! I’m much smarter than other ten-year-olds, right? If you teach me well, I’ll be a really useful kid!”
“…”
“If you invest just a little bit, you can get your money’s worth….”
That’s why, after six years, please don’t kill me.
“I’ll do well…”
It was only for a moment that I proudly puffed out my chest, and then my voice became servile. My head goes lower and lower.
…An old thought came to mind.
The director of our orphanage once said that he hoped children would never know the word ‘cancel adoption’.
The moment children learn the word ‘cancel adoption’, they also learn from somewhere, ‘You have to be nice to avoid your adoption being canceled.’
Some people might say that this is natural.
Children who have had a family since they were born are scolded even if they misbehave, and don’t have to worry about being kicked out. Even if they get pushed out the door, they can come back soon.
They’re different from us, who are afraid of being abandoned.
It was like learning that there are real and fake families in the world, and that we can never have a real family.
I thought it was just a painful memory from my childhood. Why did I come here again and tell him that I will be good and for him not to abandon me…
My voice became wet before I knew it. The tip of my nose is sore.
“Really… Well….”
“…You seem very tired.”
“I’m fine!”
I urgently wiped my eyes with my sleeve. Small tears spread on the light blue blouse I bought at a clothing store. I guess I cried a little.
I raised my head, pretending to be fine, and met the Duke’s blue eyes.
…Then, the Duke was seen awkwardly lifting his right hand and quickly placing it on his knee.
What was he going to do? You weren’t trying to grab me by the collar just because he was annoyed by the squealing, were you, you villain.
But there was no sympathy or anger in his eyes.
“I believe it, Sol.”
“Yes, please take care of me in the future.”
“…It really seems like there’s an adult inside you.”
“If it’s easier for you when I act like an adult, I’ll do that.”
“Enough. It would be troublesome if there were rumors like ‘Duke Schlager raised a dragon that turned into a human,’ so act like a child.”
This is difficult. I’m truly an adult.
But the atmosphere doesn’t seem bad, right? It’s true that I was given the opportunity.
Alright, in this case, let’s drive a wedge!
Among the boxes piled on the carriage seat, I reached for the small box I had deliberately placed on top. A small and cute box that can easily fit in my hand.
The person who deserves it is—
“Duke, here! It’s a gift.”
“…?”
The Duke looked as if he had received a piece of lettuce as a gift from a stray cat.
I explained hastily.
“They were thankful that I bought a lot at the clothing store and gave me a bonus. I deliberately received men’s accessoris from them. I wanted to say thank you to the Duke.”
“…”
“Of course, that means I spent the Duke’s money…”
After all, don’t children’s first Father’s Day gifts come from pocket money?
If a part-timer buys at least a can of coffee for a full-timer, their first impression will be at least a little better. I hope that social life tip applies here too.
First, the Duke accepted the box. The contents are light. What came out of the box.
“…Cuff buttons?”
“Yes.”
Blue glass cufflinks with shell decoration inside. I thought it suited the Duke’s eyes, which were reminiscent of waves.
It was pretty when I saw it in the store.
However, when the Duke was actually looking at the cuff buttons…
It’s once again noticeable that every single thing on the Duke’s body is of high quality. Compared to that, those cuff buttons
Look like a child’s toy.
I added stuttering.
“Well, if you don’t like it…”