324 – Prosperous Western Territory – 4
It is embarrassing to see a brown chick left alone and shivering.
‘They really left.’
Due to Duke Hyeonmyeong’s suggestion and the support of his maternal uncle, the duke was abandoned in an instant. No, officially it was entrusted to his cousins, so it wasn’t abandoned, but from the point of view of the little duke, it would be no different from being abandoned. If you’re a cousin you’ve never met since birth, you’re no different from anyone else.
This is cruel. Tossing a 10-year-old who loves to read in her room into the wild. Perhaps the Duke of Salon prefers lion-style parenting? However, even lions cherish their cubs.
“So-“
“Hey…”
First of all, I sneakily opened my mouth to comfort the little duke, who must have been overcome with a sense of betrayal and despair, but the reaction that came back was sad. Her body, which was already shaking, vibrated even more and shrunk.
“Honestly, hyung, when he’s expressionless, I’m scared too.”
‘Damn it.’
And misery was added to Erich’s whispered words beside him.
I don’t mean to frown on purpose, but I hear all the reviews saying it’s scary. This is the default expression, but isn’t it too much?
“So Gong—”
“Huh…!”
However, when the same reaction came back to Erich, who reached out to the little duke, instead of misery, a sense of satisfaction came over him. It’s not that you’re afraid of me, it’s that you’re afraid of everyone. I was relieved.
But it might have been better to be afraid of me rather than a fair fear. Taking care of your cousin is only possible when you can contact or talk to them, but how can you take care of cousins who are alone together as objects of fear?
‘What can I do with this?’
Should I hide and watch out of sight? No, then the Little Duke could fall into a panic. Having a scary cousin right in front of you and disappearing is a completely different problem.
“It’s the first cousin I’ve seen, so it seems very unfamiliar.”
While Erich and I were exchanging awkward glances, Marghetta, who had been watching the scene, approached with a gentle smile.
The Duke of Sox was wary of the suddenly approaching Marghetta, but fortunately it was a good reaction rather than the pitiful trembling he showed to me and Erich. It’s bittersweet, but understandable. Even from the perspective of the small duke, a bright woman would be less scary than a dull man.
“Nice to meet you, Princess Liliana. My name is Marghetta Varenti of the Duke of Varenti.”
Anyway, Margheta squatted down in front of the Duke and made her eye level. If the way she smiles and extends her hand is like a daycare teacher taking care of a child, then maybe it’s because she’s in the mood.
“Oh, I’m not a princess. I’m a duke…”
“Oops, I made a mistake. I’m sorry, Little Duke.”
When the Duke hesitantly opened his mouth at Marguetta’s greeting, Marghetta apologized in an exaggerated tone.
‘Oh.’
Then the 10-year-old little duke showed a conspicuously elated appearance. Her princess, Marghetta, calls her the Little Duke, so she seems proud.
“Yes. Princess Liliana is the heir to the small duke’s family. No matter how much she is a princess, you shouldn’t treat her carelessly.”
As Ma Jong-gong noticed the change and fired support shots, the trembling chick suddenly changed into a chick showing off her wings. Even so, being a chick is the same.
“That’s right. You’re young, but you’re a worthy successor.”
“Except for His Majesty, he is the highest.”
“It’s amazing. I wasn’t this confident at the age of the Duke.”
The Duke shrugged his shoulders even more at the outright praise from Louise, Irina, and Sera who followed. It’s a compliment that would be burdensome if you were a little older, but the duke is only ten years old.
“I’m the heir to the Duke of Salon, so it’s only natural that I’m amazing!”
He boasted in a childish tone, probably forgetting the concept he showed when he first greeted me. After all, 10 years old… The age to listen to others’ compliments straight away.
“It’s cute.”
“Sure.”
An answer came without hesitation at Erich’s words. It’s hard to know how to deal with it because I’m in a position where I’m afraid, but I can handle this kind of difficulty.
The future for the Duke of Salon is really bright.
Thanks to ‘Project: Our Little Duke is the best’, the Little Duke’s mood was relieved rapidly. Come to think of it, Marghetta has quite a few nieces and nephews, so she must be used to dealing with children.
‘Somehow skillful.’
Even Louise has a good affinity with Capybara, Irina has a younger sister, and Sera is full of will to become friendly with Erich’s cousin. There is no choice but to work out because four people who can be cute with all their might are attached to one person.
On the other hand, Ma Jong-gong has no reason to get used to children–
“It’s wonderful to see that a child is still strong enough to be a small duke.”
Suddenly, he showed me his will to get used to it by emphasizing the word small duke several times. Since the little duke of the Duke of Salon is cute, is it that he wants to make a little duke into the dukedom of Catoban?
“That’s right. I want our children to look like Ochon.”
“Whoops, right?”
So I returned the answer I wanted. In the first place, it was natural for aristocrats to marry and have children, so it was not an answer to avoid. It’s even weirder to avoid such an obvious answer.
So Gong-jak, who was hit directly by Hyeon-gyeong’s madness, had his self-esteem ascended with infinite praise, and Ma-jong-gong, who was almost forced to talk to Hyeong-gyeong, smiled with satisfaction after receiving a definite answer about his future. It was only natural that the atmosphere of the party was heightened thanks to this.
“Oh, torturer?”
The problem is that the heightened atmosphere is at risk of taking the Hell route again.
Tourists started to appear one by one as we moved to the nearby Heterogeneous Reserve. It was only natural that there were a lot of people in the tourist area, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, but unfortunately I saw the members among the tourists.
“…You guys were here too.”
“Originally, it was the first day, so I was going to move slowly, but Tanian asked me to go.”
When I turned my gaze to the words of Lutis who shrugged, I saw Tanian with a small smile on his face.
“Because there is a parish set up in a heterogeneous reservation area. This is the only parish that leads the heterogeneous people to faith, so I wanted to see it soon.”
I couldn’t bear to open my mouth because it was extremely religious and common sense reasons. If it was the only diocese that managed different races, I think I would have wanted to come even if I were a priest.
“By the way, brother. Who is that sister?”
At Tanian’s words, the eyes of the members all fell on the floor—to be exact, the little duke holding Marghetta’s hand.
‘Oops.’
Unfortunately, it was clear that the Duke of Shao, who was afraid of even his cousin, was frightened again by the gazes of his members.
You bastards. How did we soothe him?
“Are you Liliana the Little Duchess?”
As Marghetta hurriedly tried to appease the crying duke, the duke’s eyes widened at Ainter’s words.
This surprises me too. That Ainter knows about the little duke that I, my cousin, didn’t know about?
“Have you met?”
“Oh, no, I just heard that the daughter of the Wise Lord had brown hair and golden eyes.”
In addition, ‘If you see him hanging out with Hyunmyeong’s nephew, he must be a small duke.’ I even sent her eyes saying, and I understood. Certainly, he was an ordinary prince before the fall of the 2nd Prince faction. The degree of characteristics of the members of the duke family is likely to be in the head.
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“Little Duke? It’s an honor to see the next Duke!”
Anyway, Lutis, who burst into laughter at Ainter’s explanation, approached the Duke with strides.
The approach of a red-blooded, large fellow. It was okay for the duke to cry in shock, but the fact that the royal family recognized him was enough to give the duke courage that he didn’t have.
“…Sigh.”
Of course, there are things that are impossible even with courage.
I guess I didn’t know that because I was still 10 years old. Too bad.
“Huh?”
And the little duke’s sobbing made Ryutis panic. It was satisfying to see the normally impudent guy not knowing what to do.
***
The party that started out with seven people at the inn has grown to twelve people.
I don’t have any specific complaints. The Duke of Salon is also his baby’s cousin, so he can take care of him willingly, and the other four are also members of the club, so they are familiar characters. If you don’t know at all, you might be reluctant, but you can tolerate this much.
To be honest, since I was in a situation where I was tormented by Hyeongyeong-gong just a while ago, I want to be like that no matter who sees it.
“Duke Little. I bought too many of them. Can I eat them together? It’s a waste to throw them away.”
In the meantime, it was spectacular to see Prince Ryutis, who made the little duke cry, handing him candy to soothe him.
It’s unexpected. Even if a child cries, ‘it sounds like a knight because the crying is so loud.’ He made it look like he would laugh and was so considerate. Even though he was a rugged man, he still had affection for children, but he was meticulous.
“Okay, Joe. It’s a waste to throw away what you’ve paid for, so I’ll comply with your request.”
I smiled naturally at the sight of the little duke receiving the candy even though his voice trembled. Not only me, but the others who were watching the two of them, as well as Prince Ryutis, who was giving them candy, were laughing. Even the little duke with candy in his mouth.
To be so happy that he only ate something sweet, is it possible that Hyungyeonggong is the kind of person who forbids snacks from his children?
‘It can’t be.’
There’s no way a person who drinks every day would be cold-hearted about the snacks his daughter would eat. If so, you have no conscience.
If that’s the case, it just means that the child is happy even with trivial joys.
‘A cute child.’
He smiled again. If there is a duke like that in the Katoban family, I am confident that I will take care of it with love.
According to the term ‘heterogeneous sanctuary’, various races that could not be seen elsewhere came into sight. If you turn your head to the right, you can see a dwarf, and if you turn your head to the left, you can see a beastman.
It is strange that so many different races are gathered, but we are now in a commercial district for tourists. There are separate residential districts for each race, so it is unlikely that disputes arise due to race differences.
‘There are a lot of elves.’
Also, there were elves selling souvenirs and food all over the commercial district.
Your ears are more pointed than mine. In human terms, he looks like he’s only in his 20s. Anyone can see it’s an elf. Unlike me, who is of mixed blood, a pure elf.
‘It would have been nice if I had come with my mother.’
Dozens of elves visible right now. How nice it would have been if I could see so many of my own people with my mother. How proud he would have been if he had been able to show his fellow tribesmen that he had become a member of the duke’s family by coming out to the human world instead of being in a heterogeneous sanctuary.
‘…The same kind.’
Bitter feelings came rushing in. Do the elves of this reserve consider us mother and daughter to be of the same kind?
My mother, who ran away from the reservation about 150 years ago, said she had never had any contact with her people in the reservation since then. Of course, her mother said she doesn’t regret leaving the reservation, and I’m not ashamed of the Cato Ban blood flowing in my body either.
However, that is the idea of a mother and daughter who have adapted to the human world. Will my own people, who are far from the human world, think the same?
‘I don’t know.’
It’s a question I’ve had for a long time, but a question that hasn’t been solved yet. He may have been avoiding coming to the Sanctuary because of this question.
But since we’ve come this far, we can’t avoid it all the time—
“Ariadne?”
My footsteps stopped for a moment.
“Oh my gosh, seeing as she sweeps the floor like a broom, she must be Ariadne.”
I can’t forget forever, but I heard a name that no one speaks of.
As I slowly turned my gaze towards the voice, I saw an elf woman smiling cheerfully. As soon as her eyes met her eyes with the elf who was making cotton candy, she opened her mouth again.
“…Uh, isn’t that Ariadne?”
“…….”
I met a fellow countryman who knew her mother.