Episode 40
“Is that how your mother raised you? I explicitly taught you to be kind to those around you! And you dare to raise a hand against someone?”
I looked at him, his anger radiating like heat, before turning my head to look at Lucian.
He stood rigid, pale, staring back at his grandfather.
“They are the people who dress you, prepare your meals, and manage everything your hands touch!”
Huh. Listening to this, something felt off.
……It seems he thinks Lucian hit Lena.
Since I was currently cradled in Lena’s arms, my body was shielded from his view.
As if to confirm my suspicion, the former Duke continued his reprimand.
“Yet, instead of being grateful to those who serve as your own limbs, you treat them like disposable toys?”
“I, I’m sorr… Hic!”
Lucian trembled violently, overcome with terror, struggling to catch his breath.
I did think he needed a sharp scolding.
But the sheer weight of Declan’s pressure was enough to break even a grown man.
It was far too intense for a child to bear.
If this continued, he might develop a lasting trauma, and his relationship with his grandfather could be permanently shattered.
It couldn’t be helped. I would have to intervene.
[Overwriting current timeline to Timeline 1.]
I let out a soft sigh, slipped out of Lena’s arms, and faced the former Duke.
“Grandfather, I think there has been a misunderstanding.”
“Y-You…!”
Upon seeing my face, the former Duke gasped, his jaw dropping in disbelief.
That’s right.
The former Duke of Papiope was the masked old man I had met at the underground auction house.
The very man from whom I had shrewdly extracted a wish ticket.
I continued speaking as if nothing were amiss, ignoring his shock.
“The one who was hit on the back of the hand by Lucian oppa was not the maid, but me.”
“What?”
“Oh, and for the record, I am not a servant, but Tania Papiope, who became your granddaughter as of yesterday.”
“Hah.”
As I held the hem of my dress and bowed politely, the former Duke pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose, looking weary.
Confused by the sudden shift in atmosphere, Lucian looked between me and the former Duke before carefully opening his mouth.
“……G, Grandfather, have you met her before?”
Turning my back to Lucian, I placed my index finger on my lips, signaling for him to keep it a secret from the former Duke.
Perhaps unable to tell his grandson, ‘This is a child I met when I went to the underground auction house to buy people,’ the former Duke quickly changed the subject.
“Ahem. More importantly! What do you mean by saying it was you, and not a servant, who was struck by Lucian? I believe an explanation is in order.”
“Exactly as I said. Lucian oppa didn’t hit a servant; he hit me.”
As if verifying the truth, the former Duke’s eyes narrowed, shifting toward Lucian.
Lucian bit his lower lip, glared at me for tattling, and eventually hung his head.
“……Yes, it’s true.”
“Lucian, I am deeply disappointed in you.”
Just as the former Duke was gathering his breath to unleash his anger once more, I stepped in.
“Wait a moment.”
Before he could continue, I began to mediate.
“I am the one who was hit, but Lucian oppa merely won a fair duel against me and performed the agreed-upon penalty.”
“……What? A duel?”
“Yes. A high-stakes, winner-takes-all game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.”
A look of absurdity flickered across the former Duke’s face.
I brazenly looked at Lucian, urging him to play along.
“Right, oppa?”
“Huh? Uh… yes.”
Seeing me suddenly take his side, he stammered, unsure of how to react.
Feeling frustrated, I winked at him aggressively from an angle where only he could see, and he finally nodded.
“Y, yes, it’s true.”
But the former Duke was not easily fooled.
“Absurd! Even if I grant you that there was a bet, using violence against a much younger child is…!”
“Grandfather!”
I grabbed the former Duke’s leg and shouted, stopping him mid-sentence.
“Please, calm down. I keep telling you that I, the victim, am fine, but it feels like you are pushing Lucian oppa too hard.”
The former Duke, who had been about to retort, pressed his lips together and stared at me blankly.
After a long silence, he waved his hand, dismissing Lucian.
“Lucian, go inside. I will speak to this child alone.”
“……Yes.”
Lucian glanced at me as he took hesitant steps away.
Once he had completely left, I bowed politely to offer an apology.
“I’m sorry. As you’ve realized, it was a lie that we had a fair duel.”
I use my precognition in a cowardly way, so I have never once lost at Rock, Paper, Scissors.
“Pfft-!”
At my small addition, I heard a sound from Lena nearby, as if she were struggling to suppress a laugh.
Feeling a surge of pride that I had made her laugh, I looked up at the Duke.
Declan, the former Duke, wasn’t a fool.
He must have known my excuse was an obvious lie.
He had sent Lucian away, knowing everything, just to talk to me.
Perhaps the fact that I immediately confessed it was a lie was unexpected; the former Duke’s eyebrows twitched.
“Why did you cover for Lucian?”
“Because I am truly fine. And I also felt sorry for him, trembling under your overwhelming presence, Grandfather. He is still just a child, after all.”
“……Aren’t you a child much younger than him?”
“I’ve lived such a rough life that I don’t cry over just being hit once on the back of the hand.”
I’d get a bruise, but what did that matter?
“It is true that oppa was wrong, but you were too harsh as well, Grandfather.”
“Not the Lucian who hit you, but I was the harsh one…?”
“No, both of you were.”
Again, I didn’t think what Lucian did was right.
The former Duke, who had intended to discipline his grandson only to be scolded by me instead, looked down at me with a complex expression.
Before he could argue, I provided another reason.
“Think about it, Grandfather. Since I covered for Lucian oppa today, he might see me in a new light, even though he disliked me before.”
“…….”
“I want to get along well with my oppa, so couldn’t you help us out just once?”
This was my way of asking him to let Lucian’s mistake slide this time.
The answer came surprisingly quickly.
“……Fine. Since you say you are fine, I will let it go this time.”
“Really?”
“However, Lucian’s attitude is clearly problematic. If he shows such behavior again, I will not overlook it, even if you try to protect him.”
“You’re right. If he doesn’t reflect on his actions after this, he should be scolded severely.”
I nodded vigorously, as if everything he said was gospel.
The former Duke stared at me with a bewildered expression for a moment before clearing his throat.
“Ahem. More than that, I am curious as to how you ended up here.”
“How? Well, I entered the Talent Development Center and won the adoption competition hosted by the Duke.”
“You know perfectly well that is not what I am asking.”
“Hmm?”
I blinked my eyes rapidly, fluttering my lashes as if I knew nothing.
The former Duke, apparently determined to bring up the underground auction house, eventually ordered Lena to leave as well.
“This won’t do. You, step aside for a moment. I need to have a conversation with this child alone.”
“Yes, understood.”
Lena obeyed and left the room immediately.
Once we were alone, he poured out the words he had been waiting to say.
“……Little one, did you know from the underground auction house that I was a member of the Papiope Duchy?”