Chapter 3

A Baby Cash Runs to the Duke - Chapter 3 (3/353)

☆ Chapter 3 ☆

A weak voice seeped out, trembling.

It was heart-wrenching.

Heart-wrenching, sorrowful, and oppressive.

The feeling of being left alone in the world.

The Duke's cold voice settled over my head.

"You're quite a sight."

Choked up.

"It's you, Dad!"

I raised my head and shouted.

Honestly, I didn't feel like he was my dad just because he appeared.

But...

"Sniff..."

Because of this wretched child's body, I felt as if I had been abandoned by my real father.

I tried not to cry, but my eyes were already brimming with tears.

The Duke's face appeared blurry.

On the contrary, this gave me courage.

Because I couldn't see his stiff and cold expression.

"It's you, Dad!"

Just like the Marquis has Clatie, I have you.

"I want to go home!"

Thick tears fell endlessly, and my nose felt stuffy.

I clenched my small fists and tightly hugged the Duke's legs.

As if I wouldn't let go.

"Dad, take me away—!"

* * *

"..."

"..."

It was too quiet. It seemed as if the sound of breathing could be heard from the surroundings.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Drip.

As the tears that had been held back fell, I saw the Duke of Paeraton's face.

It was a terrifying face.

Not because he had a fierce expression or a twisted face.

Rather, it was an almost expressionless face.

Yet, it felt menacing.

Hiccup.

I hiccuped involuntarily.

The Duke extended his hand toward me.

'No! I won't let go!'

I clung to his legs desperately.

Despite my best efforts to stick to him, the Duke of Paeraton easily picked me up with one hand.

Contrary to my expectations, he didn't throw me away or push me off.

Instead, he lifted me to his eye level and glared.

Our eyes met from a short distance, and his red eyes were clearly displeased.

Hmph, do you think I care?

I have to live here, or I'll surely die!

Hiccup.

Despite my bold (inner) declaration, hiccups kept escaping.

The Duke raised one eyebrow and started walking.

Holding me.

"Your Excellency."

A subordinate, who had been guarding him like a shadow, called out to the Duke of Paeraton, trying to dissuade him.

"We're going back."

But the Duke continued walking, leaving only those words.

I dangled from his waist as he moved.

'If we go back like this... will he take me with him?'

My heart raced.

Finally, finally, I can escape this terrible place!

As I stared at the door getting closer and closer without blinking, suddenly—

"Ah."

The Duke of Paeraton stopped abruptly.

'Why?'

I glanced up at him, but his expressionless face revealed nothing.

A creeping sense of unease crept up my feet.

Just as we were about to reach the exit, he turned his body.

I had no choice but to turn my back to the door, hanging from his waist.

'No, no... could it be...?'

My heart sank.

I clung to the Duke like a lifeline.

'No! Don't leave me!'

At that moment.

"AAAAH!"

A piercing scream echoed through the hall.

'What...?'

I looked at the source of the sound, still clinging to the Duke's chest.

"Ti, Tiya!"

"Miss!"

"What on earth...?"

Clatie's figure appeared amidst the chaos.

Her dress, which could be worth tens of billions in diamonds alone, was torn to shreds.

"My, my dress! My dress is...!"

Clatie, sitting on the ground, touched her tattered dress.

"Duke of Paeraton!"

The Marquis, who had wrapped his arms around Clatie's shoulders, called out to the Duke with a pale face.

'Could this be the Duke's doing?'

The Duke hadn't drawn his sword, nor was he close to Clatie.

But given the timing and the Marquis's attitude, it seemed likely.

"You've lost your sense of judgment. You should have coveted it."

The Marquis flinched at the Duke's cold words.

I was surprised by his reaction, not immediately rebelling but turning his head away.

The Marquis, who had seemed so enormous to me, lowering his stance so easily—

'He seems to have a guilty conscience.'

That was the most surprising part.

"A, Dad!"

Clatie called out to the Marquis with a tearful face, but he only comforted her without further confronting the Duke.

The Duke turned his body as if there was nothing more to see.

I sighed in relief, still hanging onto his chest.

'Thank goodness. He's not leaving me behind.'

Still, what could the Marquis be guilty about?

Leaving that question aside, I headed to the Duke of Paeraton's residence, escaping from the hellish Marquis's mansion.

* * *

'Why is the ceiling of the bed so ornate?'

I've been living in the Duke of Paeraton's residence for about ten days, but I still can't get used to it.

I stretched as I was surprised by the scene I saw as soon as I opened my eyes.

Sigh.

Even after a good night's sleep, my eyes were still heavy with sleep.

'What time is it?'

The people here never wake me up, no matter how late I sleep.

Thanks to that, I can sleep as much as I want.

And when I wake up, they somehow know and come into the room.

"Did you cough, Miss?"

Like this.

"Yes, good morning."

The maid sister gave a slight bow in response to my words.

I dipped my hands in the washbasin and glanced at the maid sisters standing like indoor decorations.

'They still have no expression today.'

I've been here for quite some time, but I've never seen them smile or even laugh.

And they only spoke and responded when necessary.

'They don't seem to be ignoring or disliking me...'

After washing my face, I struggled to get out of bed.

The bed here is higher than the ones I saw in my previous life, making it difficult for my small body to climb in and out.

Well, in my previous life, they said expensive beds were higher.

I've never had a bed before.

After standing on the rug, I tried a few small jumps.

'Good, my legs don't hurt.'

I used to feel pain in my calf muscles when I put pressure on them due to my injuries, but now I feel nothing.

I've been free from my cold for a long time.

Since coming to the Duke of Paeraton's residence, my health has rapidly improved.

The daily scrubbing and warm blankets at night have made me feel better than before I was sick.

'The Duke has never come by.'

Even though my recovery has been rapid, it's been over ten days.

During this time, I haven't seen a single hair of the Duke.

'Not that I was hoping he would come.'

From his attitude when we first met, it seemed he didn't consider me his daughter.

On the other hand, I had clung to him, calling him Dad.

Thinking about it now, I feel a bit embarrassed.

In my previous life, I was an orphan and had never thrown a tantrum.

Ugh, embarrassing.

'No, this is a thought I can have because I'm well-fed and warm.'

Feeling embarrassed or ashamed is a luxury in the face of pain, suffering, and hunger.

'I want to stay here forever.'

This thought swelled up in my heart like a balloon.

I haven't heard that I can stay here permanently yet.

'Well, before that, I need to figure out what kind of person the Duke is.'

At first glance, the Duke seems far from words like justice, protection, and peace.

'He looks more like a villain.'

Based on my long experience with villains, they can be divided into two types:

1. Villains like the Marquis, who need to be defeated.

2. Villains who are tyrants and masterminds but are actually (to the heroine) good people.

If it's the second type, it's a character I really like.

Given the flow, the Duke must be the second type! This stock, I've succeeded!

Finally, even a mouse hole can see the sun...!

I want to say that, but after reincarnating, I've been living a life of being betrayed by the devil.

When I thought the mouse hole would finally see the sun and made a reincarnation contract, I ended up in an even worse hell than before.

'None of what that guy said was true. I can't let my guard down.'

So, to figure this out?

'I need to earn my keep.'

I told the Duke that I could earn my keep, so I wanted him to take me.

As long as he doesn't give me impossible tasks like the Marquis did, I'm confident I can handle most things.

I've been working since I was a child in my previous life.

I'll work hard to earn my keep and observe the Duke's reaction.

If he's the first type, I'll lie flat and prepare to run.

If he's the second type, my life will be set!

'Great, let's go to work!'

I clenched my small fist.

* * *

"Miss...?"

"This is our job..."

The Duke of Paeraton's employees are always stiff.

Their movements are so precise, and they make no sound, so you might not even know they're there unless you look.

But now, the usually expressionless ones are unusually flustered.

"Please give us what you're holding first."

"I need to do it."

I replied simply and started scrubbing the window frame vigorously.

"But..."

"I came here to work."

"Excuse me?"

My words made the maid sisters even more flustered.

After exchanging glances, one of them spoke as if making a decision.

"It seems there's a misunderstanding."

"Miss, you are the youngest daughter of the Duke of Paeraton. Why would you come here to work?"

"If I could live here just because I'm the youngest daughter, I would have done so long ago."

Not in the Marquis's mansion.

"You ungrateful bastard, abandoned by your own father!"

The Marquis's words still stung my heart.

I denied it many times, but deep down, I knew the truth.

I was abandoned.

They said they would come to get me after ten nights, but they never did.

Not to mention, the Duke of Paeraton never made any promises to me.

'An abandoned child can never become a child again.'

The cold iron gate that closed in front of me in my previous life was reflected in the window.

"Miss, that's..."

The maid sister started to speak, but someone else stopped her.

I scrubbed the window as if to erase the reflection in the glass.

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

The cold voice from behind made me stop scrubbing and turn around.

In the afternoon sunlight, a handsome man, like a painting, stood there.

The Duke of Paeraton, my legal father.

'He's rarely home this early.'

I had asked about his whereabouts several times since living here, but I always got the same answer: he was away.

"I'm good at cleaning."

The window, which was already clean, became even more transparent.

I was quite confident.

But the Duke's eyes sharpened.

"Who told you to do this useless task?"

Useless task.

"I want to earn my keep—"

"Still as scrawny as ever."

Before I could finish, the Duke of Paeraton picked me up.

He looked at me as if I were something unpleasant and started walking.

I immediately felt uneasy.

He wouldn't just throw me away for being useless, would he?!

But we arrived at the dining room.

"Eat."

It sounded like a threat: "If you don't eat, I'll kill you."

My heart shrank, and I hurriedly reached for the plate.

The Duke watched me, whether it was eating or a struggle for survival.

His gaze was so sharp that I thought, "If I don't eat, he might not just kick me out but actually kill me!"

I stuffed the bread into my mouth without knowing where it was going.

But there was a limit.

"Can't you eat more than that?"

As soon as I stopped, the Duke asked.

His voice was so cold it chilled my bones.

I reached for the plate again but couldn't put any more food in my mouth.

I really felt like my stomach would burst.

"Can't you eat more?"

Is this a threat?

Is he planning to kill me by making my stomach burst!

'This, this magnified villain...!'