Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 8

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 8

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The garden of the Blanche Estate where fresh autumn flowers bloomed in full splendor.

There, what could truly be called a perfect tea set was arranged.

Limited edition desserts from the most popular patisserie in the Royal Capital and a hammock hung between the towering trees.

The aroma of black tea made from the finest leaves was so rich it didn’t pale in comparison to the flower fragrance.

All of this was the triumphant result of my tantrum an hour ago, when I shouted that I wanted to drink tea and demanded a spot be prepared in the garden.

I leaned back against the plush armchair and stretched luxuriously.

‘Maybe I actually have a talent for throwing tantrums.’

This leisure, this comfort, this abundance.

It was so comfortable I worried it might become a habit.

I was leisurely sipping tea while skimming through a law book I’d brought from the study when—

“Hiccup.”

“…?”

Leo, who had been sleeping curled up like a puppy in the hammock, suddenly startled awake and bolted upright.

Thanks to having his hair trimmed recently, his clearly visible face was sparkling brightly.

Moreover, having slept so sweetly, his hair was sticking out in all directions like a crow’s nest, making him incredibly adorable.

I hid my face melting like butter behind my hand propped under my chin.

“S-sorry… I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but the hammock was so cozy…”

Yes, that was exactly what I was aiming for.

It had been exactly 30 minutes since I’d made Leo lie in the hammock under the pretense of checking if it was securely tied.

‘He must be hungry after waking up from his nap.’

I gestured with my chin toward the seat across from me.

Leo hurriedly got down from the hammock and sat in the chair opposite me. On his knees.

I’m not trying to scold him.

‘It’s fine, sit comfortably like me.’

“With a perfect example of proper etiquette right before your eyes, you’re going to sit there so vulgarly?”

“L-like this?”

Leo crossed his legs like me and lifted his chin high as if looking up at the sky.

He didn’t look particularly comfortable, but it was better than before, so it didn’t matter.

“Hmph, now you look presentable.”

Due to his small stature for his age, only Leo’s face peeked above the table.

I scooped up a generous spoonful of chilled lemon sherbet with a teaspoon.

Because he was excessively lifting his chin to mimic me and looking at the sky, Leo seemed unaware of what I was doing.

I smiled triumphantly and brought the teaspoon close to Leo’s mouth.

‘Come on, Leo. Say ah.’

“Open your mouth, Jui-bam-tol.”

“Y-yes.”

Not knowing what it was, Leo squeezed his eyes shut and opened his mouth slightly, as if swallowing poison.

I fed the sherbet into the child’s open mouth.

The reaction came immediately.

Leo, who had been moving his lips with his eyes tightly shut, opened his eyes wide and looked at me.

He was so excited that his small lips, which had been tightly closed, opened and closed like a baby bird.

“Wow! It’s cold— no, it’s incredibly sour!”

And then he started flicking his tongue.

Oh my, my heart! My heart aches from Leo’s adorableness.

While Leo was dazed by the sweet and sour taste, I quickly scooped another spoonful of sherbet and fed it to him, spoon and all.

“This is a reward for maintaining the hammock. Finish it all right here.”

“Y-yes!”

Leo gripped the spoon firmly and moved his hand diligently.

Though he occasionally made pained sounds from the lemon’s sourness and squinted one eye like winking, he seemed to like it as his spoon moved without rest.

It was an even more enthusiastic reaction than when he ate the fondant chocolate before.

‘Extreme love for lemon flavor… memo…’

I watched contentedly while mentally noting Leo’s preferences.

Leo, who had very carefully put the last bite in his mouth, suddenly looked up at me with a resolute expression.

Of course, it didn’t last long before he flinched and avoided my gaze.

I quietly waited for Leo to speak. And finally.

“Belinda, thank you for giving me this lemon-flavored snowflake at the end.”

“…?”

Huh? At the end?

“I’ll prepare to leave by today.”

Leave? Where? Why?

At my sharp gaze, Leo lowered his head and fidgeted with his hands.

“While I’ve been here, I made… too many mistakes…”

“Mistakes?”

“I couldn’t even dust the blankets properly and made a mess of them, I lazily stayed in bed for days using illness as an excuse, and also, actually, I dozed off just now too. So I…”

Leo’s voice began to tremble as he confessed his faults.

“I couldn’t properly assist Belinda. I’m… a useless servant.”

His calm final words were deeply tinged with what seemed like familiar resignation.

I stared intently at Leo’s round crown as he hung his head.

Come to think of it, Leo had been busily moving around looking for things to do since he arrived here. Every time I took work away from him, he visibly deflated.

I belatedly realized the reason.

‘He was trying to prove he deserved to be here.’

Just like I did when I stayed at my aunt’s house.

Back then, I desperately craved just one word of praise from my aunt. Even though I did housework until my hands cracked, I never once heard a word of thanks.

Without realizing it, I reached out toward Leo’s small, round head.

Rustle, rustle. The feeling of his thread-like hair getting tousled in my hand was ticklish.

“…B-Belinda?”

Leo’s cheeks, with his hair now completely disheveled, turned red as apples.

His eyes were shaking wildly, and seeing him tensely clenching both fists…

‘He must be scared.’

I quickly hid my hand under the table. I had wanted to comfort him, telling him he’d worked hard.

What I wanted from Leo was simple. Just to grow up healthy without getting hurt.

But for Leo, who thought he had to prove every moment that he deserved to be here, nothing could be more difficult than that.

After thinking for a moment, I deliberately opened my mouth with an indifferent expression.

“Well, you are pathetic and tiny as a chestnut, so you’re quite useless.”

At my words, Leo’s body shrank like a deflating balloon.

I tapped the empty sherbet glass with my teaspoon to draw Leo’s attention.

“So for now, eat whatever your master gives you and bulk up your body.”

Leo blinked his big eyes repeatedly as if he didn’t quite understand, then asked cautiously.

“Is that… what I should do? Eat hard and grow big?”

“That’s the only way you can become a servant useful to me later. When that time comes, I’ll keep you by my side forever and work you like a dog.”

At that moment, Leo’s smile blooming brightly under the sunlight left me speechless. And stopped my heartbeat too.

On his flushed cheeks were dimples that couldn’t be fully expressed in illustrations.

I remembered some writer’s expression that dimples were traces left when an angel, while particularly doting on a lovely child, accidentally poked their cheeks.

Leo’s smile, carrying the angel’s mistake on both cheeks, held a richer fragrance than any flower in this garden.

“Yes, yes! I’ll work hard! I’ll eat hard and grow big to become a useful big chestnut!”

Having no confidence in managing my expression, I hastily opened my fan to cover my face.

Leo smiled at me.

He showed me such a lovely smile!

Huff, huff. Heart, calm down. Leo gets scared when I smile.

I had just managed to compose my expression and slightly lowered my fan when—

“Miss Belinda.”

The Maid Supervisor, who had appeared without me noticing, quietly called my name.

“The young master is urgently looking for you, miss.”

Her tactless interruption at such a perfect moment, and the business she brought, immediately soured my expression.

There was no way Schubel would be looking for me for anything good.

I crossed my arms and arrogantly tilted my head.

“Am I some damn dog that comes when called and goes when told? Tell that bastard to come find me himself if he has business.”

I waved my hand dismissively, meaning she should stop interrupting my intimate time with Leo and get lost quickly.

But the Maid Supervisor didn’t back down and stubbornly added one more thing.

“The notary for the will has arrived at the manor.”

I suddenly became a dog and had no choice but to eagerly follow behind the Maid Supervisor.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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