I Became the Daughter of a Disgraced Duke - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 31
When Lua Na got called “Lua,” it looked so cool that I asked everyone to call me “Li” instead.
But my friends called me “Iris” instead.
They thought it was funny how I’d scrunch my eyes whenever they called me Iris.
One day, when I was sulking because I didn’t like the nickname Iris, Lua Na told me something.
“But Iris suits you better, I think.”
The moment she said that, I stopped minding the name Iris.
From that day on, Iris became my name—one that only my closest friends were allowed to use.
“Anyway, that’s why Valentine and I spent three whole hours playing war games. He kept saying I had to get stronger if I wanted to rescue Iris, and he wouldn’t stop charging at me even though he kept losing. So I made him eat dirt twenty times.”
“Edrian. You reek of sweat.”
“Do I? Anyway, have you seen my brother? He said he’d come home early today since break starts tomorrow.”
“No idea. Is Barellmor sick? And he’s disappeared.”
“Where? Ah, why is he getting sick without my permission! He promised to play with me once break started!”
Edrian seemed frustrated about not being able to play with Barellmor, but later he went to the kitchen to get some medicinal tea for his brother and headed upstairs.
But Barellmor’s door was locked tight.
So the tea was divided between us instead.
“My brother only hates me. See how he wouldn’t open the door when I went? He would’ve opened it right away if you’d asked.”
After we spent the afternoon that way, Father came home.
“Iris. Father’s here―!”
His voice from the first floor echoed through the entire Mansion.
I stepped out of the playroom and headed for the stairs, where I saw Father covered head to toe in dust.
I wasn’t as close to Father yet as I was to Mother, but after being apart all day, I was genuinely delighted to see him.
“(Father, why are you just coming home now?)”
“Were you waiting for me?”
Father blinked his eyes with a blank expression on his face.
He was my father—of course I would have waited, even if not quite like I did for Mother.
“(Because you’re my father. I was so nervous—my heart was racing—but aren’t you nervous too?)”
Father, looking goofy with his mouth hanging open, strode up the stairs and lifted me into his arms.
The tight embrace that wrapped around my whole body felt as warm and cozy as when I’d take a nap curled up inside a wardrobe.
“My heart was racing more than yours, so don’t be cheeky about it.”
His hand ruffling my hair was rough, but it was warm.
And I think I came to like Father just a little bit more that day.
* * *
It became hard to see Barellmor’s face.
For the first three days, he claimed to be ill and stayed locked in his room.
The next week, he went to a friend’s house and I didn’t see him at all.
Ten days had already passed and the construction was nearing completion, yet even after Barellmor returned home, I still hadn’t caught a glimpse of him.
He wasn’t even in his room.
Every day he would disappear before I arrived and only show up after I left.
“He hides somewhere in the morning and at lunch, and only appears in the evening. Even when I ask him to take me with him, he won’t say anything.”
“Did you two have a fight?”
“I wish we had. It’s so frustrating! Why do I always have to chase after my brother? I wish he’d chase after me for once.”
So we began each day by searching for Barellmor.
“We’re not sure either, Young Master. The eldest young master wakes up very early and prepares bread and milk from the kitchen before we even start our work, then goes somewhere on his own.”
“You’re not hiding my brother, are you?”
“No, sir.”
Edrian went to the stables to search for Barellmor, while I went to find Uncle.
When I poked my face through the ornately decorated doors, I saw Uncle putting on a summer coat.
“Uncle, hi! Whatcha doing?”
“What are you doing.”
“What are you doing.”
“I need to visit the Imperial Palace. His Majesty has requested my advice on Magic because of the Crown Prince.”
“Valentine?”
“So you heard from Edrian about him.”
“Yeah. Valentine’s Edrian’s friend.”
So that’s why Uncle was in his room instead of the study today.
Before leaving, Uncle silently recited an incantation into the empty air.
Strangely, even though I’d never heard the language before, I could understand what he was saying.
― Let all suffering that clouds the mind be swallowed beyond the depths of memory.
Then an invisible force stretched taut in the empty air, and I felt it ripple through the atmosphere.
At least the force wasn’t directed at me.
“Gasp!”
“Did you feel the magical power?”
“What’s magical power?”
“Cassian didn’t know what magical power was—he was like a brick. Looks like you take after me.”
The large hand that had been reaching toward my head froze mid-air.
I thought he was going to pat my head the way Father did before leaving me here this morning, but instead he’d stopped short.
‘Why did he stop?’
Seeing Uncle look down at his own hand in confusion, I rose up on my tiptoes and pressed my head into his palm myself.
It felt like that cat rubbing its head against a tree branch, and the feeling delighted me.
“Hehe, hehehehe.”
“……So I’m not difficult for you, am I.”
“Yes! I like Uncle!”
He had the golden hair I’d imagined, eyes as blue as the sky, and an incredibly handsome face.
Of course I liked Uncle, who looked like the father I’d pictured in my mind all this time.
“But Uncle, what’s this magic?”
“I was practicing a technique I’ll need to use today.”
“Why?”
“The young prince keeps having fits. Whether it’s a memory planted by an evil spirit or something……”
Uncle spoke so quietly that only someone nearby could hear, then withdrew his hand from my head.
On my way to see Uncle off at the entrance, I ran into Edrian.
“Father, when will you be back this time? In a few weeks?”
“I’ll be back by evening.”
“Come back soon then! And bring something delicious when you do!”
“Edrian, stop bothering your brother like that―”
Edrian paid no attention to Uncle’s words and dashed off down the hallway.
Uncle swallowed a sigh as he watched his son disappear, then looked down at me.
“I’m off!”
“Safe travels, sir.”
“Yes. Safe travels! See you soon, sir!”
“……All right. You be good too.”
His eyes, fixed on me, curved ever so slightly into a smile.
* * *
I think Barellmor is avoiding me, not Edrian.
He hit my face during the fight with Edrian, felt bad about it, and hid away in a cave by himself.
Father said so this morning—the construction would be finished today.
‘So I have to tell him today.’
The bruise from last time disappeared quickly because Father applied magical salve every day, so there’s no need to apologize.
‘So Barellmor was pouty too.’
The timidity must be a trait from Father’s side.
I opened every room in the mansion from the basement trying to find Barellmor.
I searched the underground all morning, and in the afternoon, skipping lunch, I searched the rooms above.
Then I found it.
A suspicious ladder in the corner of the warehouse.
‘Something smells.’
Frightening yet thrilling, heart-racing yet tempting me to run—the scent of adventure.
I’m a coward, but my best friend Lua Na was the bravest child at the orphanage, so she was often caught up in trouble.
That’s why I learned to sniff out secrets better than anyone.
Examining the ladder, I noticed a faint crack in the ceiling.
‘Oh, a door!’
I climbed the ladder and pushed with all my might—the ceiling clicked open above.
Slide—I shifted the ceiling panel to the side.
Then a dark attic revealed itself.
The smell of dust was overwhelming.
It felt like a ghost might come pouring out at any moment.
‘Scary……’
If there was a bed monster, was there an attic monster too? If so, I’d better hurry back down.
This kind of exploring suited Edrian, not a coward like me—yet somehow I’d climbed up anyway.
‘I don’t think I’m even pouty.’
Maybe I’m not pouty but timid, or meek as a mouse instead.
Just as I was turning to head back down, a voice suddenly rang out from behind me.
“Who’s there?”
“Agh!”
I tried to scramble down in fright, but my feet tangled in panic, and instead I tumbled forward.
Crash!
As I flailed across the floor, covered in dust, I heard quick, deliberate footsteps approaching.
The attic monster. The attic monster is real.
I’d finally met it.
Terror blurred my vision.
A whimper rose in my throat.
“I—I’m not tasty. I’m really, truly not good to eat…….”
“Iris?”
“Please—please save me! Father! No, no, no—?”
The moment I lifted my head, my body was swept off the ground.
Pat, pat.
Gentle hands brushed the dust from my clothes.
The attic monster spoke softly.
“Your knees okay? Are you hurt?”
Looking closer, the figure before me was no monster at all.

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