I Don’t Need a Dad Like This! - Chapter 15

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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 15】

Emilia, who quickly observed such parents, bent her knees and patted the child’s shoulder.

“…Rie, well. This place is just one manor.”

“Huh? Just one?”

“So on the third floor, Grandma and Grandpa will sleep, and on the second floor, Rie and Mother will sleep together.”

“…Together?! Sleep together with Mother?!”

The child opened her beak-like mouth wide as if shocked.

Indeed, for a child who lived in the Duke’s House, this would be too modest.

Seeing such Rie, the elderly couple’s shoulders drooped dejectedly.

‘Oh my, our precious granddaughter is disappointed because the manor is so cramped!’

‘I knew this would happen. How could our manor possibly please her!’

Meanwhile, Rie was actually shocked.

Everyone sleeping together harmoniously in one house! And Rie would even sleep with Mother?!

This was the picture Rie had imagined every night before bed in her previous life!

And the good things weren’t just this.

The child, who had somehow hidden her face behind Emilia’s legs, raised the corners of her mouth mischievously.

‘…Hehe. Rie, when playing hide-and-seek in this house, I’ll only be the seeker. The house is small so I can catch everyone quickly.’

While making tremendous plans that the adults couldn’t even dare imagine.

“Rie wants to tour the house! You see, Rie’s dream was to live with Mother.”

She had never been this excited in all her life.

When Rie ran over to Grandfather’s legs with sparkling eyes, for some reason the dejected Grandfather muttered gloomily.

“…A house tour isn’t really necessary…”

“Hey! Still, she’s the granddaughter who’ll live here, so we should let her tour the house!”

Fortunately, Grandmother scolded Grandfather and stood up from her seat.

Thus began the adults’ house introduction, filled with tension except for Rie.

“Oh, is this where the Maid Sisters eat?!”

“…It’s where we eat.”

Oh my! How really cute!

“Wow, a kitchen like a warehouse!”

“It’s just a kitchen, dear.”

Huh! There must be many cooks, but how do they fit in this cozy place?!

“Wow! Is this an attic room?”

“…It’s where Rie will sleep. Together with Mother.”

Wow, it’s like a fairy tale!

The house tour ended in 20 minutes, fitting for its modest size.

“Is there more?”

“…This is the end of the house, dear.”

“Then I want to greet the Maid Sisters and the knights!”

Rie looked around her surroundings.

Then Emilia pointed to a nearby maid with an expression like she wanted to hide in a mouse hole.

“The only Maid Sister here is Mary, there are no knights, and the Chef is currently doing side work, no, he’s out on business.”

Side work? Out on business?

Anyway, the chef here must be busy! He must be a really famous chef!

She had definitely entered a new manor, but there was only one Maid Sister to greet!

Rie waved her hand toward the maid who was sticking close to Baroness Morgana’s side.

“Your name is Mary! Mary Sister. Hello!”

“Hello, Lady Rie.”

Mary, whose face had turned red, awkwardly bowed her head.

‘She must be disappointed.’

‘This is so embarrassing.’

‘Should we have listened to the Duke…’

The three adults drooped their lips with dejected expressions.

Unaware of this, Rie was only thinking about playing, grinning between her mother’s legs.

‘I should quickly suggest hide-and-seek. Then Rie can… hehe, catch everyone in just 10 minutes. Hehe…’

Somehow the child’s sinister appearance made Morgana and Mordic’s spines tingle.

Their granddaughter’s reaction to touring the house seemed unusual, but what was it?

“…Hehe, hehehe.”

The child was giggling with the corners of her mouth raised, finding something so amusing.

‘Could she be laughing because the house is too small? Then this grandmother would be so hurt!’

‘Be confident, old man! Coming here after rejecting the Duke’s house was our granddaughter’s choice. So we need to make the child accept it!’

Morgana and Mordic, who had secretly held an emergency meeting, nodded their heads.

They needed to establish discipline with the child.

Living at the Birdwell Barony wouldn’t mean starving or having to do labor, but they couldn’t provide the luxurious lifestyle like the Duke’s house.

She would have to wear ordinary clothes instead of expensive ones!

And the desserts she used to eat every day would be limited to two or three times a week!

“Ahem.”

When Morgana let out a rough cough to catch the child’s attention, the crafty blue eyes that had been laughing turned toward her.

‘I need to give her a firm talking-to.’

“Your name is Rie, right?”

“Yes!”

“Rie, tell this grandmother your thoughts after touring the house. Stop laughing so sinisterly by yourself!”

Though her heart ached, she made her voice sound scary to imprint the child’s situation from now on.

“It looks good for hide-and-seek!”

“What?!”

Suddenly Rie raised her short arms high and stomped her feet while shouting.

“Rie wants to play hide-and-seek with Grandma and Grandpa and Mother and Mary Sister!”

The two elderly couple’s eyes widened at the unexpected proposal.

Looking at the child’s face again, it was filled with excitement.

She was so excited that she clenched her tiny fists and shook them.

Flustered, Mordic poked his wife’s side.

‘Wh-what should we do, old woman? You said we need to maintain discipline!’

‘…How would I know! The child suddenly wants to play hide-and-seek!’

Meanwhile, Rie tilted her head as she looked at the two people who weren’t answering.

‘…Do they not like hide-and-seek?’

If she could go back a year and live with Mother again, what she wanted to do most was play happily with Mother.

She wanted to play hide-and-seek, go on picnics, and sleep together.

It would be nice if Grandmother and Grandfather did that too…

‘…Are Grandmother and Grandfather busy like Father?’

Eventually, the child’s pigtails drooped down sadly.

“…If you don’t like hide-and-seek, we don’t have to play.”

Through her life at the Duke’s House, Rie had learned that she shouldn’t bother adults.

‘But Rie got a little excited because she’s living with Mother.’

“Rie will be quiet…”

When the dejected child sadly hung her head, Morgana was startled from across the room.

“Wh-who said we wouldn’t play! Our house isn’t too small for hide-and-seek!”

Hide-and-seek is more fun the smaller the space.

Rie slowly lifted her head.

“…Then we’re playing hide-and-seek?”

“Of course! Who’s going to be ‘it’? Will Rie do it?”

“Can Rie do it?”

“Of course! The person who’s ‘it’ has to run around everywhere, so would you make old people with aching knees be ‘it’?!”

At Grandmother’s nagging, Rie’s mouth, which had been closed, gradually opened wider.

“Yay! Grandmother is the best!”

Excited, Rie spread her arms and spun around Morgana. Then she threw herself onto the sofa, buried her face, and shouted.

“Rie wants to be ‘it’! Then I’ll count from one, so you have to hide quickly! One, two!”

The flustered adults’ bodies creaked.

“Already telling us to hide? This old woman, where should I hide…”

“Over there… Oh my, my back!”

“Mother, Father. Hold my arm! Mary, help them hide.”

“Y-yes!”

“Four! Five, six, seven, eight!”

“You little rascal! Too fast!”

The gloomy manor instantly became noisy with Rie’s counting game.

“Nine! Nine and a half! Nine and three-quarters!”

Rie peeked her head out and giggled as she watched her family hurriedly running away.

“Rie’s coming to find you now!”

It was truly a joyful day.

* * *

“…Your Excellency. What should we do about Lady Rie’s room?”

“What do you mean what to do? Clean and maintain it as usual.”

The Head Maid, frightened by his sharper tone than usual, bowed her head deeply and disappeared.

Then the Assistant appeared this time.

“Your Excellency. There are about five invitations…”

“Throw them away. And postpone the meeting in 30 minutes to this evening.”

“…Yes.”

Casselik had been in this state since the trial.

He sat languidly in his office, but somehow his gaze, sharper than before, remained fixed on the newspaper.

His wife and child were gone.

Even if divorcing Emilia was something planned, Rie leaving this manor was not in his plans.

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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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