I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 18

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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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Crunch, crunch, crack, snap! Crunch-crunch!
Every sound a child could possibly make while eating candy was filling the room. Rose, seated at the center of the table, was utterly drunk on the taste of the rare drop candies, and the stares trained on her didn’t register in the slightest.
…You’re doing great, Rose! Yes, just like that! I clenched both fists where the Grand Duke couldn’t see. My greatest treasure and my most powerful weapon was none other than our Rose. Money? Connections? Right now, this was the only way to try to change his mind.
Not that I was aiming for the Grand Duke himself. Naturally, Kiers’s heart was as immovable as a male lead’s virtue usually is, reserved for the heroine, Cecil, and no one else. No matter how much our Rose shrugged her shoulders and played the coquette, I’d be lucky if he just didn’t push her away.
“….”
My real target was his inner circle. Even if the Grand Duke was a cold beast, he couldn’t turn away the pleas of loyal retainers who had shared life and death with him. So right now, I needed to win over their hearts first.
They were supporting characters, so they were nothing like that pine-tree Grand Duke. No matter how stiff their faces, I’d seen with my own eyes how they ended up fulfilling their supporting roles and eventually cowering before the Grand Duke’s children.
Of course, our Rose had no connection whatsoever to the Grand Duke, but that meant they at least had some minimal feelings, so there was reason to hope. Why? Because a person with feelings couldn’t just pretend not to see our Rose.
“….”
I casually glanced around, checking off each target one by one. First, there was the black-haired Sir Lear standing at the Grand Duke’s right, the man with emerald eyes as cold as ice. He was our first target. They said the Grand Duke had saved his life more than once, so he’d cut off his own head with his own hands if the Grand Duke asked… but hmm, well, we’ll see.
“Mmm~. Dewicious!”
At Rose’s delighted exclamation, with the candy stuck in her mouth, the veins on the back of his sword-gripping hand stood out clearly. Of course they did. This frozen handsome man was someone who, at the mere sight of the Grand Duke’s precious daughter’s earnest eyes, would climb a ten-story tree himself.

“I-I didn’t mean I really wanted to eat it… Sir Lear, watch out!”
“It’s only this much, and you’re already like this. Please, Lady, step back a bit further.”

Even if it’s a novel, ten stories is a bit much, isn’t it? That was a little over the top, but watching his real-time changes, I had to admit it wasn’t an exaggeration. Tilt, Rose popped a new candy into her mouth, and Sir Lear, unable to contain his rising emotions, cracked his neck from side to side with a loud crunch.
“…Mm, how many are left now?”
There’s no way we’re ending it this easily. Rose, who had been biting into candies for a while, clumsily rummaged through the paper bag. Back at the cabin, she’d split a single one in half and made it last several days, so she was probably panicking inside, wondering if it was really okay to waste them like this.
“One, two, three, four, five, six…”
Here it comes, the trusty skip-a-number trick.
“Eight, nine, ten, twelve.”
“…Eleven!”
Eleven, it’s eleven! A few of the nearby knights’ lips moved as if spellbound. Even if it was only muttering to themselves, I couldn’t have been more pleased to see such dignified knights chanting “eleven” in unison. Just in case, I glanced at Sir Lear, but he was still desperately holding himself back.
So that’s how it is, huh?
“Mm, no. I have to save them.”
Having spread them all out while counting the jumbled candies, Rose eventually shook out the remaining powder from the bag. She tilted her head back as far as it would go and shook the bag so hard her face disappeared entirely. What now? The knights, panicking that the little girl’s face might get buried, slowly raised their hands.
“Haa, it’s sweet!”
Phew. The people who had been burning with anxiety all at once let out a collective gulp of relief as Rose lifted her head without warning. But being satisfied with just this wouldn’t be our Rose, of course.
“I have to brush off my mouth, because Rose is a lady.”
With an unexpected murmur, Rose brushed the candy crumbs from around her mouth. She chattered along, copying my exact tone, and only then put on a prim expression.
“Mm, a lady shouldn’t do that.”
Tap, tap. By some magic, every time Rose’s hands dabbed around her mouth, the white powder only spread further instead of disappearing. Still, it was worth choosing candies with such a strong impact on purpose, just in case of a day like today.
“Hm? What’s going on?”
With soft, fluffy little hairs and white powder caked all over her, Rose looked exactly like a cat. She blinked her two eyes, which could light up the entire hall of the Grand Duke’s Castle, and looked around as if searching for a mirror.
“Hm?”
“…Shh, Rose.”
When our eyes met, Rose broke into a bright grin, so I gave her a gentle warning. All I did was press a finger to my lips, but this too was just one piece of my big picture.
“Shh!”
Rose, who copied everything I did, raised one finger to her lips. Good, that’s our Rose’s signature cutie expression number one: shh.
Sir Lear, who had been watching up to this point, let out a sound of simmering breath and rubbed his face dry with his hands.
“Hhhhh, Your Highness.”
This man is knocked out right here. One down.
“…I’m not unaware of what Your Highness is concerned about, but the Lady seems far too young to be standing in a place like this.”
“….”
That’s right! The murmurs of agreement that followed backed up Sir Lear’s opinion.
Kiers, his legs crossed and his chin resting listlessly on his hand, let his fingers trail slowly up his sharp jawline.
“And?”
“Ah, what I mean is, I don’t think she came to the Grand Duke’s Castle with any other intention. She’s accompanied by her guardian, Lady Eliya, and she is, after all, a guest. And she’s so small, and… compared to this vast Grand Duke’s Castle, she’s hardly a presence at all, so what I’m trying to say is…”
Let’s raise her! Let’s let her grow up! It felt as though their silent cry was reaching my ears. I, who had consistently maintained composure and a pitiable demeanor from the very beginning, finally stepped forward to make my case.
“Your Highness, I’m truly sorry I didn’t tell you in advance. But this happened suddenly for me too, and Sir Jerome arrived sooner than expected, so I simply didn’t have time to ask for your permission.”
“Then why did you bother putting her in a box? Judging by that, it doesn’t seem you had any intention of keeping her here.”
“That… couldn’t be. Your Highness, you’re really something.”
Ugh, why is he suddenly so sharp and making such a fuss? At the Grand Duke’s keen question, which hit exactly the heart of the matter, my expression nearly wavered for a moment. In this situation, I couldn’t very well bring up that I’d intended to move somewhere else if he offered me land. Having given up on making excuses, I finally opened my mouth and told the truth as closely as I could.
“Well… that’s because I know the Grand Duke’s Castle is hard to get into. Not just anyone can come in.”
“Someone who knows that…”
“Yes. I had no choice but to do it that way. I couldn’t get permission in advance, and I didn’t think I could bring Rose along, but I just couldn’t bring myself to leave her behind either.”
“You might have been expected to come here first and ask my permission, I suppose.”
“Because you wouldn’t have granted it.”
See? Right? I’m right, aren’t I! I’d have liked him to flare up and say otherwise, but the Grand Duke is not someone who can be talked around by such luck.
“If Your Highness were going to grant it, you wouldn’t have summoned us here today at all, would you?”
“……You understand well.”
His answer dragged out so slowly that I felt a weight settle across my shoulders. Maybe I wasn’t the only one feeling it, because Lear and the Count, standing beside me, straightened their postures at the same time.
Kiers lowered his gaze.
“The Grand Duke’s Castle is no place for children. I’ll have a carriage brought around now, so please send them back.”
“What do you mean, no place for children!”
You spoil your own children so much that you built the largest amusement park in the Empire, and yet why can’t our Rose have a place too!
“Whew. Our views are quite far apart, I see.”
My breath had grown a little ragged, but the game isn’t over yet. We’re just short on numbers for now. I glanced casually at Jerome and his twin younger brothers, the next targets.
“…….”
The eldest son of the esteemed Count’s House, and the gentlest soul among his retainers. That man right there.
I’d already finished sizing up Sir Jerome on the way here. As for his twin brothers, they had mostly played the role of troublemakers, causing one small accident after another, but here stood the one person who could forcibly bring together the tastes of these three very different brothers.
“Rose, this might take a while, so could you wait just a little longer? Here’s your doll.”
“My Rabbit Doll!”
“There you go, take it.”
I rose from my seat and slid the second weapon, following the candy, straight to the center of the table. The worn doll stopped halfway instead of reaching Rose, but that was intended too. I pretended not to notice Rose, too short to reach, stretching her arm out and then making a tearful face, and simply waited for the Grand Duke to speak.
“……Forgive me, Your Highness. I thought it better than having the child interrupt because she’s bored.”
“In any case, children cannot be admitted here. This place was not built for that purpose, and moreover the environment is not suited to—”
Screech!
The Grand Duke’s black Mask, which had been fixed on me, turned toward the center of the table. Even if he’s a man who doesn’t spare a glance for most things, he’d hardly fail to notice a chair moving on its own out of nowhere.
“Up we go!”
Of course a chair couldn’t move by itself. It was obviously our Rose.

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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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