I’m in the Arms of the Cursed Grand Duke - Chapter 23

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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 23

Building a greenhouse was not as easy as it sounded.

Basically, the temperature inside the greenhouse wouldn’t rise properly.

Of course, Clemente had solved this problem.

Even if she made it just a little warm inside, that heat wouldn’t escape easily.

But that was as far as it went.

The Northern Region’s problem wasn’t just the cold.

The Northern Region was an area with heavy snowfall. It would be faster to count the days when it didn’t snow.

When it snowed like that, not only would the greenhouse’s effectiveness decrease, but snow would continuously pile up on top of it.

The weight of the accumulated snow was more than a glass greenhouse could bear.

No matter how many support beams they erected, it would collapse. Even the glass would sometimes break.

The place that Lora and Lu had entered, calling it a greenhouse, was such a space.

Broken glass shards scattered everywhere and ground made muddy from melted snow. Dangerous construction tools piled to one side.

It wasn’t suitable for children to play in.

Of course, the children didn’t care about that at all.

Rather, it was just exciting.

“Sparkly sparkly! It’s warm! There might be flowers!”

Clemente chased after the children and looked up at the sky. Though it wasn’t snowing at the moment, dark clouds filled the sky. Looking at the sky that seemed ready to pour snow at any moment, she made a worried face and grabbed Lora’s hand.

“Lora, let’s go out.”

“Sniff! Heater! Wait, Lora is looking for flowers.

Lora shook off Clemente and ran around everywhere looking for flowers.

But this structure was ambiguous to even call a greenhouse. There was no way there would be flowers.

Clemente confirmed that Lu was standing quietly in one corner and grabbed Lora’s hand again.

“Lora, hold Heater’s hand. Aren’t you cold?”

“Flowers! Lora won’t leave until she finds flowers. Heater can go out if it’s hard!”

Lora vigorously shook off that hand. Then she started running around again with little steps.

Clemente swallowed a sigh and forced herself to lift the corners of her mouth.

It was a face similar to the expression Ruby sometimes made when playing with the kids.

That expression standing on the border between gentleness and anger, as if explaining ‘this is exactly what childcare is like.’

Clemente eventually ended up forcing the children’s actions.

“No! I told you this place is dangerous!”

“Don’t wanna! Let go of this!”

Throwing tantrums, the children were powerful.

After barely catching and embracing the struggling Lora, she looked for Lu.

Lu was standing there just as he had been before.

‘What is he doing.’

Anyway, let’s get out quickly.

“Lu, let’s go.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“Noooo! Give me flowers, flowers!”

Lu’s stubbornness and Lora’s tantrum sounds made Clemente feel dizzy.

‘Ah, Ruby. What an amazing person…’

All the times she had briefly played with the children and found it difficult were just drops in the bucket.

What should she do. Clemente, who had been pondering, finally brought out her secret spell.

The secret word that Ruby had taught her early on, the one that shouldn’t be used too often, was exactly!

“Alright. If you come out now, I’ll tell you a secret.”

“A secret…?”

It was a secret.

Clemente put her index finger to her lips, saying it was something that absolutely must not be discovered. Did her earnest acting work?

Lora’s moist eyes filled with interest.

“Pretty?”

“Huh?”

“This.”

Where Lu pointed with his chubby hand, there was a large frost flower.

“Ah, prettier than that.”

“Lu, going out.”

Lu went out as much as he had come in, no, even faster than when he had entered.

“Sister Heater, hurry up!”

Lora also ran while calling for Clemente.

When she followed them out, Lora put both hands on her hips and scolded.

“You’re late!”

“Isn’t it that you two are too fast?”

“Hmph! We are pretty fast! So? What’s the pretty secret?”

For Clemente, who came from the South, there was only one thing she could call a pretty secret.

“Now, look over there and watch.”

Clemente sat down with her bottom on the ground and embraced the children in both arms. The children, sitting comfortably on her thighs, looked where Clemente was pointing.

“Monster! Heater, we need to hide. A monster lives there!”

The place Clemente pointed to was the 3rd Floor Office Window.

It was that place where Zephyrus was always present.

‘Was the monster referring to Master?’

Clemente calmed the children who said they needed to run away before being discovered, secret or not.

“Strange, isn’t it? There’s a pretty secret hidden there.”

“No, it’s a monster. Like this!”

Lora drew a big circle with her arms as she continued speaking.

“It has a huge face but no eyes, nose, or mouth!”

“Scary!”

“And, and there’s scribbling on the face too. And it doesn’t even say hello!”

Lora, who had been listing reasons why the monster was scary, pulled Clemente again.

“Come back before the monster eats you, Heater!”

“Ah.”

Clemente finally realized.

The castle monster was an excuse.

Lora simply wanted Clemente to come back.

While thinking she couldn’t come because she was caught by the monster.

Somehow her nose tingled.

“Hmm. What should I do. I can’t go.”

“What? Why?”

“Because the pretty secret hiding there also needs a heater.”

Lora’s lips tightened. Lora, who had been silent with tears hanging in her eyes, asked.

“How pretty is it that you’re like this?”

Clemente smiled brightly and covered Lora’s ears again.

“Master!”

Come out and see!

See, seeee…

Her voice echoed like an echo.

“It hurts.”

Lu covered his ears and made a tearful face.

Clemente, who hadn’t been able to pay attention to Lu, awkwardly patted the child’s head and said.

“Now, you’ll be able to see how pretty it is.”

“A monster is still a monster.”

Lora grumbled, but there was subtle anticipation gleaming in her eyes. Rudo felt the same way.

Clemente also looked forward to the children’s reaction.

As Lora said, a monster was still a monster, but a monster you knew even a little might be less scary.

Besides, Zephyrus had an appearance that sparkled like snowflakes.

One adult and two children waited with pounding hearts.

Finally, the curtain was drawn back.

“Ah, no!”

What appeared wasn’t Zephyrus’s fairy-like mysterious face.

Just as Lora and Lu had said, a monster snowman with an enormously large-looking face appeared against the pitch-black darkness as a backdrop.

‘This can’t be happening!’

Clemente immediately knelt down to check on Lora and Lu.

She met their eyes and called out in a desperate voice.

“K-kids.”

“…Liar!”

This was a disaster. Deep disappointment could be felt in Lora’s voice.

“Did you start to dislike Lora enough to lie to her?”

“That’s not it, Lora-“

“Lora! Lu!”

There wasn’t even time to make excuses.

Ruby and Ameti, Lora and Lu’s parents, came running frantically while looking for their children.

“Mommy!”

Lora, who had been glaring at Clemente resentfully, ran to Ruby. She reached out her arms but couldn’t quite catch her.

“Mean.”

“Lu.”

“Bad.”

Lu, who had firmly smacked Clemente’s thigh, also returned to his family.

While the family shared emotions of scolding, worry, and relief, Clemente glared up at the 3rd Floor.

She could see Zephyrus hiding behind the curtain.

He covered the entire window with the curtain again.

As she sighed and lowered her gaze, Ruby was walking over.

“Clemente! I’m sorry. Thank you for watching the kids.”

“It’s fine. It seemed like they came looking for me in the first place.”

“The kids really wanted to see you, Clemente. They played together every night, so they must have felt empty without you.”

Actually, she thought they would just accept it if they couldn’t see her.

But instead.

She had ended up lying to those children.

“Mommy. Go home.”

“Hm? Okay?”

Ruby made a puzzled expression and greeted Clemente.

“See you tomorrow. Kids, you should say goodbye.”

“Hmph.”

“It’s okay. Ruby, hurry and go rest.”

Just as Clemente was about to sigh again, Ameti hesitated beside her and gave a belated greeting.

“Ah, yes. But aren’t you going?”

“I am going! Did the kids bring anything with them?”

She and Ameti only exchanged greetings, so it was awkward. It was even more so because Ameti feared her.

But for him to overcome that fear and ask a question meant it was quite important.

Clemente immediately caught on to what he was talking about.

“Those kids were carrying something like shields.”

“That must be it!”

“The thing that makes them invisible?”

“Yes. It makes them transparent.”

When had Lora’s hands become free.

‘From when I met them.’

Clemente pointed her finger upward and said.

“It’s probably on the 3rd Floor. If you wait, I’ll bring it down.”

“No! If you could give it to Ruby tomorrow, I’d be grateful!”

He bowed and ran off. As she watched his retreating figure, Lu turned around and waved his hand.

Her laughter was brief.

“Ugh… How do I make up with Lora.”

She couldn’t just leave it like this.

When Ruby comes tomorrow, she’ll have to ask for help.

After Clemente made that decision, she widened her eyes.

What she had to do now was decided.

“Master! Why did you use that damn head again?”

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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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