The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 143

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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 143

 

Jet-black hair like ebony, neat-shaped eyes.

 

Lips that were stubborn yet gentle toward the weak.

 

Hands ruined with calluses and scars from never avoiding difficult work.

 

Duke Amitie was exactly the same as he appeared in my memories, not different in a single detail.

 

‘Why is this person here…’

 

I knew we would meet someday, but I never expected to be this flustered when we actually did.

 

As I stood frozen, staring blankly at him, he bent one knee and examined me.

 

“Are you badly hurt?”

 

“…”

 

“Let me see.”

 

As his large hand approached my cheek, I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.

 

“Don’t touch my daughter.”

 

A familiar voice came from behind me. Startled, I turned my head to see Father, who had somehow arrived at the shopping district, lifting me up.

 

“Theodore.”

 

“I don’t recall giving you permission to use my name, Duke Amitie.”

 

The gazes of the two dukes clashed in mid-air with me between them.

 

“Still lacking in manners, I see.”

 

“And you’re still obsessing over trivial things.”

 

He and Father were natural enemies from birth.

 

House Amitie was the most honorable among the founding families, with ancestors who were close friends of the Founding Emperor. They were heroes called the Emperor’s shield for generations, protecting the Empire.

 

On the other hand, House Dubbled was essentially a case of buying their title with money. During the Empire’s difficult early days, their ancestor engaged in usury and mercenary business, donated money to the Imperial Palace, and received a title. Even now, they still operate businesses that nobles consider lowly without any shame.

 

For this reason, the two men had vastly different backgrounds and completely opposite personalities.

 

If Duke Amitie valued great causes and justice, Father was the epitome of individualism and selfishness.

 

In the end, they were destined to be enemies.

 

‘And they actually do regard each other as enemies.’

 

“What brings you to the shopping district? You surely wouldn’t be participating in today’s charity event.”

 

“Do I have an obligation to report my schedule to you?”

 

“Your talent for making people not want to talk to you remains unchanged.”

 

“And your talent for making people uncomfortable just with your face seems unchanged as well.”

 

The naked hostility was so intense it made my skin tingle.

 

I jumped down from Father’s arms and grabbed his trouser leg, shaking it.

 

“Let’s go, okay?”

 

“…”

 

Father frowned briefly but moved away without exchanging any more words with Duke Amitie.

 

‘I thought they were going to have a big fight right there in the streets.’

 

The bewilderment of meeting Duke Amitie due to that worry had disappeared far away.

 

I held Father’s hand and walked with quick little steps as I asked.

 

“What brought you here?”

 

Father glanced around and lowered his voice as he spoke.

 

“That bastard… I heard Duke Amitie came up to the Imperial Capital, and there’s a charity event in the Shopping District.”

 

Duke Amitie was someone who might not attend State Council meetings but never missed events for the common people.

 

I giggled and waved my free hand that wasn’t holding Father’s.

 

‘He was worried we might run into each other.’

 

“I was a little surprised, but I’m fine.”

 

“You never met him in your second or third lives?”

 

“No. In my first life, because of me… Oh, I had to receive education at the Papal Court. That’s why he was in the Imperial Capital, since he’s not normally someone who comes up to the Imperial Capital often.”

 

Unlike Father, Duke Amitie wouldn’t be distanced from power even if he didn’t come up to the Imperial Capital.

 

The first reason was because the Emperor trusted him like a real brother.

 

The Emperor was someone who was desperate to summon him, and whenever he came up to the Imperial Capital, the Emperor was frantic to give him important positions.

 

The second reason was public sentiment.

 

He was someone who proved the maxim that ‘the power of nobles comes from the people.’

 

Whenever something happened to Duke Amitie, public sentiment would surge, so the Nobles found it difficult to lay a hand on him. Rather, there were countless Nobles who wanted to use Duke Amitie for the sake of public sentiment.

 

‘Duke Amitie is a hero of the people…’

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“Young Lady!”

 

Some middle-aged woman came running from behind. It was Perma, the only maid in Duke Amitie’s House.

 

She bowed her head to Father and handed me some Medicine Bottle.

 

“Duke Amitie sends this along with his apologies for not being able to watch his surroundings while walking.”

 

Vincent Amitie was this kind of man.

 

Even if it was the child of someone he despised, he wouldn’t hate them by association, and he was kinder than anyone to children and the weak.

 

A person who believed in and practiced goodwill.

 

That’s why he was my only pride and the object of my lifelong admiration.

 

I wanted to hate him, but because I loved him with all my heart, I couldn’t even hate him – my first Father.

 

I reached out my hand to receive the Medicine Bottle from Perma.

 

“Please tell him thank—”

 

“I’ll take care of my own child, so tell him not to meddle unnecessarily.”

 

Father pulled me back and gestured behind us, so Lea quickly ran over and took out some ointment.

 

Perma spoke with an awkward expression.

 

“This is a Secret Ointment passed down through generations in Duke Amitie’s House. It’s my master’s goodwill, so please—”

 

“Dubbled has plenty of good Medicine too.”

 

At Lea’s retort, Perma frowned. The two women’s gazes were blazing, so I quickly intervened and waved my hands frantically.

 

“I can use both!”

 

When I accepted Duke Amitie’s House’s Medicine, Perma’s face brightened.

 

“Today I’ll apply Dubbled’s Medicine.”

 

This time Lea smiled brightly.

 

I stuffed both medicines into my pouch and tugged at Lea’s sleeve.

 

“Let’s go!”

 

Lea, who had been having a staring contest with Perma for a while, answered “Yes, Young Lady” and stepped back.

 

‘I need to make sure the Dubbled People and Amitie people don’t run into each other.’

 

One wrong move and there’d be a war.

 

I made that resolution and sighed inwardly.

 

* * *

 

Father dropped me off near the Hope Trading Company and then left with Lea and the Dubbled People. It was his consideration to make my work easier.

 

‘It’s convenient when we share secrets.’

 

I smiled brightly and entered the Hope Trading Company’s office through the secret passage I had built nearby.

 

“Have you arrived?”

 

“Seria! You’re finally here!”

 

“I’ve been away for a long time. Have you been well?”

 

“There were many troubles… Huh?”

 

I widened my eyes seeing the people behind Seria who were making awkward expressions.

 

“Could it be…?”

 

“That’s right. These are my brothers. They’re exceptionally smart children, so I want them to help with the trading company work. Say hello. Hans, Duke, Seto.”

 

Hans, Duke, Seto.

 

…One, two, three?

 

When I stared with a stunned expression, Seria smiled brightly.

 

I’m one to talk since I roughly named it Hope Trading Company because it was a trading company made to find the House of Hope children, but Seria’s naming sense is really…

 

I should have known from when she suggested calling it Aki Trading Company since it’s Young Lady’s trading company.

 

“But Seria, aren’t you going to live with the children?”

 

Seria smiled bitterly.

 

“There aren’t many brothers left, and raising brothers requires a lot of money. I’d be happy if you let me continue working here.”

 

‘That’s fine by me!’

 

Actually, I was worried about what to do if Seria said she was leaving.

 

I nodded and extended my hand.

 

“Please take care of me.”

 

“W-w-we should be saying that…!”

 

Hans, who seemed to be the oldest among the Three Brothers Hans, Duke, and Seto, didn’t know what to do.

 

“You don’t need to be so nervous.”

 

“B-but you’re Young Lady, and you’re a very high-ranking noble, and you saved us, and also…!”

 

Seria and I chuckled watching Hans tremble.

 

“Seria, bring some snacks for the children to eat.”

 

“Yes. Wait here for a moment. You mustn’t make mistakes in front of Young Lady, understand?”

 

After Seria left, I spoke to Hans.

 

“You heard the precautions, right? Since you’re children Seria brought, I trust you, but you must never tell anyone my identity.”

 

“I, I swore!”

 

Hans lifted his collar. There was an ‘Oath Mark’ that only appeared on those who had signed Henri’s Magic Tool.

 

I immediately stiffened and asked.

 

“Did the adjutant make you do such a thing?”

 

“N, no. We said we would do it.”

 

“You don’t seem to understand, but that is…”

 

“I know. If I speak of Young Lady’s identity, I’ll die.”

 

“Then why did you engrave such a thing? Seria did such dangerous work to save you!”

 

When I spoke sternly, Hans gripped his pants tightly.

 

“Because we received a favor. Young Lady saved the Siblings. So as the Elder Brother, I must repay the favor.”

 

“Who said they weren’t Seria’s siblings…”

 

Just as I let out a sigh.

 

Crash─!!

 

When I turned my head toward where the sharp shattering sound came from, I saw Duke and Seto who had turned pale. Hans bolted upright.

 

“You guys! I told you not to cause trouble!”

 

“I didn’t do it… I just looked and that thing moved…”

 

Seto, the youngest of the three, whimpered. Hans and Duke frantically began cleaning up the glass with their bare hands.

 

“Stop, stop!”

 

I quickly shouted and made the Children stand up.

 

“Don’t do it, you’ll get hurt. We need to call someone for this… Huh?”

 

This was the Stone that the Mine Owner had brought when identifying the Abandoned Mine where Suwon was hidden.

 

‘It’s a Stone from a Magic Stone Mine where all the Mana Stones were mined out and only Fragments remain…’

 

It was pretty but just Garbage. However, the Mine Owner had demanded extra Money, claiming it wasn’t an Abandoned Mine since he was mining these and selling them to Commoners as souvenirs.

 

“This moved?”

 

When I asked, Seto nodded, and Duke, who was with the Child, quickly defended him.

 

“It’s true. He just looked at it and it moved!”

 

Suddenly, the legend that had been recorded about Suwon came to mind.

 

[The Benevolent Spirit who loves pure souls bestowed a Divine Blessing upon the Young Hero, and the Hero subjugated the Demon Beast dwelling in the Spring and found the Water Source.]

 

A Divine Blessing for the Young Hero.

 

…A Divine Blessing that only the young can receive!

 

‘That’s why it reacted to the Children! Wait, then why didn’t it react to me?’

 

I’m nine years old too?

 

Thinking that, I recalled the phrase ‘Benevolent Spirit who loves pure souls’ and glared at the Stone with a disgusted expression.

 

“So I’m not a pure soul? Damn…”

 

Well, considering my soul’s age, I wouldn’t be young.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“Young Lady!”

 

Seria and the adjutant came running into the Room.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

“Cross marks have appeared on the farmland in the Enus Region. It’s a sign of the great drought!”

 

“Already? That can’t be…”

 

There should still be a few months left before the great drought begins.

 

As I frowned, the councilor spoke.

 

“It must be because of Marquis Nodelli. Marche doesn’t know what might come out of Marquis Nodelli’s mouth, so they have to keep holding onto them. It’s not just anything else—they’re sharing the creation of disasters, so no matter how powerful Marche is, they can’t let Nodelli go.”

 

“Right. Nodelli lost their diamond mine, so they’re desperate for a source of money. They can’t help but be drawn to the water source business. They can’t let go of Marche’s hand. How despicable…”

 

“What should we do? If Nodelli won’t let go of Marche’s hand, our plan to extract information about Marche from him…!”

 

I snorted and got up.

 

“It’s fine. We have divine blessing on our side. To be precise…”

 

“Yes?”

 

I said while stroking Seto’s chubby cheeks.

 

“On our pretty one.”

 

“…?”

 

Seria and the councilor looked at each other with puzzled expressions, and I patted Seto’s back.

 

“There, there, our baby. Now shall we go find the water source with big sister?”

 

Seto’s face turned bright red as he covered both cheeks with his hands and nodded blankly.

 

“Yes… big sister…”

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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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