The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 17

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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 17

He must be quite an influential retainer, as he had taken a seat not far from the Duke.

‘No matter how I look at it, he’s someone familiar.’

Just as I was tilting my head in thought, a memory from my first life suddenly came to mind.

“Please send me abroad quickly. How long must I wait!”

‘Ah, could it be that person from back then?’

That old man who had come to Duke Amitie’s mansion late at night.

He had shouted so desperately that he made Duke Amitie come out personally in the middle of the night.

As I recalled who Duke Teramore was, the scene from the day I saw him flashed through my mind.

The old man’s urgent face visible through the carelessly opened door.

The voice of the butler grumbling while bringing Duke Amitie his overcoat.

“Even if he is a witness, he’s not someone worth my master personally helping to escape.”

“…”

“His life being in danger is a consequence he brought upon himself. He abused a child while avoiding the guardian’s eyes, so isn’t it understandable that the child would target him once grown up?”

Once grown up, targeting him.

An abuser.

‘North said Duke Teramore has no children. What child could it be…’

At that moment, Isaac, who was having an intense staring contest with a carrot, and Henri, who was gripping his fork tightly and burying his head in his bowl, came into view.

‘The only children within Teramore’s reach would be Isaac and Henri…’

And if it’s a child who would become powerful enough to make Teramore, one of Dubbled’s elder retainers, flee to a foreign country, they would have to be at least a Dubbled prince.

Thinking this way, I shook my head inwardly.

‘That’s ridiculous. Unless he was completely insane, he wouldn’t have abused the Dubbled princes while avoiding the Duke’s eyes.’

That should be obvious, but something felt strangely unsettling.

‘Though cases of complete insanity aren’t entirely unheard of.’

Stories of crazy tutors who lay hands on children while their parents are away are often heard.

And when caught, they even claimed it was loving discipline for the child’s education.

And it seemed this wasn’t a story limited to just our world.

When the butler was trying to dissuade Duke Amitie from helping Teramore escape, Mina had said:

“There were such incidents where I lived too. Housekeepers would abuse children, and kindergarten teachers would hit them in front of other children. Parents always found out about it too late. It’s a terrible thing.”

Thinking about it this way made me feel even more unsettled.

If Teramore really was abusing the princes, which one of the two would it be?

According to the Amitie butler, it seemed like only one child was being abused.

Henri is smart, so it doesn’t seem like he’d be easy to mess with.

A child who creates slush funds and invests after examining domestic and international situations wouldn’t just quietly endure abuse.

Then could it be Isaac?

But Isaac seems much more impulsive compared to Henri, yet he endured abuse until he was fully grown?

‘Or maybe the butler just didn’t know, and it could be both of them.’

Just then, North called me from beside me.

“Young Lady?”

When I turned my head with an anxious expression, he smiled brightly.

“Is the meal not to your liking? Shall I have them bring something else?”

I said “No, it’s delicious…” and adjusted my grip on the fork.

‘It’s probably just hasty speculation… but let me check first.’

Whether they’re really being abused.

If so, which one between Henri and Isaac.

* * *

That afternoon.

I stuck close to a corner in the corridor, glancing around furtively, and when I spotted someone just coming out of a door, I ran over with quick little steps.

“North. (North.)”

I clung to his leg and looked up at him.

North was startled to see me for a moment, but soon grinned widely and crouched down.

“What’s the matter, Young Lady?”

“There, want go. Training ground. (There, want to go. Training ground.)”

Henri and Isaac had holed up in the training ground as soon as lunch ended.

If I wanted to see the kids, I had to go there, but I didn’t know where the training ground was.

North’s eyes widened as he asked.

“The swimming pool in this weather?”

“Training ground! (Training ground!)”

“Swimming pool?”

“Training ground…”

I held my waist and let out a sigh.

This damn pronunciation.

Since I was naturally slow in development, no matter how much I practiced, it just wouldn’t improve.

“Sword like this like this place there. (The place where they do sword like this like this.)”

After speaking in the easiest sentence I could pronounce, I even waved my arms wildly. Only then did North go “Ah” and nod his head.

“The maids said not to take Young Lady to the training ground.”

When he said that regretfully, I squeezed my eyes shut.

I put on a desperate expression and clasped my hands together politely. Then I looked up at North with sparkling eyes.

“Please. (Please.)”

Then North groaned “Ugh.” and clutched his chest.

Soon he reached out his hand toward me.

“Let’s go. Let’s go.”

North, who had swept me into his arms, walked along humming cheerfully.

When we arrived at the training ground, I could see Henri and Isaac holding wooden swords.

I jumped down from North’s arms, and the kids who spotted me widened their eyes.

Isaac asked.

“Why did you come here?”

“I’m gonna play with Ishac and Anri. (I’m going to play with Isaac and Henri.)”

“Geez. Did you come all the way here because you missed me? How troublesome.”

Isaac said that while clearing a path to make it easier for me to walk. It seemed to mean I was welcome to follow.

I walked following Henri and Isaac, carefully observing areas like under their sleeves and the napes of their necks.

No bruises or wounds on their necks.

None on their ankles either.

Under their sleeves…

‘I can’t tell if these are wounds from training or from being hit.’

Besides, both of them had scratches.

I was so focused on examining them that I didn’t notice the stone in my path. My vision swayed and my body tilted.

‘I’m falling─!’

Someone caught me with a gentle motion.

“Thank you, Anri. (Thank you, Henri.)”

“Not at all, Young Lady.”

Henri smiled brightly, but maintained a polite distance.

‘Still, he doesn’t seem like a bad kid.’

Even though he seemed cold, he would respond when spoken to and didn’t show excessive wariness.

Isaac kept glancing at me. Then he said “You can’t even walk properly, dummy,” and stomped hard on the stone I had tripped over, pushing it deep into the dirt.

What exactly did Duke Teramore find so irritating about these children that he abused them?

How scared they must have been.

With that thought, my throat felt prickly.

Just then, someone approached us.

“Were the three of you together?”

It was Duke Teramore.

He bent down to meet my eyes.

“You’re even more lovely when seen up close.”

“…”

“I am Austin Terramore. I have been serving Dubbled for a long time.”

“…”

“Shall we shake hands?”

He took my hand and stroked my palm with little taps, chuckling softly.

“A child’s hands are so soft.”

A sharp glint could be felt from the eyes hidden beneath his bushy eyebrows. He looked down at my hand and whispered.

“How obedient.”

“….”

“If you continue to be this obedient, there’ll be no need to use the rod. Right?”

He looked at me and pulled up the corner of his mouth in a smirk, then soon looked at Henri and Isaac.

“I’ll be helping Young Master Henri with his academics from now on. Since I came to greet you today, let’s go to the study together─”

He’s trying to take the kids away?

‘That can’t happen.’

I screamed loudly.

“Nots! Notsu!! (North! North!!)”

Hearing my shout, North, who had been standing far away, came running at full speed.

Why do you think I brought North to the training ground instead of bringing another servant?

Since Duke Teramore was in the castle, I needed the Duke’s closest aide who could protect the children.

North’s face hardened when he saw Duke Teramore.

“What brings you here? You must be busy with your schedule at the main castle.”

“I had a moment free, so I came to greet my adorable students.”

North’s face immediately hardened.

“Are you in charge of education again this time?”

“It seems there’s no one else who can help the two young masters’ talents flourish without reserve.”

Duke Teramore slowly stroked his beard while looking at the two children.

“It would be better to postpone the greetings for another time.”

Saying that, he lightly bowed his head and disappeared.

North watched Duke Teramore leave with hardened eyes, while I was checking on the children.

There was no need to look for a child who had been abused separately.

There was a child whose nape had turned pale after meeting Teramore.

It was Henri.

* * *

Henri and Isaac’s training resumed.

I sat on the chair that North had prepared for me in one corner of the training ground before leaving, tapping my skirt hem with a thud, thud.

‘So what do I do now?’

Should I tell the Duke?

But there’s no evidence.

If they say the bruises or wounds on the body were from getting hurt during training, what could I say in response?

In cases like this, the abused child needs to speak up directly, but Henri seemed to be hiding the fact that he was being abused.

Otherwise, there’s no way this smart child wouldn’t be able to shake off Teramore.

‘But why is Henri hiding Teramore’s atrocities?’

As I was thinking about this, suddenly an exclamation burst out in the training ground.

Wondering what it was, I turned my head and was so surprised that I opened my eyes wide.

As Isaac gripped his sword, rumble rumble rumble─! The ground vibrated, and small stones and dust rose up around the child.

Then, as Isaac stepped on the ground and leaped quickly, the sword blade instantly glowed red-hot.

‘Good heavens. Could that possibly be aura?’

I knew Isaac could use aura, but I didn’t know he had manifested it at such an early age.

Could it make sense that he could use aura at that age, something that only the elite among the Religious Order’s Holy Knights could use?

Even seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe it.

As Isaac closed the distance in an instant, his opponent hastily twisted his body.

Just when he was about to miss his opponent, Isaac quickly struck the opponent’s leg with his left foot, and soon the opponent’s stance crumbled.

“You’re done for.”

Grinning wickedly, he lightly threw his aura-infused sword and flipped his wrist to catch it again.

With his hand blade pressed close to the handle, his body weight would have been strongly applied.

And he instantly burrowed toward his opponent.

“I surrender! I surrender, Young Mas─ Aaagh!”

“There’s no surrender. If you fight and lose, you die.”

Thwack─!

The opponent barely dodged, but the armor struck down by the aura-infused sword became tattered like a rag.

However, Isaac really seemed to have no intention of going easy. He raised his sword once more.

Watching that terrifying scene, I unconsciously muttered.

“Musheo…. (Scary….)”

Isaac’s sword flinched.

Startled, he looked at me and cleared his throat.

“How boring.”

Then he casually threw down his sword and backed away from his opponent.

‘That opponent was lucky.’

It was fortunate that Isaac had gotten bored.

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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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