The Baby Raising A Devil - 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

A few days later, word spread that Teramore had lost his mind.

I lingered around the underground prison to confirm the truth.

‘Since Teramore suspects my identity because of Henri’s incident, it’s better for him to lose his mind.’

After pacing around for a while, Viscount Dubois, the person in charge of torture in the underground prison, came out.

“Young Lady.”

“Hewwo.”

I bowed my head while glancing at the prison door behind him.

“Is Teramore gwandpa still being punished?”

It was a question asking whether it was true that he had lost his mind.

“No, he went insane so we’ll cut off his ankles and throw him in the labor camp— Oh dear.”

Viscount Dubois smiled awkwardly and waved both hands.

“The torture is over. He won’t be able to do bad things anymore.”

I shouted “Wow—!” and Viscount Dubois looked at me as if I was adorable.

‘I had been worrying about how to handle the situation since I revealed through Henri that I’m not actually an ordinary child, but what a stroke of luck.’

After parting with Viscount Dubois, I walked with a bouncing skip.

With the bad guy who reminded me of Duke Valois gone, the already beautiful palace looked even more beautiful.

‘Ah, it really is best to resolve stress immediately.’

Seeing me walk cheerfully, the employees smiled and greeted me.

“Hello, Young Lady. You seem to be in a good mood today. Where are you going?”

“Going to eat snacks.”

Lea has been giving me lots of snacks lately.

The maids were extremely outraged after seeing me get pushed around by Teramore.

“That piece of trash.”

“Bastard who deserves to die.”

“Son of a bitch!”

Among the maids who poured out vicious curses, Lea was quiet.

Only after a maid asked ‘Why aren’t you saying anything, Lady Lea?’ did she quietly stand up.

Holding a kitchen knife.

“I’ll go kill Teramore real quick.”

If the maids hadn’t desperately stopped her, fearing their supervisor would become a murderer, she might have really killed Teramore.

‘Those eyes were serious.’

Remembering Lea from that time, I shuddered briefly.

After unleashing a torrent of curses, the maids hugged me and burst into tears. Then someone suddenly spoke up as if they had just realized something.

“What if Young Lady develops trauma?”

“What did you say?”

“You know how it happens sometimes. Cases where childhood trauma makes someone unable to trust people for life.”

I thought it would be difficult to become like that from just being pushed once, but the maids trembled with worry.

And every day they would chant like mantras “Young Lady is precious,” “Bad people deserve divine punishment, Young Lady is precious,” and so on while offering me snacks.

‘It’s a bit burdensome, but I like the snacks.’

I hummed a tune as I entered my room.

‘Today’s snack was supposed to be pie with sweet pickled peaches.’

I excitedly sat down in my chair, and the maids surrounded me in a circle and began reciting their usual mantra.

“Young Lady is kind.”

“And smart.”

“And a precious person.”

As usual, I thought ‘Those words sound like something Mina said came from a movie’ and nodded my head.

Then I waited expectantly for my snacks, but something was strange.

No matter how much time passed, no snacks came, and the maids started brushing my hair instead.

I tugged on maid Dahlia’s sleeve and asked, “What about snacks?”

“You’ll have snacks in the afternoon today. You’ll be dining with the master, so lunch will be earlier than usual.”

Why!

I made a tearful face.

It was depressing enough that snack time was delayed, but dining with the Duke…!

When I saw him briefly yesterday, he had a terrifyingly fierce expression.

Perhaps because of the continuous heated meetings with his retainers and being incredibly busy, his usually menacing appearance was twice as frightening.

“I’m gonna get indigestion. Gonna get sick.”

Sighing deeply, I got up and rummaged through my elephant bag.

I should prepare some digestive medicine in advance.

* * *

When I arrived at the dining room, the Duke was sitting at the head of the table. Food was already laid out in front of him.

As I was about to take my seat, Isaac arrived at about the same time as me.

“I greet His Grace the Duke.”

When he bowed, the Duke acknowledged the greeting with a light nod.

‘Isaac came. Then maybe Henri will come too?’

Just then, the doors of the grand dining room opened and someone appeared.

“I greet His Grace the Duke.”

Henri appeared in his usual impeccably neat and elegant attire, bowing his head toward the Duke.

“Mm.”

When the Duke groaned instead of greeting, Henri raised his head and approached the dining table.

‘Is he okay now?’

While the castle was swept up in a storm, Henri had been holed up in his room.

His dedicated employees were also banned from entering his room, so we only heard sporadic news of his recovery from the servants who brought meals or the doctor.

‘His arm… yes, it seems better.’

I had been worried since it was the most severely injured part.

I sat down and glanced back and forth between the Duke and Henri.

The last time I saw the two of them together was when the Duke was shouting while asking about Teramore’s abuse and Henri was running away.

‘I wonder if their father-son relationship has gotten even worse?’

Just as I was worrying, Henri opened his mouth.

“I would like to take a leave of absence from the Academy for the Gifted and receive education in the territory for a while.”

‘Huh?’

He wants to stay here when every move will be under scrutiny because of the Teramore incident?

I was surprised, but the Duke casually moved his knife and said.

“What’s the reason?”

“There will be all sorts of talk from now on. I judged it would be better for me to stay in the territory and sort things out.”

Only then did the Duke look intently at Henri. After remaining silent for a while, he soon opened his mouth.

“Alright.”

That was the end of their conversation.

While everyone was watching the two of them, the parties involved seemed completely unbothered.

And I felt like beating my chest in frustration.

‘Even if your upbringing environment was terrible, isn’t this too much, Dubbled family?’

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand the Duke and Henri.

Both of them grew up under the previous family head who was worse trash than Valois, the Duke nearly died several times at the hands of his blood relatives when he was Henri’s age, and Henri had been abused for the past few years.

‘Even so, don’t those two know too little about family relationships?’

How could they know less than me, who had no blood relatives throughout my four lifetimes?

I stared at the Duke with blazing eyes, and feeling my gaze, the Duke looked at the strawberry stuck on his fork.

“You really do love sweets too much. Here, take it.”

Thinking my passionate gaze was because of the strawberry, he placed the strawberry on my plate.

I kept worrying about Henri.

He didn’t seem to welcome my interest, but I think children need a certain amount of meddling.

Especially a child like Henri who had a gaping hole in one corner of his heart.

‘What should I do?’

While pondering, I quickly tugged at the Duke’s collar and said.

“Henri likes strawberries too.”

“….”

No, Duke, I’m telling you your son likes strawberries?

Since the Duke just stared without answering, I told him once more.

“Henri also likes strawberries.”

“….”

“Henri, strawberry!”

I shouted without realizing it in my frustration, and for some reason the Duke flinched.

He glanced at Henri and slowly moved his fork.

And then.

“….”

“….”

Henri’s gaze trembled slightly as he looked at the strawberry the Duke had placed on his plate.

Neither of them showed any change in expression, but an awkward atmosphere flowed between them.

When I shook the Duke’s collar again, he remained silent for a moment before speaking.

“…Eat it.”

“…Thank…you.”

I felt pleased.

‘Good, good.’

This wouldn’t tear down the wall between the Duke and Henri, but I hoped it would improve things a little.

I looked back and forth between the two with a satisfied expression.

The Duke had an expression that seemed to ask if this was enough now, so I giggled and said to him.

“Isaac too.”

Can’t play favorites.

“….”

“Isaac.”

The Duke moved awkwardly again and placed a strawberry on Isaac’s plate.

* * *

After finishing the meal and leaving the dining room, I rubbed my stomach.

‘I ate a bit less because I was distracted.’

I considered asking Lea for more food, then shook my head.

Today’s snacks would be pie with sweet pickled peaches, so I’d wait for that.

‘What should I do to pass time until snack time?’

In my first and second lives, I desperately wanted to rest even for a day, but now ‘what should I play?’ was my biggest worry in life.

‘This really is heaven.’

I walked along while seriously pondering.

Then I noticed that the door at the end of the first floor corridor was open.

‘Huh?’

Dubbled’s main castle was divided into the East Wing and West Wing.

The East Wing housed administrative offices, the Grand Conference Hall, the First Library, and other places where outsiders came and went.

On the other hand, the West Wing was a space exclusively for the Dubbled bloodline.

It was where the Duke’s bedroom and the Young Masters’ rooms were located.

And the door at the end of the first floor corridor connecting the East Wing and West Wing was always closed.

‘The West Wing. I wonder what kind of place it is?’

Since I’ve been adopted, I’ll need to move to a room in the West Wing soon, but the room I’ll be staying in is under construction, so I’m still staying in the East Wing VIP Room.

I’ve never been to the West Wing, so I’m curious about it.

‘Since I’ll have a room in the West Wing anyway, it should be okay to take a look, right?’

I stealthily looked around and crossed the corridor, opening the door leading to the West Wing.

“Wow…”

An exclamation escaped me without realizing it.

Of course, the East Wing was magnificent too, but since outsiders frequented it, it was a space filled with dignity and intimidating presence.

But the West Wing had a completely different kind of beauty from the East Wing.

The warm-colored, glossy marble reflected the sunlight pouring through the wide windows, shining brilliantly.

I couldn’t figure out how they managed it, but the trees planted in the floor at the end of each corridor gave off a pleasant fragrance.

‘It’s like the Fairy King’s Palace.’

As I was looking around in fascination, I discovered an arched doorless passage. I peeked my head inside.

‘A painting?’

It was a giant portrait that completely occupied one wall.

However, it looked too shabby to be a painting that would hang in Dubbled.

The portrait frame only had a small amethyst embedded in the center of its top section, and it looked very worn.

The face that filled the painting was of some old man. Though he was a grandfather with gray hair and wrinkles all over his face, he was elegant and beautiful.

“Who is this?”

It was just as I was muttering.

[…must go.]

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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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