The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 3

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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 3

“How gentle she is.”

The retainers who chuckled heartily soon entered into a heated discussion.

During this time, I sat quietly on the Duke’s lap. I only answered when they asked me about stories they had heard from the Temple or the Imperial Family.

After a while, the meeting adjourned.

The retainers left one by one, and Grandfather, who had stayed until the end, approached me.

“Thank you for sharing such valuable information.”

‘What’s there to thank me for? I’m doing this all for my own benefit.’

I held a lot of resentment toward the Religious Order that had made me into a fake Child of Fate, then when the real Child of Fate appeared, they wiped their hands clean and threw me out as a sacrificial lamb for the ritual.

Besides, with this young body, I couldn’t possibly dig up orichalcon from the Ancient Plateau crawling with monsters.

“Here, this is a gift.”

Grandfather held out a candy to me.

While still nestled in Duke Dubbled’s arms, I sneakily reached out my hand and snatched just the candy.

‘If only I weren’t so shy around strangers, I would have let him pat my head.’

Still, I was able to wave my hand at Grandfather.

“Daka. (Goodbye.)”

Grandfather grinned broadly and said, “As expected, daughters are adorable, daughters are,” before leaving the conference room.

Only the Duke and I remained in the conference room.

He watched me intently as I struggled to unwrap the candy, then suddenly snatched it away.

Shocked, I froze and looked back and forth several times between my empty hands and the Duke holding the candy.

And soon I became incredibly sad.

My candy…

My candy…

You bad man, how petty to steal candy from a child!

Duke Dubbled annoyingly unwrapped the candy in one go. And then.

“Open your mouth.”

He’s going to give it to me?

‘I guess he’s not that bad of a person after all.’

As soon as I thought that, the Duke pressed both my cheeks firmly with his hands.

The pressure made my mouth open like a fish, and he popped the candy right into my mouth.

‘…Bad man.’

Still, the candy was delicious.

He lightly poked my cheek that had puffed up from the candy.

“When we return to the capital, if someone gives you candy, will you tell them about my family’s affairs?”

“Anyo. (No.)”

“Why not?”

Why would I tell people in the capital about such things?

The Imperial Palace, the Religious Order, the other ducal houses – they were all people who made my life miserable.

But since I couldn’t explain all those reasons in detail, I gave him a roughly summarized answer.

“I’m on Duke’s side.”

So far, Dubbled was the only family that hadn’t left me with painful memories.

The memories from these past few days would probably help me endure the painful experiences I’d face when I returned to the capital about four times over.

That candy was really delicious.

The blankets were so cozy.

Lea’s lullabies were pleasant to listen to.

Duke Dubbled wasn’t as wicked a villain as the rumors made him out to be.

—Like that.

With those thoughts, I looked at the Duke.

‘Huh?’

That thing that just appeared at the corner of his mouth – wasn’t that a smile?

Just then, Lea came in to get me.

“Baby— Oh, Master.”

Lea, who had been coming in happily to see me, suddenly stopped in her tracks and bowed her head.

The Duke placed me on the table and stood up.

“Make sure she doesn’t run around making noise.”

“Yes.”

As expected, there’s no way such a cold-blooded person would smile.

* * *

Back in my room, I stood in front of the sofa table, completely absorbed in playing with blocks.

‘Good, just one more and it’ll be 12 stories high.’

Just one more.

More!

The maids who had been watching me play well by myself with motherly smiles were now chattering away.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

When Lea nodded, the maids covered their gaping mouths with their hands.

“My goodness.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Has the sun risen in the west? To think that Master would be concerned about the baby.”

Who’s concerned about me?

I was so shocked, like someone who had heard a bolt from the blue, that my hand slipped. The blocks came tumbling down.

When I gasped “Huk!” in surprise, Lea quickly rushed over to me.

“It’s okay, baby. We can just build it up again. Here.”

Kind Lea gathered the fallen blocks and slowly stacked them up for me.

“Lea, please tell me more.”

“That’s right. How does the master worry about me?”

Yes. Yes. Tell me.

How does that man worry about me?

Lea opened her mouth while stacking blocks on my behalf.

“He said to take good care of the baby since nights are dangerous.”

How could she break down and reassemble ‘don’t let her wander around noisily’ to mean that?

I found her positive thinking both amazing and remarkable.

“Then will he adopt the baby?”

“That would be wonderful. The young masters would be happy to have a little sister too.”

‘Ah, the Three Young Masters of Dubbled.’

They had been famous since I was young, and became even more famous as they grew up.

They all boasted handsome appearances, martial arts skills, intelligence, and cold personalities.

I had never seen them, but I had heard their names to the point of being sick of them.

In the future, there was a name called even more often than the Three Young Masters of Dubbled.

‘Mina’s brothers.’

Though they were as cold and indifferent to others as the Duke, they were sweet as honey only to Mina.

When Mina was kidnapped to a foreign country, it was a famous anecdote how the Three Young Masters rushed there en masse and completely trampled that foreign country.

‘Especially the eldest son was in a love triangle with the Crown Prince over Mina.’

“But would being adopted really be good for the baby?”

“What?”

“Well, you know. The master is someone who even pointed his sword at the deceased previous generation, so being adopted into another ducal family might be emotionally better for the baby—”

“Linda!”

When Lea called out sharply, the maid flinched and hunched her shoulders.

Lea glared at the maid and gestured for the other servants to leave.

Then she gently took my hand and said.

“The Duke is not such a bad person.”

“….”

“He just doesn’t keep people close due to complicated circumstances, which causes public misunderstanding.”

“….”

“The master is not a cold-blooded person without any humanity as people say. He loved and cherished the madam dearly. If she hadn’t passed away during childbirth, you would probably have had a wonderful mother….”

Lea’s eyes darkened with sadness.

‘Childbirth?’

The Duchess had been pregnant with a fourth child?

I hadn’t heard that story even before my regression.

In any case, I felt sorry for the Duke.

‘The Duchess and the child both died together during childbirth….’

Then it made sense that the Duke had become as cold as midwinter frost. How could anyone live properly after losing two beloved people at the same time?

“I hope you won’t be afraid of the master.”

“Yes.”

“So I hope the little one will have a good father.”

“Yes.”

Lea carefully lifted me up and gently stroked my back with her soft touch.

“How kind you are.”

The voice whispering in my ear was affectionate, and the breeze coming through the window was cool.

Thanks to that, I slowly closed my eyes while resting my face against Lea’s shoulder.

* * *

When I woke up in the middle of the night, I buried my head under the pillow and groaned.

‘I’m hungry!’

I had used my brain a lot trying to recall memories from before my regression to pay the room fee, and I hadn’t even eaten dinner.

It seemed Lea and the maids had let me sleep without waking me since I was sleeping so soundly.

I thought about waiting until morning, but I couldn’t bear the hunger any longer.

‘All I had in the afternoon was just candy and a glass of juice.’

Due to my hunger, what little rationality I had hit rock bottom.

The only thing occupying my mind was the fear of starvation I had felt through repeated regressions.

During my time as Lady Valois, the cold stares of the servants when I burst out of the attic after being locked up for days due to hunger.

During my time with the Beggar Gang, the pain of nearly starving to death.

‘I need to find food and eat.’

Eventually, surrendering to my instincts, I carefully climbed down from the bed.

Groaning as I pushed open the massive door, I stepped into the dimly lit corridor.

I forced myself to endure my fear of the darkness and made it to the kitchen, but the door was locked.

‘Oh no.’

I wandered around the Imperial Palace again.

After a long while, I finally managed to find a piece of bread in the servants’ waiting room.

It was cut in half as if someone had left it half-eaten and was quite stale, but I was satisfied to have found something to eat.

Clutching the bread, I excitedly ran down the corridor.

‘I need to hurry back to my room and eat—’

“Ah!”

While running with my attention focused on the bread, I bumped into something hard and fell down.

Wondering what it was, I looked up at what I had bumped into and gasped “Huh!” as I hastily hid the bread behind my back.

Duke Dubbled was looking down at me with cold eyes.

Seeing him at night was so frightening that my hands and feet trembled.

Suddenly, I remembered the story Mina had been chattering about while resting her chin on Duke Amitie’s knee.

“…So Jean Valjean was punished for stealing bread, uh, and what else was it—”

Jean Valjean.

Yes, I think that was the name.

What happened to that Jean Valjean for stealing bread?

“─He was executed!”

As Mina’s cheerful voice came to mind, all the color drained from my face.

“What were you doing in my palace.”

“….”

“Was the reason you were so unnaturally clever for a child because you were a spy sent by the Empress Dowager to infiltrate my household.”

“….”

I involuntarily swallowed hard. Duke Dubbled, who was deliberately revealing his menacing aura, was not someone I could handle.

When I couldn’t answer due to fear, Duke Dubbled muttered in a low voice.

“Child of Fate.”

“Y-yes, yes…!”

“I hate those who lie.”

“….”

“Especially those who act innocent with pathetic lies about being on my side.”

He slowly stroked his sharp chin and continued in a languid tone.

“All such people had their mouths torn open.”

My spine trembled with a jolt.

The Duke bent his waist slightly toward me.

“What should I do with a little rat?”

I hastily prostrated myself flat. I curled up my body as round as bread as much as possible and clasped my hands together.

“I-I-I’m sowwy… I’m sowwy! (S-s-sorry… I’m sorry!)”

“For what.”

“I stole it…. (I stole it….)”

“Money?”

“….”

“A sacred relic?”

“….”

“Military secrets?”

“….”

“Then.”

The Duke’s eyes glowing bright blue in the darkness were truly terrifying, so I sobbed and held it out to him.

“Bwead…. (Bread….)”

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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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