The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 43

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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 43

I placed my hand on the back of his hand and shook my head.

“Can’t bring back to life.”

“Then tell me a way to make another one.”

“That would be a completely different being from Ami.”

Adrian’s gaze fell to the floor.

I remembered him riding at the very front during the victory parade of the Holy War.

What I felt first, even before his beautiful appearance that seemed to gather all the precious things in the world, was his intense dignity.

Even I, who lived as the daughter of Duke Amitie, the knight among knights, felt my hair stand on end from his stern coldness.

I had vaguely thought that no one could ever hurt him.

But this child I saw now was covered in wounds. So precarious that it made my heart ache.

“But I can make a grave for him.”

When I said this quietly, Bune fretted [Little One’s strawberry!], but I pretended not to hear.

Adrian raised his head and stared at me intently, and I didn’t avoid his eyes.

* * *

“You need to dig deeper.”

Adrian looked at the little girl pointing at the ground while carefully holding Ami in one hand.

“At this rate, it’ll take forever to dig. Come out here.”

The little girl brushed off Adrian’s hands and carefully placed Ami back on his palm.

Then she crouched down and dug into the earth. She dug so efficiently that in just a few minutes, she had made a hole twice the size of what Adrian had managed.

“Now we can bury him here.”

She really was a strange child.

She dug earth well like a farmer, but she was even better at ordering around a prince than royalty would be.

The boy had never seen anyone treat him so casually.

‘But.’

But this child would change too if she knew who he was.

Everyone did.

Royalty, nobles, even palace servants all treated him like a tumor. A tumor that was scary to touch but bothersome to leave alone.

They found Adrian troublesome, as he was the Emperor’s eldest son but faced opposition from First Empress Yvonne, who was the Empress Dowager’s eighth cousin and eldest daughter of the Marche Ducal House.

He was alive, yet treated as if he didn’t exist.

So this child would surely change too once she knew who he was.

Those sparkling eyes looking at him would surely darken with fear, and that lively expression would certainly turn gloomy. Though he felt regretful inside, he thought he should tell her quickly because of that.

“I am the eldest son of the Imperial Family.”

“So what?”

“I’m saying I’m the child of the dead Empress, I…”

“So what?”

Adrian was speechless and could only blink his eyes.

This was strange.

She should be surprised.

Even if she was too young to understand the tangled political relationships, she should normally be afraid upon hearing the word Imperial Family.

When Adrian looked at her with puzzled eyes, the child tilted her head.

“Is that important right now?”

“…Huh?”

“If it’s not that important, let’s hurry and bury Ami.”

The child grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

Adrian, who sat down following the child in bewilderment, poured Ami, who had completely turned to water, into the hole with a trickling sound.

The child covered the water with soil and patted it down in place of Adrian.

“Now we need to pray.”

Adrian stared intently at the child who had clasped her hands together and closed her eyes tightly.

“Please let us be together for a long, long time in the next life.”

“…”

“Even if we fight and get upset, please let morning greetings be natural the next day.”

“…”

“Please don’t let us hurt. Please let us be happy every single day so that today’s pain becomes just a trivial topic of conversation.”

The child gazed intently into Adrian’s eyes.

“Please make this child happy.”

It seemed like she was talking to herself.

He couldn’t say anything and just stared at the child in a daze.

Adrian couldn’t understand why his throat felt hot and his eyes stung.

The only thing that was certain was that this was the first moment he had ever thought he would absolutely never forget someone’s name.

* * *

After burying Ami and finishing the prayer, I stood up from my spot.

“Are you leaving?”

Adrian grabbed my hand and asked, so I answered with some confusion.

“Yeah.”

“…Will you come again?”

“Huh?”

“Come again.”

The way that kid was looking at me was so intense that I rolled my eyes around.

“I don’t know.”

“But if you don’t come…”

Adrian’s gaze grew dim. His long eyelashes that sparkled in the sunlight half-covered his transparent red eyes.

‘Wow…’

He truly lived up to his reputation as the century’s most handsome man who had captivated the minds of young ladies beyond the Empire and into foreign countries.

Even with my aesthetic sense accustomed to Duke Dubbled’s beauty, my heart skipped a beat for a moment.

“Now we’re fwiends. Fwiends keep pwomises. We’ll meet someday.”

“Friend….”

Adrian muttering it several times was so cute that I chuckled inwardly.

Then I waved goodbye and turned around to run away.

‘I’m late, I’m late!’

I had come under the pretense of playing hide-and-seek, but 30 minutes had already passed.

As I hurried toward the garden, I heard voices calling “Where are you, Young Lady!” looking for me.

Soldiers and servants with pale faces were frantically searching for me.

“I’m hewe, over hewe!”

When I shouted and hopped around, people came running.

“Good heavens….”

Lea gasped when she saw me covered in dirt.

“Where on earth were you? Do you know how startled we were when we couldn’t find you no matter how hard we looked?”

The place I had been wasn’t far from the garden, but since they couldn’t find me, Adrian must have set up a barrier.

I fidgeted with my hands and mumbled, “I’m sowwy.”

Lea sighed and brushed off my skirt with gentle pats.

“It’s fine since you’re safe. But if you disappear again next time, my heart might really stop.”

“Yes.”

“The travel permit came through. Shall we return to Dubbled now?”

When she said that, I nodded with a bright expression.

[Strawberry! Little One, ask if they’re giving you ten strawberries.]

Since Bune was nagging, I sneakily looked up at Lea.

“Wea, ten stwawbewwies?”

“Well….”

Lea’s eyes narrowed.

“Since you broke your promise, I’ll only give you five.”

This can’t be.

When I covered both cheeks with a shocked expression, laughter erupted around us.

* * *

I only got five strawberries, but I was still in quite a good mood.

I had Bune return all the money Urso had embezzled to their original owners, and even after that, quite a lot of money remained.

This was because I didn’t return what the loan sharks had offered as bribes, aside from the money.

‘This makes 6,000 francs.’

Since Seria’s bounty was 30,000 francs, the total became 36,000 francs.

‘Now I need to seriously start making this money work so I can find a house to live in when I go into exile.’

I know a few good investment opportunities.

The problem is that I’m too young to make contact with investment targets.

This was also the reason I lived in poverty during my beggar days.

Of course, I had to live as quietly as possible to avoid standing out, but I also couldn’t invest because of my age.

‘I need an adult to help me.’

There’s Seria, but she’s a criminal anyway, so there are limitations. She’s also in prison right now.

I can’t keep relying on Bune’s help either. My Divine Power is already running low, and I won’t be able to maintain him for more than five days.

‘I need to decide where to use Bune’s special ability.’

It’s not particularly necessary for me, but it would be a shame not to use it.

‘It might be profitable.’

While I was pondering, the carriage stopped. We had arrived at Dubbled Castle.

As soon as the door opened, Henri and Isaac approached me.

“Why did you come back so late?”

When Isaac suddenly thrust his face toward me and asked, Henri pushed his face away and hugged me.

“You must have had a hard time coming back, right?”

Then Isaac reached out his hands, trying to steal me away for a hug.

“I had them prepare lots of your favorite meat in the dining room.”

Henri turned his back to Isaac’s opposite side and protected me.

“Wouldn’t eating late at night be bad for your health? How about having a simple meal on the terrace and eating a delicious breakfast tomorrow?”

“Eating that won’t hurt your health.”

“Children have weak bodies. Don’t compare her to a monster like you.”

As the two of them tried to steal me from each other, my eyes were spinning round and round.

“Ugh…”

Just as I groaned, whoosh! My body lifted up and I was suddenly in Duke Dubbled’s arms.

“Don’t fight over Younger Sister.”

When Duke Dubbled spoke sternly, Henri and Isaac looked at each other with dissatisfied faces but soon answered glumly, “Yes…”

‘Oh, what a relief.’

I had been in the carriage for a long time and was using a lot of energy maintaining Bune, so being caught between those two was exhausting.

As I was leaning my face against Duke Dubbled’s chest, I suddenly remembered.

I should give a proper homecoming greeting.

“I’m back.”

Then Duke Dubbled’s, Henri’s, and Isaac’s expressions softened.

“Yes.”

“Welcome back.”

“Let’s go inside.”

They say anywhere becomes home if you grow attached to it. After spending just a few months in this place, I really felt like I had come home.

* * *

The next day, I received the strawberries I had promised Lea as an afternoon snack.

When I looked at the strawberries topped with plenty of fresh cream with sparkling eyes, Bune said [Well done, Little One.] and rejoiced.

Lea put a bib on me and then served strawberries into my bowl.

“…three, four, five.”

─after counting up to that, she looked at me with sparkling eyes and chuckled, then sneakily added two more.

“Yea, I wike it.”

When I kissed Lea’s cheek with a smooch as a sign of gratitude, the maids clamored as if they were envious.

“Young Lady, I’m the one who prepared the cream.”

Saying that, Dahlia offered her cheek.

“I picked the strawberries.”

Linda also came close to me.

“Just give me one too.”

Yuni tilted her head toward me.

I gave each of their cheeks a kiss and picked up my fork again.

[I can bring you milk too.]

‘Huh?’

[I can remove strawberry stems too. Should I manifest?]

‘…?’

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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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