The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 5

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 5

After the bread incident, quite peaceful days followed.

The only incident worth mentioning was when I got caught by Lea after eating seven pieces of candy the Duke gave me in one sitting.

But today was different.

From morning, I had to be dressed up by the maids in a dress. It was a children’s dress that spread wide from the chest.

On top of that, I wore lace socks that came up to my calves, shiny shoes, and even had a ribbon prettily tied on the top of my head.

“Now, let’s see if it’s comfortable. Please try walking, little one.”

As I toddled around earnestly, the maids clutched their chests and groaned “Ugh!” in delight.

‘Good, good.’

After all my hard work charming them, they seemed to have about three layers of rose-colored glasses on.

How much I had struggled to get to this point.

The employees of Dubbled weren’t as bad as those in Valois, but they were uncomfortable around me.

Dubbled had become enemies with the Religious Order for some reason, so they weren’t pleased about the Child of Fate, who was practically a symbol of the Order, coming to the castle.

But for young me to live comfortably, winning over the employees was essential.

As soon as I arrived here, I started by targeting the maids.

“Linda! Linda came! (Linda! Linda came!)”

“Hehe, you saw me last night too, but are you happy to see me again today?”

“It’s a secret… but Leblaine likes Linda the most. (It’s a secret… but Leblaine likes Linda the most.)”

First, I conquered the influential maid with that.

“Here, I’ll give candy only to Dahlia. (Here, I’ll give candy only to Dahlia.)”

“Why are you giving this precious candy only to me?”

“It’s a secret… but Leblaine likes Dahlia the most. (It’s a secret… but Leblaine likes Dahlia the most.)”

I won over the heart of the snack manager.

“If Yuni is sick, I’m sad… (If Yuni is sick, I’m sad…)”

“Oh my…”

“It’s a secret… but Leblaine likes Yuni the most. (It’s a secret… but Leblaine likes Yuni the most.)”

I captured the person in charge of recording my daily life.

‘Now, even if the head of the family hates me like in Valois, the maids will secretly give me food.’

Seeing the maids who didn’t know what to do with how cute they found me, I felt proud as I remembered all my hard work.

‘But why did they dress me up like this today?’

I asked Lea, who was smiling warmly.

“Where am I going?”

“You’ll be attending the meeting held today. The master said he would introduce you to the retainers.”

‘Introduce?’

Of course, I had seen some of the Duke’s close retainers, but I hadn’t been formally introduced. If he planned to send me back soon, there would have been no need for introductions.

That means…

‘He must be planning to keep me here for quite a while!’

I inwardly cheered and followed the maid.

But there were people in unfamiliar clothes in the corridor. When I looked at them with a curious expression, Lea answered for me.

“They’re the employees of the child scheduled for sponsorship and his father.”

Ah, so selecting sponsored children must also be on today’s meeting agenda.

Noble houses had something called a .

They would spot talented individuals from a young age and sponsor them, nurturing them into the type of talent the family desired.

‘I wonder who the child scheduled for sponsorship this time is?’

A child receiving sponsorship from a great noble family like Dubbled would surely be a famous prodigy from a young age.

When I entered the conference room, I could see the retainers surrounding some child.

He was quite big to be called a child. At first glance, he looked like an adolescent boy.

The boy was buried among the adults so I couldn’t see him clearly, but his voice was dignified.

“Hello. Viscount Dubois, Viscount Martin, Baron Lux, and…”

The retainers chuckled heartily, pleased with the well-mannered boy who had memorized so many people’s names.

“Young Master Jude becomes more brilliant by the day.”

“Father told me that to become a wonderful adult like Viscount Dubois, I must study hard!”

Viscount Dubois laughed heartily and patted the child’s shoulder.

Then, one of the retainers spotted me.

“Little one.”

There were several retainers here whom I had become acquainted with when I reported stories about the Imperial Palace and the Religious Order.

‘I should make a good impression too.’

“Hello.”

When I curtsied by holding the hem of my dress as the maids had taught me, the retainers chuckled as if finding me adorable.

“Oh my, you’ve learned how to greet properly.”

As several retainers approached me, the face of the child who had been hidden began to come into view.

When I confirmed that child’s face, I froze stiff.

‘Marco Jude.’

I know that kid. Very, very well.

Because he was one of the worst people I had encountered in the past!

When I lived as Duke Valois’s daughter, I briefly attended the Academy. At that time, Marco was my dedicated professor.

To his superiors, he was an ambitious young talent, and to students, he was a good professor they could relate to. But to me…

‘He was incredibly clingy.’

He was aiming for the position of Duke Valois’s son-in-law.

He would disgustingly stroke my shoulders and embrace my waist under the pretense of correcting my riding posture.

When he called me to a secluded place and tried to kiss me, I couldn’t stand it anymore and reported him to the school.

But instead, he turned me into the perpetrator.

“It was this guy who did the seducing. Think about it. If I had been making her uncomfortable all along, why wouldn’t she have reported it from the beginning?”

When something like that happens to you, at first you don’t really understand what’s going on.

You never think that a man more than ten years older than you, especially a professor, would harbor such dark intentions.

“If you hated it so much, why didn’t you scream? In the end, you liked it too, didn’t you?”

Because I was scared. Because my body froze up in fear and I couldn’t even let out a scream.

“And why are you bringing this up now… Oh, I see, you must not have been satisfied with me? Are you one of those women who judges men by their status and wealth?”

My protests fell on deaf ears.

He was merely given a six-month pay cut for laying hands on a student, while I left the Academy branded as promiscuous.

After that, I was beaten countless times by Duke Valois for bringing shame to the family.

Just thinking about that time made me feel so wronged and angry that I wanted to grab young Marco’s head and slam it down.

But he was still just a child. I couldn’t very well get revenge by saying “You’re future trash!”

‘Calm down. If I cause a scene for no reason, adoption will be out of the question.’

Just then, Duke Dubbled entered the room. Marco and his father along with the retainers bowed deeply, and the Duke took his seat.

The first item on the meeting agenda was reviewing potential sponsorship candidates.

Marco, who had been sitting behind the table with me, went up to the podium.

“Oh, you’re already solving math problems at that level?”

“Yes! To get into the Imperial Audit Office, I need to be good with numbers. But the subject itself is also interesting. I’ve created several formulas with my teacher…”

‘Liar.’

Knowing this guy’s future, I was dumbfounded.

Marco Jude wouldn’t even get into the Audit Office, let alone get a teaching position at the Frontier Academy through connections. And then he was the fool who bragged to me about how excellent his network was.

His father, Baron Jude, laughed heartily with pride.

From the cheerful atmosphere, it seemed the sponsorship selection would go according to Marco and his father’s wishes.

After the Q&A session ended, Marco returned to the seat next to me. He looked down at me and whispered.

“See that, fake? Something like you could never beat me.”

What?

I stared at him in disbelief.

‘Is this guy seriously competing with a four-year-old?’

Marco Jude seemed to think I was here for a sponsorship evaluation.

His face was eager, wanting to crush his competition and establish superiority at any cost. It was an expression that reminded me of when he was a professor at the Academy.

‘Well, since Duke Dubbled has left me alone until now, he might think the plan is to finish with sponsorship rather than adoption.’

He continued with a sneer.

“You’re supposed to be some pitiful child, right?”

“…”

“I heard the Empress Dowager dumped you in this garbage dump called Dubbled. Trash belongs with trash.”

Marco said this with a sneer, and I clenched my fists tight.

In my previous life, I was foolish.

I knew nothing, was scared of the world I was thrown into alone, and was naive.

There were many times when I couldn’t say a word back to such remarks and just hung my head.

But I’m not the same person who has died three times and is now living my fourth life.

‘Now I’m someone who bites back when provoked, kid.’

And I really did bite Marco’s arm.

“Aaaah!”

While he was clutching his arm and crouching down, I quickly clenched my fists and struck him down with thud! thud!

“Agh! Agh!”

When screams echoed out, the people who had been focused on the meeting and the employees guarding the corridor came running in surprise.

People immediately tried to separate me from Marco, but I only let go after pulling out a chunk of that kid’s hair.

“What are you doing!”

The retainers frowned as they looked at me and Marco.

“That crazy thing attacked me… me, suddenly just…!”

Marco was panting and shouting something. He was so excited I couldn’t even tell what he was saying.

In contrast, I calmly extended my index finger toward Marco.

“He’s a bad kid! (He’s a bad kid!)”

“What?”

“He said I’m here because Dubbled is a garbage dump. (He said I’m here because Dubbled is a garbage dump.)”

My Beggar Gang comrade used to say that. In physical fights, whoever throws the first punch wins, and in verbal fights, whoever stays calm wins.

It was true. The retainers who had been ignoring Marco’s words were now focusing on mine.

Of course, causing a commotion in front of the Duke was uncomfortable, but it seemed better than appearing to be a fool who just takes everything lying down.

But something was strange.

Why had the surroundings become so quiet?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————