The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 58

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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 58

Having experienced the battlefield, they were twice as scary as usual.

The knights, stiff as boards, swallowed their dry saliva.

They had been so beaten down by our mad dog-like family members over the past year that they would have preferred to hear battle signals instead.

North, who was behind Father, rubbed his hands together with a desperate expression and mouthed “Please spare me” in my direction.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, “Uh, well…”

“So… I slept with the dolls my brothers gave me every single day, so it felt like they were in the castle with me…”

“Every single day?”

“Always?”

When they both asked, I quickly nodded my head.

“I missed you all the time, so of course I did!”

Only then did my brothers’ expressions soften a little.

Father dismounted from his horse and picked me up.

“Did you not sleep with the doll I gave you?”

Father looked a bit gaunt.

In my past life, he hadn’t participated in the Kruger war either, but he had joined the Allied Nations battle near the end and led them to victory.

So I had been at ease, but seeing his worn face in person made my heart ache.

I wrapped my arms tightly around Father’s neck and rubbed my face against his cheek.

“I held it tight and slept with it.”

Father’s hand stroking the back of my head was gentle.

That night, the castle was noisy with victory celebrations until late. Dubbled generously provided alcohol and meat for the soldiers who had suffered.

Having slipped out in the middle of the party, I looked at the cotton pouch and hummed a tune.

The attendant who had followed me out asked.

“I heard the soldiers who returned victorious today nearly died of heart attacks?”

“Huh?”

“I heard you were more pleased with the spoils of war than with the Young Masters.”

“But look at this.”

I took ‘it’ out of the cotton pouch and showed it to the attendant.

“What is this?”

He furrowed his brow, as if it looked too shabby to be something I had welcomed before my family.

I grinned and said.

“It’s better than gold and jewels.”

“This thing? It just looks like seeds to me.”

“It is seeds. Seeds that will drive a wedge between the Empress Dowager and the Temple, and earn us tremendous money.”

“There’s no way such seeds exist… What exactly is it?”

“It’s called Luminous. Special seeds that only grow in Orgos, at the southern tip of the continent.”

“Luminous?”

“When made into medicine, it’s effective for arthritis and neuralgia. And it’s also effective for the Empress Dowager’s persistent skin disease.”

“Skin disease? The Empress Dowager has a skin disease?”

I nodded my head.

It was something only a very few in the temple knew, but the reason the Empress Dowager developed such deep faith was because of that skin disease.

The Empress Dowager believed that if she had a devout heart and worked for God, her skin disease would be cured.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason she colluded with the temple, but the skin disease certainly played a big part.

When I explained it to the chairman, he nodded repeatedly.

“But getting it into the Empress Dowager’s hands will be difficult. Medicines brought into the Imperial Palace go through years of review.”

“That’s why we need to make the Empress Dowager seek it out herself.”

“How do you mean?”

“If it’s a medicine that most elderly people her age have seen effects from, she can’t help but be interested.”

I clasped my hands together and looked up at the chairman with sparkling eyes.

“And there’s an old man right in front of me?”

“…Pardon?”

He looked at me with an anxious expression.

* * *

The Spring Blossom Festival party held before spring.

The party venue was filled entirely with elderly gentlemen and noble ladies.

Jean-Marc, who got out of the carriage, looked at the party venue and pressed his forehead.

‘How did things come to this.’

“We need to send the medicine quickly before the relationship between the temple and the Empress Dowager improves. So we need to create a big enough event for the rumors about Luminous to spread quickly.”

“What exactly is this big event supposed to be?”

“Something like a youth-restoring medicine has appeared?”

The advertisement board was himself.

Jean-Marc Nouanok, the continent’s greatest magnate who commanded the Council of Elders of Dubbled, which had considerable influence even among the Five Ducal Houses.

How did his situation, having fought political battles with successive Duke Dubbleds, come to this?

To think that at over sixty, he would end up playing puppet to a nine-year-old child.

For some reason, Leblaine was a child he couldn’t oppose. Even the rhetoric that had rendered the Previous Duke helpless had no effect on that child’s smile.

Jean-Marc sighed and entered the party venue.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, exclamations could be heard from all around.

“My goodness, Viscount Nuanok…”

“You look particularly splendid today.”

It was understandable.

Before coming to this party, he had to manage his physique under Leblaine’s nagging.

And he had to choose the most suitable outfit from dozens of formal wear, and even Seria came down to the territory to dab and apply something on his face.

For a man to maintain himself to this extent was something that could never have happened in the era Jean Marc had lived through.

Elderly noble ladies covered their mouths with peacock feather fans and slowly approached.

“Have you been well?”

“It’s been a long time, Duke Nuanok.”

“You look different from usual today.”

He really was different from usual. At other times, he would have glared at the noble ladies with annoyed eyes, but Leblaine’s voice echoed in the ceremonial officer’s ears.

“If you frown at the party venue, that day’s rumors will end with ‘Viscount Nuanok’s bad temper’!”

He forced the corners of his mouth upward.

“Yes, have you all been well?”

The noble ladies blushed.

The handsome charm that had made many young ladies’ hearts flutter in his youth had not faded even with age.

‘Oh my, oh my, why is he smiling like that?’

‘It reminds me of the old days.’

As the noble ladies glanced at him while fanning themselves, an old gentleman who had been sitting blankly in the distance struck the floor with a thud, thud.

“Hey, you! Where does a man go around grooming himself like a woman!”

The noble ladies frowned and said.

“It’s better than going around shabby like you.”

“Why do you care about such things in this day and age?”

“Look at the young people these days. There’s no man who goes around as shabby as you, sir.”

Under the reproachful gazes, the old gentleman pointed angrily and shouted.

“How dare women talk back to men who are like heaven, talk back!”

He approached threateningly while raising his staff. However, he was blocked by Viscount Nuanok who stood in front of the noble ladies.

“Show some restraint. Nothing is uglier than showing your stubborn nature.”

“What, what…!”

The ceremonial officer, gripping the end of his staff, slowly looked over the old gentleman and said.

“When we were young, getting beaten by me ended as a memory, but now it might end with opening a coffin lid.”

The old gentleman, who had experience getting into a fight with Viscount Nuanok in the past and breaking two front teeth, flinched and stepped back.

Then he made an excuse saying “Bah! Do you think I’m avoiding you because I’m scared of shit!” while stomping his feet and left through the door.

Noble ladies and even some gentlemen approached him.

“Oh my, I thought this man’s temper had mellowed after getting old, but somehow he seems to have become young again.”

“No, you really do seem to have become younger.”

“Don’t your joints hurt, sir?”

“Talk about joints is the signal. That’s when you need to bring up medicine!”

Leblaine’s words came to mind.

“I’ve been taking medicine lately.”

At his reluctant words, the noble ladies’ eyes widened.

“Medicine?”

“It’s a rejuvenating medicine.”

“There’s such a medicine?!”

The chairman awkwardly pulled out a medicine bottle from inside his jacket.

And just as Leblaine had taught him, he held the bottom of the medicine bottle with his right hand and covered the back with his left hand in a respectful posture as he spoke.

“The medicine of youth. Meet with the Hope Merchant Guild now.”

* * *

I hugged the account books that Seria had sent with an ecstatic expression.

‘Ah, the sweet taste of this money.’

I couldn’t even count how many zeros there were already.

Thanks to the effect of the living billboard, Luminous sold like hotcakes.

To what extent? Not only the elderly who were our target, but even middle-aged people lined up in front of the merchant group.

According to Seria, there was a line stretching 300 meters in front of the merchant group store every day.

‘I really came up with a good advertising copy.’

Nothing excited older people like the word “youth.”

If I had sold to everyone, I probably could have bought several islands, but I stationed a doctor there to sell Luminous only to those who really needed it.

Since it would only show proper effects when used by truly sick people, that would be more likely to catch the Empress Dowager’s interest.

‘Now I just need to wait for contact.’

I giggled as I carefully hid the account books.

“Young Lady, you should have your meal.”

“Yes!”

Today’s breakfast menu was French toast. Since it was my favorite menu, I hummed as I went down to the dining room.

“Good morning.”

“You too, little brother.”

I answered Henri, covered my knees with a napkin, and picked up my spoon and fork.

The smell of the freshly made French toast swirled into my nostrils.

The savory egg smell and sweet raspberry jam scent blended together, seeming to stimulate my stomach wildly.

I cut the toast into long pieces, folded them neatly, and put them in my mouth.

‘I’m so happy…’

As soon as I finished one in an instant, a new toast was placed on top. It was Father’s.

“Father, aren’t you eating?”

“No.”

I never refused when it came to food.

In the past, I thought I needed food because of Adult Thinking, but now that I’m older, I realized I just really love eating.

I was a little happy to discover this new side of myself in my fourth life.

I munched on the toast Father gave me while watching my family check newspapers and letters.

“There’s going to be a party at the Imperial Palace.”

When Henri asked while putting sugar cubes in my black tea, Father nodded.

“Combining the blooming festival and victory banquet.”

Isaac placed salad on my plate and frowned.

“Ugh, if it’s also serving as a victory banquet, we can’t skip it.”

Henri stirred my black tea to help the sugar dissolve properly as he replied.

“If we don’t go, others will steal the credit.”

Isaac poured dressing over the salad he had placed.

“We’re the ones who fought to the death, so why would our credit be stolen for not attending a victory banquet? Should I just kill them all?”

Henri lifted the teacup and fed it to me as he spoke.

“I’ve told you countless times to watch your language in front of Leblaine, haven’t I?”

Isaac also picked up salad with his fork and held it out to me.

“It’s annoying though. If we go to the banquet, those flies will stick to us annoyingly again.”

I couldn’t endure being fed black tea and salad from both sides and groaned.

‘Are they tormenting me because I was more pleased with the spoils last time?’

While I was pondering, Father took the black tea and fork away from the two and raised an eyebrow.

“Stop fooling around.”

“But she’s cute.”

Looking at Isaac grinning, I made a sullen expression.

“You bullied me.”

I glared at the two with narrowed eyes.

Bullying their younger sister – what very naughty brothers.

I couldn’t just let this slide, so I spoke very sternly.

“You can’t do that next time, okay?”

Henri and Isaac hung their heads low and their shoulders shook. The employees who had been serving also turned their heads and covered their mouths.

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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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