The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 73

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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 73

* * *

I came out of the dressing room holding the gloves that Lea had knitted for me on my fifth birthday.

I was preparing to go up to the Imperial Capital.

Father said he would go up to the Imperial Capital after handling the territory’s affairs. Of course, I would go with him too.

‘It’ll take quite a while for Father to handle his work, but I should send things ahead one by one.’

Even with Dubbled’s magic carriage, it takes two days from the territory to the Imperial Capital, so a round trip would be three days.

Moreover, the weight of luggage that could be loaded was limited, so if I didn’t send things little by little in advance, I would suffer when I got to the Imperial Capital.

“This too!”

As I ran along going “do-do-do-do” while holding the gloves and shouting, Lea chuckled.

“If you put that in too, won’t the bag not close?”

She glanced at the luggage bag as she spoke, so I swallowed a groan.

The luggage bag to be sent this time was already packed full, and it didn’t look like even one scarf would fit.

There was a limit to the luggage that could be taken by magic carriage, so I couldn’t pack everything I wanted as much as I pleased.

“Let’s send the gloves next time.”

“Then next time, you must, must remind me to pack the gloves so I don’t forget, okay?”

“Yes.”

These gloves were precious.

Since Lea had been a knight, she wasn’t particularly skilled with her hands, but she had unraveled the stitches several times and re-knitted them to make these for me. Reducing her already insufficient sleep even more, rubbing her eyes throughout the dawn.

The completed gloves were very crude for a noble child’s belongings, but they were very, very precious to me.

I really wished we had a long-distance teleportation circle.

“Is there anything else you need?”

I said “Ah!” and nodded my head.

‘I need to take that too.’

I left the room.

My destination was the portrait room I had seen when I first toured the West Wing.

I stared intently at the portrait that was always magnificent whenever I saw it.

It was an old man with ash-gray hair and blue eyes, the symbol of the Dubbled family.

‘Now I know who Grandfather is.’

I didn’t know when I first saw it, but later the employees told me. That the man in this portrait was the First Head of Dubbled.

I stared at the portrait, then put my hands together and thought as if praying.

‘Great-grandfather, excuse me.’

Then I dragged over a chair and climbed on top of it. And I reached my hand toward the amethyst embedded in the center of the frame’s top.

When I was four years old, I had fainted here after hearing a ‘voice’ as soon as I saw the portrait.

‘At first, I thought it was Bune’s voice.’

But when I thought about it carefully, it wasn’t.

I clearly remember the first words Bune said when he emerged from the Sleeping Mineral.

[Finally, I’ve met Little One.]

─that’s what he said.

‘That means he hadn’t been able to meet me before then.’

So that ‘Voice’ was most likely from a different demon, not Bune.

Until now, I had been within the safety of Dubbled’s walls, and there hadn’t been any crisis situations severe enough to summon a demon.

Most importantly, since I can’t send a demon back without fulfilling their wish, in the worst case scenario, there was a risk of my Divine Power being completely drained trying to maintain a demon whose wish I couldn’t grant.

That’s why I hadn’t touched it, but I was planning to bring it along since I didn’t know what dangers might lurk when living in the Imperial Capital.

‘I got Father’s permission too.’

“I can barely reach it… nngh.”

I struggled and stood on my tiptoes with all my might.

‘Got it!’

Just as I managed to extract the amethyst from the portrait frame.

“What are you doing.”

An unfamiliar voice reached my ears.

Startled out of my wits, I jumped and lost my balance.

“Kyaah─!”

I wobbled and ended up falling.

With a loud crash, the chair toppled over and I flopped down like a frog.

‘Wh-who?’

When I lifted my head,

“What a strange thing to be doing.”

The moment I saw the boy who spoke those words, I knew immediately.

Even without the Dubbled family’s signature features – silver hair as cold as gathered winter and deep cyan blue eyes – I could recognize him. Because.

‘It’s Father…’

It was the boy version of Father!

The one among the Three Dubbled Brothers who resembled Father the most…

‘Johan Dubbled.’

I froze solid.

It was when Johan was staring at me intently without answering.

“Young Master!”

Viscount Dubois, who had rushed over in haste, was about to address Johan when he spotted me.

“Oh my, isn’t this Young Lady? Haha, have you already greeted Young Master? This is your first time meeting each other. This is Johan-nim, Young Lady’s eldest older brother. And Johan-nim, this is…”

“I know.”

“Pardon?”

“A thief.”

He said, glancing at the amethyst in my hand.

Five years after conquering the mountains that were Father and my two older brothers, I had finally encountered the last mountain I needed to climb.

‘Of all things, I had to look like a thief!’

* * *

The entire Dubbled family gathered in the dining room.

Father sat at the head of the round table, with Henri and Isaac on his left, and Johan on his right.

I sat across from Father, watching Johan’s expression carefully.

Isaac, who had been watching me, frowned and spoke.

“Are you still suspicious of the little one? Father said she could do as she pleased. I heard it myself.”

Johan showed no change in expression as he sliced through his meat with his knife.

“Unless you’re an idiot, you don’t need to be told twice to understand.”

Henri wiped his mouth with his napkin, set down his fork, and smiled at his elder brother.

“But what brings you to the territory? I heard you were attacked on your way to the Imperial Capital. You must have been quite anxious.”

That was sarcasm asking ‘Did you come home to hide because you were scared?’ Even at such words, Johan replied nonchalantly.

“Henri.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t strain your eyes. It shows you’re the one who’s scared.”

Henri’s complexion changed immediately.

Isaac clicked his tongue and sat back crookedly.

“Then what’s your real reason for coming?”

“Being scared is better than pathetically showing all your cards.”

“Are you talking to me? Want to fight?”

Blue sparks flickered from Isaac’s forearm. Then, clang! There was a sharp sound of cutlery being set down. It was Father.

“When you fight in front of me, I told you not to have these petty squabbles but to be prepared to kill at least one of you.”

At Father’s words, the sparks rising from Isaac’s forearm died down.

And my throat went dry.

‘I think I’m going to get indigestion…’

Though Father and my older brothers had been uncomfortable with each other before, it had never been this tense, so I was very flustered.

The rumors from my previous life about House Dubbled’s relationships being colder than winter’s north wind must have been true.

‘Come to think of it, Henri and Isaac didn’t get along well at first either.’

Even now, they weren’t exactly overflowing with brotherly affection.

When his sons fell silent, Father picked up his cutlery again and asked.

“So Johan, what’s your reason for coming?”

“This is the third time I’ve been attacked near the border.”

Isaac frowned and asked.

“So what? A few years ago, Henri and I were also attacked while traveling to and from the Academy for Gifted Children.”

“That’s exactly the problem.”

Johan said, stabbing his piece of meat.

“The fact that attacking House Dubbled has become normal.”

“Noble children are always at risk of kidnapping. From those who try to threaten parents by using their children to bandits who attack expensive carriages – there are plenty of them.”

“Just five years ago, who would have dared to attack Dubbled’s carriage?”

When his voice dropped low to the floor, Henri and Isaac’s expressions changed.

“Should I tell you idiots why only Dubbled was an exception?”

Henri furrowed his brow and answered in Isaac’s place.

“Because we exterminated three generations of anyone who caused harm. Even out of fear, there was no one who would take such contracts.”

Johan looked at Father and said.

“To be honest, it’s bothersome. Dealing with small fry.”

“And so?”

“A toothless tiger gets its hide stripped.”

“Are you saying that to me?”

Father and Johan’s gazes clashed coldly in the air.

I quickly lowered my head and focused on my meal.

‘Let’s eat quickly and escape.’

The saying about shrimp getting their backs broken in a whale fight wasn’t for nothing. But it would be too obvious to just slip away, so I quickly chewed my meat thoroughly.

“You’ve lost all fear from seeing an unfamiliar bird.”

“If you were someone to be feared, I wouldn’t need to be bothered.”

Quickly, quickly.

I was almost chewing frantically when it happened. My gums stung and then there was a crunching sound from inside.

Startled, I bit my tongue.

“Ow!”

“Little one!”

“Leblaine.”

Henri and Isaac approached asking “Are you okay?”

“Did you bite your tongue? Let me see.”

I made a tearful face and opened my mouth. Then, something dropped onto the plate with a thud and rolled around.

“…”

“…”

“Wha ith?”

Huh! Why is my pronunciation like this?

Shocked, I looked at the plate and saw two baby teeth had fallen out.

‘Right, it was time for my teeth to fall out.’

Since my physical growth was slow, the teeth that usually fall out around age eight for most children had just fallen out now.

I looked at my older brothers with a tearful expression. Isaac, who had been looking back and forth between me and my fallen teeth with a bewildered face, burst out laughing with a “Pfft.” Henri also turned his head and was trembling slightly.

“Don laugh! (Don’t laugh!)”

With two teeth missing, my pronunciation was lisping badly.

“We were talking about tiger teeth and your teeth really…”

Isaac pounded the table while laughing. Henri’s shoulders shook even more violently.

I glared and looked at Father.

‘Look at my older brothers!’

I looked at him with an expression seeking help, but Father’s lips were crumbling into a smile.

* * *

After the meal, the maids surrounded me.

“Young Lady, please don’t be so sad.”

“That’s right. Everyone loses their teeth. You were fine when your front teeth fell out too.”

“But ithn’t thith funny? (But isn’t this funny?)”

I have to go to the Imperial Capital now, but wouldn’t it be funny if I have two missing teeth?

‘My goal was to be a dignified Young Lady of Dubbled.’

When I became dejected, the maids quickly said,

“Not at all!”

If that’s the case, it might be somewhat comforting…

“Really? (Really?)”

As soon as I opened my mouth, laughter sounds of “Pfft!”, “Snort!”, “Kuhup…!” came from all directions.

Liars. It really is funny after all!

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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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