The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 78

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 78
Sone lifted Clover into her arms and climbed into the carriage.
The household servants, sad to see the youngest lady of the Mansion depart for the Capital, waved farewell as Clover boarded.
“Safe travels, Miss!”
“Bye-bye, Papa!”
Clover waved brightly, her smile luminous, and gazed out through the carriage window at the Mansion receding behind them.
Through the glass, she spotted Kalid, Demian, and Arwin approaching on horseback toward the carriage.
But Pluto was nowhere to be seen.
‘Mmm……’
Of course—she’d been told he was confined to the Mansion.
Still, it would have been nice if Father had found a way around it.
Clover, forced to leave her only friend behind, pouted, her lower lip jutting out in disappointment.
“Hmm? Pea.”
Arwin, the first of the three to board, immediately pressed himself against Clover and gently poked her cheek.
“What’s wrong? Something sad?”
“Clover’s heart isn’t happy…….”
“Why?”
“Pluto…….”
Clover whimpered and pressed her face against the carriage window, raising her chin.
Kalid, the next to board, lifted her off her feet and settled her on his lap.
“That dress looks wonderful on you—it’s the same design your mother wore, made by the same craftsman who created hers.”
“Yes, I like it lots.”
As Clover nodded emphatically from her perch on Kalid’s knee, smiles bloomed across the faces of all three men in the carriage.
In her new dress, Clover looked precisely like a spring sprite—adorable in that innocent, objective way that had nothing to do with her being the youngest sibling.
Once they brought her to the Capital, there would be dozens of reclusive nobles desperate to shake her hand.
Left alone in a plaza with children, she’d surely be the most sought-after companion.
Demian and Arwin gazed at her with unmistakable pride.
Sone, too, found her youngest sister impossibly dear, gently playing with the child’s small hands.
“And one more thing…….”
Just then, Kalid leaned down and whispered close to Clover’s ear.
“……I’ve handled matters concerning the Prince.”
“……Yes?”
“He’ll arrive in the Capital near the end of the Founding Festival. This is a secret, Clover.”
At Kalid’s whisper, Clover’s eyes widened gradually, then grew as large as they possibly could.
“!”
Startled by the sudden news, Clover’s whole body jolted, but then her face broke into a radiant smile.
“……Yes!”
A secret—she’d keep it well.
‘Clover, the absolute secret-keeping child.’
So anything about Pluto could be kept secret too.
Kalid, watching Clover’s brightened expression, stroked her hair with a satisfied look.
The child’s face, which had been gloomy until moments before, was now radiant and clear.
“Happy?”
“Yes.”
Kalid popped a candy into Clover’s mouth.
Sweetness burst across her tongue in an instant. Her cheeks puffed out round.
Clover giggled with delight.
A far cry from her downturned expression moments before, when she’d thought she’d have to leave Pluto behind for good.
The faces of those from Claudian blossomed with smiles, relieved to see her mood transformed.
Arwin reached over and poked Clover’s candy-bulged cheek.
“Do you like Father?”
“Yes.”
“Do you like Father better, or do you like me?”
“……?”
At Arwin’s childish question, both Sone and Demian’s faces crumpled simultaneously.

“Questions like ‘Do you like Father or do you like me?’ or ‘Do you like Mother or do you like Father?’ aren’t good for a growing child. They plant compulsion—the feeling that she must choose one person over another. And beyond that, the intention behind such questions is obvious, which makes it even worse. When a child hears them, she naturally considers the person asking as the primary choice. But what if someone else is actually dearer to her? Life holds countless conflicts, and Clover’s life, like anyone’s, will have countless crossroads and pivots ahead. But you’re already imposing that kind of pressure on a four-year-old child…….”
“I understand.”

“……your intention is transparent, which only makes it worse. I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Clover, forgive me. I won’t ask questions like that anymore.”
Arwin, unwilling to hear another word from Demian, apologized with lightning speed.
‘What?’
Clover, nestled in Kalid’s arms and sucking on candy, hadn’t yet grasped the situation.
Lucky fluttered down and perched on Clover’s lap, speaking up.
[Demian sure does talk a lot, doesn’t he?]
“Mm-hmm.”
[I wonder if our little one will end up chattering just as much once she grows bigger and can speak fluently…….]
Perhaps.
But Clover suspected that even when she could speak fluently, she wouldn’t talk nearly as much as Demian.
After all, Claudian had Sone, who said the absolute minimum, and Demian, who said the absolute maximum—so Clover figured she’d probably fall somewhere in between.
As they spoke, the carriage began to roll forward slowly.
Clover pressed her face against the glass window and gazed at the servants who had come to see them off, watching until they faded from view.
***
Exhausted from the long journey, Clover had fallen asleep in Kalid’s arms before the carriage even reached the Mansion in the Capital.
Soft, steady breathing.
Kalid draped a thin blanket over the sleeping child so she wouldn’t wake, then stepped down from the carriage.
“My lord.”
The head steward who oversaw the management of the Capital Mansion arrived with two maids and bowed deeply.
“Ah, so this is…… the youngest lady……?”
“Yes.”
“Oh! We shall show her to her room at once.”
“No. I’ll take her.”
Kalid spoke softly, keeping Clover still cradled in his arms.
The steward then led Kalid to the child’s room that had been prepared in advance.
It was filled with toys from the toy shop that Kalid had acquired some time ago and given to Clover as a gift.
Kalid laid Clover carefully on the bed and gently stroked her head.
‘If she sleeps like this, the dress will get wrinkled.’
But what could be more important than the child’s rest?
Still, the dress probably needed to come off—Clover kept tossing and turning in her sleep as if uncomfortable.
The Northern Wind Lion, seeing this, padded softly onto the bed and curled its body into a circle at Clover’s head, purring contentedly.
“…….”
Kalid stared at the Summoned Creature, bewildered by its unfamiliar behavior.
The Summoned Creature, having seen countless strange behaviors from Authority Bearers by now, avoided Kalid’s gaze and settled into what could only be described as a loaf position.
At this point, even courtesy wouldn’t allow one to call it a lion anymore. Yet the Northern Wind Lion seemed quite satisfied with its current state.
Kalid decided to leave the Summoned Creature with Clover and stepped out of the room.
“Father, Clover……!”
Arwin, who had followed to see Clover, met Kalid in front of the doorway.
Kalid scooped Arwin up and carried him down the stairs while speaking.
“She’s sleeping. Don’t wake her.”
“But she’s wearing uncomfortable clothes!?”
“Just have the maids wake her and change her clothes.”
Just then, the gate keeper who stood guard outside the Mansion approached Kalid and Arwin and bowed.
Kalid wondered why the gate keeper had come. He asked curiously.
“What is it?”
“My lord, we have a visitor outside. How shall we proceed?”
“A visitor?”
“Yes. The Duke of House of Aube has come to call.”
At those words, Kalid’s voice turned uncertain as he pressed for clarification.
“……Who did you say arrived?”
***
With the arrival of the guest, the servants of the Claudian Mansion bustled about once more.
The stable master tended to the horses hitched to the carriage, while the other servants stood ready to inspect it once its passengers had disembarked.
A carriage bearing the wave emblem that symbolized House of Aube.
As large as the Claudian carriage, it rolled smoothly as if freshly oiled, coming to a stop at the entrance with quiet dignity.
Seeing this, Arwin muttered in a daze.
“It’s really them……?”
House of Aube had truly arrived.
But why were they visiting now? The festival hadn’t even begun.
Arwin harbored no warm feelings toward House of Aube. This remained true even though Pesson’s rudeness had already been a matter for which the Duke had apologized.
So it was only natural that Arwin’s greatest concern at this moment was whether Pesson was riding in that carriage.
It was at that moment that Arwin’s eyes widened as he gazed at the carriage of House of Aube.
The door swung open.
From the grand carriage descended a middle-aged woman with her hair swept up high, her white locks cascading like rough, elegant waves.
One of the two pillars of the Empire—the Duke of the Sea who guarded and protected the Empire along the coastline of Rosipheron.
Ziteia Aube had arrived.
And soon after, two children emerged from the carriage behind her, taking their place at her side.
The two siblings of House of Aube—Pesson Aube and Neinya Aube.
At the sight of the two figures who had descended from the carriage in the Duke’s wake, Arwin’s brow furrowed sharply.

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