The Duke Dad I Chose Can’t (Really) See Well - Chapter 2

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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 2

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When I opened my eyes again, what I saw was a familiar ceiling.

There were no ashes dancing before my eyes, no murderous magical energy.

‘Then is this heaven?’

The patterns are so ornate, it does seem like heaven at first glance…

‘Do people in heaven like these kinds of patterns too? It looks exactly like Count Agnito’s taste…’

Wait a minute. Agnito?

I bolted upright. Old items piled up on one side and a worn desk. A broken window hastily fixed with some adhesive.

‘This is… my room, isn’t it? What on earth happened…’

At that moment, my head began to throb painfully.

When the pain gradually subsided, various scenes I’d never seen before came to mind.

They all had different faces, but their life journeys were similar.

Orphans without family. Children who craved love.

But in the end, they never received the affection they wanted and died from accidents or serious illnesses.

Among those many lives, the most recent memory was of life in ‘South Korea,’ which also ended with being hit by a truck.

And then came the memories of Hanisha—that is, ‘me.’

Only then did I realize.

That everything I had just seen were memories of my past lives.

‘What on earth is going on…’

As I blinked blankly in the flood of pouring memories,

something suddenly caught my eye.

A mirror placed to one side, and in it I saw a small child.

A frame so frail it was hard to guess her age, and somewhat gaunt cheeks.

Tiny hands.

Unkempt platinum hair with bandages wrapped tightly around it.

Hanisha. In other words… it was me.

The one who wanted recognition from her family, but ultimately died alone and lonely.

‘What a gloomy thing.’

‘Seems like a wicked thing that sucked up all the family’s luck.’

The current ‘me’ was not much different from the ‘me’ in South Korea that I had seen last.

I was momentarily speechless.

Because it was the first time seeing ‘myself’ objectively, through a third person’s eyes.

‘I was… in this state.’

So dark and pitiful…

While I became like this, what exactly had I been clinging to?

I… what I wanted was…

“…I wanted to become an Agnito.”

A murmur escaped without me realizing it.

At that moment, my mind gradually cleared.

I had lived for others’ recognition all this time. I didn’t care what happened to myself.

But what came back was betrayal.

Then…

‘Just this once, wouldn’t it be okay to live for myself?’

Having returned to the past meant I knew the future.

‘In other words, it means I can change the future too.’

Confusion gradually began turning into resolve. Having come to my senses, I faced the situation step by step.

My uncle, Count Agnito, didn’t acknowledge me as his illegitimate child. Because I was a disgrace to the family.

He belatedly acknowledged such a me as a noble daughter and tried to marry me off to the leader of the Rebel Forces. That’s how closely connected the Agnito family was to the Imperial Palace. However, the Rebel Forces wouldn’t leave me, an Agnito, alone.

‘I can’t stop the Rebel Forces from attacking.’

But I can avoid the moment when I witness the Rebel Forces.

‘To do that, I first need to escape from the Agnitos…’

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly the door opened and someone came inside.

“Oh my, Miss Hanisha!”

And I heard a familiar voice.

Orange hair. Brown eyes. A somewhat old-looking maid’s uniform.

‘Ah.’

Time had passed, but the memory was still vivid.

The only person who treated me well while everyone else in this household ignored me.

It was Lisa, my only friend and the maid who took care of me.

Lisa, the eldest in her family, had come all the way to this distant estate to work as a maid to earn living expenses for her family.

She said that whenever she saw me, she was reminded of her youngest sibling, so she wanted to treat me even better.

But Lisa shouldn’t have done that.

“P-please don’t treat the young lady so roughly…!”

Because Lisa, who saw my cousin Bert bullying me, stood in front of me to protect me and was confined to solitary confinement as a result.

“Don’t give her a sip of water or a piece of bread.”

The season then was cold winter, and Lisa couldn’t overcome the cold and hunger and died.

I was too young then and only vaguely understood what the emotion of loss was.

So only after seeing Lisa’s cold body, only after reaching out with trembling hands to hold her in my arms, did I realize.

This is what it feels like to lose someone precious.

Like this, painful enough to make your chest ache, sad enough that you can’t even breathe…

That Lisa is alive.

She’s alive and right before my eyes.

With the same face as back then.

My vision blurred for a moment, then became clear again. Before I knew it, Lisa was approaching me with wide eyes.

“Are you alright, Miss? Are you still in a lot of pain?”

Then she gently wiped around my eyes. It seems I had shed tears without realizing it.

“You didn’t even make a sound of pain while you were unconscious, so I thought you were okay…”

Lisa looked at my head wrapped tightly in bandages, not knowing what to do.

How long has it been since I felt this touch.

I felt like I might burst into tears again, but I didn’t want to worry her, so I sniffled once.

“I had a nightmare. So I was a little startled.”

“I see. I should have stayed by your side the whole time. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. Lisa, you’re busy. …But what’s that?”

“Oh, I brought it just in case. If you hold it against your head, you’ll feel better.”

She placed what she had brought against the back of my head. The cold, hard object was an ice magic tool commonly used in kitchens.

“…Thank you, Lisa.”

“Don’t mention it. I just picked up something that was lying around.”

Lisa smiled brightly, but I know. How difficult it must have been for her to obtain this magic tool that’s common in the Paterre Estate.

Lisa was my maid, and being ‘Hanisha’s maid’ meant being at the bottom of the hierarchy in Paterre Castle.

Bang!

That’s when it happened. The door burst open without even a knock.

“What, you were awake?”

And a completely unwelcome voice reached my ears.

Sharply upturned eyes. Dark blonde hair, unlike mine.

It was Bert, Count Agnito’s son and my cousin.

“Was the dose too weak? That’s disappointing.”

Even without permission, Bert strode boldly inside. Lisa hid me behind her back.

“B-Bert, young master. What brings you here…?”

“I came to visit the sick.”

“Pardon?”

“I said I came to visit the sick.”

Bert grinned wickedly. An ominous feeling washed over me.

“Here, a gift.”

Thud—what fell to the floor was bread with blackened, burnt ends.

“You probably couldn’t eat properly after fainting like that. I specially brought this for you. This is quite a nice get-well gift, don’t you think?”

Bert shrugged his shoulders. Lisa could only bite her lips, unable to do anything either way.

This was exactly my position.

Having to keep my mouth shut helplessly even against such low-quality mockery.

The daughter of a corrupt saint.

‘It’ll die down a bit after Esther, Bert’s twin sister, manifests her holy power.’

But that was still far in the future. The current Agnito family had no saint or anything, and Bert was truly displeased about that.

“Listen carefully. For a child who tarnished the Agnito family’s reputation, this much is more than generous. You know that, right?”

At Bert’s words, Lisa stretched her arms behind her to wrap around me protectively. Instead of contradicting the young master’s words, she offered the maximum protection she could.

Even in front of that, Bert stood there triumphantly.

When he tormented me, and when I knelt in front of the solitary cell begging for Lisa’s release.

“You should have listened properly from the start.”

Before all my despair, he was always confident.

“…”

I quietly caught my breath. Without realizing it, my fists clenched tight.

“Why aren’t you eating? I told you to eat.”

“…”

“Ah, did you hurt your head so your hands are clumsy? Should I feed you?”

Thinking I was scared, Bert picked up the fallen bread and strode toward me.

“Come on, eat.”

Then he held out the bread.

“Today’s a special day after all. I secretly snuck this away from the adults for you.”

Bread that was burnt hard on one side and had even fallen on the ground just moments ago.

“Ah, miss…”

It was when Lisa was at a loss, unable to do anything either way.

I, who had been staring intently at the offered bread, opened my mouth.

“…Say, Bert. Do you know what karma is?”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“It means getting it back in return. Where I used to be, we used this word often.”

It was something my grandmother, who believed in shamanic faith in my previous previous life, used to say often.

Since she took in and raised me, an orphan with no family, heaven would send down equivalent compensation.

‘And yet whenever I tried to do anything, she’d say it would come back as karma and wouldn’t let me do anything.’

Why did those words come to mind now?

I couldn’t know, but the action I needed to take was clear.

“…Did this kid eat something wrong? So what if that’s true? And I told you to speak up, didn’t I? I still can’t hear you!”

Impatient Bert said “Hey, you move aside” to Lisa who was blocking me, then approached me.

When he came right up to my face, I slowly took the hard bread Bert was holding. It was when a victorious smile spread across Bert’s face.

“That’s right, you should have listened properly from the start.”

The moment those words I’d heard sickeningly often were repeated above my head.

I straightened my crouched body.

More precisely… my upper body!

Thwack!

As if I’d been waiting, the top of my head struck Bert’s jaw hard.

“Agh!”

Bert tumbled to the floor with a loud groan.

Since the top of my head was throbbing, Bert must have been in considerable pain too.

“You lowly thing, how dare you…!”

Right, I was wondering when those words would come out.

Since he was still running his mouth even after taking a hit, I felt no more pangs of conscience.

I approached Bert directly. I could see Bert’s face clouding with confusion.

“Why are you coming closer… And what’s with that bread?”

Thanks to Bert, I realized one thing.

Hard bread hurts.

Tremendously so.

Whack!

I swung the bread I was holding at Bert.

“Agh!”

Without stopping, hard.

“Ahhhhh!”

Bert began screaming loud enough to shake the ducal mansion.

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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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