The Duke Dad I Chose Can’t (Really) See Well - Chapter 3

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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 3

When Lisa was locked in solitary confinement.

I knelt before Bert and begged him.

I pleaded that I would do whatever he ordered, so please let Lisa go.

I said I would truly do anything.

At that time, Bert didn’t even blink an eye.

“You listening to me is only natural, yet you’re calling that a favor?”

Along with insulting words.

That’s why.

“Stop, stop it. Ugh, aaaaah!”

I didn’t stop my arm despite Bert’s continued screams.

Judging by how crisp the sound was, it must hurt, but it wouldn’t be greater than the pain Lisa and I had endured in the past.

“Huh, huuung-!”

Finally, it was the moment Bert burst into tears.

Along with approaching footsteps, the door burst open.

“What are you doing right now?”

At the voice that fell over my head, both my and Bert’s bodies flinched and stopped.

Standing at the doorway was the current Count Agnito, Bert’s father.

‘And also my uncle.’

Behind him were nobles who had come to visit the Paterre Estate.

“Ah, Father!”

Bert got up from his spot and hurriedly approached the Count.

“Hanisha hit me!”

“…She hit you?”

“Yes! I came to visit her since I heard she was sick, but she hit me. Look here, see this bump!”

The reason I was sick was because Bert had pushed me.

Yet he was telling the story while conveniently leaving that part out.

I wanted to hit him more, so strength went into the hand gripping the bread.

However, I stayed quiet. I knew what situation would follow.

“…There must have been some misunderstanding. Stop crying now.”

“What? What do you mean.”

At Count Agnito’s words, Bert blinked as if he couldn’t believe it.

“W-well, in life, don’t people get heated over trivial matters?”

“Aren’t they children who grew up like real siblings? Haha… Our children were like that too.”

The nobles in the back also began trailing off their words.

The Count had always taken his son’s side in any situation. It was natural for Bert’s eyes to flip.

“I’m telling you Hanisha hit me! Not only that, she beat me mercilessly with the bread I gave her!”

Saying that, Bert glared at me.

“Hanisha, you say it with your own mouth! You did that!”

“Bert, I told you to stop…!”

That’s when it happened.

“What’s going on?”

A low voice was heard from behind them.

They were clerics wearing white priestly robes.

‘People who really hate me.’

It was because the line of saints was broken when I was born. Perhaps they might hate me even more than Count Agnito’s people.

“Cleric…!”

And Bert knew that fact very well.

“On this precious day, I came to visit Hanisha after hearing she was sick. But instead of being grateful, Hanisha suddenly assaulted me.”

When was he whining, now Bert began appealing with proper formality.

The High Cleric’s eyes narrowed.

“You’re saying Miss Hanisha assaulted the young master?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“With what?”

“With that bread. I brought it as a get-well gift, and she used it to…”

“As a get-well gift, you gave such hard bread?”

“…!”

Bert, who had been tearful the whole time, shut his mouth tight.

‘Fool. I wasn’t keeping my mouth shut for no reason.’

Bert had definitely said this.

“Today happens to be a special day. I secretly took this for you without the adults knowing.”

The special day referred to the ‘Day of Mercy.’

The ‘Day of Mercy’ was when the Temple directly opened their storehouse to give food to street children.

This was because the Temple valued human life, especially children’s lives, as precious.

‘Something about God’s message being that children should never be killed under any circumstances.’

This was the reason why Agnito, who hated me to death, simply neglected me without any other harm.

Anyway, because of this, orphans without parents naturally came under the Temple’s jurisdiction, and Agnito, which had friendly relations with the Temple, also managed orphans as a form of sponsorship until they became adults. Though it was superficial, they had to act benevolent for the sake of the Temple’s and the family’s reputation.

But now, Bert, the heir of Agnito, had given hard bread to his cousin who had bandages wrapped tightly around her head. And it was burnt black on one side too.

They would know best what this meant.

Now was my chance.

I hurriedly waved my hands.

“N-no. Bert did nothing wrong. I just accidentally hit Bert while trying to pick up bread that fell on the ground.”

I spoke with a dejected face.

“It’s bread that even street children can barely eat. He shared something so precious with me, but I accidentally dropped it. It’s all my fault…”

While doing so, I also subtly let them know that my eating situation wasn’t good.

No matter how much a child deserved criticism, seeing such a situation with their own eyes would naturally evoke human sympathy.

“For such a thing to happen on the Day of Mercy of all days…”

“Ahem, it doesn’t look very good.”

As expected, someone coughed uncomfortably.

“No! You, you did that! I just gave you bread…”

Bert’s previously triumphant expression gradually turned pale.

“It’s true! She hit me!”

“Enough!”

Count Agnito quickly stopped Bert’s words.

The surroundings instantly became quiet.

He forced a smile and turned toward the clerics.

“There seems to have been some misunderstanding. Rather than doing this here, we should discuss this elsewhere…”

“Come to think of it, I momentarily forgot our purpose.”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t we come to check the donation records we’ve provided and to see the children sponsored by Agnito?”

The High Cleric’s face was stern as he said this.

To them, God’s name was both shield and banner. Being able to act under that name was an honor that couldn’t be exchanged for anything else.

But at this very moment, by my being revealed before people, God’s teachings had been tarnished.

God’s teaching that children must be well protected no matter what.

And this happened at Agnito, which maintained close relations with them.

‘Of course they’ll try to cover this up somehow.’

Resisting here would only amount to declaring war against the Temple.

“…Let’s move to another location.”

In the end, Count Agnito spoke in a grim voice. As the clerics passed by first following them, the nobles also awkwardly smiled and stepped aside.

Once everyone had left, the Count glared at Bert.

“Bert, you’re confined to the manor for the next week. Don’t think you can step even one foot outside the estate.”

“What? B-but tomorrow I have a sparring match with the other young lords…”

“If you want swords that badly, I’ll arrange a suitable opponent for you. Will that suffice?”

“…!”

Bert’s face turned pale in an instant. It meant corporal punishment.

The nanny, who had been watching nervously, took Bert and left the room.

Count Agnito clicked his tongue and glared at me before leaving the room. I hunched my body, pretending not to know what to do.

“You seem utterly useless.”

“…”

“Of all times, you had to cause such trouble on such an important day?”

“…”

“If only you resembled even half of your sister Esther… tsk tsk.”

As if his anger was rising even as he spoke, the Count clicked his tongue again and left the room.

Finally, the door closed. I slowly straightened my hunched body.

Normally, I would have been deeply hurt by those words, but I didn’t feel hurt at all.

‘Barking nonsense, that’s all I need to think of it as.’

I was turning around while snorting inwardly when.

“…”

I discovered Lisa standing there, frozen in surprise.

‘Ah, right…’

From Lisa’s perspective, until yesterday I was a child who couldn’t even speak properly…

Count Agnito’s people always mistreated me, and I always kept my mouth shut.

So much so that some people in the family thought I was mentally deficient.

I did speak quite well when I was alone with Lisa, but my body would freeze up when meeting people from the family.

For me to suddenly not only ram into Bert but also give a coherent explanation of the situation in front of adults – it was understandable that Lisa would be surprised.

‘T-to get through this situation naturally…’

Glancing around nervously, I raised my hand to my forehead.

“Ah, my head hurts…”

“Oh my goodness, Miss!”

Lisa hurriedly supported me.

As expected, nothing beats feigning illness to smooth over a situation.

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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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