The Duke Dad I Chose Can’t (Really) See Well - Chapter 9

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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 9

Soon, the horse began moving forward vigorously.

After watching the carriage disappear into the distance, I turned back toward the open main gate of Stukkyia Castle.

Perhaps due to the shadow’s influence from the magical creature, I could now properly see the scenery inside.

As I quietly observed the interior, the magical creature wagged its tail gently as if suggesting we go in together.

‘A place where anything can be discarded. A living underworld…’

Mulling over the terrifying nickname, I gripped tightly the gloves Lisa had given me.

Whoosh-

Taking a deep breath of cold air until my stomach felt full, I stepped forward vigorously into the interior.

Good.

‘Let’s go see this underworld!’

* * *

It seemed the shadow’s owner really was this magical creature. The inside of the main gate wasn’t as dark as when the door first opened.

Thanks to that, I could see the interior of the castle a bit more comfortably. I had expected it, given all the talk about hell and graves, but…

‘Hmm, it really doesn’t look like a place where people could live.’

Icicles that had formed who knows when.

Castle walls covered with dried vines and moss, as if no one had properly maintained them.

Half-broken boxes that only caught falling snow, and glass shards that crunched underfoot with every step.

It was an eerie scene, as if ghosts might appear at any moment.

‘Well, ghosts aren’t scary. I’ve seen them before, long ago.’

It was because I was me that I could look around; if it had been other children my age, they probably would have burst into tears.

‘Still, in terms of scale, it’s not inferior to Count Agnito’s castle.’

Who could have predicted it?

That the dark Stukkyia would become a ‘pile of trash’ in an instant after ‘that incident’…

That’s when it happened.

Swoosh.

I heard a strange sound from somewhere.

I looked up startled, but there was nothing there. Just a bare tree branch waving as if beckoning me over.

“…”

Gulping down my saliva, I quietly picked up the puppy (magical creature).

“It’s, it’s nothing special, just cold. Just cold. Not because I’m scared.”

“Kyung…”

It seemed to glare at me as if saying ‘no way,’ but I put even more strength into my arms holding the magical creature.

And that’s when it happened. Once again, I heard the sound of something moving.

Swoosh.

Swoosh.

It was the sound of something being dragged. The moment I thought that form was getting closer, what appeared were…

People wearing black masks.

“Hurry up, we need to get out of here before we’re caught.”

“Wait, wait. This thing is too heavy…!”

“You weak bastard. That’s why you’re still in that state!”

The person called weak was carrying a sack. It seemed to be the source of the sound I heard earlier.

“Ah shit, what a surprise. What’s this now?”

Not expecting to meet me, the Lead Thief let out a refreshing curse.

‘Ah. These are thieves who snuck into Stukkyia.’

After ‘that incident,’ Stukkyia became a place where anything could be discarded.

Dead things, living things, or even non-living things were there, and some people used this rumor in reverse to leave things that needed to be hidden in Stukkyia. And there were those who took advantage of this gap to steal these things, and these seemed to be among them.

“Damn, what’s with that kid?”

The man who had been dragging the sack frowned when he spotted me.

“Finish her off quickly! What if rumors spread?”

“No, wait a minute.”

The Lead Thief raised his hand.

“You know that story, right? The rumor that Pater Stukya has countless children because he’s so promiscuous.”

“What does that have to do with this situation?”

“That thing in her arms is the gatekeeper magical creature that guards This Castle. She must be closely connected to Pater Stukya. And…”

The Driver said.

“No one has ever ‘stolen’ something living from Stukkyia, right?”

Saying that, the Driver grinned wickedly.

Feeling a slight chill, I hesitated and stepped back.

“Hey hey, don’t be scared. We’re going to a much better place than this scary place.”

With an unpleasant smile, the man slowly approached me.

‘What should I do? Should I run away?’

But if I run away now… I won’t be able to meet Pater Stukya.

It was while I was pondering.

“I’m… I’m going to…”

The man’s speech became unnaturally stretched, like tape being forcibly extended.

And before long, he collapsed with a thud into the snow.

“What, what?”

“Why is he suddenly acting like that!”

His companions panicked and fumbled.

But I saw it.

The black energy that had been rippling in front of the Driver just moments before.

“Ah, damn.”

Soon, an unfamiliar voice was heard.

“It doesn’t work well when I haven’t done it in a while.”

No, it was a familiar voice. I had heard it once before.

A Driver wearing shadows like armor stood before me.

I could tell instinctively.

The owner of the living tomb.

It was Pater Stukya, the Duke of Stukkyia.

However, if there was something different from last time, it was that his eyes were covered with black cloth.

“How, how did this happen… The, the Duke definitely wasn’t supposed to come out…!”

One of his companions shouted in an unbelieving voice.

Then, as if waiting for this, black shadows blocked the thieves’ mouths.

Only after they became quiet did the Duke approach my side.

He kicked the man who had collapsed weakly with his foot.

“Hmm. I’m sure I locked up properly, but these kinds of guys keep getting in…”

His long, drawn-out low tone seemed both bored and annoyed.

That’s when it happened.

The man who had been poking at the thief pressed down firmly on the thief’s back.

“Kid.”

Then he slowly leaned his upper body.

“I heard that the suitable person I had stationed suddenly disappeared.”

Precisely toward me.

“Do you know anything about it?”

“…”

“As you can see, my eyes are like this, so I need an explanation.”

He tapped his covered eye with his index finger as he spoke.

Despite his seemingly gentle, languid questioning, the atmosphere was so threatening that I unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.

Though his eyes were clearly covered, his face with the black eyepatch was staring directly at me.

No sword, no other threatening objects.

Yet an invisible pressure seemed to weigh down my entire body. I opened my mouth calmly.

“…If that suitable person is the demon guarding the gate, then I have it with me right now.”

“How so?”

“Because I opened the gate. I wanted to enter this castle.”

“Ah… Then what’s the reason?”

His plain tone continued to question my intentions.

What answer should I give here?

The countless thoughts I’d had while coming to Stukkyia flashed through my mind.

But seeing Paterre Stukkyia, I understood.

‘Half-hearted words won’t work.’

In that case.

“Your Grace’s…”

“Mm-hmm, mine.”

I slowly but powerfully declared.

“-I want to become Your Grace’s daughter!”

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

Even the thieves, whose mouths had been gagged in shock, widened their eyes in amazement.

“This is an unexpected answer…”

Only Paterre Stukkyia raised the corners of his mouth with interest.

“What’s your reason for wanting to become my daughter?”

“The adults said so. That I’m so unlucky and gloomy that I must be Paterre Stukkyia’s daughter.”

Being called an unlucky and gloomy child was true. The last part was slightly seasoned, though.

Even though it was criticism directed at me, Paterre Stukkyia didn’t mind and continued asking.

“What does your mother do?”

“She passed away.”

“Oh my, how sad. So you don’t know who your father is?”

“They said no one knows who my father is! Not even my mother!”

This too was true.

They said my mother passed away without ever revealing who my father was until the end.

“Hmm…”

The Duke let out a slow breath.

He was probably thinking I was suspicious too.

‘But it won’t be a proposal worth rejecting.’

Before my regression, right around this time, the Temple and Imperial Palace had pressured Stukkyia about succession. Threatening to revoke his ducal title if he didn’t fulfill his duties as a noble.

Naturally, people thought Paterre Stukkyia would never follow the imperial command.

However, he opened the castle gates. And he really adopted a noble child as his heir.

Everyone expected that Stukkyia might regain his former reputation.

But that child escaped from Paterre Castle before long.

With his body so broken he couldn’t use it.

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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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