The Golden-Handed Baby Fixes Everything! - Chapter 13

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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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Chapter 13
But the child’s eyes were sparkling too brightly for him to correct her.
Her violet eyes shone with passion, and her flushed cheeks had turned a rosy red.
Her expression was puzzled, yet her voice carried an odd lilt of excitement.
“Hehe. A deal. Yay.”
Well, fine.
‘As long as she’s happy.’
Conti shrugged lightly and smiled.
“Do we need to write a contract, too?”
His smile faltered for a moment at her next words.
A contract…?
She wants to go that far?
Sure, the child had brought up the word “contract” on her own, but still.
Writing up an actual contract…
‘Isn’t that taking things a bit too seriously?’
Above all, it was absurd that a four-year-old would come out with something like a contract.
What on earth has she been learning in Brambshua?
‘Or is she just that clever?’
That could be it.
She did have a certain precocity that was far beyond a four-year-old’s.
Hmm.
‘Everyone’s going to say she takes after me.’
The corner of Conti’s lips twitched upward.
Whatever the case, once again, he couldn’t withstand the expectant gaze in the child’s eyes.
“…Fine. Sure, write one.”
“Yay! Gongzan-nim, you’re the best!”
The moment the answer left his mouth, the child jumped to her feet and bounced up and down.
Conti watched the overjoyed Melloni with a complicated expression.
Ravella, is this what you meant by doting father?
* * *
“Melloni will do her best.”
“…You can just do it roughly, you know.”
“No way. Only Melloni can be trusted. Because Melloni has confidence.”
“Yes. Go ahead and spread your wings, Marshmallow.”
The duke spoke with a somewhat troubled air, then added, “Ah.”
“Whatever else you do, keep this in mind. From now on, you are my own flesh and blood, my real daughter. Understand?”
“Yes!”
“If anyone doubts it, just insist. Half the world’s problems can be smoothed over by stubbornly insisting.”
“Yep!”
Only after the deal was sealed did the stifling tightness in my chest melt away, leaving me feeling refreshed.
‘I knew nothing in this world is free!’
Thanks to that, my worry about being kicked out right away eased a little.
‘Right, I feel much better when there’s give and take.’
But I can’t let my guard down yet.
After all, this deal clearly divides the parties into employer and employee.
Would you call it a sort of contract-worker position?
No, wait. We haven’t signed the contract yet, so…
‘A probationary position…?’
In that instant, a sharp sense of alarm shot through me.
‘If I make even one mistake, I might get cut loose.’
So I have to keep my wits about me.
My goal, above all, is survival.
And to that end.
‘I’ll do my part well, earn the duke’s recognition, and then become a full-time employee!’
There were three things I had to keep in mind from now on.
First, play the daughter role well.
Not just any daughter, but one who is acknowledged as the duke’s true child.
Second, diligently get in the way of the duke’s marriage.
Third, clearly know my place.
‘The duke’s refusal to marry must surely be for the sake of his nephews and nieces.’
Judging by the way he spoke of passing his title on to his nephews, I’m fairly sure he’s been holding a seat for them all this time.
If the Duke married and had a child of his own, the nephews’ place in the line of succession would become shaky.
So one of the things I have to do is—
‘Quietly keep the Duke’s child’s seat warm, then graciously give up the succession!’
It’s not as if I’d dare covet that position in the first place, and I have no intention of doing so.
‘Let’s not forget that this is strictly a contract.’
I’m a hired daughter.
It would be a problem if I got lulled by the familiarity and started believing I really was the Duke’s true daughter.
‘Playing the illegitimate child who carries the Duke’s blood.’
I mustn’t forget that this is my job.
Hmm, let me think.
‘So protecting his nephews is the Duke’s ultimate goal in taking me in?’
Gasp. I think that’s it!
There might be a reason about being a fool or whatever, but this goal seems far more important.
I lifted my head proudly at my rather convincing deduction.
I was currently cradled in the Duke’s arms, since he was going to use his Power to transport us to the Duke’s Residence.
As if he felt my gaze, those blue eyes turned toward me.
I stared right back into them and clenched both fists.
“Melloni weally gonna do her bestest, okay?”
“…Right. I’ll cheer you on.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Go, go, fighting! Yay!
* * *
“Urgh.”
I pounded my chest with my fist, trying to settle the churning in my stomach.
“Well, well. Guess that was a bit much for the little one.”
No, this isn’t just a bit much.
It’s the kind of thing that feels like I’m about to die.
‘I never imagined the cost of using Power to travel through space would be this steep.’
Only a few minutes ago I’d been burning with fighting spirit, but now, laughably, I’d wilted into something like spinach left too long in boiling water.
Ugh, Melloni’s dying…
I was in the middle of withering away when—
“Welcome back, Your Grace. Who’s the child?”
The one who spoke was a man I’d never seen before.
‘Is he Duke Pantheibe’s secretary or aide, or something like that?’
A gaunt-faced man, with shadows under his eyes that reached all the way down to his chin, looked back and forth between me and the Duke.
“…Please tell me that’s not true.”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at, but it’s true, Hudson.”
“No way!”
“Such a lack of faith. I’ve heard enough about your disloyalty, so go fetch a doctor. Can’t you see the kid’s dying?”
At the Duke’s words, Hudson’s bleary eyes shifted to me.
‘Ugh. I should smile.’
For a good first impression, a smiling greeting is a must.
And since I don’t want to cause trouble on my very first day, I should say I don’t need a doctor.
It’s not as if I’m in agony.
A little vomiting or some rest should be enough to fix this.
I had just opened my mouth to say exactly that when—
“Wait—ugh.”
“I’ll go get a doctor.”
Before I could finish my greeting, Hudson bolted from the room.
Still held in the Duke’s arms, I stared at the door that had swung shut with such a hollow click.
A little while later.
“Take this, and you’ll be better in no time.”
“Thank yooou—ugh.”
Right. Better to take the medicine than waste time on thanks.
The doctor, whom Hudson had dragged in, examined me quickly and handed over the medicine.
I popped the round, mud-like lump into my mouth, chewed it thoroughly, and swallowed.
‘Ugh, it’s so bitter.’
Still, it would be a waste to leave expensive medicine behind, so I gritted my teeth and swallowed it all.
I scrunched my nose at the lingering aftertaste in my mouth, and the Duke pulled something out of a drawer.
“Ah— open up, Marshmallow.”
Open up? Like this?
“Ahh, bwah.”
Oh. It’s delicious.
What slipped into my mouth was a candy the size of a fist.
While I melted into the sweetness, which dissolved on my tongue like silk, the doctor approached the duke.
“Since she has taken the calming medicine, she should recover soon.”
“Is that so? Then why is the child’s face still so pale? Look at it. It’s practically dough.”
“Ha-ha, that’s just a temporary—”
“Are you laughing?”
“It’s only a temporary symptom, Your Grace, so her color will return before long. I swear it on my hands.”
The doctor’s words were nothing but the truth.
Before long, the churning in my stomach settled all at once.
‘How can it work this well?’
I’d hardly ever taken medicine when I was sick, and even on the rare occasions I did, it never seemed to do a thing.
‘Was it because it was cheap medicine?’
Apparently, the Ducal Family’s medicine must be different in every way.
Or maybe the doctor is just that good.
That excellent doctor was now stealing glances at me, one after another. Hudson, standing behind him, had his gaze fixed on me as well.
‘Oh, right.’
I’m supposed to introduce myself!
Now that my body had settled down, the self-introduction I’d put off came back to me.
I jumped up from the sofa I’d been sprawled across.
Then I bowed my head stiffly toward the two of them and stretched one arm straight out.
One finger, two, three, four.
Four.
Ready!
“Annyeseyo! I’m Melloni, four years old, and I’m Gongzan-nim’s daughter! I don’t know who Mommy is!”
Phew, that was perfect.
I lifted my chin with pride.

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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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