The Villainess Duke Lady Hides Her Identity - Chapter 22

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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 22

Leponya pressed her lips together at words she’d never heard in her life.
“I’m not angry with you. I was worried about you.”
“…worried about me?”
“Yes. If I seemed angry, it wasn’t anger at you—it was anger at myself for failing to protect you.”
“But you weren’t even there, Your Grace.”
“That’s no excuse. You’re at an age when you need protection, and it’s my responsibility—mine and Pelence’s, and the other adults in this house—to keep you safe. Your injury is not your fault. It’s mine.”
……
“Pelence told me you wanted to bring that rocking horse out.”
That loose-tongued fool. He went and blabbed about it already.
Leponya nodded cautiously.
He would surely say something about risking her life for a mere toy, that nothing was more precious than her own existence, that as a nobleman he could never understand such a thing.
Leponya was already preparing some excuse—that it was her first gift and she couldn’t bear to lose it.
“Thank you for treasuring it, Ponya.”
An entirely unexpected response came back. Leponya’s head snapped up in surprise.
Even Pelence had worn a face that said he couldn’t possibly understand her actions…
“…Doesn’t it make me look foolish? Trying to rescue the rocking horse? Aren’t you angry?”
The Duke reached out with a large hand and gently stroked Leponya’s cheek.
“Foolish? Where would you get such an idea? Ponya. If anyone dares to mock my daughter for this, I’ll teach them a lesson they won’t forget.”
The Duke of House Kraitan spoke with genuine sincerity. Though he didn’t know precisely what the rocking horse meant to her, he seemed to understand the heart of her—the way she cherished it and could not abandon it.
“I gave you that gift and made it precious to you. A thing like this hardly matters, so if I told you to throw it away, you’d be hurt. That’s why I can’t ask you to abandon it, Ponya.”
The rough palm continued to caress her cheek with such care that it tickled against the calloused skin.
“I respect you. If something is precious to you, then it’s precious to me as well. If you treasure a pebble from this house, then I too will treasure that pebble with you.”
The Duke turned and gestured with his eyes toward the rocking horse placed in the corner.
“I retrieved it from the Lake.”
Unlike when it had sunk to the lake bottom, the jewels now gleamed brilliantly once more.
“I dried everything thoroughly with Mana Stones and replaced all the jewels with new ones. I kept the old jewels and placed them in your Jewelry Box. I added a few safety mechanisms too—I’ll explain them once you’re feeling better.”
The Duke picked up the Jewelry Box from the table and held it out to Leponya.
Leponya accepted the box and opened it carefully. Inside lay jewels without a single blemish.
“It’s yours, Ponya. Since I gave it to you, it’s all yours.”
Suddenly, childhood memories surfaced.
When she was at the Orphanage, she’d once found a discarded tin can and named it her “treasure chest.”
She’d scrubbed it in the river countless times, but the fishy smell from whatever it once held never quite faded—it had been troublesome. Yet as a child, Leponya had felt a simple joy at the thought of having something that was hers alone.
But that evening, she’d ended up crying her eyes out.
Because she’d had no treasures of her own to fill it with.
Leponya had owned nothing. No matter how she searched, the only things worthy of the chest were meaningless wild grasses plucked from the roadside.
The sorrow of it had been overwhelming, and the realization of her own poverty had made her weep anew.
Had she ever held something precious like this before?
“…Thank you.”
The words tumbled out quietly as Leponya gazed at the Jewelry Box. Then she startled at her own words.
‘Thank you. I actually said thank you.’
This was the first time she’d ever spoken those words aloud. Leponya lifted her gaze cautiously to look at the Duke.
The Duke’s eyes had widened in surprise. But it lasted only a moment.
On that face which had always seemed so frightening, a smile gradually bloomed. Had she ever seen this man smile before?
Leponya flinched. When he’d chased after her during her days of stealing and fleeing, his face had held nothing but fear.
He was smiling over a simple word of thanks?
Leponya clutched the Jewelry Box tightly and lowered her head.
Something felt strange.
This couldn’t keep happening. Something planted in her chest was pushing through parched earth, trying to break the surface.
“Now that you’re awake, I should have called the physician immediately. Is there anywhere that hurts? Ponya?”
“Um, no. I’m fine.”
“You’re not cold? No runny nose? No headache? No cough? No sore throat?”
Wondering if five-year-old Leponya might not understand, the Duke went through each ailment one by one.
“Everything’s fine.”
“Your arms and legs don’t hurt?”
Leponya, about to respond automatically that she was fine, paused. Her arms and legs were trembling faintly—a consequence of swimming so vigorously in a five-year-old’s body.
Not yet. But maybe someday.
“…It hurts.”
Affection I’ll have to abandon eventually anyway, but for now—
“My arms and legs… they hurt.”
When something hurts, isn’t it all right to say so?
Leponya murmured the words quietly, glancing up. The Duke gazed at her small arms and legs with worry etched across his face, fidgeting restlessly.
“We must call the physician at once. There’s medicine, so don’t worry—wait. She’s still so young; taking too much medicine wouldn’t be good. …Ponya. Shall I massage your legs? No, if I lose control of my strength it could be worse. That’s it—I’ll have Buddy and Becky come massage them right away.”
“I-it’s not that bad!!”
Leponya gasped and grabbed the Duke’s arm, shaking her head. She’d only mentioned a little soreness, yet watching him act as if the world were crumbling down made her want to laugh.
Here was a man who could do anything in this empire, yet everyone deferred to him—and he grew anxious over a single word from Leponya.
“Rest should help.”
The Duke, catching sight of Leponya’s shy blush, fought down the urge to summon the servants immediately and merely nodded instead.
The Duke stroked Leponya’s hair, then suddenly scooped her into his arms.
By now Leponya was so accustomed to it that she relaxed without hesitation, nestling against him without restraint.
“Ponya.”
The Duke carried her toward the bedroom window, cradling her close.
‘Mm?’
Beyond the window stood the Knights of House Kraitan she’d seen on the Training Grounds before, assembled in perfect ranks.
“I’m going to assign one of them as your escort.”
“What?”
Leponya’s eyes widened in surprise. So suddenly?
“I know you dislike the idea. That’s why I wanted to give you time to accept it gradually. But I cannot leave you unprotected, no matter what.”
Worry filled every line of the Duke’s face. Since the fire, his Retainers had kept their distance from Leponya.
It seemed they’d learned that drawing near would only make things worse.
Yet they hadn’t abandoned her entirely either.
They remained in the mansion but took care to stay out of her sight.
Watching. Waiting for their chance.
“Besides, your Attendants will arrive soon, just as you said.”
It meant that the Retainers’ children would soon come to serve under Leponya.
“Of course, as you pointed out, you’ll be the one they serve, so they won’t overstep. But I cannot shake my worry.”
The Duke, burdened with concern, simply could not sit idle.
‘The Duke was always overprotective.’
She’d overlooked that. And with Leponya having nearly drowned in the Lake while wandering alone, it was only natural.
First the fire, now near-drowning.
He couldn’t simply let it rest anymore.
Leponya stared out the window at the Knights with alarm. At a glance, their skill was evident.
“Do you see the Knight in front, Ponya?”
Following the Duke’s gesture, Leponya turned her gaze.
Even from here, the Knight’s bearing was extraordinary. His physique bore the marks of relentless training, and his posture was far from ordinary.
Though distance obscured the details, even the scars visible on his palms spoke volumes….
‘Vice-Commander level.’
His strength was unmistakable.
“He is the Knight assigned as your escort starting tomorrow.”
“……What?”
Insane. Completely insane. A Knight like that as her escort? Leponya swallowed hard.
The Knight seemed to sense her stare and lifted his head slightly. Their eyes met precisely—his and Leponya’s through the window. She jerked her head away in alarm.
‘This cannot happen. Absolutely not!’
If she went about with someone so sharp, so keen….
Leponya pressed her lips tight together.
“Terrifying… frightening….”
“He was trained by our House from childhood and became a Knight. I educated him myself when we were young, and he has never caused trouble. He will not frighten you or cause inconvenience.”
Any grounds for refusal had vanished entirely.
Moreover, a man trained by the House—the Duke himself—from childhood, who became a Knight.
‘That means deep loyalty to House Kraitan.’
The moment Leponya showed even the slightest sign of suspicion, he might draw his blade.
Just as she was trying to think of how to refuse—
“I’ll be the little one’s escort.”

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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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