The Villainess Duke Lady Hides Her Identity - Chapter 84

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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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84

For Reponya, winter snow had always been nothing but biting and cold. Especially after it fell, the next day the streets grew loud and children’s laughter filled the air, which she hated most of all.
It felt as though she were trapped alone in a bitter, piercing cold, and on such days her loneliness only deepened.
But today was different.
For the first time, winter snow felt warm.
The corners of Reponya’s mouth gradually lifted. Her gaze, which had been fixed on the ground, slowly rose.
The child was smiling more brightly than ever before—a smile so radiant it could have melted the snow piled up to her ankles.
“The snow is so pretty!”
Buddy, who had forgotten to bring it and followed along laughing, held up the scarf she’d meant to tie on earlier.
“In my eyes, you’re even prettier, miss.”
“I’ve never seen snow this beautiful before.”
Her cheeks flushed red in the biting air and white breath rose from her lips, but she felt no cold at all.
“Teach me how to make a snowman. I want to make a snowman.”
Reponya whined to Buddy, who was tying the scarf around her neck. Becky laughed with genuine delight at these words from Reponya, who almost never made requests of anyone first.
And she squatted down in front of Reponya and began packing snow between her two palms.
Crunch, crunch.
“First, you pack the snow together tightly like this.”
Reponya copied Becky from beside her, packing snow, but since she was doing it for the first time, it wouldn’t compress properly and crumbled in her hands.
She tried again and again with earnest determination, but her hands were too small for a five-year-old, and the snow still wouldn’t pack right.
“…ugh.”
Reponya let out a frustrated sigh. Buddy hurriedly offered the snow ball he’d made.
“Miss, miss! Would you like to start with this one?”
But she wanted to make it from the beginning…
Reponya looked at the snow ball Buddy held out, then shook her head firmly. And again, with her small hands, she grasped the snow tightly and pressed down hard.
But it crumbled again.
Reponya’s shoulders drooped, and Buddy and Becky exchanged uncertain glances.
“Cotton ball. Can’t you even pack one ball? A cotton ball’s got its pride, doesn’t it? Hm?”
A large hand appeared from behind and covered both of Reponya’s palms.
Together they gathered the snow and pressed down firmly, forming a solid, compact ball.
Reponya tilted her head back.
“What have you been up to since morning?”
It was Fellens, who looked down at her without expression and tapped his chin gently against the top of her head.
And beside them, Havelian was also there, pressing the snow ball Reponya had made down even further.
“Ponya. Are you trying to make a snowman?”
At Havelian’s question, Reponya lowered her head and nodded.
“…Yeah. I’ve never done it before, so I was learning from Buddy and Becky.”
“Then why don’t we make one together? I made an enormous snowman when I was little.”
Havelian smiled and packed snow alongside her.
“Really?”
“I remember it now. Whenever I’d build a snowman, Fellens would destroy it. I’d build, and he’d wreck it.”
“…!!”
Reponya protectively covered the carefully-packed snow ball with the back of her hand and glared at Fellens.
Fellens laughed in disbelief.
“Ponya. I’m not a child anymore, you know?”
“…you can’t break my snowman. You understand?”
Fellens crouched down, rested his elbow on his thigh and propped his chin in his other hand, laughing. And with his free hand, he gently tapped the reddened tip of her nose.
“I’ll protect your snowman for you.”
Good. Now I can relax.
Reponya exhaled in relief and began making a snowman with Havelian.
She would pack a snow ball, press it down, roll it through the snow again, press it down more, and repeat.
‘Now I think I’m getting the hang of it!’
Having figured out the method, Reponya rolled her snow ball eagerly through the snowy field, darting here and there.
Beside her, Havelian and Fellens were also rolling larger snow balls, determined to outdo each other in building a bigger snowman.
“Miss. Here’s some warm milk. I’ve added honey, so it should be sweet.”
Buddy brought warm milk, having decided to delay breakfast until they finished building the snowman.
As she drank the warm milk, the coldness in her cheeks seemed to melt away. Her mouth grew sweet.
“Delicious.”
“Everyone’s looking forward to seeing the snowman you make, so please create a beautiful one.”
“Sure!”
Reponya nodded at Buddy’s encouragement and handed over her milk glass before refocusing on building the snowman.
“Reponya. Is that all you’ve got? Look at my snowman’s body.”
“Wow. Fellens, yours is really huge.”
“Reponya. Look at mine too. I’ve finished my snowman body as well.”
“Wow! Havelian, your snowman is absolutely massive! And so perfectly round and beautiful!”
“Right?”
“Wait… Let me make the head bigger and prettier.”
“Fellens. If the head is bigger than the body, it won’t stay on top. Think it through, little brother.”
The two began bickering as they started rolling the snowman’s head.
Reponya hurriedly set down her finished snowman body and began crafting the head as well.
Though much smaller and lopsided compared to what the two men had made, when she placed it between theirs, it still looked like a proper snowman body.
‘This is fun.’
She wasn’t doing anything particularly special, yet it wasn’t tiring at all—actually quite enjoyable. So this was why everyone played like this.
As she worked diligently on the snowman’s head, a butler approached.
“Duke Craitan has instructed all of you to wear heat stones to prevent catching a cold.”
The Duke must have been watching the three siblings play from the Estate, for he’d sent three heat stones.
“We don’t need them. Give them to Reponya.”
“Right. Reponya. Put one in your pocket and wear one around your neck too.”
Havelian hung one heat stone around her neck and tucked the others one each into her pockets.
As warmth touched skin that hadn’t noticed the cold, her body quickly grew toasty.
And then, at last.
“We’re done!”
Three snowmen stood completed, one for each builder.
Havelian’s snowman was impressively large and round, beautifully proportioned, while Fellens’s was oddly shaped, its head disproportionately enormous—so top-heavy it looked ready to topple.
Between them stood Reponya’s small snowman.
Though she’d worked hard, a chunk of snow had crumbled midway, and she’d dropped the head once while lifting it, leaving her snowman distinctly tiny.
“Now we just need to make the eyes and nose!”
Becky emerged from behind, carrying the materials for the features.
Reponya carefully crafted eyes from beans, a nose from a carrot, and a mouth from twigs.
“…Pretty.”
With faces complete, the three snowmen seemed to gaze back at them like reflections of Havelian, Fellens, and Reponya herself—and she couldn’t help but laugh.
As Reponya beamed with laughter, Havelian and Fellens standing beside her joined in.
“Cotton ball. Are you having fun? Want to make more?”
“No. Reponya, you’ve got a runny nose. You’ll catch a cold like this. Besides, we haven’t even had breakfast yet.”
Havelian gently brushed the snow from Reponya’s disheveled form with his hands, then scooped her up effortlessly into his arms.
“Let’s go inside and warm up, have some breakfast, then come back out. Understood? If you catch a cold, you won’t be able to play anymore.”
Reponya felt disappointed but couldn’t argue with his logic, so she nodded. Havelian paid no mind to his soiled clothes as he carried her into the Estate, not setting her down until they reached the Bedroom, where he issued orders to Buddy and Becky.
“Wash Reponya with warmer water than usual and dress her warmly.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Prepare warm tea. Once she’s finished washing, have her drink some.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Reponya. I’ll see you in the Dining Hall after you wash.”
“Wash up warm so you don’t catch a cold, cotton ball.”
“Okay!”
The two brothers set her down and returned to their rooms, bickering as they went.
Reponya washed herself in warm water as Havelian had instructed, dressed in thicker indoor clothes than usual, then headed down to the Dining Hall.
“Duke Craitan?”
In the Dining Hall sat not only the freshly washed Havelian and Fellens, but Duke Craitan himself.
It was already well past breakfast time.
“You looked like you were having such fun, so I waited.”
The Duke closed the documents he’d been reviewing and seated Reponya in a chair.
“Did you have a good time playing?”
“Yes. But I’m going to play again after this.”
From playing so energetically since morning, she found her appetite had returned—her stomach growling with hunger.
As she gripped her fork with determined vigor, Duke Craitan noticed and pre-ordered extra food from the kitchen for her.
Fellens, dining beside her, looked at Reponya and spoke.
“Reponya. After we eat, shall we have a snowball fight?”
“A snowball fight?”
“Like this—you pack the snow tight in your hands, then throw it at each other and try to hit.”
Fellens mimed the throwing motion, laughing. He’d seen children doing exactly that on snowy streets, flinging snow at one another in play.
Part of him wanted to join in.
“…Couldn’t we make one more snowman instead?”
There was still something he felt was missing.
“Another snowman? Is the one we made too small for you?”
“No, it’s not that….”
Reponya hesitated. The three men tilted their heads, watching her with curiosity.
“…Those three snowmen from before looked like us.”
“Hm?”
“So I wanted to make a snowman for you too, Duke Craitan.”
Then they’d match nicely, wouldn’t they?
“A snowman of me, you say.”
Duke Craitan let out a pleased chuckle.
“Havelian makes one perfect snowman and calls it done. Fellens spends his time knocking them over. But you’re the first person to ever offer to make one of me, Reponya.”
“Well, I just… I’m not very good at it.”
Reponya added this shyly.
“Nonsense. I was watching from the window earlier, and yours was the prettiest of them all. So I look forward to it, Reponya.”
So he’d been watching through the window the whole time.
“Okay! But I can’t make a really big one yet, so I need you brothers to help me.”
This was the first time since that earlier request that Reponya had asked for help of her own accord.
“I know how to make the roundest snowman in the world.”
“What are you talking about? I know how to make the sturdiest snowman in the world.”
Havelian and Fellens answered confidently. Reponya laughed with joy and ate her meal with renewed spirit.
That afternoon, the three men worked together to build an enormous snowman that stood protectively behind the three smaller ones, solid and reassuring.

And the next day.
Reponya woke with excitement, eager to see the snowmen they’d made—only to sink down in place, tears spilling from her eyes for the first time.
The three large snowmen stood undamaged, but the bright sunlight streaming down had melted Reponya’s small, loosely packed snowman without a trace.
As if even as a snowman, she had no place among this family.

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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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