Chapter 5
When the Duke of Kreitan announced his intention to adopt Lephonia earlier, the household staff all seemed shocked. It meant that no one in the mansion had known about this adoption. Yet, this bedroom was perfect. It was clearly a room that had been kept clean, warmed, and prepared daily, waiting for the real Lady to return.
"The fact that he gave me this room means..."
Lephonia traced the shelf with her finger. Although it was a bedroom left vacant without an owner, there wasn't a single speck of dust.
"It’s clear he intends to raise me as a substitute for his lost daughter to ease his own guilt."
Otherwise, there would be no reason to give such a fine room to a child he had adopted on a whim. Or perhaps it was a strategy to provide an incredibly luxurious room to build up a sense of debt. He might be planning to say, "I let you live in such a fine room," when he eventually disowns her, so she wouldn't have any room to complain.
'How long can I stay here? A month? Or maybe half a year?'
Lephonia curled up in the rocking chair in front of the fireplace. Since she had never had anything good come from being noticed by others, she had a habit of hiding whenever she arrived in a new place.
"Hmm."
Lephonia hugged her raised knees and rested her chin on them. This was a body that could be cast out at any moment. It would be ideal to stay as long as possible to find the heirloom, but that wouldn't be possible.
'Before that, I have to roam the mansion and secure the location of the heirloom.'
She had scanned the mansion briefly on her way to the bedroom earlier, but perhaps because her legs were so short, it felt like one day wouldn't be enough to see it all. The only saving grace was that even though her body had become young, there was no problem with her memory; she hadn't forgotten anything she had been taught by the Pope. Knowing how to target a person's vital points without exerting much effort was necessary information for this five-year-old body.
'But for now, it’s better to act like a weak five-year-old rather than a five-year-old who knows where the vital points are.'
People don't stay on guard against someone who looks weaker than them.
'If I draw suspicion with strange behavior, my plan will fall apart, so I must not let anyone find out who I am.'
The Kreitan family were the Guardians of the Empire who protected its safety and peace. The moment her identity was discovered, the Duke of Kreitan would surely execute Lephonia, a criminal, on the spot. Having lived as a spy for the Pope, acting every single day, she was confident in her ability to do this.
'If I get caught while looking for the heirloom...'
Lephonia clenched her small, adorable fist and set her lips in a determined line.
'I’ll just have to stab a vital point and run away.'
She just needed to survive. Surviving in this world full of malice was her only goal. She could do anything for that. Even killing her emotions, even turning a blind eye to terrible things.
It was when Lephonia lowered her gaze.
"Where is the child?"
An unfamiliar voice came from behind.
"I am certain I ordered you to show her to the bedroom."
"Yes? I, I am certain she was in the bedroom just a moment ago!"
That voice, like rough grains of sand, was the Duke of Kreitan, and the trembling, herbivore-like voice belonged to the maid who had given her a candy when she was being washed. Thanks to the memory training she had undergone since she was young, memorizing people's faces and voices was not difficult at all.
"I ordered the butler to convey clearly that I would not overlook any signs of neglect. Did you not hear me?"
"I, I am sorry! Your Grace!"
The maid teared up at the Duke’s cold, hard tone.
'I must be careful not to get caught while staying close to him.'
He was truly worthy of the title "cold-blooded man with no blood or tears," even as a Guardian of the Empire.
"I told you clearly that she is my daughter."
Huh? Daughter?
"Since I have given her the family name, she is now the Lady of Kreitan."
Giving her the family name... and she became the Lady of Kreitan?
"You didn't decide on your own not to guide the child to the bedroom, did you?"
Wait.
Don't tell me that just now...
'Is he talking about me?'
Lephonia’s eyes, which had been secretly listening while curled up in the rocking chair, wavered.
"Absolutely not! I washed the Lady, and because there were no suitable clothes for her to change into, I went to find some."
"And you left a five-year-old who arrived here for the first time today all alone? What if the child got scared, went out, got lost, or got hurt?"
"I, I didn't think that far ahead."
"One of you should have stayed by the child's side. I said I would step away so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable while washing. Did that sound like an order to take your eyes off her?"
"It, it is my fault."
Lephonia unfolded her curled-up body and stood up from the chair in a hurry. Because she stood up too quickly, the chair tipped over backward with a loud, clattering noise.
Both of their gazes turned toward her. Lephonia instinctively raised her short hand.
"I, I'm right here."
Ah. This tongue of mine.
She had spoken in a hurry out of surprise, and her pronunciation had gotten tangled. Lephonia squeezed her eyes shut in shame as she saw their bewildered faces. The Duke of Kreitan approached Lephonia in a rush.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"N, no. I'm fine, but the chair fell over and broke—"
"Things like that are just consumables, so there's no need to worry."
It looked expensive because it was so plush. Is this nothing to a wealthy noble?
"It’s about time for you to be hungry, so I came to have a meal with you."
A meal? Her mouth watered at the thought of a noble's meal. But she had to endure it. He had emphasized in the carriage that food costs didn't amount to much, so if she said she was hungry not even a day later, he would surely think she wasn't cost-effective.
"I'm fine."
"You're not hungry?"
"Yes."
"What did you eat today?"
To stay in this mansion for as long as possible, she had to be as unobtrusive as possible.
'This much is easy.'
She remembered children who had been adopted by nobles in the past, only to be returned because they were bothersome and required constant care.
"Half an apple after I woke up."
"..."
"I told you I don't cost much in food. It's true, right? You don't have to look after me."
She would just stay quiet, as if she didn't exist, so she just hoped he wouldn't kick her out too soon.
"Were you full?"
"Yes."
"Have you always eaten like that?"
"Yes."
The Duke of Kreitan muttered as he touched the frayed sleeve of the clothes Lephonia was wearing without a second thought.
"Then that’s a problem..."
His muttering tone was chilling.
'Did I make a slip of the tongue?'
Lephonia quickly retraced their conversation. Did he hate apples? Or was it because she said she ate right after waking up?
"I dislike eating alone."
"...Huh?"
"So I intended to eat with you, but this is a predicament."
Lephonia’s eyes wavered. There were priests like that even when she lived in the residence provided by the Pope. Priests who, despite being adults, were so lonely they couldn't even eat a meal by themselves.
'To think the Duke of Kreitan would be like that, too.'
That the Guardian of the Empire was a fool who couldn't even eat a meal alone.
"Are you really not hungry?"
Should she remain a cost-effective child, or should she become a child who comforts a lonely Duke? Still, thinking long-term, the former seemed better.
"It will be delicious."
Lephonia’s shoulders flinched.
"The mansion's chef likes to cook, so he makes a lot. It’s a waste to have it thrown away every time. Sigh."
"I'll, I'll eat with you."
Lephonia answered immediately at the Duke of Kreitan’s sigh. Whenever he sighed, bad things always happened, so she answered reflexively.
"Shall we?"
The Duke of Kreitan accepted immediately and scooped Lephonia up into his arms.
"Ack!"
Lephonia, held in the Duke of Kreitan’s mountain-like, massive arms, cried out in surprise.
"I, I can walk myself!"
"What would you do if you got lost when you don't even know where the dining room is?"
The Duke of Kreitan walked out of the bedroom and down the hallway while still holding Lephonia. It was nice that her legs didn't hurt and she could see more because her perspective was higher, but...
'Is this right? I'm twenty years old. Is it right to be carried like this? Even when I was really five, I used to walk all the way across the mountain and river to do laundry.'
Lephonia’s soft cheeks flushed red. It was the first time in her life she had been held by someone like this.
"You'll fall if you don't hold on properly."
Lephonia was startled and grabbed the Duke’s collar tightly. The Duke was so tall that she felt like she would really get hurt if she fell. A sense of defeat she couldn't explain washed over her.
'Does he want to play the Adoption Game?'
She thought it was over since he had adopted her as his daughter and given her a bedroom. But to think that a man called cold-blooded would not only walk through the mansion with a child in his arms, but even suggest eating together.
Lephonia let out a light breath, and instead of trying to escape the Duke of Kreitan, she examined the mansion. She meticulously observed the locations of windows that could be opened in case she needed to run away, the frames hanging in every hallway, and drew a blueprint of the mansion in her mind. As she struggled to survive, looking at the structure of a place and drawing blueprints in her head had become second nature.
"They aren't in the mansion right now, but Lephonia, you have two older brothers as well."
"...Bro, brothers?"
Now that she thought about it, she had heard there were two sons in the Kreitan family.
'I'm getting brothers?'
And not just one, but two.
"The eldest, Habelian, is currently teaching cadets at the military academy, and the second, Pellen, is still at the academy. Originally, he should have graduated three years ago, but..."
"Academy?"
Lephonia tilted her head. When she investigated the information on the Kreitan family, the second son, Pellen, was at an age where he should have already graduated from the academy. Moreover, since both sons knew how to handle Aura, they should have had enough grades to graduate, so why were they still at the academy?
"Neither of them returns to the mansion often, so there is no need to pay them much mind."
Whatever the case, it was actually a good thing for Lephonia. If there were more eyes in the mansion, it would be harder to figure out the location of the heirloom and steal it to run away. If she had been a real five-year-old, she would have been happy to have a family, but not now.
The adoption was decided very easily the moment he saw Lephonia’s face. Look. There was still no proper reason or explanation. Disowning her after raising her for a year or two at most was perhaps a predetermined sequence.
'It's fine, there's nothing to be upset about. I don't intend to stay here until then, anyway.'
'Let's steal it quickly and run away!'
The first day of adoption.
Lephonia dreamed a grand dream.
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