Chapter 30
I quickly stepped in between the knights and Damian.
Just like the maids had told me, the knights’ area was separate from the maids’ quarters.
In other words, this was the first time I was actually facing the knights.
They seemed startled by my sudden appearance and immediately took a defensive stance.
“Wh-Who are you?”
“Hello, I’m—”
“She’s Minion No. 1!”
“Minion of Sir Damian?”
“Yup. My minion, Rose!”
At Damian’s introduction, the knights partially dropped their guard and began to look at me more carefully.
“This little thing?”
“She looks like a doll that came to life.”
└ [Ah, this is the classic child-rearing genre reaction.]
└ [YES!!! Say the heroine’s cute already!!!!!]
The young knight who said I looked like a doll seemed to mean it literally and added:
“You know those toy dolls that break if you even tap them a little.”
└ [♪♬♬♩Ahhh]
What were they expecting, that they’re suddenly singing a song of disappointment…?
The knights began murmuring among themselves.
“Good grief. I feel like she’d fly away if I brushed her with my fist.”
“She doesn’t even make a full handful.”
└ [Why is everyone here measuring things in fists?]
It was probably a figure of speech, but I kind of got it.
Maybe it was because they were all elite knights of this country—tall, broad, and with huge hands.
‘I mean, I’m not actually fist-sized, but they probably could grab my whole head with one hand…’
Just as I was thinking that, one thick hand really did start approaching my head.
Remembering how Gerold had once laid a hand on me, I instinctively flinched and shut my eyes tightly.
‘Huh?’
I felt a light touch, and when I opened my eyes, I saw the especially large knight’s hand resting gently atop my head.
└ [Gasp! Pat-pat moment incoming!]
└ [This is how child-rearing fantasy truly begins.]
“Assassins…”
“Pardon?”
“Be careful.”
└ [You mean… on dark roads?]
…I think he meant be careful of assassins.
‘Wait, they’re still looking for that assassin?!’
How long were they planning to hold a grudge?!
His hand was gone from my head in an instant, but it left behind an eerie chill—like he was saying, if they find the culprit, they’d be crushed with one hand.
‘G-guess I better not mention I beat Damian twice.’
Damian let it slide because he’s a kid, but who knows how the adults would react.
If this were the Torto mansion, I’d have been kicked out on the spot.
As I was trying to quietly retreat, Damian tilted his head and asked a dangerous question.
“Assassin? What assassin?”
“You mentioned it before, sir. That brazen coward who dared attack you here at the ducal estate, which we so diligently protect—”
“Damian! I have something to tell you. It’s good news!”
I hurriedly pushed Damian forward.
Resolving not to draw any more attention from the knights.
Since it had now been several weeks since I started living at the ducal estate, I had my own little routine.
In the morning, I interpreted lessons so Damian could understand them better.
At lunch, I translated conversations between Damian and Grandpa Benjamin to avoid any communication errors!
└ [Back to being a full-time interpreter lol]
└ [If she starts interpreting divine language next, she’s basically awakened.]
└ [An ultra-evolved interpreter is basically a saint.]
They were ready to kick me out when some divine being showed up, and now look at me.
Anyway, while helping raise Damian, I’d sometimes chat with the maids during downtime.
I wandered around, scouting the atmosphere.
‘Ack! Knights approaching!’
…and whenever I ran into knights, I’d stealthily slip out of sight.
└ [Can’t you just say there’s no assassin?]
I thought about that too, but… declaring there’s no assassin felt too risky.
‘What if there really is one?’
Remembering adult Damian’s many injuries made me feel uneasy.
And if I said there was no assassin, they’d start asking, “Then who attacked Master Damian?”
‘It’s easier to just let some imaginary assassin take the blame.’
└ [Assassin: ??]
Thinking about it, it’s not bad that they’re staying alert.
So, I decided to just keep dodging them.
‘Whew. Luckily I’m small enough to hide easily…’
Just as I came out from behind the flowerbed after confirming the knights were gone, I suddenly felt another presence and flinched.
I turned—and there was Duke Valent, staring directly at me!
‘Ack. Was I acting too suspicious?’
He already said this wasn’t a place for children.
And now, instead of showing him I’m doing well, he sees me sneaking around.
“W-Wow. There’s a snail behind the flowerbed.”
I blurted out a ridiculous excuse, but the duke looked at me with a “of course” expression.
He started walking again, clearly intending to pass by, so I quickly blocked his path.
“Excuse me!”
“Were you calling for me?”
“Yes. There’s no one else around here except you, Duke.”
“Weren’t you hiding because you were afraid of the knights?”
“No, it’s not that I’m scared…”
“You avoided me the first time we met, didn’t you?”
The first time… back in the capital?
But I never avoided the Duke.
└ [You ran off after seeing the Torto count lol]
‘Ah!’
Thinking back, I realized that when Duke Valent had drawn his sword, I had fled after spotting Count Torto behind him.
He must’ve misunderstood that I was afraid of him and the knights.
“No, I had a reason back then… Besides, you’re the one who keeps avoiding me.”
“Hmph.”
The duke didn’t argue further.
We hadn’t talked much, but I’d come to realize—if your words made sense, this duke would actually listen.
└ [Guess where Damian inherited his listening skills from.]
└ [Damian’s dad lmaoo]
That’s why I had called out to him.
Because now I had something to say.
“I don’t dislike living here. I’ve been helping Damian with his studies. Even the tutor said I was a huge help.”
“I only hired a private tutor because someone recommended pre-learning. I never intended to entrust him with all of Damian’s education. He’ll be attending the Academy anyway.”
└ [Did you see how your son is doing?!]
…I mean, I understood what he meant.
Once Damian experienced the Academy’s academic environment, he might study on his own.
The tutor’s “non-essential” stamp came to mind, but I pushed it aside and brought up my next point.
“And! I asked Grandpa Benjamin to teach Damian swordsmanship, and he agreed!”
The duke looked a bit surprised at that, but—
“There’s no need for a child to learn the sword early. It’s not that kind of world anymore.”
Here, I was at a loss for words.
The very idea of a child holding a sword seemed to remind the duke of war.
“Do you dislike me being here?”
“I told you. This isn’t a place for children.”
“But the maids live here fine, and Damian’s here too. There are lots of people. Why can’t a child stay?”
“Because…”
The duke’s eyes dimmed, as if recalling memories of war.
“Children die too easily.”
└ [Sudden war trauma combo attack…]
└ [Left me speechless]
Just like the fairies said, I was left without a response.
It’s true that compared to adults, children are much more vulnerable to minor injuries or illnesses.
‘If a child died in the duke’s household, it’d only ruin his reputation more…’
Not that I think he cared about his reputation—but still, it showed that to him, children were just fragile liabilities.
And I, being a child, couldn’t argue with that.
└ [The protagonist won’t die!]
└ [Rose death count: 1, nearly died: 1]
└ [LOL]
└ [Sometimes dies, but always comes back!]
What kind of excuse is that…
“If you ever want to return, just tell the head maid. I’ll arrange a carriage.”
While I was still speechless, the duke turned and walked away with long strides.
└ [Is this really his dad? So cold.]
└ [#1 thing a guardian in a child-rearing fantasy shouldn’t do: kick them out.]
└ [Guess we’re entering the “finding real parents” arc.]
‘Still, it didn’t feel like he loathed me…’
Maybe it was just my subjective impression, but it felt more like he was pushing me away out of fear for my safety.
In that case… what if the kind of child he wouldn’t reject stepped forward?
Next Day
The next morning, I casually brought it up while Damian was attending class.
“Damian, I was thinking… It’s going to be a while before you become the commander of the knights, right?”
“Yeah. My father’s still the commander of the Valent Knights.”
“Then… it might be hard for me to stay here much longer…”
The tutor, who was preparing the lesson, seemed to overhear and turned toward us.
“Miss Rose? You weren’t originally living here?”
“No. I was only allowed to stay temporarily. If the Duke tells me to leave… I have to go back to the orphanage.”
Thud. The textbook in the tutor’s hand dropped to the floor.
