Chapter 4
The place the Duke took me to was a café.
It seemed like the café targeted noble young ladies as its main clientele — the interior was incredibly elegant and clean, yet still carried a cute atmosphere.
“Do you like sweets?” he asked.
“A little,” I replied.
The Duke handed me the menu and said, “Order whatever you want, don’t hold back.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll take your order,” the waiter approached.
“Give me everything from here to here, please.”
The waiter looked confused and asked, “Pardon?”
“I’d like the entire menu, please.”
“The entire menu?”
“Yes. Every single item. Nothing left out.”
“……”
Even the Duke seemed taken aback by my complete lack of restraint. His mouth opened and closed in silence before he finally instructed the waiter to bring everything.
“I usually don’t turn down offers like this,” I said confidently.
“R-right…”
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
I didn’t want this awkward meeting to drag on, so I cut straight to the point.
The Duke looked slightly startled, probably not expecting me to be so forward. He took a deep breath and finally spoke.
“By any chance… your parents… what kind of people are they?”
Is he asking about my parents right now? On our first meeting? Is this some kind of twisted insult?
Not being used to noble speech, I couldn’t tell if this was supposed to be rude in a noble kind of way or not.
“What do you mean by that? I don’t quite understand.”
“Well… I’m just curious what kind of people they were.”
“I don’t know. When I opened my eyes, I was alone in an unfamiliar place, getting rained on.”
“Ah…”
I told nothing but the truth, but the Duke seemed to interpret it differently. I could tell from the emotion welling in his eyes.
‘At least he won’t suffer from dry eyes.’
While I blinked with my dry, lifeless eyes, the Duke held back his emotions and continued.
“Do you have a place to stay?”
“No.”
“If you have neither parents nor a place to go… would you consider coming with me—”
“No.”
I cut him off before he could finish.
But even my firm refusal didn’t make him back down.
“If you come with me, you’ll at least never go hungry. You can wear pretty dresses… I’ll buy you any accessories you like.”
“……”
“Your life would be far better than wandering the streets.”
He went on and on, listing all the benefits I’d enjoy if I went with him.
I must look a lot like his daughter. Who else would offer such generous conditions to a beggar they just met today?
His motives were clearly not pure, which only made my hesitation grow.
When I stayed silent for a while, the Duke called over his coachman and seemed to pass on some instructions.
Meanwhile, the desserts I had ordered began arriving at the table one after another. I glanced over the spread and was immediately shocked.
‘What the—why is the portion size like this? Did the chef nibble on everything before serving? I’m not some royal food taster!’
I leaned toward the waiter and asked quietly, “Is this omakase-style? Is this the first course?”
The waiter gave me a confused look and disappeared with an awkward smile.
Grumbling about the mouse-sized portions, I stabbed my fork into the dessert. Maybe eating sweets would help me think better.
As I aggressively stuffed my mouth with sugar, I reconsidered the Duke’s offer.
To be honest, it was extremely tempting. I didn’t even have a place to sleep tonight. Being taken in, fed, and clothed for free — who wouldn’t say yes?
But my hesitation stemmed from one thing: I still couldn’t figure out whether this world was a “child-rearing” genre or a “regretful family” genre.
If it was a child-rearing story, then I’d likely live a pretty decent life as the Duke said. But if it was a regretful family genre… things would turn out very differently.
A simple way to tell the difference is by testing speech patterns. If a child continues speaking with a baby voice well past a reasonable age, then it’s 99.9% a child-rearing story.
While the Duke was distracted, I decided to test it.
“The soy sauce factory manager is Manager Kang, and the bean paste factory manager is Manager Jang.”
…One more for good measure.
“The giraffe I drew is a long giraffe drawing, and the giraffe you drew is a not-long giraffe drawing.”
…….
“What the actual ♩♪♬♩♪♬♩♪♪♩♩.”
I need to find out his real reason for trying to adopt me.
“Why, exactly?”
My sudden question snapped him out of his conversation with the coachman.
“Why me?”
“What do you mean, ‘why you’?”
“Are you planning to adopt me? Or just sponsor me?”
“If you’re willing, I’d like to adopt you.”
Okay. So it’s definitely an adoption plot.
I looked straight into the Duke’s eyes and asked,
“Do I resemble someone from your family?”
At my question, his eyes visibly trembled.
“…Yes, you do.”
Which one is it—your wife? Your daughter?
“I lost… a daughter, four years ago. She was such a sweet child…”
Of course she was. Thanks for the overshare.
“Is that the reason you want to adopt me?”
“……”
“To replace the daughter you lost?”
“It’s not that… It’s just that when I first saw you, I had this overwhelming feeling that I had to take you in.”
He seemed choked up and took a sip of tea before continuing.
“You have the same hair and eye color as my daughter… and if she were alive, she’d be about your age now.”
“And what if your real daughter comes back? She won’t be happy to find someone else in her place.”
“I’d be overjoyed if she came back… but that won’t happen.”
Normally it wouldn’t, but since I’ve possessed her body, it definitely will.
“It’s already been four years since I lost her. I tried everything, but couldn’t find even a trace. Thinking she’ll come back just because I adopted you… That’s absurd.”
Saying it aloud seemed to cause him real pain, and he turned pale.
“Do you have any other children?”
“I have three sons. They’ll make good older brothers for you.”
Ugh. That’s giving off fake-sibling-who-gets-bullied vibes hard.
“You already have kids, and they’re all grown. Won’t they be surprised if a new little sister suddenly shows up?”
“They’ll treat you kindly once they meet you.”
“I’m a total stranger. What if they think I’m stealing their sister’s place?”
Parents never see their own children objectively. I stared coldly at the Duke.
“You’re tempting me with promises of food, shelter, and pretty clothes — but what if you adopt me and then just ignore me?”
“……”
“What if you get too busy and keep passing the responsibility to someone else — saying, ‘The staff will take care of her,’ while you just throw money at the problem?”
The Duke looked stunned, his mouth slightly open. The coachman beside him furrowed his brow, his face turning red and pale in rapid succession.
Right now, I was like an 8-ton truck with no brakes.
But I couldn’t help it. I was furious at how casually he brought up adoption.
Adoption is supposed to be a careful, serious decision — for both the one adopting and the one being adopted.
“What if your sons call me a fake, insult me, accuse me of things, and bully me?”
Even I could tell I was getting angrier — my voice sped up.
“What if, under your neglect, I become even more isolated, and the butler, maids, servants, and knights all start ignoring me!”
“……”
“What if my meals are always stale wheat bread and rotten food, and I have to wash my face every morning with ice-cold water?”
“W-what? Where is all this coming from…”
“Then one day, after living in cold neglect, the real daughter shows up, and I get accused of impersonating her and sentenced to death for attempted noble murder?!”
“W-wait! Calm down first.”
“Do I look calm to you?! I’m about to lose my damn ♬♩♩ here!”
Is this a joke? I can’t even say “neck” like a normal person in this place? What is this, Hong Gil-dong?
