TIDSF 37

Chapter 37

SPLASH!

A sharp, bitter scent spread instantly through the air.

Red liquid dripped from the top of Rüden’s head.

The man stood frozen, mouth agape, as if he couldn’t immediately comprehend what had just happened.

The juice dripped down his face, running along his jawline before pooling on his lips. He instinctively licked it.

“Grapefruit…?”

“My juice!”

Waaaah!

A child who had been running and dropped their drink burst into loud tears.

“…Eve?”

“Eve? You mean… the young Duke of Altard…”

Only then did Rüden seem to understand what had happened, and he let out a confused chuckle.

It was a ridiculous sight.

The idea that such a little child, now bawling on the ground over spilled juice, was the Duke of Altard? Hilarious.

“What’s this ugly old man doing here?!”

Eve threw a fit, pointing accusingly at Rüden.

“Old man?! I’m only 34!”

“Oh.”

Surprising.

Just looking at his face, you’d think he was at least in his mid-40s.

“Ugh… how annoying!”

Eve angrily rummaged through her yellow crossbody bag, which had a cute chick embroidered on it, and began throwing things at Rüden.

Next to her, Aiden followed suit and threw something too.

“Huh? Ah!”

What the—?!

Out of the small bag came a handful of pebbles, pummeling Rüden.

They didn’t hurt much—they were thrown by children, after all—but being treated like a joke was infuriating.

“What are you all doing, just standing there?!”

“Oh my, how rude of my daughter. I’m terribly sorry,” said Calix, crouching leisurely between Eve and Aiden and gently taking away the pebbles.

“My dear daughter and son…”

And then, he threw a pebble at Rüden’s upper body.

“You mustn’t throw things at people like this.”

“Ah!”

Eve’s eyes sparkled.

“Like this?!”

She pulled out more pebbles and threw them.

Aiden copied her again.

“Now now, not like that either,” said Calix, shaking his head with a regretful expression. Then, as if demonstrating, he threw a pebble at Rüden’s thigh.

“Definitely not like this either, okay?”

Thud.

An apple flew.

“Of course, not like this either.”

Thud.

This time, a fork.

“No no, not this way either.”

Thud.

Trash.

“I said no!”

Thud.

Another rock flew.

It was twice as big as the last.

With dull thumps, random junk piled up at Rüden’s feet.

“You—you…!”

He clenched his fists, his whole body shaking.

“Hey! What the hell is going on here?!”

He shouted in a rough voice, speaking down to them.

“It’s a lesson. Ah, sorry again. My daughter and son are terribly ill-mannered,” Calix replied just as condescendingly, with a crooked smile.

With one hand in his pocket, he tilted his head in mock apology. It was infuriating.

“But he stole my juice!”

“Daddy will buy you another.”

Only when Calix started to soothe her did Eve stop chattering.

Sniff, sniff.

She buried her face into his chest and stayed still.

“They’re still being taught proper manners. My apologies. I hope you’ll be forgiving,” said Wood Refre, who had been silently watching, now stepping forward with a solemn expression.

Rüden was still fuming.

“I suggest you hurry up with their education! At this rate, the Altard family’s standards are so low it’d be hard for your ancestors to rest in peace!”

He scratched his face furiously.

Calix and Wood Refre glanced at Eve with subtle expressions.

“…Indeed.”

“I’ll be billing the Duke’s family for this incident. This outfit is far too valuable to let this slide! It’s from Ariel Boutique—custom made after a three-year wait!”

Count Rüden turned abruptly, still seething.

A waiter quietly approached and asked if he needed a towel, and with a scowl, Rüden snapped that of course he did. He stormed off to a room on the opposite side of the restaurant.

Only when the commotion settled did Calix glance downward and speak.

“Hey, daughter. What did you just do?”

“Vida! That girl really is your daughter, huh?”

Vivian popped out of nowhere, shouting.

“You’ve been here the whole time? Why are you only showing up now?”

“Huh? It was entertaining. The mighty Calix using words instead of fists, can you believe it?”

Vivian burst into laughter.

“Your daughter asked if we had fermented goat or sheep milk. Then she told me to mix that with mugwort juice and grapefruit juice.”

“…So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’? You didn’t know?”

Vivian roughly tousled Eve’s hair as she grinned.

“To someone who’s been taking certain substances… that’s basically poison.”

A mischievous smile tugged at the corners of Eve’s lips as she subtly lifted her head.

BANG!

Back in the room, Count Cry Rüden furiously rubbed his face with the towel provided by the waiter.

“…Cry! What the hell happened to your face?!”

The elderly man inside, sipping tea, was wide-eyed at the sight of his son.

Jesus Rüden.

Only recently, at age 60, had he handed over the family reins to his eldest son. He was the one who had raised the formerly baron-ranked Rüden family to count status.

Shrewd in business and skilled in connections, he had transformed their forgotten northern estate into a central northern hub.

“What? Oh… I ran into the young Duke of Altard outside, and the kid’s utterly rotten. I knew the previous Duke adopted a commoner girl as his daughter, and I’d heard rumors that she’s been acting like some unruly street brat ever since taking over… but her behavior was just so low-class.”

Cry Rüden scratched at his face with thick fingers and slumped into a chair.

“She tripped while running, and whatever she was holding spilled all over me. And then she cried—so loudly and for so long! That whining voice was unbearable. Do all kids act like that? I’m sticky and miserable.”

He sniffled and grumbled.

Jesus Rüden raised his voice in frustration.

“That’s not what I’m asking. I mean, what the hell happened to your face?!”

“…Huh?”

Cry looked confused.

Jesus finally called a waiter over and requested a hand mirror.

When Cry Rüden saw his face, he gasped in shock.

“What is this?!”

“How should I know?! What exactly got spilled on you?!”

“I—I don’t know! I thought it was grapefruit juice… Oh no! I have an important gathering coming up—what is this mess?! It’s been hot and stinging this whole time!”

“Grapefruit juice…?”

Jesus Rüden furrowed his brow.

‘Was that even on the menu?’

He quickly scanned the nearby menu.

Nope.

Only grape and orange juice were listed.

‘Could it be an allergic reaction?’

Drug users often suffer from damaged immune systems.

His son’s skin, already scratched and dotted with injection marks, was highly sensitive to certain stimuli.

“Grapefruit…?”

Could this really happen just from grapefruit juice?

Unbelievable.

Jesus Rüden’s eyes widened.

“Are you sure that was grapefruit juice?”

“Yes, definitely grapefruit. A bit more sour and bitter than usual, but ingredients at places like that are all the same anyway.”

Cry Rüden dabbed gently at his bright red, rash-covered face, now covered with nail marks from scratching.

“I’m going to demand compensation from Altard! How am I supposed to face people like this?! How dare they?! Is that what they call a duke?!”

He shouted angrily.

Jesus Rüden’s face turned grave.

“…Who did you say did this?”

“I told you—it was that adopted commoner kid, the young Duke of Altard.”

He swallowed hard.

“I’d better go see this for myself.”

Jesus Rüden ordered his son to wash his face and body immediately and left the room in a hurry.