Chapter 10 (1/2)

‘Oh, as expected… It was too much.’

Elisabeth drooped her eyes in disappointment.

Victoire opened his eyes wide as the little girl’s cheeks were filled with anxiety. He never dreamed that Elisabeth would be disappointed by his answer. He added words in a haste.

“It’s like a doll, not a person.”

Victoire said, genuinely perplexed.

He has raised a child, too. However, it was the first time he felt this way, even though he thought Damon and Dylan were handsome just like him.

Damon and Dylan don’t wear ribbons, and boys’ clothes are all similar in color and detail.

So he said, ‘Something like that.’ He could only express it up to that extent.

He simply organized his feelings.

‘People shouldn’t be like dolls.’

“Then from now on, I won’t do it in the future.”

But Elisabeth, who was even more disappointed at what Victoire added, spoke in a sullen tone.

Victoire was taken aback.

“It’s fine.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no need to not do it in the future. Because it’s cute.”

The desperate Victoire expressed his feelings again simply.

‘Even if you’re like a doll, you’ll be fine if you’re cute.’

“Hehe. That’s a relief. I chose it!”

Elisabeth proudly said.

Victoire nodded his head. As if it was telling her that she did well, Elisabeth gained confidence.

‘Actually, I was worried because it was my first time doing something like this.’

I couldn’t even dream of it when I was in the duchy of Cabezo.

‘I’m glad the reaction wasn’t that bad.’

She ran in front of Victoire.

“Are you coming back early today?”

That was impossible. Victoire has always been buried in countless things.

Because of that, he felt like this child was feeling a little lonely.

‘You ask me if I will come back early every time.’

In the past, he completely forgot the thought of the mansion while he was working. There was no expectation that anyone would wait for him.

But now he remembered this child was waiting for him even when he was working.

‘I can’t believe you’ve become attached to me so quickly. It’s a little pitiful.’

He knew the past of the abused child. It is also true that he used it.

Is it because of that? Nowadays, there was a strange feeling that he had never felt that blossomed in Victoire’s heart.

For now, VIctoire defined it as ‘sympathy.’

“I’ll try to come home soon.”

“I’ll be waiting! I won’t sleep.”

“You must sleep. That’s how you’ll grow big.”

“Alright. I’ll do as Your Grace says.”

The child was easily convinced. It’s not like he made a point, but she listened well. She was such a good child.

Victoire stroked Elisabeth’s head.

“I’ll see you in the evening, Your Grace.”

Elisabeth bowed politely and left the office.

Elisabeth left the office with such regards. Knowing that Victoire was busy every morning, she didn’t even bother.

‘I don’t mind hanging on a little longer.’

Victoire felt bummed.

Harry, an aide who had been watching the scene from the beginning, asked with a puzzled look.

“Your Grace, what kind of… acting is that?”

“Acting?”

Victoire asked back coldly. It was a return to his original brusque way of speaking.

‘You’re playing a sweet father to make the child believe in you.’

Harry reached a conclusion, believing that Victoire was ashamed of himself.

“Don’t say weird things. There’s one thing you have to do, Harry.”

“Yes.”

“Did you see the ribbon Elisabeth wore?”

“Yes?”

“If you have a ribbon similar to that, get everything.”

“Y-Yes?”

Harry tilted his head and looked at the serious face Victoire.

“Are you trying to give it to Young Lady Elisabeth as a gift?”

“No, not exactly like that. It’s because I’m curious, so stop talking and go get it.”

There’s no way Victoire himself will be wearing a ribbon just because he’s curious.

‘You can be honest with me and say that you’re just trying to give it to her as a gift.’

Harry shrugged his shoulders.

***

It didn’t take long for the news of Count Daughtry’s adoption of a child of a distant relative spread to the social circle. This is because Count Daughtry, who appears in society like a comet and subject to both scandal and envy at the same time, was the favorite topic of noblemen.

However, no one had ever seen the daughter except for the Count’s closest aides.

“At this point, I’m sure he’s going to reveal a little bit about her, but how bad is she that he’s hiding it?”

“There’s a story that she’s so pretty that he doesn’t want her to be kidnapped.”

Rumors about the youngest daughter of Count Daughtry, Elisabeth Daughtry, varied. But when it became known that Elisabeth was a poor relative’s daughter, the rumor spread to a worse side.

‘A brute girl who doesn’t even know basic manners,’ or ‘She was so stupid that even the best teachers gave up and ran away.’

Anyway, thanks to those powerful rumors, no word emerged that ‘Young Lady Elisabeth Daughtry’ looked exactly like the late ‘Princess Emilie Cabezo,’ who died not long ago.

Elisabeth never went out of the Count’s mansion nor did she meet anyone visiting the Count. Sometimes people visit the mansion for business, but Elisabeth was not introduced.

‘That’s why I keep circling inside!’

Elisabeth wandered about in the huge mansion. Like Count Daughtry, who had nothing but money, there were many rare things inside the mansion.

‘There was even one statue standing indifferently in the garden that came from a treasure ship that sank 500 years ago.’

Even if I stole that statue right now, I could live comfortably the rest of my life.