That night, the chairman came to see me.
âI heard you had a nightmare. And youâre crying.â
âYes.â
âIs it because of me?â
The chairmanâs eyes were a little moist.
I blew on my cocoa and answered the chairman.
âIâm a bad guy. Iâm to blame, and..â
ââ¦â¦.â
âI should have said it softly.â
âTheweâs one thing you can do for me.â
At my words, the chairman coughed in vain and muttered,
âWhat?â¦.Why does it connect to that?â
As if my words are absurd, I smiled cutely for him.
The chairman paused and sighed.
ââ¦â¦.just say it.â
âGet a doll and make it a fake identityâ
âIf itâs a doll⦠Do you mean a ball jointed doll?â
The ball jointed doll is a magic tool.
It can be used as a substitute of a person by injecting magic or divine power to a doll that looks just like a real human being.
âCommoner, age in their late 20s, the doll will be the one to lead the top of hope.â
âItâs going to cost a fortune. Thereâs only one type of such magician in the Empire, and itâs hard to find even with Dubbledâs power.â
âI have some mwoney left for defecting.â
âHow are you going to defect if you use it?â
âI wonât.â
I stood up and ran over the chairman.
âIâm going to live here now.â
âYouâre not going to defect?â
I grinned and said,
âIâm gwoing to make the Dubbled independent from the empire. Where we wonât get the interference of the church and the imperial fwamily.â
ââ¦â¦!â
The chairmanâs face hardened.
âItâs not possible. Itâs something that everyone, from the first duke to the present duke, aimed for, but no one achieved it. Itâs just a meaningless dream.â
âWhy is your mouth quivering when you say itâs a dweam?â
He let out a burst of laughter.
âItâs funny to be excited at the word independence even at this age.â
âIsnât that too hwonest of you?â
The chairmanâs eyes glistened as I held the cocoa glass with both hands.
âPeople who have served in Dubbled are honest but they have a desire of their own. Itâs just hypocrites of the empire that call us villains.â
âThe doll is going to be a stand in for me until Iâm big enwough. Go get it.â
âIt seems like my birthday gift from Louis is not a spinel, but you, the little miss.â
The chairman and I looked at each other and laughed like a villainâ¦
***
There was a lot of work to do for my new goal. Fortunately, there were some things that I had completed while preparing for defect.
Funding the top of hope.
a powerful helperâ¦
âThe only thing left is the guard.â
Although Dubbledâs military prowess is excellent, it still lacks the power to counter the imperial family or church in case of emergency.
So I called in Andy.
Upon entering the room, the boy opened his mouth in an overwhelmed expression.
âWhat kind of room is thisâ¦â
I handed out a basket of cookies to him, who muttered in excitement.
âEat this.â
Andy, who picked up the cookies, glanced at me.
âBut what did you call me forâ¦â
âAndy, do you want to lwive here?â
When I asked so, Andy dropped a cookie.
Andy, with his palm outstretched, swallowed several times.
âWa,wa,wait.â
âHuh?â
âSince when?â
âSince when did you like me? Is it from the moment you gave me bread?â
âWhat?â
âI, Iâm in trouble. Sheâs cute, but sheâs four and Iâm thirteen. Thereâs too much age difference. Iâm the scumbag who sees a child as a woman.â
ââ¦â¦â
âYouâre really cute, and honestly, Iâve never seen a cute kid like you, but Iâm not a pervertââ
â¦What is he talking about.
âYou should be my knwight.â
When I looked at him, Andy, whose face was red as a tomato, asked back, âHuh?â
I wonât cancel the plan to find Zachary. However, it was the second best plan.
âEven if I find Zachary, he might not be loyal to me.â
But Andy clearly had good feelings for meâ¦
Though weaker than Zachary, his ability was strong enoughâ¦
He lead a group of four or five years old, and has driven much stronger adult men.
The strategy he used at that time.
The boldness.
The courage to be in the lead.
I gave him a very high score on all of that.
âI donât have the money to buy horses and weapons. Who will accepts me as a disciple?â
To be a knight, you need to be more than just being strong.
Horses are very expensive, and it was a very heavy burden for commoners to buy. In addition, they have to buy a usable weapon, and practice it for years as a disciple under a knight.
It must have been a difficult dream for Andy.
âI have a lot of money!â
I showed him the gems such as amber and diamonds that Isaac gave me last time in both hands.
âAre you really going to use me as a knight?â
âYes, the Dubbled is gwoing to raise you if you become my knwight.â
âMaster.â
He shifted his attitude instantly.
âWell, itâs a good thing. His petty attitude suits the Dubbleds.â
I nodded with satisfaction, and Andy said with a determined lookâ¦.
âThis is when you swear loyalty, right? I know it all.â
It would be the third time someone pledge allegiance to me, which was burdensome at first.
âAndy greets to the lordââ
He suddenly stop and frown. Then he murmured, âIsnât that too common a name for a knight?â
âOkay, Iâll change my name like a knight from today on.â
He put his knees on the floor and stared at meâ¦.
âThe knight Zachary greets the lord.â
ââ¦What?â
I looked at himâ¦
âWhat was that just now?â
âZachary, isnât that name just like a knight?â
I looked at Andy, or now Zachary, with a puzzled look on my faceâ¦
âReally?â
Is he really Zachary?
But Andy is so weak! If Andyâs a real Zachary, why couldnât he fight back at all?
âWhy didnât you stawnd up to my maids last time?â
âBecause I canât hit a woman.â
âYou cwied.â
âThe situation fits.â
Was it all a ploy?
Itâs really amazingâ¦
I was so sad when I couldnât find Zachary, but Andy is Zachary!
However, it was not Zacharyâs fault, so I pressed down on my forehead to calm down my resentment.
I called in Lea.
âLea, tweach Zachary the sword.â
âIs that childâs name Zachary?â
âYes, he chwanged it.â
âI see.â
Lea, who nodded, hit Zachary and looked at him.
âFollow me. Iâll teach you the sword.â
Zachary seemed to wonder that why a maid taught the sword, but he followed her.
And that day, Zachary really cried.
***
âItâs better to teach Zachary spears than swords. He have the talent.â
âOkayâ¦â
âHaha, heâs a funny kid. He have big fantasy about how a knight should act in front of others.â
Lea, who has taught Zachary for the past week, laughed, saying,
âEvery day has been a series of surprises.â
I looked at Zachary swinging the spear with the commander.
For some reason, I was angry, but I tried to think positively.
âI have two of the four best knights in my house.â
Isaac and Zachary.
As a joke, they said that if the four people gathered, half of the empireâs power would be helpless.
âIâll work hard to grow and use Zachary.â
I made up my mind.
To be the best knight, it seemed like it would take years to raise him properly.
So I asked Seria to make a deal with the mercenaries. Danju was a godly mercenary who was running errands in my past life as a beggar.
âFirst of all, I have to raise him.â
The more money, the better, and there was a need for funds that could be used inconspicuously.
âAnd until I grow up to some extent, there will be a lot of time left before I can take over, so I should get along well with my family.â
After deciding not to build a wall for the people of Dubbled, it turned out that the people of Dubbled were ordinary father and brothers.
Just an ordinary family who wants to spend time with their daughter and tries to take good care of her.
âI finally have a family that doesnât hate me.â
My heart was pounding with joy when I thought so.
I was covering my cheek when I heard a knock.
âThe master is looking for you.â
âDad?â
I nodded yes and followed the maid.
As I reached the room, I saw Isaac, who is on the sofa, and Henry who is reading a book.
Henry smiled at me and said,
âGood morning.â
Isaac also waved.
âDid you sleep well?â
I also said, âHi,â and sat between Henry and Isaac.
âDid the dyuke call you too?â
Isaac nodded.
Only
âYes.â
At that time, Dad came into the living room with Nos.
There were three small boxes in Nosâs hand.
When Dad sat down, Nos put three boxes on the table.
âOpen it.â
The three of us opened the box with a curious look.
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