Who could LeBlaine, an orphan, give Carnation as a gift to?The only person left was the Duke of Dubblede.
âOooooh!â
The vassals shouted as if they had found a rope.
âLook, Your Excellency!ââ
âCarnation!â
âSheâs the only one who will give you a carnations corsage!â
The vassals welcomed LeBlaineâs carnations, ready to jump if they could.
The Duke paused in front and glanced gently at LeBlaine. The child wriggled her hands with a shy face.
***
I thought the word âcarnationâ was an excuse for being left behind in the power struggle.
I was offended by what they said because I had no experience with the thing.
Itâs just a piece of thing thatâs useless to receive.
But, It didnât feel too bad to get it.
***
âWhat did I do wrong?â
The dukeâs eyes at me were so intense.
Are you mad that i spent a lot of money in the shop?
Or when i draw you in the sketchbook, did you notice that i always drew a horn with it?
âWhy are you looking at me like that?â¦â¦.â
My insides were burning black, and the vassals were smiling.
âDid you buy your own corsage?â
âYes.â
The vassals were overjoyed when I answered.
Then the dukeâs mouth curled up.
âWow, itâs even scarier today.â
I grabbed Leaâs leg, But the vassals smiled and pushed me lightly on the back.
âHow about handing it over to him now?â
âYes, that would be good.â
Shall we? I know i bought the corsage anyway, but itâs weird to procrastinate.
âItâs my first time giving a carnation, so Iâm a little embarrassed.â
I wriggled my hands.
Then the vassals became more tired and urged me, âGo ahead!â
The people surrounding me were divided like the Red Sea, and the duke was seen in front of a straight line.
And I was shyly sticking out a corsage.
To Lea.
ââ¦â¦â¦..!â
ââ¦â¦â¦..!â
ââ¦â¦â¦..!â
âOh my.â
Lea shut her mouth with a look as if she didnât think she would receive it.
âSince I gave you this, youâll give me more snacks, right?â
Lea bent her knees before me in tears.
âAre you trying to give it to me?â
âNea lwike. Thwank you. (Lea i like you,Thank you.)â
âThank you, little miss. Iâll keep it in my chestâ
Lea hugged me, and I rubbed my face against her neck.
But it was strange.
âWhy is the back of my head so cold?â
I looked back, wondering what was going on.
Except for the maids and Lea, the men were alternately looking at the corsage and the duke with a bluish face.
Then, the Duke called me.
âLeblaine.â
âYes?â
âMine.â
ââ¦..?â
âYou donât have mine.â
âYes!â
I didnât buy it because you will be annoyed with me. I did a good job, right?
The Duke wriggled his eyebrows as I laughed in Leaâs arms.
And for some reason, I stared at the vassals with their terrified faces, and they were all pale, swallowing dry saliva.
That evening, the Order of the Abolition of the Thanksgiving day was issued throughout by the Duke of Dubblede.
***
Lea had a red corsage on her chest all day long. And then every time I looked in the mirror, I was thrilled.
Of course, I also feel good because Lea is happy.
âLea gave me a bunch of snacks.â
I was so happy that I ate snacks until my stomach is full, then, Nos came to see me.
âShall we go?â
Today was the day I was supposed to tell the Empress Dowager how I was doing.
âYes!â
Nos laughed as i answered loudly.
âYouâre very brave too, this time.â
I nodded and my cheeks were bouncing.
When Nos saw it, he stretched out his hand. He seemed to want to touch my cheek.
But all of a sudden,the maids! they jumped out and blocked Nos.
âOh no.. iâm in troubleâ
Nos lowered his hand in a jagged manner to the maids. The maids shouted with disapproving looks, even though he had withdrawn his hands.
âWe have a waiting list!â
At the words of Linda, the maid, the other maids, with a look of disaproval, also condescended.
âYou have a chance once a week and take off within two seconds.â
âIf you touch it for a long time, her delicate skin canât stand it.â
â¦â¦when did you set that rule?
I looked at the maids with a puzzled look.
Unlike me, however, Nos nodded his head.
âI see. I almost made a big mistake.â
They soon discussed it with a cautious face.
âYou have to wait three weeks!â
Nos, who saw the list, shouted.
âYou have to wait three weeks?!â
âIâm giving you a fast pass. If itâs in order, youâll have wait for a month.â
âAre there so many people waiting?â
The maids snorted at Nosâs words with a look
âMy babyâs cheeks are lovely, cute, and the softest in the world. They all want to touch it.â
âOf course you want to touch it.â
âIf youâre human, you canât help but want to feel it.â
Nos shook his head hard again, but I was dumbfounded
âLwetâs Go. (Letâs Go.)â
It wasnât until he heard me that he came to his senses that he opened the door, saying, âOh, yes.â
I walked down the hall to the Dukeâs office.
Thereâs a pile of stuff in the hall, and the employees are frantically organizing them.
When I looked at him with a curious look, Nos said
âWeâre arranging gifts for the Emperorâs birthday party.â
Come to think of it, the nobles were busy preparing gifts at this time of year.
The Duke of Ami Thie, the father of my first life who was not interested in it, was polite with a small amount of gift.
But the Duke of Val Lua even borrowed money to prepare the gift.
At times like that, he splashes his money on it, but he is so stingy to others.
Especially to me.
When I was the child of Duke Val Lua, I bought a fountain pen which is a bit expensive.
At that time, the Duke of Val Lua was furious and locked me in the attic for three days.
Trapped in a dark old attic, I shuddered and cried for my wrong.
I remember hearing Val Luaâs second son ask the oldest son.
âBrother, are you not allowed to buy fountain pens?â
âWhy not? My father and mother will be happy if you ask me to buy them. Whereâs the parent who doesnât like children asking for school supplies?â
âBut why did LeBlaine get scolded?â
âSheâs not his own child.â
Thatâs when i knew
Iâm not their own child, so Iâm hated for trivial things, I have to try desperately.
âNow I have to do something that will appeal to the Duke of Dubblede.â
If you didnât act good, the adoption will fly away.
Thinking so, I entered the dukeâs office. The Duke, who was sitting at his desk, felt my presence and raised his head.
The silver-rimmed glasses, which were worn to look at the documents, matched the blue eyes perfectly, and my tongue was tied.
But is it because of the glasses? Somehow he looks more fierce than usual today.
When I clung to Nosâ leg, Nos smiled awkwardly.
He sat me on the dukeâs couch and whispered, so that the duke wouldnât hear.
âHeâs not mad at you.â
âI think heâs angry at himself whoâs looking forward to itâ¦â¦.â
Nos said, with a tearful look.
âWhat the hellâ
âPlease prepare two carnations next time.â
Ahâ¦â¦. Only then did I realize it and I was stunned.
All the money bought at the store belongs to Dubblede. It must be quite expensive since Iâve picked a lot of things.
âHe must have been upset because i didnât buy any for the duke even though i spent a lot of money.â
I should have just bought two corsages. He seem to really like carnations.
But that was already past.
âLetâs do something to please him instead.â
âWhich of the things I know can help the Duke?â
I was struggling, and I saw something on the sofa table.
Inside the luxurious jewelry box was a stone.
âWhy is the stone kept in such a luxurious jewelry box?â
It was as soon as I tilted my head.
My lungs tightened with vibrations.
Nosâs voice crumbled and the speed around me felt remarkably slow.
As if time in the world and i are passing differently.
A swarm of light flowed over the black stone and soon scattered quickly to form a line. Soon it became a six-star star in which two triangles crossed. The spine gave me goose bumps in an instant.
Beep-!
Something crossed my mind.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
[ Myâ¦..]
[Waâ¦..itâ¦]
A voice that feels like itâs seeping right into your head without piercing your ears.
Itâs too small to hear, but at some point, itâs very strong.
[My child.]
Only then did the voice of Nos, which had been crushed, and the slow gesture return to its original state.
Nos muttered in a stiff voice.
âIs it an earthquake?â
But the vibrations fade away in an instant.
the Duke drew the curtains and checked out the window.
âSend an expedition to Mount Rubbs. It could be a sign of a volcanic eruption.â
âYes.â
While the Duke and Nos were talking, I pressed my chest with a pale face.
My heart was beating so fast that I couldnât breathe.
What the hell is that?
the lustrous light that came upon me
And that voice that keeps going through my head.
The voice that came out of the stone called me anxiously. My hands moved toward the stone as if I had a will I didnât know. As if magnetic.
And when the stone came in my hand.
ââ¦â¦.â
It crumbled in an instant.
Only then did I come to my senses, and I puffed my lips in utter surprise.
âWha, wha, what!â
Unwillingly, I looked at the Duke and the Nos.
âWha,wha, what to do!, what to do!â
Nos was greatly surprised to see the remnants of a rock that was fluttering through a crack in my hand. The dukeâs eyes were also infrequently enlarged.