Chapter 12
Youngest Lady in Contract
âEveryoneâs wondering. When we all meet, the mysterious Daughtry talks about his youngest daughter.â
The Marquis of Orell also chipped in.
âIt hasnât been long after she lost her parents and changed her environment, so itâs not time to go out yet. Sheâs having a hard time adjusting.â
Damon spoke in a friendly but clear tone.
âObviously, sheâll become the number one prospective bride for Dylan once she goes public. Haha.â
Victoire glared at Count Raizen, who was making silly remarks. Count Raizen shut his mouth tight.
âI heard sheâs a daughter of a distant relative, but how far? Itâs because itâs not the first time that a relative of the wealthy Count Daughtry lived and died.â
Marquis of Orell asked meaningfully.
âShe was a distant relative who I didnât know existed. I was accidentally contacted by people asking me where to leave the child.â
âIsnât such a distant relative practically a stranger? When she grows up, Sir Dylan and your youngest daughter can get married. First-class bride and groom! Hahaha!â
âCount Raizen!â
The Marquis of Orell frightfully said. Count Raizen, who was making too many silly remarks, trembled and shrinked his body.
âWell, itâs a good thing though.â
Count Raizen opened his mouth again to lighten up the atmosphere.
Victoire, Damon, and Marquis Orell all had faces that say: âLetâs see what nonsense it is this time.â
At the same time, they all looked at Count Raizen.
âYou suddenly got a little girl, so itâs a happy occasion, isnât it? She must be very lovely.â
âLovely?â
An image came to Victoireâs mind for a moment while I was laughing at Count Raizenâs words.
Elisabeth looked up with a naive face.
Elisabeth, who puts out her round face through the crack in the door every morning.
Elisabeth who was approaching with a smile.
His heart was pounding.
âYou must be happy to think about it. Youâre full of smiles.â
The voice of Marquis Orell brought back Victoire.
âNo. Thereâs a lot of things to worry about since the kidâs coming in. There are many new things to teach.â
Victoire stiffly said on purpose.
âBut itâs good to have a daughter. The Duke of Cabezo lost his daughter around the same time.â
Marquis Orell said quietly.
âBut His Excellency, the Duke, wasnât very sad isnât he?â
Count Raizen spoke again.
âIt was strange. Usually when you lose your daughter, youâre desperate to find her, right? But after announcing her death so early, she was treating his first daughter as if he never had one in the first place.â
âIâm sure His Excellency has a reason. Letâs not say anything carelessly.â
The Marquis of Orell coldly responded. At that moment, Victoire lost his cool.
âWhy wouldnât you be sad about your daughterâs death?â
Victoire clenched his fist.
âI knew the Duke of Cabezo was a family with no blood or tears, but thatâs really hard to bear.â
Damon wrapped the Victoireâs clenched fist in his palm to calm him down. Only then did Victoire realize that he was furious.
âWhy am I so mad about this? In conclusion, it was beneficial to us.â
Victoire was confused. He has always controlled his emotions. It was because he wanted to put emotions in a place where he could only pour them out. âA place that deserves to pour out emotionâ is the familyâs revenge. So far heâs been doing well. Thatâs why it was unbecoming of him to become so agitated.
âI think I need to change the subject.â
He quickly brought up his business story with a stiff expression on his face.
***
ââ¦..â
ââ¦..â
Four eyes rolled around in the drawing room and noticed. But Dylan, who actually led the silence, seemed indifferent.
âUh, Sir Dylan. Is there something bothering you?â
Thomas Raizen, who seemed to be the most uncomfortable, asked cautiously.
âNot really.â
âYouâre arrogant too. Sir Dylan.â
Tyce Orell sarcastically remarked. Dylan only gave him one glance, and did not respond.
Tyce Orell seemed to be fuming in his head and developed a fever. He was from a well-known Marquis family, and Dylan was from a Count family with nothing but money. Naturally, Dylan had to bow to him first.
But Dylan didnât even face Tyce Orell, let alone bow. On top of that, Dylanâs reputation, which is famous in the social world, is so high that he could not even compare with himself thus he felt inferior.
âItâs understandable. Your popularity is skyrocketing these days.â
Thomas said. Tyce glared at Thomas. But Thomas, who was more tactless than his father, was just innocent.
âEveryone says so. The Dukeâs ladyâs feelings are going to be towards Dylan.â
âWhy would Polia marry a son of a Count?â
Tyce screamed.
âSo noisy.â
Dylan turned his head around and looked out of the window.
âWhat? Noisy?â
âI know itâs not polite to come to someone elseâs house and make loud noises.â
âThen Iâll leave! What does Father even want me to do with this guy!â
Tyce left the drawing room like he had been waiting. Dylan didnât care whether he did.
Tyce, who always swarms like a child and yells at his own will, was too bothersome.
âIf youâre a decent, cute little girl like Elisabeth, you can be stubborn.â
Dylanâs heart fluttered as he thought casually of Elisabeth.
âWhat do you mean itâs okay? Not even him. I have to get her out of here.â
âTyce Orell, man. Just where is he even going. Thereâs nothing to do if you go out there.â
ââ¦..â
âIsnât that right, Sir Dylan? Oh, maybe he went looking for the youngest daughter, the hidden Daughtry?â
Dylanâs face instantly went blank with Thomasâ nonsense. Thomas again said anything without any sense, but if it were Tyce, there was a good chance he would do such a polite and reckless thing. The son of Marquis of Orell is so arrogant that he does not know how to be afraid of heaven.
âThat jerk, I have to stop him from going to Elisabethâs room.â
Dylan stormed out of his seat.
âHey, letâs go together!â
Thomas, who was left alone, scurried out following Dylan.
***
Elisabeth lay on her bed and stamped her feet.
âIâm so bored.â
Marian had left the room briefly, saying she was bringing puzzle toys for the bored Elisabeth.
âPuzzle toys. Looks like a baby.â
Of course, Elisabeth Daughtry is a child, but this soul inside her body was eighteen years old.
Besides, it hurts my pride,
âItâs honestly fun.â
The play was so much fun for the 12-year-old Elisabeth, who had never played childish games or played with toys when she was young.
In addition, Victoireâ¦
â¦bought toys carelessly. Every time he bought toys in the same manner and I had picked them up, they were all expensive and rare. There was no place to put toys in the room, so I had to make a separate toy room.
âIâm thankful, butâ¦..â
The days of hiding like this will continue. Little baby toys will never comfort Elisabeth.
âI canât wait for a puzzle for a 12-year-old every time.â
It occurred to me that I should prepare something to enjoy this confinement situation, not this confinement.
âShall I ask Victoire?â
Victoire may do her a favor out of guilt because he has to use Elisabeth. But if Dylan finds outâ¦
âHeâs already driving me out and he thinks Iâm an annoying child.â
To put it bluntly, it was Dylan, not Victoire or Damon, who really cared for Elisabeth.
Victoire and Damon were kind and affectionate. They were giving Elisabeth everything she needed right now and took care of her without saying anything.
But Dylan was the only one who tried to help Elisabeth not to be exploited.
It would have been better if you were just a little nicer.
âI might really hate you a little bit.â
Is it necessary to say âpiss offâ? Damonâs such a nice guy. Itâs just that for me, thatâs too much. Of course, from Dylanâs point of view, it was frustrating to see a child being used like a fool.
âRather, he doesnât even know Iâm using Victoire.â
Anyway, I couldnât keep bumping into Dylan for many of the days ahead as I stay here.
âI have no intention of leaving this house. So I have to win Dylanâs heart somehow.â
As a younger sister, she had to be less annoying even if she was not recognized.
âHow to do that? Iâll have to listen to you first, right?â
Thatâs why Elisabeth didnât take a step outside the room, even though she was sore and about to die.
âNo oneâs coming to this room until they go back. Ah, so bored.â
Elisabeth couldnât bear the boredom and rolled over the bed. Elisabeth, who was rolling around for two rows on the bed, immediately fell down to the floor..
âOwwâ¦â
No matter how bored you are, what kind of childish behavior is this?
âI didnât do this when I was Emilie back then.â
Being treated like a child, I felt that my mental age was also young. But I didnât hate it that much. It was rather good.
âNo one would say anything if I acted like a child.â
Her biological father was always displeased with the fact that 5-year-old Emilie had perfectly mastered etiquette. He frowned, let alone rejoiced, when the etiquette teacher praised Emilie until her mouth was dry. Then he persistently finds faults.
It was Emilieâs stepmother who gave her a teacher. Although she was always labeled as incompetent, Emilie learned perfectly from such teachers. The teachers were thrilled to have a disciple as remarkable as Emilie under the same novice.
âEven though it was not in my fatherâs eyes.â
Her father, who was strict about everything to Emilie, loved Polia even when running barefoot around the house. He was always smiling as if he could not bear it because he was so lovely.
âWhy did he hate me so much? Why didnât you believe me? You could have trusted your daughter for once.â
In my previous life, I was going crazy wanting to know why. If I fixed the reason on my own, I might be loved by my father. But the more I tried, the more father pushed Emilie away.
But now I was just literally âcurious.â Because it was a behavior that I didnât understand.
Elisabeth blinked under the rolled blanket.
âItâs okay. Letâs forget it all. RIght now Iâmâ¦â
Bang!
And then. There was a harsh opening of the door.
âIs it Dylan?â
Elisabeth poked her head out of the blanket. But the man who stepped on the carpet was a face she didnât want to meet.
âTyce Orell? Why is he here?â
Elisabeth quickly put her face back into the blanket.
âWhat? I think itâs a girlâs room. Why isnât anyone here?â
Tyce wanted to play a trick on Dylan. Thatâs why he was looking for the Daughtryâs youngest daughter that was hidden tightly.
âIâm sure sheâs a stupid and ugly child but sheâs hiding it. Iâm going to spread rumors about you in society, and Iâm going to talk about you all the time!â
Tyce looked around the room with a grumpy face. He was sure Daughtry had their youngest daughter in this room. This was the most plausible âyoungest daughterâ room that Tyce finally found after sneaking in secretly from room to room.
âThey sure made it pretty.â
The room was luxurious and charming. I felt extremely concerned for Tyce, whose eyes had no one to look at. In addition, the room was filled with cute dolls and toy sculptures.
There are even models of monkeys that move when the spring is closed, or dolls of girls that light up with magic stones embedded in their eyes.
There were many expensive and precious toys that even Tyce could not easily have.
âThat upstart subjectâ¦!â
Tyce gnawed his teeth in jealousy.