The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

I knew I had to woo Erica if I wanted to stay here a little longer. So I offered her my favorite strawberry-flavored candy. It was the best gesture a child could do, but Erica frowned as she took the strawberry candy.

Does she have a strawberry allergy? 

After a moment’s hesitation, I plucked up the courage to reach for another candy.

“Would you like another one? Shall I give you?”

I placed the purple grape-flavored candy in her hand and watched her carefully. She didn’t say anything, just glared at me, and Jerome came over and grabbed her by the shoulders. 

“Erica, even if you don’t like the kid, you can’t do this…… Erica?”

While Jerome was trying to console her and talk, something suddenly stuck to Erica’s blue eyes. 

Could it be that she disliked the taste of grapes to the point of shedding tears? I was so flustered that I quickly rummaged through the bag containing the candy. Then I extended a pink candy towards her.

“You don’t like it, but how about this candy?”

This was all I could offer. I chose a flavor she liked and placed it on Erica’s hand. At that moment, tears welled up in Erica’s eyes.

“Ugh…….”

“Erica, why are you suddenly like this, Erica?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I don’t know.”

I had only given her the candy to get her to like me. I hadn’t realized she hated candy to the point of crying, and I looked up at Duke Panteur in disbelief. He shook his head from side to side.

“It’s not your fault, so don’t cry.”

As Erica cried in front of me, I felt my eyes well up with tears. Duke Panteur hugged me and wiped my eyes with his handkerchief. 

“Brother, this is what I want.”

After receiving Count Panther’s handkerchief, I extended it to Erica.

“Don’t cry, it’s okay. Don’t be sad.”

“Yes, you didn’t do anything wrong!”

“I’m just sorry for everything. It’s my fault.”

Erica snatched the handkerchief out of my hand and sobbed into Jerome’s shoulder again. I don’t know what I did wrong to her, but I just apologized and hung my head.

“Oscar, please escort Erica to her room, I think she needs to calm down.”

Seeing Erica sobbing, Oscar hurried to show her to her room.

“Why are you leaving?”

“Because I am going with Erica, Father.”

“I’ve never accepted you as a son-in-law.”

“That’s okay. Even if you don’t accept me as a son-in-law, I am Erica’s legal husband, so I am also a part of the Panteur family. So please stop and take good care of the child, I mean, Rafi.”

Duke Panteur protested as he watched Jerome move to comfort Erica. Then, with his trademark cheeky grin, Jerome slipped away. 

Duke Panteur watched Jerome carry Erica into the house, and my heart sank. 

“Did he do something wrong?”

“Well, he’s been acting all wishy-washy and indecisive. It’s like he’s rolling around without a clear direction, making everything confusing.”

Only then did Duke Panteur’s eyes blaze blue when he saw my pink cheeks. 

“How dare he. I’ve never touched you like this before, so I don’t like it one bit.”

Even as he spoke, Duke Panteur’s hand reached out and cupped my cheek. Mesmerized by the bouncy, squishy texture of my cheeks, he didn’t take his hand away for a while. 

“Duke, if you keep cupping the lady’s cheeks, she might get sick.”

Vance spoke up from the sidelines. Only then did Duke Panteur’s hand leave my cheek. I could feel the heat on my cheeks even more than before. 

“My lord, it is time for the young lady to take her nap.”

Jenny, who had finished gathering my bags, looked at me with red eyes.

“A nap, if that’s what you mean, I’ll put her to bed.”

Jenny reached out her hand, asking me to come with her, but Duke Panteur ignored her and went inside. Every time he moved, my trembling hand firmly held onto his collar. It felt like I would fall before he could embrace me securely.

Claiming to have used magic, I fluttered around, hanging on a tree branch, until I met Jerome and was taken over by Duke Panteur. 

Then, I gave candy to Erica, only to be rejected. 

That was what I did today, and I felt unusually tired despite not doing much. 

As I dozed off, clinging to Duke Panteur’s chest, his hand wrapped around my back. Once I felt a little more stable, I fell asleep right there. For children, eating, sleeping, and playing was so burdensome and exhausting.

* * *

Eight-year-old Erica, the only daughter of Duke Panteur, pouted her lips. She wasn’t pleased with the current situation unfolding before her eyes.

Her mother, who had abused and mistreated her, had gotten divorced, and the nanny who had turned a blind eye to it was kicked out. Up until then, it was fine, but the problem arose afterward. 

A prodigious knight who graduated from the Knight Academy early came for an interview.

The beautiful woman, who was exceptional even for a knight, caught her father’s attention. It turned out they had known each other when they were younger. 

Despite being the daughter of a prominent family, she cut off ties and came here due to her incredible passion.

However, as she became involved with her father, it became a fact that she would become her new stepmother.

‘A stepmother? I don’t like the idea of a stepmother. Who gave her the right to be a stepmother?’

Erica, who had lingering memories of being abused by her birth mother, bit her lip tightly. At first, she would do anything to score points with her, but she knew that would change the moment she married her father. And if they had children, her stepmother would be out for her blood. 

Sitting in the garden, talking to herself, Erica huffed. She didn’t look much older than herself. 

She wasn’t a stepmother, she was an older sister, and the term “stepmother” would never come to her.

Erica, who had a lot to think about, was furious for a while, and then she lost her temper. As she buried her face in her lap, Erica’s mood swings became more pronounced. 

‘Hi, I’m Seraphina. Nice to meet you.’

It was her. A silver-haired, gold-eyed Seraphina sat down in front of her without asking her permission. 

‘My God, you are the prettiest girl in the world.’

Erica gave Seraphina a dumbfounded look when she realized that she was speaking.

‘What?’

Erica furrowed her brow at Seraphina’s greeting and said bluntly. Seraphina smiled and pulled something out of her pocket. 

‘Hey, want to have a chat while enjoying this candy with me?’

Erica looked at the red candy and shook her head. Seeing that, Seraphina pulled another one out of her pocket.

‘Would you like another one? Shall I give you?’

Seraphina smiled as she placed the purple candy in Erica’s hand. But Erica didn’t say anything when she saw the candy. 

‘You don’t like it, but how about this candy?’

Assuming that an eight-year-old child would like candy, Seraphina gave Erica the pink candy she had brought with her. But Erica could only look at the candy. She hadn’t eaten candy since her mother had spanked her for eating it when she was younger. 

‘I don’t eat candy.’

‘Kids love candy, don’t they?’

‘I told you I don’t eat it, and if I eat it, my mother will beat me.’

Erica’s eyes filled with tears as she screamed at the top of her lungs. She begged and pleaded for one, but her mother and nanny wouldn’t give it to her. 

But when Seraphina said that it’s natural for children to eat candy, she felt uncomfortable and tears came to her eyes. Seeing Erica crying, Seraphina panicked and apologized.

‘I was wrong. Don’t cry. I’m sorry.’

Seeing Seraphina’s reaction, Erica screamed.

‘What did you do wrong!’

‘I just did everything wrong, I’m sorry.’

Seraphina pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to the crying Erica, who snatched it up and turned away. 

From then on, Seraphina’s efforts with Erica were genuine. After Seraphina insisted that she would never get married without Erica’s permission, Erica reluctantly agreed. 

Smiling, Seraphina married and raised Erica as her daughter. Seraphina gave her the love her father never gave her. After learning to love her, Erica met Jerome at a ball.

She fell in love with him and wanted to marry him at the age of seventeen. Her father was against it, but Seraphina gave her permission to marry him if she truly loved him. With her permission, she left. 

Her father’s refusal to allow her to marry him was not lost on Erica, who entered the Duchy of Aquila without a wedding ceremony. This was her rebellion against her father. It was a demonstration that she didn’t need a wedding. 

Seraphina was the one who called Erica, who was upset and made her feel better. She laughed and explained that her father was acting because he wanted to keep her around a little longer, but was sad that she was getting married too soon. 

She told her to relax, that even if he didn’t show it, he still loved her with all his heart.

Just as Erica was beginning to feel better about her father’s behavior, she lost Seraphina. After she left this world, Erica lashed out at her father. 

For not protecting her. 

She said everything she could think of, even though she knew it was not in her power to do so. When she returned to the Ducal House of Aquila, she didn’t even cross paths with the Ducal House of Panteur.

They lived three years apart, and when she returned, there was a child who resembled Seraphina. She felt a little envious of this child, who, unlike her, seemed to be loved by her father. She was annoyed that she was clinging to her father’s chest, never having been held. 

“Erica, what’s wrong with you?”

Jerome asked softly, putting his arms around her as they entered the room she had used as a young woman.

“Did you feel jealous because your father was holding the child?”

“Hmph, yes…”

Erika looked strong, but she was vulnerable. She was also a woman and a daughter. So it was natural for her to feel uncomfortable with Duke Panteur touching the child in a way she had never been touched before.

“But don’t be too hard on the child. I was the first to tell you that she has no father and no mother.”

Jerome said quietly, soothing Erica.

“She laughed at the absence of her parents instead of missing them. Either it’s been so long that she’s adjusted to their absence, or she’s been abused.”

The child hadn’t done anything wrong, Jerome explained gently. Afterward, Erica wiped her tears with the handkerchief Rafi had given her and sighed softly. 

“Are you done crying now? You didn’t even cry in front of your father, who wouldn’t permit you to marry, and you were so envious of that child.”

“That too, but the child said the same thing.”

“What did she say?”

As Erica looked down at the candies Rafi had given her, Jerome reached for one, but Erica made a fist to hide it. 

“These are the same candies my stepmother used to give me.”

“It must be a coincidence.”

Strawberries, grapes, and peaches were the children’s favorite fruits, which is why Jerome thought Rafi had given Erica her favorite candy. Erica shook her head from side to side.

“The candy was the same, and the words she said while giving it were the same too. It was the same as what my stepmother used to say while giving me candy, apologizing, and saying sorry when I cried.”