The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Duke Panteur looked at me while I am full of energy in sucking the milk. Crossing his arms, Duke Panteur crossed his legs, didn’t even look at the milk in front of him, and asked.

“What on earth are we talking about?”

“How old are you?”

“Poof! Pfft.”

Vance, who was standing next to Duke Panteur, covered his mouth and laughed. 

Duke Panteur looked at him like he was going to kill him so he straightened up. But his shoulders

shook like the last slender leaf.

“I am thirty-nine years old.”

Duke Panteur, who didn’t sound pleased with himself, said.

So he had a child at eighteen.

“Ah, I see. I… hehe, I didn’t know.”

I shook my head as I twiddled my tiny fingers.

“You don’t know your age or name, much less where you’re from?”

“Yes, I don’t know. I don’t know.”

In times like this, amnesia is the best. It’s like a morning soap opera.

I sipped my milk sideways, and Jenny, watching from behind me clutched her heart as if overwhelmed.

“A child like you falls out of the sky and what could you be? We should do a dissection.”

I was surprised, but I managed to keep it together.

“Big brother, what is a dissection?”

I pretended not to understand the difficult word. My eyes widened and blinked.

Duke Panteur’s brow wrinkled as I asked in a tight voice.

“Duke, don’t you think it’s too much to threaten a child?”

Beside him, Vance threw a word at Duke Panteur.

“You have so much to hide, it’s troublesome, very troublesome.”

He looked at me as if he didn’t like me, but every time he did, I put on my worldly smile and sucked on the milk.

After sucking down a glass of milk, I saw his milk, which he hadn’t taken a sip of at all.

“Is this child the child of that prophecy? From what I see, this child seems more like a leftover piece of rice cake than the prophesied child.” 

“Since the child of salvation has already been born and confirmed, the probability of the child of destruction is very high.” 

“That so-called child of salvation was born by borrowing someone else’s womb, but hasn’t this rice cake fallen off? Wouldn’t they have thrown away the rice cake they chewed and cooked, saying that this land should be destroyed from the heavens?”

Looking at me, Duke Panteur shook his head in disbelief.

“According to mythology, the gods are fickle…… but what do you think if that child is a child of destruction? Or a normal child? What would you do?”

Vance’s words made Duke Panteur stare at me. I never thought the moment of choice would come so soon. I’m not a child of this house, and I’m not a hired hand.

I’ve only had cream soup once, and they can’t kick me out for being such a cute little thing.

With all these thoughts, I sucked on my thumb, sneaking a glance at Duke Panteur.

“If it’s a normal child, I’ll dispose of it, but if it’s a child of destruction, I’ll allow it to live here.”

“Duke, it’s still a child. If you throw it away, it will die. And looking at the fallen rice cake before Your Grace… perhaps it’s a sign given by someone?”

Someone? Who is that someone?

I swallowed dryly, clutching my empty cup, and looked at Duke Panteur and Vance.

“I hadn’t thought about it for a while, and now you’re bringing it up.”

Laughing bitterly, Duke Panteur washed his face dry and slicked his hair back wildly.

Then he looked at me, trying to figure out what to do now that he’d been banished.

“Silver hair, golden eyes…….”

Duke Panteur, who was deep in thought, sighed deeply.

“Damn it…….”

Jenny looked at Duke Panteur, who had just uttered a low expletive.

“As Mr. Vance says, she does look like her.”

No one had ever explained to me who she was, but no one seemed to think that person was a bad person.

Everyone just looked at each other with a pensive look and sighed.

“She must have been brought here on purpose because of her resemblance to her, or else you wouldn’t have cared whether the child fell from the sky or rose from the ground.”

“Vance, that’s enough.”

“If she did have a baby, it would have been about this age.”

“Vance, that’s enough! Whoa……Let’s conclude the interrogation for today, and I will take my leave.”

Rising from his seat, Duke Panteur looked at me before he left. 

I flashed him a knowing smile. After staring at me for a while Duke Panteur suddenly stretched out his hand.

His large hand quickly closed around mine, and I lost my grip on the cup.

As it shattered, I dropped to the floor and covered my head with my hands.

“Hic! I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to… I-I’m sorry…”

* * *

The silver hair and golden eyes reminded them of another person. She was the second wife of Duke Panteur, a wonderfully beautiful woman who no longer exists in this world. 

She was like an oasis in this dreary household. 

At first, they didn’t open up to her, but eventually, they did. It was a time when she would smile for what seemed like forever.

They regretted it deeply, but she didn’t say a word. If she had given birth to a child, that child would be around the same age as the child standing before them now. 

So even though the child was unfamiliar, no one mistreated her. The mere existence of the child made them reflect on their past mistakes.

‘Oh? Handsome brother.’

Said the child who was only five years old at the time, to Duke Panteur.

Although Joshua was only fourteen years old, he seemed to have a profound understanding of everything and looked at the strange child.

The little one, who was a whopping nine years younger, seemed fearless of the world. Seeing the innocent child who knew nothing, Joshua couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The little one ran up and grabbed Joshua’s sleeve, saying, 

‘Brother, would you like to talk while we drink milk?’

‘Pft!’

Joshua burst into laughter in an instant upon hearing words he never expected. The child wasn’t just a clueless kid; she was full of spirit.

‘No, I’m busy.’

‘Aww, please don’t say that. Let’s talk.’

Joshua considered the child as one of the nobles’ children.

‘I don’t talk unless you’re a strong person.’

‘Then, if I become a strong person, will you talk to me?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Then promise me. Promise!’

The young child extended a finger. Not fully understanding the meaning, Joshua extended his pinky finger in the same manner. At that moment, the child clasped her hand tightly around Joshua’s finger.

‘Now that we made a promise, you have to keep it.’

‘Yeah, let’s meet later.’

After leaving those words behind, Joshua had to depart immediately. It was later discovered that the child came from a family that was not on good terms with the Panteurs.

Two years later, through a strategic marriage, Joshua swept away his household. It wasn’t because of an unwanted marriage. It was due to the warning from his siblings that they would take his life and the life of the child in his wife’s womb.

To survive in the ruthless world, it was essential to first clean up the surroundings. With his exceptional skills already recognized by his advisors, Joshua mercilessly killed his siblings to protect his family.

Finally, four years after, he was recognized as Duke Panteur, upon the sudden death of the previous Duke due to illness. The first wife demanded a divorce, unable to live with Joshua, and he granted it.

The wife, who was not loved by her husband, brutally abused their daughter, so Joshua ruthlessly cut her off. Several years passed after that.

He had become the head of a ducal family, but he was withering away. Joshua posted a recruitment advertisement for knights. That’s when fresh knights arrived, including a woman with silver hair and golden eyes.

She was the only woman in Savannah’s history to be recognized as a genius enough to graduate early from the Knight’s Academy.

‘Handsome brother, let’s drink milk and talk. Now that I’ve become a bit stronger, please keep the promise.’

That little one severed ties with her household and came here. 

Joshua married a woman who became a knight and had a second marriage. And right away, a child was born. 

However, Joshua never gave her affection. Having been educated not to express his emotions outwardly, Joshua did not express his feelings to her. 

She never complained, even though she saw Joshua always with an indifferent and stoic expression. As much as he didn’t laugh, she laughed, and as much as he didn’t speak, she expressed love. 

That woman, who used to be like that, was no longer here. 

The light that he thought would always illuminate this barren and gloomy place had already disappeared. 

And yet, right in front of him, there was a little child who resembled her. He was amazed to see that the child repeated exactly what she had said. 

He wondered if, by any chance, she had been following him for ten years without his knowledge. 

The child was now kneeling in front of her, as if pleading for having done something wrong, without shedding a single tear.

He only reached out his hand to wipe away the milk in the child’s mouth. But the child, with both hands wrapped around her head, fainted. 

“Fetch a doctor.”

Dke Panteur said briefly, and the knight waiting outside rushed off, and Vance laid the child on the bed. 

The unconscious child seemed to be in great agony. Jenny comforted the child. 

After a while, the doctor arrived, examined the child, and shook his head upon hearing the story that had just taken place. 

“Why is this happening?” 

Vance asked and the doctor bowed his head in front of Duke Panteur and said, 

“Besides the physical weakness, it seems to be a mental problem from what I can see.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Duke Panteur furrowed his brow. The doctor took a deep breath and said, 

“When you reached out your hand, the child trembled and begged for forgiveness, holding her head. It seems like she has been abused.” 

“Abused?” 

“Yes, even though she doesn’t remember, she seems to have associated someone who abused her with you just by reaching out your hand.” 

The doctor, adding that if her reaction was so severe, it was probably not the first or second time, lowered his head. 

“So someone has been continuously abusing this child.” 

“Yes. It seems someone, most likely an adult, has hit the child, but that person could also be the person closest to the child, like a family member…” 

The doctor explained as far as he knew, and after placing a gauze with a sedative on the child’s forehead, he immediately left the room. 

“Unbelievable. Who would hit this child?” 

Joshua’s lips trembled slightly at Jenny’s choked voice. Judging by the sound of sobbing, it was clear that the person hadn’t properly fed her and had indeed hit her. 

“From now on, take good care of this child.”

“Yes, I understand. But what should we do when we don’t even know her name or age?”

Faced with Jenny’s question, unable to simply call her a child, Duke Panteur stared at her intensely for a moment and said,

“Seraphina. Three years old. Know that.”