The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38

Sometimes it’s nice to show your greed openly. Father even went as far as picking up a pumpkin and giving it to me, saying he found it along the way.

“Well, what Father gave me is the best.”

“Ahem. Well, what I gave you is quite pretty too. It’s yellow, you know. Anyway, let’s finish the meeting with this! Let’s go.”

Father, who stood up from his seat, swiftly picked me up from Carlos’ embrace. Then he playfully pinched my cheeks without any mercy.

“Indeed, these cheeks bring stability. Rafi, shall we sleep together tonight?”

“But we slept together yesterday.”

“Well, let’s sleep together today too. Father feels too lonely when sleeping alone.”

Father kept trying to tempt me with cunning words. This time, as well, I wondered if I should just let it slide. But then Ciel jumped into my arms, bouncing up and down. Holding Ciel in my arms and gently petting him, I smiled and said,

“I’ll sleep with Ciel.”

“Well, alright. Let’s sleep together, then. But it’s better to let the cat sleep in a basket instead of the bed. We should maintain the boundary between humans and animals.”

I nodded in agreement with Father’s convincing words. Then he played with me until he had to start working. He used to leave me alone and only focus on his work, but now he made time to play with me when I asked for it.

After playing with Father in the garden, I entered the room, where Jenny greeted me with a bright smile.

“I’ll place the books sent by Duke Tigris here.”

“Yes.”

Grandfather had prepared various books for me, starting from beginner’s magic books. Thanks to him, I studied on my own by reading magic books and books on the Savannah Empire’s language.

“Whoaah… I’m sleepy.”

“It’s nap time for you, our little lady. Let me tuck you in.”

Seeing me diligently studying, Jenny looked at me with a proud expression and gently laid me down on the bed. Holding Ciel in my arms, I fell asleep. 

I wonder how long I slept. I woke up feeling quite sluggish as if I had slept for a long time.

Just as I was about to stretch and yawn, I froze in that position. Ciel, who was supposed to be by my side, was on top of the desk. Watching him dip his chubby pink jelly paws in his drool and flip through the pages of the book, my heart seemed to stop for a moment.

He was so adorable that I wanted to bite him. With a haughty expression, Ciel casually turned the pages of the book.

Could he read and understand the contents of the book? As he finished one side, he shifted his gaze to the next page. He truly looked like a cat reading a book.

While I was lost in observing him for a while, Ciel seemed to feel uneasy and shifted his gaze away from the book. Then he looked around and made eye contact with me.

Meow.

Pretending not to know anything, Ciel jumped off the desk and ran towards me, seeking comfort. I petted his fur and got off the bed, heading towards the desk.

The History of the Spenta Continent.

This was the book I had placed on the desk to read later. Although the book was still closed, it seemed like Ciel was flipping through and reading it. I spoke to Ciel.

“Ciel, can you see the words?”

Meow?

“Ciel, do you want to read with me?”

Whether he was scratching or just posing as if reading, I wasn’t sure. But the pose of his chubby pink jelly paws dipped in drool and flipping the pages felt somewhat extraordinary.

Sitting on the chair, I immediately started reading the book out loud. Ciel’s head nodded along in response. While I was reading a book brought from Grandfather’s house, someone entered the room.

“Oh my, our little lady can actually read. I had a feeling. How could a three-year-old read? But it seems to be true.”

Agape brought something and placed it on the desk in front of me.

“What’s this?”

“Hoho! This is a newly made egg tart. Try it.”

Just hearing it made my mouth water. When I opened the tray, there were beautifully arranged egg tarts inside.

“Wow! It looks delicious. I’ll have a bite.”

I greeted Agape and took a bite of the egg tart. It instantly melted in my mouth, with a smooth texture.

“How does it taste?”

“It’s delicious. Really! Hehe.”

“Then please have more. Hehe, it was a bit sad that Duke Panteur didn’t enjoy desserts much, but it gives me strength to see our little lady enjoying them.”

Even though Agape said she felt self-conscious because he didn’t appreciate what she made, she always liked it whenever I ate it.

“What about Ciel? Does he want some too?”

Meow.

I gave a small piece of the egg tart to Ciel, who observed it with curiosity. He sniffed it with his nose, as if trying to smell it, but just as he was about to take a bite, Agape took it away.

“Cats shouldn’t eat this kind of thing.”

Meow!

Perhaps because his food was taken away, Ciel made a sharp sound and seemed to glare at Agape.

“Do cats not like this?”

“No, they can’t eat this. Cats should stick to their nature and eat meat or occasionally fruits.”

Karrk.

Ciel’s front paw twitched as he tried to grab the egg tart held by Agape. But Agape pretended not to notice Ciel’s pleading eyes.

“Even if Ciel wants it so badly, you shouldn’t give it to him. If cats eat too much of this, it could be harmful. Hoho, so even if a cat wants something, you shouldn’t give in.”

Agape, who told me about the hardships of raising a cat, advised me not to raise one if I couldn’t take full responsibility. I was under the impression that as long as I fed them various things, I could raise them well, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“It’s so difficult to raise them.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t raise pets carelessly. They may be cute and pretty now, but some people abandon them when they grow big, get old, or get sick.”

Agape, who didn’t think I could fully commit, advised me not to start raising a pet in the first place. After feeding me the egg tart and leaving, she didn’t even look at Ciel, who looked at her with a desolate gaze. 

In response to Ciel’s moist eyes that seemed to beg for it, I turned my head away.

“It’s not allowed. Ciel, you can’t have it. “

Meow, meow…

Seeing Ciel with his ears drooping, I felt my heart soften and was tempted to give him a bite, but someone swiftly snatched it away.

“Hmm, surprisingly, it’s a good dessert.”

It was Father. He took the last piece of egg tart that I was about to give to Ciel and ate it in one bite. Ciel tried to give Agape a sharp look, but it was an impossible gaze for Father.

“Why did you come?”

“I came to see my daughter. It’s almost dinner time.”

That’s when I realized that the sunlight had faded. 

I had lost track of time while studying with Ciel, but I had dinner with Father and fell asleep in his arms, feeling the fullness of his chest.

So, as another day came to an end, I stood in front of the communication device connected to the Aquila Duchy, which the magician had brought and left.

“Hello! I’m here.”

[Oh! Our Rafi, you’re still cute as ever.]

My sister smiled brightly from inside the communication device and spoke.

[When will you come here? Sister really, really misses our Rafi. But does Rafi not want to see Sister?”

“I slept with Father and Ciel, and I was busy studying.”

[You can study here too. So come to Sister’s house. Jerome is eating rice cake in front of me, saying he wants to see you too.]

Should I dry that sticky rice cake seedling?

After a brief communication with my sister, I entrusted Ciel to Jenny and rushed to Father. With so much work to do, Father signed some documents and then picked me up and put me on his lap.

“What brings you here? Did you come to see this old man?”

His wrist snap while signing looked cheerful. Seeing that, I spoke to Father.

“Why don’t I go to Sister’s house?”

In an instant, Father’s hand, which was signing, stopped, leaving a dark ink mark in its place. Father, who looked like he could pierce through the paper if he exerted a little more force, furrowed his brows slightly.

“Did Erica ask you to go?”

“Sister said she wants to see me. Can I go to Sister’s house?”

“Does Rafi like being with Father more or going to Sister’s house?”

It felt like Father was asking, ‘Do you like Father or Mom more?’. I smiled and replied.

“I like both. But I like Father more.”

“How much more?”

In response to Father’s question, I raised both hands and drew a circle in the air.

“This much minus a little bit.”

“Why do you subtract that much?”

“Because I like Sister that much.”

I’m sorry, Sister. This is my bargaining chip to go to your house. Please understand even if you find out later.

As I pleased, the corners of Father’s lips twitched.

“Ahem, well, that much… um, I see. Sisters need to meet occasionally and build affection.”

Father immediately gave his permission as my bargaining chip. After receiving his permission, I hugged Father’s neck and kissed him on the lips. It used to feel awkward to have physical contact with Father, but now it felt natural, perhaps because we did it often.

“As expected, I like Father the most. Anyway, I’ll sleep for two nights and then go.”

Having obtained what I wanted, I immediately got off Father’s lap. Then Oscar, who had been watching all along, smiled and nodded.

“Knock, knock, knock. Let’s go, everyone.”

As I knocked on the door, it opened from the outside, and the people guarding it greeted me with bright smiles.

“Is everything finished, Miss?”

“Yes! I’ll sleep for two nights and go to Sister’s house. Hehe.”

Upon hearing my words, their expressions stiffened for a moment, but then they adjusted their eye level and spoke.

“If there’s anything we did wrong, please let us know. We’ll fix it.”

“Miss, was there anything uncomfortable?”

“Whoa, who’s the guy who made our Miss unhappy!”

I simply said I was going to Sister’s house, but their reactions were strange.

“No, it’s not like that. I want to go to Sister’s house. Sister told me to come.”

“Oh! I see. Well, you should visit Erica’s house at least once. At least once.”

“That’s right. You should indeed visit her house at least once. At least once!”

It seemed like the people in this house liked the number 1. When I said I was going to Sister’s house, everyone spoke with an accent emphasizing “once.”

Back in my room, I still had a long way to go, but I started packing. Well, it was more like gathering clothes and the elemental spirits of toothpaste and water.

“This time, it’s an orange-flavored water spirit. The spirit master made it orange because you like oranges.”

Instead of trying to find the spirit master somewhere in this house, I focused on packing with Jenny’s help. I didn’t forget to pack candies and caramels in a small crossbody bag either. When I saw Jenny putting something into the bag, I shouted.

“Jenny, no diapers!”

“Hmm? Miss, why are you suddenly like this?”

Seeing Jenny’s nonchalant expression, I quickly grabbed what she had just put in. It was a new package of panty diapers.

“No, not these. I don’t wear diapers!”

Upon hearing my words, Jenny nodded and took out all the panty diapers she had put in the bag.

“Well, since the Aquila Duchy is rich, you could probably sprinkle fifteen mattresses every day.”

To escape from the clutches of these people who first offended me and then bragged as the painter of the Grand Continent, I quickly finished packing my things.