The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 40

CHAPTER 40

The knights despised, feared, and were annoyed the most when Jerome personally observed their training and supervised them. The employer who paid their monthly wages in this household was extremely harsh. The training, which implied “I pay you, so you must deliver the value,” caused sounds of suffering to echo among the knights.

Yet, Jerome didn’t blink an eye. He was the epitome of ruthlessness. He would smile cheerfully only in front of family members, but in front of others, he remained cold.

Today, that very Jerome came to the training ground. With Erica now taking care of the affairs of the estate and even taking the child with her, Jerome had nothing to do. So he often came to the training ground to observe the knights’ training.

Just the sharp gaze of Jerome made the muscles all over their bodies twitch. Jerome’s eyes, more than anything else, could send shivers down one’s spine. Slowly, his eyes narrowed. It was clear that he found something displeasing.

As Jerome moved deliberately observing the knights, the adjutant beside him swallowed dryly and trembled. His expression seemed to convey that today was their day of reckoning.

“Assume a proper stance. Today, I will personally supervise the training.”

Finally, the time had come. All of them trembled in anticipation of Jerome’s training methods, which were simple but demanded a great deal of strength. They had to maintain a clean posture while performing the most basic horizontal and vertical strikes.

If even one person’s stance faltered, they would all have to repeat from the beginning with joint exercises. Every time Jerome rolled his eyes, the knights let out sounds of suffering. All they could do was hope that today would pass without incident.

“How can you call yourselves knights of Aquila if you’re so weak and easily defeated? How can any of you touch an eagle feather in the sky?”

The chilling voice sent shivers down their spines, and the knights bit their lips. Hearing that they had become weak from a slight deviation in their basic movements dealt a blow to their pride.

Although they were well-regarded knights, they were treated like rookies in this place. When they gritted their teeth and bore it, one knight happened to turn their head and saw a child.

The adorable child with a bouncy face watched them intently as they trained. These knights, who had never seen a creature like this in the Aquila estate, looked one by one.

When the eyes of the knights met the child’s gaze, the child grinned. Wondering if the child belonged to one of the knights here, their gaze shifted to Jerome as the child’s pupils turned towards him. Then, the child boldly attempted to intrude into the training ground and ran towards them.

“Brother!”

“Hmm?”

Brother? Who is it?

The movements of the knights, who were practicing their strikes, came to a halt. As soon as he saw the child, Jerome’s expression, which had been frozen, transformed like a flower blooming at dawn.

“Our adorable little sister, or should I say, sister-in-law!”

Sister-in-law? That little kid?

Until now, whenever Jerome went to the Panteur estate, he never brought unnecessary people along. Therefore, only a very few knew about Jerome’s sister-in-law. Among those few, the knights who weren’t included were momentarily taken aback as the child extended both arms and fell.

Seeing the child unable to get up in that state, Jerome rushed over and lifted her, brushing off the dirt from her clothes.

For a moment, the knights thought their lord had gone mad. They blinked their eyes at the actions that even Jerome hadn’t done for his own child.

“Sister-in-law, are you okay?”

When Jerome spoke with an affectionate and sweet voice, the knights were stunned. However, they melted at the child’s subsequent actions.

The child extended both hands forward, trembling as she spoke.

“It hurts, here. It hurts. Please blow on it.”

Clang. Unbeknownst to them, some knights let go of their swords. But instead of scolding those knights, Jerome held the child’s outstretched hands and blew on them.

“Hehe, oh, our cute little one, your hands have turned red. What should we do about this? Does it still hurt?”

“No, it’s not. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

At the child’s trembling voice, the training ground turned into chaos in an instant. The knights, who seemed to collapse as if their hearts had stopped, looked at the smiling child and had the thought of wanting to touch her cheeks just once. The hands holding their swords trembled.

“Ah, such a chubby cutie. Look at those cheeks. They’re so plump and puffy!”

“My my, nowadays we have cuties like this running around. She must be incredibly squishy.”

Jerome kissed the child’s swollen palm and wiped her hands and face with a handkerchief. He didn’t forget to gently pinch the child’s cheeks.

“So adorable…”

“I never thought he’d have such a cute little sister-in-law…”

She’s just a little brat, but he calls her sister-in-law. If she’s the sister of Duchess Aquila, she should be her younger sister, but Jerome’s in-laws were from the Panteur Duchy.

“Did Duke Panteur have a second child?”

“If Duke Panteur had a child, we wouldn’t be unaware of it.”

“But they look so much alike, humanly speaking, that I thought I’m seeing Duchess Panteur.”

The knights perked up their ears when a knight who had seen Duchess Panteur years ago spoke.

“Then that child…”

“That’s impossible. She’s no longer with us. And if that child is Duke Panteur’s daughter, she would be the granddaughter of Duke Tigris.”

“That’s right. If he adopted someone who isn’t of his bloodline, there would have been an uproar in the Tigris Duchy.”

As the knights whispered among themselves, Jerome hugged Rafi tightly. Then, the little hands grabbed onto Jerome’s neck.

“Our sister-in-law, you seem to have gained weight.”

“Am I heavy?”

“Yes, I can feel the weight.”

“Tsk, I won’t talk to you today, Brother!”

Upon hearing the disgruntled child who turned her head, Jerome laughed and apologized.

“I won’t talk to you about snacks.”

“Oops! I’m sorry. It was my fault. Our beautiful lady, lighter than a slim eagle feather, would you like to be held in my arms today?”

“Phew.”

Seeing Rafi making a cute snorting sound, Jerome lightly kissed her plump cheeks. However, he quickly withdrew his head.

“Unfortunately, I don’t allow that kind of skinship, so please be assured.”

Kai’s hand blocked Rafi’s cheek. Thanks to that, Jerome’s lips accidentally touched the back of Kai’s hand, causing him to furrow his brow.

“I never thought Count Gabriel would come here.”

“Well, you can think about it now. Although I don’t want to be solely in Duke Aquila’s gaze.”

Kai smiled and took out the paper that Duke Panteur had given earlier. On the paper was a warning list stating to be cautious.

1st: Jerome

2nd: Duke Aquila

3rd: Son-in-law

The man in front of them matched all three. He shrugged his shoulders.

“Count Gabriel, since you’ve come all the way here, please train our knights a bit.”

“Why me?”

“I want to play with my sister-in-law alone now. It’s so much fun to play alone when Erica isn’t around. I can do anything, so please take care of us.”

“I belong to Duke Panteur.”

“You can treat it like you’re training Duke Panteur’s knights. There’s nothing better than accepting new knowledge. Well then, I’ll take my leave. Sister-in-law, you need to greet Count Gabriel and the knights.”

Upon Jerome’s words, Rafi smiled and raised her hand, waving it.

“Bye-bye! See you next time.”

As Rafi left with Jerome, Kai, who was left behind, smirked. Then, he absentmindedly looked toward where Rafi disappeared and shouted at the knights.

“Well then, let’s have a friendly conversation body to body.”

That day, Duke Aquila’s knights realized firsthand why Kai was the leader of the secret elite corps and valiantly surrendered to his training, having experienced something even more intense than what they had faced before.

The knights who saw Kai flying above Jerome while he ran were shaking their heads in awe. 

The knights who had experienced something stronger on top of something strong were able to digest Jerome’s training without complaints since that day.

* * *

When I met with my brother-in-law and entered the mansion, a group of women came running towards us. The woman in front introduced herself as the housekeeper and greeted me with a kind smile, looking at my dirt-covered self.

“My sister-in-law, since you fell earlier and got dirt on yourself, you should wash up and clean. Or should we wash together?”

Upon hearing those words, both I and the people around me looked at my brother-in-law with surprise, scanning him up and down.

“No!”

“Oh, no. It’s just that our sister-in-law is too cute.”

“Don’t lie! Don’t play with me!”

As I looked at them with my eyes wide open, my brother-in-law shook his whole body, insisting that he wasn’t serious. Seeing that, the housekeeper hugged me tightly and closed the door to the bathroom so that my brother-in-law couldn’t see.

“I didn’t expect you to come, so the room isn’t properly prepared yet. We’re still getting it ready, so please wait a moment.”

“I understand.”

The housekeeper of Duke Aquila’s mansion smiled. 

Although I’m my sister’s younger sister, it was not appropriate for me to enter her room and rest or sleep without permission. While I was in the bathroom, I heard the sound of someone cleaning the room from outside.

“Erica and the Lord will probably come tomorrow. So don’t worry and just eat, play, and rest.”

As the skilled housekeeper washed away the dirt from my hands, I felt my body relax. It was like I was melting away like a sticky rice cake in hot water.

After unpacking the luggage I brought from Duke Panteur’s mansion and changing into different clothes, I reunited with my brother-in-law. When I embraced him, the same strength from before disappeared, and I couldn’t help but yawn.

“Whooah.”

“Sister, are you sleepy? Should I sleep together with you?”

Without even answering, I nodded off against my brother-in-law’s chest.

“Kyaak! Why is she so cute?”

“I wish there were young ladies in Duke Aquila’s mansion too. I want to raise them here.”

The voices of the maids echoed in my ears.

“Ung, sleepy. I want to sleep well with Father. Whoaaa!”

Even though I was half asleep, I said what I needed to say and fell asleep right away. It was so cozy and warm that I drifted off naturally. 

I wonder how long I slept. When I woke up, Kai was sitting next to me, glaring at me.

“Our young lady, you’re a sleepyhead. You’ve been asleep since yesterday.”

“Huh?”

“Yes, you didn’t even realize that Lady Erica came in the early morning and slept.”

I scratched my head at Kai’s words. I had been secretly getting up in the middle of the night to practice magic. After reading books or moving my mana according to the method my grandfather taught me, I fell into a deep sleep yesterday afternoon as a side effect.

“Well, I usually sleep a lot.”

“That’s right, you sleep a lot. Now, shall we go meet Lady Erica? First, wash your face.”

At that moment, a waiting-maid brought over a basin of water. I quickly dipped my small hands in the water and washed my face. Although I splashed water here and there because I couldn’t control it yet, no one said anything.

After washing my face, I wiped off the water on my clothes and had my hair combed. With a simple dressing done, I went upstairs to my brother-in-law’s room. There, my brother-in-law and sister were waiting.

“Brother-in-law, didn’t you get enough sleep?”

“Yes, sister, did you sleep well?”

“Our Rafi, you’ve grown so much without us seeing you.”

When I received their greetings, I noticed someone next to my sister. He was a boy who looked so much like my brother-in-law that anyone would know he had the bloodline of Duke Aquila. 

He looked slightly taller than me and came over to me, raising his head.

“Father, Mother. Is she your child?”

Huh? No.