The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 46

CHAPTER 46

Anger flared in his blue eyes. As if he would explode if touched, Father spoke without turning around.

“Oscar, is it appropriate to use such language in front of the child?”

Oscar wordlessly jerked his thumb at my father’s words. As if he saw the gesture in the back of his head, he nodded.

“Father, this is a misunderstanding…….”

“Misunderstanding? How can this be a misunderstanding? My daughter’s face is beaded with sweat and her clothes are covered in dirt.”

“I was sowing seeds in the flower garden with my sister-in-law.”

I could have told him the whole story. If I told my Father that I had eaten liqueur chocolate and destroyed the flower garden, there was a good chance he wouldn’t approve. Seeing my brother-in-law inevitably shrink in front of my father, I let go of his hand and ran to my Father.

“Father!”

“Oh, my Rafi, you forgot your appointment with Father and didn’t call. I remembered what happened with Duke Tigirs, and I’m here.”

Determined not to leave his daughter here, not even for a single day, Father glared at my brother and scooped me into his arms.

“Father, I ruined the garden.”

I told him I didn’t ruin it because I was drunk, I ruined it because I was playing, and explained that I was sowing the seeds of responsibility.

“Rafi, taking responsibility is a great idea. I thought my daughter was little, but she’s all grown up.”

“Hehe.”

Father wiped my smiling face with a handkerchief and looked at my brother with an uncomfortable expression. My brother-in-law, who had a frown on his face, left the pickaxe behind and came running.

“No matter how much my daughter did wrong, we should still prevent the child from doing something like this.”

“I apologize. The sight of my hardworking sister-in-law was just too adorable… Watching her happily scatter the seeds made my heart overwhelmed.”

“Even if our Rafi is cute, she’s not your daughter, is she? If my precious daughter’s hands get dirty, I would have something to say, let alone burying them in the soil.”

While snuggled up to Father’s chest, enjoying his warmth, my sister came running over. It seemed like it hadn’t been long since she learned that Father had arrived. Perhaps Duke Panteur had used some magic to communicate with the magician at Duke Aquila’s estate and immediately came over without waiting for permission.

“Father, how did you come here without even notifying us?”

“I’m coming to my daughter’s house, so why bother with an announcement?’

“No matter how…….”

“I’m here to pick up Rafi. She seems to have forgotten her promise to let me know what she’s doing here.”

Father’s mood seemed to drop a bit when he realized that what I was doing was sowing seeds in the flower garden.

“Father, since you’ve come all the way here, why don’t we go on an outing? I was actually preparing a lunchbox for an outing with Rafi.”

At the mention of an outing, it seemed like Father’s ears perked up.

“How about resting for a bit until the lunchbox is ready? Our Rafi also needs to wash up and change her clothes.”

“Enough of that, get up already. How could I be such a bad father in front of Rafi?”

Upon Father’s words, Kai immediately stood up and stood behind him. 

“Rafi, quickly wash up and change your clothes. We’re going out.” 

“Yes, Father. I’d love to.”

Recalling the time we went on an outing with the Duke Tigris family, I smiled broadly and playfully buried my face in Father’s chest. He looked at me with a proud expression and gently patted my back.

Guided by my sister and brother-in-law, I walked in, and while he waited, I washed up. Then I put on one of the outfits I’d gotten so sick of wearing not long ago and went to him.

“Grandfather, hello. It’s Colin.”

Colin, who had just finished studying, saw his grandfather for the first time and had a slightly stiff expression. However, he gathered his courage and bowed to greet him.

“Hmm, you’re Erica’s son, right? You don’t resemble Erica at all.” “

Yes, that’s right. I take after my father.”

Father looked at Colin and nodded. 

“You’d be more handsome if you looked like Erica.”

With a subtle jab at my brother’s appearance, Father smiled softly as his eyes met mine, who had just walked in the door.

“Come here…….”

“Aunt, come here. Come with me.”

Before Father could reach out, Colin ran over and grabbed my hand, his eyebrows rising slightly at the sight.

“Colin likes Rafi, that’s why. It’s better than them fighting all the time.”

“While that’s true… Rafi has changed her clothes, so let’s go on that outing.”

Upon my sister’s words, Father stood up from the sofa. Then, Arnold appeared with two large baskets. The baskets were filled with freshly made delicious food, emitting a delightful aroma.

“Sister, let’s go quickly. Father is ready to go too.”

Eager to get out, I quickly grabbed my sister and pulled her along, and we were off.

“Jerome, let’s go quickly. Father, please move quickly too. It seems like our Rafi really wants to go on the outing.”

After returning to the Panteur estate from tDuke Tigris’ estate, my Father was too busy to make time for me. As a result, I had to go on a garden outing with Jenny instead of Father.

I had ruined my brother’s flower garden, so we had to go somewhere else. We took a horse-drawn carriage and were dropped off in a secluded spot where wildflowers were in full bloom. They laid down a mat in a field that was a bit rustic but welcoming with multicolored wildflowers. 

“You can roll around as much as you want here. You can even ask for support.”

Last time, I was acting like a tipsy little kid, rolling around in the flower garden. But that wasn’t the age-appropriate behavior for me. So, this time, I sat down next to Father with my head slightly lowered.

“Father, have you ever been to this place before?”

“Hmm? No, I haven’t been here before. I was too busy to know what going on an outing was like. Although I did mention to Seraphina that we should go on an outing together and even looked for a place…”

With a nostalgic expression, Father hugged me and lifted me onto his lap.

“It’s your first time, isn’t it, my little one? And it’s the first time I’ve gone on an outing with Erica too. Erica, I’m sorry I couldn’t go on an outing with you and Eugene because I was so busy.”

When he apologized for not playing with her properly when she was younger, my sister peeked, laughed, and shook her head.

“I felt bad when I was a kid, but now that I’m an adult, I get it. We were both going through a rough patch back then, and I know our Father was busy and didn’t have time for us.”

“That’s nice of you to understand.”

“You’re welcome. By the way, how come you still haven’t gone on an outing since the Tigris family took away Rafi’s first outing?”

“Well, I put it off because I wanted to go with you. Hmm.”

Father, are you even aware of the slight redness in your auricles?

Coughing and slightly avoiding my sister’s gaze, he continued to stroke my hair, which made her shake her head and smile.

“Thanks to our Rafi, I get to experience things I haven’t done before. How nice it would have been if she was born a little earlier so we could have enjoyed this rice cake together.”

“Well, let’s be grateful that she didn’t come later. If she had come later, the bond between us might not have been as deep.”

My brother-in-law took all the snacks out of the basket and suggested that Father have some refreshing tea. He said Father’s face looked flushed, and he should have something cool to drink. Father didn’t hesitate and took the tea to drink.

“Sister, there’s a butterfly. Let’s go and catch it.” 

“I’m too lazy…”

Just as she was about to say she was too lazy, Colin pulled me towards him and rushed towards the butterfly, holding my hand.

Now, I didn’t feel like jumping around to catch butterflies. However, since Colin was moving, I had no choice but to match his pace and move along.

Feeling a bit tired from scattering the seeds earlier, I just sat down on the ground and watched Colin. He seemed full of energy, and with his determined efforts, he skillfully chased after the fluttering butterfly, trying to catch it as it danced around.

I guess it’s good to be young in body and mind after all.

While I watched Colin run around trying to catch butterflies, the people behind me had snacks and chatted.

“Didn’t Rafi draw a map of the world?” 

“Stop it, she’s supposed to be resting.” 

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience that, Father.”

“Really? I brought her a new panty diaper because I thought she could draw a map of the world.”

Father’s words sent a shiver down my spine. I’m not going to sleep in that stuffy diaper anytime soon.

“Sister-in-law, do you need to rest or do you want me to come with you?” 

“No, I don’t.”

Tired of looking at Colin, I trudged over and casually snuggled into Father’s chest. Since we were sitting down, there was no risk of falling, so I sat back and munched on the snacks my sister and brother-in-law were feeding me.

“Wow, Butterfly.”

Colin, a determined Aquila, came running up to me with a big smile on his face, having just caught a tiny, bleary-eyed butterfly.

“Oh! My son has a good attention span, after all. Once he gets a hold of something, he won’t let go. From the looks of it…….”

“Looks like he’s taking after Erica. It’s a good thing he’s got his mother’s personality even if he looks like his father.”

“Isn’t that right, Erica grabbed me and wouldn’t let go, so I’m living well after having a child.”

“So, speaking of that, when do you plan to give my daughter a wedding?”

“Yes, yes?”

Upon Father’s question, my brother-in-law seemed startled, as if he had been placed on hot coals. His eyes widened, and he couldn’t speak properly. It was as if he had suddenly malfunctioned in front of Father, even though he used to speak confidently without even wetting his lips.

“You haven’t had the wedding yet, right? Are you telling me that you’re going to let my daughter live her whole life without even dressing her in a wedding dress?”

“Th-that’s… No, that’s not it. If you give your permission, I’ll start preparing right away.”

It was late, but the union of the two dukes required a lot of time. It wasn’t something that could be done overnight.

“Father…”

My sister, who had been calling my father, suddenly leaned toward me. I was crushed into a sandwich as she pulled my Father into a hug.

“Oh, thank you. Father…… thank you for letting me do this.”

“Thank you for what… I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble. I should escort my daughter while holding her hand.”

“Father… hmph.”

Though all the pain may not be diluted by tears, my sister held onto Father and cried and cried. As her tears began to subside, Colin’s eyes suddenly sparkled. Looking as if he was about to confess something, Colin spoke to Father.

“Grandfather, if Aunt wants to get married, does she need your permission?” 

“Of course. But why are you asking about that?”

Father, who was wiping my sister’s tears away with his hand, froze upon hearing Colin’s words.

“Grandfather, please give Aunt to me. I promise to make her happy.”