The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Duke Panteur saw the child peacefully sleeping and breathing after taking medicines.

He gave her a name that he wanted to keep hidden in his heart. After giving the child a name, he thought deeply about why he had done so. 

It was pitiful to see the child trembling and crying as if he was provoking a match by simply extending his hand.

“From what I can see, in cases like this, the probability of the father being the perpetrator of abuse is high. Although there are cases where the mother can be responsible too.”

Vance, who came out a little later, said while stroking his chin. 

Duke Panteur had been indifferent to his children, but he had never raised a hand against them. Let’s exclude the times he rolled the children a few times under the pretext of training.

“No, how could you hit a child like that fragile rice cake?”

Duke Panteur couldn’t understand it at all. No matter how much you press a rice cake, it bounces back because of its elasticity. 

Even if the child wasn’t a real rice cake, she resembled a woman and it hurts just by thinking about it.

“It doesn’t even seem like there’s a place to hit.”

When Duke Panteur glared at him, Vance vehemently shook his head, insisting that he never hit the child.

“I wonder who the child’s parents are. It doesn’t seem like she was just dropped by the heavens.”

Duke Panteur, who muttered to himself throughout his walk back to the room, heard the testimony of Oscar, saying that his aides will gather the next day.

In the morning, the aides entered on their own. Duke Panteur roughly guessed why they had come and entered the conference room.

As soon as he sat down in the chair, which emitted a solid aura, Max, known as Duke Panteur’s left arm, opened his mouth.

“You bestowed a name upon a child who doesn’t even know her origin.”

His stern voice contained a considerable hint of displeasure. In Max’s slightly bowed red eyes, there was a hint of dissatisfaction.

“Am I unable to give a single name to a child?”

With his arms crossed, Duke Panteur leaned back deeply against the backrest of his chair and glanced around the room.

“You can give a name, but it’s a child whose identity is unknown. Moreover, the information department is currently investigating the child…”

“She resembles someone.”

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone fell silent, knowing whom they referred to. After a moment of silence, Max pulled his heavy lips apart.

“No matter how much she resembles her…”

“She said the same thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Words only she and I know… they said it the same way.”

For a moment, the room fell into a silence akin to water freezing. No one spoke, and then Vance nodded and said,

“If that’s true, then she was that cute as a kid, too. It feels like my heart would melt with affection and my heartbeat would race.”

Duke Panteur’s brow furrowed at Vance’s words.

“Are you suggesting that the child is a reincarnation of her? In that case, should we raise her… ugh!”

Oscar blocked Vance’s mouth, which had no intention of turning back. If he continued, it felt like he would be hit by a bullet and forcibly erased from life. 

Oscar, who had protected Vance’s remaining life, wiped cold sweat and stepped back.

“Then, what do you plan to do with the child from now on? Since you even gave her a name, will you not kick her out?”

Arch Cleve, one of Duke Panteur’s long-standing aides, asked cautiously.

Upon hearing that, Duke Panteur slammed the table and spoke.

“I’ll have to wait and see about that. Anyway, whether the child is the real child of destruction or the child of salvation, it doesn’t matter to me. It would be fine if she is ordinary, but it would be even better if she is the child of destruction.”

“But if the child is the child of destruction, I don’t think they will just sit quietly in the royal palace.”

Max sharply pointed out the problem, and everyone nodded in agreement. If it were known that the child of destruction was here, while the royal palace had already secured the child of salvation, they would demand all sorts of reasons to hand her over.

A bitter smile appeared on Duke Panteur’s lips; it was clear that he knew the nature of that lineage.

“Well, then I can’t throw her out even more. Even if I won’t bring her to the royal palace, it would only end in her death.”

The bud of a rebellion should be cut off when it’s young. However, Duke Panteur had no intention of allowing the royal palace and the temple to do as they pleased.

“But…”

“How long are we going to be cautious of the royal palace and the temple, and follow their orders? Isn’t it enough that we suffered three years ago?”

“Hmm.”

Even now, at the mention of the events three years ago, they all let out a mournful sigh mixed with anger.

“Should we just cut the Emperor’s throat now?”

Count Kai Gabriel, who casually uttered words bordering on treason, cleaned his nails with a dagger and spoke. As the head of Duke Panteur’s secret personal guard, the only one allowed to carry weapons here, he smiled mischievously.

He hadn’t spared the Emperor just because he couldn’t kill him, it was just that killing him would cause chaos in the country. They would probably go around boasting about their power without knowing that fact.

“Then who are you going to make the emperor?”

“After putting the Crown Prince in power, couldn’t you control him, Duke?”

“It’s bothersome.”

Count Gabriel chuckled as if he had anticipated it. The Duke had the power to accept it even now but he wasn’t reckless enough to risk people’s criticism.

“Doesn’t the Duke rather kill one head than kill a thousand small rodents?”

“Because of that way, I can subdue the feasters faster.”

“If you wish, please let me know. I can take the Emperor’s head at any time.”

“I don’t want to set your family free so easily. How about staying in the East?”

Count Gabriel, who had become a chief aide to Duke Panteur long ago, shrugged his shoulders. His ancestors, who had also become aides, declared that they would just leave the Panteurs if they repaid the favor. That was a story from 100 years ago.

“In that case, let’s secure the child for now…”

“Seraphina.”

When a name that had not been mentioned within the room was brought up, Arch’s mouth, which was speaking, closed.

“Call the child Seraphina from now on. She looks exactly like her. It won’t take long for everyone to recognize her resemblance. No one in this house possesses such an appearance.”

“Yes, understood.”

“For the time being, I will take care of her. What happens after that is up to Carlos’ information..”

“Yes.”

Those who understood the weight of the name Seraphina bowed their heads as if they knew the meaning behind Duke Panteur’s words. 

She was the only source of vitality and warmth in this house. And she was the most respected lady among Duke Panteur’s wives.

“Well, let’s end the meeting and everyone return to their positions. I’m tired.”

As Duke Panteur waved his hand, everyone stood up from their seats. At that moment, the door opened, and Elio entered.

“I was told that the Duke is here.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I came to report about the child’s condition, no, Miss Seraphina’s condition.”

As Elio spoke, Duke Panteur slowly began to separate himself from his chair.

“Tell me her condition.”

“It seems that she vomited everything, probably due to the unfamiliar environment, but she’ll recover soon.”

“I see. Understood.”

Upon Duke Panteur’s gaze to leave, Elio finished the report and turned around.

“Why is the child so weak?”

“My Lord, children are naturally fragile, except for the young lady and the young master.”

The siblings, who inherited Duke Panteur’s blood, grew faster than other children. Duke Panteur nodded as Oscar pointed out that fact.

“Perhaps Erica got married early because she grew up too fast.”

As soon as she turned seventeen, Erica suddenly got married. She said she felt too suffocated and disliked this place. After getting married and finding stability, Erica used to come here often.

Back then, Seraphina was here. But when she ceased to exist in this world, Erica cut off her ties.

“Don’t worry, the young lady is living happily, having found her partner.”

Externally, the Duke didn’t express any emotions. Therefore, even his bloodline didn’t dare to approach him. Of course, the children learned from that and rarely approached him, so they had few friends.

“What about the second child?”

“He’s studying at the academy right now, so he won’t come until the vacation.”

“I see. What is Seraphina doing now?”

“Jenny said she would play with Seraphina and asked me to bring all the toys they used to play with.”

Considering that she was a child, Duke Panteur thought it was natural for her to play with toys. He paused his work and stood up from his seat. He felt that he should see the child at least once. Oscar followed Duke Panteur’s back.

Duke Panteur saw Seraphina solving a jewel puzzle in the room with a delighted expression. His lips slightly rose and then fell. As the child glanced around, she tucked the jewel pieces into her clothes.

The child, who had a disappointed expression when the pieces fell out, seemed to be deep in thought as she stared at the scattered jewel pieces. Witnessing this, Duke Panteur entered the room.

The child’s shoulders flinched as if it was scared for him to say a word. 

However, pretending to be calm, the child approached while holding onto a piece of the jewel. Duke Panteur, who was trying to interpret the child’s actions for a moment, paused at the child’s words, which were not pronounced correctly.

“That’s it, handsome brother. Let’s play together.”

Oscar, seeing Duke Panteur’s firm appearance, gently admonished the child in a soft voice.

“You shouldn’t address the Duke like that, miss.”

“Why should I call him anything else?”

Looking at the child who was tilting her head, Oscar quickly caught his trembling heart. If he made a mistake, his heart would fall and become irrecoverable. Oscar cleared his throat.

“He is not a handsome ‘brother,’ but a handsome grandfather.”

Since Erica had given birth to a child, legally speaking, the Duke is already a grandfather. However, Duke Panteur, who didn’t want to hear those words, shot Oscar a chilling gaze.

“Oscar, don’t you ever feel like you’ve lived in this world for too long?”

“Not at all. I still have twelve things to do today for my loyalty, so even if I want to die, I can’t.”

Lately, he had been meeting with Vance frequently, or so he claimed. It seemed like a nosy remark. 

In terms of the Duke’s thoughts, he wanted to change his butler immediately, but who was Oscar? He was more persistent than sticky rice cakes.

Whenever and wherever, when the confident Oscar held the child’s hand and shook it, the gaze shifted downwards. The pure white sticky rice cake smiled and said,

“You can have a free snack in return for that.”