The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 64

CHAPTER 64

A wealthy person intervened in my ordinary daily life. I needed to study magic, but I didn’t even have time for that.

“Rafi, you don’t need to learn magic. I’ll become a knight and protect you.”

“I already hold the title of a knight, and I have plenty of money. I’ll surround Rafi with knights so that no one can bother her.”

Where did my private life go?

Father was not like this before, but ever since my brother came, he has been looking for me more often. Even on days when I couldn’t meet him because he was busy working, now there were no such days. Even during meetings, he made sure I was by his side.

Why bother? Would Oscar entrust Jenny with me while he was busy, saying I needed a break? But what would I do then? My brother would be waiting in the background.

After sparring with the knights in the morning, instead of studying, he stuck to my side.

“Hey, cute and fluffy! What are you going to do today?”

“Since we went for a walk, I think it’s time to study. You should study too, brother!”

As an heir to a prestigious family, there was a lot to study. In reality, even my brother Lancelot, as a prince, spent more than half of his day sitting at his desk studying. However, my brother in this world seemed unusually idle.

“Even studying at the academy seems to make my brother’s head explode, but here… If Rafi wants to do it, then he should. We’ll do it. Let’s study together.”

Max had said something about how he’s been slacking off from studying lately. Of course, he said it to him when there was no one around, but I happened to overhear it while passing by. I promptly sat my brother down in one of the library’s chairs.

Then, I quickly went outside and told Jenny to bring Max, which was a bit intimidating as the person in question appeared with a thick book in hand.

“Marquis Warren, this is…”

“I have received orders from the Duke, and I am now the temporary tutor for Young Master. Now, let’s get down to proper studying.”

I heard that the usual tutors had all been chased away by my brother, using the power of our family as an excuse. That’s why this time, it seemed like Father had made a special request to Max. No matter how much of a successor to this household he was, it wouldn’t be easy to simply chase Max away.

My sulking brother gave me a glum look. 

“Rafi, it seems like I won’t be able to play with you all day anymore.”

“That’s okay. I’ll study too.”

I raised my hand and met Max’s gaze, wearing glasses like a scholar.

Blushing and exchanging glances with a wink, I opened the magic book that my older nephews had given me not long ago. Max complained that my brother runs away when he tries to make him study so I decided to help.

“There’s a lady here too, so you should study harder and set a good example.”

“Ugh… okay. I’ll study. Phew.”

My brother sighed deeply and began to study with Max’s guidance. I also started studying magic. It had been a while since I had opened a book, and I felt a bit empty without Ciel, who always leaned on my leg and asked to be held when I studied.

I heard that these days, Ciel was going to the training grounds early in the morning to watch over the knights, which seemed like a lot of movement and sparkle, making it look like butterflies were flying around.

Watching my brother learn diligently while being scolded by Max, I went back to self-study. I could have asked a magician employed by the house to teach me, but I already knew everything at their level. It was just that my mana was lacking.

However, it wasn’t constantly at rock bottom. It accumulated a little more every day. It was like collecting ant droppings.

I sighed deeply, trying not to show that my mana had accumulated secretly. I had a dumbfounded expression on my face because I knew all the theory but couldn’t apply it due to the lack of mana.

How much longer will this take? 

Before I knew it, Father appeared, having completed the stack of papers in real-time.

“I need to think about where the sun will rise tomorrow.”

Father, who had seen my brother studying, remarked as if he found it fascinating.

“Tomorrow, the sun won’t rise.”

My brother replied somewhat tersely, and Max, as if pointing out my brother’s mistake, spoke.

“Young Master, you must concentrate when you study. Even if grilled glutinous rice cakes roll in front of you, you shouldn’t be aware of them at the level of your studies.”

“But how can Lord Warren just ignore it when grilled glutinous rice cakes are rolling around?”

“If you concentrate, you won’t even notice pumpkin rice cakes rolling in.”

“How can you study to the point where you wouldn’t know how sweet and chewy pumpkin rice cakes are? I just want to be true to my instincts.”

“In the time you spend arguing, you could write the wrong answer ten times and memorize it. It’s better not to think about pumpkin rice cakes in the future if you’re going to get it wrong on the test.”

“Ugh! So frustrating.”

My brother, who made a suppressed sound, sighed deeply and reluctantly started writing the wrong answers repeatedly. Seeing this, Father naturally picked me up.

“You’ve been playing with Eugene lately, so now let’s play with Father.”

He wouldn’t even say hello to my brother, claiming it would distract him from studying. We went outside

then fixed my messy hair with his hands. 

“It might be better to tie up the lady’s messy hair again.”

Jenny, who followed along, cautiously advised my father with her head down. I wondered if my hair was that bad, so I ran my hands through it as we reached my room. 

“Miss, come here. I’ll tie it up nicely for you.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll do it myself, just prepare the tools and hand them over.”

“Yes? Ah… Well, please wait a moment, I’ll bring them right away.” 

Jenny quickly grabbed the ribbon and comb from the dresser and went outside.

“Father, do you know how to do hair?”

“Huh? I’ve never done it before, but something like this should be a piece of cake.” 

My confident father combed my hair with the comb. That was fine. But the problem was what came next.

Even though I didn’t care much about my hair, I could feel it getting wrinkled for some reason. 

“Hmm, that’s strange. Why does the ribbon keep coming loose?”

I wanted to say that it was not because it was strange, but because my Father couldn’t tie it properly. 

“Father, maybe you’re tying it too loosely.”

So I said it. I said it as if it was true, but my Father assured me that it was okay and that he could tie it properly with a little more time.

“Father, it hurts.”

It wasn’t that it hurt, it did hurt. Misaligned strands of hair were piling up one by one. Because my hair was long, it looked even messier.

“I’m starting to get the hang of it now. So…”

The determined Duke Panteur didn’t stop tying my hair. I understand that he wants to finish it, but my sighs have piled up. It hurt, and sitting like this for a long time was a bit uncomfortable.

Once more, when I decided to give it one more chance and run away if it didn’t work, the door suddenly creaked open as I fiddled with the warp scroll in my cross bag.

“Rafi! Your sister’s here.”

My sister, who had rushed in without any prior notice, looked particularly beautiful today of all days.

“Sister!”

“Did you miss me, sis? Sis missed seeing our Rafi… Father, what are you doing right now?”

My father, who was grappling with my hair, looked slightly blurry in my sister’s eyes. 

“Can’t you tell by looking? I’m tying Rafi’s hair. I couldn’t do it for you when you were little, and I’m sorry about that.”

“No, Father. I’m grateful that you didn’t touch my hair.”

My sister, who had approached closely, looked at my tangled hair and then called Jenny, who was waiting outside, with a click of her tongue.

“Come here for a moment. At this rate, Father might end up pulling all of Rafi’s hair out. Let’s get it properly tied up quickly.”

My sister, who had lifted me, who was sitting in front of my father, handed me over to Jenny and shook her head slightly.

“If it were other kids, they would have burst into tears long ago. Look at this. So much hair has been pulled out!”

It was only then that my father, who was well-versed in tying ribbons in my hair, looked down. Upon seeing the scattered hair around, my father cleared his throat. 

“It’s my first time, that’s why. I’ll do better next time.”

“If you mess up just one more time, our Rafi might become bald. Tsk tsk, wouldn’t it be refreshing to pluck out all of those messy hairlocks on our little Rafi’s head?”

Upon hearing what my sister said, which was akin to torture, my father made a wry expression. 

“Do you know how to tie hair then?”

“Well, of course… I don’t know. Why should I do it? We have hired hairdressers who can do that for us. It’s best to leave hair to the experts.”

While my father and sister were talking, the mangled hair had returned to its neat appearance.

“So, what brings you here? Don’t you have work at the Aquila’s estate?”

“I took a vacation to come see our Rafi.”

“You didn’t postpone all your tasks for my son-in-law, did you?”

“I won’t say that I didn’t.”

My sister smiled and held me close, then gently tapped my cheek with her face. 

“I can’t forget the feeling of your soft and squishy cheeks. Rafi, do you want to eat with me?”

I realized it was lunchtime. Taking a personal vacation and confidently coming to visit her family, my sister saw her brother at the dining table.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

“Yes.”

“Eat plenty.”

“Yes.”

Seeing the straightforward conversation between the two of them, I shook my head, observing the sibling dynamics that held even in this place.

“Rafi, let’s spend the whole day playing with your sister today. What should we do?”

“Umm, I don’t know. Are brother-in-law and Colin doing well?”

“Of course. Both of them want to see you, but I came first to check your condition.”

My sister, who skillfully fed me, wore a satisfied expression. She didn’t let go of me until late into the night. Just as I was about to fall asleep in my sister’s room, my father barged in.

“Tonight, he’s sleeping with me.”

“Father, you’ve had Rafi all to yourself for so long; today, let her stay with me.”

As the two of them argued back and forth, with me caught in the middle, the door opened slightly, and my brother appeared. In his hand, there was a sparkling gemstone. It was clear that my grandfather had given it since my father wouldn’t have given him such a thing.

Upon seeing my brother holding a ruby, I rushed over, drooling.

“Strawberry-flavored jelly, please.”

“Yes. It’s not strawberry-flavored jelly, but a gemstone that can buy strawberry-flavored jelly. I’ll give you this. Do you want to sleep with me, Rafi?”

“Yes!”

I succumbed to the temptation of the gemstone, held my brother’s hand, and left the room, leaving the two squabbling behind.

* * *

At night, they decided to choose someone to sleep with Rafi, but they couldn’t conclude. So, Duke Panteur spoke his mind to Erica.

“We’ve been talking for a while, and it seems like it’s going to be morning soon. Let’s not do this and listen to Rafi’s opinion and decide.”

“I agree. Rafi, who do you want to sleep with… Rafi?”

Despite being in front of them just a moment ago, when Rafi couldn’t be seen, both of them looked around with wide eyes. Seeing this through the crack in the door, Oscar shook his head.

“Oscar! Where did Rafi go?”

“The young master persuaded her with a gemstone and went out together.”

Upon hearing this, Duke Panteur looked bewildered.

“How dare my son secretly rebel against me? There is no use in raising my children.”