The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 71

CHAPTER 71

I grabbed Grandpa’s sleeve and spoke, and at that moment, his contemplative expression loosened as he addressed the employee.

“Bring me crayons with at least twenty-eight colors or more.”

With a single word from the grandfather, the 28-color crayons turned into 42-color crayons. Looking at the crayons of various colors, I had a very satisfied expression. 

“Now, do you like it?”

“Yes, it’s really pretty.”

When I was attending school in South Korea, during art class, I used to draw pictures with crayons. At that time, I would struggle with 18 colors and use 12-color crayons. They were so worn out that it was difficult to grip them.

Yet, my father never bought me a single ordinary crayon. Instead of spending the money to buy them for me, he would burn cigarettes and inject himself with drugs, eventually causing my death.

With the 42-color crayons, I drew pictures with all my might. That’s how I quickly drew several pictures.

“Oh, whose drawing is this?”

“It’s father’s, and brother’s, and Rafi’s!” 

“Then what about this picture?”

“It’s brother-in-law and sister, and Colin!”

“I see. What about this last picture?”

Pointing to the one I had drawn with the most difficulty among the three pictures, I laughed as I touched each one with my finger, looking at my grandfather who was smiling and pointing.

“Grandpa, Grandma, etc., and Rafi!”

“What? Haha.”

There were too many family members in this house. Tired of explaining each one, I handled the “etc.” part except for Grandpa and Grandma. Upon doing so, Grandpa laughed heartily, finding something amusing.

After laughing for a while, Grandpa seemed to lose his energy, and his laughter gradually subsided. He laughed so much that tears welled up in his eyes. He patted my head.

“Our precious little artist draws pictures well.”

Honestly, all the men of the Tigris family were bald and plump. Their faces were the only distinguishing feature, slightly different between paternal and maternal sides, and their height and weight varied slightly. So, it would have been right to point and explain with my fingers, but I boldly skipped that part and giggled at Grandpa’s praise.

“Hmm, you won’t give even one to Grandpa?”

Never having thought about giving them to someone, I gave the sulky-looking grandpa the highest-level picture.

“Here you go.”

“Oh, really? Thank you so much. Haha, it seems like we should leave it as a legacy in our household.”

I thought it was just a polite way of making me feel good. However, the picture quickly found its place in a frame and was hung in the corridor where portraits of the ancestors of the Tigris family were displayed.

“Grandpa, Grandma, etc., and Rafi!”

I grasped the back of the nameplate where the drawing’s title should be engraved, feeling like I might faint. My face turned red due to the high blood pressure that surged at a young age. But everyone else was too busy laughing to notice.

“What’s this? Rafi, you’ve gone too far. ‘etc., and Rafi’… At least it would have been better if you called me ‘brother’.”

“Still, be grateful that you were referred to as ‘etc.’ Jaden and Aiden haven’t even drawn a picture like this.”

As Daniel sighed and looked disappointed, Helena patted her on the shoulder. She knew the brothers hadn’t been attractive as children, but she still considered it a shame they hadn’t had a daughter.

After laughing and fooling around with the drawing, I heartily ate dinner.

“Our Rafi, was drawing the picture difficult? You seem to be in a good mood, eating so much today.”

It was true that I ate a lot to make Grandma feel good. 

Despite gaining a few kilograms, Grandma seemed to view me as a delicate winter branch, which was somewhat pitiful. That’s why the saying that if you leave a child in a rural house, they come back inflated, is undoubtedly true.

After the meal, I rinsed my mouth with the orange-flavored water spirit that Maria handed to me, and then I turned on the communication device.

“Hmm? Today, our baked glutinous rice cake seems to have swollen without even being rinsed.”

Thanks to the condition my father set, that I would communicate via the communication device every day when I was elsewhere, I used part of my dinner time to communicate. After reporting what I had done all day to my father and saying I love you, I turned off the communication device.

After finishing my work, I finally soaked my body in warm water. After scrubbing myself clean, I put on a child’s gown and went outside.

“Oh my, our young miss! You’ve turned into a lovely rice cake soaked in water. Hoho, how cute you look.”

While I was being washed by another employee, Maria was tidying up the surroundings. When she saw me coming out after washing, she smiled broadly. Then, as soon as I extended my hands, she picked me up and sat me on a chair.

After gently combing my hair, Maria looked at the jewel that had been hidden in my clothes until now and asked.

“Do you know what the necklace around your neck is?” 

“Huh? I don’t know.”

“The necklace medallion’s color is peculiar, so I wanted to ask once.” 

“Ah, that’s right. Originally, it was purple.” 

“Yes, purple?”

“Yes, it’s purple. But why are you asking, Maria?”

Lowering her head and fiddling with the jewel, she then lifted her head. Then, in the mirror, I saw Maria shedding tears.

Startled, I turned around and accidentally stepped on the chair as I got up. I pressed Maria’s eyes with the sleeves of my gown.

“Ah, I’m, I’m sorry. My tears just suddenly… Huh, haa…”

Forcing back the tears, Maria managed a faint smile.

“Don’t cry.”

“Yes, I won’t cry anymore. By the way… Rafi, may I hug you?”

It wasn’t like Maria had never hugged me before, but her request seemed unexpected. I nodded my head slightly. Then, Maria carefully embraced me, and her breath gently touched my hair.

“Our soft rice cake miss, thank you for coming now. So, please smile as you look at our faces for a long, long time.”

“Okay.”

In response to Maria’s simple request, I answered right away. But whatever my response was, Maria shed tears again.

“Miss Seraphina… It seems like you resemble her… Huh!”

Maria mentioned my mom. That’s why it wasn’t strange for her to cry as she looked at me, recalling my mom’s childhood. I could only hold her until she stopped crying.

A little calmer after a while, blushing with embarrassment, Maria tied my hair neatly and gave me a faint smile. Just then, Ciel appeared through the slightly open door.

“Huam, where was Ciel off to?”

He used to stick to me like glue, but I hadn’t seen him around lately. I wondered if he was wandering. Maybe he had set up a local base and was following me around.

Meow.

Ciel made an incomprehensible answer to my question and then sat on the floor, licking his fur. After watching him groom himself for a while, I made a special request to Maria.

“Maria, please take care of our Ciel.”

Today, exhausted from putting my utmost effort into drawing, I entrusted Ciel to Maria. A short while later, Ciel, dripping wet from being in the water, revealed his appearance. It seemed that he couldn’t resist the urge to groom, whether he was fully soaked or not.

As Maria dried Ciel’s fur, I sat on the sofa and drank warm water.

Splash.

“What’s that!”

The door suddenly opened, and startled, I looked slightly puzzled at the presence in front of me. Lately, I had been letting them loose, and it seemed like they didn’t realize that they were supposed to approach with caution like adults.

“Sabina, wait. So, go and explain what you did today. Aunt!”

Suddenly using formal language, he picked me up, looking surprised at my bewildered expression.

“Wh-why?”

“Well, could it be a request from your cute and elderly nephew?”

“What are you saying? It’s not cute at all!”

“Well, Aunt has a good sense of humor. Even if she makes jokes like that, Sabina will burst into laughter.”

With a hint of regret, Aiden took me to his room. As I woke up from my “kidnapping,” I was seated on a chair. Then, the familiar image of a communication device appeared in front of me. Confirming it was Sabina, I spoke first.

“Vina, I’m responding to your message.”

[Oh, Rafi, it’s been a while, or rather, Aunt, it’s been a while since I last heard from you. I couldn’t prepare a gift because I didn’t know Aunt’s birthday.]

“Huh? It’s okay. There are too many of them.”

Father had built a small warehouse to store my belongings. Inside, along with the compensation Grandfather received from Count Monaco, were birthday presents piled high. 

“Just looking at them made me feel like my stomach would be full even without eating.”

[It seems like you received many sparkling jelly-like gems. Our aunt must be very happy.]

I nodded in agreement at Sabina’s cheerful words. 

[Still, I’m a bit sad.]

“You’re something. Just your concern for our Aiden is enough to be grateful for.”

[Oh, my! Our aunt is truly exceptional. Hohoho.]

Judging by how well she understood my words, it seemed sufficient to become a member of this household. Moreover, being a princess, the difference between me and our Aiden wasn’t that significant.

Sabina, who could have had a proper half-and-half wedding, giggled at something I said.

“I heard that Grandfather and Grandma are a little upset.”

[Indeed, it seems that Duke Tigris’ wife is the most powerful. Hohoho, and even more powerful than that is our aunt, isn’t it?]

Upon Sabina’s words, I straightened my posture, placing my hands on my waist. Sabina burst into laughter at my proud demeanor.

“I drew a picture earlier. I’ll draw one for Sabina next time.”

[Really? Thank you.]

Once Sabina gets married and comes here, it’s only natural for me to redraw the picture. Grandfather will probably come up with the title.

“But Sabina, when are you coming?”

Since earlier, Aiden had been poking my side repeatedly. Judging by his behavior, it was clear that he had summoned me because he wanted to see Sabina. 

I smiled again to grant Aiden’s wish and asked Sabina when she would be coming. However, Sabina’s expression instantly turned downcast. It was evident that her inability to come here was due to someone else’s will, not her own.

“I also want to come so badly, really… “

[Sabina, what are you doing here? Did you forget there’s a party today?]

“Oh, uh, brother… I’m currently on a call through the communication device. Aiden’s aunt is…”

[Alright, cut the call quickly. We’re busy.]

Upon hearing the voice coming from outside Sabina’s communication device, Aiden let out a sigh.

[Aunt, I need to go now. Let’s talk later… Oh, brother!]

Before she could finish her sentence, the call was cut off. It was clear that Sabina’s brother deliberately ended the communication.

“Is it always like this?”

“Yeah, this often happens when Sabina and I are communicating through the device. I wonder… How can this happen every time we contact? I mean, it makes you wonder if Sabina’s brother has something against me.”

“Tsk tsk, seems like Sabina’s brother doesn’t like you.”

“It seems that way. Ugh, what should I do?”

What should he do indeed? I have no answer either. Not only am I unable to talk face-to-face with people, but I’m also in a situation where I’m miles away. 

It would be impossible unless a miracle happened.

“Hah, now that I’ve solved one thing, there’s all these other problems.”

“Yeah, that’s true. So, I don’t know what to do. I can’t go there… Aunt is smart, so maybe she’ll figure it out. What would Aunt do in a situation like this?”

“Hmm? Maybe I should try offering some food, like a bottle. Maybe you’ll like me more if I feed you?”

“Aunt, please help. Please?”

“You’re trying to butter me up with food, is that what it is? You think I’ll like you more if you feed me?”

Realizing that having older nephews doesn’t mean I can rely on them, I shook my head in frustration.