The Softest And Cutest Of The Dukes - Chapter 72

CHAPTER 72

He’s not a child anymore, you know. It was frustrating to have to spoon-feed him. No, this was Daniel’s fault for raising the kids poorly.

“Ah, just be patient. Vina’s heart will not change.”

“I want to be patient, but every time Sabina says she misses me, my heart races.”

If it seemed like her heart would change easily, she would have left Aiden for another man already. It was clear that she still had feelings for Aiden, as evidenced by her frustration at not being able to see him anymore.

I comforted Aiden, although it was a comfort that couldn’t make a difference.

They had to meet, talk, or do something, but there was nothing I could do right now in this distant situation.

“Just be patient.”

“I’ll always trust you, Aunt. Huu, Aunt, I’m sorry for throwing a tantrum in front of you.”

Aiden, who said he trusted me too much, bowed deeply. They understood each other too late, but how could their hearts connect when they couldn’t meet? 

But I couldn’t go to the Sylvester Kingdom, and my father wouldn’t allow it, and they would probably look down on a common noblewoman entering their country.

“Let’s give it a little more time, okay?”

“Yeah, I understand. I’ll do as my Aunt says.”

“Okay, take care.”

After comforting Aiden, I got up from the chair and moved my steps. It would be good to leave him alone for a while. As I left Aiden’s room, there was a familiar presence in front of me.

“I don’t know what’s so bad about my son that Prince Sylvester keeps interrupting him.”

Helena, who had secretly watched and left the door slightly open, let out a deep sigh.

“Really… I wonder if I can find an answer if I see my older brother.”

“If you’re talking about Lord Eugene… Well, I guess I understand to some extent, but it’s because our young lady is so incredibly attractive.”

Yeah, I’m as attractive as a rice cake, right? Well, I have to endure being attractive like a rice cake.

During my brother’s vacation, Aiden and Jaden visited a few times. At that time, my brother had prevented me from even showing myself to Aiden and Jaden more than once.

“Helena, don’t feel too bad. I’ve stopped everyone who’s ever gotten close to my aunt before, and in hindsight, I wish I hadn’t, especially when I see my Rafi.”

My mother was so popular that there were quite a few guys who followed her. Moreover, she was so obsessed with my father that she made every boy who approached her cry.

Well, when I looked at my mother’s painting, Daniel’s words sounded reasonable.

“I don’t think her brother will tolerate Rafi dating anyone.”

“Why are you suddenly saying such strange things? Of course… When our lady brings the man she’s going to marry, that guy can eat free meals the next year, I guess. Hoho.”

Helena, who made a harsh sound while laughing, hugged me tightly. As usual, she poked my cheek, and Helena took me to her room instead of my grandmother’s room.

“Huh? I should sleep with Grandma.”

“Today, sleep with me, Rafi. I’ve never slept with our lady before. By the way, Grandma has already given her permission.”

Oh, dear.

I came to comfort Aiden, and now Helena was throwing a fit. Did Aiden take after Helena?

“Well, I’d like to sleep with you too.”

Usually, noble couples had separate bedrooms. So unless they were intimate, they slept separately in their rooms. I had heard that very exceptional couples who were very fond of each other would sleep together every day, but that was not the norm.

“Honey, tonight, I’m going to sleep with Rafi.”

“Helena, don’t be too pushy. I want to sleep with my cousin too.”

“Hmm, in that case… Change your clothes and come with us.”

Once Helena gave her approval, Daniel went straight to his room and returned. Daniel and Helena, wearing pajamas, lay on either side of me in bed. I didn’t fall asleep immediately when I lay down, so I turned my head towards Helena and buried my face in her chest.

“Oh my, our lady! You’re so adorable.”

“Hey, honey, me too…….”

“There’s nothing you can’t say in front of a young lady.”

Helena, blushing deeply, gave Daniel a slight glare. In response, Daniel playfully patted his chest.

“Rafi, how about sleeping cuddled up with your cousin?”

I reached out and patted his chest, then buried my face in Helena’s chest again.

“Daniel, you’re so thin. Compared to you, Father’s chest is like a pillow.”

“Oof!”

“That’s why I told you to exercise. After all, a man’s charm is often in his chest.”

With a sulky expression, Daniel snuggled as close as he could, acting as if he had always been like this. Then he used Helena as an armrest.

“I can handle even the edge of a cliff.”

“Complain about your arms hurting later. Then I’ll tease you for sure!”

I laughed at the sweet yet teasing banter of the couple and then closed the day a little early.

* * *

The magic sickness was not as severe as the first time. Still, Eugene had to lie down for almost half a day without moving, taking medicine to regain his composure. 

He got up from bed.

Having just turned fourteen, Eugene looked at the calendar. The academy operated with five days of classes and a two-day break.

“Do you have a girlfriend or something? You seem to be looking at the calendar as soon as you get to the dorms lately, and you haven’t used the warp gate since you got magic sickness…….” 

Eugene’s roommate, Eren, watched him with a curious expression. Until recently, Eugene didn’t even leave the place. He only went down to his family’s estate during the holidays.

However, one day, Eugene started leaving every weekend. It was clear he was meeting a beautiful girl, even with the knowledge that he would get motion sickness from using magic.

With a hypothesis in mind, Eren examined Eugene carefully. They say that you become more beautiful when you fall in love, but Eugene remains the same. No, he even fixed his gaze on him, glaring.

At first, he was taken aback by those golden eyes. But now, he could breathe a bit more easily.

“Why, why again? I didn’t ask you anything, did I?”

“Shut up and study.”

“Don’t worry about me. Our grandfather has quite a bit of influence.”

Eren’s grandfather was also from a family of mages. More precisely, it was Morgan, the owner of the magic tower, who didn’t get along with the Tigris. Despite the enmity between their grandfathers, the two, who didn’t follow the path of mages, were quite close.

“But during the holidays, did you meet your younger sibling? How was it? Pretty?”

“Yeah, she’s pretty.”

“Wow. Really?”

Eugene had never rated anyone’s appearance. So when he said she was pretty, Eren, who wanted to see his sister, made a mischievous face.

“I have time. Can you introduce your sister to me on the weekend?”

“What?”

“Why? You said she’s pretty!”

“I mean, it’s like that in words, but it’s hard to describe my sister as pretty. She’s lovely and cute. Just one word, and she can melt my anger in just one word.”

With a lengthy response instead of a short one, Eren chuckled. It seemed that the heir to the powerful Duke Panteur in the east was becoming more foolish when it came to his younger sister.

“Is that so? Oh, that’s impressive. So, introduce your lovely sister…”

“Eren Hyallu, I told you to be quiet. Don’t even look in the east. It’s my little sister, okay?”

Now, Eren shook his head vigorously at the repeated warning not to even turn his head to the east.

“By the way, is your sister doing well? I heard a rumor that a Child of Destruction has appeared in the east.”

Originally, Eugene didn’t have a younger sibling. It was impossible for the Duke Panteur, who hated the royal family and the temple more than anyone else, to have adopted a Child of Destruction.

“You haven’t seen my sister, right? If you saw her, you’d fall head over heels. A little pumpkin-like thing would jump into your arms, and give kisses, how delightful it must be.”

Eren was horrified by the idea of sleeping together and occasionally bathing together. Even if they were siblings in a noble family, they didn’t bathe together. Despite a bit of an age difference, even when they were siblings, they didn’t bathe together.

“Did your elder sister say anything from the north?”

“Oh, why wouldn’t she? We’re hugging each other and pecking each other like pumpkins in each other’s arms. By the way, my father calls it baked glutinous rice cake, my sister and brother-in-law call it rice cake, and my mother’s family calls it soft bean cake.”

Eren nodded at the term used to refer to the same but with different names. Before any of the three families lost their minds, it was impossible to call a child familiarly.

“Anyway, that child is not a Child of Destruction. Well, Father was slightly disappointed when he found out that our sister was not a Child of Destruction.”

No one was unaware of the fact that Duke Panteur’s wife had died in the war initiated by the temple and the royal family. As a result, the temple was completely expelled from the east, and the royal family had to tread carefully around Duke Panteur.

“Anyway, your family is something else… Hmm? It looks like Yuan Draco is passing by.”

Yuan Draco, who barely survived between promotions and non-promotions, looked worn and desolate. Upon hearing Eren’s words, Eugene quickly checked outside.

Seeing him squeezing himself into the dormitory, Eugene hurriedly went outside.

“Who could this be? Isn’t this Yuan Draco, the eldest son of Duke Draco? What brings you here at this hour? Is it for extra classes?”

Duke Draco had secretly bribed the swordsmanship instructors, and Eugene was well aware of that fact. Therefore, he occasionally gave private lessons to Yuan, who was wavering between promotion and non-promotion.

Leaning against the wall near Yuan’s room, Eugene smirked. 

“That’s none of your business.”

“Of course, whether you’re eating or defecating, it’s none of my business. But your father came with his knights to our house, didn’t he?”

“That’s because Duke Panteur wants to adopt the Child of Destruction. My father is just doing the right thing. Are you here to question that?”

Eugene, dumbfounded by Yuan’s words, suddenly took off his gloves and smacked him in the face.

“The right thing? Fine, then I guess I’ll have to do the right thing as well. I challenge you to a duel in the name of my younger sister’s honor. Refusal is not an option. Now follow me.”

A while later…

In a secluded area within the academy, away from prying eyes, Eugene and Yuan stood facing each other. Eugene, holding a wooden practice sword rather than a real blade, had a mischievous smile on his lips.

“Alright, let’s begin.”

By some twist of fate, Eren became a witness to this duel. Dragged along by Eugene while he was still bathing, Eren, towel in hand, threw a pebble at them. As the pebble hit the ground, the two men faced each other.

Upon witnessing their readiness to duel, Eren pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow. 

“Tsk, tsk. Just a while ago, you didn’t care at all… But you’re willing to fight a duel for a newly acquired younger sibling’s honor, huh?”

Analyzing Eugene’s thoughts was impossible even if one dissected his brain. Letting out a yawn, Eren watched the two, who hadn’t even started yet, with a bored expression. They had barely clashed once, and the difference in skill was already evident. 

One of them was dominating, while the other was on the receiving end. Eren found it rather anticlimactic.

While watching the unimpressive fencing match, Eren yawned and stretched, then looked towards a small figure running towards them. The child, with silver hair fluttering and dressed in a yellow one-piece dress, shouted.

“Big Brother!”

Hearing a voice that should not have been heard in this place, Eugene was taken aback and gave up on his playfight with Yuan. He quickly pushed him aside and went to pick up the child. 

“Our little pumpkin…”

“No!”

“Right, sorry. Why did you come here, my dear Rafi?”

The little Rafi, with a cheerful smile, replied.

“I missed my big brother. How are you?”

Seeing Rafi’s radiant smile as she spoke, Eren seemed to understand why Eugene had fallen so deeply for his little sister. Disregarding the fallen Yuan, Eren quickly approached the siblings.

“Uh, excuse me…”

“Shh, don’t look. Our Rafi is fragile! Go away!”