The Beloved Youngest Daughter of a Noble Family

Chapter 6: A Taste of the Pacifier!

“Hello, Sione. Long time no see. How have you been?”

The platinum-haired man approached and greeted her with a refreshing smile.

I opened my mouth in surprise, looking back and forth between Sione, whose face was crumpled as if she’d seen a ghost, and the man with the bright smile.

‘Wow, he’s incredibly handsome.’

From afar, I’d thought he was just somewhat good-looking. But up close, his beauty was breathtaking.

‘Where did this guy suddenly come from?’

Long eyelashes, a high nose bridge, a delicate jawline, and smooth skin as if he’d stepped out of an oil painting. With a tight white uniform that accentuated his sturdy physique, he had the appearance of a flawless knight.

“What brings you here, Walter?” Sione stepped forward and asked in a stiff tone, and he shrugged lightly.

“Don’t be so cold. We don’t need a special reason to meet, do we?”

“You haven’t shown your face for decades, and now you’re all talk.”

Walter fell silent for a moment, as if her words struck a chord. But he soon returned to a bright expression, scratching his head and laughing sheepishly.

“Sorry. Cut me some slack. I had my reasons.”

“Sigh… Fine. Just tell me why you’re here. There must be a reason you came so suddenly.”

“Well, you see…” Walter hesitated for a long time, gauging Sione’s expression, and then continued hesitantly. “Actually, the Rose Palace has been closed off. The Lord ordered that no one should be allowed in or out.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“The reason I came today was to deploy soldiers around the palace. It’s a larger area than I thought, so it seems like we’ll need quite a few troops.”

I was listening intently to their conversation, puffing up my cheeks with an annoyed expression.

‘This sounds nice, but isn’t it practically house arrest?’

Knowing better than anyone what isolation from the outside world could lead to, I shuddered slightly in fear.

“Closed off? Don’t make me laugh.”

Sione stood in front of Walter, grabbing his shirt collar tightly. “No one can suppress Bella’s freedom. I won’t allow it.”

“Ugh, Sione. Calm down. Let go of this…”

“You want to block this place? Even if you bring all your knights, you won’t be able to handle me alone. Are you sure you want to try?”

As if to prove her point, the black energy characteristic of black magic began to rise around her.

He kept coughing, looking a bit pathetic, but from my perspective, it felt satisfying.

‘Good job. My powerful nanny, you’re the best.’

An ordinary nanny would have cried and begged for sympathy in front of the great knight. But this was Sione, who had the impressive experience of being the Lord’s personal mage. It made sense why Walter couldn’t easily defy her.

‘A bit hot-tempered for a mage, though.’

Just as I was nodding my head, thinking she wouldn’t be out of place as a military officer, Walter raised his hands in surrender.

“How could I be? I doubt I could stop you even if I tried my best.”

“…What is the Lord thinking, ordering a lockdown? You must know. You’re the only one left under his command.”

“I don’t know. How could I know his intentions? I’m just following orders. And besides, I get to see your face, which I’ve missed so much.”

Sione scoffed, looking at him with disgust as he winked playfully despite being held by the collar.

“Still smooth with your words. You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Hmm, that’s true. You know particularly well how good I am with my lips…”

“Shut up.”

Thud.

I watched with a hint of pity as Sione punched him in the stomach, sending him jumping and yelping, “Ouch, I’m dying!”

‘What’s their relationship?’

Judging by what I’d seen, they were more than just colleagues. Considering they seemed to have progressed to kissing, maybe they’d been in some kind of fling.

‘Anyway, I feel a bit relieved.’

It was surprisingly comforting to have someone express anger on my behalf in a situation where my freedom was being curtailed.

One of my biggest regrets from my past life was accepting a life of confinement as inevitable.

I had been deprived of things I should have rightfully enjoyed from an early age, believing I could never escape the confines of my predetermined cage.

As a result, I became hesitant to seek help, leading to a life of complete isolation.

‘I used to think someone getting angry for me was just pointless pity…’

Perhaps I should learn to appreciate such gestures.

Suck, suck, suck.

I sucked on my pacifier with the most serious expression a baby could muster.

Suddenly, Walter’s handsome face loomed before me.

“So this is the rumored youngest daughter of the Lord?”

Eek! He startled me!

I opened my eyes wide in surprise, and I heard Sione click her tongue disapprovingly.

“Don’t get too close to Bella. You’ll transmit your stupidity.”

“Stupidity? That’s a bit harsh!”

After grumbling like a child, Walter scrutinized me with a sullen face.

‘Why is he looking at me like that?’

Unlike others who usually showered me with affection, his gaze held a hint of hostility.

‘Does he have some kind of grudge against me?’

As if confirming my suspicion, Walter pinched my chubby cheeks with a pouty expression.

“I thought she was someone special, given how devotedly you care for her. But I don’t see anything special about her.”

“Ooh, ooh-boo?”

What was that, you little…!

‘Does he think I’m an object to be appraised? How dare he judge me?’

I couldn’t let this slide. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

It was time for revenge.

‘Alright, I’ll use that method.’

I quickly hatched a plan, devising the most effective way to retaliate against Walter.

Phase one: preparation.

I puffed up my cheeks with air and placed my fists on each cheek. The key was to tilt my head 45 degrees to the left and widen my eyes innocently.

“Ooh-boo-boo, myah♡”

I giggled.

The moment I made eye contact with Walter, I gave him the purest, brightest smile I could muster.

As I nuzzled my cheeks against his hand, exuding the innocent charm of a newborn, Walter’s face flushed crimson.

“Ugh, my heart…” he muttered, clutching his chest.

Good. It’s going exactly as planned!

‘Hehehe.’

With a mischievous glint in my eyes, belying my angelic appearance, I smirked, tilting my lips into a sly grin.

“How can a living being be this adorable…” Walter mused, taking a step closer.

Now!

I took a deep breath and spit out the pacifier I’d been sucking on.

“Ptoo!”

“Argh!”

The pacifier, coated in a generous amount of drool, hit Walter square in the face. He clutched his nose and rolled on the ground, as if struck by a hammer instead of a baby toy.

‘What an overreaction.’

He looks perfectly fine; why is he acting like that?

He looked back and forth between me, with a dumbfounded expression, and a frowning Sione, before yelling, “Sione! What kind of bizarre magic did you put on that pacifier? It hurts more than getting hit with a hammer!”

“It’s a kind of tuning,” Sione replied nonchalantly. “It’s the only thing Bella always carries around, so I’ve made a few… adjustments.”

Oh. I hadn’t known that.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, I scratched my chubby cheeks.

Walter, after shooting me a resentful glare (which I completely ignored, given his earlier cheek-pinching offense), regained his composure, dusted off his pants, and stood up.

“Anyway,” he said, “it’s best to avoid going outside for a while. All eyes in the royal palace are on the Rose Palace.”

“…How long are we supposed to be cooped up in this palace?” Sione grumbled.

“I don’t know. But the Lord can’t keep this place locked down indefinitely. Now that a new heir has appeared, the nobles won’t stay silent.”

Sione nodded in agreement, and Walter patted her shoulder reassuringly.

“Don’t worry too much. Your best friend and longtime colleague, this very Walter, will do his best to help you.”

“That’s very reassuring,” Sione replied dryly.

“If you say it like that, with a face full of doubt, I might actually start believing you.”

Walter grumbled about her lack of sincerity and then left with a soldier who had come for him.

When we returned to our usual spot in the stroller, pushed by Sione, we were met by a group of panicked maids.

“Lady Sione! It’s terrible! Soldiers are blockading the palace grounds. They say it’s the Lord’s order…”

“I know,” Sione replied calmly. “Walter came and told me.”

“What? The captain himself?”

From the ensuing conversation, I learned that Walter was the captain of the Lord’s personal knights and a rather important figure. Sione had called him the “Lord’s only current vassal,” suggesting he was something like Father’s right-hand man.

‘His actions don’t really reflect that, though.’

I snorted inwardly, remembering Walter rolling on the ground after being hit with the pacifier.

‘But what is Father thinking?’

I thought he was a heartless person for neglecting his only daughter, but then he suddenly gave me a name.

I was secretly hoping he was finally taking an interest in me, but then he immediately confines me to the palace?

Well, I wasn’t expecting a normal father, but this seems a bit too much.

‘Well, it wouldn’t be bad to have some time to relax for a while.’

It’s not like I’m going to become an adult tomorrow anyway.

It takes a lot of time not only for my body to grow, but also to learn the things I’ll need in the future.

I’ll think of it as biding my time and focus on what I can do now.

“Haaam. Mmm.”

Blink, blink.

‘Ugh, I want to think more… but I’m so sleepy…’

I yawned repeatedly and soon drifted off, nodding my head.

Maybe it was the side effect of using my brain too much for a baby, but sometimes I would suddenly get sleepy like this.

“Oh my, Bella looks sleepy. How can she be so cute even when she’s sleeping?”

“Come to think of it, it’s way past her nap time. Let’s go back.”

After the picnic area was cleaned up, I returned to my room and fell into a sweet, long nap.

☆☆☆

Meanwhile, Walter, having returned to the main palace, was walking down the corridor leading to the audience chamber.

His face was cold as stone as he glided across the marble floor, receiving salutes from the soldiers. The lighthearted demeanor he had displayed at the Rose Palace had vanished without a trace, replaced by a palpable tension emanating from his corded neck.

‘A great whirlwind of change is about to sweep through the Chepesh Kingdom.’

Those who become vassals of the Lord inherit a portion of his power. Walter, being a swordsman, wasn’t particularly adept at wielding magic, but he could clearly sense that the inhabitant of the Rose Palace possessed an extraordinary potential.

The Lord’s child, once believed to be forever dormant, had now become a contender with perhaps the greatest potential for succession.

‘It might be alright for now, but who knows what will happen in a few years. The noble factions supporting the other princes won’t simply stand by and watch.’

Wilhelm, the firstborn, was the most pressing issue. Though still young, resembling Luca in appearance, he enjoyed immense support due to his lineage from the kingdom’s most prestigious family and his long-standing status as the potential heir.

This was a stark contrast to Princess Bella, who, despite being born from a consort, had no supporting faction whatsoever. Their starting points were entirely different.

‘If only her abilities were lacking, she could have lived out her days in peace…’

In his view, Luca, the second child, was a prime example of this. A mischievous prince who had grown up showered with attention and affection, he led a peaceful life, not particularly distinguished in any way.

‘How can I be of help?’

If his feelings were any indication, the life that lay ahead for Princess Bella would be anything but smooth.

If things went well, she might even reign as Lord someday, but the possibility seemed slim at the moment.

‘I’m already so worried, this is a complete mess.’

He had always thought there was only one important woman in his life, past or future.

“Haah.”

Arriving at the entrance to the audience chamber, his destination, Walter took a deep breath.

It was a habit he always had before delivering a troublesome report.

“Knight Captain Walter Ricardo requests an audience with the Lord.”

☆☆☆

TL/N: Hi guys! It’s me, Divinity. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did translating it.

Sorry for the late update; I was busy in real life. From now on, I will try to stick to a schedule (3 chapters per week). I want to release more chapters, but I already have so much on my plate and have to translate other series as well (you can find them on my Ko-fi page). I’m planning to pick up another web novel if everything goes well. :finger crossed: So yeah, that’s the gist of it.

Also, please consider leaving a like or comment – it means a lot! And if you’re feeling extra generous, please rate and review this novel on NovelUpdates. See ya!