The Youngest Daughter of the Villainous Duke

“Pretty ······.” 

 

I approached the painting with admiration.

 

Come to think of it, I don’t think I remember properly setting the story about the wife, even though I set Henriette for having sons in the original book.

 

But she was obviously there. She was breathing alive in the story I wrote, and one day she suddenly died.

 

“I’m sorry for that ·······”

 

If I had known that I would be in a novel I wrote, I would have chosen it more delicately.

 

And Henriette’s personality should have been set as a more normal and loving father.

 

I guess so in my current life, but I didn’t have parental blessings in my previous life.

 

Father is a common patriarchal phenomenon of the time. Mother is both the victim and the perpetrator.

 

My paternal grandmother often said that if it weren’t for me, a boy would have been born.

 

In my previous life, I chose to disown my family because of that reason, my father forced me to marry instead of going to college. I was just 20 at the time.

 

I managed to get out ofmy family, and then I got a job and lost my life.

 

When my thoughts get complicated, the child’s brain can’t bear it and it became irritable. 

 

Before that, I took my eyes off the painting.

 

But thanks to you, tears stopped. 

 

At any rate, memories of past lives help stop crying. My heart felt frozen to below zero.

 

Even as I turned around in front of the painting and escaped from the corridor, my back was heavy for nothing, but I did not look back.

 

***

 

“Lady, lady!”

 

“Lady! Where are you!”

 

Peina ran down the hall screaming in hurry.

 

Normally, servants would never be allowed to run around the hallway.

 

But no one was going to blame her. Because other servants were in the same boat.

 

“Miss! Where are you!”

 

The butler’s cry hovers through the air.

 

The sevants were busy for hours searching for the missing lady, but she showed no sign.

 

I’ve always warned you not to go out of the room alone because you might get lost, but some of the children’s resolutions make them forget about it.

 

Hence, the Duchy of Wensgray was a place that shouldn’t be wandered around alone. 

 

The entire castle is covered with magic that obscures the eyes of outsiders.

 

This affects even the servants, leaving the enchanted person invisible to the eyes of the servants, and eventually wandering until he or she falls down alone without being seen by anyone.

 

Even their young lady had yet to receive a way to break the spell.

 

“The master will be back soon ····.”

 

Their master traveled between the Ecliptic and the Duchy through magic. So it was clear that he would be back in a few hours, as it was the scheduled departure and it said that he would be back within today.

 

Moreover, Henriette was in a state of very sharp nerves.

 

Last dawn, he couldn’t sleep because of a past incident, and he headed to the Ecliptic without even having time to sleep during the day.

 

He can’t even pick a time in his hand when he could get a proper sleep because he usually suffers from insomnia. 

 

As far as the servants know, he’s had nightmares since the incident seven years ago.

 

At least, he was scheduled to sleep for a long time today, but his daughter disappeared.

 

Peina feel so pathetic. 

 

She promised to take care of the Young Lady, but she made the mistake of losing her again.

 

Even if she had several necks, she couldn’t say anything. 

 

“Come on, we have to find her. Before the master comes back!”

 

After so many hours, the servants were unable to locate the girl. 

 

In the meantime, Henriette returned to the castle, leading his weary body after finishing his business in the Ecliptic.

 

***

 

I spent a long time even after I got out of the corridor, but I couldn’t even find anything, let alone the servants.

 

It was unfair. My legs hurt so much that I sat on the stairs tapping on my knees and sighed.

 

Then I looked around, it was still not the hallway where my room was. 

 

“Tch, where am I now…..”

 

There was nothing but silence. I didn’t even remember which floor this place was attached to.

 

Besides, I was feeling the cold now. It was the worst.

 

Maybe because I died of hypothermia on a cold day in my previous life, I especially hated the cold.

 

“Achoo! *Thump, sniffle·····.”

 

In addition, the eyelids were quickly getting heavy, perhaps tired of running around in the child’s body for so long.

 

I can’t do this. I felt like I needed to take a break everywhere. Now my physical strength is limited.

 

It’s all black outside the window. I guess it’s already night. 

 

I happened to find a room where the door was open, and I stepped into it carefully.

 

“Excuse me ······?”

 

I went inside asking that in case there was anyone, but no answer were heard.

 

There was no light in the room, so I couldn’t see anything, but I could feel the soft fur carpet on the floor.

 

Moreover, the air in the room was very warm even though I didn’t seem to put firewood in the brazier.

 

My tired body, which had been wandering around the much colder hallway, seemed to melt down in a breath as I faced the warm heat.

 

There was an urge to lie on the soft floor and fall asleep. 

 

However, since I wanted to sleep with a blanket, I decided to look for a bed.

 

“Um·······.” 

 

As I stuttered with my hands stretched forward, my fingertips soon bumped into something.

 

“Oh,”

 

I felt a fluffy blanket when I touched it with my hand. 

 

It just so happen that there was a bed right in front of me.

 

Now, I yawned while barely tightening my eyelids, struggling to get on top. Even the blanket was tinged with hot heat.

 

As I dug deep into the blanket, there was a strange smell in it. 

 

As I lay back in my seat, wriggling, my elbow bumped against something under the covers.

 

Something that hit my elbow moved my body. The black silhouette, like the mountain streams seen at night, was greatly shaken. 

 

Someone was lying under the covers.

 

Other times I’d just go out, but I’m so sleepy now that my head isn’t working properly. 

 

The adult’s instinct fell asleep early and only the child’s instincts remained, urging her to close her eyes quickly and leave for her dreamland.

 

Yeah, does it even matter who’s inside. I’m so sleepy. 

 

“*Yawn······.”

 

The air in the room was obviously warm, but it was cold under the covers, so I clung to his warmth without realizing it. 

 

I put my body close to his big back, and then I realized that his shoulders were shaking.

 

After sometimes, a low-pitched sound came out. 

 

Maybe he’s having a nightmare?

 

I was so sleepy, but I couldn’t help but be bothered by the loud noise.

 

I hugged the bed’s owner on the back and patted him on the back, as generous as I could.

 

Sometimes when I couldn’t sleep, Peina would hug me like this and sing me a lullaby.

 

“……Goodbye to the sun. Time for the moon to show your face. Goodbye to the baby now, time to hold hands with the night and snore…”

 

I began to sing like a small murmur, and continued patting his back with my hands to match his heart rate.

 

Little by little, the sound of the pain was fading. I sang almost as if I was mumbling now.

 

“Good night, good night. Today is a good dream…… a sweet dream with a big smile on the flower garden. When I say good-bye to the sun tomorrow morning, I wake up with my blanket wide open and have a good day ·····.”

 

The trembling slowly stopped. 

 

When I repeatedly sang the song in a sleepy voice like the dying embers, the sound of the pain stopped.

 

Only then could I fully accept the sleeper rush.

 

I fell asleep clinging to the back of a man I didn’t even know.

 

The morning sun shines on the window. 

 

Today, Henriette have been released from the nightmare of a curseful memory of the past he experienced every night.

 

As he lifted his eyelids, the sensation of the whole body, which had only been felt distant, returned.

 

As soon as he did that, he felt a strange foreign sensation in his waist. 

 

Henriette lifted the quilt straight away.

 

“*yawn…..” 

 

The sound of breathing that was flowing out was briefly cut off.

 

When the warmth from the blanket was driven out and the outside air poured in, the child narrowed his brow and wriggled uncomfortably before falling asleep again.

 

Still with one leg tucked over his waist.

 

“·········· Mn.” 

 

I could see long light pink hair tangled brightly like a full-blown summer rose and a face basked in sleep.

 

A thought came to mind. Last night, a small hand came patting him on the back.

 

“…….”

 

The morning sun penetrated through the thick curtains and tilted against his back.

 

Henriette remained silent and motionless, staring at the sleeping girl for a long time.