Translator and Editor: Maru and Tea

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Chapter 80

“Are you going today?”

“Hmm. While Leona is away, I’m thinking of spending family time with Rere.”

“No. I want to play alone. Daddy is boring.”

Rere put down her fork grumpily.

“Suddenly, thinking about playing with Daddy makes me lose my appetite.”

She even leaned back and left the food that she had been eating so eagerly.

“Why, Rere? I’m sure you’ll have great fun playing with Daddy.”

“…Not really.”

“You used to want to play with your daddy.”

“Really? I don’t remember.”

Rere looked at the Duke with a pout on her face.

“But what can I do? My daddy wants to play with Rere, so I have to grant his wish. Haaa..being popular is suuuper difficult.”

Rere shook her shoulders while looking at the dumbfounded Duke.

“Hoo. I guess you’re not happy with it?”

“N-No, of course I’m happy.”

“But your reaction is just so-so.”

“No! So what are we going to play today, I wonder?”

“Well, I don’t know. Why don’t you think about it, Daddy?”

Rere, who had crossed her arms, tapped her own head as if telling the Duke to use his brain.

“I want to listen to what you have in mind first.”

“Uh, um…I don’t know? Something fun…how about reading books? Or drinking tea?”

“…Daddy.”

Listening to the Duke, Rere flared her nostrils.

“Yes?”

“I didn’t know my daddy was such a boring person. What did you say again? Reading books and drinking tea, huh?”

“Don’t you think it’s going to be a lot of fun?”

“Not at all. But my mom brings me books that suit my age, and my daddy only reads books that are difficult to read! It’s no fun!”

The Duke contemplated for a while then clapped his hands as if he had thought of something great.

“I’ve thought of something fun!”

“What is it?”

“The most interesting thing in the world! With your daddy!”

“With Daddy?”

“Deep conversation!”

For a moment, Rere was speechless and looked at the Duke as if he was a hopeless case.

“What do you think? It’s been a long time since you talked to your daddy, isn’t it?”

“…Daddy.”

“Yes! You’re looking forward to it, right?”

“No. I’m going to sleep. I’m suddenly feeling sleepy. Haaaa. Big Bunny, hurry up and go. Rere will be sleeping in the room instead of playing with Daddy.

Rere jumped down from her seat, stretched her body and was about to walk off.

“Rere, don’t do that and play with your daddy instead, hmm? I’ll play whatever game that Rere wants to play!”

“…Hm..”

“I’ll play any games with you!”

“Okay! Then let’s play hide-and-seek!”

“…Hide…and seek?”

“Yeah! I played it with Big Bunny. If you hide, I’ll try to find you.”

“It seems very easy. Alright. Let’s play that.”

“Yeay!”

Somehow, I was feeling uneasy watching the Duke who seemed confident.

“Can you really play with Rere?”

“Of course! I’m Rere’s daddy. You don’t have to worry.”

“How about Rere? Will you be alright?”

“Mmh. I’m also worried about this, but Daddy looks so confident.”

Even if she felt uneasy, Rere hesitated for a while and grabbed the Duke’s hand as he stood behind her.

“Then you have to leave and come back quickly, Big Bunny. I’ll be playing with my daddy.”

“Okay!”

When I was about to leave, Rere ran toward me and spread her arms, asking to be hugged. So I held the child in my arms.

“Come home quickly and play with us, okay?”

“Yeah. Rere, go have fun with your daddy now.”

Even though I said so, Rere didn’t let go for a long time.

“Tell me, Big Bunny.”

“Say it.”

“You’re not running away, right? You’re not going to leave me like last time, right…?”

“Of courseee. I won’t ever do that again to Rere.”

“But, but….”

I held the child, who couldn’t let go of me, more tightly in my arms.

“If Rere doesn’t like it, should I not go then?”

“No…Rere is not a child anymore so it’s okay to leave me, but I’m worried.”

“Rere.”

“…Yeah?”

“Rere is Mom’s guardian.”

“Guardian?”

I rubbed my cheeks against the child’s chubby cheeks.

“You were my guardian that made my dull life shine more than anyone ever will. That’s why I will never leave you. Until Rere lets go of me later.”

At that time, Rere kissed my cheek.

“Flower bunny. You’re saying nice things today, too. Alright. I’ll trust you, Big Bunny. Hurry and come back safely, okay?”

“Yeah! I’ll be right back. Have fun with your daddy.”

“Okay!”

I put Rere on the floor and glanced at the Duke. But he shrugged his shoulders confidently as if he was reassuring me not to worry about anything.

“…You are the last person I would expect to have such eyes, so I feel quite uncomfortable.”

“What’s wrong with my eyes?”

“…Nothing. Please take good care of Rere.”

“Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”

After saying that, he ordered the servant to prepare a carriage as he went out of the room.

I looked at their retreating backs for a long time and returned to Rere’s room to grab the money I had saved. Then I climbed into the carriage he had prepared for me.

“Luca?”

Luca was already inside the carriage before me.

“What happened?”

“Shh. No one knows.”

“Madam, is there anything you find uncomfortable?”

When I got on the carriage but didn’t sit down immediately, the coachman asked me to make sure if I was alright.

Luca was sitting in the blind spot to evade the coachman’s sight and placed his index finger on his lips leisurely.

“It’s nothing. You can close the door right away. Let’s get going.”

“Yes, Madam.”

It wasn’t until I heard the door close that I slowly took a seat. After a while, the carriage began to move. Only then Luca rose from his seat and sat next to me.

“W-What are you doing!”

“Why are you asking? I just thought the coachman would hear my voice if I conversed with you from over there.”

His finger pointed to where he had been sitting. Just as Luca said, that spot was close to the small window that was right behind the coachman. The moment I realized it, my face turned red.

“A-Ah, I see. Haha. I think I misunderstood again.”

“Misunderstood? What do you mean?”

“Y-Yeah, misunderstood…what I mean is..um..haha…”

At that time,

He brought himself closer and closer. The sweet scent that seemed to drive me crazy every time puzzled me.

“Why are your cheeks so red?”

It’s because of you.

His big hand gently swept my cheek. My cheeks were already flushed to the point where Luca’s hand felt cold.

“I-It’s not red. But why are you here?”

“I’m a little worried about sending you alone. By the way, what’s going on today? Leona, I was surprised to hear that you went out so suddenly?”

“Oh, that’s….I’m going to the temple. Just like the doctor said, we might be able to find someone who has a similar disease with Rere if we go to the temple.”

It was my first time sitting alone with him in a carriage, so my heart beat like crazy. Even if he stayed still, it seemed to me his breath filled the carriage. So I was busy talking quickly.

“…Oh, I see! That honestly didn’t cross my mind.”

Somehow Luca’s eyes shone as if he was more concerned about Rere than the Duke himself.

“Luca seems to care about Rere a lot.”

“Of course, maybe it’s not as much as Leona, but I love her like my own daughter.”

“I see.”

“But Leona seems to worry a lot about Young Miss’ illness.”

“Because she faints often…so I’m worried…”

“The doctor said it wasn’t a life-threatening disease.”

“What if she won’t get better? We don’t know how long it’ll take…I think it’s better to find a solution early.”

Because Rere’s illness doesn’t even seem to get better until she becomes an adult. So I would do anything to find out the cause of the disease.

Because I didn’t want to see Rere suffer from that disease until she became an adult.

Of course, Rere wouldn’t die in vain as long as she didn’t get involved with the crown prince, but still, I felt impatience that she still had to suffer from illness.

I don’t want to see Rere collapse right in front of me again even if I die.

“I see.”

“Do I look like there’s another reason as to why I’m doing this?”

“Yes.”

“…There can’t be another reason or anything. It’s because I care about Rere more than anyone else. I just want my child not to get sick.”

I couldn’t muster up my courage to tell him the truth.

That I was actually from a different world, and this world is inside a book.

I couldn’t possibly say it, so I just made things up.

“You have such a warm heart. I’m sure there’ll be a way for my Young Miss to recover thanks to Leona.”

Luca calmly swept back my hair.

“But sometimes, when I see Leona speaking so sweetly like this, I feel like you were an outsider.”

“Outsider…”

“Everyone is born with a little magic power. Some are strong and some are weak. However, that does not necessarily mean that they have the same amount of mana even if they were categorized as strong or weak. Just as each person looks different, the flow of mana is different in shape and size. Leona is an unusual case.”

“…W-What do you mean special case?”

At that time, my vision got a little blurry.

“W-What are you talking about? Haha. I can’t believe you said that. Since I was born my life has always been normal. So I can’t be a special case.”

“Is that so?”

His smiling face felt a little strange. It seemed to me that he was fascinated by me.

So I waved my hand as if it was ridiculous.

“That’s not possible.”

“Maybe I felt that way because you were the one I love. Because everything about you is special to me. From your breathing, your steps, and smiles. I guess that must be why.”

He quietly looked at me for a long time, and I returned his gaze.

What Luca said about me being ‘an outsider’ strangely bothered me, but I made eye contact with him as if nothing had happened.

We stared at each other for a long time.

And not long after, the carriage stopped. It didn’t take long because there was a temple below the mountain where the Duke’s castle was located.

As I glanced back at Luca, I removed the curtain hanging from the window.

The scenery I saw was different from last time.

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