Translator and Editor: Maru and Tea

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Chapter 84

“Hmmb! He hasn’t come out yet!”

Where the hell did you go? That lunatic!

It probably took me an hour for a round-trip from here to the temple.

“…You can’t find it even after you shout kwekkori?”

(T/N: Kwekkori is a catchphrase or truce term in hide-and-seek to indicate the players who are hiding can come out into the open without losing the game)

“Ung! I did exactly what Big Bunny told me before! But he won’t come out!”

Rere put her hands on her waist and pouted angrily.

“Ha…Let’s go find him.”

“No. As expected, Daddy is so booooring. I’ll never play with Daddy again. Let’s play something else instead!”

“But if Rere doesn’t find him, Daddy may have shivered in the cold outside all night, you know?”

Rere’s face began to stiffen in anger.

“Uuuugh! Why do I have to suffer because of my idiot daddy?! He should’ve come out when I said kwekkori, but he didn’t come out at all!”

At that time, the nanny rushed to me.

“Hosh, hosh- Have you returned, Madam?”

“What’s the matter?”

“We’ve searched everywhere…but Master is nowhere to be found.”

Luca, who stood behind me, heaved a deep sigh.

“It seems he took this opportunity to take a good rest.”

“Does Luca happen to know where he is?”

“There’s no one who knows him better than me.”

He walked forward with a smile on his face.

“If Miss Rebecca helps me, I think we can find him immediately.”

“Well, it can’t be helped if Luca says so.”

Rere gradually released the tension on her face and immediately held Luca’s hand.

She began to hum a little, perhaps feeling proud that her help was needed.

“Gosh! Men in this house can’t live without Rere at all!”

“Of course. I feel like I can find him as long as Miss Rebecca is here.”

“Gosh. Fine. Let’s go!”

“I have a feeling that he went this way, Miss. Do you think so, too?”

Pretending to ask Rere’s opinion, Luca slowly led the child to where he wanted to go.

Just like that, time passed by quickly.

Contrary to my expectation that he would be outside, he was sleeping on top of the rabbit doll in Rere’s room.

“……”

All of us were stunned when we saw him like that.

“Wh, what’s wrong with him?”

He slept like a log and had completely forgotten that his child had been searching for him.

“I don’t know either.”

As soon as Rere found the Duke, she quickly stormed into the room. She pulled the rabbit doll that supported the Duke’s body with all her might.

“What are you doing here!”

“Uh, huh? You finally found me, Rere?”

“I told you we weren’t going to hide in the mansion today!”

“Hoaam. Did you?”

The Duke stretched out his arms as if he just had a good nap.

“Now that Rere has found Daddy, can Daddy be the seeker this time?”

“No! It’s over!”

“Huh? Really?”

“Why didn’t you come out when I shouted kwekkori!”

“I didn’t hear you.”

Are you going to play with your child or are you going to sleep?

He looked somewhat drowsy.

How could one be this unattractive? The Duke became more and more like a child.

At last, I glanced back at the angry child and approached him.

“Seriously….didn’t you say you were going to play hide-and-seek? Where in the world could you find someone who hides like this? If you do this, Rere will never play with you again. Do you understand?”

“Isn’t this how you hide?”

He blinked as if he was clueless about everything, so I just sighed looking at him blinking like a child.

“….No.”

“I see. But Rere, don’t you think it’s fun to play with Daddy?”

“Not at all,”

“Why? It was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Not at all. I was running like crazy and drenched in sweat because of you!”

Rere folded her arms angrily. Only then did the Duke look at us with a little regret.

“Did I do something wrong again?”

“Absolutely. You should give your all when you play with children.”

“Ah.”

“You should learn to cherish the time you spend with your child. Because time passes in a blink of an eye and the child will only cherish her own time at some point.”

When that happens, you will not be able to play with her anymore. Children’s time flies faster than their parents’.

He exhaled as if he was thinking deeply about what I said and nodded after a long time.

“You’re right, I should’ve focused on the present more. Next time, I promise I will play with you properly, Rere.”

“….What’s gotten into you all of sudden?”

“Huh?”

“I thought you’d be mad if I said this, but you were more compliant than I thought.”

His eyes were fixed on me.

“Did I perhaps make you uncomfortable?”

“Yeah, very much.”

“I thought I was doing my best.”

“An act of kindness that does not consider the other party’s opinion only makes the other person feel burdened. You and I have always done this to each other.”

He seemed to be deep in thought. I didn’t want to prolong this, so I held Rere in my arms.

“Rere. Let’s wash now. Big Bunny went out today, so I want to wash.”

“Yup!”

“Then we’ll leave first. Please return to your room and rest. It’s been a very busy day for us, so I’m sure you’d understand how tired we are right now.”

“……”

“And please stop ordering Luca around.”

The Duke stood up as if he remembered something and glanced at Luca.

“Come to think of it, Luca. Where did you go today?”

“..Ah.”

“…I looked for you earlier, but you weren’t around.”

“I went out with Ms. Leona.”

“W-What?! How dare you. I couldn’t even accompany her.”

“Yes. I thought it would be more appropriate for the Duchess to be accompanied by a knight during the outing.”

I expected the Duke to be mad, but surprisingly, he just nodded his head.

“That’s true. I don’t want her to go all by herself.”

“That’s why I went with her.”

“….Well done.”

Surprisingly, he agreed to Luca’s reasoning so easily. From the look on Luca’s face, it seemed to have happened frequently.

If he gets more and more mature, will there be a day when he finally looks like a real duke?

“Big Bunny, aren’t we going to wash up?”

“Ah, yeah. Let’s hurry.”

“Let’s go!”

After getting lost in thought, I quickly went to the bathroom to wash.

***

A few more days had passed.

The world was as calm as it was before a storm.

Leona’s family, who acted as if they wouldn’t leave me alone, was quiet. Even the High Priest who said he’d visit me soon didn’t make an appearance.

“Why haven’t you come?”

“Hmm? Is someone coming?”

“Ah, no.”

It rained these past few days. Rere was upset because she couldn’t play outside.

“Haa. Why does the sky look so sad today?”

“Huh?”

“That’s what it says in the book that Mother used to read! It’s raining because the sky is sad. That’s why Rere also became sad.”

“R-Really?”

“Yeah! I want to go out and play, but it’s raining all day. I really can’t wait to go out and run!”

Rere lay down on the long desk and swung her legs back and forth.

“Ah, I want to play. Big Bunny. What should we play if it stops raining?”

“Hmm, maybe if there’s some time left before I go to temple….how about treasure hunting?”

The word ‘treasure’ made her eyes sparkle.

“Treasure?! Wow! I know that! I’ve seen it in the book. There’s a great sea thief who is looking for treasure!”

“…T-Thief….? Do you mean pirate?”

“Ah…but it’s definitely a thief in that book!”

Rere grinned widely.

“Anyway! Are we going to look for treasure?! Where is the treasure? Are we going to the sea, too?”

“No. The treasure is in the house!”

“…….”

“….I mean, it’s just a game, not a real treasure hunt…”

Rere’s face turned more sour than ever.

“Tch. That’s no fun.”

“Oh no! It’s going to be fun, Rere.”

“Does Big Bunny want Rere to do it?”

“Of course~”

“Hmm. It’s a little annoying, but I’ll have to do it for you. Big Bunny wants it so badly, after all.” Rere said, but she also seemed to be quite looking forward to it.

“I wish the rain would stop soon. Then I can play the treasure hunt that Big Bunny prepared so hard for me.”

“I’m glad you seem to like it.”

“When did I say I like it? I just said I’d do it for you.”

“Haha. Alright then.”

I have to work hard so that Rere can enjoy it to the fullest.

But then someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

But it wasn’t the nanny or May who opened the door. It was the Duke’s servant.

“Madam, you have a guest.”

The servant bowed down to greet me.

“A guest? Who is it?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”

I have a guest but you can’t even tell me the name, huh?

“If you can’t tell me who it is, then I won’t meet him.”

“Ah, but….”

In this situation, the only suspicious people that popped into my head were Leona’s family.

They must have been hiding their identity because they were kicked out last time. Having come into that conclusion, I became more sure.

“It’s my family, right?”

“No. It’s a different guest.”

I wasn’t really pleased to hear that. I was so tired today.

“Tell him that I won’t see him. I’m very tired.”

They were probably just a noble who came to visit the Duchess.

“But I think you should meet him.”

“Then tell me who he is.”

“It’d be better if Madam met him first. In case you ask his identity, he wants me to tell you that he’s a dog.”

“A dog? What do you mean….? Don’t tell me…”

“He’s from the temple.”

“Ah, I will meet him!”

It must be the high priest. He’s finally here!

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