DKVM Ch 4

Chapter 4

Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, I stood up a beat too late and lowered my eyes.

Sally was equally surprised by the Duke’s sudden appearance, but she quickly walked over and bowed politely…

“Your Grace, that child is here without permission, how dare she enter this mansion in your presence.”

As soon as he entered the villa, she snitched on me.

‘What, is this for real!’

Sally’s accusation stunned me for a moment, but then I came up with a plan.

‘…No. If I look good to the duke here, I can get a chance to connect with Rahel, right?’

I could catch the duke’s eye and become a maid or run errands for the house.

That was much quicker than gathering information from the servants.

‘I rather like it.’

Quickly revising my plan, I looked up with a satisfied smile.

* * *

Karlz stared at Vivian, then asked.

“Who brought this child into the mansion?”

“I-I brought her here.”

James stepped forward, hiding Vivian behind him.

“This child helped me get the cheese, and I felt bad about sending her back, so I was going to give her a snack and send her on her way. She’s innocent, please hold me accountable.”

“…This child helped you get the cheese?”

“Yes. She even negotiated the price for us with the ranch owner.”

Karlz’s sharp eyes turned back to Vivian, who was hidden behind James.

She was pretty enough to draw attention, but that was all. She was an ordinary girl.

‘That kid negotiated with the ranch owner?’

As Karlz looked at Vivian, Vivian, who had been behind James, stepped forward cautiously.

“Vivian, daughter of Dias Hessen, greets His Excellency the Duke.”

She had impeccable manners.

“If it’s not out of place, I hope you don’t mind if I say something about this situation?”

Looking at Vivian, Karlz tilted his head slightly, to allow her to continue.

Vivian continued calmly.

“Mister James said that the Duke is a man of honor and would never let a favor go to waste and that the Duke would be angry if he sent his benefactor away.”

“….”

“So he said he would honor the Duke’s wishes and repay me.”

Of course, James had never said that.

Karlz doesn’t know what James meant, but Vivian’s intentions are clear.

‘She’s trying to stop me from punishing him.’

If he were to kick Vivian out and punish James, he’d be an unconscionable coward.

She also lifted his spirits by praising him and even defended James.

These were not the words of a normal child of her age.

Karlz stared straight into the honey-colored eyes looking back at him.

Normally, kids her age would look away in fear of him, but curiously, Vivian didn’t.

She didn’t look arrogant, either.

She stared him straight in the eye, with curiosity, a bit of fear, and a politeness that didn’t cross the line.

‘You’re a bold one’

James glanced between them, then shook his head urgently.

“I’ll send the child back right away.”

“No.”

Karlz stopped James in his tracks as he started to take Vivian away.

“You cannot do that to your benefactor. Give her more food, and make sure she is well paid for her labor.”

James’s eyes widened at the unexpected words from the duke’s mouth.

Sally looked back and forth between Vivian and Karlz in disbelief.

“You’re taking care of that beggar? When she dared to come into the duke’s house without permission?”

“That child is the benefactor of Edelwein’s bountiful dinner tonight. As she says, it’s not polite to mistreat a benefactor in Edelwein’s name.”

In this mansion, the duke’s word was law. Sally was not to be disrespectful in his presence.

“Do you think I have acted incorrectly, Sally?”

At the duke’s chilling question, Sally shook her head and answered in a low voice.

“N-No. I think it is a merciful judgment.”

She could feel Vivian’s eyes on her from afar.

Sally wanted to scream right then and there, but she bit her lip in the presence of the Duke. She was furious.

Vivian quickly stepped forward and bowed before Karlz could leave the kitchen.

“Thank you, Your Grace, for your kindness today, and I will repay you in any way I can in the future.”

With a hint that she’d be back often.

Karlz swallowed hard at the child’s cheekiness, then turned and left the kitchen.

‘She’s not only smart but quick-witted.’

A perceptive person is easy to take advantage of.

When he reached his office, Karlz was still thinking about the precocious child from earlier, and he called for his butler.

“Owen.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“The girl I saw in the kitchen just now, how old did you say she was?”

“Nine years old, I was told.”

Nine years old.

Roughly the same age as Rahel, who turned ten this year.

‘Just in time, I needed a girl her age.’

It took some theatrics to hide the fact that Rahel was a boy.

Someone to play with who would believe he was a girl and not be a close confidant who would share the secret.

It was a good picture to present to the outside world.

‘If an outsider girl plays well with Rahel, no one will suspect that Rahel is a boy.’

Plus, she’s quick-witted, so she’ll be able to cater to Rahel’s needs.

And just in case, if she ever finds out Rahel’s secret…

‘She’s a commoner, so she’ll be easy to deal with.’

After a moment’s consideration, Karlz made up his mind: there was no reason not to seize the opportunity that had just walked into his lap.

* * *

*Chirp, chirp, chip!*

Another sunny and peaceful day had begun.

“Haaaaah….”

I yawned and swept the front of the store, still not quite awake.

Just then, my dad, who had just finished tidying up the store, saw me and came over to me with an overjoyed look on his face.

“Vivi, you’ve been waking up early lately, my little sleepy princess.”

I was speechless.

‘I woke up early to go to the mansion later.’

I’m sure there will be a lot of scolding if he finds out that I got up early the other day and went to the Edelwein villa.

‘But father, your daughter’s life is at stake.’

…I smiled awkwardly, unable to say that.

“ Yeah, because I’m going to be a good and diligent Vivian from now on.”

“Ack!”

Just then, my dad, who was holding up a sign, caught his glasses on the corner.

The impact knocked his glasses off, but Dad caught them quickly.

‘Anyway, he’s careless.’

My father was a bit of a klutz.

I looked over at Dad’s face.

“Are you okay, Dad? Let me see.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”

Then he quickly put his glasses back on, as if he was afraid someone might see him.

I looked up at him with embarrassment as he went back to getting the store ready to open.

‘What the heck is he doing wearing those glasses? They’re annoying.’

As far as I knew, he didn’t have poor vision.

He could move around the house, cook, and read without them.

But he always wore them, especially when he met people.

‘What a waste, what a waste.’

The glasses hide his good looks…

If we could sell his face, the store would make more money…

As I was bitterly thinking about all the sales we’d lost by hiding his face, I heard a familiar voice next to me.

“Oh, Vivian, I see you’re helping your dad again today, huh?”

“How sweet. My Peter should take a cue from you….”

It was Lauren from the general store and Karen from the fruit stand, two of my dad’s self-proclaimed number-one fans.

It was their routine to see his face every morning.

“Hehe, good morning. Mrs. Karen, Mrs. Lauren.”

Dad, who was just getting ready to open the store, saw them and came running over.

“Good morning, Lauren. Karen.”

“Ho-ho, good morning, Dias. You’re looking very cheerful today.”

Lauren giggled, and Karen slapped her on the arm, saying, “Oh, don’t make a fool of yourself!”

They giggled for a while, and then, as if suddenly remembering something, they clapped their hands and looked back at Dad.

“Oh, by the way. Did you hear the news?”

“What news?”

Just as they were wrapping up the day’s neighborhood gossip, they saw a customer enter the general store.

When they saw this, they quickly returned to their stores.

It was the start of another typical day.

As I watched them go, my dad looked down at me and asked.

“Well, Vivi, shall we get ready to welcome our customers?”

“Yes!”

We started to walk into the store, but suddenly Dad turned around.

‘Huh?’

The sound of hooves drew nearer, and a stately carriage pulled up in front of our store.

‘That coat of arms is….’

The coat of arms on the carriage was that of Duke Edelwein.

‘Who’s here?’

As if to answer my question, the man who stepped out of the carriage was…