DKVM Ch 5

Chapter 5

It was Duke Edelwein’s butler, who was at the Duke’s side yesterday.

The butler strode up to Dad and me, who was staring blankly.

“Hi, Vivian.”

Dad’s gaze dropped from the butler to me.

“Vivian~?”

His golden eyes, slightly sharpened from the gentle smile he usually gave me whenever he saw me, demanded answers.

‘How does this person know you?’ The unspoken question hung in the air.

I looked away, pretending not to notice his stare, and greeted the butler.

“Hello, butler. What brings you here? Are you here to buy bread?”

“I’m here on other business.”

“Other business?”

Instead of answering, the butler lifted his gaze and looked at Dad.

“My name is Owen, butler to Duke Edelwein. Are you Vivian’s father, Mr. Dias Hessen?

“I am, but….”

“Let me get straight to the point.”

The butler lowered his gaze to mine for a moment, then continued.

“The duke wishes to have Mr. Hessen’s daughter as a playmate for the little duchess.”

‘Ah, awesome!’

For me, this was a golden opportunity to join the duke’s household.

But my father’s brow furrowed.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about all of a sudden….”

“The duke spoke with Miss Vivian yesterday, and it seems he recognized her potential.”

Dad, who had heard about my meeting with the duke, glared at me.

‘You’re going to kill your daughter with that look in your eyes.’

I slipped my arm around his waist, sneaking away from his gaze.

I was sure there would be a lot of scolding after the butler left, but for now, I was going to let the hug do the talking.

The butler continued.

“Miss Vivian will attend classes and study with the little duchess, and if she needs anything, it will be in Edelwein’s name.”

“….”

“Ah, of course, it wouldn’t be every day-about three days a week.”

This was a good deal, even aside from my purpose of getting close to Rahel.

I had no doubt that my father would accept the offer.

But…

“I appreciate the offer, but there’s a lot I haven’t taught her yet. She’s a child that doesn’t cause much bother at first glance, but I’m afraid she’ll fall far short of being the princess’s playmate.”

‘Eh?’

I let out a muffled exclamation as I watched my father’s dismissive look.

‘No! Not my golden ticket!’

I silently shouted, pinching his firm side.

“Dad! We need to talk.”

I dragged him away, then looked back at the butler and shouted.

“Please wait and look around the store, Mr. Butler. It’ll only take a minute!”

I dragged him into the alleyway next to the store.

But Dad was faster than I could open my mouth.

“Vivian, what were you doing there?”

His eyes and voice were uncharacteristically somber.

‘Ugh. I was going to act cute and sweet, but that’s not going to work.’

I switched tactics and blurted out a bunch of lies.

“I was just wondering… I went outside to just look around, and I ran into the duke.”

I didn’t make eye contact, of course.

Dad stared at me for a moment, sighed, and then spoke up.

“I’ll talk to the butler, but don’t go to the villa. Do you understand?”

I quickly grabbed the hem of Dad’s shirt as he turned to go back to the butler.

“Oh, no! I have to go there, Dad.”

“Why do you have to go there?”

Dad asked, sensing that I had an ulterior motive.

Unwilling to be honest, I quickly shut my mouth before the words left my mouth.

‘I can’t tell you what I know from the original story.’

Rahel’s ability to absorb mana from her surroundings was kept secret from the public to avoid the emperor’s scrutiny.

In other words, it wouldn’t make sense for me to know Rahel’s condition.

‘This is a fictional world, so it doesn’t make sense to talk about it.’

Apart from him not believing me, I didn’t want to worry my doting father who was already worried about my illness.

I told him the truth, leaving out the original story.

“I want to be cured of my illness.”

But my words backfired, and my dad’s pearly white face turned blue.

“W- What’s wrong? Are you still sick? Is there something you’re hiding from me-?”

“No, it’s nothing like that, I’m fine, just relax, Dad.”

I quickly calmed him down before he could get any more worried.

“I just want to get well soon so I can live a long, healthy life with you, Dad, and I don’t want you to worry.”

“….”

“I’m sure the duke knows some of the best doctors and wizards in the empire, and if I ask him, he might be able to help.”

Despite my pleas, he didn’t seem to be convinced.

The way he looked at me, his eyes seemed sad for some reason.

‘But I can’t back down this time.’

I was used to seeing that look on his face, but this time, I couldn’t give in.

My life is on the line!

And it was for him, too.

After looking at me with pleading eyes for a long time, he finally raised his hands in defeat.

“Okay. Let’s ask the duke.”

A smile spread across my face as I finally got the answer I was hoping for.

It was a fantastic negotiation between father and daughter.

* * *

The next day.

I rode up to the villa in a carriage sent by the duke.

‘Wow!’

I’d been through the side gate a few days before, but it was a different feeling to enter the massive front gate in a horse-drawn carriage.

I realized that I was about to meet Rahel.

Then the carriage stopped.

I did a quick visual inspection of myself before stepping out of the carriage.

‘This is my first official meeting with Rahel, so I should look nice.’

I checked my hair to make sure it wasn’t tied up too tightly.

I rubbed my cheeks to make them rosy.

I smoothed out the wrinkles in my dress, which was slightly crumpled from the carriage ride.

Finally, I stepped out of the carriage.

“Welcome, Vivian.”

The person who greeted me was, of course, the butler.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Butler.”

“Good to see you, Vivian. I will speak to the lady, then, and you may wait in the greenhouse.”

“Yes.”

While the butler went up to Rahel’s room, a nearby maid led me to a greenhouse in the backyard.

Once the maid who guided me inside was gone, I was the only one in the greenhouse.

I sat down at a table in the center of the greenhouse and looked around.

‘He must have a lot of money as a duke.’

For not being in a townhouse or country house, but rather a villa in a small resort town, the greenhouse was large and magnificent.

I sat on a bench and admired the exotic birds chirping.

Behind my back, I heard the door open.

But the person who came into the greenhouse-

“How did you get in here?”

It was Sally, not Rahel, who was waiting for me.

The annoyed look on Sally’s face, the one that had been so eager to kick me out, made me feel smug.

I smiled cheekily and greeted her.

“I’m here to be the lady’s playmate. Please take care of me, Sally.”

I stuck out my hand.

Sally snorted at the sight of it.

“Something like you?”

Then she slapped my hand away and growled.

“Who the heck are you?”

“What?”

“Who let the likes of you in here without my mom’s permission again!”

I retorted with a smirk.

“Does the duke have to ask your mom’s permission too?”

“…What?”

Sally’s expression, which had been one of malice the entire time, turned to shock.

No matter how arrogant Sally was, she wouldn’t be able to defy the duke.

“You can tell your mom, ‘The duke has taken a beggar from the bottom of the market as a friend of the lady.’”

“Eek…!”

Sally glared at me with an evil look on her face, and then she stormed off, unable to beat me.

I looked in the direction she left and stuck my tongue out at her.

‘By the way, it’s been a while, and Rahel hasn’t shown up.’

I was half excited, and half worried.

I waited for Rahel with mixed emotions.

*thump, thump*

Suddenly, my heart started pounding loudly, making it hard to breathe. At the same time, I felt an explosion of pain.

“Ugh….”

The symptoms of mana overload usually don’t bother me, but here they were, suddenly and unexpectedly.

It was an all-too-familiar pain, but one that I couldn’t get used to.

There was no way to fix it, no way to alleviate the symptoms, only to endure them.

I staggered to my feet.

‘Let’s hide for a while until I feel better.’

I hadn’t told the duke about my illness yet.

Even if it wasn’t contagious, she wouldn’t want a sick child as a playmate.

Besides, there were other things I didn’t tell him, things that would be resolved once I saw Rahel.

But even if I did see Rahel, I don’t know how long it would take for the symptoms to go away.

If I did, I’d have to explain to her that I was sick, and I’d have to explain things to her.

I reached for the greenhouse door with my heart in my throat.

But….

‘Oh?’

The door swung open from the outside, and I fell forward, into the arms of the person who stood in my way.

“I’m sorry-”

I scrambled to my feet and raised my head.

Our eyes met.

The same ones that had been watching me through the window for the past few days.