DKVM Ch 7

Chapter 7

‘This person is…?’

I knew who it was as soon as I saw the woman’s face, because she looked exactly like Sally.

“ Miss Rahel has other plans today.”

It was Margaret, Rahel’s nanny, and Sally’s mom.

Her words made Rahel clamp her mouth shut.

I glanced back and forth between Rahel and Margaret with a troubled expression.

‘Even though you say you’re protecting Rahel, is it okay to dismiss her opinion without listening to it?’

No matter how you look at it, don’t Rahel’s eyes look like they want to go outside?

I don’t know, I’ve never raised a child, not in this life or any other.

But I do know that Margaret’s attitude is not the right kind of parenting.

“Umm, but you still have tea time with me, can’t you come back before then?”

I put on the face of an innocent child and began to gently scratch Margaret’s nerves.

A person’s true colors come out when they’re angry, not when they’re smiling.

“I mean that I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to go out today. Do you not understand me?”

“Then would it be all right if I asked the duke’s permission to go?”

Margaret’s face, which up until that point had been an outwardly affable nanny, turned grim.

Like I said before.

‘After all, you don’t care what your doctor says, but you have to follow what the duke wants, right?’

…which I couldn’t say, because it could be seen as a dismissive remark of her authority over Rahel’s upbringing.

Of course, I’m just a nine-year-old kid right now, so it doesn’t seem like I’m malicious.

‘That’s probably why she’s pissed.’

Even a nine-year-old girl is disrespecting her authority.

And as I expected, Margaret dropped her sweet nanny act and spoke in a stern voice.

“In case you haven’t realized, I am the one in charge of the lady’s education. My will is the duke’s will. Do you understand that now?”

Oh, to be treated like a child.

But I’m not just a nine-year-old kid in this body, I’m me, with memories of my previous life.

‘I’m not falling for that gaslighting. But the problem is…’

I glanced over at Rahel, who was watching the whole thing.

Rahel didn’t argue with the nanny, saying, ‘I want to go out’.

The fact that she agrees with the nanny, no matter what she wants to do, shows that the nanny is in control.

‘If I confront her here, I’ll only get Rahel’s ire.’

For now, just finding out that the nanny wasn’t a very nice person was a big win.

‘I should back off for now.’

I was about to defuse the situation.

“Well, did I ever stop her from going out?”

A shadow fell from the top of the stairs.

‘…the duke?!’

The duke appeared.

The nanny’s face turned pale as she faced the duke.

“Y-Your Grace! I’m just worried about the young lady….”

“If you’re truly worried, I’m sure we can arrange for more guards.”

The duke looked at Rahel for a moment as he said this.

Rahel made eye contact with her grandfather, held his gaze for a moment, wavered, and then looked away.

‘Come to think of it, in the original story, Rahel and the duke don’t get along.’

In the original story, Rahel became evil and cut off from her grandfather when she left the family.

‘I thought they had a falling out because she turned to the dark side, but it’s been bad since she was a kid.’

As I studied Rahel’s behavior, I suddenly felt a gaze on me and turned around.

The duke’s gaze had shifted away from Rahel, and now he was looking down at me. I swallowed hard at the coldness in his eyes.

‘Is this what you call intimidation?’

The duke was so tall that I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my head.

I tried my best to smile innocently, not meeting the duke’s eyes. Somehow, I felt like I should.

Just as one shouldn’t avert one’s eyes when faced with a ferocious beast.

After staring at me for a moment, the duke spoke.

“If you wish to go, go.”

My eyes widened in surprise, as did Sally’s and the nanny’s, at the casual permission that fell from his lips.

“Of course, you must be back before nightfall.”

The nanny, who looked momentarily taken aback by the unexpectedness of the situation, retorted a beat too late.

“B-But You Grace, The young lady has etiquette class in an hour.”

It was apparently a last-ditch effort to somehow ruin my plans.

“That can wait until tomorrow, I believe.”

The duke dismissed the nanny’s objections as if they were no big deal.

“Owen. Have the carriage ready.”

They made quick work of preparing the carriage.

Then he turned and walked away.

‘Oh, is this what power tastes like?’

As I stood there dumbfounded by my unexpected fortune, I belatedly noticed Sally and the nanny’s stares.

The two of them were glaring at me like they were going to kill me.

As I looked at them, I suddenly realized my next move.

‘Looks like Sally and the nanny are thinking of getting me kicked out.’

The duke, on the other hand, I don’t know why, but he seems to like me.

‘Should I try walking on a tightrope?’

I grinned wickedly and sidled up to the duke’s side.

“Your Grace!”

Instead of answering, the duke turned his head and fixed his gaze on me.

I inclined my head and bowed politely.

“I wanted to greet you, but I thought you were busy.”

“I thought we already greeted each other in the kitchen.”

“But as the young lady’s playmate, this is my first formal greeting, isn’t it?”

The duke stared at me as if he thought I had a point.

“It’s my father, who taught me that when you go to a friend’s house for the first time, you should always say who you are and greet them politely.”

“You must have been raised by a father of upstanding character.”

“That’s why….”

I asked with the innocence of a child, not missing a beat.

“Would it be possible for me to dine with the duke this evening?”

In simple terms, it meant, ‘I want you to buy me a meal.’

It’s a rare thing, even among friends, regardless of status. If I weren’t a child, it would have been a ridiculous statement.

Rahel looked at me in disbelief.

The nanny, who had been watching me with disdain, pounced and attacked.

“We shouldn’t have taken in an uneducated commoner, after all… Your Grace, this is the child, I-”

But the duke’s booming laughter stopped her from dragging me away.

He spoke.

“Very well.”

Permission was granted as I expected!

“There is no reason why my granddaughter’s friend can’t be treated to a meal.”

Everyone in the room was stunned.

The duke looked at me quizzically, then turned and added.

“Owen, prepare a banquet.”

* * *

I thought I’d succeeded in getting Rahel to go out with me just like that…

“I’m not going.”

I thought I’d gotten the duke’s permission, kicked out the interfering nanny and Sally, and was ready to go.

But the person refused to go!

‘Earlier, those eyes looked like they wanted to get out?’

I asked Rahel, looking at her nervously, suddenly remembering the information from the original.

“Why? Why don’t you like it?”

“I just don’t like it.”

“There must be a reason you don’t want to go to town, tell me and I’ll fix it!”

I insisted, and Rahel sighed reluctantly.

“I don’t like it because it’s noisy and hectic.”

Rahel’s answer confirmed my suspicions.

She said she didn’t like it because it was noisy and hectic, but the truth was…

She’s afraid of people’s stares.

She’s afraid the people of this town will recognize her, that they would recognize her, and call her the traitor’s child.

‘Maybe even her coldness is a defense mechanism to protect herself.’

As I thought about it, I felt a little sorry for my world-weary princess.

“How are you going to fix this? I mean, not-”

“I can fix it!”

I exclaimed, not wishing for Rahel to turn around and walk away.

“I told you, didn’t I? I’ll fix it for you.”

Rahel still looked at me like I was an ingrate, but I smiled confidently.

“Just trust me.”