The Grand Duke muttered as he looked at Ariel, who held her small hands together.
“I think, I understand it now that I see you.”
Dalton crept in from the side.
“Yes. I was wondering what the Young Master was going to do again, but I was convinced when I saw her as well. She"s a very lovely person.”
Ariel shook her head.
Somehow things were going against her expectations.
The Grand Duke beckoned Ariel.
“Come closer.”
Ariel faltered but she stepped closer.
Then, with a gesture that urges her to come closer, she started walking towards the Grand Duke"s desk and approached the chair where he was sitting.
The Grand Duke asked Ariel.
“How old are you?”
“I"m ten years old…Grand Duke.”
He looked at Dalton with an unconvinced face.
“Dalton. Wasn"t Lucian this small when he was six?”
“Yes, he"s as big as this girl back then.”
“There must be a problem.”
The Grand Duke frowned his brow.
His cool handsome face of the ascetic impression looked beautiful even with a frown.
He rose from his chair and stood opposite Ariel.
The height of the Grand Duke was enormous, and Ariel has to raise her head all the way just to look at him.
"My neck hurts."
"Will Lucian grow this big when he grows up?"
The Grand Duke looked at her and said in a leisurely manner.
“All right, Ariella. Starting now, you"re the Lady of this house.”
"Pardon?"
Ariel breathed, only half-understanding his words.
“B-but I only got married yesterday.”
“Since there is no Lady of the house right now, you will take that position.”
The Grand Duke"s words were as clear as the day.
Feeling a little fl.u.s.tered, Ariel recalled her contract with Lucian for a moment.
[First, you have to fulfill your duty as my wife]
"Yes, I promised him to do my duty as a wife…."
Of course, the wife"s duty would also include the work of the Grand d.u.c.h.ess.
Ariel clenched her small fists.
“Yes, I"ll do my best.”
“No.”
“Excuse me? “
The Grand Duke said with a cool look.
“I mean this house is all yours now. You don"t have to work hard.”
“Uh… “
“Don"t work hard and enjoy yourself for now.”
"I didn"t do anything but he told me to enjoy things. That"s… "
Ariel hesitated to answer.
The Grand Duke spoke in a stiff tone.
“For young children, rights come first. Duty comes next. Adults are the opposite.”
“So learn to enjoy your rights first before doing your duty as the Grand d.u.c.h.ess.”
Ariel couldn"t understand what the Grand Duke was saying.
But she needed to answer for now so she spoke in a small voice.
“……yes. “
The corners of the Grand Duke"s mouth loosened.
“Good girl.”
He reached out to Ariel"s head.
There was no sign of violence at all, but Ariel got instinctively startled and huddled at the sudden gesture.
Since she"s often hit by her father, Marquis Lucillion, it was a reflex that occurred by itself.
The Grand Duke, who was reaching out as if to stroke her head, stopped moving.
After a moment of silence, he naturally withdrew his hand and pulled a string.
"Are you angry? Because I"m not…acting like a normal child?"
Ariel tried to read the eyes of the Grand Duke.
She cannot fully read the expressionless face of the Grand Duke, but it didn"t seemed like he"s angry.
Ariel, who was often abused and exploited, was sensitive to human touch.
“I"ll introduce you to some oft he people in the mansion.”
Two people arrived at the call of the Grand Duke.
Ariel smiled when she found a familiar face.
It was the maid, Susan.
And beside her stood a gray-haired old man who politely handed Lucian"s coat over to him earlier.
The two came to the place where the Grand Duke and Ariel stood and bowed their heads.
The Grand Duke pointed at Ariel then continued speaking.
“From now on, this child is the Lady of La Carte. Treat her as your master.”
After he gave his order, Susan and the gray-haired old man bowed at Ariel.
It was a very polite greeting.
“Nice to meet you for the first time, Milady. I"m Allen, head butler of the house.”
(t/n: he called him "마님" (manim) which can translate to Lady, Madam, Milady or Mrs. which can be used for married women or girls who already debuted in the society.)
She"s still young, but now that she"s married, it"s natural to be called Milady.
Ariel, who grew up differently from other esteemed daughters of the n.o.bility, feels awkward to be called a lady anyway.
When Allen, the old butler, finished greeting, the maid Susan approached Ariel and bent her waist to meet her eye level.
“h.e.l.lo, Little Lady. You already know me, right? I"m going to be the babysitter for the time being.”
Susan"s greeting was sweet and friendly.
Ariel liked both the old butler Allen, who was polite to her, and Susan, who treated her like a normal child.
The Grand Duke who introduced the two turned to Ariel.
“These two will show you around the house and get you what you need.”
“Yes, Grand Duke.”
When Ariel bowed politely, the Grand Duke looked strangely uncomfortable.
“Mathius. “
“Yes?”
“Call me Mathius.”
This time, Ariel didn"t hesitate either.
“I can"t do that.”
“Why? “
“It"s okay because Lucian is my husband, but you"re an adult. I can"t just call you by name.”
Ariel also had her own standard.
The Grand Duke laughed low at her bashful voice.
“Then what will you call me? I will not accept you calling me Grand Duke.”
“Um, then….”
Ariel frowned her small forehead and said after much thought.
“Sir Mathius, I"ll call you this.”
The Grand Duke nodded.
“I accept it. Go ahead. Your room is ready.”
“Yes, Sir Mathius. “
Ariel replied quietly, and after contemplating for a while, she added other words.
“……Thank you. “
"For accepting me as Lucian"s wife and as the lady of this house."
"For not forcing to stroke my head."
"And most of all…. for not hating me."
Whispering only in her heart, Ariel expressed her grat.i.tude for him.
Mathius only nodded his head bluntly when at her words.
When they finally left the office, the words "Find out about the Marquis of Lucilion." seemed to be heard behind the closed doors.
“Milady, I"ll tour you around the mansion step by step. Is that gonna be okay?”
When they left Mathius" office, the old-man who introduced himself as Allen asked politely.
Ariel nodded.
It was clear that the mansion would be very huge that she would get lost if she walked around by herself without being guided.
"Wouldn"t it be embarra.s.sing if the Lady of the House got lost in her own house? "
"Moreover, I had to stay in this house for seven years anyway, so I think it would be better to know about the mansion as soon as possible."
“Okay. Nice to meet you, Allen.”
As Ariel smiled shyly and spoke, Allen"s expression, who had been polite all the time, was slightly loosened in affection.
“…..yes, Milady. “
Ariel, who parted with Allen, headed to her room with Susan.
The road was quite long, but Susan told me many stories so that I wouldn"t get bored.
“Mr. Allen"s previous family has served the La Carte family for a very long time. n.o.body even knows how many generations exactly they have been in charge of the Grand Duke.”
“Uwaa…, that"s incredible.”
“Mr. Allen was also the person who got permission to serve the Great Lord.”
I see.
Ariel"s new respect for the old butler Allen has grown.
It was great to be loyal to one family for a long time, but it seemed great to have gained the trust of Lucian.
“Well, I"m more surprised that you were calling the Great Lord by his name.”
Susan had a slightly troubled look on her face, and soon smiled amiably.
“The Great Lord hates being called by his name. No one calls him by his name but you.”
What? But Lucian told me to call him that himself…
Surprised by the unexpected fact, Ariel felt puzzled.
“Even Mr. Allen call the Great Lord just as Lord.”
“I see. “
Ariel nodded without further questioning why.
There must be a reason why Lucian hates being called by his name.
But for some reason, he asked her to call him by his name.
Susan sounded excited as they got closer to the room.
“I had so much fun decorating your room. The general outline came from the Grand Duke, but I"m the one who decided how to decorate it.”
Even though it wasn"t her own room, Susan"s image of being happy and devoted to her work tickled Ariel"s heart.
“I like everything…..Susan does.”
“Oh dear.”
Susan smiled, moved at her words.
“Do you want to see it so that we"ll know if you"ll like it more? I really hope you"ll like it.”
Soon, Susan stopped in front of a room.
It was a room with double tall doors like Lucian"s.
The door was beautifully painted in light pink on a white background.
From the outside, it was a door obviously belongs to a little girl"s room.
However, the borderline of the door was engraved in the shape of chocolate and painted in gold, adding to the elegance of the Grand d.u.c.h.ess.
“Come on, go in.”
Susan opened the door wide in front of Ariel.
Ariel looked around the room and stopped at the threshold.
Her large round strawberry-colored eyes were filled with awe.
"So pretty! "
The whole interior was decorated with a charming and girly look, just like a princess" room of a certain country.
The first thing that caught her eyes was the large pumpkin carriage-shaped bed inside the room.
Warm pink body, dazzling white wheels, and its side was carved with dreamlike patterns.
Inside the bed were creamy bedding and light pink cus.h.i.+ons.
“Is this really my room?”
Ariel walked slowly into the room.
There was a huge round rug on the floor.
It"s made up of a very soft fur, she thought she could fall asleep on it.
A full-body mirror with a pink frame was slanting slightly upward, illuminating the ceiling"s chandelier, which illuminates the entire room.
There was also a large desk that Ariel could use.
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Aww another best papa over here! I like how he"s not overly cold and not overly affectionate either. Just right but he obviously care about her… I wonder why though?