Chapter 17
One day, Becky had told me that the Suin people had a long lifespan.
If so, I was probably older than the boy, so my conscience was stricken each time he called me sister. If he had called me mom, things would have been even more awkward!
The Suin Boy stared at his hands that were momentarily held by Rayelene.
She had hastily left, her lush grip loosening. She didn"t want him to be afraid of her.
“Raylene, Raylene, Raylene, Raylene, Raylene…”
He repeated her name softly as if to remember it.
Soon, he stopped uttering and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Don"t make it as if something precious and engraved it within you.” I later said. I felt a corner of me starting to warm up to the boy.
“Okay, Raylene.”
And then he laughed. The sight of his face was so pure and soft.
It was so lovely. However, the problem was that my heart was beating so fast and my face was turning tomato red.
“Also, I haven"t gotten your name yet.” I asked.
“My name is Javier, but please call me Harvey. My mom used to call me that.”
“Alright. I look forward to working with you, Harvey.”
Harvey"s face turned red at that moment. And his body became smaller in the blink of an eye.
In an instant, Harvey, who was kneeling down, turned into a leopard who was gathering his hind legs.
Suddenly, he clashed his leopard"s feet around my hands.
Crash-
I didn"t know what he kept meowing about, but the leopard that was turning his head left and right, seemed very embarra.s.sed.
But that look was so —ha!
“The leopard! Wah, so cute!!”
He flopped his wobbly forefeet and held his face with both paws.
My eyes were fixed on him as I was floundering around in amazement. Those golden eyes of his were fixed on me.
Oh my goodness. I never thought I"d get so close to a leopard with this kind of cuteness.
“Can I hold you? Hm?”
With his hands still on his face, Harvey nodded hesitantly. As soon as he permitted it, I hugged him on the back of his neck.
“It"s so warm.” I snuggled.
Harvey tightly held me in his arms, as I gently stroked his hair on his back.
The fur was rough and soft. It was still nice, though. When would I ever get to hold a leopard again?
Just like this, I had gained a new family in her residence. She was anxious as she felt like she was possessed by his beauty.
Sigh. I"m so nervous.
Looking at the large door in front of me, I took a deep breath. “Let me be rich please.” It"s been over a week since I"ve entered this novel, and I still haven"t met my "father". Finally, he had called me over, but it was the day after I had spent money in Noniwell District…
I"m in trouble, right?
Like you see in dramas, recklessly spending money is like stealing pocket money. So one would lose their cars, and be kicked out of the mansions naked, right?
I entered the gate that a servant eventually opened. A huge pile of doc.u.ments as well as desks were sprawled all over the room.
A total of sixteen desks were empty, the top large desk was empty and 15 people filled the seats.
The room was filled with the sounds of papers being flipped and scratching pens.
“Raylene Shaun Kandmion is here to see her father.” I announced.
Why are you all ignoring me?
The Duke of Kandmion stood in the middle of a desk that was made from dark polished spruce wood.
I spotted sofas and tables that were for meetings and relaxation.
“… Lene, are you mad at Dad?”
…Right. At first, she thought the previous villainess" memory was wrong.
“Why haven"t you hugged me like you used to?”
…The duke, the great master of the continent"s money was also a fool for his daughter.
Author Unnie, what is this a story where everything is given to the villainess?
I approached the Duke and embraced him with open arms.
He held me in a friendly hug while keeping the distance so that his grown daughter"s body wouldn"t touch him.
He was cautious not to emit an image of a father hurting his daughter, who had become an adolescent girl.
After the Duke and I hugged, we both sat down. He only smiled at the single teacup and didn"t open his mouth for a long time, even after the servant prepared the tea.
Gosh, how long are you gonna torment people like this?
Fortunately, he had affection in his eyes and a smile on his face.
“What brings you here today?”
In the end, I couldn"t stand the deafening silence and had no choice but to ask him about his business first.
He laughed at my question.
“You haven"t come to see Dad in over a week. If I didn"t call you, you wouldn"t even come. Dad is so sad.”
Are you sure you weren"t busy, Duke Kandmion?
You"re gonna have to stay top-notch to run this country, and attend n.o.ble meetings.
Don"t you see that 15 aides you have spitting blood for hard work over there?
“You were busy, Father that"s why.” I finally said.
He made a wounded face.
“What"s with the "father", call me Daddy.”
..Is this really the environment that made Raylene become the villainess?
Well, seeing the situation here I suppose it"s very likely possible.
“…I refrained from visiting you because I was afraid that you might find me annoying about my sudden visit.” I carefully said.
“I have time to listen to what my daughter has been doing. So that"s already enough.”
“I thought you called me here to scold me.”
“Why would I have to scold my daughter?”
“Hm… because I spent your pocket money so very recklessly?”
The duke opened his eyes wide and burst into laughter, his voice booming throughout the large room.
Don"t adults usually scold their children if they spend their money recklessly?
If you look at the Internet or dramas, things like that happen a lot.
Were his hands secretly shivering?
You also think there is something wrong with this Duke, right?
“If you"ve spent the money on something worth it, then everything is alright.”
Did I use it for something worthwhile? I think so?
When I looked at him with questioning eyes, I saw a face with eyes full of love instead.
Ugh… This is too much! It"s overbearing. I want to be scolded instead of praised!
“It"s worth it, since I opened up my relationship with the information guild master with only 2 billion jennies and showed my family honor with 3 billion jennies.”
“…You seem to be fitting in?" He laughed out loud again.
I could feel that he had no intention of blaming me for what I did with a duke"s proper manner.
Come to think of it, no matter how much you love your daughter, isn"t it too much to know what her movements are?
And the guild master is just picky and greedy…? Father, if he wanted money, then he"d be running to you.
But my honor? There was no specific reason. "I"m just rich so I"ll give you lots!" that"s essentially what I did.
“Money comes and goes, but how you spent it is important.” the Duke wisely said.
“I"m glad you approve of my spending…”
Father, I just want to keep spending it. I"m just going to spend money, eat, and play without taking responsibility.
Then let"s just continue on, since I won"t be scolded.
I could see a desk piled up with papers behind him while he was drinking his tea calmly. Maybe it was his work.
He was a man who was busy day after day to fulfill his duties and responsibilities as a n.o.bleman. Even in Raylene"s memory, the Duke was always friendly but very busy.
Well, it seems like he intentionally concentrated on his work after his wife"s death.
Will he be enough as a duke with this much money and power? I was always curious about it.
“I"m curious about something.”
“Ask anything.”
“Is it okay if it"s a little intrusive?”
He smiled at me. His purple eyes, that were the same as Raylene"s, were tainted like a half moon.
“I"m ready to answer whatever you ask.”
I nervously gulped.
“Daddy, don"t you feel greed anymore?”
I am curious. People with money and power always want to rise to higher places.
Just look at Korea, how many powerful people in high positions still want to covet the position of presidency?
But why does this man remain as a servant of his own country even though he has that much power and wealth?
“There"s a traditional saying in our family.” he calmly replied.
A sentence came into my head. The sentence seemed to be familiar to Raylene.
“No money would avoid the hard work.”
The Duke smiled as I inadvertently uttered the words.
“Yes, you know it very well.”
What I brought up was the correct answer. The duke spoke with a face slightly stiffened.
“We"ve been a merchant family for a long time. The history of our family and money are too priceless to give up the money to anyone else. It"s another meaning of the rights and duties of the n.o.bles. And most of all, the position is not related to money.”