Chapter 5

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 5

Chapter Title: The Bite at the Meeting

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After the bread incident, a fairly peaceful daily life continued.

The only "incident" was getting caught by Lea after I scarfed down seven of the candies the Duke had given me, right there on the spot without getting up.

But today was different.

From the morning, the maids had to dress me in a gown. It was a child's dress that flared out widely from the chest.

On top of that, lace socks reaching up to my calves, glossy-nosed shoes, and a pretty ribbon tied neatly at the crown of my head.

"There, let's see if it's comfortable. Take a walk around, Little One."

As I toddled along earnestly, the maids clutched at their chests and let out moans of "Eek!"

'Good, good.'

I'd worked so hard to win them over, and now it looked like they had three layers of rose-tinted glasses on when it came to me.

It had taken so much effort to get to this point.

The Duvered household staff weren't the worst like the Balluas, but they still found me uncomfortable to be around.

The Duvered house had fallen out with the Church for some reason, so they weren't thrilled about having the Child of Destiny—the Church's symbol—in the castle.

But for a young child like me to live comfortably here, winning over the staff was essential.

So the moment I arrived, I targeted the maids first.

"Winda! Winda come!"

"Hee hee, you saw me last night too—happy to see me again today?"

"Secwet... Wuv Winda most!"

That conquered the head maid with the strongest influence.

"Heww, candy fow Dawlia onwy."

"Why give such precious candy just to me?"

"Secwet... Wuv Dawlia most!"

I snagged the heart of the snack supplier.

"If Uni huwt, sad... "

"Oh my..."

"Secwet... Wuv Uni most!"

And captured the one in charge of my daily logs.

'Even if the Duke ends up hating me like at Ballua's, the maids will sneak me food now.'

Looking at the maids who were utterly smitten with me, I felt a swell of pride at my past hardships.

'But why get me dressed up like this today?'

I asked Lea, who was smiling warmly.

"Me go audience?"

"You're attending the meeting today. The master said he'll introduce you to his retainers."

'Introduce?'

Of course, I'd seen a few of the Duke's close retainers, but never been formally introduced. If they planned to send me back soon, there'd be no need.

Which meant...

'Looks like they're planning to keep me around for a while!'

I inwardly cheered as I followed the maid out.

But there were people in the corridor wearing unfamiliar clothes. When I looked at them curiously, Lea explained.

"They're the prospective sponsored children and their fathers' attendants."

Ah, so selecting sponsored children was on today's meeting agenda too.

Noble houses had this thing called the sponsorship system.

They'd spot prodigies young and sponsor them, raising them into the kind of talents the family wanted.

'Who could the kid up for sponsorship this time be?'

To receive sponsorship from a great noble house like Duvered, they'd have to be a famous child prodigy already.

As we entered the conference room, I saw retainers crowding around some kid.

The kid was too big to really call a child. At a glance, he looked like a puberty-stricken boy.

The boy was buried among the adults, so I couldn't see him clearly, but his voice was composed.

"Hello. Viscount Dubos, Viscount Martin, Baron Lux, and..."

The retainers chuckled warmly at the polite boy who'd memorized so many names.

"Young Master Jude is growing sharper by the day."

"Father said if I want to be a fine adult like you, Viscount Dubos, I have to study hard!"

Viscount Dubos let out a hearty "Well now!" and patted the boy's shoulder.

Then one retainer spotted me.

"Little One."

A few retainers I'd gotten familiar with during the imperial palace and Church reports were present.

'Gotta make a good impression.'

"Hewwo."

I grabbed the hem of my dress as the maids had taught me and curtsied. The retainers chuckled endearingly.

"Oh my, you've learned your greetings."

As a few approached me, the kid's face I'd been blocked from seeing came into view.

The moment I recognized that face, I froze stiff.

'Marco Jude.'

I knew this kid. Very, very well.

Because he was one of the worst people I'd met in my past life!

When I was living as Duke Ballua's daughter, I'd briefly attended the academy. Marco had been my personal tutor then.

To his superiors, he was an eager young talent. To students, a relatable good teacher. But to me...

'He was incredibly persistent.'

He was gunning for the position of Duke Ballua's son-in-law.

Creepily stroking my shoulder, hugging my waist under the guise of correcting my riding posture.

When he dragged me to a secluded spot for a kiss, I couldn't take it anymore and reported him to the school.

But he turned the tables and painted me as the aggressor.

"She seduced me. Think about it—if I'd been making her uncomfortable all along, why didn't she report it from the start?"

When something like that happens, you don't know what's what at first.

You never imagine a man over ten years your senior—a professor, no less—harboring dark intentions.

"If you hated it so much, why didn't you scream? Deep down, you liked it."

I was scared. My body froze in fear; I couldn't even scream.

"And now you come crying... Oh, I get it. You weren't into me, huh? So you're one of those girls who judges men by status and wealth?"

My protests fell on deaf ears.

He got off with a six-month pay cut for assaulting a student, while I was branded loose and forced to leave the academy amid finger-pointing.

After that, who knows how many beatings I took from Duke Ballua for tarnishing the family name.

Just thinking about it made me seethe with injustice and rage—I wanted to smack young Marco's head.

But he was still just a kid. I couldn't go taking revenge by yelling, "You're future trash!"

'Calm down. Starting a fight for no reason would ruin any adoption chances.'

Then Duke Duvered entered the room. Marco, his father, and the retainers bowed deeply, and the Duke took his seat.

The first order of business was reviewing the prospective sponsor.

Marco, who'd been sitting behind the table with me, stepped up to the podium.

"Ho, you solved math problems at that level already?"

"Yes! To join the Imperial Audit Office, I need to get friendly with numbers. But studies are fun in themselves. My teacher and I even derived a few formulas..."

'Liar.'

As someone who knew his future inside out, I was floored.

Marco Jude never made it to the Audit Office—he only got into a remote academy through connections. And then he bragged to me about his amazing network like an idiot.

His father, Baron Jude, beamed proudly with a hearty laugh.

The warm atmosphere suggested the sponsorship would go to the Jukes as they hoped.

After Q&A, Marco returned to the seat next to me. He looked down and whispered,

"See that, fake? You can never beat me."

What?

I stared at him, dumbfounded.

'Is this punk trash-talking a four-year-old?'

Marco Jude apparently thought I was there for the sponsorship review.

His face was twitching with eagerness to crush the rival and come out on top. It reminded me of his academy professor days.

'Well, since the Duke's left me alone so far without adopting, he might assume it's sponsorship, not adoption.'

He smirked and continued.

"Poor thing, huh?"

"..."

"Heard the Empress Dowager dumped you in this trash heap called Duvered. Birds of a feather."

Marco smirked, and I clenched my fists tight.

The me from my previous life had been so naive.

I didn't know anything, the world thrown at me alone was scary, and I was innocent.

I'd often bowed my head silently at words like these.

But I'm not her—not after dying three times and living my fourth life.

'Touch me now, and you're done, kid.'

And with that, I really sank my teeth into Marco's arm.

"Aaack!"

While he clutched his arm and doubled over, I quickly balled my fists and pummeled him. Pow! Pow!

"Ow! Ow!"

His screams echoed, drawing people from the meeting and even the guards from the corridor in shock.

They tried to pull me off Marco right away, but I yanked out a chunk of his hair before letting go.

"What the hell!"

The retainers scowled at me and Marco.

"This crazy bitch... me! She just suddenly...!"

Marco panted and yelled something incoherent in his rage. He was too worked up for it to make sense.

Meanwhile, I calmly pointed straight at Marco with my index finger.

"He bad kid!"

"Pardon?"

"He say Duvewed twash heap cuz me hewe!"

A beggar gang buddy once said it: In a physical fight, the first punch wins. In a verbal one, the calm one wins.

True enough. The retainers who'd brushed off Marco's words were now focused on mine.

Of course, causing a scene in front of the Duke felt iffy, but better than looking like a pushover fool.

But something was off.

Why had everything gone so quiet around me?

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