chapter 4
4 – Village Outing with the Grand Duchess
Grand Duchess… Grand Duchess….
I don’t know if this world is in a novel, a game, or just another world.
In the first place, I lived a hard life without enjoying novels or games.
It was a daily life where you go to work when you open your eyes, wash and sleep when you come home after working non-stop.
During intermission, I smoked a cigarette and rested, and during lunchtime, I was busy eating and closing my eyes.
It was in my last life that I realized deep in my heart that hobbies require ample time and money.
Anyway, to come back to the main point, it was the fact that I didn’t know what kind of world this world was and why I fell into it.
At least, if it is a conclusion that I have thought through enough.
“Maybe he was sent to another world because he felt sorry for him because he lived a good life.”
That was all.
I muttered with my chin resting on the table in the languid sunlight pouring down, then I closed my eyes for a moment.
The baron of Valencia had a territory to rule, but it was not the land owned by the baron, strictly speaking.
All the lands in the north belonged to the Duke of Dedamius.
It was not for nothing that the grand duke of the north was called the grand duke, and the power of the family was not called the direct descendant of the emperor.
“… Illencia Khan Derdamius.”
It must have been that name.
A baron, a family with power that our low-ranking family, whose numbers from below are faster to count than from above, cannot dare to surpass.
When I thought that the only Grand Duchess to succeed such a duke was the girl I had met, I could only vaguely understand why she became like that.
Since I had so many burdens to carry at a young age, it was natural for me to feel pressured.
On the one hand, I could understand it, but I also couldn’t understand the heart of the Duke who was already putting such a burden on that small and delicate child.
[Cain, see you next time too.]
The Duchess clearly said that.
He must have noticed a small change in Illencia.
Seeing things like that, he doesn’t seem to be interested in the child at all, but he was curious about the reason why he neglected the child until he became like that.
I shook my head thinking that I didn’t have to worry about that.
Illencia was nice, but she didn’t have to get entangled with the duchy on our side.
My family and I had no regrets about success, so getting entangled with the duke’s family would only be a headache.
Some may regret hitting the ground saying that they kicked the opportunity, but I didn’t have anything I wanted to achieve in this world.
Money? Compared to ordinary people, he was born into a family that earned a lot of money.
Honor? No matter how low a noble was, an aristocrat was an aristocrat.
Love? Wouldn’t it be possible to meet and marry a true wife one day?
Living busy was enough in my last life.
I had no desire to live a busy life until I came over to the fantasy world.
One regret is that since I came to the fantasy world, I wanted to use magic at least once….
‘They said my family had no talent for magic, maybe.’
Unfortunately, it was unavoidable.
I don’t know if he will learn the sword, but he wasn’t attracted to it, and if all he wanted was to help his older brother lead the family well.
It was my honest feeling that I just wanted to live like flowing water and die peacefully like that.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
Thinking that the only person looking for me at this time would be my mother, I turned my head and replied.
And then, the moment I saw Elencia enter the room with a slight blush on her expressionless face.
I realized that my peaceful daily life had gone beyond water.
#
“…… Here again.”
How many days?
At this point, Illencia and Mrs. Anna visited the baron without missing a day, to the point that I wondered if it would be better to pack up my stuff and live in my house.
As always, I had no choice but to greet Illencia in a clean outfit from the morning.
“… Hi.”
The most notable change during the few days of meeting was that Illencia started greeting me.
At first, compared to not even looking at my face, let alone saying hello, seeing my face and saying hello was a huge step forward.
“Hello, Elencia.”
Accepting the blunt and cold greeting with a light smile, I naturally left the mothers behind us and moved on.
“What shall we play today?”
Under normal circumstances, Illencia shook her head or nodded her answer instead.
There is another small change here, and that is.
“… I want to go outside.”
The point was that I was able to talk about what I wanted to do or what I wanted. Of course, the target was limited to me.
“Outside….”
Illensia probably wanted to go out to the village. It was because he was still young and had never been out of the duchy.
I stroked my chin for a while and lost myself in thought.
I am 6 years old, and Ellensia is also 6 years old. Of course, my actual age is over 30, but anyway, externally, the two together are 12 years old.
If I told the adults that I was going out, I would definitely be dismissed, and if that wasn’t the case, a guardian would follow.
‘To be honest, I feel more comfortable taking an adult with me….’
The problem was that it wouldn’t be Elencia.
You will definitely feel uncomfortable. Even if you bring up your opinion, you won’t be able to enjoy it comfortably in the end.
‘It’s a headache.’
No matter how old I am, I am only six years old here. No matter how mature I act, people around me only see me as an “Old child.”
Besides, it was clear that if anything happened, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.
This world is less secure than the world I originally lived in. Little ones like us, who seemed to have some money, were well aware of the dangers of being unaccompanied.
Even so, I couldn’t betray Illencia, who looked at me with eyes filled with anticipation.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Actually, I said that the security was extremely bad, but it wasn’t to that extent, and I judged that if we were careful, nothing big would happen.
I stopped in my room for a while and took out a thick coat and a pocket in which I had stored my pocket money.
Divide the money into several pockets and hang them in different places, then hide them well inside the clothes, and put on the thick outerwear roughly and go out.
“Let’s go.”
It would be difficult if she fell by any means, so I grabbed Ilensia’s small hand and moved her steps.
“Yes….”
When Illencia had just arrived, the ducal family’s distinguished guests were coming, so our baron family maintained its own strict vigilance.
But now, the spirited boundary has collapsed. No matter how tight the border was, it was that with insufficient manpower.
We escaped the mansion out of sight of the soldiers standing guard.
Since I, too, have never left the mansion freely since I was reborn in this world, I felt a strange sense of freedom as I moved toward the village.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes… !”
Looking at Illencia’s face, which seemed to have been refreshed, I smiled and took a step forward with a somewhat excited heart.
Since we were out for the first time in a while, we were so excited that we couldn’t check the eyes watching us.
Of course, even if I wasn’t excited, I wasn’t strong enough to confirm that, so it didn’t matter.
“Hey~.”
“… ?”
“I usually do it once when I’m excited like this.”
Illensia, who had been following me while teasing her short legs, stared at me with strange eyes as I was suddenly cheering.
“Now, try it yourself.”
I was taken aback by Illencia’s appearance, smiled at her, and urged her to do the same as me.
What I felt while spending time with Illensia the past few days was that, although it was natural and new, her appearance was really disrespectful.
When I look at her face, I feel like a cold and cold beauty when she is expressionless, and when she smiles sometimes, the world becomes brighter.
Her beauty shines even at the age of six, and I was afraid of how much she would shine when she got older.
When she hesitates or gets in trouble, she is so cute that I make fun of her like this without even realizing it.
“Hey, hey… like….”
Shy and bashful, but in the end I burst into laughter at the sight of Illencia following me and shouting small cheers, and I hurried my steps.
Illencia and I laughed at what was so good as we briskly moved to a village that was not too far away, even with the small steps of the children.