The Villainous Noble Lady Turned Into a Child, and Her Cold Duke Husband Became Kind - 3 - Is a Little Girl a Chance? (1)

“The results of the investigation?”

Duke Alvis asked his personal mages with a hint of irritation in his voice.

“One of the wedding gifts had black magic placed on it. It was set to trigger when the box was opened and affect whoever was nearby. We’re still analyzing it, but it likely caused the body of the target to temporarily become younger…”

The mages briefly glanced at me.

“Can it be undone?”

“If it were normal magic, maybe. But black magic is mostly curses… We might find a way to lift it if we continue the analysis. However, curses are usually only broken by the person who cast them. Or, if the person under the curse is stronger, they may be able to break it with their own power.”

“…That doesn’t seem likely in this case.”

The duke looked at me, and I tilted my head.

In this world, magic exists—something like what people call sorcery. Among them, black magic is a special category, and the House of Alvis specializes in offensive black magic.

…Even if they specialize in black magic, they don’t know much about curses, huh?

Still, in a way, this was a chance.

Now that I looked like a child, I was no longer the “poisonous woman” Elicia Vander.

I was just a young girl who lost her memory. I could use that.

Maybe it’s better to just keep living like this as a little girl.

The marriage with the duke was a political one. There’s no need to have children, and if I pretend to have lost my memory, I wouldn’t have to follow the orders of House Vander.

…Besides, I already left the count’s house. I don’t have to obey my father anymore.

While I was thinking about that, I sneezed.

“Ah… achoo!”

The duke suddenly stopped moving and stared at me.

I sneezed again, and the duke turned to the butler.

His face looked slightly troubled, his eyebrows drawn together.

“Lord Leonhardt, it seems the duchess’s dress doesn’t fit her, so she is just wrapped in a blanket right now. I suggest she take a bath to warm up, and until a dress is ready, she can wear young Master Julius’s childhood clothes.”

“Good idea. …Assign a new maid and lady-in-waiting.”

“Yes, sir.”

The butler stepped back, and the mages remained on standby.

One of them, a young woman, came forward.

“I’ll perform the examination.”

“Yes.”

The duke and the young female mage exchanged short words, and the woman knelt beside me.

“Nice to meet you, madam. My name is Eina Huven.”

“…Eina onee-chan (big sister)?”

“Please, just call me Eina.”

“Okay.”

Her gentle voice made me relax a little.

No one had ever been kind to Elicia Vander without hidden motives.

But this mage—Eina—didn’t seem to have any.

Her calm green hair was cut to her shoulders, and her glasses made her look kind.

“Madam, do you remember your name?”

“My name… I’m not ‘madam,’ right? …I don’t know…”

I pinched my arm under the blanket—it hurt, and tears welled up.

Eina quickly said, “It’s okay, you’re alright.”

“Your name is Elicia. You married into the House of Alvis… to that man over there, Lord Leonhardt Alvis.”

“I’m… Elicia?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Is marriage… when you promise to always be together?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

Eina gave a small, awkward smile.

She seemed unsure whether she should explain a political marriage to a child.

The duke had a complicated look on his face too.

“Lady Elicia, do you remember anything?”

Even if they asked that, I didn’t understand anything about black magic.

“…No.”

“Do you remember the room you were in earlier?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me what happened in that room?”

They probably wanted to know if I remembered anything or had any clues about the black magic.

…But what I remember is…

“It was all black.”

“All black?”

“Yeah, spinning and scary. Then it went ‘pop’ and disappeared. After that, it was cold, very cold. Then a stranger made me warm, and a man came.”

“I see… Lady Elicia, please call that person over there ‘the Duke.’”

“The Duke?”

“Yes, very good.”

Eina smiled and gently touched my hand.

“I’ll do a little examination now.”

As soon as I was surrounded by a faint green light, a sharp pain ran through my entire body.

I pushed Eina’s hand away and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Yaaah!! It hurts! It hurts, it hurrrts!!”

It felt like thick needles were stabbing me all over. Tears ran down my cheeks.

Eina froze in shock, and the duke muttered, “It’s resisting?”

Eina nodded.

“Yes, her entire body is covered in strong black magic… I don’t think it’s safe to force an examination.”

“I agree.”

Eina gently lifted me and rubbed my back.

“I’m sorry, Lady Elicia. Does it still hurt?”

I nodded, and she touched my hand again. This time, the pain vanished completely.

“…The pain is gone…”

“I’m glad…”

Eina smiled in relief and stood up.

“Because of the black magic surrounding her, it seems all other magic is rejected. It may even react strongly to the duke’s or his son’s magic, so please avoid using magic on her.”

“Even healing?”

“Most likely… I’ll continue checking the remaining gifts. I’ll report back once I find anything.”

“Alright.”

Eina stepped back quietly.

Then the door opened, and the butler and maids entered. The duke stood up and left the room with the mages.

“Bye-bye, Duke.”

I called out. He paused, looked like he wanted to say something, but said nothing and left.

After that, the maids helped me bathe, put me in boy’s clothes, and tucked me into bed.

They completely treated me like a child—but that was exactly what I wanted, so I went along with it.

…Let’s keep pretending to be a harmless child!

If I do that, maybe the duke and his son won’t hate me any more than they already do.