The Villainous Noble Lady Turned Into a Child, and Her Cold Duke Husband Became Kind - 6 – Son in Law (2)
The girl held her arms up toward him.
Her soft green eyes looked straight at him.
Until now, only his father had ever looked him in the eye like that.
The Alvis family was known for their powerful offensive black magic. Because of this, both the duke and Julius gave off a strong presence.
Most people with magic found them intimidating and avoided eye contact.
But this girl looked straight at Julius.
She smiled and reached out to touch him.
…I’ve never felt anything like this.
It was a strange, restless, fluttery feeling.
He picked her up and placed her on his lap.
“…How long will you stay like this?”
She tilted her head.
“How long?”
He knew there was no point in asking.
“Never mind. …Let’s go back inside soon.”
“Aww…”
“We can have tea in my room.”
The girl blinked.
“There are lots of yummy sweets.”
“Sweets! I wanna eat!”
“Then let’s go inside.”
He stood up, carrying the girl.
She didn’t resist at all, and for some reason, that stirred his heart.
When the black magic is undone, she’ll probably return to her real age and body.
Then they won’t be able to spend time like this anymore.
…He didn’t care about having a stepmother.
But he was a little curious about this child.
“Yummy!”
After playing with Julius, I was invited to his room for tea.
The three-tiered cake stand for tea time was filled with snacks and cakes. Julius still looked expressionless, but he didn’t get mad no matter how much I ate.
He watched me stuff a big piece of cake (big for a child, anyway) into my mouth while sipping his tea.
“You look like a squirrel.”
He poked my puffed-up cheek.
I swallowed and asked,
“Squirrel?”
“Yeah. They pack nuts into their mouths and carry them to their nest. They hide them, but often forget where. …But I bet you’d just eat them.”
Julius gave a faint smile.
Since he smiled, I smiled too.
“Because they’re yummy!”
The duke’s food and sweets are all really delicious.
Being able to eat them every day feels like a dream.
“Julius, aren’t you going to eat?”
“I don’t really like sweets.”
“Then what do you like?”
Julius tilted his head slightly.
“…Meat?”
“Meat?”
“Yeah, I like meat.”
“Is that why you’re big? Because you eat lots of meat?”
Julius looked surprised, then gave a small laugh.
“Maybe.”
He’s still cute now, but he’ll probably grow up into a handsome man in a few years.
He’s good-looking enough to rival the main hero.
…Especially since he’ll grow up to look just like the duke.
The duke is also really handsome, but people are scared of him because of his black magic.
That’s why he falls for the heroine, Lilliet, who talks to him normally.
“But even if you eat lots of meat, I don’t think you’ll grow big.”
“Ehh~!”
“And you seem more like the type who suits sweets. You can have mine too.”
Julius raised his hand slightly, and the maid placed his share of cake on my plate.
It felt like the cake I already ate came back, and that made me happy.
“Thanks, Julius! Thank you too, miss!”
When I smiled, the maid bowed and stepped back.
Then I ate the cake.
Right as I stuffed a bite in my mouth, Julius spoke.
“That makes one favor you owe me.”
“Fay-vuh?”
I chewed and swallowed.
“What’s a favor?”
“You ate cake I gave you. So now, you kind of ‘borrowed’ it from me.”
“But I ate it, so I can’t give it back.”
“You can repay me with something else.”
…Even though he gave it to me, now it’s a ‘favor’? Sneaky.
Come to think of it, Julius was kind of meticulous in the original story too.
Maybe the duke is like that too… I thought as I ate another bite of cake.
After swallowing it, I turned to Julius.
“Then, I’ll give you a special ‘Anything Wish Ticket,’ okay?”
Julius blinked.
“Anything Wish Ticket?”
“Yeah! Since I ate the cake, I’ll make one. You can ask me for anything, just one wish, and I’ll do it!”
…Well, there’s probably nothing a little kid like me can really do anyway.
I popped the last bite of cake in my mouth, chewed quickly, and swallowed.
“I want small paper and pen.”
Julius stood up and brought a message card, pen, and ink bottle.
A maid cleared the small plates, and Julius placed the message card, pen, and ink bottle in front of me.
I said “Thank you” again and reached for the pen.
I grabbed the pen with my fist on purpose, like I didn’t know how to use it, and Julius said quietly, “Huh?”
“Do you know how to use a pen?”
“Do I dip it in ink?”
“That’s right, but… oh, that’s too much ink.”
When I dipped the pen into the ink bottle, Julius placed his hand over mine.
“Like this. Let the extra ink drip off. And don’t press the tip too hard.”
To try it, I moved the pen over the message card.
On it, he had written: “Elicia Alvis.”
“Elicia Alvis?”
“Yes, that’s your name.”
“My name…”
Since Julius wrote it for me, maybe he was starting to accept me.
Or maybe he just thought I was harmless enough to keep in the house.
Without thinking, I held up the message card.
“Thank you, Julius! I’ll treasure this!”
“You’re welcome. Did you understand how to write?”
“Yes, I got it!”
This time, I held the pen myself, dipped it in ink, and wrote on a new message card.
The letters were shaky, and the ink faded in some parts, but I wrote both Julius’s name and mine and gave it to him.
Julius looked at the card I gave him.
“‘A ticket to ask for anything’… ‘No expiration date.’”
“Yeah! It never expires!”
Julius smiled again, just a little.
Then his hand reached out and touched my head.
“I’ll use it someday.”
“You’re not going to use it now?”
Honestly, I’d feel better if he used it right away.
“No, it’s too special to use now.”
Julius put the message card, now dry, into a drawer in the desk.
When he came back, he patted my head again.
“Maybe I’ll show it off to Father.”
…Though, I don’t think the Duke would really want something like that.