Translator and Editor: Bunny and Wyvern

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Chapter 22

My knees were bleeding! Were they fractured? It hurt even more as soon as I looked at it, and I teared up a little.

“Dante. The child was injured.”

Dante, who was following my dad, was more surprised than I was when he saw my knee.

“What happened in just a short time? Why did the young lady hurt her knee? I’ll bring some medicine.” He ran inside with a pale face.

“It hurts…”

“…”

The pain worsened every time I moved my knees. I didn’t want to walk, so I made a fuss. “Dad, I can’t walk.”

Then my dad lifted me and hugged me so I could sit on his forearm just like how Aaron hugged me earlier. Surprised, I put my hands around his neck unconsciously.

“This will do.”

Then he began to stride inside.

‘Oh my God, are you really my dad? Is this secretly Aaron?’

When I came to my senses, I realized that he was going towards the sofa in the main hall. My knees didn’t hurt as much, and he carried me properly, so I was quite comfortable.

“Hehe, this is nice.”

I was safely moved inside with my hands around Dad’s neck. Even when he set me down on the sofa, he put me down calmly and didn’t throw me. Dante, who said that he would bring medicine, came back with a palm-sized black box. Fortunately, my dad didn’t go away and sat right next to me.

“Lady, are you hurt?”

Pihne was with him when he came back.

“Pihne, I hot hurt right here.”

“Oh my gosh. What happened to this… I brought you some medicine, so you’ll get better soon, Miss. Please be patient even if it hurts.”

Employees who heard Dante and Pihne’s fuss began to gather gradually.

I was only going to exaggerate a little but I eventually felt embarrassed by the crowd watching me so I stuck to my dad a little more.

Luna and Lucy had pained expressions on their faces.

“Does it hurt?” Dante asked me when I looked at the container.

“This is going to sting a little at first, but we need to apply the ointment so as to prevent it from leaving a scar.”

I saw Dante scoop half of the ointment out. But the color was weird.

‘It’s purple…’

I sat on the sofa and looked at Dante anxiously. I quickly pointed to the Pihne because I thought it would hurt more if he put that on my knee. “P-Pihne, please do it.”

“What? I’m good with this, Miss. Don’t worry.”

I shook my head.

“No, I don’t want to. I want Pihne to apply it.”

After a few scuffles, Dante, who had a lot of ointment on his hand, stepped back with a disappointed look and sat in front of me with a wet towel.

“Lady, close your eyes and count to 10.”

“Okay. One, two.”

I closed my eyes tightly and did what Pihne told me to do, and counted slowly.

The wound stung for a while, as I felt something being applied to my knee.

“It’s all done, Young Lady.”

“That feels… minty.”

Then Pihne smiled. “That will subside quickly. I’ll apply medicine again tonight and will put on a bandage. It doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“Hmm.”

I looked at my knees with the purple medicine neatly applied. “Hehe…”

I took a deep breath as I looked at my knees then covered my face with both of my hands as I giggled. I even grabbed my chest and hit the person next to me, which was Lucy. The minty sensation subsided and I moved my legs to make sure my wound was alright.

“I’m so happy to see you two holding hands tightly.” Dante looked thrilled.

“Right, it’s like a beautiful painting!” Luna’s hands were clasped together.

‘Hands?’

It was only then that I realized that I was holding my father’s little finger tightly. To be precise, I was gripping onto it for dear life.

When did I start holding it?

It hurt when the medicine was applied earlier, so I held anything in my hand, and I guess it was my father’s finger.

It had paled due to how hard I was holding it.

“Gasp.”

Why wasn’t my dad saying anything? I hardened my expression. “Dad, I’m sorry.” I made eye contact.

“Why?”

“Because held your hand too tightly.”

The complexion of the hand returned when I let go.

He looked down at his hand indifferently when I pointed at it. “It doesn’t matter.”

Even after that, he hugged me took me to the dining room as before. I was puzzled at that point.

‘He definitely felt murderous in the morning.’

Thanks to him, I was able to sit in the chair comfortably. Chef Gordon chattered again today as he listed down all the delicious foods in front of us. All of them were on the table, and a fish dish with yellowish, watery sauce was placed in front of me.

“The lady seemed to enjoy eating white fish the day before yesterday, so I cooked cod this time.”

“Cod?”

When I asked, Gordon moved more excitedly. “It is a dish made with a high-quality steamed cod in white wine, and its light taste is excellent. I thought it would be very sweet for you, so I added a little salty butter instead of using mustard.”

“Thank you.”

“Aha, you shouldn’t be. These days, as I’ve been studying cooking for my lady, I feel like I’ve regained my passion. Hahahaha!”

Unlike my dad who had a whole piece of fish on top, the fish on my plate was cut into pieces. I couldn’t wait to taste it.

“Eat.”

The chef and the servants took a step back when my father pointed at my food with his knife.

“Thank you for the food,” I grabbed the fork and shouted.

“Thank you for the food.”

With my dad’s short greeting, I put a piece of fish in my mouth. The savory and soft fish meat softly melted in my mouth without chewing. My dad still didn’t eat much, but he still obeyed the rule of three vegetables for one bite of meat.

“Sooner or later, the vassals will gather.”

Chewing the largest lump in my mouth, I paused. “Huh?” I swallowed quickly.

“I will announce you as my successor in front of the vassals.”

‘Already?’

But it hadn’t been long since I came here. After drinking water, I blinked and looked at my dad. “Is that a good thing?”

“It means you’re officially becoming Mariette Descartes.”

I opened my mouth after thinking hard, putting food in my mouth little by little. “But, I am Mariette Dilton.”

“…”

“Mom gave it to me—my name,” I said firmly.

‘I won’t abandon Dilton, Dad.’

Dad didn’t speak after. I had no intention of making concessions, so I silently put the food in my mouth. The meal continued so quietly that it ended just like that.

It wasn’t until the evening that I heard from Pihne that I would soon receive the official name ‘Mariette Dilton Descartes.’

* * *

“Good morning, Miss.”

In the morning, as soon as I opened my eyes, Hilla visited my room.

“It’s you, Hilla.”

Hilla’s eyes were slightly bent into half-moons. “Yes, it’s me. Did you sleep well?”

“Hmm, did you also sleep well, Hilla?”

“Yes. I heard your tongue was uncomfortable again yesterday.”

Pihne seemed to have asked Hilla for medical treatment yesterday because my tongue was stiff.

I was a little down. The last time I followed him, he disappeared like a ghost, and now he came here on his own like this.

“Can you open your mouth for me to see if that’s alright with you?”

“But I’m alright now….”

“But your tongue may stiffen again tomorrow, so I would like to take a look.”

“Hmm.” Swallowing the lukewarm water given by Pihne, I opened my mouth.

“Are you comfortable now?”

“Yes, but I couldn’t speak well yesterday. I got better after drinking water and talking a lot.”

“Then will you move your tongue up and down? Give it a try.”

I clearly showed Hilla that my tongue moved freely.

I wanted to ask Hilla secretly, but I thought this wouldn’t be the best time as there were maids beside me.

“I don’t think you need to take more medicine, but for the time being, I’ll come and check with you every morning. Would that be fine?”

“Yes, it’s alright with me.”

“And I heard that Young Miss got her knee injured seriously yesterday. Can I check that, too?”

‘There were rumors of that too…?’

I was a little shy so it was Pihne who showed him my knee that she bandaged last night.

“I just got hurt a l-little bit.”

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

Rate the novel on Novel Updates.

Join our discord to receive the latest updates as soon as possible!