Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Baby Rumors
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"Your Excellency! Where on earth have you been, leaving the reports half-read?!"
"...Noisy."
Dios ruffled his hair roughly. He felt a bit irritated at having his time interrupted. This guy usually handled things on his own, so why was he nagging today of all days?
...He'd been planning to play chess with Father after so long, but this aide had ruined it.
"Your Excellency."
"What."
"Just in case, um, really just hypothetically..."
"Spit it out."
He already felt guilty for saying something unnecessary to Father, and watching the aide hem and haw only made him more annoyed.
"No, well... It might be our misunderstanding, but..."
"Don't beat around the bush..."
"Are you raising a baby?!"
Raising a baby, raising a baby, baby, baby...
"......"
"Eep..."
The aide's shrill voice echoed down the corridor. Realizing he'd messed up, he quickly clamped his mouth shut and stammered excuses.
"No, I mean, that pacifier..."
"......"
Fine. A pacifier suddenly dropping from thin air was bound to cause misunderstandings. The problem was that the child wasn't that side—it was this side.
'Flowers one moment, and now this sudden prank...!'
He could generously overlook the flowers that popped out of nowhere every now and then. He's probably bored, he'd thought. His subordinates had given him strange looks at first but soon lost interest.
But, but... a pacifier...!
'What in the world were you thinking?!'
'Dia didn't have things like this as a baby. He adapted so well to me that there was no chance of milk coming out... I felt regretful, curious, so I sent one.'
'No excuses! You just wanted to tease me!'
'Ahahahaha.'
It had been centuries since he'd felt such humiliation. The silence that fell mid-work as the pacifier dropped onto his desk, followed by his aides' stares—it had been utterly mortifying.
Regretting that he should have retrieved Anima after all, Dios gave the aide—who was still staring at him—the answer he'd been waiting for.
"Not raising one."
"Then... are you planning to?"
"No plans for that. Just give your report."
"......"
Aide Aspel bit his lower lip at Dios's menacing expression.
Asking carelessly might get his head lopped off, but he'd heard the others talking, and his own curiosity was too much to just let it slide.
Aspel agonized before deciding to ask indirectly, wracking his sluggish brain.
"Um... that person who sends flowers sometimes."
"Won't come anymore."
"Pardon?"
Aspel blinked blankly at the swift reply, as Dios muttered with a bitter look.
"...Probably not."
"There's definitely something different!"
"No way—what kind of woman could sway His Excellency?!"
"Don't even ask! That cold-blooded man looked so disappointed, mumbling that the flowers won't come anymore...!"
Right after the Grand Duke left to hunt magic beasts, the aide's office—filled only with the rustle of papers and scratching pens—erupted into chaos.
"But those magic cores... Weren't they for his lover?"
"Exactly. It wasn't even frenzy season, yet he went hunting again?"
Lately, the Grand Duke had been hunting magic beasts in short cycles, unrelated to his frenzy periods. Thanks to that, the warehouse was already piled high with cores he'd personally refined.
Normally, he'd leave raw magic stones untouched, so everyone had been puzzled, but no one pried. They didn't want their necks flying off. In fact, one guy who tried to touch them lost a wrist.
But the flowers arriving through the small passage the Grand Duke had left open? They couldn't ignore those anymore.
Who dared use the Grand Duke's passage without permission? Thinking about it, no one could.
Which meant the Grand Duke had allowed it!
At first, even the Grand Duke had furrowed his brows at the popping flowers, but he hadn't discarded them. They continued appearing irregularly, and though he always grimaced, they bore preservation magic and piled up as decorations in his drab bedroom.
"...Honestly, when that baby item popped out instead of flowers, I thought maybe the Grand Duke finally had an heir..."
"Me too. I figured his lover sent pregnancy news."
Even while receiving reports, he'd frozen at the sight and bolted out immediately. Several aides nodded vigorously.
"...What if it wasn't His Excellency's child from the start?"
"If so... maybe she broke up with him upon announcing the pregnancy."
"......"
"......"
The aides, having reached their conclusion, felt their blood run cold.
"...So he's out drying up the magic beast herds to vent his rage?"
"We'd better stay quiet for a while..."
At that moment, the air rippled. It was the Grand Duke's presence. The terrified aides scrambled back to their seats.
Crash! Thud!
After a brief commotion, the Grand Duke appeared. His shortened hair was still unfamiliar, but it felt refreshingly neat. When it had been long, they'd always stared at the floor to avoid stepping on it.
"...Back already."
"Yeah."
"Earlier than expected."
"Not much left."
"Yes..."
Of course, after that massacre-level hunt recently...
No further conversation followed. The aides sneaked glances before burying themselves in documents. They'd expected it, but he didn't look pleased.
Though, had he ever looked pleased before? Not really.
Thus, work resumed in suffocating silence. Chief Aide Aspel busily managed the curiosity-driven chatterboxes when the magic rippled again. The passage was opening.
What now? He said no more flowers... Not an invitation, right?
Aspel tensed, vowing to crash any wedding and burn it down, when something slipped from the passage onto the Grand Duke's fountain-pen-holding hand.
'A ring?!'
Everyone froze. It was a flower-shaped gem adornment...
'No, a real flower?'
Up close, it was a flower ring. Made from common wildflowers, no less.
Stunned by the unexpected item, the aides exchanged looks. Then someone muttered quietly, as if to themselves.
"No way, a propos...!"
Aspel hastily cast a silence spell and clamped the clueless junior aide's mouth. But gasps echoed everywhere—useless.
'Th-the Grand Duke smiled?!'
Aspel panicked inwardly. The ironclad Grand Duke—not even a needle could prick him—was smiling while wearing a shabby flower ring!
The ring's band was so tiny it barely fit his pinky knuckle, like he'd snatched it from a child.
"...Your Excellency, that..."
"Get back to work."
The flower ring, preserved by magic, slipped into the Grand Duke's pocket.
'...Looks like I have to go after all.'
'Well, no helping it. I can't keep a busy Grand Duke tied up.'
'Don't mock me.'
'Ahahahaha.'
He'd wanted to play with the little one, but it couldn't be helped. Watching the child grow up and live independently brought a mix of pride and loneliness.
'Take care, Dia.'
...Yes.
The little one paused opening the passage and turned back.
...Father.
Yes.
'Honestly, I don't think I can win our bet.'
'Giving up then?'
"......"
The little one stared at him silently for a long time without replying.
'Dia?'
...I have a favor to ask...
'Speak freely.'
Nihil beamed at the request, thrilled that the child still needed him.
...Just in case.
Yes.
Very, very just in case... if you have to sleep again...
'......?'
Then to me,
"Young Master! Young Master Nil!"
"......!"
■■.
"Young Master Nil!!"
"......!"
Nihil startled and looked up. The butler had approached, scanning him worriedly.
"Are you alright?"
"......Yeah."
Nihil dazedly replied late, then ran a hand through his hair. Daydreaming on the way to see the child—must be fatigue.
'What if I worry the kid again for no reason.'
She'd suffered because of him; if he faltered now, it'd only hurt her more. But he couldn't ignore her after hearing that...
Nihil pondered, then realized something was missing from his head.
"Somnus...?"
Where'd it go?
"If you mean the baby magic beast, it's over there."
The butler pointed to the flowerbed in the main palace garden. Anima had slipped off his head and was now rolling, crushing flowers with its whole body.
"Somnus, come here."
He called cautiously, but Anima ignored him.
"Baby, come on now."
Calling again, it glanced back. But soon dove back into the flowers, tumbling away.
...Maybe I haven't walked it enough lately...?
He'd named it Somnus, fairy of sleep, since it slept all day. But today it was hyper.
...Carried it too much?
He'd tucked it in his bosom while sleeping to prevent rolls off his head; maybe it felt stuffy.
Nihil vowed daily walks and approached the flowerbed, extending a hand carefully.
"Somsom."
It peeked out.
Finally acknowledging him at the nickname. It reminded him of the little one's childhood, drawing a smile.
'Dios.'
'......'
'Dios?'
'......'
'Dia.'
Yes!
...Who taught you to play fox?
What~?
Whatever she'd heard outside, she'd clung to nicknames, protesting silently without them. Now, they felt more natural.
"Somsom, time to go."
"Ku-ya."
"...Talking..."
Nihil's eyes widened. Anima perked its short ears and cried again.
"Ku-uu."
"Butler, butler! Our baby's talking!"
"Heh heh... Congratulations."
Paul smiled kindly, even as Nihil fussed like a grandfather minding a grandchild.
'Glad his mood's improved.'
Paul nodded in relief. The baby magic beast's first babble deserved a commemorative gift.
"Somsom, behave."
The young master carefully placed the fluffball—er, baby magic beast—on his head, then plucked an unbloomed wildflower, fiddling to make something.
"Heh heh, a flower ring."
"It's a pacifier."
"......"
Paul nearly dropped his smile but smoothly recovered.
"Baby, your dad's not a fan of pacifiers, so you take th—"
Waaah—gulp.
"......"
"...Pfft, ahem, sorry."
He'd meant to offer it to the baby magic beast's mouth, but it swallowed the whole thing.
"...Butler."
"Yes."
"Let's call it a flower ring."
"......?"
"Sent a pacifier today, and the kid chased after."
"Ah..."
To the Grand Duke... a pacifier.
"If the kid comes complaining, back me up."
"...I'll try."