A Resolute Rejection
“What?”
Caught off guard by Lefonya’s sudden request, Pelens halted what he was doing and turned around.
“Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”
“I haven’t even mentioned this to the Duke yet.”
“What is it, then?”
“There’s something I left behind at the place where I used to live.”
Of course there wasn’t. It was nothing more than a convenient excuse.
“I was brought here so abruptly that I didn’t have time to pack it,” she continued. “I kept quiet about it because I thought everyone would find it troublesome on my account if I asked to go fetch it.”
“You mean that abandoned shack where you were staying?”
Lefonya, the actual homeowner, secretly balled her fists in indignation.
“Uh-huh. That… that empty shack.”
It wasn’t an abandoned shack! The homeowner is standing right in front of you!
“You’re my escort, Brother, so I thought it would be fine if I went out with you. That’s why I’m asking. If we can’t, well, I suppooose that’s that…”
Lefonya let the end of her sentence trail off into a pathetic whine.
Her real intention, naturally, was to fabricate some pretext along the way and ditch Pelens entirely. Having memorized the capital’s geography and underground passages down to the last stone, slipping away from him would be child’s play.
Pelens appeared to mull it over. Lefonya didn’t press him, waiting patiently for his response.
“If it’s just your things, couldn't we simply have a knight retrieve them? Sir Velic knows where the place is, so we could just order him to go.”
“It’s hidden really well, so he’d never find it. Besides, while I’m sorting through things, I’d like to see if there’s anything else I want to bring back myself.”
As if there were anything to pack. She hadn’t possessed a single copper coin back then, let alone personal belongings worth saving.
Yet Pelens, completely ignorant of that kind of abject poverty, sensed nothing amiss and nodded.
“All right.”
Hook, line, and sinker.
“Then I’ll speak to Father about it.”
“Really?”
Lefonya’s face brightened instantly. She had secured a way out to deliver her report.
“I knew I could count on you, Brother!”
Pelens grinned broadly and opened his arms. At this point, tumbling into his embrace had become second nature to Lefonya.
Ever since the wooden horse had plunged into the pond, it was undergoing test runs after numerous safety mechanisms were installed. Because of that, the Duke and Pelens had taken to carrying Lefonya everywhere all day long, to the point where being carried felt as natural as breathing.
“Are you really that happy? Look at your face light up.”
“Uh-huh!”
“Then since we’re heading out anyway, shall we stop by the boutique on our way back?”
“The boutique?”
“Yeah. To look around and browse things.”
What did a boutique even sell? Having never been taught such things, Lefonya simply nodded.
“Yes! Let’s do that.”
It didn’t matter to her either way. The excursion was purely an excuse to make contact and report.
Still, I am a little curious about what they keep in a boutique.
Pelens babbled on, laying out an elaborate itinerary for their outing. Since Lefonya knew nothing about the city’s upscale districts, she kept quiet rather than adding anything to the conversation.
The Duke wouldn’t refuse permission… right?
No, of course not. What reason could he possibly have to forbid an outing when she was being escorted by the Craitan family’s notoriously unruly second son, an aura wielder?
…Right?
A prickle of unease crept up her spine. Lefonya looked at Pelens, clenching both fists to cheer him on.
“You have to get his permission, okay? Promise?”
“Ponya, I’ve been causing trouble and dealing with Father for years. I know every single one of his patterns by heart. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“Great! Brother, you’re the absolute best!”
Brother’s the best… brother’s the best… brother is the best…
Words he had never heard once in his entire life rang in Pelens’s ears like sweet, euphoric tinnitus.
Slapping the desk with an open palm, Pelens sprang to his feet.
“Alright! I’m going to go get Father’s permission right this second. Wait right here!”
Pelens marched out of the room with heroic determination. Lefonya waved him off with an encouraging smile.
“Hah, pant… I-I checked with the chef… gasp, there’s no poison in this dessert, huh? Where did Young Master Pelens go…?”
The moment Pelens left, the attendant—a vassal’s son assigned to serve them—stumbled back in carrying a dessert platter. He was the very servant who had been thoroughly reprimanded earlier for serving food without verifying whether it was poisoned.
Clicking her tongue, Lefonya tapped the cake with a fingertip and popped the dab of cream into her mouth.
“Honestly, look at you.”
“Pardon?”
“As if the chef would ever poison my food. Do you have any idea how much he adores me?”
“Y-Yes?”
“If you hadn’t tried to cut corners and just done your job right from the start, life would’ve been so much easier for you. But what can you do? You brought this misery upon yourself.”
Lefonya shook her head in disdain and turned away.
And then.
“No. I will not permit an outing.”
That fleeting glimmer of hope was utterly crushed the moment Duke Craitan flatly rejected her request.
Pelens, who had boldly assured her not to worry, returned with news that she had every reason to worry after all.
Evidently, the Duke’s opposition was far more unyielding than anyone had anticipated.
Watching Pelens slump back in glorious, pathetic defeat, Lefonya shook her head.
“And here you told me to put all my trust in you, Brother.”
“I-I had no idea Father would be so stubborn! He’s never been like this no matter what I did! When I threatened to run away from home, he just told me to go right ahead. When I said I’d sell off the family’s mining rights, he dared me to give it my best shot. I even told him I was marrying a man just to see how far I could push him, and he gave his blessing, saying as long as it made me happy! But to dig his heels in over a simple outing?!”
Well, that was because Pelens was his actual flesh-and-blood son, whereas Lefonya was merely an adopted child.
Swallowing the blunt truth that would only sour the mood, Lefonya sighed deeply.
Her report was due in three days, meaning she absolutely had to get outside, yet she had never foreseen that he would forbid an outing entirely.
Lefonya pushed herself up from her chair.
“Ponya? Where are you going?” asked Pelens, sprawling across the table in demoralized ruin.
“To ask him why.”
Her short little legs stomped forward with grim purpose as she marched straight toward the Duke’s study.
“Wait, I’m coming too!”
Pelens scrambled up to follow her tiny figure. Lefonya walked on without a shred of hesitation.
One look at her face—which practically screamed I am on a very serious mission from down the hall—was enough for the servants to swiftly part and clear a path.
When she arrived outside the study, the butler standing guard bowed respectfully.
“Greetings, Lady Lefonya.”
“Is the Duke inside?”
Perhaps because she was trying so desperately to maintain an intimidating scowl, her pronunciation slipped into an adorable lisp.
“Yes, My Lady. He is within. Shall I announce your arrival?”
“Mmhmm. Right now.”
The butler cleared his throat and announced toward the interior, “Lady Lefonya has arrived looking exceptionally resolute, accompanied by the second young master.”
Before long, a deep command permitting them entry echoed from within, and the butler smoothly pulled the double doors open.
Lefonya strode inside. Having already set his paperwork aside upon hearing of her arrival, the Duke rose from his desk and walked over to greet her.
“Ponya.”
The Duke spread his arms wide, inviting her into a hug. Normally, she would have fallen right into his embrace, but today was different.
Her conditioned little body nearly trotted forward the second his arms opened wide, but Lefonya dug her heels into the carpet and resisted.
She had no intention of letting herself be scooped up right now.
“I came to ask you something.”
“Oh, dear. Refusing a hug… You must be genuinely upset.”
Of course I am!
To demonstrate how unyielding she was being, Lefonya crossed her short arms over her chest. She marched right past the Duke and threw herself onto the sofa.
…Though her legs were slightly too short to climb it gracefully, requiring Pelens to scoop her up and settle her properly into the cushions.
“Seeing that you brought Pelens with you, I believe I can guess what you’ve come to ask.”
The Duke offered a gentle smile, instructed a maid to fetch some treats for Lefonya, and sat on the sofa across from her.
“I said I wanted to go out, but you said no, didn’t you?”
Lefonya crossed her stubby legs as well. She was certain that crossing both her arms and legs would create an aura of icy intimidation, but for some reason, it wasn’t working at all.
In fact, crossing both her limbs on such a tiny frame made balancing utterly impossible, causing her to wobble precariously from side to side.
This useless toddler body.
Discreetly uncrossing her arms, Lefonya planted her palms flat on the cushion to keep from toppling over.
“I wanna go out.”
“Ponya.”
“Listen to me first.”
At her insistence, the Duke nodded patiently, waiting for her to take her time.
Lefonya loosened her tongue, taking great care to articulate so her words wouldn’t slur.
“As you know, Your Grace, I came here very suddenly. There are things I left behind at the place where I used to live.”
“Mmm.”
“So I want to go bring them back.”
“If it is merely to retrieve your belongings, I can simply dispatch the knights, Ponya.”
“They’re hard to find. And I want to look around myself to see if there’s anything else I should bring.”
She delivered the exact same excuse she had fed Pelens. Looking contemplative, the Duke rubbed his furrowed brow.
This is the very Duke who understood and indulged me when I jumped into a pond to save a sinking wooden horse because of sentimental value. There’s no way he won’t understand this.
Tasting victory already, Lefonya smiled inwardly.
“Ponya.”
A long, heavy sigh parted the Duke’s lips.
“I am truly sorry, but you cannot go outside.”
And just like that, she suffered a crushing, spectacular defeat.