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Chapter 94. Hart Dukedom
Duke Hart had a bunch of work as a prime minister, but he demanded to take a leave and be absent because he couldn’t put this matter behind.
She heard that Marquis Clint would do Duke Hart’s work on behalf of him.
Even if they often seemed to quarrel with each other, both of them were on good terms at times like this.
On the morning of the departure to the duchy, Nelia got into a large carriage. She prepared enough luggage of her belongings as she wasn’t sure how long they would stay in the duchy,
Nelia got into the carriage with Zenuit as her heart was racing fast. As soon as Duke Hart got in, the carriage finally departed.
“Wow, it’s fluffy.”
Zenuit pressed the chair sheet with his small hands in admiration.
This carriage surely was intended for a long-distance trip, as it was more comfortable and wider than the normal one. Nelia was also astonished by the inside appearance of the luxurious carriage.
Nelia was concerned about the possibility of Zenuit saying things such as, he had never seen this when he was young.
It would be a disaster to say something like that in front of Duke Hart considering his habit to do so when it was just the two of them. The quick-witted Duke Hart would surely find Zenuit strange.
“You must be really rich!”
Fortunately, Zenuit said something like a normal child would possibly say. His eyes were trained on the edge of the carriage which was painted in gold metal.
The twinkle in his eyes indicated that he seemed to like this carriage.
“When I look closely, I can tell that he really likes luxurious stuff……”
She would often find Zenuit being mesmerized by the ornaments the duke had as a collection in his mansion.
He likes it more especially if it’s shiny.
She once asked as she wondered why dragons are so materialistic, and he answered that collecting valuable things is a dragon’s characteristics.
“It’s not me, but the family has a lot of property, Zenu. Our ancestors were very good at accumulating money.”
Very good at accumulating money…… There’s no way he could be more direct than that.
“Oh, I understand.”
On the other hand, Zenuit immediately nodded with his little head after hearing the duke’s honest answer.
“Your Grace is lucky to have wealthy parents!”
The duke just smiled at Zenuit despite his somewhat rude remark.
Then, Duke Hart spoke to Zenuit again.
“Speaking of parents, I wonder what kind of parents Zenuit have.”
When being asked about his parents, Zenuit was cautious at first glance.
“My parents?”
“Yes.”
Nelia was anxious for no special reason. How would Zenuit answer such an unexpected question?
“M-my parents are…… good people! Although they left me to Nelia Noona’s care as they have work to do at the moment, it doesn’t matter because I like Nelia, too.”
Whether he had aged carelessly, Zenuit answered well and was quite fast. It was pretty much an appropriate answer, neither too much or too little for a child like him.
Duke Hart also had a soft smile as usual, as if he hadn’t suspected anything strange.
“I was a bit worried because you never talked about your parents while staying in the mansion, but I guess it’s useless, Zenu.”
“Oh, about that…… Zenu didn’t bring up his parents on purpose. It seems that he misses them when he talks about them.”
This time, Nelia added a false explanation.
Duke Hart caressed Zenuit’s head as if he were scratching it.
“You’re a very mature child. “You’re such a mature child. As a prize, we’ll go to the duchy and I’ll give you sweets.”
Zenuit, who secretly had a displeased look at Duke Hart’s touch, quickly laughed and grinned when he heard the word ‘sweets’.
“Does His Grace also figure out Zenuit’s favorite food……”
Since then, the carriage has been quiet.
The duke read a book, and Nelia thought about what kind of test the duke would take if he managed to cross the door as she put her head against the window.
Zenuit was……
“Wow! There’s a flying sparrow!”
He was excited while looking at everything outside the window.
“Did you see that, Noona?”
She wouldn’t mind if he was excited by himself, but he even asked her if she also saw it.
Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t understand this side of Zenuit. He was amazed by the scenery that was completely different from the city, considering the last time he ever got to see it was before he was trapped inside Elena’s Tears. Even if it wasn’t something new, he was very happy to see animals and grasses that he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“That sparrow looks like you, Noona. You know it, right? That you look like a sparrow.”
It was then. Duke Hart, who was reading in a graceful manner without even budging, looked up.
“……Do you think Nelia looks like a sparrow?”
Zenuit nodded firmly.
“Yes! They look so much alike. If the sparrow were in a human form, it would look exactly like Nelia Noona.”
Duke Hart contained his laugh and smiled. Zenuit’s eyebrows curved upon seeing it.
“Why are you smiling……?”
“I don’t think Nelia and the sparrow looked alike. I just thought you are imaginative as a child.”
“What are you saying that it doesn’t look like her at all? She looks exactly like it!”
Zenuit pointed to Nelia, who was listening to their conversation with arid eyes.
“Light brown hair, round eyes, short in height. She’s too small sometimes!”
Nelia opened her eyes wide when she heard that it was insignificant.
“Where did our Zenu learn such mean words?”
“Oh…… Haha. You said that small and cute things do not count for spit……”
Zenuit raised his voice again, whether he realized that he had not used the voice of a child at that moment.
“Anyway, I mean Nelia is as cute as a sparrow.”
Duke Hart tilted his head to the side.
“I admit that Nelia is cute, but I’m not sure she looks like a sparrow. If you said she looks like a squirrel, then you’re right.”
“Squirrel?”
Zenuit shouted out loud as if he had heard something inappropriate to hear.
One of the duke’s eyebrows curved up subtly as if he didn’t like the child’s reaction.
“Yes, a squirrel.”
“I heard from the butler that Your Grace is very smart, but I guess not! You said she looks like a squirrel!”
Duke Hart couldn’t hide his displeasure upon Zenuit’s provocation.
“Nelia’s light brown curly hair, small body, slim face, cute voice, she looks exactly like a squirrel.”
Nelia just found out now that the duke thought she resembled a squirrel.
Is that why he asked her last time if she liked nuts……  When she found out he was treating her like an animal, she didn’t feel very good.
However, the two were unaware of Nelia’s condition, and were busy arguing uselessly.
She didn’t know the duke would be in such a childish argument with a kid like Zenuit. What’s more unbelievable is that he didn’t seem to want to lose a bit.
“They didn’t look alike at all. Noona looks like a sparrow to me!”
“I’m sure it’s only Zenu who thinks that way.”
Nelia finally interfered when the conversation was unacceptable to her.
“Stop!”
Both Duke Hart and Zenuit’s eyes were immediately directed at Nelia.
“Why on earth does it matter who I resemble?”
The duke and Zenuit were speechless, not sure if they finally realized that their conversation was a strange one.
“I want to take a nap while on the road, so please be quiet.”
It was quiet in the carriage for a while afterwards. Under the influence of Nelia’s threat, Duke Hart began to read the book again after clearing his throat, and Zenuit clung to the window frame with an awkward expression and gazed outside.
Although it was just for a while.
***
The carriage that brought Nelia and her companions arrived at the duchy and they entered.
Fortunately, nothing happened on the way.
However, she realized one thing, that Duke Hart and Zenuit weren’t going along well with each other.
No, they were actually similar, that’s why they couldn’t get along with each other.
For example, when they stopped by the village, although they agreed on where to visit first, there were different opinions before it was decided.
Normally, Duke Hart would have yielded to Zenuit as he was a kid, but Zenuit wanted to be her regardless of everything, so he fought with Duke Hart.
Between the two of them, Nelia had a subtle sense. The duke told her last time that he was jealous of Zenuit……
In the end, Duke Hart yielded to Zenuit, but she could sense his bad mood at a single glance.
“Noona, is this the dukedom?”
Zenuit leaned close to the window of the carriage and asked.
“Yes, we’ll arrive at the duchy in about 20 minutes. Am I right, Your Grace?”
“Yes, that’s right. You’ll see the dukedom up there on the hill.”
As the duke said, a firmly built castle owned by the duke was seen on a high hill at the end of the village.
The castle looked very large and solid from faraway. Not only the duchess, but the village the duchess lived in was very clean and lively.
She heard that the duchy and the castle were led and managed by Duchess Hart, who seemed to have done her job very well.
Of course, there were many employees who continuously assisted her, but unlike her small and soft appearance, she was cool to have managed the duchy alone without a husband by her side. Soon the carriage reached the main gate of the duke’s castle. The gatekeepers confirmed it was indeed Duke Hart and opened the door quickly.
When the large front door opened, she saw the duchess she hadn’t seen in a long time.
When she got out of the carriage, the duchess firstly greeted Nelia with a bright smile on her face.
“You’ve had a hard time coming a long way to here, Young Lady Nelia.”
“Don’t mention it. Thank you for inviting me.”
The duchess replied with a pleasant greeting, and turned her head to look at Duke Hart.
“You had a hard time coming here, Shilian.”
“It’s all right.”
Nelia thought the firm Duke Hart was strange at any time.
The duke, who was kind toward everyone, has a flat attitude especially when he stands in front of his mother.
“However, it’s amazing……”
When the duchess came to the mansion before, she seemed to cherish and love Duke Hart with all of her heart, according to the conversation they had a long time ago. Nelia guessed that Duke Hart wouldn’t be much different.
On the outside, however, they didn’t seem to have a mother-child relationship at all. They didn’t even exchange letters.
The duchess quickly turned to Zenuit and found interest in him, perhaps she was already used to the flat attitude from the duke.
She lowered herself to look at Zenuit.
“Are you Zenuit?”
“Yes! It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace!”
“Oh, dear! You’re so cute.”
The duchess covered her mouth and burst out laughing.
“I already heard about you through the letter from Shilian. Thank you for coming here.”
The duchess smiled affectionately and caressed Zenuit’s head.
Whether she really liked kids, the look in her eyes when staring at Zenuit was heartwarming.
The duchess, who bent backward, spoke to Nelia and Duke Hart.
“You must’ve had a hard time coming all the way here, but should we drink warm tea first?”
***
As the owner of this family, Duke Hart was taking the duty of pouring and filling tea today.
It was ironic that the person with the highest status to pour the tea, but like before, but like before, this was the order of the duchess.
The duchess was very kind to Nelia and Zenuit, but merciless to Duke Hart.
As soon as the maid put down the teacup and teapot, she looked at the duke and said.
“Shilian, I’ll let you fill the cup. She’s not as good as a senior maid.”
“Even if you don’t say that, I was intending to.”
The duchess covered her mouth with a fan and smiled gracefully.
The duke poured the brewed tea to the beautiful-looking cup and handed it over. The duchess took it and said, ‘Thank you for the drink.’ and the same with Nelia.
On the other hand, Zenuit wasn’t very interested in tea, and he was just staring at the soft pudding brought with the tea.
The duchess, who noticed Zenuit, pushed the plate with pudding in front of him.
“Hurry up and eat, dear.”
“…..Thank you!”
With the duchess’ permission, Zenuit began to scoop up the pudding. His cheeks soon puffed up.
The duchess watched his appearance with a smile around her mouth, took a sip of her tea and put the teacup back on the table.
“Shilian.”
She slowly spoke up while staring at Duke Hart.
“About the spare basement I told you.”
When the duchess immediately brought up the basement, Nelia and Duke Hart quickly concentrated.
“I’ve never imagined it. I’ve been living in this castle for decades, and yet I didn’t know about the spare room. I was very surprised to find the basement.”