The Villainous Duke Lady Hides Her Identity – Chapter 10

Author: arnlian

At the sudden words, Lephonia quietly caught her breath in surprise.

‘Could it be that he’s figured out why I’ve been wandering around?’

Duke Craytan tapped gently on Lephonia’s leg, which looked so fragile it might break at any moment, and said,

“If you keep walking on that leg, it really might break someday.”

“Huh?”

Human bones don’t just break from walking. There was no way he didn’t know that. What was he talking about?

“I’m planning to call a craftsman soon to make a wooden horse for you to ride around the mansion. Once it’s ready, you can use that to get around.”

Lephonia narrowed her eyes and glanced at Duke Craytan.

That was just an excuse. Maybe he’d noticed something suspicious and was trying to stop her.

‘But it’s already too late.’

Thanks to her persistent wandering, she had already memorized the layout of the main building.

“Got it.”

Seeing that she didn’t protest, Duke Craytan patted Lephonia on the back.

“Daughters are hard to deal with.”

Despite his words, the way he patted her showed the ease of someone used to handling children. Perhaps it was because he had raised his two sons himself.

His hand, which looked like it could hurt when it struck, was unexpectedly gentle as it rested on her shoulder.

Growl.

As the tension eased, a loud rumbling sound echoed through the room.

The Duke and Lephonia’s eyes both turned toward the source.

Growl.

‘This shameless stomach!’

Lephonia’s stomach, which had been quiet until now, growled loudly, as if it could no longer bear the hunger.

“So loud.”

The Duke said, laughing heartily as if amused.

“I came to see you, Duke, but I—I haven’t eated anyfing yet.”

“My bad.”

Though Lephonia awkwardly tried to explain herself, the Duke immediately took the blame. His noble pride and status were so lofty that Lephonia was genuinely surprised at how easily he admitted fault.

The Duke left the conference room, heading toward the dining hall. Naturally, Lephonia grabbed the Duke’s neck with her small hand and followed him.

Since they had been walking around together often lately, she was now used to it.

“Phonia, aren’t you curious about anything?”

“Huh?”

“You haven’t asked where we’re going, or why you’re not supposed to wander around until the wooden horse is ready. You haven’t questioned a single thing I’ve said.”

“……”

“Phonia, I’ve never seen you ask ‘why.’”

It meant she didn’t ask needlessly, didn’t whine, and didn’t demand explanations. In other words, it was a compliment.

“I’ll work hard from now on.”

Lephonia answered sincerely.

The Duke thought to himself, As expected, daughters are difficult, and then entered the dining hall.

“Bring some meat.”

Despite it being a late breakfast, the Duke had the child’s meat dish prepared first and carefully seated Lephonia.

As the food was set on the table, neither of them spoke a word. After a while, the Duke hesitantly broke the silence with an awkward comment.

“Now that I see it, you’ve changed your hairpin. It looks good. Pretty.”

Lephonia, slightly surprised, touched her hairpin for the first time. Though he said it looked good, her face turned red with embarrassment. There was no way such a pretty hairpin wouldn’t look good on her.

“Duke, I heard you already ate.”

“Still, it’s lonely eating alone.”

Lephonia reacted as if she’d heard something strange and tilted her head.

“Ah, not you, Phonia. It’s me.”

At those words, the Duke ordered another meal to be prepared for himself. But it had only been an hour since he’d finished eating. And now he was eating again?

“I must have gotten hungry from hearing such nonsense since this morning.”

Maybe he simply wanted to eat together?

Lephonia closed her mouth and quietly chewed her steamed forkful. Once all the food had been served, Duke Craytan began eating with elegant manners.

Lephonia also picked up her utensils and began to eat.

“Phonia, does it taste good?”

“Yup, yummy.”

“The chef deserves a reward. Tell him to come to my office during the afternoon break.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Watching the Duke eat calmly and with genuine enjoyment, Lephonia realized he really had been starving.

‘He thought of me and joined for a meal. No way, that can’t be true.’

Lephonia relaxed her face and ate more comfortably. Even though she didn’t know much, she agreed that the chef should indeed be rewarded.

‘It would be nice if I could eat like this later too.’

But she knew that would never happen. Once she left this mansion, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy such food or comfort again.

‘I should enjoy it while I can.’

As Lephonia focused on the meal, Duke Craytan finally set down his utensils.

A servant brought over tea said to be good for digestion and quietly placed it in front of the Duke.

* * *

It had already been a week since the vassals arrived at the mansion.

The vassals bustled about, busy with their affairs.

“Do you realize how prestigious the Craytan is? Second only to the royal family in this empire! And you, how dare you—”

“Wow, so I’ve ended up in such a grand family. Good to know. But if that’s true, then I’m the daughter of a family second only to the royal family… Can you really call me just ‘you’ then?”

Hearing about how important the family was, the child seemed genuinely impressed and looked around in wonder.

“Your Grace, my ring is missing! The precious ring my wife gave me as a gift! The young lady looked at it with such longing. Could it be—?”

“This ring you say is missing?”

“Yes, that’s mine! She stole it from me! Your Grace, this is a clear crime! A serious offense in a family dedicated to safeguarding the peace and stability of the empire! We cannot simply let it go—”

“I saw you go into my bedroom earlier with the Duke.”

They tried to turn the situation around and accuse the child of theft, twisting the facts to suit their needs.

“Your Grace, the young lady is suspicious no matter how you look at it. I believe she’s a spy sent here to bring ruin to this household—”

“What’s a spy?”

The child looked back and forth between the vassal and Duke Craytan, her eyes bright with curiosity.

“Young lady, I will give you as much money as you want. In return, if you would leave this house—”

“Duke, they say they’ll give me money to leave. How much should I ask for?”

They even tried to bribe the child with money.

And yet, despite all their efforts, they failed miserably.

“This is no ordinary child,”

Late at night.

The vassals gathered in secret, voices low and wary.

“From morning until night, she never leaves the Duke’s side.”

“There’s no chance to even look into anything.”

“We should’ve seen it coming when she boldly walked into the conference room.”

“She plans to dig in her roots here, I’m sure of it.”

“She’s a cunning child. A child who doesn’t even know her place… daring to have ambitions.”

No one had imagined they’d need to be so vigilant against a five-year-old. The thought alone was almost laughable, yet none of them were smiling.

“We can’t treat her like an ordinary child. If she’s this ambitious already, what will she become when she grows up?”

Their eyes met in the gloom, a chilling understanding passing between them.

“Hire a mercenary. Kidnap the child and kill her.”

“I agree.”

“Find someone skilled and discreet. No mistakes.”

No matter how clever a five-year-old might be, none could withstand the blade of a skilled mercenary.

“It’s unfortunate for the child, but we serve House of Craytan above all else.”

“Of course. Everything we do is for the family’s sake.”

“The child’s ambition will be her own undoing. She had her chances, we warned her.”

One by one, they shared their opinions.

A final plan was set in motion, they would hire an assassin, with that grim decision made, they fell silent.

All the murmurs of the servants faded, leaving only the call of a night bird echoing in the quiet.

From behind a pillar where she’d been hiding, Lephonia stepped out, having concealed her presence the entire time.

“Trash.”

After Duke Craytan had put her to bed and left,

Lephonia had guessed the servants might gather again, she turned her back quietly.

“Haa.”

She’d expected them to come up with another plan, but she hadn’t thought they’d actually decide to kill a five-year-old child.

“It’s hard for children to survive anywhere.”

With her short arms crossed, Lephonia lifted her gaze to the moonlit sky.

‘If only they had ignored me, I would have left on my own once I found the heirloom.’

A skilled and discreet mercenary

Lephonia recalled the words the servants had used.

“That’s me.”

Among the many children raised by the Pope, Lephonia, as the first daughter, had once been called the best, the “prodigy daughter.”

She looked up as she returned to the main building.

Still has work to do, the window of the duke’s office was still warmly lit.

‘He spent the whole day with me, so night is the only time he has left for work.’

Because the vassals were coming and going so frequently, Lephonia hadn’t yet been assigned an escort knight.

Perhaps suspecting something, the Duke Craytan had even begun watching the knights more closely lately.

‘The servants probably don’t know this.’

She intended to settle things before the escort was officially assigned.

Lephonia hummed a tune as she walked to her bedroom.

“Hmm hmm hmm.”

Though she’d never heard real music before, the melody felt just right.

As she entered, a gentle warmth wrapped around her. The Duke insisted children shouldn’t feel cold, so the heating in her room was always perfect.

The maids took turns, tending the firewood and heating, and soon one would come by.

Lephonia lay down on her bed and pulled the blanket up.

Pretending to sleep, she matched her breathing just as a maid entered the room.

After checking the firewood and ventilation, the maid confirmed Lephonia was asleep, then quietly closed the windows and left.

Once the maid was gone, Lephonia slowly sat up. She made her way to the small private room connected to the bedroom, where she usually changed or bathed.

Still humming, she picked up a familiar bottle of perfume.

Sniff sniff. The scent was just as pleasant as always.

When she opened the window, a soft breeze floated in.

“Sorry, owner of this room.”

Without a trace of guilt, Lephonia whispered the apology to the real lady of Craytan, then hurled the perfume bottle at the wall near the window.

Clank!!

The sharp sound of shattering glass echoed through the room. Flames burst forth instantly, spreading rapidly, licking the drapes, then leaping onto the furniture and carpet, devouring everything in their path.

Whoosh—!

The fire engulfed the vanity, then crawled over the velvet curtains, the carpet, the wooden chair, and the sofa.

The Church had taught her well, oil lamps and alcohol-based perfume made perfect accelerants for covert fires.

Using these inside the house meant no one could trace the blaze back to its source.

‘This should be enough.’

The carpet near the bedroom door caught fire, sealing off any chance of escape.

With all her preparations complete, Lephonia slipped quietly to the far side of the bed.

‘How long will it take?’

Just as the maid had seen earlier, she lay down in the exact same position.

Amidst the roaring flames consuming the bedroom.

“Duke.”

Lephonia pulled the blanket up to her chin and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.