I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 116

 

The dining hall was filled with savory and sweet smells.

 

At the head of the table sat the Duchess, with me and Carson seated around the table facing each other.

 

The scene was not unlike a typical meal at the Ducal Palace.

 

However, I was somewhat puzzled by the familiarity of the scene.

 

“Uh… Duchess.”

 

The Duchess arched an eyebrow at my address, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

 

“You don’t address me as Mother anymore, now?”

 

I was only joking at the time.

 

‘She’s going to be my mother anyway, so it doesn’t matter.’

 

But we weren’t even engaged yet, and it felt a little weird to call her mom without joking around.

 

I lowered my gaze slightly sheepishly and said,  “I’m just not used to it yet, so I’ll try to get used to calling you mom.”

 

Looking at my face, she clutched her head as if she were suffering from some sort of dizziness.

 

“Aaah…”

 

Looking at the Duchess like that, I waited for her to calm down.

 

But she didn’t. The corners of her mouth twitched, and she said things like how cute I was, and how I should have had a child who looked more like me than Leon.

 

At first, whenever the Duchess acted like this, I worried she was ill.

 

But then I realized that it was a reaction to witnessing more than a lethal dose of cuteness.

 

After a moment, the Duchess calmed down and smiled at me, her expression full of warmth and grace.

 

“Well, then. Nobody’s going to force you to call us anything Leen if you’re not used to it, so call us whatever you like.”

 

I smiled back and thanked her briefly, and finally asked, I’d been wondering.

 

“Why does the Duchess always dine separately from the Duke?”

 

Since entering the ducal household, I had often dined with the Duchess.

 

With Carson, of course, I dined with him every meal.

 

But I had never shared a meal with the Duke. The Duchess batted her eyelashes as if she hadn’t expected to be asked that question.

 

“That’s because… we are still fighting, and there’s no way we can dine together while we’re still maintaining our separate rooms.”

 

I stopped picking at my salad with my fork.

 

‘Wait, you’re still not reconciled with the Duke…?’

 

“I thought we were settled on the issue of whether to have me as a daughter or a daughter-in-law?”

 

The Duchess nodded solemnly, “You’re right. But he needs to be scolded a bit.”

“What did the Duke do wrong…?”

 

The Duchess trailed off as she leisurely sliced into her steak.

 

“That stupid butler, who doesn’t even understand his master, bared his teeth to you, and all because Leon misled him?”

 

‘Oh my goodness, Mister!’

 

So that’s why you had that troubled look on your face every time I saw you.

 

I thought it was because you were busy with work, but I didn’t realize it was because of all the time spent with the Duchess.

 

I was trying to figure out how I could help him.

 

Carson, who had been silently slicing steaks across from me, spontaneously switched his plate with mine and spoke up.

 

“Come to think of it, Mother, since Leen was almost harmed, don’t you think it’s only right that we compensate her?”

 

Carson’s behavior made me laugh bitterly.

 

The steak on the plate was cut into bite-sized pieces. I don’t know whose husband he’s going to be, but he’s just so sweet.

 

I made a mouthed ‘thank you’. Carson flashed his biggest smile.

 

‘You too, thank you.’

 

Hmm? You’re the one who’s being considerate.

 

Tilting my head at an angle, he adds.

 

‘For coming to me.’

 

He’s never even proposed to me, yet he acts like he has it all figured out.

 

‘I haven’t come to you yet?’

 

‘So you’re coming tonight?’

 

Oh, look how relaxed he was. While I was still talking to him, I heard the Duchess’s fine voice.

 

“…Yes, I hadn’t thought of that.”

 

Her gaze lingers on me.

 

“Is there anything you want, anything at all?”

 

Realizing that this was my chance to bring the Duke and Duchess back together, I quickly racked my brain.

 

They didn’t fall for my tearful tactics last time. So this time, instead of a frontal assault, I’d go with the begging baby fox concept.

 

Oh, and before I do, I need to give you a lift so you don’t say two things at once.

 

“I’d like one thing, but… Oh, that’s not it.”

 

I pretended to have something, and the Duchess’s eyes lit up with interest.

 

“I told you before, you can tell me anything you want.”

 

“No. I was thinking too quickly, and I’m sure you’d feel bad if you heard it.”

 

She urged me on in a soothing, tender voice, “No matter what you say, I won’t be offended. It’s okay to say outrageous things, so go ahead.”

 

I hesitated for a long moment, then slowly opened my mouth.

 

“…I was hoping for a young master or a young lady.”

 

The Duchess’s expression turns puzzled.

 

“A master or lady?”

 

That must have been unexpected. She hasn’t even realized what I’m saying yet.

 

I added the words so she could understand, “That… younger brother.”

 

The Duchess’s eyes widened with a small sigh, as if she finally realized what I meant.

 

Carson happens to be an only child. 

 

Having a brother, sister-in-law, or younger sibling…

 

The use of the term ‘younger sibling’ implied that Leen would be coming in as a daughter-in-law, but it was also a way of cheering the Duke and Duchess on to a smooth sleep.

 

“Oh, what a darling.”

 

The Duchess blushed and fanned herself busily, as if trying to cool off.

 

“I’ll try, if you say so.”

 

There was no way she could have had a second plan based on my words, so that meant sharing a room with the Duke.

 

I rolled my eyes in relief.

 

“It’s just our mother, after all.”

 

🍃

 

That night. I headed to the Duke’s office to see if the Duke and Duchess had safely settled in.

 

If they had, the Duke would have retired early and gone to bed.

 

The Duchess had a routine of going to bed early and getting up early.

 

But was something wrong, or was it just a long day?

 

Bright light streamed into the office through the slightly ajar door.

 

I sighed softly and turned to go inside to ask the Duke what was wrong.

 

If it weren’t for the voice from inside.

 

“…Are you sure, Sylvia?”

 

“Do you think I’d ever lie to you about something like this?”

 

It was the Duke and Duchess. I approached in surprise and watched them through the open doorway.

 

“Why, why… what’s the sudden catch?”

 

The Duke’s puzzled expression was followed by the Duchess’s voice filled with laughter.

 

“Well, Leen says she wishes she had a younger sibling.”

 

The Duke seemed to take it at face value and said with a puzzled expression.

 

“Sylvia, even though it’s Leen’s request, it’s a bit…”

 

“What?”

 

The Duke began to confess his feelings in the most serious voice in the world.

 

“I have enough on my plate with Carson. And I don’t want any more of your attention to be divided between me and another.”

 

I slapped my forehead.

 

What an idiot…

 

But fortunately, the Duchess seemed to find the clueless Duke endearing.

 

The corners of her mouth lifted, and the Duchess said, “Oh, I see, so I don’t have to go through the process of having Caon’s little brother?”

 

It was only a matter of moments. The Duke scooped the Duchess up into a princess-carrying position.

 

‘Oh my.’ I covered my mouth with both hands and watched the events unfold in excitement.

 

The Duke spoke in a somewhat lowered voice, “Now that I think about it, a daughter like Leen would be fine.”

 

“I thought you said you didn’t want my attention divided?”

 

The Duchess replied bluntly, but casually, as if she’d seen this coming, her hand tightening around the nape of the Duke.

 

“But isn’t Leen the one who brought us to this situation? That’s more than worthy of your attention.”

 

“Haha, exactly.”

 

The Duke kissed the bridge of the Duchess’s nose.

 

“Tomorrow’s breakfast will be for Leen and Carson alone.”

 

“And us?”

 

“We’ll be fast asleep by then. We have work to do tonight.”

 

With those words, a magic circle formed at the Duke’s feet, and the two creatures disappeared.

 

“Wow, I did something right.”

 

I turned away from the burning couple with a sense of pride.

 

Tonight, I would be able to stretch out my feet and sleep.

 

🍃

 

It’s been a week since I’ve had breakfast with the Duchess.

 

At this point, I’m starting to feel a little uneasy.

 

Surely it’s not really because of me that Caon could have a sibling…?

 

Of course, the birth of a new life was a blessing.

 

But I also felt like it would be a huge responsibility. I felt sorry for Carson, who had been an only child his entire life.

 

I glanced over at Carson, who was facing Dobby with a more complicated expression on his face.

 

No, actually, Dobby was being scolded by Carson, unilaterally.

 

Dobby was being yelled at for spending time alone with me.

 

Oh, and by the way, the reason Dobby was at the Duke’s…

 

Because Carson brought Dobby to the Duke’s estate the next day after I mentioned in passing that I wanted to see him.

 

Luckily, the Duke and Duchess didn’t say much when they saw him.

 

The Duchess seemed delighted to have a new pet.

 

Of course, there was a bit of a headache with Dobby barking at men.

 

Looking at Dobby, who was barking furiously at him, the Duke spoke without a care in the world.

 

— ‘Demon meat is such a delicacy.’

 

From that day forward, the number of men Dobby didn’t bark at increased from one, Carson, to two, including the Duke.

 

“Hing…”

 

Dobby’s pitiful cries brought me back to my senses, and I decided it was time to take charge of the situation.

 

“Caon.”

 

At my call, Carson spun around to face me, and he came running towards me, his eyes wide.

 

“Yes, Leen. You called?”

 

I asked him softly, letting out a small laugh.

 

“Do you like children?”

 

The answer came out very quickly.

 

“No. I don’t like them.”

 

“Oh…really?”

 

His voice softened slightly, and Carson tilted his head in question.

 

“Why that suddenly?”

 

“Ugh, nothing.”

 

I swallowed hard at the mention that he might have a little sibling sooner or later.

 

I simply hoped that the Duchess had taken her medication as well as I had, before she went through with it.