I Live With My Villain Uncle Chapter 21

“Oh, my apologies. I’ll be more careful. I couldn’t help it because I found it fascinating. Please don’t misunderstand; I meant nothing by it.”

“……”

“Picking a fight with the Marquis would be the same as picking a fight with House Vallier. Surely I wouldn’t do such a thing. I merely wished to exchange greetings, but it seems today is not the right day.”

The turtle grandfather wiped away a cold sweat as he excused himself, saying he had somewhere else to be, and left.

He continued smiling the whole time, but there was something distinctly unpleasant about that smile.

Perhaps he had decided to retreat first in the face of Uncle’s intimidating presence.

As soon as the turtle grandfather disappeared, Uncle’s fierce aura subsided as well.

“Uncle, I think I’ve heard that old man’s voice somewhere before.”

I mumbled as I dangled from Uncle’s neck, my arms wrapped around it.

“Where could you have heard that bastard’s voice? You’ve never even been to places like this.”

“I really have. I’m sure I’ve heard his voice before…… Where was it?”

“You probably mistook it for some old man’s voice.”

“No! Grandfather’s voice is deeper and cooler! I really have heard it somewhere……”

Even if they sounded similar, everyone’s voice was different.

Very subtly different, I mean!

I had told Uncle that several times, but he never believed me.

“Uncle, but you have to be careful of snakes and turtles.”

“……”

“Did you know that, too? Mom told me.”

“You don’t need to worry about things like that.”

I glanced around at the surroundings flying past us, and in an instant, people’s gazes latched onto us.

Some looked extremely delighted, while others looked frightened.

Apparently, whenever Uncle and I did anything together, people’s attention was drawn to us.

Since I had a reliable shield protecting me, I decided to endure it.

There were lots of strangers around, but there was plenty of delicious food, and I liked the sound of the music, too.

Come to think of it, there wasn’t a single person my age here.

“Uncle, are we going home now? Don’t my friends come here?”

“What friends?”

“Doesn’t Ruspe come here?”

“Unlike you, he actually listens. He doesn’t come.”

Hmph. I deliberately stuck out my lips in a pout.

Even though Uncle wasn’t heading toward the center of the banquet hall, young ladies kept appearing from here and there to greet him, as though they had materialized out of nowhere.

But Uncle never once returned their greetings face-to-face.

It was as if there had been nothing in front of him from the beginning. He simply carved his way forward.

I wanted to greet them on his behalf, but Uncle was moving so quickly that I couldn’t even do that.

“Oh my, Marquis. Hello?”

As we abruptly turned a corner in the hallway, a pretty young lady with yellow hair twisted into a neat round bun appeared in front of us, fluttering a fan.

She had dimples in both cheeks, and the ends of her eyelashes were long, like the tail feathers of a bird.

“……”

Uncle simply walked past her.

“Oh, come now. That won’t do.”

The pretty young lady seemed accustomed to this. She swiftly twisted around and blocked our path.

She was incredibly fast.

“I came because the young ladies seemed unusually noisy today, and I see it’s true. You’ve taken the trouble to attend this banquet, so surely you aren’t already on your way out?”

“……”

“My goodness, who comes to a banquet held for the purpose of having fun just to take care of business? His Grace the Duke even provided expensive liquor today.”

A sigh filled with annoyance escaped between Uncle’s lips.

“What is it?”

“I was going to leave you alone if I could help it.”

Whenever someone approached Uncle, they would usually flinch the moment his eyes sharpened and hurry off, but this young lady seemed different somehow.

I was looking back and forth between them in fascination when my eyes happened to meet hers.

The pretty young lady smiled softly, as though she were trying to lure me in, and extended the fan she had been gently fluttering toward me.

I reached out my hand as if hypnotized, but Uncle blocked me.

At the same time, the fan swiftly moved away.

“I came all the way to find you because I have some information you need, Marquis. If you turn me away today, I think you’ll regret it quite a lot.”

Then she gave me a playful wink instead of Uncle.

I hurriedly winked back in return, but all I managed to do was make my vision go completely dark.

“Pfft. Ah, how cute.”

Embarrassed, I pretended not to notice and buried my face in the back of Uncle’s neck.

“Gerard, keep an eye on the kid. I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes, my lord.”

But the Uncle I thought was on my side suddenly handed me straight over to Gerard.

“Uncle, are you leaving?”

Before he could get too far, I quickly grabbed his clothes, and Uncle pressed down firmly on my head.

“I’ll be back soon, so stay put and behave.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

At the same time, I took the hand Gerard held out to me.

The pretty young lady followed Uncle, fluttering her fan at me once more as if bidding me goodbye.

Gerard had said Uncle didn’t have a girlfriend.

But still, maybe……?

“Gerard.”

I beckoned with my hand, asking Gerard to bring his ear closer.

Gerard bent deeply at the waist.

“Yes?”

“Is that lady Uncle’s friend? His girlfriend? She’s so pretty. Her hair is yellow, and she’s wearing a yellow dress, too!”

Gerard burst out laughing.

“Absolutely not.”

“She’s not?”

“No. Their interests simply happen to align, so they are heading in the same direction. Shall we sit at that quiet table over there?”

“Hmm……. The fountain!”

Instead of the place Gerard pointed to, I pointed toward the outdoor area connected to the terrace.

It was quieter than the central hall, and there were lots of softly glowing lanterns. I had wanted to go there ever since I caught a glimpse of it earlier.

Honestly, people’s attention was drawn to me even when I merely gestured, so I wanted to get away from all those eyes, too.

“Yes. It’s not cold at night anymore, so that should be fine.”

“Wow, Gerard! Can I climb on top of the fountain?”

The falling droplets sparkled beneath the lanterns hanging above.

“You cannot climb onto the fountain, Young lady. Your dress and hair will get wet. How about the table beside it?”

And if you climb onto the fountain, my lord will kill me.

Gerard stopped me and added that part in his head.

Well, in that case, I had no choice.

I brushed off my dress and sat down on the chair Gerard led me to.

It was a spot where I could see the fountain straight ahead.

I gazed at the large fountain, mesmerized by the sparkling water cascading down.

Tiny droplets splashed against my face, not enough to get me wet but enough to feel refreshing.

It would be fun to jump right into that water.

Regretfully, I stretched out my hand and let the droplets bouncing out of the fountain land on it.

Then I suddenly turned my head, only to find that many people had come outside onto the terrace as well.

There was even a group sneaking glances in this direction.

It felt like quite a long time had passed, but Uncle still hadn’t returned.

He said he’d be back soon. Uncle was a liar.

Maybe because I hadn’t finished eating earlier, I felt like I had digested everything already, and I had finished looking at the fountain, too.

Hmm!

“Uncle must be busy.”

“It seems so. He’ll be back soon. Shall we go to the carriage first?”

“Mmm, no. I want to wait here. Gerard, can I have some of that, too?”

People were carrying a cake taller than I was into the banquet hall.

I could even see an old man wearing a chef’s hat like Grandma Sophie’s.

Everyone’s attention was drawn toward it, and exclamations erupted from all around.

Maybe because the cake was white, it looked as though a wedding dress were being carried inside.

“That huge cake?”

“Yeah! When I was little, I wanted to bury myself in a giant cake like that and eat my way out.”

Gerard’s lips twitched.

“Just how little were you?”

“When I was five? No. Maybe I was four!”

“……That certainly was a very long time ago. I’ll bring you some. Ah, but…… Hmm. If I’d known this would happen, I should have brought Zenda along.”

Gerard started to move, then hesitated.

“I’ll stay right here and behave!”

Fortunately, a servant attending the banquet happened to be passing nearby.

“Then I’ll ask that attendant to bring it for me. My apologies, Young lady.”

“Mmm! No, it’s okay!”

Gerard returned in less than a minute.

I swung my legs beside Gerard, brimming with anticipation for the sweet cake.

From inside came a loud round of applause followed by a great chorus of exclamations.

They must be cutting the cake!

More laughter erupted.

Before long, the attendant brought over a huge slice of cake.

“There was a cake-cutting ceremony, so it took a little longer. Still, since I heard the little princess would be eating it, I asked for the prettiest piece from the top.”

The cake was piled high with all kinds of fruit.

There were pastel-colored chocolate balls, too.

It was the sort of food Zenda would probably scold me for eating at night, but there was even a single candle stuck into the top of the cake.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you!”

I followed Gerard’s lead and thanked him as well.

The servant looked startled, then smiled warmly.

“Not at all! It’s my duty, after all. Please enjoy your evening.”

The servant bowed and walked away, and I quickly picked up my fork.

“Gerard, this……”