I Live With My Villain Uncle Chapter 25

“It’s not just some random thing. It’s important…… important…… important…… Ah! It’s an important document!”

I almost panicked when the word suddenly slipped my mind.

We were still bickering over it when—

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door, a little more urgently than usual.

“My lord, it’s Reto.”

“Come in.”

Uncle was warning me not to even think about making him stamp it when Reto entered.

But there was a troubled look on his face.

“A guest has come to see you.”

“I have no appointments today. Send her away.”

Uncle waved his hand dismissively without giving it a second thought.

“She says she is Miss Green. She’s crying at the entrance, begging to see you just once……”

“Why are you making me say it twice?”

Uncle’s voice turned icy.

“……My apologies. I’ll send her away.”

“She’ll probably just keep crying in the carriage anyway. It’s not like she’s rolling around on the ground, bawling her eyes out. Don’t make such a fuss over it. Just send her away.”

“Yes, I’ll have her leave immediately.”

Reto bowed and went back out.

I went back to eating my ice cream with my spoon.

There was almost nothing left.

“Uncle.”

“What.”

“Market.”

“What?”

“Market.”

“……”

Hurry.

Still sitting in my chair, I reached out and tugged on Uncle’s clothes.

“I finished eating, so let’s go to the flower shop. I want to give some to Grandfather and Ruspe, too.”

“Can’t we go tomorrow?”

Uncle made no effort to hide how annoyed he was.

He knew we were going to the Imperial Palace tomorrow!

“Mean Uncle…… Liar Uncle…… Bad Uncle…… Nasty Uncle…… Ice-Cream-Pig Uncle…… Hippo Uncle…… Lying Uncle……”

I muttered under my breath while scraping the bottom of the ice cream bowl vigorously with my spoon.

At that, Uncle finally raised the white flag.

“Fine. Let’s go, let’s go.”

I grinned and climbed down from my chair.

 

***

 

I obediently let Zenda get me ready to go out.

I stood there with both arms stretched out while Zenda, saying this was the last thing, fastened the gold nameplate necklace around my neck.

It was the same gold necklace Uncle had put around my neck last time, with my name engraved on it.

Wait.

Why did it seem even bigger than before?

“All right, you’re all done. Now let me check your ribbon one more time.”

“Zenda, do I really have to wear this? I don’t like the name tag.”

Zenda looked troubled.

“It’s just a necklace, isn’t it? And if you don’t wear it, you’ll really get scolded. Your uncle said you absolutely have to wear it whenever you go outside.”

“But everyone stares at me when I wear it.”

“They’re not staring because of the name tag. They’re staring because you’re so adorable.”

“You just called it a name tag, too.”

“Ah.”

Zenda gave an awkward little smile, but it was already too late.

At Zenda’s earnest pleading, I had no choice but to get into the carriage with the gold plate jingling around my neck.

Uncle was dressed very casually, in a shirt and black pants.

And yet he looked incredibly cool.

“Uncle, you know, if you made this name tag a little smaller……”

“Don’t want to get out?”

“Ah, no!”

Uncle was seriously too mean.

He was always threatening me.

I only relaxed after the carriage door closed and leaned against Zenda.

As we passed through the garden and headed out the main gate, there was another carriage waiting near the entrance.

A woman was standing in front of it, simply waiting there.

I could tell she was a woman because she was wearing a dress, but I couldn’t see her face very well.

Yet when our carriage came out, she stepped directly in front of it, even though there was no danger at all.

The carriage, which hadn’t been moving very quickly yet, came to an abrupt stop.

I opened my eyes wide.

The woman ran over to the side of the carriage.

“Marquis! I’m Rosina Green. I came because I wanted to see you! I want to apologize!”

Her voice was half-choked with tears.

Perhaps because the carriage was so high, all I could see was her black hat with a wide brim and flowers attached to it.

Huh?

That voice……

I think I heard it at the banquet.

Uncle sharply pulled the reins, and the carriage moved aside before its wheels soon began rolling again.

I could hear people outside shouting for her to move, and then there were loud voices as though the guards at the main gate had caught her.

“Uncle, that person keeps calling out to you……”

Uncle didn’t even glance toward the window, as though he couldn’t care less.

“Learn from this. How to deal with trash.”

I didn’t understand what he meant, so I looked at Zenda.

Zenda covered both my ears with her hands.

“My lord. Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but please use gentler words around the young lady. Now that you have entrusted her to me and asked me to care for her, I won’t allow anything that could harm her.”

Her voice was noticeably muffled because my ears were covered, but I could still hear everything that mattered.

Zenda was so cool!

And for now, I decided to keep the method Uncle had personally demonstrated for “dealing with trash” in my head.

If someone blocks the carriage, ignore them.

I’d have to ask Uncle about the exact details later.

When Zenda lowered her hands from my ears, Uncle sighed that raising one little kid was this difficult.

At the same time, the cries from outside followed us once more, begging him to let her see him just one more time.

The carriage left the woman behind without mercy and headed toward the market.

But…… was it really okay to do that?

Uncle genuinely showed not the slightest bit of interest, so my attention soon drifted away from her, too.

 

***

 

By the time I had forgotten what happened at the main gate while watching the scenery through the window, the carriage stopped in front of a carriage depot near the entrance to the market.

Uncle got out first, and then he grabbed me under both arms and lifted me down.

The market immediately came into view.

Delicious smells drifted into my nose.

“Wow, Uncle! Look over there!”

Someone was practically running while pushing a cart piled high with bread as big as balloons.

The loaves stacked on top wobbled as though they might tumble over at any moment, yet somehow they managed to stay balanced as they were carried along.

It was practically a circus act.

“You said we were going to the flower shop.”

Uncle reminded me why we had come to the market.

I nodded, then immediately whipped my head to the side.

Wait.

If I said we should go to the flower shop now, wouldn’t we just buy flowers and go straight home?

Uncle was more than capable of doing exactly that.

He had done nothing but take care of business at the banquet, after all!

Mom didn’t come out often, but there was only one flower shop she used to visit.

And because she always bought flowers and immediately went home, I knew exactly how to get there from here……!

But I wanted to look around the market.

I didn’t want to just buy flowers and leave like I had when I came here with Mom.

I am seven years old now.

I wanted to see a bigger world.

It was about time, surely.

Absolutely.

It was also true that the things I had heard at the banquet—that Mom had hidden me away and raised me in secret—had been bothering me.

Why had Mom hidden me?

I had never hidden myself.

I was terribly curious, but if I asked, Uncle might remember what happened that day and get angry again.

So I should keep quiet.

But that thought didn’t last long.

“Quit racking that tiny little head of yours and lead the way. We’re buying flowers and leaving.”

Uncle gave me a sidelong look and laid down the law.

I had been puffing out my cheeks, pretending we were going to the flower shop while secretly wondering where I should explore first.

Now all the air went right out of me.

Maybe Uncle really could read my mind.

Otherwise, how did he manage to stop me every single time I thought of something?

“Uncleee.”

“What.”

“Market……”

“What?”

“I’ve never looked around the market before……”

I couldn’t think of a good way to persuade him.

How could this happen?

I agonized over it, then looked up at Uncle with the saddest face I could make.

Uncle’s eyebrows twitched twice before he let out a deep sigh.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

Uncle reluctantly gave me permission.

I immediately brightened and dragged Uncle into the market.

 

***

 

I shouldn’t have lost to those teary eyes.

I should have known the moment Aika’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Cassel swallowed a deep groan inwardly and pressed a hand to his forehead.

“Hello!”

“Oh, hello there, little lady! I can’t believe I’m getting a greeting from a noble young lady.”

“Mister, have a nice day! Your hat is really cool!”

“Uh, yes? You have a nice day, too! Your dress is dazzling!”

“Thank you!”

That was because she had started greeting every merchant she happened to make eye contact with as they walked past.

If she got any friendlier, she looked ready to introduce herself and give them her entire life story.

And without having the slightest idea what might be dangerous, she was stuffing every little snack the merchants offered her straight into her mouth.

“Would you like to try one of these, little lady?”

With Cassel watching from behind her, no merchant who wanted to live out the rest of his natural life would dare give her anything dangerous.

“Thank you! Wow, it’s so delicious! I think it’s the most delicious thing in the world!”

“Oh my, what a sweet little talker. No wonder you look like a doll, you must take after your father! Oh—th-that gentleman is…… Eek.”

Only then did the shopkeepers notice the gold nameplate around Aika’s neck.

Their faces went deathly pale.