I Reincarnated As An Evil Duchess - Chapter 134
Translator: Nabi
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Chapter 134
Side Story 7 — Happily Ever After
“…What is that?”
Noah, looking intrigued by Seth’s words, lifted his head and gazed at him. In response, he lightly pulled the chubby child’s cheek and answered,
“Would you draw a picture for her by the evening? Whether it’s a flower, a bird, or anything you like. If you draw something and give it as a gift, wouldn’t that be a nice way to express gratitude?”
“…Is it okay if it’s not jewelry or roses befitting a noble lady?”
“Well, I think it would be fine. What do you think?”
In response to Noah’s question, as Seth turned to Min-ha and asked, she smiled widely before gently pulling the child closer with one arm and answering with a kiss on his cheek and forehead.
“Of course it’s okay! I actually needed a picture to decorate one side of the bedroom wall, so I was wondering if Noah could draw it for me? I would be truly happy.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely! I believe a picture drawn by Noah is better than jewelry or roses.”
When she responded without hesitation, he then broke into a wide smile.
‘Why is he so adorable?’
At the thought, Min-ha pulled Noah even tighter. The child, giggling, nestled into her embrace. Overwhelmed by this lovely sight, she rubbed her cheeks against his soft hair and showered him with kisses.
“….”
And Seth, who had been watching the two friendly people with a complex gaze, stood up and separated the two who were cuddling close before opening his mouth.
“…Calm down, both of you. If you keep doing this, Noah, you’ll suffocate Noah.”
“Oh, is that so? I’m sorry, Noah.”
“I’m fine…”
He then spoke to Noah, who was shaking his head, while ruffling the child’s round head with one hand.
“Noah.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t you think it would be better to reciprocate for the doll you received as soon as possible? I think it would be good to have the drawing finished before dinner.”
“Oh, right! I will!”
Upon his brother’s words, the child’s eyes widened, and he nodded vigorously before completely breaking free from Min-ha’s embrace. Then, tightly clutching the doll he had been holding, he planted a kiss on both Min-ha and Seth’s cheeks and swiftly scurried off to the eastern annex.
However, in the midst of his sudden run, Noah abruptly stopped, waving his little arms towards the two of them, and shouted.
“Well then, see you at dinner!”
“Okay. I’ll see you then.”
“…Huh? Uh? Y-yeah!”
Only then did Noah finally grin satisfactorily and immediately dart off towards the eastern annex.
As Min-ha watched Noah’s figure rapidly disappear, she took Seth’s outstretched hand and stood up when the child was no longer in sight. Afterwards, after trying to smooth out the wrinkled hem of her dress that had creased from sitting, she looked at Seth, who was looking at her affectionately, and spoke without letting any resentment show.
“What you said earlier was meant to chase Noah away, wasn’t it?”
“…Well?”
“Duke Seth Persen. Are you jealous of your younger brother right now?”
“Well, if I were to say not at all, that would be a lie, Duchess Persen.”
“…You’re a fool.”
“They say you become a fool when you fall in love. Would it be any different for me? Even if I’m known as the Emperor’s Sword to others, in front of the person I love, I become a well-behaved cat.”
“What’s that?”
Min-ha let out a small laugh at the whimsical response.
Seth, who gazed at her with an affectionate expression, sneakily lowered his gaze to her hand. In her hand was a small lion doll that she had been holding onto since she embraced Noah a little while ago. Despite the fact that he seemed to know what it was and to whom it belonged, he intentionally pretended not to know and asked her.
“By the way, what’s that thing you’ve been holding in your hand since earlier?”
“Oh? This? Oh my…!”
Startled by his question, she quickly hid the doll-holding hand behind her back.
‘Oh, no! I wasn’t expecting to run into him like this. Could he have seen everything just now, and that’s why he’s asking?’
Feeling her face flush with embarrassment, Min-ha spoke awkwardly and hesitantly.
“Th-that’s, uh…”
“Is it a secret from me?”
“No! I mean, it’s not like that!”
‘…What should I do?’
Flustered, she rolled her eyes in confusion.
She didn’t want to give him a ring and say ‘I want to be with you tonight’ so abruptly. At least, she wanted to give it to him with well-crafted words and a good atmosphere. So, in order to divert Seth’s attention from the doll hidden behind his back, Min-ha hastily changed the topic.
“Oh! R-right… By the way! What, uh, brings you here at this hour?”
“I told you earlier that I wanted to come see you as soon as I finished my urgent business.”
“Ah, right! So, did you just come to see my face? You didn’t come here because you had something to say or something to do?”
Seth chuckled briefly at Min-ha’s hurried attempt to change the subject, blurting out any words that came to mind. Her flustered appearance was cute and adorable, but he thought that if he teased her further, his shy partner might get angry.
Deciding to go along with what she wanted at this point, he responded.
“As expected, you’re quick-witted.”
“…Uh, huh?”
“While it’s true that I came because I missed you, the truth is, I was looking for you because I have something I want to show you.”
“…Something you want to show? What is it?”
“You’ll know when you see it.”
When she asked with a curious expression while tilting her head, Seth, instead of explaining in detail, extended his hand. Taking his outstretched hand, Min-ha allowed him to interlock their fingers, and they began to walk together.
Seth adjusted his pace to match her slow steps, and they headed towards the back gate of the Persen Mansion. Arriving at the imposing door, which seemed at least twice the height of Min-ha, adorned with a beautiful hanging horse ornament, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her into the saddle.
Min-ha, startled by the sudden elevation of her view and the slight swaying motion of the horse beneath her, let out a short scream.
“Kyaak!”
“Sorry, did I startle you?”
“Oh, no… It’s just that it’s my first time riding a horse.”
As he asked with concern, Min-ha gently nodded as she answered. It wasn’t frightening, just a bit surprising and bewildering because it was her first time.
Seth, who had been observing her face, smiled reassuringly and effortlessly jumped onto the horse. As the horse began to move slowly, she anxiously embraced his waist, who had climbed in front of her.
“Mother!”
“Haha, it’s okay. This guy is gentle, so he won’t throw off the person riding on his back.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. But keep your arms around my waist like you are now.”
“Why? You said he’s gentle?”
“I’m going to speed up a bit from now on.”
“Huh? Why? Don’t tell me what you want to show me is so far away that we need to ride a horse to get there—Oh my!”
Even though she wanted to ask where they were going and what he wanted to show her, before she could ask any more questions, the horse, guided by Seth, who loosened the reins, swiftly galloped forward as if to cut off any further questions.
As the horse began to run, the large gate opened effortlessly.
Min-ha, wanting to enjoy the endless forest path, held onto Seth’s waist even more tightly to avoid being left behind by the rapidly running horse, making her hair flutter. Amidst this, she was so preoccupied with the doll in her hand that she didn’t even have time to look at the surrounding scenery passing by quickly.
‘Where on earth are we going that we need to ride this fast?!’
The horseback riding she had imagined was supposed to be something elegant, slowly exploring the surroundings, enjoying various sights, and engaging in affectionate conversations. However, the experience was far from that romantic notion, and after dismounting, Min-ha thought she should mention it to Seth.
How far had they traveled?
Before she knew it, the wind that had tousled her hair harshly became gentler, and the horse’s pace, which had been rapid, slowed down.
Only then did Min-ha subtly turn her face away from Seth’s back and glance around.
“…Oh my!”
In that moment, what caught her eyes was a sea of purple — endless fields filled with lavender stretched out before her, gently undulating in the warm breeze, emitting a rich fragrance that made her nose tingle.
As Min-ha gazed at the vast expanse of fields, completely bathed in shades of purple with a dazed expression, Seth, who sneakily turned his head to glance at her, chuckled briefly and brought the horse to a stop. Then, he gently released her hand from around his waist and dismounted first.
“Okay, we’ve arrived.”
“…Is this the place you wanted to go?”
Min-ha, still clinging to Seth’s arm as he lightly lowered her to the ground, asked, much like when he lifted her onto the horse.
In response to her question, he simply nodded, his gaze expressing the satisfaction of having shown her the scenery.
“Yes. I wanted to show you this view.”
“…I see.”
“I’m sorry. I actually wanted to ride the horse a little more slowly, but they say they’ll harvest all the lavender here after noon.”
“Really? You should have told me in advance.”
“If I had told you in advance, I wouldn’t have seen this expression on your face.”
As he lightly pinched her cheek, tinged with the violet hues of the lavender-filled landscape, he continued. Min-ha soon took a deep breath as she stared at his smiling face with a playful expression, inhaling the sweet lavender scent that penetrated deeply into her nostrils.
An elegant and refreshing fragrance enveloped her entire body.
‘It’s nice… something like this.’
She naturally grasped Seth’s hand that was gently pulling her shoulder and spoke.
“It’s so beautiful. Thank you. It feels like the pent-up frustration I’ve had is completely released.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah. I really do.”
“I’m relieved. I was worried that if you didn’t like the place that would be yours from now on, what would I do.”
“What?!”
Hearing his subsequent words, Min-ha turned her head with a shocked expression and exclaimed.
‘No, what on earth was he saying?’
Facing Seth, who gazed back at her with a nonchalant expression as if asking why she was reacting like that, she asked.
“…This, this land? It’s a joke, right?”
“No way.”
“So, the place we’re standing on right now? This land belongs to me?”
“No. Every inch of lavender planted from here to the end of the street is your land.”
“…What?!”
“This land is the festival gift to you.”
She briefly had a dazed expression at Seth’s response, delivered with an affectionate smile. The words she had just heard felt utterly surreal.
Soon, regaining her composure, Min-ha tapped his shoulders with both hands and exclaimed.
“You, you’re crazy… You’re crazy! This vast land, so extensive that you can’t even see where the lavender is planted, is all mine? Nonsense! Could it be, did you buy it? It couldn’t be, right?”
“Haha. I didn’t buy it. To be precise, this land originally belonged to my mother.”
“…Huh? Your mother?”
“At first, only about three steps from where you’re standing now belonged to my mother, but as she accumulated her wealth, bit by bit, it expanded to this extent.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. Did you know that my mother was the reason the lavender festival at Persen Castle came into existence? That’s why she cherished this land so much. She left a will, expressing her wish to give it to the person who would become my companion before she passed away.”
“….”
Seth’s blue eyes were deeply sunken as he gazed out over the purple-tinged field.
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Translator’s Note: Hello, it’s Nabi! I’m the translator of this novel ପ( ๑•ᴗ•๑ )ଓ♡ If you like the novel and would like to support me, please feel free to click the button below to go to my kofi~! Thank you so much for always supporting the novels I work on, even if you don’t buy me a coffee, I really do appreciate it a lot. ❤︎
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