I Corrupted The Good Male Protagonist - Chapter 11

“I’ve got to get going. Let’s have dinner together when we have time. Then, Anastasia, I pray for your recovery.”

The duke rose to his feet. I can’t believe he’s leaving me just like that.

I decided to be a little rebellious.

“Is it because you’re worried about me? Or it because of Adele?”

When I asked why he wanted my recovery, the Duke gave a big smile.

“I’m worried about you, of course. Wall’s daughter is my child. Do you know how hurt I was the last time you declared you weren’t going to visit the Duke in the future? Wall even hit me with the shoes he was wearing.”

He expressed those words with affection. I apologized mildly.

“I’m sorry.”

That’s how the rebellious child inside me died.

“……I’m glad you made up with Adele now. Actually, I was pretty worried. Adele rarely gets along with people. They only get close to him because he’s kind and friendly. He never told me what he was thinking.”

With a light lament, the Duke cleared his clothes. Only then did I seem to understand the duke a little.

Adele was kind, gentle, and polite because the Duke couple taught it to him steadily, and not because he’s like that from the beginning.

Adele was just an obedient child.

So no one knew what he really was thinking.

Does he really like helping people with a noble heart or not?

I suddenly got curious.

“Have Adele ever been angry with the Duke?”

“Never. Not even once.”

The Duke shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s why I’m afraid of what’s inside him.”

I blinked my eyes. The duke smiled briefly.

“Was I too serious?”

“No.”

The Duke was about to go out, so I stood up. He gave me a gentle pat on the head.

“Thanks for listening. Are you lonely because your family is gone? I’ll visit the Count more often from now on, as you seem to be relieved.”

Huh?

“You don’t have to do that…”

“Well, as a godfather, it’s a matter of course. Also, I just happen to have a good thing. I’ll give this to you as a reunion gift. It’s a tea set that even the imperial family wanted. It was something Penelope wanted so much during her lifetime, but ironically, she didn’t own it until she died. I don’t need it anymore. It’s too precious for the royal family, but a gift for my daughter is enough. I’ll see if there’s anything else I can give you. You don’t have to worry about anything. I have a great eye.”

As far as I knew the identity of the teacup, I could never laugh it off. It was a treasure of a country that was now destroyed.

Even to the duke, who was rumored to have owned more money than the imperial treasury, it was barely worth years of hard work.

“C-calm down.”

The Duke didn’t even listen to what I said.

“Sit down. I’ll call Adele.”

The Duke went out as I staggered down on the sofa.

Good grief! This father and son, you’re making people’s heads hurt too much!

I munched on chocolate to relieve my stress.

Adele returned about 10 minutes later, whether he had been quite far away or talked separately with the duke.

“You’ve been talking for quite a long time. Did you feel uncomfortable?”

My mouth has become loose.

“Welcome back. The Duke is always cheerful.”

It was a double entendre, but Adele didn’t mind.

“That’s how you can wrap up your personality. Others say it’s luck.”

“Pfft. “

I almost burst out laughing but Adele didn’t seem to notice.

“When they were fighting for ownership over a newly discovered diamond mine, I heard the Marquis spat that to my father as he passed by him.”

“You mean Marquis Claude?”

I covered my lips with the back of my hand. Of course, it’s the villain’s father. Marquis Claude was famous for his dirty temper. Moreover, he was obsessed with the Duke.

The duke wasn’t easy either.

“Yes. Ash Cloud, whom we met at the Sky Lantern Festival a few days ago, is a direct descendant of him. I think Chichimeme* will be held after 15 days. Only the nobles who have not held the ceremony will be able to attend, so the Marquis’ heir will come…”

_{(T/n: I think it’s a term invented by the author.)} 

Come to think of it, there was such an event. Chichimeme was a party made for the underage children of aristocratic families, and the origin of it was a bit harsh and memorable.

Anyway, it’s like a ball, so we can enjoy it.

We don’t need to worry about ordinary people that day because it was held in places they couldn’t even come near.

I could just ignore Ash, and Olga, who is unknowingly timid, was not the type to enjoy such a party.

I asked Adele because I was definitely going to participate.

“What about Adele? If you’re going, why don’t you partner up with me?”

“Are you okay with me?”

I became a little playful again and asked.

“If you want to go with someone else, I’ll yield.”

Sure enough, Adele turned to me with a serious expression.

“I absolutely want to go with Anastasia.”

“You’re so passionate.”

I was inwardly proud. I was worried that Adele would be passive, but he seems to have been inclined.

He reassured me with a firm voice.

“I will never let the same thing happen this time. And even if such an accident happens…”

Suddenly, his red eyes gleamed faintly.

No, did I see it wrong?

“I’m not going to stay put.”

“Y-yeah.”

Adele finished his speech softly and I nodded vacantly.

Is…something different than usual? Or did I wear colored glasses* because I was paying attention to the Duke’s words?

_{(t/n: an idiom meaning looking at things with a biased point of view, or something like that.)} 

I almost let out an agonizing sound. Duke Friedrich must have assessed that Adele had no humanity and learned goodwill based on some experience and reason, but I found it hard to agree with that.

Adele’s golden wave of voice contained pain, guilt, and fondness for me. He looked at me politely and gracefully.

“When you threw up blood in front of me and comforted me even if you’re shaking like you were about to die, I realized how precious you are to me. How worthless are other people, by comparison.”

_{(t/n: YOU FLIPPED THE SWITCH ANASTASIA, YOU FLIPPED THE SWITCH!)} 

My heart was pounding even though I knew clearly that he didn’t really mean it that way.

“I’m sorry. You must have been very upset.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s my fault. I have to fix it.”

I raised my brows curiously.

“Fix it? How?”

There was a small smile that seemed to appear on Adele’s face. I asked more lightly on purpose to find out what he was thinking.

“Are you trying to be a bad person who doesn’t help anyone?”

“If I become a bad person, Anastasia will hate me, right?”

I denied his childish question.

“That can’t be true.”

“Really? Can you promise me?”

For some reason, Adele was a bit persistent this time. I promised to ease his anxiety.

“I promise, I won’t hate you even if you turn into a bad person.”

Then Adele felt relieved.

“That’s a relief.”

Unlike the blurred smile that always adorned his beautiful face, a clear smile bloomed this time. Adele said with a playful expression.

“Now I can throw away trash on the street with ease.”

I thought he felt a little better, so I responded.

“Are you going to throw candy wrappers now?”

Ah. So cute. Oh, my god. I want to pinch you!

“I’m going to try something a little bigger than that.”

Adele replied shyly.

I suddenly felt an ominous premonition.

“Wait, you’re not planning to throw away my drawing, are you?”

It seemed like only an hour or two passed, but the sun was setting before I knew it. I went to the dining room pretending to be overwhelmed by the duke’s offer to eat dinner here.

The dining room of Duke Magnus that boasted such splendor seemed to resemble a chapel.

Golden candlesticks, statues of saints, and murals of gods enjoying the sacrament decorated the room.

I felt like I was going to have an upset stomach because of the stiff atmosphere. It was very different from the Count’s residence’s dining room that exuded a cozy feeling. So Adele eats in a place like this.

The Duke came first and was waiting for us. He made me and Adele sit across from him and then said with a look of satisfaction.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve eaten with you.”

I examined the table with disgruntled eyes. There was a feast of green, purple, and red. In short, it means all vegetables.

Fresh, crunchy, and tasteless vegetables were all dispatched by type. The only greasy food was the steak.

“We prepared healthy food for Anastasia today…”

I spiced the steak at once. As soon as I tried to eat satisfactorily after spraying hot sauce and pepper with enthusiasm, my eyes met the Duke’s.

“Hmm?”

“Yes?”

We looked at each other and tilted our heads. The Duke stared at my steak.

“Anastasia, I think you sprayed too much spice.”

“I like to eat it like this.”

I’m crazy about sweet, salty, spicy, and stimulating food. The Duke frowned as I spoke calmly.

“I’m afraid your taste in food is starting to resemble Wall’s.”

I giggled.

“Daddy sends letters to the Duke, doesn’t he?”

“Well, I do call them often. When I find and deliver information about the cure, Wall personally goes to the local area to get it. I heard they got some good medicine, but the preparation seems to be tough and time-consuming.”

Adele was still listening to our conversation. I was quite surprised because I didn’t know the duke cared so much about me.

“I was bothering the Duke, too.”

The duke spoke softly.

“Don’t be so upset. I was just worried about my daughter. Well, come to think of it, I used to call you Daughter in front of Wall and I almost got stuck in the clock tower upside down. Anyway, he’s like a strong, stubborn child. Please keep it a secret to Wall.”

“I will,”

I couldn’t help laughing at my father’s temper.

Anastasia’s father, Count William Sinclair, was famous for being very beautiful. He wasn’t handsome but pretty. He was extremely pretty.

When a poet saw my father, he said, ‘You are like a branch blooming in the moonlight.’ And the poet got hit.

My father had pure white skin, soft features, and dazzlingly transparent silver hair. He was only over 170cm tall, so he was often mistaken for a woman.

The Duke teased my father with it every time, and so did other nobles.

In particular, thanks to the Duke’s ad hominem attacks, my father became cranky enough to kick the emperor’s tongue at every meeting.

It was definitely extraordinary to see that none of the meeting attendees can counterattack my father every single time.