novelraw Chapter 132
Chapter 132
Ch.132 It’s sweet!
Aria lazily rolled around on Icira’s bed.
The moment Icira and Hans vanished toward the capital, a whine slipped from the girl’s lips.
“Why do you always go off somewhere without me?”
She puffed out her cheeks and made a pouty face.
“Always leaving me behind…”
The girl was upset that her mother and Brother Hans kept disappearing without her.
“Hiiing…”
As Aria tossed and turned on the bed out of boredom, something caught her eye—
a small, elegant brass bell sitting atop the tea table in the guest room.
She remembered seeing her mother ring that bell whenever she needed something.
“Maybe… just maybe…”
Aria sprang up from the bed, deftly pulled out the writing desk, climbed onto it,
and—
Ding! Ding!
—rang the bell.
“Will this work?”
When nothing happened, she rang it as hard as she could.
Ding! Ding!
After a brief pause…
Knock… knock…
“Is there anything you need, Lady Icira?” came a calm voice from beyond the door.
Aria hopped off the chair and hurried to open the door. Standing there was a brown-haired maid, slightly startled.
“Sister… I’m bored…” Aria looked up with a tearful face.
“Oh…”
The maid, Elena, stood dazed, utterly overwhelmed by Aria’s cuteness.
‘She’s just too adorable… Lady Aria…’
With her petite frame, sparkling eyes, plump baby cheeks, and milky-white skin, Aria was the very definition of lovable.
Since Aria was the daughter of Lady Icira—a noble guest of the estate—Elena quickly gathered her racing emotions.
“Um… uh… Lady Aria? How may I help you?”
“Everyone keeps leaving me behind… Hiiing…”
Seeing Aria on the verge of tears, Elena hastily pulled a candy from her pocket.
“Lady Aria, would you like to try this?”
Aria’s eyes lit up at the sight of the candy wrapped in translucent paper.
“What’s this…?”
“It’s candy.”
Elena unwrapped it and placed it in Aria’s palm.
The girl stared intently at the bright yellow hard candy—something she’d never seen before.
“Do you eat this?”
‘Prrrbbt.’
Elena’s heart melted at the girl’s innocent question.
“Yes. Just put it in your mouth and suck on it.”
Following her instructions, Aria carefully popped the candy into her mouth—
then her eyes widened instantly.
“It’s sweet! And tastes like lemon!”
“Right?”
Crunch! Crunch!
Even though Elena had clearly told her to suck on it…
Aria, perhaps lacking patience, immediately crunched it and extended her tiny hand again with an innocent expression.
“Yep! Give me more!”
“Haha, I don’t have any more…”
Elena looked flustered.
“Iiiing…”
Seeing Aria pout again, Elena quickly added,
“How about coming with me to the kitchen? We might find more tasty things there.”
“Oooh… something delicious?”
“Yes! I’ll ask for something extra special for you.”
Aria gave a tiny nod and held out her little hand. Smiling warmly, Elena took it and headed to the kitchen.
Once there, Elena asked the head cook to prepare a few snacks suitable for Aria.
Out came an array of guest-grade cookies and desserts.
“Wooow~!”
Aria beamed happily at the table filled with unfamiliar treats.
“How do I eat this?” she asked, tapping a translucent red jelly with her spoon, eyes sparkling.
“Just scoop it up with your spoon,” Elena replied with a smile.
Bella, the cook, who’d been watching the exchange, leaned in and whispered to Elena,
“But seriously… isn’t she just way too cute? She’s definitely the noblewoman’s daughter, right?”
“Yeah. She called her ‘Mom’ before.”
“Wait… could that noblewoman be the lord’s secret lover?”
“Hah! Don’t be silly.”
Bella glanced toward Aria, who was completely absorbed in her food, and whispered,
“Otherwise, why would they risk their lives coming all the way here during these dangerous times?”
It did sound plausible.
From Icira’s mannerisms and bearing, anyone could guess she came from noble blood.
‘Wait… could this be their love child?’
Elena was startled. Hans and Icira didn’t look that far apart in age, so the idea hadn’t even occurred to her.
Indeed, this was an era when the King of the Dead had appeared—the fate of humanity hung in the balance.
It was strange that Icira and Aria, who clearly came from far away, showed up in such a perilous time.
‘Could this child really be Lord Hans’s daughter?’
Elena had heard Aria call him ‘Brother’, yes—but maybe that was just because she’d never met him before?
A full-blown romance novel unfurled in Elena’s imagination:
Hans, the self-made man, and Icira, the noble lady of high birth.
She pictured how the cold-hearted noblewoman must have fallen for Hans’s gentle nature—and swiftly crafted an entire love story in her head.
‘Ah… I bet her family disapproved of Lord Hans. But then they had a child together…’
Having already scripted the dramatic ending of this secret-love melodrama, Elena murmured softly,
“So that’s how it was…”
“What was?” Her eyes trembled slightly.
Bella, equally convinced, gave a small nod.
“It must be.”
Shock. Bewilderment.
‘So… Lord Hans is just a man after all…’
While the two maids whispered theories about Aria’s mysterious origins,
the girl herself remained blissfully unaware—
happily munching on cookies, cake, and pudding.
“Mmm, mmm! So delicious!”
Having eaten her fill, Aria swayed her shoulders cutely and said,
“Sister, I’m bored. Play with me!”
Hearing that from such an adorable child, Elena thought:
‘She might become our future mistress…’
‘Yes! I should definitely win her over now!’
She nodded vigorously.
“What would you like to play?”
Aria sucked her finger in thought. “Hmm… something fun?”
“Something fun, huh…”
After pondering for a moment, Bella turned to Elena with an idea.
“What about poker?”
“Poker?”
Poker was a common pastime here—men, women, young and old often played it to pass the time.
But fundamentally, it was still a form of gambling, so Elena shot Bella a look and whispered sharply,
“Are you serious? You want to teach gambling to her? Have you lost your mind?”
How could anyone consider teaching gambling to Aria, with her clear, innocent eyes?
Elena knew Bella had always been a bit eccentric—but this was next-level crazy.
“Aw, come on! We won’t bet money. We’ll use something else.”
“Like what?”
“Chocolate?”
Chocolate was a luxury item here.
“What?! You want to gamble with expensive chocolate?!”
Elena continued in disbelief,
“Do you even realize that could count as embezzlement?”
Bella shrugged.
“What are you talking about? I mean the old batch—the baron hasn’t visited the estate in ages, so we’re about to dispose of it anyway.”
Hans usually worked in the capital, but this was his estate—the heart of Pisa Trading Company—so fine goods like chocolate were always stocked.
However, with so few visitors, the older stock now had to be thrown out soon.
Bella had considered eating it all herself, but there was simply too much—so why not use it for a game?
“Oh? Really?”
Aria, who’d been listening, chimed in gleefully,
“Chocolate! I love chocolate!”
She grinned widely and began clamoring for it.
Even after all that eating, she still wanted more—but with that sweet face, both Elena and Bella couldn’t help but smile fondly.
“Do you know how to play card games?”
“Card games?”
Aria, hearing the term for the first time, tilted her head.
Elena nodded.
“Oh—you don’t? Wait here a moment. We have something we play before bed. I’ll be right back.”
She disappeared briefly and soon returned holding a deck of cards.
“I’ll teach you how to play.”
She spread the cards wide across the table.
“When you have two cards with the same number, that’s called ‘one pair.’ Three of a kind is a ‘triple.’”
It was highly questionable to teach poker to a young hatchling.
But setting aside the fact that Aria was a hatchling, Elena didn’t seem to doubt that the child could understand—
after all, hatchlings lived far longer than humans and were naturally sharp.
Indeed, Aria memorized the entire ranking system after just one glance, impressing Elena.
“You each get five cards, and whoever has the stronger hand wins.”
“Hmm… Is this fun?”
Aria, having grasped the rules, didn’t seem very excited.
She didn’t really understand why she needed to win in the first place.
Seeing her unenthusiastic reaction, Bella grinned mischievously.
“Hehe… Then let me make it fun for you.”
Elena giggled and stood up.
“Huh?”
“Just wait a moment.”
Bella disappeared into the kitchen and returned carrying several bowls piled high with chocolate.
When the large bowl was placed on the table, Aria reached out and popped a piece into her mouth.
“Mmm~ So tasty!”
As she went for another, Bella pulled the bowl toward herself with a smile.
“We’ll play for this.”
“Play for this?”
“Yes. Elena and I will show you how it’s done.”
They played a quick round.
“Two pair.”
“One pair.”
Elena won and poured the chocolate from the center bowl onto her own plate.
“Now all this chocolate is mine~”
She popped a piece in her mouth with exaggerated delight.
“Mmm~ Chocolate is just too good!”
Aria’s eyes widened with fascination.
“I want to play too! Me too!”
A short while later…
“Two pair!”
“One pair.”
When Elena and Bella revealed their hands, Aria proudly flipped hers over with triumphant flair.
“I have a flush!”
And with that, she swept the chocolate toward herself.
The two maids froze.
“Huh?”
“Uh…”
She was just… too good.
Not merely ‘good’—she played with such unnatural mastery it defied logic.
Glancing at their now almost-empty chocolate bowl, they wore expressions as if they’d been possessed by spirits.
‘Is… is this even possible?’
‘Seriously…?’
To them, Aria looked exactly like a legendary gambler from a fable.
‘Is our future lord going to be a gambler?’
‘Should we really be letting this go on?’
While the two fretted over the future of the estate, Aria happily munched chocolate, cheeks full, looking like the happiest hatchling in the world.
“Mmm~ So yummy!”
Rubbing both cheeks with her hands, brimming with joy, she radiated pure bliss—
leaving Elena and Bella deeply concerned for the estate’s future.
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