Lord Baby Runs a Romance Fantasy

Chapter 5

Was what I did so shocking that I was starting to see things?

I rubbed my eyes, but the words were still there. After the shock sank in, I finally realized that this was no illusion.

Apthanes. How could I ever forget that name? It was the name of the devil who scammed me into being reborn!

“Don’t worry. You’ve been specially chosen to be reborn. Of course, we’ll give you a special ability.”

Years had passed since I last heard his voice, but I still remembered it as if it was yesterday.

He said he was going to give me a special ability. Was it this rush and cash ability?! It sounded like an ability that would run you down into a deep pile of debt for recklessly rushing to take out a private loan.

I called him a phony because he said he was going to give me an ability and didn’t, but if this was the ability that he was going to give me, I’d rather not have anything at all.

Words continued to appear in front of me, but I could no longer read them.

“It’s soft... like a baby?”

I was too distracted by the quiet mutters of Duke Phaeraton. D-did I happen to say my thoughts out loud? I couldn’t bring myself to ask him and instead trembled in fear.

Ah, maybe I should just bite my tongue off and end my life here.

The duke’s red eyes glowered at me as if he was going to devour me. Eek!

“Hmm...”

The duke let out an odd sound and sat me on his lap.

I was speechless.

I honestly thought he was going to throw me straight on the train to the afterlife. I mean, it was good that he didn’t, but... Not knowing what to do, I held on to my anxiously pounding chest.

Poke.

The duke poked at my cheeks.

What...?

Poke, poke.

He continued to poke at my cheeks. I was as thin as can be, but I was still a baby, so there were traces of baby fat left on my cheeks. I watched as the duke poked at my cheeks with his expressionless face and then gasped.

By any chance, is this the start of a tyrant turning into a fool for his daughter story?!

My long-standing romance fantasy experiences told me that with every squeeze of the baby’s cheek, favorability would increase.

If there’s any chance that he thinks of me as adora—

“You’re like an angry puffer fish.”

Who was I kidding?

Damn it, I got my hopes up for nothing.

As a reader, my thoughts were telling me that this was the start of the duke’s infatuation with me. But my instincts, looking directly at the duke’s face, told me otherwise. Just look at his deadly eyes. There’s no way.

I don’t know when I’ll die, so I better watch out and be careful.

At least a puffer fish was full of poison. I, on the other hand, I had no choice but to sit there quietly and accept the duke’s pokes.

I thought he would tell me to get out soon enough, but the duke kept me on his lap.

It was only after our incredibly uncomfortable dinner, where the duke spent the entire time staring at my face, almost making me choke on my food, that I was finally alone.

“Wash up.” That’s all the duke said after he dropped me off at my room.

I was already clean! I raised my arms to take a sniff, but all I could smell were hints of pleasant fruity smells.

But why did he have me stay by his side all day today?

“I’m simply just unfamiliar because I wasn’t able to meet you until now. That’s why I want to be with you now. I have to be right next to you if I want to become more familiar with you!”

Was it because of what I said? That’s impossible. I couldn’t get my hopes up again.

I let out a small laugh and followed the maids into the bathroom.

As of right now, I had much more important matters to deal with than unveiling the duke’s intentions.

* * *

After I took a bath and dried my hair, I climbed up to my bed.

Nice. I was finally alone. But I wondered why the maids looked so hesitant.

I was bothered by the reaction of the maids when we said our goodbyes. Normally, I would ask what was wrong or wait until they were ready to tell me, but… I had much more important matters to take care of right now!

The words that had appeared before me were like holograms.

Ergh, I didn’t get a chance to read all of it.

When I started to focus on the duke instead of the words in front of me, the pop-up containing the words disappeared.

Maybe I should have read everything instead of listening to what the duke had to say. I wonder if there’s a way for me to see it again.

Right as I finished my thoughts, the pop-up appeared again.

[You have an unread notification. Would you like to read it now?]

Ah, did I just have to respond to read it?

“Yes.” With that, the pop-up reappeared.

[Attribute <Rush and Cash> Unable to use]

[Dear Reader! Here is your promised ability! I didn’t think it would take you this long to fulfill your condition. It was an easy condition, after all. You didn’t criticize our good-natured <Apthanes> saying that you were fooled into a fraudulent contract, did you?]

As someone who cursed the little devil guy every single day, I flinched at the message.

What was he talking about? I doubted it was an easy condition like he said it was.

And more importantly, I didn’t even know what condition I fulfilled. It couldn’t have been me poking the duke’s cheeks, could it?

[This ability is perfect for you, so I hope you use it well!]

[Attribute Level: F]

[Attribute Effect: You may use your cash to summon any romance fantasy novel that you have already read. You may extract an ability from the heroine of your selected novel and use it as your own. The ability that is extracted will be chosen at random.]

[Warning: You do not have a <Summoning Medium>, so you cannot use this ability.]

“What the…?”

So, you mean to say that I can summon the novels I’ve read in the past and use the heroine’s ability as my own?

“That’s totally awesome!”

A compilation of the various abilities possessed by romantic fantasy heroines quickly flashed through my head.

If I can really use all those skills, then I won’t have to worry about my survival anymore. I can even take over this world for all that matters!

“Wow!”

I could finally say goodbye to the cruel days of the past! I threw both of my hands into the air and jumped up and down on top of my bed.

But what did they mean by “cash and summoning medium”? I suddenly became anxious. The name of this ability was “rush and cash.” To be honest, it wasn’t a name that reminded me of a pleasant future.

[A new quest has arrived.]

A new pop-up appeared along with a notification sound.

[Quest: <Prove Your Worth>]

[Dear reader, are you celebrating in joy that you finally earned an ability? How naive and foolish of you! This world, the world of romance fantasies, is not as easy as you think it is! It’s an obvious piece of information that you should already know as a reader of romantic fantasy novels.]

[You’ve been disappointed and discouraged many times in the past, haven’t you? Never let your guard down! Do not forget that!]

[Your ability is not entirely perfect.]

[A true romantic fantasy reader always questions whether something handed to them contains poison or not. Use your powers to perfect this ability and prove your worth.]

[Condition: Obtain the <Summoning Medium>]

[Reward: 500 Cash]

“What’s with the wording on this thing?”

Were they trying to attack me right now? How absurd. It was even more absurd than the time I thought that the tyrant had turned into a fool for his daughter just because he started poking at my cheeks.

Tsk.

“I guess I have no choice but to accept!”

[You have accepted the quest.]

“All right then. But where am I supposed to obtain the summoning medium?”

It was an object that acted as a connector, which allowed you to summon something. Usually, these kinds of objects were very rare in romance fantasies.

A national treasure of an empire. A sacred relic of a temple. A treasure of a magic tower. Or an heirloom that’s been passed down for generations in a noble family.

Hmm, well, I suppose the only thing I can look for right now is Duke Phaeraton’s family heirloom. For a child like me, the other places are too difficult to get to, so I hope it’s an object within the estate.

But it’ll also be a problem if the summoning medium is one of the duke’s heirlooms...

Would I be able to convince Duke Phaeraton to give me his family heirloom? I shivered at the thought of the duke glaring at me with his cold and expressionless face.

Well, it’s not like it’s confirmed that one of his heirlooms is a summoning medium anyway, I thought as I tried to cheer myself up.

That’s not to say that I was scared or anything.

First, I’d have to search the duke’s heirlooms. I’ll start tomorrow morning…

Yaaaawn. I yawned so big that the corners of my mouth almost ripped. Mmm, I should come up with a plan... I rubbed my eyes, but my vision continued to become blurry.

When I was at the Tarenka residence, I was able to work with just a couple of hours of sleep. Maybe it was because of the cozy bed, a full stomach, and a warm bath, but I just couldn’t win against the drowsiness that took over me.

I unknowingly dozed off, lying in the center of the huge bed.

* * *

Chirp. Chirp.

The birds were singing.

Is it morning already?

The elegant ceiling over my bed greeted me as I opened my eyes again. As I stretched my arms and let out a big yawn, the doors flung open, and the maids walked in.

“I see that you’ve awoken, my lady.”

“Yep.” I raised my upper body, and my blanket slid down.

Huh?

I thought I fell asleep in the middle of the bed on top of my blanket. But now, I was sitting at the head of the bed. And it looked like I slept on top of my pillow and under the blanket covers.

“Anna, did you put the blanket over me?”

Anna responded with a puzzled look on her face. “No, I did not. None of us entered the room while you were asleep, my lady. It’s a rule that applies to His Grace and the other young masters as well.”

Hmm, maybe I just crawled onto my pillow and under the covers during my sleep. It was quite embarrassing, but I had a pretty rough sleeping habit, which was why I thought it was one of the maids who put the blanket over me.

I jumped out of bed and headed straight for the dressing room before halting in place.

“Ah. Good morning!”

At the sound of my morning greeting, the maids’ faces softened.

“Good morning to you too, my lady.”

“Haha, let me help you brush out your hair.”

This was great. The atmosphere around here had definitely become better. Dressed in the clothes that Nancy picked for me, I sat as Anna brushed my hair and subtly put on a surprised act.

“Wow, this thing on my dress is so pretty! It’s so sparkly!”

I pointed to the brooch pinned to the chest of my dress, and the maids responded with a smile.

“It’s pretty, right? It perfectly matches the color of your eyes, my lady.”

“Would you like to put a matching pin in your hair as well?” Anna asked. “I’m sure it’ll look adorable on you.”

“Hmm... But they look so expensive.” I frowned as I fidgeted with my hands.

“Oh my...” Anna covered her mouth with a perplexed look on her face.

On the other hand, Nancy clenched her fists and yelled angrily, “What do you mean by that? My lady, you are the one and only daughter of Duke Phaeraton! You can wear these whenever you wish to!”

“You can also wear accessories that are far more valuable than these. But for now, those are too heavy for you, so...”

I watched the maids comfort me and quietly asked them another question.

“Then, is there a room inside the estate where all the shiny things are gathered?”

I tried to sound as innocent as possible so they wouldn’t think I was some thief who was after the duke’s heirloom—even though I was.

“Of course. We have multiple rooms where we store our valuables. We have much more stored at the duke's main castle."

Damn it, they have multiple storage rooms.

Come to think of it, the duke was as rich as can be. I was going to ask if I could tour the room, but what could I do now? I had to search the room where the heirlooms were stored, not miscellaneous valuables...

“Would you like to take a look?”

“Hmm, when I was at Clytié’s place, I was punished whenever I got near her shiny things... Is it really okay for me to take a look at something so pretty?” I mumbled my words as I glanced at their faces.

I made myself look as pitiful as possible in hopes that they’d show me the most valuable room.

Well, it also wasn’t like I told a lie. There was a time when I accidentally went near the marquess’s treasure room while cleaning the halls.

“You dirty thieving wench...! What are you snooping around here for?! Trying to steal something again, huh?! A good beating will fix those foul hands of yours and bring you back to your senses!”

The marquess whipped my back on the spot with his belt, even though I didn’t know that a treasure room even existed, and the marquess was the one who ordered me to clean that hall.

No, no. Don’t think of any sad thoughts. I’ve escaped from the marquess’s place, and no one at the estate punishes me like he did!

I raised my head and saw the maid’s faces. They partially looked like they were about to cry and partially like they were about to explode in rage.

Why were they making such faces?

“Please don’t make that kind of face,” they told me.

Huh? What’s wrong with my face? You’re the ones who are making weird expressions...

Anna reached her hands towards me and quickly stopped herself. But then, Nancy threw her hands around me and embraced me.

“Nancy, what are you—?” The words that Anna yelled in surprise were interrupted by Nancy’s teary voice.

“Our lady is still so small and fragile... She’s just a baby, yet...”

I consoled Nancy.

“I’m okay! I have you all to care for me and worry about me now!”

I said it with a bright smile on my face, but the other maids also began to embrace me. I had never experienced anything like this before, even in my previous life...

Hmm, it’s not too bad of a feeling…

Hehe.

Anna stopped her movements when she saw me smiling as I was surrounded by the maids. She then extended her arm in determination and touched my hair with her warm hands.

It was a pleasant feeling.

A faint smile also spread across Anna’s face.

* * *

“The first thing our youngest lady must see in the estate has to be our most valuable room! If we’re going to give her a tour, we might as well take her to the sacred war room.”

The other maids nodded their heads strongly in agreement with Nancy’s declaration.

“There are many more valuable possessions there than in all of Marquess Tarenka’s estate! The marquess’s treasure room is far inferior to the treasure rooms of the Phaeraton estate.”

“We don’t need to get permission?”

“Nope. We’re simply going to a room housing the duke’s family heirlooms. As the direct descendant of the duke, you automatically hold the right to enter.”

“Though you’ll need permission if you wish to take anything elsewhere.”

Ergh. Well, of course, I would. I knew I wouldn’t be able to take anything with me without permission.

It’s still better than nothing.

At the very least, I’d be able to check if there was a summoning medium amongst any of Duke Phaeraton’s heirlooms.

Then, should I ask to go there right away as soon as we finish breakfast?

At that very moment, the butler entered the room with a knock on the door.

I was a little surprised by his entry because the only other time he came to my room was when I first arrived. I wondered why he was here.

“My lady, His Grace has requested that you join him for breakfast.”

Join him for breakfast?

This was so sudden.