Lord Baby Runs a Romance Fantasy With Cash

Chapter 9

5000 Cash drawing ticket!

The name itself brought excitement. I nodded happily.

I want to use it!

[Using 5000 Cash drawing ticket.]

Along with the notification, a spinning wheel appeared in front of me. On the wheel, the damned little devil boy was winking at me as he waved his hand.

That scammer!

I wanted to scream at him, but it was only a drawing of him. Hopefully, he didn’t tamper with the probability of this wheel...

It was a reasonable doubt, but I shook it off.

No. Don’t be so negative. Only think positive thoughts.

I gulped as I watched the wheel spinning around and around. I once read in a book that you could manifest your deepest desires if you wished for them strong enough.

5000 Cash! 5000 Cash! Give me 5000 Cash!

[Congratulations!]

Oh!

I clenched my fists at the congratulatory message.

He might indeed be a little devil, but he can’t be that evil—huh?

[You won 100 Cash!]

I froze at the message that appeared.

Congratulations? Congratulations for what?! Are you teasing me right now?! 100 Cash?! Only a hundred? Not even a thousand?!

It sounded like the least amount of cash you could win from the wheel.

Even in my past life, I was only ever able to win a hundred won, while everyone else won 1000, 2000, and 5000 won. I couldn’t believe my bad luck followed me all the way here!

Winning a hundred won was pretty much useless. As much as it sucked, the rotten reality was that receiving a 500 Cash reward was much better than getting a 5000 Cash drawing ticket.

I buried my face into my bed and flailed my arms. Waaaaah!

[Currently, you have 1100 Cash.]

The notification leaned into me as if to tease me.

Did that mean I couldn’t summon a novel yet? If I tried to summon it with only 1100 cash, I bet they would just tell me I didn’t have enough cash. How would I ever gather enough if I only won cash amounts in the hundreds and two hundreds?

With an angry face, I pushed the book away and—aha! I lifted my head. That’s right! Come to think of it, there was one notification that I hadn’t read.

As soon as I remembered, the unread notification appeared, showing me the message that I had last read.

[Your quest target, Duke Phaeraton, has reached a maximum level of satisfaction. You will be granted an additional reward.]

[Would you like to receive your additional reward now?]

Yes.

I didn’t know what the additional reward was, but I hoped it was a cash amount instead of another drawing ticket. To be honest, I didn’t have much hope.

I lay on my side and looked at the pop-up half-heartedly.

[Calculating additional award... Calculation complete.]

[You will be given an additional reward <Unlock To Read>.]

[Would you like to summon a novel using <Unlock To Read>? Your novel will be unlocked for three days upon summoning it.]

Huh?

I sat up on my bed.

I was underwhelmed by the name, but with this reward, I could borrow a whole novel instead of just borrowing a single chapter.

My gosh! This was way better than getting 5000 Cash! Duke Phaeraton! Thank you, sir!

Frankly, I still had no idea what it meant, but thank you for reaching a maximum level of satisfaction! I bowed in the direction of the duke’s office.

Now then...

I looked at the notification that remained in front of me. Until a minute ago, I was set on summoning Running Away from Rich Silver Spoon, but now I was hesitant.

It might be a lot harder to gather cash than I expected. I was able to get a useful additional reward this time, but I couldn’t say for sure that this would happen again. I was worried after witnessing my 5000 Cash drawing ticket decrease to a mere 100 Cash.

I should save it for now.

In the end, I decided that it would be best if I saved it as a form of insurance since I didn’t know what kind of ability I might need in the future. Just then, I heard a knock coming from the door.

I swiftly hid the book under the blanket because it would be difficult to explain why the book had suddenly transformed. Just in time, the door opened, and the maids walked in.

“We’re sorry, my lady. We should’ve been here right when you woke up.”

I shook my head as I got off my bed. “It’s okay!”

“You must be hungry. You were sound asleep, so we didn’t wake you up to eat.”

Hearing her say that made my stomach growl.

“Yup. I didn’t even realize that I fell asleep.”

I was a little embarrassed because it felt like sleeping was the only thing I had done since I came here.

I scratched my cheeks awkwardly as Anna nodded her head understandingly.

“Haha, of course, you must be tired.”

With Anna’s reassuring words, I became confident.

She’s right. Of course, I must be tired! I went through so much today! I cleared a very difficult quest and survived a scary interrogation! More importantly, I’m still a baby!

I puffed my chest out confidently, and the maids who were looking at me started to laugh.

But the light atmosphere didn’t last long as Nancy dropped a bomb. “Still, everyone was very surprised. We didn’t think you would fall sound asleep on top of His Grace’s lap.”

“Huh...?” I stiffly turned my head towards Nancy. “I-I fell asleep on the du—no, on Daddy’s lap?!”

“Yes, my lady. You slept so comfortably.”

“I slept... comfortably?”

On top of the duke’s lap?

“At first, you were trying your best to stay awake, but in the end, you gave in and slept flat on the duke’s lap.”

Wow. I must have been really tired.

“Thanks to that, the office was filled with a warm sensation. When we’re in there, it’s always so cold, more so than the snowfields in the north.”

“Seriously, everyone was probably dying trying to keep their laughter in.”

Hmm, I doubted the retainers felt the same way.

Ugh, why did I fall asleep? At that moment, a bad feeling crossed my mind.

“So Anna, did you bring me all the way here?”

You were the one that brought me here, right Anna? Please say it was you.

“No, my lady. His Grace brought you here himself.”

Why are bad feelings never wrong?

“Next time, can you be the one to bring me here?”

“Pardon?”

“What if Daddy thinks I’m annoying?”

Adults hated annoying children.

Anna made a weird expression. “Miss...”

With a determined look, she knelt on the ground and looked into my eyes.

“His Grace would never find you annoying, my lady.”

“She’s right. He even called for the tailor, don’t you remember? I’ve never seen His Grace call for a tailor before. In fact, he even finds it bothersome to take his own measurements by a tailor, which is quite problematic for the butler.”

“His Grace really adores you, my lady,” the maids said as they consoled me.

They were all wearing the same expression as Anna. I didn’t mean for them to have this kind of expression when I said that. I didn’t say it out of a yearning for fatherly love, so I felt sorry because I felt like I was making them worry about me for no reason.

“I’m really okay!” I purposely said in a brighter tone, but for some reason, the maids contorted their faces even more.

Anna carefully grabbed my hand. “It’s because... this is all new for His Grace as well. That’s why he finds it so awkward.”

“No, I’m really—”

“I know it’s hard for you to understand. Even I didn’t know after working here all these years. But looking at him now, I can see that he’s very awkward in his ways.”

She spoke vaguely at first, but the more she talked, the more she became sure of her thoughts.

It was as if she had just come to realize it.

“Up until now, I thought His Grace was perfect, without a single flaw. He’s a man who doesn’t need to rely on others and never understood why people had a need to rely on others...”

But that doesn’t sound perfect to me…

My lips parted to speak, but I held myself back.

“However, I was able to realize it after seeing how His Grace treated you, my lady. This is all new for him, too.”

“After seeing how he treated me?”

“Yes, my lady.”

“That’s right. It’s like we’re seeing a completely different side of him that we’ve never seen before while working here.”

“To be honest, even the fact that I’m talking to you right now is a bit unusual for me.”

“After all, the people of this household are a little different from normal people...”

“Different from normal people?”

Flustered by my question, Anna began to signal the other maids.

Pretending not to see the maids hush their mouths, I tilted my head and looked confused. “Why? What’s so different about them?”

“Ah, did I say ‘different’? I meant to say that they’re special.”

“Indeed. A household as respectable and honorable as this one isn’t easy to come by, is it?”

I squinted my eyes at the maids, who were laughing awkwardly. They’re hiding something. It’s just as I thought. The Phaeraton household was no ordinary household.

It looked like the maids had no intention of telling me the truth.

I guess I couldn’t blame them. It would be weird for them to gossip about the duke and his family in front of his daughter, especially if they’re going to say something negative about the family.

Looking at the maid’s troubled expressions, I decided to change the topic. “I’m hungry!”

Relieved, the maids smiled. As I watched Nancy leave to bring me some food, I thought, I’ll have to find out more about the Phaeraton household.

I had a suspicion that this was no ordinary family.

* * *

Marquess Tarenka’s Reception Room.

“Y-you’re withdrawing your investment?! What do you mean?”

Marquess Tarenka looked at the old man in front of him with a perplexed face.

“You should know best as to why I’ve chosen to withdraw my funds.”

“What...? I have no idea what you mean.”

“Of course you don’t.”

Even with the marquess’s clueless act, the old man didn’t budge and only let out a cold smirk.

Marquess Taeanka clenched his teeth. “Even at your request, I cannot allow you to one-sidedly withdraw your investments one-sidedly! Don’t you remember? You clearly stamped your seal on our contract.”

“Do you think I’m a fool? I simply came here today out of respect for your father.” Duke Delvatren rose from the sofa as he finished speaking. “I enjoyed your tea.”

“Y-Your Grace!” Marquess Tarenka held onto Duke Delvatren, but it was futile.

Damn it. Goddamn it! Marquess Tarenka, who stood in the room alone, roughly brushed his beat-red face.

“M-My lord.”

The marquess’s aide flung the door open and entered the room in a rush.

“What is it?!”

“That is... We’ve just received word that Star would like to suspend their business with—”

Clang!

A loud sound rang before the aide could finish his sentence. Marquess Tarenka, who had thrown a glass cup across the room, glared at the aide with blazing eyes.

“Again... again?! Blocked again?!”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Wasn’t Star our last remaining partner?”

“Yes, they were...”

“Goddamn it!”

The marquess slammed his two fists on the table.

The butler entered the reception room. “My lord, Marquess Sherodel has sent over an official letter.”

“What?!”

The marquess snatched the envelope from the butler’s hand and quickly read the letter. It was a letter stating that Marquess Sherodel would be withdrawing his investments.

It further stated that he would be willing to take it to court if the two could not reach a private agreement.

Marquess Tarenka crumpled the letter in the palm of his hands.

The marquess’s business partners were canceling their contracts left and right, and the investors were pulling out all at the same time.

“What happened to our request to the Gallion Bank?”

“I apologize, but...”

“How can this be happening?! It’s already been five years since I’ve become a marquess! Yet...!”

He had been slowly stabilizing his presence as the marquess and had built a solid network around him.

Yet, everything was falling apart with a single gesture from Duke Phaeraton...!

He tightly clenched his teeth.

As soon as Duke Phaeraton took back his daughter, the marquess’s funding experienced a blockage.

I didn’t think he’d go this far for a little child who isn’t of his bloodline! It didn’t make any sense.

No, no. Surely, he can’t be doing all of this just for a mere child who was born out of wedlock.

The duke was no fool, so there was no way that he didn’t know about the legitimacy of the child. It must be a matter of the duke’s pride.

Whether she was his child or not, the little wench still held the Phaeraton family name. Hence, he was simply retaliating to restore honor to the Phaeraton name after witnessing the mistreatment of the Phaeraton child.

Why did the duke have to return that day of all days?

The marquess didn’t think the duke would ever return before the war had officially come to an end.

“Uh, my lord. I would recommend that we see an end to a couple of our businesses for now. It’ll be difficult for us to maintain them as of right now with everything that is happening. In addition, I think it would be best if we revisit the mana stone mining business later,” the aide said cautiously.

“If we push back the mining, the other investors will follow suit and withdraw! They’re already going to be furious once they hear that the big names have dropped out!”

The marquess stopped his shouting. Was it a coincidence that all of the big-name investors had suddenly pulled out of the mana stone mining business at the same time?

On top of that, Duke Delvatren had said he should know best why he was withdrawing his funds.

They found out that I lied about Duke Phaeraton’s investment!

But there was no way. He had only shared that information with a very small group of big names.

They had also completely fallen for his lie when the marquess showed them a check intended for child care as evidence of the duke’s investment.

He made sure that his investors would keep their lips sealed, and since the investors also did not want to further divide up their dividends, they made sure not to tell anyone.

Where did the information leak?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t think of the source of the leak.

Damn it, only if I could use my entire fortune...!

Due to a special circumstance within the House of Tarenka, the marquess did not have the authority to indulge in his family assets freely.

The marquess yelled as he roughly brushed his face. “Listen carefully, everyone. Father must never hear of what’s happening!”

His father, the previous marquess, was confined to his estate, which was a blessing, to say the least. If he were to ever find out about this incident, it wouldn’t simply end with him slashing the marquess’s funds.

Shit, I have to fix this somehow...

The marquess suddenly raised his head and yelled, “Tié! Bring Tié!”

“Yes, my lord.” The butler left the room, and soon after, Clytié entered.

As always, she wore a bright and happy smile on her face—a stark contrast to the unsettling atmosphere at the Tarenka residence.

“Daddy!”

The angelic child ran towards her father.

“Oh, indeed. My dear daughter. Don’t you miss your cousin?”

“What did you say?”

“Perhaps you should give the Phaeraton estate a visit and check on your cousin.”

“Huh? Why should I?” Clytié asked, her head tilted. Even if she had to meet her cousin, shouldn’t her cousin be the one to make the trip?

“She may be a little dumb, but she’s still your cousin. She’s almost like a sister to you.”

“A sister? Her and me?” Clytié scrunched her delicate face.

“It’s just a figure of speech. Even if the two of you are like sisters, that doesn’t mean you are alike in any way.”

“Tsk.” Clytié pouted her lips.

Her birthday party, which should’ve been one of the happiest days of her life, was instantly ruined because of that child. Her pride was utterly crushed at the fact that the one who ruined her party was none other than that little idiot.

“If the two of us must meet, then she should be the one coming here!”

Why should I have to care about her? The one who makes the first visit loses. That child is nothing more than a servant. She wasn’t someone that I should’ve been concerned about.

“Don't say that, my daughter. Just give her a visit. She must be having such a hard time after being away from you for so long.”

“But!”

“Of course, she should be the one to come visit you. But even if she wanted to, she probably couldn’t. There’s no way Duke Phaeraton will listen to any of her requests.”

“Hnng...”

With the gentle soothing of Marquess Tarenka’s words, Clytié was lost in thought.

I mean, I guess he’s right. I can’t imagine how much she misses me. She’s nothing without me, after all. She’s a child who’s hated by everyone.

I was the only one who was nice to her, too.

“Okay, I guess I have no choice but to visit her first.”

Clytié was amazed by her own generosity and thoughtfulness.

Just how much more kind can I be?

“Indeed! That’s my daughter.”

The marquess brushed her hair with his hands as he pleaded with her.

“Make sure to check on how she’s doing there and what the atmosphere is like at the duke’s estate.”

“Okay. Hehe, she’ll totally be surprised when I show up, right?”

After all, Clytié was being generous enough to check on how she was doing.

She’ll be beyond grateful at the news that I’ve come to visit her.

Clytié smiled like an angel.