I Was Adopted by the Villain Grand Duke Who Killed My Favorite Character - Chapter 88

As evening fell, the maids hurried to prepare for the planned party.

I admired the paper flowers hanging on the wall. With fresh flowers displayed alongside the paper ones, their beauty seemed doubled.

On the largest wall of the warehouse hung a picture I had drawn.

The maids moved busily, decorating the party venue. Having imagined a modest party, I was captivated by the increasingly elaborate appearance of the venue as it neared completion.

Everyone was working hard to fulfill my sudden request.

“Over there, could you move the flowers on the frame more to the left!”

“The flowers shouldn’t hide the Grand Princess’s wonderful painting, you know?”

“If you need more flowers, I’ll bring them for you.”

“Where did the person who was supposed to bring candles go?”

I ran over and handed candles to the busy maid. The maid’s eyes widened when she met my gaze.

After decorating the table with candles, the maid asked in a gentle voice.

“Thank you, Grand Princess. The cake has arrived. Would you like to see it?”

“Yes!”

The maid led me to the table placed in the center of the warehouse.

On the table sat a special cake made by the chef. As I had ordered, the cake’s surface was decorated with icing depicting three people.

This design was also based on a picture I had drawn.

“It’s like a small exhibition.”

“I wanted to give something I’m still developing my skills at as a gift.”

“Isn’t it usually the opposite?”

“I wanted to put effort into something imperfect rather than something perfect.”

Now that my health had improved, I could have made a sword for Lucas. Or created magical tools with the help of spirits.

But would that be more meaningful than a picture I had put my best effort into?

Things I had mastered too well were hard to put effort into. The more pressed for time, I would likely create something out of habit.

“I wonder if everyone will be happy.”

I looked around the warehouse that still showed traces of fire damage.

It seemed about time for the separately ordered items to arrive. Shortly after, the awaited news came.

“Grand Princess! The items from town have arrived!”

A knight on guard duty brought the items into the warehouse.

‘The quill pens, ink, and handkerchiefs all arrived safely.’

I distributed the arrived items to the people in the warehouse. These gifts were purchased with money I had earned by selling herbs I had collected.

‘I ordered them when I went to town with Tristan.’

Thanks to that, the emergency herbs that had filled my drawer were now gone. I remembered how Tristan had been surprised that the handful of herbs could fetch such a good price.

I hope this repays them.

“When did you prepare these things for us!”

“I will treasure this.”

“Thank you so much, Grand Princess! We’ll work even harder to help with the party.”

“Don’t overdo it. Please.”

I didn’t know what would happen if the maids gave their all.

‘It was good to expand the size of the party.’

Originally, I had thought of a small party with just the Grand Duke, myself, Tristan, and Lucas. But the number of helpers volunteering for the party kept growing.

“All these people are coming to help additionally?”

The already substantial list grew even larger after just one day.

“Yes. These people here are the chef and children who will be in charge of the party food. And these people are knights who said they’d do any odd jobs needed.”

“How did the carpenter and blacksmith know to offer help?”

“Well, in our Grand Duke’s mansion, there’s a modest club that shares vision orbs. They joined after seeing the carriage video recently.”

Apparently, a vision orb recording of me smiling in the carriage had made its way to that mysterious club.

“The provider is young master Tristan, and he’s an honorary member.”

Initially, it was just a gathering of maids and Gerard, I was told. But when Gerard showed my vision orb to the knights, the club expanded significantly as the knights were recruited.

‘Isn’t this illegal?’

I was dumbfounded by the state of the Grand Duke’s household, where concepts like portrait rights didn’t seem to exist.

Though the reason was unsettling, I couldn’t turn away people who had come to help. I arranged for everyone who came to help with the party to be able to participate.

The budget could be covered with the pouch of gold coins.

“We’ll need a remote location that can accommodate many people.”

At the butler’s reasonable suggestion, I immediately pointed to this warehouse.

No one came to this warehouse because of the fire that had occurred. I heard that all the furniture that had been inside was moved out, leaving it completely empty.

“We should be able to hold the party here without being discovered!”

With the butler’s permission, items began entering the warehouse one after another.

I looked around the party venue that had become quite impressive in just a few days. Instead of sculptures, paper-folding crafts made by the maids adorned the floor.

Sen, who had just checked the newly installed lighting, turned to me with a request.

“Now we need to bring Young Master Tristan and Young Master Lucas to finish up, right?”

“I’ll do that.”

“I, as the head butler, will escort the Grand Duke.”

“Then we’ll go call the chef and his children.”

We each took our assigned targets and quickly dispersed.

I thought it would be nice if this became the best memory, given how hard everyone had worked to prepare.

***

Tristan was sitting on the roof of the mansion. It was his designated spot, as he liked high places.

I waved at Tristan while holding Daebak.

“Tristan!”

Tristan’s eyes widened when he saw me. He quickly came down from the roof and picked me up.

His voice was filled with clear joy as he spoke.

“Did you come to see me?”

“Yes.”

Tristan, still carrying me, used magic to float in the air. He jumped across the gap in the roof and set me down where he had been sitting.

Sitting side by side with him on the roof, I could see the garden landscape at a glance.

“Nice view, right?”

He stretched and smiled, pulling up one corner of his mouth. The red light of the setting sun covered the mansion.

It was fascinating to see several familiar places at once. Tristan tickled my hair with his finger as I was absorbed in the scenery.

Every time our eyes met, he smiled with his eyes like a fox.

I burst out laughing as I imagined a red-furred fox crying irritably. Tristan grabbed my cheeks.

I mumbled as his hands kneaded my cheeks like clay.

“Wha are you doing?”

“Observing.”

“If you’re done, could you let go? Tristan.”

Tristan’s eyes sparkled like glass fragments as he released my cheeks. He could now smile with a fairly comfortable expression.

He had softened, as if his previously sharp, guarded demeanor toward others had been a lie. Now he just seemed like a playful boy.

“So what brings my little sister here? I doubt you really came just to see me.”

“There’s a place I’d like you and Lucas to go with me.”

“I might be fine, but brother will probably be difficult.”

Tristan’s face, which had been smiling all along, crumpled slightly. That kind of reaction meant something had happened with Lucas.

As my expression hardened in response, he smiled wryly and rested his chin on his hand.

“It’s okay. It’s temporary. But brother probably won’t come out of his room.”

“Is he busy?”

“No. Sometimes he goes into his room and doesn’t come out. Right now, he’s locked his door.”

It must be because of the knighting ceremony earlier.

Lucas didn’t react emotionally in front of me. Just because he was smiling didn’t mean he was okay.

“I’ll become stronger and next time I’ll be the owner of that dream.”

The hair Lucas had given me was stored in a drawer. Protecting someone seemed to be a very meaningful act for him.

“This isn’t the first time he’s shut himself in his room, is it?”

Tristan’s back flinched at my words. Pressing his brow when clearly troubled, he reluctantly said.

“He was like this after mother and sister died, too.”

“For how long?

“Half a year. At that time, father was also shut up in his office, so there was no one to stop him.”

“What about you back then?”

Tristan’s expression wavered upon being struck in a vital spot.

His distorted eyes quickly regained their original vitality. Tristan softened his eyebrows and pulled up the corners of his mouth to smile.

Behind that smile, which covered like a solid shield, pain was glimpsed.

“I was fine.”

“No, you weren’t.”

In that moment when both his father and brother hid in their spaces and wouldn’t come out, he, too, must have needed a place to hide.

And as far as I knew, he had no sanctuary.

“Now I have you, so I’m fine. You won’t hide, will you?”

Tristan closed his eyes with his head resting on my shoulder. When he said I wouldn’t hide, did he mean I wouldn’t leave, or was he speaking literally?

Either way, I couldn’t promise.

I raised my hand and stroked his eyes and forehead. His expression softened at my touch.

“Tristan, let’s convince Lucas to come out.”

“That’s impossible. He wouldn’t come out even if I set off a bomb outside his door.”

“You tried that?”

His silence was, in his way of speaking, an affirmation. Feeling sorry for Tristan, I shook my head.

He probably tried everything under the pretense of getting him to come out of his room.

“This time it’s not just Tristan alone. Let’s try.”

If we put our heads together, we might come up with a good strategy. Lucas had also become stronger than before, so we might succeed more easily than expected.

“…Okay. Since I’m not alone, maybe we can do it.”

Tristan got up, dusting himself off, and picked me up again. Then he jumped down from the roof and landed slowly.

I liked how straightforward he was, taking action immediately after making a decision.

“Let’s go, little one! Let’s get brother out of that damned room!”

His enthusiasm was good, but why wasn’t he using teleportation magic? He seemed to plan on carrying me all the way to Lucas’s distant room.

‘It’s troublesome, but let it be.’

The people in this household never let me walk on my own two feet.

If he was doing it because he wanted to, was there any need to stop him? After walking diligently, Tristan arrived at Lucas’s door and set me down.

‘This is Lucas’s room.’

He had visited my room several times, but I had never been here. As I was contemplating how to open the firmly closed door.

Tristan stepped forward and kicked the door hard with his foot.