The Adopted Princess Hopes to Escape the Genre - Chapter 39
Rashid nodded. I immediately flicked him on the forehead.
“Again. Did you stab the Duchess with a knife?”
Rashid shook his head vigorously.
“Did you go to the Duchess and tell her to die?”
He shook his head again.
“Then how is it your fault that she died?”
Only then did I remove my hand from his mouth. Rashid gasped as if he had been holding his breath.
“Phew. But… she died while giving birth to me….”
“And who made you?”
“Uh….”
“The Duke and the Duchess did. Your parents. So doesn’t that mean the Duke killed her? He’s the one who made the baby. Or what, were you just spontaneously created?”
“T-That’s….”
Rashid’s pupils wavered as he faltered at my logic.
“Did the Duke ever tell you directly that you killed the Duchess?”
“…No.”
He looked visibly shaken as I continued my barrage of questions.
“Then why do you think that?”
“…The head maid….”
‘The head maid is the problem here too.’
She must have constantly planted guilt in him, making him believe it was his fault the Duchess died, all to manipulate him to her liking.
It was such a typical and pointless issue that I cut Rashid off mid-sentence.
“You don’t need to listen to that kind of nonsense. And this is usually a problem caused by a lack of communication.”
“Lack of communication?”
“Have you ever talked to the Duke about this directly?”
Rashid, looking dejected, pondered for a moment before shaking his head. Of course. Another classic case of a family that doesn’t talk.
“Then talk to him. If you don’t speak to the person involved, you’ll never really know.”
“…Alright!”
Rashid, who had been sitting on the sofa, jumped up like a spring, ready to confirm everything immediately.
But then a horrifying possibility flashed through my mind.
‘What if Duke Baccharis is actual trash and just outright tells Rashid it’s true?’
I quickly grabbed Rashid’s arm and yanked him back down.
“Ugh. What now?”
Rashid, stopped in his tracks and forced back onto the sofa, looked at me in confusion.
‘Why is he trying to run off so fast? Seriously, kids and their insane impulse control…’
I closely examined the clueless little boy sitting in front of me.
‘Statistically, 90% of male leads who don’t receive parental love turn dark…’
This won’t do.
Looking at the arm I was holding, Rashid seemed bewildered, so I spoke.
“Rashid, just in case you need to hear this—children should be loved without having to earn it.”
“…….”
“Parents aren’t the only ones who can abandon their children. Kids can abandon their parents too. If it comes to that, you leave first.”
Rashid stared at me intently before suddenly bursting into laughter.
‘What the—after everything I just said?’
Seeing him laugh right in my face made my brows furrow automatically.
Despite his usually prickly personality, he laughed with deep breaths like he was doing abdominal breathing, then even clutched his stomach.
All this, when I was only worried about him.
“I’m not joking. If it ever happens, make sure you take your rightful share of the assets. Be thorough with contracts. Verbal agreements mean nothing. Always put it in writing.”
“Even if it’s just talk, thanks. I feel a bit better now.”
Finally calming down, Rashid wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes. He definitely looked better than when he was talking about the Duchess earlier.
‘Well, as long as it helped.’
Feeling somewhat relieved, I let go of his arm and gave a final word of caution.
“Just wait for now. I’ll look into things first, just in case.”
“Okay!”
For some reason, Rashid’s gaze on me had softened considerably. At first, there had been a hint of wariness and hostility, but now…
‘There’s nothing wrong with getting closer. If the real daughter ever shows up, maybe he’ll take my side a little.’
I rationalized my decision and nodded twice to myself.
Feeling pleased about having prepared another backup plan, I pushed the plate of cookies toward Rashid. He looked puzzled but picked one up and ate it.
“Don’t eat too much. You still need to have dinner later.”
“Mm… okay.”
Even as he said that, he didn’t let go of the cookie in his hand.
Now that my stomach was full and I felt at ease, my eyes started to droop. Rashid seemed the same, already dozing off beside me with a cookie still in his mouth.
I carefully guided his bobbing head down onto the sofa, making sure he was comfortable. Then, I gently pulled the half-eaten cookie from his mouth and placed it back on the plate.
Thankfully, he didn’t wake up.
After confirming that Rashid was sleeping peacefully, I rubbed my eyes—and before I knew it, I had dozed off too.
