This Three-Year-Old Is A Villainess - Chapter 31
Then, Enzo smiled as if in a dilemma.
“Well, Miss. A banquet is not something you can host with just 1 or 2 gold coins—”
I reached into the bag I had brought with me and took something out with a rustling sound.
Then, I cupped my hands full of it and extended them forward.
“These jewels…!”
Enzo stared at my hands filled with unique and incredibly expensive-looking gemstones.
Each one was distinctive and even to a casual observer, they looked extraordinarily valuable.
These were the ones Conrad brought to me last night.
‘A token of my gratitude for my Physical Rejuvenation Elixir from Grandfather!’
Enzo’s eyes widened.
It was almost jaw-dropping that a three-year-old like me was carrying gemstones of this magnitude.
When he mumbled, “With these, the banquet should be…,” he reached out his trembling hand towards me.
Slap!
Dad slapped away Enzo’s hand that was about to touch.
“Do you intend to take a child’s hard-earned money?”
“Hard-earned… That’s not really hard-earned money, I suppose…”
Enzo was right.
These could pass as the family heirloom of any noble household.
When I received them from Conrad, I even heard a trumpet fanfare in my ears.
So, in fact, I felt quite regretful…
‘I intended to give it as an investment, you know?’
Besides, since these were gemstones, there was no way for me to turn them into cash.
Dad glanced at Enzo, whose disappointment was evident.
Then he tossed something, which turned out to be a key.
“Take as much as you need from my personal treasury.”
“Understood.”
“What now.”
“Huh?”
“If you keep dawdling now, do you think we can return to the jurisdiction within this week?”
“I’ll prepare immediately.”
Enzo bid farewell to both me and Father and quickly disappeared.
‘Going back to the jurisdiction within this week?’
There’s just about a week left.
Considering Father’s not-so-good relationship with Grandfather, he would barely be able to stand it in his natural state.
In other words, I had exactly a week to get closer to Father.
And so, the ‘Getting Closer to Father Project’ began in earnest.
***
I visited Father’s office in the barracks all day.
I went after breakfast, after lunch, and after dinner.
It had been three days since Father returned to the castle.
After finishing lunch, I headed to Father’s office again.
I knocked on the large door on my tiptoes, and Enzo opened it.
“Did you have your meal, miss?”
Enzo, who had grown familiar with me in just two days, greeted me with a warm smile.
Other officers who worked with Father also smiled and welcomed me.
I greeted Enzo and then plopped down on the tatami mat where Father’s worktable was.
Fortunately, Father didn’t say much. He was swamped with work that he didn’t have the time to take care of for five years.
Sometimes, he glanced at me with a face that said, ‘What’s that kid up to?’
‘As long as he doesn’t complain, that’s good enough.’
When I was doing this with Grandfather, I couldn’t even step into his office, but with Father, I could stay inside.
‘Being close to him will give me a chance to get closer to him.’
I played around, sketching and writing in my sketchbook.
Enzo noticed and asked,
“You’re already writing?”
I proudly lifted my chin.
‘You don’t know how hard I’ve worked until now.’
It took me a full three years to become proficient in this world’s writing, which was vastly different from both Korean and English.
‘I still can’t write proper sentences, but I’m much better than kids my age.’
“Ah, you truly are a daughter of House Astra. You’re different from ordinary people.”
Enzo started to say that but then flinched.
Father was looking in our direction with a somewhat disinterested expression.
‘Enzo, you dummy.’
Father despised the Astra family, and especially when someone said, ‘You’re truly an Astra,’ he couldn’t hide his disdain.
While Enzo was taken aback, I quickly changed the subject.
“I know a wot of lettews!” (I know a lot of letters!)
“Really? Can you write your father’s name too?”
“Yeah!”
I lay down and diligently wrote the characters.
[Daymon…]
As I wrote up to there, I glanced at Father.
‘If I’m too good at it, it might look unusual.’
If you’re too intelligent, people might not like you but become wary of you.
‘What if they think of me as an artificial human?’
I hastily erased what I had written with a crayon and wrote a new word.
“Here.”
I said, and Enzo, along with the other officers, looked with interest.
[Mondukie]
“Pffft!”
Somewhere, a sound like someone was gasping for breath was heard.
A long-haired officer had his mouth covered, looking like he was about to die.
Enzo’s reaction was similar. He pinched his thigh fiercely.
The other officers had varying reactions.
I had written the characters so large that even on Father’s desk, it would be visible that I had written them.
“…”
When Enzo’s forehead wrinkled, he quickly said,
“Well, but four letters are correct.”
“Yes, the very young lady who is only three years old is truly remarkable.”
Then he gently turned to the next page of my sketchbook.
I secretly glanced at Father.
