Duke, Please Stop Because it Hurts
chapter-154-30041322

“Where are we going?”

“If you go this way, you can go to the tower! That’s my secret base.”

The child was quite proud of his own secret base.

“You know, when you go to this secret base…”

“You’ve done a very good job on the Kingdom of Portland, haven’t you?”

Molitia stopped walking at a moment when she had heard a voice around the corner.

“Of course. I’ve also made contact with the merchant and I’m all ready now.”

“Yes, I would have let it go normally, but this time I’m going to have it run a little earlier. So that they won’t bother us.”

Molitia quickly embraced the child, who was walking forward without knowing anything. She instinctively covered the child’s mouth gently. The little child was surprised and struggled a bit, but Molitia whispered softly with her index finger on her mouth.

Fortunately, Robert had understood Molitia’s words before silencing his behavior soon.

“Now that we’re ready, it’s only a matter of time before the people of that kingdom make a move. There’s only one part of it that’s calm.”

“Be careful not to leave a single trace, it doesn’t matter if you just take care of the people after you use them.”

“Okay.”

“Keep in mind that you have to deal with it without anyone knowing at all. Especially when the Marquis knows about it.”

The voice soon subsided.

Did they leave? She stood there and waited a while, but she could no longer hear them talking.

Molitia carefully stuck her head out with the child still hidden behind her back. The people who were talking around the corner had already disappeared.

Who was that? From the conversation straight up to the scene where they were talking carefully. Everything was utterly suspicious—every single one.

Molitia slowly turned towards Robert.

“Did you see the person they were talking to earlier?”

The innocent child shook his head.

“Does that voice sound familiar?”

He shook his head once more. When she had gotten the same answer, Molitia sighed deeply.

“Then, Robert, you have no idea what they were doing earlier?”

“Yeah, I heard that it’s cold here and no one uses it. So, I found it for the first time and made it into my secret base.”

“Don’t people come?”

“Yes, they don’t. I often came here when I hid because I didn’t want to study!”

Molitia’s face stiffened at Robert’s words.

It was a place where even the servants had rarely visited.

If Robert hadn’t stumbled upon this path, it would have been a thoroughly neglected place. Even those who knew the layout of the Marquis’ wouldn’t even know.

“Sister?”

At the tug of her skirt’s hem, Molitia quickly escaped from her mind. The eyes of that child, who was all still innocent, simply rolled around.

“Oh, nothing. Shall we head back to the room?”

“What? Why? We’ll get to the secret base in just a little while!”

Oozing with regret, the tug on her skirt’s hem became a little stronger. Molitia patted his head as if to soothe his disappointment, before bending herself towards the child.

“Right by now, people might be anxiously looking for Robert, who had disappeared all of a sudden.”

“Hmm! Otherwise, I can’t come out at all. I want to play outside, but they keep telling me to just play in my room.”

The child heaved proudly with his arms crossed. He looked up straight—just like a Young Master.

“But you should’ve informed them. I’m sure the maid is worried and looking around like yesterday. Robert, do you like it when she’s having a hard time?”

The child’s head sank when he said quietly. Even yesterday, the child wiggled his hand as if he remembered that his maid was looking for him with beads of sweat all over her.

“……no.”

“Then let’s go and get the right permission. I’ll come with you and tell them as well.”

“Really?”

The sullen eyes of that child quickly regained their vitality once again.

“If you let me know, I might give you permission with me too!”

“I promise. So, let’s go back to the room.”

“Yes!”

She held the small hand of the child who was smiling brightly. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

She swiftly glanced behind her back and soon stepped forward.

—————————

Molitia’s mouth had widened naturally.

Her eyes, which were already sleepy, moved quite stiffly. It always felt like this after playing with Robert. A condition in which one’s energy was already too depleted to do anything.

As her mind tried pulling herself desperately in order to get to the bed, she tugged at the doorknob.