The Grand Duke’s Little Lady

Oh no Ive been in this same place for a couple of times now.

It was then.

Ah, it hurts!

Be quiet. You bastard! If you did it right, you wouldnt get hit!

Ariel heard people talking.

?

She started following the sound.

She thought that luck was probably on her side since she found people in the mansion.

Ill ask them the way back.

Ariel stood in front of the door where she heard the voices, and knocked, just as Susan always did.

But there were only louder noises coming from inside.

..Cant they hear the knock?

Ariel, who was worried for a while, pushed the door gently.

Inside the door was a middle-aged man wearing a white robe and a boy around Ariels age, arguing.

And

.!

Shockingly, all the furniture in the room was floating in the air.

She was surprised for a moment, but Ariel quickly recovered.

Its magic

Although she looks like a young girl right now, she was also a wizard in the past.

A high-class wizard who uses offensive magic at that.

Thats why shes not that surprised seeing another person using magic.

But when the two people in the room spotted Ariel, they immediately stopped and froze.

The floating furniture slowly sank to the ground.

W-who are you?!

The little boy shouted a beat late.

Ariel greeted the two like a proper lady of the house.

Hello, Im Ariel. Im married to the Young Lord, Lucian.

What?! Married?!

As soon as he asked that question in a stupefied voice, a loud sound of something being hit was heard and the boys head fell forward.

You scoundrel! Show some respect to the Grand Duchess!

Ah! Grandpa!

The boy grabbed his head and stomped his feet.

He seemed like hes quite in pain.

The old man greets Ariel.

Hello, Grand Duchess. Im Bruno, the wizard of this house. And this brat.

He shifted his eyes at the boy next to him with a quite different way he looked towards Ariel.

This is Heath, my pathetic grandchild, and assistant.

(t/n: its spelled as (Hiseu) but translated as Heath in English.)

The man who introduced himself as Bruno, asked Ariel carefully.

Arent you surprised about what you saw just now?

I was a little surprised.

Ariel, who frankly admitted, spoke in a matured voice.

But Id be more surprised if I didnt hear it from Mr. Allen in advance.

Brunos expression softened.

youre bold.

He smiled.

Im glad you werent surprised.

Can I ask what you were doing?

He, who was smiling happily at Ariel, slapped his head.

Ah! I was teaching him cleaning skills to lift things up so it would be easier when he cleans them up.

Ariel tilted her head.

The magic of lifting things was quite difficult. The heavier the object is, the more power costs.

I think theres a better way to clean up though.

Bruno coughed in vain.

Of course, Im cleaning with suction magic.

So you were just trying to mess with me!

Shut up, all this is to educate you!

When Ariel saw the grumbling uncle, she laughed out loud.

Hearing the girls laughter, the two guys stopped fighting and looked at her.

Ariel spoke to Bruno.

I heard you were helping with the management of this place. I also heard that you were once the Archmage of the Imperial Palace.

Oh, how embarrassing. Now, Im just a retired Mage who teaches his grandson and works here.

Ariel knew that it was all modesty.

It was because she also heard a lot of things about the Archmage of the palace from the wizards when she was a sorcerer in the past.

The Archmage was one of the most excellent wizards, out of all the other 10,000 wizards.

So there were only about one or two people like him born every hundred years.

Hahaha, did you hear that? My grandfather is a super-genius wizard. And Im a super genius, too.ouch!

The brown-haired boy, who proudly bragged to Ariel with all his might, was hit on his head again.

Grandpa! That hurt!

I told you to call me a teacher!

Dont hit me! Why is a sorcerer like you using force? Why do you always do it every time I talk to this girl?ump!

I dont know what Bruno did, but the boys mouth closed on its own.

Is that the magic of silence?

Bruno turned to Ariel and bowed his head.

I apologize for my grandsons rudeness.

No, you dont have to.

Ariel, who touched his hand with her little hand, realized her original purpose and said.

By the way, I was wandering around and got lost, can you help me to find my way back?

Of course.

Bruno, wearing a white robe, stopped as he tried to summon the map of the mansion.

You must be tired to walk back. Do you want me to teleport you?

Um, no. Please just show me the way.

Okay.

Bruno grabbed his grandson Heath by the back of his head and dragged him over.

Heath, you punk. Give the lady directions and come back. Your old grandfathers mana is already weak

However, contrary to his words, he looked at his grandson in a not-so-weak manner.

Be polite. You know what will happen if you dont, right? Ten days in silence.

I, I got it!

The boy shouted and brusquely told Ariel.

Follow me! Please.

Ariel greeted Bruno with a smile.

Thank you. Nice to meet you, Bruno.

Go ahead.

Bruno greeted and reached out his hand as if asking for a handshake.

Ariel reached out her small hand and held Brunos hand tightly before releasing it.

He paused for a moment, it was sudden but not to the point that it felt strange to Ariel. Heath spoke in an annoyed tone.

Hurry and follow me!. Please.

It wasnt very pleasant to be guided by a boy with a curt attitude on her way back but Ariel hummed.

It was one of the tunes Susan often sang to her as a lullaby.

Since Lucian left, she hasnt seen anyone of her age for two months.

Ariel felt friendly to Heath a new person close to her current age.

Hurry up!.. Please.

(t/n: Heath has been talking to her informally but hes adding -yeo at the end of the sentence to make it sound more polite unwillingly lols. Idk how to tl that in English so I just added please or just plain ..)

Heath strode first and spoke rudely.

This is so annoying. Im going to die, anyway My grandfather is senileWhy do I have to do this?

Even though hes like that, its undeniable that hes scared of his grandfather.

Cute.

Ariel laughed without a sound.

Heath, you can just speak comfortably.

P-pardon?

Bruno is the one who helps the house, but you are only Brunos grandson. Im not your master.

But I was told that the aristocrats should be treated with respect!pardon.

Ariel shook her head gently.

Its fine since its me.

Heath, who was staring suspiciously at her, lifted his chin.

Hmmp! All right. Now were on the same page. I dont like all the aristocrats. Im furious that a genius wizard like me is talking to you.

Heath is a wizard, too?

Of course. Why else would I train under that monstrous Archmage? Im trying to be a greater wizard.

It seems that he got excited when I talked to him and now hes talking a lot.

Ariel suddenly felt that Heath also had never met kids of the same age as him in this house.

Heath, who had been talking about Brunos abuse for a long time, asked.

But you said youre married to the Young Lord.

Yeah.

How old are you.

Im 10.

Huh. No way. You dont look like one.

..

Ariel was sullen by Heaths reaction.

I gained weight and grew a little bit in two months

Whenever she loses weight, she deliberately tries to drink a lot of milk and eat snacks to raise it, but Susan always shook her head.

I still have a long way to go.

Im ten years old. How old is Heath?

Heath raised the tips of his mouth.

The brown-haired boy with a mischievous smile puffed his chest.

Me? This brother is 11 years old!

Pfft.

Ah. Ariel burst into laughter.

Hes young as well.

Although Ariel is younger now, she has already lived to seventeen in the past.

Unlike Lucian, a 14-year-old boy with a dangerous atmosphere, Heath was just like a normal boy.

You, you! Dont look at me with your eyes that says Im cute! Youre younger than me!

Heath blushed and screamed, his face turning red.

They walked in such a taut manner then until they arrived at the main aisle.

Ariel already knows the way to her room at this point.

Thank you for accompanying me, Heath.

Ariel said goodbye and turned around.

I wish I could meet Bruno and Heath again, but I didnt know what Mathius would think.

Turning around, she heard Heaths voice in her ear.

Hey, youre close to the Grand Duke, right?

Ariel quickly turned around.

How do you know that?

She was not sure about that yet either.

Huh. Im a wizard even if Im young. I know whats going on in this house.

Ah.

Whats with that easy-going answer?

Heath frowned. The annoyed little boy continued his words.

You shouldnt tell your husband that youre close to him.

Why?

Why? Of course Wait. You didnt know?

Ariel was puzzled.

What do I dont know?

Heath had a serious look on his face.

The Grand Duke and the Young Lord are on very bad terms. A little kid like you is about to burst your back and die.

Ariel blinked a big eye.

Mathius and Lucian have a bad relationship? Arent they family?

Of course, it wasnt strange just by looking at Ariels relationship with the Marquis. But Ariel was a little confused because she thought Mathius and Lucian had a good relationship.

Seriously,

He disheveled his hair.

Anyway, I warned you.

He said before he walked away at a quick phase. Ariel was left standing there for a while.

After a while, she returned to her room.

Susan brought her warm milk mixed with muffins and honey with pistachio as a snack.

Ariel held her little chin in her hands.

I didnt know those two were in a bad relationshipWhy are they not getting along?