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Episode 14
"Young Master Mireil, I mean, the Young Grand Duke, is not currently in the main residence."
Hearing Lilia's words, Letty widened her eyes. If Young Grand Duke Mireil wasn't staying in the main residence, where could he be living?
[He usually prefers solitude and finds others uncomfortable, so he resides alone in the forest. Unless there’s an official event, he seldom comes down.]
“….....…”
Reflecting on Lilia's additional comments, Letty trudged along slowly.
She wanted to visit Mireil by herself in the forest where he supposedly lived, but Lilia strongly opposed the idea, deeming it dangerous, leaving her with no choice.
Returning to her room feeling dejected, without meeting either Mireil or her father-in-law Grisys, she was greeted by a tiny fairy fluttering around while holding a thumb-sized backpack.
“What are you doing, fairy?”
Letty asked with her eyes wide open. Tinker glanced back and replied nonchalantly.
“What does it look like? Packing.”
Despite its short stay at the Grand Duke’s estate, the fairy complained about how much baggage it’d accumulated, stuffing snacks Lilia had brought into the small backpack with grumbles.
“Why are you packing?”
It seemed the naive red panda wouldn’t understand without a straightforward explanation.
Tinker sighed at Letty’s slow blink of innocent eyes and began speaking as if reluctantly.
“I reread the book [Panda Daughter-in-Law] while you were out.”
“And?”
“The female protagonist, Tierra, managed to meet the Grand Duke’s son and even grew close to him and the Grand Duke immediately after entering the mansion, didn’t she?”
Wow― that’s amazing!
Tinker felt frustrated as Letty merely admired Tierra's achievements, thumping its little chest in exasperation.
“What’s the point of just admiring? It’s been over ten days since you came here, and you’ve neither grown close to the Grand Duke nor even seen his son’s face.”
Chided by the fairy, Letty drooped her shoulders in dismay again.
Tinker’s words were correct, but it wasn’t Letty’s fault.
‘It’s because of Father-in-law!’
Sure, Mireil didn’t live in the main residence, but Grisys was there every day. Yet every time Letty visited his office, he was asleep, leaving her unable to even greet him.
“In simple terms, you’re doomed. At this rate, not only will you fail to become the Grand Duke’s daughter-in-law, but your secret of not being a panda might be exposed. If that happens, forget obtaining the Angel’s Tears; you’ll be thrown in jail!”
Ding—!
Tinker’s blunt conclusion rang like a bell in Letty’s head.
‘Then, does that mean Letty will die?’
If she died, she wouldn’t be able to meet her mother!
“No way!”
Letty’s sudden cry of despair made Tinker pause midair and cross its arms.
“That’s why I must find another way to rewrite the book.”
“No, fairy! Don’t abandon Letty!”
Clutching the hem of Tinker’s dress with teary eyes, Letty pleaded. Tinker trembled its wings and ground its teeth in frustration.
“Let me go! I knew you were doomed the moment you kept munching on bamboo shoots instead of trying to win over the Grand Duke or his son!”
This foolish, gluttonous red panda! All you care about is eating! You can’t even come up with a simple strategy!
Tinker, frustrated at its own poor choice of using such a young child as a tool to fix the book, tried to shake off Letty’s grip. Tried, but failed.
“Ugh.”
Letty, with her tiny hands, clung tightly to Tinker’s dress, making it impossible for its to fly away.
“Let me go! Do you think everything can be solved by throwing a tantrum?”
“Ugh, ugh!”
Maybe it could.
Seeing Letty’s moist, pleading brown eyes, Tinker let out a deep sigh and perched on her shoulder.
“Fairy, you promised to help Letty.”
Sensing Tinker’s softened attitude, Letty gently soothed the fairy, stroking its chiffon-like wings.
Thanks to building a bond with the fairy over time, Letty felt like she could sense Tinker’s feelings when they touched.
Despite its growing frustration, Tinker’s warm heart toward Letty remained. Feeling it, Letty widened her eyes.
‘Fairy, you must have been upset because of Letty.’
She realized how frustrating it must have been for an impatient fairy to watch her mindlessly eat bamboo shoots in the Grand Duke’s household, a place where she needed to stay sharp.
“If I help you, will you listen to me from now on?”
Reflecting on her behavior, Letty hurriedly nodded in agreement to Tinker’s question.
“Yes!”
“Then first, you need to befriend the Grand Duke. Tierra began her conquest with the Grand Duke, slowly melting his heart and securing her place in the Grizzly Grand Duchy.”
Hearing Tinker’s plan, Letty stiffened her expression in determination. Her russet eyebrows twitched with focus.
“How did Tierra befriend him?”
“She broke his curse at their first meeting.”
Pssh.
Hearing Tinker’s answer, steam practically rose from Letty’s body in frustration.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The child, who had tried to befriend the Grand Duke following Tierra’s example, felt disheartened by Tinker’s response and pouted.
“Letty can’t do that.”
Tierra, a panda-human hybrid, possessed the power of purification. She could break curses on others simply by being near them.
‘Letty can’t do anything like that…’
Even if she had latent powers, she had no idea how to awaken them on her own.
“Right. On second thought, this isn’t going to work. I’ll start packing again.”
Watching Letty grow more and more dejected, Tinker sniffled slightly, then reopened its backpack.
“Ugh…”
But this time, Letty couldn’t bring herself to stop the fairy.
She felt it would be wrong to hold Tinker back when she couldn’t even break the Grand Duke’s curse like Tierra.
As much as Letty valued her mother, she realized the book was just as precious to the fairy.
So she silently watched Tinker fly around, gathering cookies, chocolates, and even jewels from the decorations on her bed.
“I’ll be taking this candy.”
“Yes…”
After gathering everything, Tinker finally stood by the window.
“Why won’t this thing open?!”
Creak—click!
Struggling to open the window, the fairy suddenly saw a small hand emerge from behind its and push the window open. Tinker frowned deeply.
‘Ugh. Why does my conscience have to hurt now?’
A demon having a conscience? Ridiculous.
Someone like Tinker, who had no qualms about using others' names, couldn’t understand why those tearful eyes made it so hard for its to walk away.
“I’m leaving. Take care.”
“Yes… Goodbye, fairy.”
Hiding her lingering sadness, Letty waved Tinker off with as much cheer as she could muster.
“Don’t get sick. And I’ll pray hard that the book gets better.”
“…Fine.”
Ignoring Letty, who was gently waving her hand, Tinker resolutely turned its back and fluttered her wings as it flew off.
“Ugh…”
Unable to stop the departing fairy, Letty finally started crying. It wasn’t just the lack of help that left her feeling so desolate, but the overwhelming loneliness of being truly on her own.
As she watched the fairy’s figure grow smaller in the distance and moved away from the window, a voice called out.
“Hey!”
Thud!
Tinker had returned, landing back on the windowsill.
“Why didn’t you, a child, throw a tantrum? You should’ve been bawling and begging me not to leave!”
Letty’s eyes widened in surprise at the fairy’s sudden outburst.
Plop.
Tinker, irritated by the large tears falling from Letty’s eyes, continued with exasperation.
“In [Panda Daughter-in-Law], it states that the Grand Duke’s curse is sloth, one of the seven deadly sins! That’s why people call him Grisys the Sloth.”
“Sloth…?”
“Sloth means laziness. You’ve seen it yourself, haven’t you? That man spends 23 hours and 30 minutes of every day lying down.”
Letty nodded at Tinker’s words. In fact, the last time she’d seen Grisys sitting upright was on her first day.
“So, the point is! If you can make him diligent, it’s practically the same as breaking the curse.”
With a dramatic sigh at Letty’s response, Tinker reopened its backpack and rummaged through its magical space.
“This is not something I give out to just anyone. It’s extremely precious.”
Due to the book’s illness, Tinker’s power had been steadily waning. In this situation, the special potion that amplified all stats was one of its most prized treasures.
“First, give this to the Grand Duke. It will temporarily bring him back to his senses.”
“What is this?”
“Hot☆S.”
The effect is amazing. Heart on fire guaranteed.
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