Reforming the Villain Family (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 14
The grandfather clock chimed, signaling the start of the meeting.
Though the Duke had not yet arrived, all the vassals fell silent as if by mutual agreement.
Soon after, the grand hall doors opened, and every vassal rose in unison.
“Hail Your Grace, Sovereign of the North.”
It was the customary greeting from vassal to liege.
An oath of loyalty embedded within the bow.
When all the vassals in the hall simultaneously lowered their heads in greeting, the sight was truly magnificent.
‘So this is what a real ducal household looks like… truly overwhelming.’
Diane, still cradled in the Duke’s arms, gulped. Even a rough estimate of the vassals’ number easily surpassed thirty.
Even after entering the grand hall, the Duke continued to hold Diane.
He strode across the meeting chamber and halted only when he reached the seat of highest honor.
‘By the way, where’s my seat?’
No matter how hard she looked, there wasn’t an empty chair in sight. As Diane turned her head this way and that searching for a place to sit, the Duke simply sat down in his own seat.
Diane was promptly plopped onto the Duke’s lap.
Huh? Diane was flustered all over again.
“Raise your heads now.”
Until the Duke spoke, the vassals remained motionless, heads bowed in silence.
As soon as they finally lifted their heads, every gaze instantly converged on one spot—
the child seated on the Duke’s lap.
Shock and astonishment flickered in the vassals’ eyes.
His Grace himself seated the young lady on his lap!
Unlike their stunned reactions, Diane thought sourly to herself,
‘Why’s he suddenly acting so affectionate…?’
[This is the timeline separator]“I assume you’ve all heard the news.”
Breaking the silence, the Duke spoke.
Every vassal leaned in attentively to hear his words.
“Recently, I found my biological daughter. Her name is Diane Crustel.”
One of the Duke’s hands gently stroked my head.
This was the first time the Duke had ever touched my head like this.
Sitting on his lap and feeling his hand made me suddenly want to bolt from sheer awkwardness.
I suddenly recalled what the Duke had said earlier.
‘Now that I think about it, he did tell me to stay quiet.’
I forced myself to calm down instead of squirming.
Just a little longer—I only need to hold on a bit more.
‘He probably doesn’t like this either, so he’ll send me away soon.’
He must be putting on an act to make the vassals believe I’m truly his daughter.
At the Duke’s gentle tone, all the vassals’ eyes turned to me at once.
I realized it was now my turn to greet them personally.
“Hello, I’m Diane Crustel.”
After a brief silence, exclamations burst out from every corner like a dam breaking.
“Good heavens! You’re truly extraordinary! I can’t believe you’re only four!”
“You resemble His Grace perfectly—so clever-looking!”
“There’s no doubt you’re his daughter. Black hair is such a rare color, after all!”
The vassals chuckled, each adding their own approving remark. Their enthusiastic response left me slightly bewildered.
‘They didn’t act like this when the twins were brought in.’
I didn’t know much about when Clemens was adopted, as it wasn’t covered in the original story.
But it was clearly stated that when the twins were adopted, the vassals had fiercely opposed it.
Their objections stemmed from fears that discord might arise later between Clemens and the twins.
Additionally, they argued that the family couldn’t accept yet another orphan of unknown origin.
Naturally, the twins hadn’t taken it lying down.
They’d unceremoniously shoved the vassal who pointed at them into a corner, then magically silenced the rest as if glue had been pasted to their lips—
using their signature magical prowess, of course.
In the end, the vassals, having personally experienced the twins’ power, reluctantly accepted them, swallowing their pride like bitter mustard.
‘Ah, so that’s why they’re not objecting this time!’
Because that memory was still so vivid…?
‘But I don’t have that kind of power.’
Anyway, if it works out well, I’ll take it. This turn of events was clearly to my advantage.
‘Then all I need to do is find the one person who seems most suspicious.’
“Congratulations, Your Grace! She truly takes after you perfectly.”
At that moment, the vassal seated closest to the Duke spoke with a smile. His face looked oddly familiar.
‘He kind of resembles someone…’
As I stared directly at him, our eyes briefly met.
“Hohoho! The young lady seems quite fond of me!”
He burst into hearty laughter. The Duke looked down at me intently.
‘Is that true?’
Though he didn’t speak, his eyes clearly asked the question.
‘But why does he look like he’s glaring?’
It’s not like I particularly liked that vassal—I just happened to stare. I shook my head and asked him,
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes, of course, young lady. Ask away.”
“Are you Father Philen?”
“Good heavens!”
He genuinely looked astonished. His eyes wide, he repeated,
“You recognized me?”
“Yes, you two look alike.”
“Hohohet!”
He must have been the right person— the vassal laughed heartily again.
No wonder he looked familiar. So the Philen family was one of the vassal houses.
“My name is Count Othol. As you said, Philen is indeed my second son.”
Philen had been genuinely loyal to the Duke’s household until the very end. It stood to reason his entire family would share that loyalty.
‘Precisely because Philen is such a devoted retainer to the Duke.’
Of course, since the Duke he served turned out to be a villain, Philen ended up committing and covering up all sorts of atrocities—but his loyalty itself was unquestionable.
“Young lady, we actually met once before, if you recall.”
Another vassal spoke to me pointedly. It was Count Ripe, whom I’d seen previously.
“Yes.”
I didn’t like his sly smile.
But I couldn’t openly show my dislike, so I gave a neutral reply.
‘Because of him, Yan got scolded by the Duke.’
He was an extremely irritating man. Just then, the Duke spoke in a chilling tone.
“Count Ripe, I see you still haven’t managed to quit that vile habit of yours.”
“Hehe, the young lady is just so delightfully adorable. I simply couldn’t resist.”
“Next time, you’d better resist—or I’ll personally cut off those useless hands of yours.”
A shiver instantly ran down my spine.
Though the pressure vanished immediately, it seemed all the other vassals had felt it too—
their bodies had all gone rigid at once.
‘What was that just now?’
While I stood bewildered, an awkward silence settled over the room.
Yet Count Ripe remained as relaxed as ever.
“Your Grace clearly dotes on the young lady. Blood truly tells, doesn’t it?”
Hmm, that comment sounded oddly loaded.
When I glanced up, I saw a faint smile tugging at the Duke’s lips.
Seeing that smile, goosebumps involuntarily prickled all over my body.
‘Wow, he seriously looks like he’s about to kill someone.’
The Duke’s eyes weren’t smiling at all. It was a terrifying smile.
Sensing his menacing aura, the other vassals wisely kept their mouths shut. Only Count Ripe continued chuckling cheerfully.
Though it did seem the Duke and Count Ripe weren’t on good terms, that alone wasn’t enough evidence to label him the culprit.
‘After all, the Duke doesn’t get along with most of the other vassals anyway.’
Only one vassal had actually carried out the assassination attempt, but that didn’t mean the rest liked him.
“Your Grace, while the young lady certainly resembles you greatly…”
Count Ripe said with a subtly sly smile.
“…wouldn’t it still be wise to conduct a certified blood test at the Temple, just to be sure?”
At those words, every vassal instantly clamped their mouths shut. Even I, hearing it firsthand, was rather taken aback.
Not that his words hurt me—
‘But shouldn’t you avoid saying that right in front of me?’
No matter how much I appeared to be just an oblivious four-year-old, saying something like that directly to a child’s face was just…
And it seemed the Duke’s patience had finally run out upon hearing those words.
“Count Ripe.”
‘Oh no… this is really bad.’
I nervously looked back and forth between the Duke and the Count.
Count Ripe just kept smirking, as if deliberately provoking the Duke’s temper.
‘This really might end badly!’
Of course, whatever happened to that Count was none of my concern.
But at the very least, I hoped there wouldn’t be a bloody mess right in front of me.
Just then, a vassal who had quietly observed the situation stepped forward.
“Count Ripe.”
“What is it, Count Schusted?”
“This is in front of the young lady. Don’t act so recklessly.”
“True, this talk might be too difficult—and boring—for her to hear.”
Count Ripe turned to me with a sly smile.
“How about sending the young lady back to her room for now? With your permission, I’ll have my servant escort her.”
At the Count’s words, a young man who appeared to be his servant approached me.
The Duke gently set me down on the floor.
“There’s someone outside the hall to look after the child. Just escort her to the entrance.”
“Understood.”
The servant came closer and offered me his hand.
‘…Huh?’
His strong perfume scent tickled my nose.
The moment I smelled it, I realized I no longer needed to stay in the meeting hall.
I ran over and eagerly grabbed his opposite hand,
looking up at him with a bright, innocent smile as if I understood nothing.
The servant’s face briefly scrunched in confusion before smoothing out.
“Let’s go, then.”
Count Ripe’s servant courteously guided me away.
[This is the timeline separator]As the Duke had said, when I stepped outside the hall, Sophia was waiting for me.
“Sophia!”
I ran happily toward her, and Sophia greeted me with a bright smile.
“Young lady, shall we go back to your room together?”
As soon as we returned to the room, I immediately flopped onto the bed.
“Are you going to sleep now? Snack time is soon, and today’s treat is fruit pudding.”
Fruit pudding! Regular pudding was already sweet and nutty, but fruit pudding was refreshingly tangy and filled you up even more.
At Sophia’s words, my eyes almost snapped open in excitement—but remembering my plan, I calmly steeled my resolve.
‘Pudding isn’t the priority right now.’
I deliberately yawned wide and rubbed my eyes.
“I’m sleepy.”
“You probably woke up earlier than usual, so you’re extra tired.”
With a resigned sigh, Sophia pulled the blanket over me. I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled.
After a while, the lights went out. Only after hearing the door close gently did I snap my eyes open.
‘I need to go out and back quickly.’
It wouldn’t take long anyway.
Besides, pudding would taste even sweeter after finishing my task and returning with a clear conscience.
Hehehe—I strolled out of the room at ease.
Why so relaxed?
Well,
‘Because I’ve already found the culprit.’
A faint smirk curled at the corner of my lips.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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MANGA DISCUSSION
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Chapter Comments (105)
Oh, that’s terrifying! She’s so brave. The duke is truly terrifying. What was it that helped her?
Oh, poor Diane! The Duke doesn’t appreciate what she did for him. How ungrateful!
He never made a mistake; he only sent an assassin to kill the Duke, tried to poison him again, and tried to kill his daughter. How vile, wicked, and evil he is!
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Miioo
He’s a real filthy jerk, he’s the villain, not the duke. Our girl is very clever.