MAS 08

-chapter 8-

“Talk?”

Wow. Is it even okay for a kid to look that hostile?

I swallowed hard and forced myself to look confident.

“W-Well! We’re married, aren’t we…? But we’ve never actually had a proper conversation!”

At my words, Ciderion crossed his arms and let out a long sigh.

“You really are stupid.”

“W-What? Stupid?”

I don’t think I’ve ever been called stupid in my life.

“Did you forget what I told you before? Know your place. I already said that even if you try to get close to me, you won’t gain anything from it.”

Wow. Such a pretty way with words.

But if I were the type to back off just because of that, I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble in the first place.

‘And what do you mean there’s nothing to gain from getting close to you?’

A safe divorce and a hefty alimony payout—that’s the best deal there is!

I answered firmly.

“No.”

“…What?”

“I-I’m bored!”

“Huh?”

Ciderion looked at me like he was staring at some bizarre creature.

Yeah. Of course he’d think it was ridiculous.

But outwardly, I’m only a twelve-year-old kid!

Is he going to kill me just because I’m annoying?

That’d only make things more troublesome for him, wouldn’t it?

The reason I could act this boldly was because I knew Ciderion wasn’t completely devoid of emotions.

How did I know?

From the history lessons given by that damn tutor the butler hired.

Humans are born with one of four attributes.

And in rare cases, when someone is born with an especially strong attribute, they can end up being dominated by it.

Ciderion was one such case.

But there was a small loophole.

As a child, the power of one’s attribute hasn’t fully awakened yet.

Which meant… there was still a tiny chance!

‘Of course, tiny as a grain of sand.’

And thanks to the novel, I also knew that Ciderion absolutely hated being bothered.

Right now, I was staying in the Ashitria estate as the Archduchess chosen by the Emperor.

Killing me—or even harming me severely—would be the same as defying an imperial order.

The Emperor, who was already looking for any excuse to undermine House Ashitria, would never let that slide.

‘In other words, he can’t kill me as easily as he did in the original story, at least not over something trivial.’

I valued my life, so I wasn’t acting without some degree of confidence.

Of course, this boldness would only last until Ciderion returned as a war hero.

‘After that, he’d have honor and power even the Emperor couldn’t touch.’

Which was probably why he killed me so easily in the original.

Anyway, for all those reasons, I needed to get at least a little closer to him.

It was childish, but I decided to throw a tantrum like a kid.

Nothing is harder to deal with than a stubborn child.

“There’s no one my age here except you. So can’t you just talk to me for a bit?”

Ciderion’s brow furrowed even deeper.

Oh. He’s seriously annoyed.

But it’s still fine. It has to be fine!

‘If you lose your temper over something like this, you’ll never survive in the real world!’

So be patient. Life requires endurance, you know.

Fortunately, Ciderion was a man of basic reason.

He let out a heavy sigh and said,

“So. What do you want to talk about?”

The problem was—I hadn’t thought that far.

‘I didn’t think he’d agree so easily.’

Today’s plan had just been to test the waters.

I had assumed he’d refuse outright.

‘What do I do? If I just leave now, he’ll never deal with me again.’

I barely managed to squeeze out some words.

“W-Well… ah! The maids say you can’t feel any emotions. Is that true?”

The moment I said it, I regretted it.

‘You idiot. Of all things you could ask…’

But instead of ignoring me and going straight to his room, Ciderion surprisingly began to think.

‘Huh?’

After a silence that was neither long nor short, he asked,

“What do you mean by emotions?”

“Uh…?”

If someone asked you how you breathe, what would you even say?

“See? You don’t know either. That’s what emotions are like for me.”

As expected of a scheming sub-male lead—his way with words was impressive.

He actually managed to fluster me, someone who had lived three lifetimes combined.

But there was no way I was losing to a thirteen-year-old brat.

“If you’re done talking, then—”

“Emotions aren’t as grand as you think. How did you feel when you ate the cookie I gave you earlier?”

“…What are you getting at?”

“It tasted good, right? That’s why you kept eating it.”

Ciderion frowned slightly, thinking.

Then he answered simply.

“It just tasted like a cookie.”

“If you didn’t like cookies, would you have kept eating it?”

“I was just hungry. If I’d been full, I wouldn’t have eaten it.”

It felt like a clash between an unstoppable spear and an unbreakable shield.

‘This is seriously frustrating.’

Arguing over a single cookie—how ridiculous.

When I chose silence, Ciderion assumed our business was finished.

“Done now? Move.”

I quietly stepped aside.

If you lose an argument, you bow your head. What else can you do?

But there was no way I’d give up that easily.

This was one step back for two steps forward!

“What is it this time?”

A gaze full of irritation stabbed at me as I entered the study.

By now, I was so used to that expression that it wasn’t scary anymore.

‘It’s actually kind of cute now.’

“It’s nothing serious—just eat this while you work!”

I smiled brightly under his glare and closed the study door with my elbow.

The plan I’d come up with this time was called:

Operation: Taming with Snacks.

I pulled out a plate of cake I’d hidden behind my back and held it out to Ciderion.

I already knew you loved cake.

And of all things, it was chocolate cake—the sweetest kind!

You want it, right? You can’t resist, can you?

As expected, Ciderion’s gaze was glued to the chocolate cake.

“The chef said it turned out really well this time. I brought it because I wanted to give you some too.”

I placed the cake on a clear corner of his desk.

Ciderion still looked wary, but he couldn’t resist the temptation. Slowly, he picked up a fork and began eating.

Whether he was hungry or just really loved chocolate cake—

The cake disappeared in the blink of an eye.

I picked up the now-empty plate and said,

“I’ll get going now.”

Once the objective was achieved, there was no reason to stay.

That was our kind of business relationship.

I waved cheerfully at Ciderion.

He looked at me suspiciously, as if wondering what I was plotting, but I just smiled innocently.

What Ciderion didn’t know was—

My plan was only just beginning.

The next day, and the day after that, and the day after that, I kept visiting him.

Despite his dulled emotions, he was still human with the ability to learn.

At first, he was constantly on guard whenever he saw me.

But over time, he gradually got used to my presence.

How, you ask?

“……So what did you bring today?”

Like that.

“Milady, you’re here?”

“Yep! I came to hang out.”

Maybe because I came so often, even Herden, Ciderion’s aide, had started welcoming me.

I waved back at him and pulled out a small container.

“Today, it’s this!”

“…Marbles?”

Ciderion narrowed his eyes at the round object in my hand.

I shook my head.

“No. It’s called candy.”

“Candy? What’s that?”

“…Candy?”

Ciderion looked completely clueless, while Herden seemed to realize what it was and stiffened.

In this world, candy—made by melting large amounts of sugar—was considered a snack for commoners who couldn’t afford desserts.

‘Well, that’s not exactly wrong…’

But once you try it, you’ll see how amazing it is!

You poor souls who don’t know this taste!

“This is really good. Watch—this is how you eat it.”

I popped the candy into my mouth as a demonstration.

A crease appeared between Ciderion’s brows.

Seriously. He never smiles.

“If you keep frowning like that, you’ll age faster.”

“What nonsense is that?”

His face scrunched up even more.

Though come to think of it, it was hard to imagine a sub-male lead getting wrinkles just from frowning.

‘Ah, this narrow-minded and unfair world.’

“Anyway, don’t just stare—try it.”

“I don’t need to eat some marble—gh!”

I slipped the candy straight into his chattering mouth.

Startled, Ciderion flinched. He rolled the candy around his mouth a few times—

Then his expression softened as his cheeks slowly began to bulge.

And then—

He tried to bite down on it!

You ignorant fool!

I decided to teach this beginner how to properly eat candy.

“Don’t chew or swallow it. You melt it slowly with your tongue.”

Ciderion followed my instructions diligently, even while wearing his usual sulky expression.

‘Moments like this make me feel like the older sister.’

Well, mentally speaking, I actually am.

After rolling the candy around for a while, his expression looked noticeably brighter.

Though he didn’t seem aware of it himself.

I asked proudly,

“So? Good, right?”

“Well… it’s acceptable.”

“If you get addicted, you’ll start craving it. But if you eat too much, it’ll ruin your teeth.”

I was happily lecturing him about candy when I felt someone’s steady gaze on me.

It was Herden.