How the Useless Me Became the Beloved of the Devilish Duke Knight - Chapter 1
Chapter 1 : The Little Sister and The Useless.
“Older sister, how terrible! I said I wanted a latte!”
As usual, the younger sister threw a tantrum. The fruits she had bought were scattered on the floor, and her older sister, Elma, had her feet dirtied.
“I’m sorry, Carolyn-sama, but I can’t buy a latte at this time of year. So instead, how about I’ll get you a Blue Dew…”
“Big sister, do you want me to starve to death?!”
Elma was flustered by the loud sound of her sister crying.
‘Carolyn-sama has already eaten dinner, so I think she’ll be fine without dessert…’
Elma’s younger sister is a selfish and moody child. Last week, she caused a ruckus, saying, “If I can’t have Blue Dew, I’ll run away from home!” and injured Elma. Today, before her body gets torn apart by the wind, she went shopping, but Latte is a luxury item in the summer. In this deepening autumn, it’s impossible to find it in the nearby market.
However, the younger sister, who wouldn’t be satisfied if she didn’t get what she wanted when she wanted it, continued to cry. Shortly after, with a loud bang, the door swung open. The red-faced man who staggered towards them was the sisters’ father. He let out a breath that smelled of alcohol and gave his daughter a lazy look.
“Oh, my sweet Caro. What’s the matter?”
“Papa ! Big sister is being mean to me!”
“What ! You made Caro cry again, you evil useless thing ! And to top it off, you’ve even dirtied the floor!”
Glaring at the big sister, the father was always on the side of the younger one. With the hand clutching the bottle of alcohol raised, Elma cowered.
“Please, forgive me. Um… I searched everywhere, but they didn’t have Latte because it’s a different season. Also, even if they did have it, it would be too expensive and I couldn’t possibly…”
“Don’t make excuses! If Caro wants something, you have to get it no matter what. If you don’t have money, use your head ! Besides, you came home too late today. You haven’t even finished cleaning this mansion. Don’t you have any common sense ?! When will you start acting like an older sister?!”
“I’m, I’m sorry… But…”
“I don’t want to hear excuses that are just hard to hear ! You should show your sincerity to your family first!!”
The swinging bottle brushed her face, and Elma flinched. Moving her stiff body, she put her hands on her head, rubbing her forehead against the floor, which was still splattered with debris.
“Carolyn-sama, Zeden-sama… I deeply apologize for the trouble caused by my incompetence and clumsiness.”
“Hmph, you useless thing. Even though we’re keeping you out of pity, you don’t understand your position. You don’t need to come back until you find Latte today! I don’t want to hear any excuses about not having enough money, figure it out! If you understand, then get out of here! Right now!!”
The younger sister, with her hands still covering her face, giggles at her sister’s ugliness. This was the daily life of Elma Talcoza. The Talcoza family consisted of the father and the siblings.
Zeden Talcoza dotes on his youngest daughter, Carolyn Talcoza. She has platinum blonde hair, sky-blue eyes, and a voice as melodious as tinkling bells. Her hands, as lovely and beautiful as an angel’s, were always kept pristine white. On top of that, she had a talent for wind magic.
Recently, he had moved to the mansion in the capital, even going into debt, in order to debut Carolyn in high society and marry her off to a respectable man. Their father had always said they were nobles. Carolyn’s ability to use magic was proof of that.
And yet, the eldest daughter Elma had ruined everything. Because Elma was born ordinary, the family was driven out of their rightful place. Their mother’s early death was also because Elma was incompetent.
Elma’s appearance is not very remarkable, and of course she has no magical talent. A useless, half-baked person, she needs to continue to earnestly provide for her family.
Elma had to address the two with utmost respect and follow their every command. If Elma were to break any of their rules, she had to endure punishment until they were satisfied. That was the norm in the Talcoza household.
Even after that, Elma cleaned up the scattered room while being nagged. nce she had prepared everything for the two to go to bed, she was kicked out of the house as if she had no more use for them. It was completely dark outside, and the tattered clothes full of patches allowed the chilly wind to seep through.
‘Even if I search, there won’t be any Latte anywhere. Tonight, I have to think of a place to escape the cold…’
This is not the first time she has been thrown out in the middle of the night like this. Before, she had to walk all the way to the bridge to secure a place to sleep. Fortunately, their new home had a spacious mansion with a garden. The building was quite old, but the area where Zeden and Carolyn spent their time was polished to a shine during the day by Elma.
‘With a mansion this big, there should be a place to sleep somewhere…Come to think of it, there was a gazebo in the garden.’
Elma tried to walk through the overgrown weeds, but stopped in her tracks, listening intently, her face tensed.
‘…It’s not just my imagination. Someone’s coming!’
There’s a rumor saying this place was a haunted mansion before their family moved in. Perhaps some children on a dare came trespassing. No, what if it had been a hideout for some criminals?
‘But both Father and Carol are already asleep, what should I do?!’
While hesitating, the presence was getting closer. Elma quickly hid behind a tree. As she sneaks a peek, she sees that there seem to be two intruders.
One of them was a black-haired man with a sword at his waist. Judging from his appearance, Elma speculated that he might be a knight.
The other one, judging from his height and build, seemed to be a man as well. It looked like he was wearing something on his head-probably a mask, and was holding a light in one hand, maybe to illuminate the road.
“Do you understand the purpose of the summons?”
“No.”
When the knight opened his mouth, the masked figure responded briefly. It was a man, after all. His voice was low, faint, and scratchy, and although he did not speak in a way that was easy to understand, it was still audible. Elma’s gaze was naturally drawn to the masked man.
“Are you playing dumb? You deceived Milia, and now you claim you have no idea?!”
“…Deceived her?”
“That’s right! You ‘demon’!”
The man with the covered face spoke in a composed tone, but the knight seemed to be already quite emotional. The way his voice trembled and his body shook somehow reminded Elma of her father, Zeden, and it squeezed her heart.
‘Maybe that person is drunk…’
The atmosphere is not good. It would be bad to eavesdrop, but it would also be difficult to leave without being noticed. But even if she left now, there was nothing Elma could do.
‘Please… let everything be alright and let them return safely…’
“I had an appointment with Milia three days ago. But when I went to pick her up, she was with you. You’re the only knight wearing a cloth. I wouldn’t mistake anyone else!”
“I do remember having a conversation with a woman a few days ago. But nothing more than that happened. …. Did your lover tell you that she was seduced by me?”
“Shut up! What do you know about that! We’ve finally managed to go on our first date after so much trouble. To see that smile directed at another man, I couldn’t have a decent conversation— it’s all your fault!!”
The knight suddenly drew his sword and slashed at the masked man. Elma covered her mouth, suppressing her scream, and tightly shut her eyes. The tearing sound was painful to her ears.
The scream of “L-let me go !” seemed to be coming from the knight. Shivering and opening her eyelids, Elma was even more surprised. Somehow, the knight who should have been attacking was now lying on the ground, their arm twisted and restrained.
The person who was pushing the knight back with his knees and firmly securing his opponent is a stunning silver-haired man.
“Don’t draw your sword recklessly, you idiot.”
A moment later, the remnants of the fallen cloth and the distinctive low voice she had heard earlier made Elma grasp the situation. This silver-haired man was the same person as the one behind the mask earlier. The tearing sound seemed to have come from the mask he had been wearing.
As her gaze was drawn to him, she observed that the man had a terrifyingly perfect appearance that sent shivers down her spine. Not just his face, but every part of his body seemed to be perfectly balanced as if meticulously calculated.
“I was prepared to receive retribution depending on the circumstances. But I have no intention of shouldering unfounded grudges. Nothing happened with this person called Milia, and I don’t even know the person. I think you should talk to her before dealing with me.”
When the beautiful man spoke coldly, the knight stopped struggling unseemly. After confirming that the other person had relaxed, the silver-haired man quietly pulled away. Then he took a few steps back and turned his back.
“Today, I didn’t see anything or hear anything. So you should also leave without turning back. You don’t want to be a prisoner of the ‘demon’, do you?”
The knight stood up with a groan and went to pick up his dropped sword. Perhaps he had felt the difference in strength from the brawl earlier, or perhaps his head had cooled down. The knight staggered off in a daze.
‘I’m glad… that neither of them was seriously injured.’
Elma let out a sigh of relief. It was at that moment of relaxation that the strength in her body seemed to drain away. Was it because of that? The hunger that she had completely forgotten about now loudly asserted itself.
At the sudden sound, the man quickly turned around. Elma and the man found themselves looking directly at each other’s faces.
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Translated by : Cutae30
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