ORPDRL Chapter 24

 Episode 24

'Is the fairy not by the window right now?'

Glancing at the unresponsive Grisys, Letty turned her head and looked around curiously. The fairy, who had been giving her instructions earlier, had conveniently stepped away—perhaps to chase after Lorik and Moriel.

[I'll lend you this miraculous potion, so marry Mireil right away. If you do, I can keep supplying you with the potion.]

[It makes someone who can barely stay awake for an hour remain conscious for three hours. Wouldn’t that drive anyone mad with desire?]

Letty remembered Tinker’s advice. She also knew that the fairy had offered the potion for her sake.

‘But Father-in-law isn’t just sleepy—he’s sad…’

The fairy had admitted its didn’t have a potion to dispel sadness. While such a thing might exist in the world, it would likely come with terrifying side effects.

“So, does Father-in-law drink it only when he’s sad, like earlier? Is that how it works?”

If the potion couldn’t alleviate Grisys's sorrow, Letty thought it would be better to use it to help him stay composed when attacked by someone as vile as Moriel.

“Don’t cry.”

Letty awkwardly hugged Grisys, who was shedding black mist like tears, and pressed her small hand against his sharp nose.

“I’ll come back tomorrow, Father-in-law.”

The black mist surrounding Grisys seemed to be the 'invisible and untouchable something' Alicia had mentioned. Lorik and Moriel also acted as though they couldn’t see the mist emanating from Grisys.

‘If my ability is to see and touch this mist, maybe there’s a way I can help Father-in-law!’

Unaware that she had already dispelled part of the mist, Letty clenched her fists in determination and left the room.

Tap, tap.

Slam!

Only after the office door closed and the sound of the child’s footsteps completely disappeared did Grisys slowly open his eyes.

“...Don’t come.”

He muttered in anguish.

Grisys had already woken up once today, and waking up again was unprecedented since the curse had manifested.

“When you come.”

Isilla's memories resurfaced vividly.

“It feels like I might break free from the curse.”

But that was too painful for Grisys to bear.

However, no one heard the answer he whispered too late.

✦ ✦ ✦

Tinker, who had followed Moriel in flight, recalled the contents of [Panda Daughter-in-Law], which its remembered well.

Moriel, who constantly harassed the protagonist before being promptly expelled, was the younger brother of the deceased Grand Duchess Isilla and the son of the Count of Polaris.

Officially, he pretended to help Grisys, who showed no interest in his duties as the head of the family. Secretly, however, he schemed to usurp the position of the family head.

'It seems like I’ll have to come up with a scheme instead of Letty.'

Though a minor demon belonging to the category of book demons, Tinker was, nonetheless, still a demon. Being far more wicked than the petty villains featured in the healing-themed [Panda Daughter-in-Law] was hardly a challenge.

‘No matter how clueless Letty might be, she should be able to hold out until Tierra appears.’

Hmph! Tinker puffed out its chest confidently.

‘At least she won’t whine and rub that fluffy head of hers all over me, making those ridiculous noises anymore.’

In her animal form, Letty’s head provided Tinker with an exceptionally cozy resting place. Smiling smugly, Tinker assumed that Letty would naturally be very grateful. Although helping Letty was part of fixing the broken book, Tinker figured that finding a cure for the disease afflicting Letty’s Father-in-law was the child's top priority as well.

‘This potion, which works wonders on someone perpetually drowsy like the Grand Duke, is sure to win him over!’

However, upon Tinker’s triumphant return, all that greeted them was an empty 'Hot☆S' bottle.

“Where’s the potion?”

The fairy demanded, staring at the empty bottle in disbelief. The small red panda, now in its fluffy animal form, avoided Tinker’s piercing gaze.

“You’re telling me a bad guy showed up to torment the Grand Duke?”

At Tinker’s question, Letty nodded hesitantly, her face hidden behind her bushy tail.

Reluctantly, Letty began to explain the situation, unable to withstand the fairy’s relentless questioning.

“So… there wasn’t much I could do.”

For a four-year-old, Letty spoke with surprising clarity, and Tinker, who had spent enough time with her, could usually understand what she meant.

“I saw the bad guy too. But so what?”

“He’s probably going to bother Father-in-law again…”

“So, you just gave him my Hot☆S potion?”

Tinker could hardly comprehend what Letty had just admitted.

“Y-Yes.”

Letty averted her eyes from Tinker’s murderous glare and hesitantly muttered.

“But, when Moriel hit Father-in-law, he was too sad to do anything… With your potion, he wouldn’t get hurt as much.”

Why does it even matter if he gets hit?

Tinker was so stunned its let their tiny mouth fall wide open.

“Who cares if the Grand Duke gets beaten like a dusty rug in the rain! All you had to do was clear his head and tell him to meet his son!”

Tinker shouted, now visibly exasperated. The potion they had handed to Letty was a common energy booster sold in the fairy realm (the Demon World). However, since the portal to their homeland was now blocked, the potion had become a rare treasure.

“You clueless, foolish raccoon!”

Under the fairy’s sharp reprimands that stung like a bee, Letty, feeling intimidated, muttered in a small voice:

“Letty isn’t a raccoon.”

‘Red pandas are much cuter.’

Letty and her mother despised being mistaken for raccoons.

“That’s not the point—wait, did you say he couldn’t do anything because he was sad?”

The fairy, who had been shouting at Letty for stubbornly denying she was a raccoon, paused mid-sentence and hovered in the air.

“The Grand Duke was sad? Did he even cry?”

At Tinker’s question, Letty shook her head. The fairy squinted down at the child’s head, which was shaking from side to side.

“Then how do you know the Grand Duke was sad?”

Tinker had encountered Grisys Grizzly several times. In fact, Tinker had been snugly nestled in Letty’s pocket during her first meeting with him.

‘He seemed like someone who didn’t even have the energy to express emotions.’

Although Letty was meeting him for the first time, Tinker had seen plenty of such humans back in its homeland. Humans who had fallen into the abyss of despair, flailing before resigning themselves to their fate, always looked like that.

“I just… I could tell. When I touched him, I just knew.”

Letty’s response made the fairy stroke its chin thoughtfully.

‘She can understand emotions through touch? That sounds like some sort of special ability.’

Even for Tinker, who considered itselves an expert on the world of [Panda Daughter-in-Law], this was a power its hadn’t heard of before.

“Even now, if I hold your hand, I can tell how you feel.”

Sensing that the fairy didn’t believe her, Letty stepped forward and clasped the fairy’s small hand tightly.

“Fairy~ you still like Letty.”

Feeling the warm emotions through her fingertips, Letty winked playfully at the fairy.

“Hah! So, you can’t feel my anger, huh?”

“Eep.”

Prev _ Next