43 ‘DADDY’ SOUNDS WRONG

[AH, I'M getting attached.]

Zoe was troubled.

After declaring she didn't have maternal instincts, she couldn't help but melt for Runa and her cuteness.

"Mommy, I can't wait to see your magic trick," Runa said excitedly while clapping her hands. Then she turned to Isaak, who was sitting beside her. "Sir Uncle, are you excited to see Mommy's magic trick, too?"

"Sure," Isaak said noncommittally. "But Princess Runa, why are you still calling me 'Sir Uncle' when you're already calling Zoe 'Mommy?'"

Runa's face turned red.

"Hey, don't pressure Runa," Zoe said as she placed the tray with three chocolate bombs on the table that separated her from Runa and Isaak. Then she sat on the chair across from the ghoul duke. "She'll call you 'daddy' once she's ready."

['Daddy' sounds awkward.]

Argh, she hated her dirty mind at the moment. It was her fellow "Earth humans'" fault for oversexualizing innocent words like 'daddy' and 'mommy.'

"Runa, don't force yourself to call Isaak 'daddy' if you're not ready yet," she said to the young princess firmly. "It's okay to call him 'Sir Uncle.'"

[I'm sorry, Isaak. I just can't hear the word 'daddy' without having dirty thoughts.]

After all, Zoe wanted to call Isaak 'daddy,' too.

[Argh, when did I become a pervert?]

Runa smiled and nodded, as if she was relieved to hear that. "Okay, Mommy."

"Hah, I can't believe you're already ganging up on me," Isaak complained half-heartedly. "You two are already on a first-name basis, I feel left out."

"Tsk," she clicked her tongue playfully. "I didn't know the great grand duke can be this sulky."

Isaak turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sulking."

"That's what people who sulk say."

"M-Mommy, Sir Uncle…" Runa said nervously while looking at her and Isaak back and forth. "A-Are you fighting?"

"No, of course not," Isaak said in a somewhat cheerful voice. "Your mommy and I are flirting."

"What's "flirting," Sir Uncle?"

"It's what two people who like each other do to deepen their relationship–"

She almost choked on her saliva, then she gently kicked Isaak's leg under the table. "Hey, don't teach the child weird stuff," she scolded Isaak, then she turned to Runa with a bright smile on her face. "Runa, shall we begin the magic trick? You helped me earlier by making warm milk for us."

Yes, there were three mugs of warm milk on the table.

Of course, a hot chocolate bomb wouldn't be complete without a mug of warm milk.

[I borrowed the entire kitchen for hours. Luckily, the duchy is rich, so all the ingredients I needed are there. Plus, the magic device they use here that works like a microwave is awesome. Even the "exploding magic sphere" that I used as a replacement for a silicone mold is amazing.]

She was lucky she was transmigrated to a fantasy book– it made her life easier than expected.

"Mommy, was I helpful?" Runa asked with sparkling eyes. "Did I do a good job?"

"You did, baby girl," she said, then she gently patted Runa's head. "Thank you for helping mommy, Runa."

Runa's face turned red as if she was embarrassed, but she was smiling like she was happy.

[Aww, so cute.]

"Runa, Isaak, pick up your chocolate bombs," she encouraged the two, then she picked up her own chocolate bomb. "Then plop them inside your mug of warm milk like this."

She plopped her chocolate bomb inside her mug of warm milk.

Runa and Isaak watched her, then the two copied what she did.

"Watch your mugs of warm milk carefully," she said excitedly. "The magic begins now."

It was heart-warming to watch Runa and Isaak focus on their mugs of warm milk, and it was even more exciting to watch their reaction when the chocolate bombs opened up in a dramatic fashion, revealing the goodies inside– cocoa mix, marshmallows, sprinkles, and other edible baubles.

Now the three of them each had a decadent cup of hot chocolate stirred together.

"Amazing!" Runa said excitedly while clapping her hands. "Mommy, it looks beautiful! I like how there are pretty-looking things inside the chocolate bomb!"

"They just don't look beautiful, Runa– they also taste divine," she said while laughing. "Have a taste, but be careful. Is the milk too hot for you?"

Runa shook her head, then she picked up the mug with her two hands. She blew on the surface of the warm milk first. Then she finally took a sip.

The young princess's face instantly beamed.

[Aww…]

She felt warm while watching Runa's face light up.

And she wasn't the only one who felt emotional at the moment.

Isaak was also looking at Runa with warm eyes.

[I can't believe that Runa is already this happy just because of a hot chocolate bomb. God, I want to kill the bastards who hurt our precious baby. But then again, Isaak might have already killed them all.]

"It's delicious, Mommy!" Runa said excitedly. "I love it!"

She smiled at the child, who looked cuter now with the smudge of chocolate around her mouth. "I'm glad you loved it, Runa. I can always make one for you, so don't hesitate to tell me if you want to have another mug."

Runa smiled and nodded, then she took another sip of her hot chocolate.

She turned to Isaak, whom she caught looking at her. "Have a taste, too, Isaak."

Thankfully, the ghoul duke could enjoy drinks.

"Alright," Isaak said, then he took a sip. His face remained blank, though. "Oh. It's good."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? Your face didn't change."

"It just doesn't show on my face," he said, then he took another sip before he spoke again. "Zoe, this will be profitable if you decide to sell these hot chocolate bombs to the nobles."

"Why would I sell it to the nobles?"

"Because it's profitable if you sell it to people who could afford it?" he answered as if he was asking why she had to ask such an obvious question. "Chocolate is a luxury. The price of cocoa and sugar is no joke, so you must sell your desserts at a higher price for profit."

"If I'm going to sell my products, I want the common people to enjoy them as well."

"Ah," he said. "That would be difficult. There's an unspoken rule in the empire that says a noble's creation should be enjoyed by the royalty and the nobility only. You'll be criticized if you sell your products to both the nobles and the common people."

She frowned, and if Runa wasn't with them, she would have cursed. "Then if ever I decide to start a small business, I'll make it so the common people could afford it."

"Small business?" he asked, then he tilted his head to one side as if he was confused. "We don't do small businesses here, Zoe. I hope you don't doubt my capability to provide for you. If you want to monopolize the chocolate market–"

"Wait, let's stop here," she said while shaking her head. "I feel like I'll get indigestion if we keep talking about something so upsetting."

"The rule of our society… upsets you?"

"It sure does," she said, then she took a sip of her hot cocoa. Ah, that made her feel better. [But to be honest, hierarchy exists on earth, too. There's the Alta, the rich, the middle-class, the working-class, the poor, etc. Argh, although it doesn't sound convincing from someone who lived in luxury, I still hate it when people are being classist.]

"Mommy, are you upset?" Runa asked worriedly. "I feel sad when Mommy is upset…"

"Ah, the fact that my baby girl is worried about me makes me feel better," Zoe said while smiling. "Thanks to our Runa, mommy isn't upset anymore."

Isaak, on the other hand, sulked the whole time.

[Did he break or something?]

***

"WHY ARE you sulking?" Zoe asked Isaak when they reached his office. Apparently, he had something to discuss with her. So, they were now sitting side-by-side on the couch. She didn't know why he sat beside her and not on the couch across from her. "Did I say something wrong earlier?"

"It's nothing," Isaak said dismissively, then he turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm just wondering why you didn't take my side earlier. You should have convinced Princess Runa to call me 'Daddy' instead of 'Sir Uncle.' The latter sounds weird, and Her Royal Highness has to get used to addressing me as her father."

"Then can't Runa just call you 'Father' instead of 'Daddy?'"

"Runa is still a child, so it's alright even if she calls me 'daddy' instead of 'father.' That's normal for noble children. Why do you sound bothered?"

"Because it does bother me."

"Why?"

"The people back in my world oversexualized the word 'daddy' so much that I can't help but have dirty thoughts every time I hear it!"

"How the hell did your people oversexualize such an innocent word?"

"I know, right?" she agreed with him. "But in our world, the word 'daddy' is also used as slang for a dominant lover. There are people in our world who call their partners 'daddy' when having sex with them."

Isaak's face turned red. "You and your people are sinners, Zoe."

Zoe couldn't help but laugh at what Isaak said.

[And it's so cute to see him blush!]

***

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