His hold on her neck was neither too gentle or too tight but the pressure was enough to give her some kind of warning.
Not to mention that his voice became lower. Ellendise wasn't too bothered. She was prepared this time.
"I did say that my name is Ellen. Please kindly remember it. I would hate to repeat and be redundant." She ignored his question and continued to smile.
A ten year old still exuded innocence and simplicity. People would usually let their guard down infront of a child. Moreover, it's hard to act against someone with a smiling face.
Such was the nature of humans.
"Although I don't remember ever receiving a collar. I do remember burning a red ribbon. It was a very ugly ribbon." She recounted still in a polite manner.
The Archduke frowned. He didn't seem to understand why she wasn't cowering. She was unlike his other victims but she was no doubt the youngest he had paid attention so far.
He usually didn't bother with little children because they were too simple, too predictable. It was easy to break them.
They were like irons unable to become steel or unripe fruits who needed time and effort to cultivate.
And it was rare to find any with talents or unique traits.
However, the child infront of him was different. She spoke in a confident manner as though she wasn't the least bit threatened by him and his disturbing words.
Was it naivety? Was she stupid?
Or was she like him?
He doubted it. A young lady of a noble family that was pampered from birth, showered with all the love and affection she needed..
It was impossible for someone like that to turn into someone like him.
Different.
"Ah.. I kindly ask that you remove your hand from my neck. It isn't very proper and appropriate. I assume that you would also feel uncomfortable if someone were to hold your neck like this, yes?"
No one would dare.
But he subconsciously nodded and loosened his hold. Her polite manner of speaking made him feel a little uncomfortable. His victims usually cursed him so this is quiet different from his usual rodeo.
"Rabbit girl, you're really interesting. Your voice is soft, your skin is soft, your hair is soft. Everything about you should be soft." As he was speaking, he was stroking her hair and running his hands through them. This usually made people creeped out.
His previous victim slapped his hand away before and shouted at him that he was a lecherous creep.
What would this rabbit girl do? Would she also shout at him?
"Is that so? Thank you for the compliment. I am also quite aware that this body is very weak and soft. But I am a girl and a girl's body composition is usually designed that way. It is quite disappointing but with a bit of training, this issue would be resolved quickly. I see that you are different and has a well trained body. Otherwise, you wouldn't be this bold enough to intrude on my room since I have installed a mana disturbance tool in advance."
So that was the case. This was why he couldn't use magic and struggled a bit in getting here.
But that also left her at a disadvantage.
It wasn't an issue since he could easily overpower a child.
What made him feel out of it was her unpredictability. Right now, she had resumed eating as if he wasn't there.
"Please do excuse me. I am a bit hungry after all the tiring work I did in the kitchen. There are still some sweets available so do help yourself. Ah. There is also an extra chair available. I assume that I won't have to serve you since you are an abled person?"
Ellendise focused her attention on her food after saying that. To her surprise, he sat across from her and robbed her plate.
He also robbed her spoon.
Ellendise was frozen stiff but she turned her attention to other sweets instead of being childish and taking it back.
"This is good. I like this coffee dessert. I want more."
Ellendise shook her head at him.
"Unfortunately, that was the last one I made. "
His lips pursed and he looked at her strangely.
"A noble's daughter made this?" It sounded somewhat mocking but Ellendise wasn't offended. Even Rachel and Jill were against it at first.
"Yes. It may sound hard to believe but I know how to cook and bake. With the amount of free time that most children have, it is wise to invest it on learning and being productive. What you ate just now is called a coffee jelly. It is relatively easy to make but it was very popular in the kitchen and I gave most of it to the servants. Oh..no need to be discouraged. There is still another coffee flavored dessert. Please look here. This is called a tiramisu. I especially made it as well." While Ellendise was busy explaining how she made the dessert and sharing all the other extracurricular activities she did using magic, she was oblivious to the pointed stare directed at her.
The Archduke was quietly listening to her which made Ellendise feel a bit worried at his unresponsive behavior so she raised her head to glance at him.
He was resting his chin on his hand and observing her like she was a strange specimen.
Ellendise felt awkward all of a sudden.
"Yes? Is there something amiss on my face? Or my hair?"
Instead of answering her, he outstretched his hand out and poked her cheek.
Ellendise glanced at his finger and held it between hers.
This allowed her to notice that his hand was still much larger than hers. It was understandable, considering that her body was still young.
"Rabbit girl, you really talk a lot. Why are you not scared? Am I not too scary? What are the things that would scare you?"
There was no way that Ellendise was going to give him a straight answer. That was just asking to be killed.
"Hm? Of course you are very scary. I am so scared right now."
He frowned. Even though she was saying that, she did not look the least bit scared or frightened. Contrary to her words, she was calm and composed.
Her great adaptive abilities somewhat baffled him since she was acting like she was used to this.
"Rabbit girl.. you're no fun."
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