Balzac said to me with a huff.
“This kind of thing! You have to deeply—hmm?—deeply reflect on it alone! So, let’s go, Father!”
He acted all angry, but why did it look like cold sweat was dripping down the back of his head?
Balzac grabbed Father and pretended to be huffy, saying, “Go! Okay?” Then the other older brothers joined in.
“Yes, if you don’t reflect on yourself, the same thing will happen again.”
“Father.”
Father frowned at the three older brothers.
“Let go!”
But ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) he was subtly being dragged away.
In the end, Father left the room shouting,
“Really, I can’t help it.”
Only Han Jihyeok, Alexis, and I remained in silence.
Alexis looked at me with a baffled expression.
“It seems like he refuses to raise the rod.”
“......”
I glanced away slightly.
The servants, noticing my expression, asked cautiously,
“Shall I bring some water or a snack?”
“Just water. Nothing else is needed, please leave so I can rest.”
“Yes......”
The servants left in a rush.
Not long after, Heidi brought water.
Setting the glass down on the nightstand carefully, Heidi spoke softly.
“Um, Miss.”
“Hmm?”
“Master has not been apart from you for even a moment.”
“......”
“Even when your health was poor, or when you collapsed due to unavoidable reasons... he always wailed like a person who’s lost their mind.”
“......”
“I’m sorry to say such useless things when your health is poor, but... I thought you should know.”
“......Alright.”
Heidi left the room with a sulky expression.
I quietly stared at the spot where Father had been sitting.
Alexis and Han Jihyeok stared at me intently.
Late at night, in the garden of the Astra Second Viscount’s mansion.
Daymond sat on a bench, gazing at the garden shrouded in darkness.
The scenery looked like all the colors in the world had been swallowed, but there was nothing awkward about it.
The scenes from his days living in evil were always like that.
“When did my life change?”
Rustle.
Along with the sound of grass brushing, footsteps quietly approached.
Soon someone appeared and took the remaining spot on the bench.
“......”
Daymond silently looked at the child who rested their head on the bench.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“I was lying down to sleep, but I missed Father very, very much.”
“......”
“So I came......”
Daymond’s gaze fell upon his daughter.
When he said nothing, Erilot, crouching under the bench, quickly lowered her head.
Rubbing her fingertips, opening her mouth, glancing at Daymond, she hesitated before speaking.
“Um, about today......”
“It feels like you’re being punished.”
Erilot opened her eyes wide and looked at Daymond.
“Father?”
“Yes, it seems like the punishment for defying your grandfather and living recklessly is coming back to you.”
“That’s......”
“All the things you said to your grandfather in the past are now coming back as wedges.”
They fought countless times.
Why did he have children if he couldn’t be a proper parent?
Is parenting finished just by giving money?
Why did he have to be born into the Astra family?
He never wished to be born here, so why did they say it was a great thing that they gave birth to him?
“This battle is more dangerous than you imagine, so you cannot participate. Stop talking nonsense and go back to your room.”
“Why? In this battle, won’t the lives of the Astra Duke’s descendants be properly valued?”
“Daymond!”
“Even if you don’t do so, I’ll take responsibility for my own life, so don’t worry, Duke.”
“You......”
“Stop making excuses. Isn’t it ridiculous to pretend to be a parent now?”
The words I spat out came back as a child.
The dagger that returned as a child’s appearance was overwhelmingly strong.
I, who had never lost in any brutal battle, collapsed helplessly.
“I didn’t know back then.”
“......”
“That words from your child can hurt more than a cut to flesh.”
“......”
“That it’s this despairing not to be able to protect with my own hands.”
My life completely changed after this child was born.
I, who knew no fear, became afraid even of a breeze.
Afraid you might catch a cold in that wind.
Afraid you might fall.
Whenever I acted stubbornly, Father said,
“You try having a child like you. Then you’ll know how I feel.”
It was a ridiculous thing to say.
I thought I would never become a parent like him.
I thought I could do much better.
But...
“There is no harder problem than a child, Erilot.”
“......”
“I can’t make you kneel because I want to protect you, but I’m afraid you’ll get hurt.”
“......”
Daymond covered his eyes with one hand.
You made me know happiness.
More than what I eat, it was more joyful to see what you eat.
When I bought even one toy, I was excited all day. I wanted to see your happy face.
I remember the moment when you grew out of your childishness. Lovely, so lovely I held and looked at you for a long time.
I looked forward to going home. You always ran to me breathlessly and hugged me.
When I turned my head while working and saw you curled up asleep on the study sofa, tears came for no reason.
I never once regretted giving birth to you.
But as much as happiness grew, so did fear.
Fear of losing you.
Fear of your frustration.
Fear that you might suffer.
Erilot, stiff as a board, groaned helplessly, “Ah, uh......”
“Come on, apologize.”
“......”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Father......!”
“......”
“I, I’m just doing what I can, so, uh, ugh, ugh......”
Erilot didn’t know what to do and clung to her father.
“I’ll be careful. So I won’t get hurt, so you won’t worry...... so, so......”
“......”
“Don’t cry, Father......!”
Waaahhh!
Daymond flinched as he looked at his daughter.
His daughter, who was always mature, didn’t know what to do and sobbed.
The daughter who cried messily like a baby was unfamiliar.
She hadn’t cried like this even when she was very young.
When she was just starting to speak, even if she fell...
“Ow!”
“Oh, Miss—!!”
“Who is it! Who polished the entrance floor so shiny!”
“Baby!”
—Even when adults and brothers caused a ruckus, she was the kid who shouted “Heave-ho!” once and stood up.
Some said she was disgusting.
A mere three-year-old acting all grown up was disgusting.
An eleven-year-old being cunning was disgusting.
But he knew.
In truth, his daughter was tender-hearted.
She was a good child who thought it was a hundred times better to endure than to worry the person she liked.
Daymond wiped his daughter’s soaking cheeks.
“If you’re hurt, it’s okay to say so.”
“Mm......”
“Even if you can do it alone, it’s okay to say let’s do it together.”
“Mm......”
“Don’t grow up so fast.”
“Mm......!”
“Never treat your pain as a joke.”
Erilot sniffled and nodded.
Daymond embraced his daughter.
“I won’t tell you to be a good child to others. Be good to yourself.”
“I will......”
“That’s enough.”
The father and daughter embraced each other.
The dark clouds covering the moon drifted away with the wind.
The pure white moonlight touched the flowers and shattered.
In the garden that regained its color, the two held each other tightly for a long time.
The boys hiding behind the bench smirked.
“See, she’s reflecting without the rod.”
“That’s right. Erilot is a smart kid.”
When Richmond said that, Joshua’s eyes glinted strangely.
Balzac asked,
“What’s that look? Why do you look like you’re thinking something bad again?”
“I’m not thinking that. I just......”
“Just?”
“I just thought that Erilot’s tears work pretty well on her.”
Ah.
Balzac smiled knowingly.
The next day.
I sat next to Father, chattering.
“So, to heal Marchioness Madilo, we really need the true blessed land.”
“I didn’t know there were real and fake blessed lands.”
“Yes! Anyway, now we found where the true blessed land is.”
“With your blessing .”
“We’re planning to go to the true blessed land with Marchioness Madilo and Uncle Cainrod.”
Father’s eyes narrowed.
“You don’t have to call him Uncle.”
“Uncle Cainrod really disliked you. Did something happen at the academy?”
“......Not really.”
Father’s expression was subtle despite saying no.
When I tilted my head, Father quickly changed the subject.
“How do you plan to acquire the true blessed land? Adelric Ishron won’t sell the land to you.”
“He wouldn’t sell it to me.”
“He must have some reason.”
“But I have a way. It’s not dangerous, and I can do it alone, okay?”
Father looked at me sharply.
I mumbled, completely intimidated.
“It’s really not dangerous......”
“I’m not saying you have permission to do everything. I’m just saying, for dangerous things, you should get your family’s help.”
Father ruffled my hair kindly.
I asked him.
“But what if I don’t know it’s dangerous and it is?”
“That’s......”
“Because I can’t say those things beforehand......”
“True.”
While Father and I were groaning and worrying,
Richmond, sitting opposite us, said,
“There is a way.”
“A way?”
“What is it?”
Richmond lightly said, holding a pot of coffee.
“You have the magic tool. The one you always wear when you enter the palace.”
“Oh, the location-tracking magic tool?”
“If the wild mage can improve it somehow, it can quantify your vital signs and immediately notify us if something happens to you.”
Oh, that’s a good idea.
‘It’s not very hard to quantify things like heartbeat or blood pressure.’
As Father and I nodded,
“There is a better way.”
It was Balzac speaking.
“What’s the better way?”
I asked, and Balzac smiled slyly.
“Just bring me along everywhere. Always go to the palace together, and whenever you go out, always with me!”
“......”
“......”
Father and I were silent for a moment.
‘With Balzac’s personality, it feels like he’d mess everything up.’
Even if it’s not dangerous, it would be dangerous—he’d probably pick me up and run off.
“Brother also has a schedule, so it might be difficult to always stick together.”
I said, giving Balzac a strange look.
That was true......
“What are you doing?”
. “Don’t grow up so fast... don’t treat your pain as a joke...”
—then suddenly covered one eye with his hand.
“......”
“......”
Father and I fell silent.
‘He must have seen what happened in the garden yesterday.’
I got up from my seat.
“Then, I’ll go get ready.”
“Okay.”
When Father and I got up to do our work, Balzac flinched.
“What? I’m crying! Erilot, I’m crying!”
I ignored him and left the room.
From behind me, I heard Joshua and Richmond’s cold voices.
“Stupid.”
“Foolish, Balzac.”
Balzac shouted, “Why?!”, clearly not understanding why.
I went out with Han Jihyeok and Alexis.
When we arrived at a shabby cafe and I pulled my hat down low, Han Jihyeok asked,
“What? Why here?”
“We have to take Adelric’s land.”
“Then shouldn’t we go to Ishron’s mansion?”
“Why Ishron’s mansion?”
“Because if it’s Adelric Ishron’s property, the head of the family Ishron can take it back.”
Alexis kept staring out the window and said,
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“The land Erilot is after is the inheritance Adelric received from his biological mother.”
That’s right.
Property not inherited from the family’s main line could not be touched even by the family head.
Han Jihyeok nodded, “Ah.”
“So you’re going to take it under another name?”
“Take it? What are you saying?”
I opened my eyes wide as if he was crazy.
“I’m buying it. Officially.”
“Then how do you plan to buy it? Adelric Ishron won’t sell it to you......”
Then.
Alexis covered Han Jihyeok’s mouth.
“Shh, they’re coming.”
I quickly ducked my head.
Alexis also cast a barrier before the people entered.
So they wouldn’t recognize us.
Jingling.
The sound of wind chimes rang as two men entered wearing uniforms emblazoned with the Adelric and Manin Finance crests.
Adelric shouted loudly at the men.
“So just give me a few more days to prepare the money!”
“The repayment deadline has passed several times, sir......”
“Who said I won’t pay?!”
Adelric was throwing a tantrum before even sitting down.
“You brought me to such a shabby place. How much do you think you’re disrespecting me!”
The middle-aged man in the uniform was sweating profusely.
He looked very troubled.
At that moment, a young man in a Manin Finance uniform stepped forward.
“Well, well, since it’s good news for the young lord, let’s hear him out first.”
As soon as the young man spoke, Han Jihyeok’s eyes widened.
“Huh?”
He looked at me, and I smirked.
“You know him?”
“Of course. That guy is......”
“Yes, Gorgo Manin.”
Gorgo, the administrative head of the Western Army.
His family was famous for loan sharking — Manin Finance.
Gorgo sat down and spoke.