ISDM 27

Chapter 27

“When did you come in?”
“Uh…ppa?”
I rolled a candy around in my mouth and tilted my head.
It had a slightly bitter taste, so it seemed like some kind of dissolvable pill.

Gasp… what’s with his complexion?
Dad’s eyes looked sunken, as if he hadn’t slept for a week.
Not only that, his usually neat clothes were a little wrinkled, and his hair was somewhat messy.
A reddish bloodstain on his white shirt sleeve… Ah, could that be my blood? It would be kind of touching if he wiped my nosebleed himself.

“Mother, please handle the aftermath. Someone has been sent from the palace to assess the situation.”
His quiet voice carried an air of command.

Elisa frowned, then gave me a slight hug.
“I have to take care of the baby.”
“Hah, since when have you gotten so close?”
“Well… that’s true…”
Elisa hesitated, then suddenly exclaimed, “But still, you called me ‘Lilin’s grandma’!”
“Oh?”
“From the start, I liked you, I thought you were the best grandma in the world, and I hoped you’d never get hurt…! Ah! Right, I get it… Maybe the reason I stayed safe was because Lilin said that to me. This little one protected me!”

No, that’s not quite it.
Partly correct, but still… no.

Dad clicked his tongue.
“If you had to choose between spending 3 minutes together right now or 3 days together later, which would you choose?”
“Right now… 3 minutes.”
“…”

With a piercing gaze, Elisa huffed and finally got up.
“Fine, fine! Your gaze is going to pierce me to death.”

Elisa hesitated as she turned to leave, then leaned toward me again.
“But, little one…”
“Hmm?”
“Why don’t you… call me ‘grandma’ anymore?”

My eyes blinked rapidly.
“Can I?”
“Why… not?”
“I can!”

Earlier, I’d been hesitant, thinking I was being too familiar.
If it’s okay, I’m going to call her that with all my heart!

“Grandma! Grandma! Grandma!”

I wanted one too! A kind and wonderful grandma!
Not some other grandma in the village, but my dad’s mom! My real grandma!

“Oh my, how sweet.”
Elisa pressed a quick kiss to my forehead, then froze for a moment, as if surprised at herself.
“Come to think of it… this is the first time.”
“…?”
“This isn’t so bad.”
To have someone to care for, to protect like this…

After whispering that, she laughed brightly and left the bedroom.

The maids had all left too, leaving only Dad and me.
“…”

A heavy silence filled the room.
Dad had been sitting quietly, saying nothing. Eventually, I, fiddling with the quilt, spoke first.
“Dad, are you okay? You didn’t get hurt?”

At that moment, the ice-like rigidity on Dad’s face cracked slightly.
“Right now… who’s talking to whom…”
He clenched his teeth and turned his head, trying to control his emotions. He sighed deeply several times, each sigh making his body seem to swell.

Uh-oh, am I going to get scolded for acting on my own?
I had snuck into the carriage and wandered the streets, even collapsing along the way.
I guess I’m going to get scolded.

Of course, I hadn’t never been scolded by Dad.
Alex’s dad was ridiculously lenient with me, but when I really did something wrong, he would scold me strictly.
Though his scolding face always seemed more painful than mine, and it would make me gloomy for days.

“Daad… say something…”
I timidly grabbed at his sleeve, then froze.

Ah… maybe it’s because I called him ‘Dad’ so many times today?

I didn’t have my note with me to correct it to “Duke,” but before I could, I was suddenly pulled into a firm embrace.

“…Hearing you chatter like this proves you’re alive.”
His voice was low, calm, yet heavy.

My cheek pressed against him, and I felt his heart pounding fast.
Could it be… he was worried because I collapsed, even though I didn’t lose consciousness?

“I’m fine.”
I pulled back slightly and smiled. His cold, emotionless face held some unidentifiable emotion.
“…If anything hurts, tell me now.”
“No! But I’m glad Elisa isn’t hurt. And the mages from the mage tower were nearby too!”

I babbled that to change the subject and show I was fine.
But he just stared at me.

“…Mages from the mage tower, huh?”
In an extremely low voice, I shut my mouth.
“Do you really think so?”
“…Lilin.”
“….”

I knew exactly what his expression meant.
He was asking, even though he already knew.
Instinctively, I thought:

Dad…
I swallowed hard.
He noticed.

Before losing consciousness, someone had called my name… it wasn’t a hallucination.
Even if he didn’t see me use the magical tool, he at least knew I had activated it.

“Little one, how did you manage to operate that magical tool?”
I shivered at the direct question. His large hand gently brushed my back.
“I’m not angry. I just need to ask because this should remain a secret. We have to be on the same page.”
“….”
“Don’t tremble.”

The warmth of his solid hand was familiar.
I hesitated, then spoke carefully.
“That magical tool… I actually got it by chance while exploring the mansion. It was pretty, so I put it in my bag and forgot about it.”

“Right… I already knew from the head maid that you were wandering around the mansion.”
“Yeah… I secretly got into the carriage because I was curious about the procession, but I got motion sickness, so I left it in the carriage.”

“So, you used your power when you saw trouble in Mother’s carriage?”
“Mm-hmm…”

“How did you even get to the place of the accident?”
“To the toy shop.”

Dad sighed briefly.
“…I just wanted to look at the toys again, so I went while Kate wasn’t watching.”

I mixed fact and fiction carefully.
My magical power wasn’t a secret from Dad, so I could tell the truth.
But I couldn’t let him know I had anticipated Elisa’s carriage accident—it would reveal knowledge of the future.

Dad sighed again and asked,
“And that power… I think I have a rough idea, but…”
“…I’m actually really good at growing plants. For some plants, if I connect with their magic, I can even communicate with them.”
“….”
“But you said this type of magic is very rare and I shouldn’t tell anyone. So I’ve kept it hidden.”

“I see.”
Dad’s expression was dark and thoughtful, almost frightening.

“Did I do something really wrong?”
For some reason, my eyes felt warm.
Seeing Dad so serious was awkward and unfamiliar.
I usually wasn’t easily intimidated, but today I felt strangely weak, shrinking inside, my body heavy.
Even my exhale had a strange panting rhythm.

“What will happen to me now?”
“…Lilin?”

Had I said too much?
“Am I… causing trouble for you?”

No. I’m fine.
“Why are you like this?”

My vision spun slightly, my head throbbed. I realized I shouldn’t have stayed up so long.
I was still sick.

I’d always been unusually insensitive to pain.
Alex’s dad spoiled me partly because he loved me, but also because I tended to ignore pain.

“I’ll just… sit on the thinking bed…”
“Lilin!”
“So don’t get mad…”

Finally, my exhausted body collapsed completely.