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chapter 7
“Daddyyyy!”
Kaesar, returning home, laughed when he saw his daughter running toward him with her cute face covered in soot.
He quickly scooped up Lirian and asked,
“Our little princess got into trouble again today, didn’t she?”
“Nooo, I didn’t.”
“What do you mean you didn’t? You turned into a charcoal monster!”
He gave a knowing glance to the flustered servants, signaling them to mind their own business, and carried Lirian toward the bathroom.
Outside, he was known as the Duke of Ironblood—or even called the Demon King—but Kaesar knew how to handle such situations.
He knew the servants couldn’t do much.
How could they control a wild, rampaging child? If even he found it difficult, how easy could it be for them? Probably even harder, given the difference in status.
So he decided that if they couldn’t be controlled, he’d let them be—but he made sure the mansion was heavily protected with magical wards so the children wouldn’t get hurt.
The Demon King’s castle was practically a fortress.
“All right, long live the princess!”
“Long live!”
Kaesar entered the bathroom holding Lirian. He wiped her face with the already warm bathwater, then undressed her while she raised her hands in a playful “long live” gesture.
He then placed a floating magical duck toy on her before gently dropping her into the water.
Lirian floated on the surface, giggling happily.
“Lirian…”
But safety was safety. Kaesar believed discipline was necessary as a parent.
“High places are dangerous. And it’s hot near the fire too.”
He rolled up his shirt sleeves and started washing his daughter’s hair with practiced ease.
Covering her eyes with her tiny hands, Lirian boldly replied,
“It’s not dangerous.”
“Yeah… not dangerous… huh?”
“It’s not hot either!”
And she genuinely meant it.
Kaesar was momentarily speechless, then thought,
“Of course… that’s my daughter.”
Exceptional children like hers didn’t respond easily to normal discipline. Lirian, being the most athletic among her siblings, was especially so.
Pride aside, Kaesar felt a little flustered.
“Hmm, Lirian, that’s…”
How do you explain something is dangerous?
Kaesar racked his brain, sweating more than he ever did in the council meetings at the pinnacle of aristocratic politics.
“…Dad’s heart is in danger.”
It was a bit silly, but unavoidable.
Fortunately, even in her early adolescence, Lirian was a considerate daughter. She suddenly turned her head while he was washing her hair.
With fluffy soap piled like a tower on her head, she widened her eyes and placed her tiny hand on Kaesar’s left chest.
“Daddy, does it hurt?”
Kaesar’s heart ached in another way.
As he looked at his daughter with eyes glistening with emotion,
“Waaah! My eyes!”
“See? I told you it’s dangerous. Daddy will wash it for you.”
The warm, touching moment lasted less than a minute. Soap had gotten into Lirian’s eyes, and she was in a panic.
Kaesar ended up soaking wet once again.
Gurgle gurgle.
After the bath, Lirian was wrapped in a large towel and stepped out of the bathroom.
Warm and cozy.
Feeling a comforting warmth she hadn’t experienced since leaving her family, she dozed off with a giggle.
Watching her fondly, Kaesar asked,
“Princess, do you want to sleep with Daddy tonight?”
“I can sleep alone…”
“Daddy has something to talk to you about.”
“Something to talk about?”
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Lirian asked.
Kaesar dried her hair with magic, dressed her in an adorable rabbit pajamas, and nodded.
“Lirian said there was someone who helped her before she… went back in time, right?”
Her sleepy eyes cleared immediately. She looked up at her father.
“Illei, right?”
After telling her family about her return to the past, Lirian had been thinking. She wanted to find another important person—but she didn’t know where Illei was.
So, after struggling over it, she asked her parents for help.
Her parents gladly agreed. After all, this person—who even appeared prominently in her past stories and was once the Commander-in-Chief—was no ordinary figure.
And that brought them to this conversation.
“You said he’s royal, right?”
“Yes, that’s what people said.”
“He was active in the church as well.”
Lirian nodded.
“Illei is a person with enormous holy power, but he gave up his royal status to join the church for the empire…”
“The imperial line.”
“Yes! He abandoned the imperial line and joined the church.”
Kaesar nodded with a curious expression.
“Hmm… yes, there was a prince like that.”
“Really?! You know him too?”
Lirian’s eyes sparkled as she looked at her father.
Kaesar hesitated, unsure how to explain, but finally spoke.
“The current imperial family has seven heirs.”
Three princes and four princesses. Only two were legitimate children born of the empress.
“The first and fifth princes. The fifth prince was born with tremendous holy power, and it caused quite a stir in the empire. He even received the middle name ‘Serevia’.”
The fifth prince, blessed by the gods.
But for a young child, was that truly a blessing? Not exactly.
“Yes, about two years ago, he voluntarily gave up his royal status and joined the church, as Lirian said, for the sake of the empire.”
Kaesar remembered that event.
Just two years ago, a city was horrifically destroyed by monsters. The knights who were supposed to handle the monsters couldn’t, as the creatures were unusually powerful and filled with hatred. Multiple attempts to subdue them failed.
The Arc Ranse Suppression of Hatred.
That’s what people called it.
Eventually, a paladin known as the “Seventh Star” of the church had to intervene to defeat the monsters, but public unrest was unstoppable.
All because the Dawn Sword had lost its power.
The Dawn Sword, left by Leonhardt I, the Apostle of the Morning Star, had been powerless since the current emperor’s ascension.
As a result, the imperial family’s legitimacy was questioned. To calm the people, the fifth prince—known as “blessed by the gods”—publicly joined the church.
…Though Kaesar doubted it was truly voluntary. After all, the fifth prince was only five years old at the time.
“So Illei is in the church?”
“That’s the problem. His path to the church was confirmed, but after that, his whereabouts are unknown. We need to investigate the church more thoroughly…”
Kaesar said, then added, seeing his five-year-old daughter’s bright eyes:
“It means we don’t know if Illei is really in the church or secretly staying in the palace.”
“Secretly?”
“Yes, secretly. Since he gave up his royal status, he’s no longer a prince, but since he’s still a child of the royal family, they could pretend he’s at the church while hiding him in the palace.”
Of course, this assumes the emperor and empress were willing to take the political risk—but Kaesar didn’t elaborate on that.
Sending a child to the church essentially meant abandoning them.
Kaesar, being both a politician and father of four, couldn’t imagine that being done lightly. He thought the imperial parents wouldn’t manipulate the child politically.
“I understand!”
At that, Lirian nodded solemnly, as if she comprehended.
“It’s hide-and-seek!”
Kaesar chuckled and patted his daughter’s head.
“Yes, hide-and-seek. To find out if Illei is hiding in the church or the palace.”
“I’m really good at hide-and-seek.”
“Of course. Our princess is the best at hide-and-seek in the world. So… would you like to go to the palace with Daddy?”
Lirian’s eyes sparkled.
“To find Illei?”
“Yes, to find him. We still need to investigate the church, so it makes sense to search the palace first.”
The palace wasn’t open to just anyone, but Kaesar, being Duke Erscioni, had plenty of reasons to visit.
Moreover, the three older siblings had recently been to the capital, but Lirian hadn’t, so this would be a good opportunity.
While finding the fifth prince was important, Kaesar also wanted to show Lirian the world.
Experiences help a child’s development.
And perhaps, he admitted to himself, he wanted a little private time with his daughter.
“Yes! I want to play hide-and-seek!”
Lirian jumped up in excitement.
Thump!
“Ouch!”
Kaesar hit his chin on her head. The impact was strong enough to make him see stars.
Ignoring it, Lirian bounced around the bed like a rabbit.
I’ll be the seeker and Illei will hide.
She was confident she could find him wherever he hid.
Kaesar rubbed his sore chin and managed to calm his overly excited rabbit daughter.
“All right, to play hide-and-seek, you need to go to bed early.”
“I don’t want to…”
“Children who don’t sleep early can’t play hide-and-seek.”
Lirian pouted but couldn’t resist her experienced father’s gentle coaxing.
Finally, when Lessa returned to the master bedroom:
“Shh.”
Puff…
Lirian was already asleep, lying flat against Kaesar’s chest.
Seeing this, Lessa let out a quiet laugh.
