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Chapter : 9
The banquet I attended that day.
I was caught in an unexpected predicament and could barely breathe.
“……”
“……”
“……”
After I greeted the Duke and exchanged a brief conversation with him,
only the clinking of cutlery filled the silence in the dining hall.
‘I noticed it earlier, but Rachel and her grandfather are extremely awkward with each other.’
I feel like I’m even closer to the lodge gatekeeper uncle than those two…
Sweating nervously between the two people whose relationship felt like a cold wind blowing through them, I felt a heavy sense of responsibility and broke the silence.
“Um… thanks to Your Grace allowing it today, we went out to the village and had a good time. I think the young lady enjoyed it too.”
Of course, Rachel hadn’t said anything even close to “I enjoyed it,” but I glossed over it anyway.
Fortunately, Rachel didn’t bother correcting me.
The Duke showed interest in my words.
“Is that so? Where did you go?”
“Since it was her first time in the village and we didn’t have much time to look around, I took her to the back hill.”
“The back hill? Why there?”
“If you go up high, you can see the whole village at once!”
The Duke looked slightly surprised at my answer and stared at me for a moment before nodding.
“To think you came up with the most efficient way to view the village in such a short time. Not bad.”
“Well, it would be impolite to keep Your Grace waiting for a meal.”
I chatted while secretly observing the Duke’s reaction.
Even while listening to what Rachel and I had done today, the Duke didn’t once look at Rachel.
‘Seriously? His granddaughter finally went out after so long! He doesn’t even ask if she enjoyed it?’
Feeling anxious between this cold grandfather-granddaughter pair, I added another comment.
“Next time, Your Grace should come with the young lady and me to the village!”
Trying to tie the two together, hoping the Duke would show more interest in Rachel.
But—
“If I have the time.”
The Duke only cast a brief, indifferent glance at Rachel, who continued eating in silence.
And just like that, the conversation ended, and suffocating silence returned.
This time, I glanced at Rachel.
As if used to this silence, she was focusing only on her meal.
‘Rachel didn’t seem particularly attached to her nanny either.’
Could it be that she relies on her nanny because she’s uncomfortable with her only family, her grandfather?
‘But that nanny doesn’t seem like a good person either.’
Not good to me, at least.
And above all… even if she has a nanny, it would be better for Rachel’s emotional well-being to be close to her family.
Maybe it could even prevent her future “dark transformation.”
‘If I could just figure out why Rachel and the Duke are so awkward, I could help them get closer.’
To find that out, I need to talk to both of them more.
I was racking my brain to somehow continue the conversation when—
The butler who had quietly entered the dining room approached.
“Your Grace.”
“What is it?”
The butler hesitated briefly before replying in a troubled voice.
“A watcher from the Imperial Palace has arrived.”
Dias carefully packed the last loaf of bread into a bag and handed it over.
The woman, who had been admiring his face, smiled and took the bag.
“Then, see you again tomorrow, Dias.”
“Thank you as always, Madam Enri.”
Even as Dias left the shop, he smiled faintly at the customer who kept looking back at him.
As the last customer bought up all the remaining bread, the day’s business ended earlier than usual.
‘Since Vivian said she’d be having dinner out, I’ll just eat something simple.’
As he was thinking this and preparing to close the shop—
Ding—
The bell on the shop door rang.
“Sorry, but we’re closed for tod—”
Before Dias could finish speaking, he already realized.
The visitor was not a customer.
An instinct honed over many years told him so without even looking.
“Are you Dias Hesen, father of Vivian Hesen?”
The insignia on the visitors’ arms was one he recognized well.
Imperial Knights.
At a glance, Dias’s gaze wavered.
‘Could it be… they’ve come because they know Vivian’s identity?’
He quietly hid a bread knife behind his back. The movement was practiced and smooth.
“What brings you here?”
The man who seemed to be their leader stepped forward.
“I am Curtis Rohan of the Imperial Knights. I would like to meet your daughter briefly. Is she home?”
At the mention of Vivian’s name, Dias’s eyes behind his glasses turned cold.
At the same time, his grip on the knife tightened, veins rising on the back of his hand.
“Why is the Imperial Palace looking for my daughter?”
“I heard your daughter is a playmate of the Edelvine young lady. We have a few questions.”
Fortunately, their target seemed to be the Edelvine young lady, not Vivian.
But even so, he had no intention of showing Vivian to the Imperial Knights.
He didn’t want even the slightest possibility of them discovering her identity.
‘Good thing Vivian isn’t here right now.’
He needed to get rid of them quickly before she returned.
“I’m sorry, but Vivian is not at home ri—”
But before he could finish, the doorbell rang again.
Vivian walked in.
“I’m home!”
I froze as I walked in energetically.
‘W-what is going on?’
Why are a bunch of scary-looking men surrounding my dad?!
I didn’t know the details, but instinctively I could tell something serious was happening.
As I was still trying to process the situation, one of the men who seemed to be the leader approached me.
“You must be Vivian.”
He was smiling, but I know better.
People who only smile with their mouths are the most dangerous!
Ready to run for help if needed, I faced him cautiously.
“Yes, I am.”
“We are the Imperial Knights, sent under the Emperor’s orders.”
Only then did I notice the embroidery on the left sleeve of his uniform.
‘That is…’
It was the imperial crest my dad had once shown me.
“If you see someone wearing this emblem, stay as far away as possible, Vivian.”
My dad had told me to avoid imperial knights or nobles as much as possible.
Some nobles might be good, but bad ones could punish you even if you did nothing wrong.
And the closer they were to the Emperor, the harsher their punishment could be.
At the same time, I remembered what had happened earlier at the villa.
The Duke and Rachel’s stiff expressions when they heard an inspector from the Imperial Palace had arrived.
‘So these people came to investigate Rachel.’
And since I was Rachel’s playmate, they were probably trying to extract information about her through me.
“We have a few questions. Would you mind stepping outside to talk for a moment?”
At that moment, my dad strode through the men and pulled me into his arms.
“Speak here.”
The leader frowned.
“Hah. Are you suggesting I, an Imperial Knight, would kidnap a child?”
“You don’t seem married yet. Parents with daughters are naturally cautious. Please understand.”
“Listen. My words are the Emperor’s will. To defy me is equivalent to treason.”
The leader’s threat was terrifying, but my dad clearly had no intention of letting go of me.
Watching the tense atmosphere between them, I swallowed hard.
‘If they fight, Dad will definitely lose…’
My dad might be strong in build, but he’s useless at fighting!
‘As expected, I have to protect Dad.’
Before things escalated, I quickly stepped in.
“W-what do you want to ask?”
“I heard you are the young lady’s playmate. We’d like to ask you a few questions about her.”
Just as expected, they approached me as if interrogating me.
‘But I can’t hand over information about Rachel to the Empire.’
I smiled wickedly inside.
‘Judging by them, they don’t even seem married yet.’
I’ll show them just how exhausting it is to talk to a nine-year-old!
