ISDM 08

Chapter 08

They say a parent’s wallet is like a black hole. I’d learned early on to be wary of phrases like, “I’ll hold onto this allowance and return it when you grow up.”
And here I was, dealing with my villainous dad who had lost his memory!
“It’s obvious he’s planning to snatch the ring and kick me out!”

I clutched the bag with the ring tightly and ran, the sound of my shoes clicking against the floor.
Carefully, I entered through the back door of the inn and reached my room safely.
It had taken longer than expected, but thankfully, the lady hadn’t returned yet.

“Dad, really… the box must’ve felt different, yet you were careless enough to let your guard down.”
I sat on the bed and giggled to myself.

Anyway, all that was left was to wait for the right moment to part ways with Lady Marsha and head to the duke’s mansion with Theo.
Using the ring as an excuse, I had to stick close like barnacles no matter what!

“…”

After a moment, I stopped my fidgeting legs. The smile that had been on my face vanished.

“But to think he’d try so hard to kick me out…”

It stung a little… but I shook my head to clear the dark thoughts.
Now wasn’t the time to sulk—it was time to act!

“All right. Before heading to the mansion, I should gather the things I need.”

Actually, seeing my dad yesterday had reminded me of something.
And I suspected I might be able to find it at the temple.

“Perfect! There’s always a way out! Don’t be discouraged, Lilin!”

I tapped my cheeks with my palms to rally my determination. Just then, a strong gust of wind rattled the window.

“Eep!”

Startled… why is it so windy?
“It can’t be raining, can it?”

The weather in the capital was said to be unpredictable. I stared at the overcast sky, feeling a little uneasy, and rummaged through my bag.

“There aren’t many video orbs left to watch.”

Only three remained. And I’d already used some secretly on the way here to avoid Marsha noticing.
“Hm, I’ll have to save them.”

Theo might also want to see Dad, so it would be cowardly to waste all the plays on my own.
Today, I would refrain from giggling at the kind version of Dad.

I did some stretches to warm up my cold body, but then realized my knee was aching and stopped.
A bruise was spreading blue around the scab.

I was usually insensitive to pain, so the wound didn’t hurt too much.
“But my heart… it stings a bit.”

Even a tiny scratch on my finger used to make Dad fuss.
Thinking of his cold blue eyes staring at my bleeding knee, my shoulders slumped slightly.

The next day

I headed to the temple with Lady Marsha.
We had planned to go yesterday, but I was so exhausted I had fallen asleep, so it was postponed to today.

“Going out and falling over instead of taking a nap… goodness,” Marsha sighed, brushing my hair. I had slept in such a messy state yesterday that she seemed truly shocked.

“Hehe, sorry…”

“Are you okay? Does your knee hurt? Oh, that scar will stay… If Alec knew, he’d cry for two or three days straight!”

I actually felt fine.

Anyway, I put a bandage on my knee, tidied my hair, and entered the grand main hall of the temple.

“I wonder if it came in as lost property… I hope no one’s checking.”

By the way—

“Hey, Theo! Aren’t you going to look at your sister?”
“Booop.”
“Ah, he’s really sulking. He probably thinks you went out alone, Lilin.”

Theo buried his face in Lady Marsha’s shoulder, turning away from me. The grudge from being left behind was clear.
His round little back had no sharp edges—cute but deadly.

“Hey, come on, cheer up! I’ll… give you, hmm, two boiled potatoes!”

“….”

His little shoulders twitched. He was three, yet had the sophisticated taste to enjoy munching on fluffy potatoes with both hands.

“Want a little sugar sprinkled on them too?”
“Eeng.”

Good. Mission accomplished.

Theo wriggled and nestled into my arms.
I inhaled the sweet smell of milk from his hair, held his small hands tightly, and we moved forward.
Lady Marsha had already gone to explain our visit to a junior priest in the distance.

“Shh, Theo. Once we leave the temple with Marsha, we’ll part ways. So behave for now, okay?”
“Uh?”
“And… we found your dad. He might seem a little unfamiliar, so don’t be startled…”
“Uuu?”

Theo made a confused expression.
While waiting for Marsha, we admired the grand murals on the temple walls. As usual, I was the only one chattering nonstop.

Perhaps that’s why—

“…”

Far away, behind a thick temple pillar, a shadow watched us quietly. We didn’t notice.

“Lilin! Come over here!”
“Yes!”

As I approached at her call, the junior priest was flipping through the register.

“Alec Waldt isn’t on the list of injured. Those caught in the southern labyrinth are all listed here. If the person you’re looking for isn’t on it…”
“Not on it?”
“…Unfortunately, you should check the mortuary. There’s an unidentified body there.”

“Oh, dear. My goodness.”

Marsha swayed slightly.
‘It’s fine. Alec Waldt is currently living comfortably at the duke’s mansion.’

But I couldn’t say that, so I just looked up at her.

“Oh my. What should we do? Let’s go take a look.”

Marsha sighed and led us forward.

‘Looks like the southern beast labyrinth really became a ‘grand labyrinth.’’

From the conversation just now, the southern labyrinth had grown far larger than predicted by the Tower.
The small labyrinth announced initially was on a completely different scale.

‘A grand labyrinth requires mobilization of all four dukedoms.’
And Dad handled it all on his own.
He truly was a monster. Though he was badly injured.

“Ah, since the Tower Lord passed, the Tower hasn’t been effective at all. Worrying, really.”
“Is the next Tower Lord chosen yet?”
“Who will fill the shoes of the hero who died defending the country?”

Listening to their murmurs, we arrived at the mortuary.
Three coffins were placed in the center.

The priest pointed to the one in the far corner.

“It was badly damaged by the beasts. Duke Winterwald tried to minimize external damage as best he could… but the scale of the labyrinth was extraordinary.”

Marsha nodded pale-faced.

“Yes, yes, understood. If Duke Winterwald hadn’t intervened, our village would’ve suffered too…”

“Anyway, we gathered all personal items near the bodies here. You should check them first. Opening the coffins with children around might be…”

I quickly peered into the basket the priest indicated.
Inside, I spotted a small ring-shaped ear cuff and my eyes went wide.

‘Here it is!’

It had lost its shine, but I knew what it was.

‘Dad’s earring…’

A magical tool for changing one’s appearance.
It was a rare magical device, unknown to the general public. Only a high-ranking Tower mage would likely recognize it.
Even the junior priest guiding us didn’t seem to know about it.

‘I wouldn’t have recognized it if I hadn’t seen the future in a dream.’
I was lucky to retrieve it before anyone noticed.

“Oh my! It’s Alec’s earring!”

Marsha cried out, trembling as she rummaged through the box and picked up a small key with a clinking sound.

“This is the keychain Alec treasured like a treasure… oh, Lilin…”

At the end of the cabin key hung the crude drawing I made for fun.
A crooked sketch of Dad’s face surrounded by hearts.
Though it was more doodle than drawing, Dad had immediately run to the smithy and had it made into a keychain.

“What should we do, Lilin! Theo! These poor things!”
“…”

Marsha hugged us tightly while quietly sobbing.
I awkwardly clutched Dad’s earring and keychain, my shoulders damp with her tears.

‘Huh? That’s strange.’
Dad wasn’t dead.
He was far away, thriving like some demon king.
I knew that.

“….”
But why did I feel a little sad?

“Who are you?”
“Then I guess you’ll never be my daughter.”

The dad who had lost his memory was colder and stranger than I imagined.
It was as if our life together had been a dream.

‘He probably doesn’t even realize he lost these things.’
As if he had even forgotten forgetting me.

‘I see.’

The gentle, kind dad no longer existed.
What remained was not the doting Alec Waldt, but the cold, ruthless Duke Kalec Winterwald.