ISDM 10

Chapter 10

“Ah… well, actually, about that…”
Just as I was wondering what excuse to make, the secretary stepped forward with a businesslike smile.

“You’re an acquaintance of Mr. Alec Valt, correct? I came at the request of one of his relatives. I work for the House of Winterwald.”
“T-the House of Winterwald?”
“Yes. In the event that something were to happen to Mr. Alec Valt, it was decided that his children would be taken in by his relatives. I’ve come to escort them.”
“R-relatives? But Alec said he had no parents, no siblings, nothing at all—an orphan with no family. Who on earth are these ‘relatives’?”

At the words no parents, no siblings, nothing at all, the secretary let out a loud ahem! of an awkward cough.

“It’s difficult to go into details… Just know that they’re someone who works for the House of Winterwald.”
“Someone who works for the ducal house…”
Aunt Marsha frowned, as if weighing the conversation.

I could roughly guess what she was thinking. She was probably imagining Alec’s relatives as little more than household staff at a noble estate.
Well, technically even a duke is ‘someone who works for the ducal house,’ so it’s not exactly wrong.

“Then why didn’t they come in person, and instead sent a secretary like you…?”
“They’re extremely busy, so they asked me to come in their place. As a fellow worker, we’re very… clo—”
The last word trailed off awkwardly, as if he’d broken out in hives all over his body.

“Ah, so he’s a gardener!”
Aunt Marsha clapped her hands once.
“Well, that makes sense. Gardeners are the busiest this season.”

“Haha…”

I turned toward Aunt Marsha.
“Auntie, what he’s saying is true. I actually knew Dad had relatives—I heard it from him. So I’ll go to the relatives’ house together with Theo.”

“Lirin…”
Aunt Marsha’s eyes grew moist again.

She was raising two children on her own in place of her sick husband.
Even so, as we were leaving the temple, she said she’d buy Theo and me “new socks and shoes.”

In the Empire, when adopting children, it was customary to give socks or shoes as a gift. It symbolized cradling hardened, wounded bare feet in love and warmth.

She didn’t hesitate at all to say she’d take us in… I’m really touched.

I hugged her tightly, for a long time.
“I was so happy when you said you’d buy us shoes. Thank you for everything, Aunt Marsha!”

Of course, there were words I couldn’t say.
I’ll come back to the green-roofed house with Dad once he’s revived! That’s why I even brought the appearance-altering magic tool!

Thinking that way, it didn’t feel like a complete farewell, and no tears came.

The Winterwald Ducal Residence, Office.

Kallek felt a piercing gaze.

“……”
“……”

He ignored it.
But the feeling of being watched didn’t stop.
In fact, there were two of them.

“……”
He tried to ignore it again, but—

Tap.

At last, he set down the document he’d been staring at. Truthfully, he hadn’t absorbed a single word for a while now.

“What do you want?”
He snapped irritably toward the two heads peeking through the crack in the office door.

“Um…”
The prim, pink-haired head tilted slightly.

“When did I ever tell you to come in?”
A sparrow-like voice that had no business being in this ducal residence tickled his ear.

“…S-sir?”
Lirin hurriedly switched to honorifics and smiled sheepishly.

He’d heard that Ruska had brought the child back. He’d even seen the carriage arrive.
He planned to put off meeting her because of work—but it seemed he couldn’t resist, since she’d come all the way here.

A quick glance showed she’d brought the little one along too.
A round, chubby lump of bread was staring blankly at him.

Kallek picked up his papers again for no real reason and said coldly,
“If you brought the ring, come in. If not, go back.”

“Yay! Daaad!”
The door flew open.

Behind the child who came charging in, he saw the servants’ faces turned pale blue.
Their expressions screamed, We’re dead now.
No one would ever dare storm the lord’s office like this.

Look at that.
Even grown adults were afraid of him—
and yet the one who barely reached his waist was the bravest?

“I missed you!”
“Didn’t I say to come in only if you brought the ring? Why are you coming in without it?”
“Huh…? I only heard you say to come in.”
“So now you’re openly trying to swindle me.”

The child’s back was empty.
He’d heard she’d requested a locked personal storage box the moment she arrived at the estate. Thorough to the extreme.

“Hehe.”

Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.
Those polished-glass green eyes were fixed on him.

Kallek felt a faint headache, accompanied by an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
What is she, some kind of rapid-recovery monster?

Just moments ago she’d been crying her heart out at the temple.
If he hadn’t secretly watched, he’d have thought she’d cried like that her whole life.

Are kids… just like that?

“…”
With a sigh, he moved and sat on the sofa set to one side of the office.

Lirin naturally tried to sit beside him, then realized something and moved to the seat opposite instead. She even picked up her bean-sized little sibling and sat him down neatly.

“Hey, brat. What is it you want from me?”
Kallek asked, sounding oddly drained.

“I just want to get Dad’s memories back.”
“And what do you gain from that?”
“There’s nothing to gain. It’s just what I want…”

Her lips, sticking out slightly, mumbled the words.
“Is it strange to want a sick family member to get better?”

“…”
Strangely enough, Kallek found himself at a loss for words.

The child was wearing an old navy-blue dress. Her shoes and bag didn’t look like quality goods either.
Her pink hair was somehow tied together, but still messy—fine-textured hair that looked prone to tangling.
It would take fairly skilled hands to care for hair like that.

Was I… incompetent?
Why did I dress her in rags like this?
Dirty shoes.
Dirty clothes.
Dirty hair.

If I was going to buy her things anyway, couldn’t I have gotten something nicer? Was twenty-seven-year-old me that stingy?

Twenty-two-year-old Kallek—mentally, at least—who didn’t know that this was the finest dress available in Lepi Village, mentally spat in his own face.

“I just want to live with Dad again. Like before.”
And yet, strangely enough,
the kid said she missed that shabby life. It left him with an oddly complicated feeling.

“And I’m pretty useful! I’m really tough and capable—I can do anything!”
“Useful, my ass. You’re just a piece of candy.”
“I’m not candy!” Lirin snapped back sharply.

Leaning lazily against the backrest, he suddenly let out a cold laugh.
“Then what abilities do you have? What—would you become my personal maid or something?”

He swore it was sarcasm. He wouldn’t have cared if she burst into tears.

“Whoa, I can be your personal maid…?”
But instead of rejecting it—

Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle.
Her eyes shone with pure excitement.

What is this?
I, Kallek Winterwald—never in my life have I lost a war of words.
And yet, in front of this little brat, I keep feeling cornered.

Still… as Mother said, maybe keeping her close and watching her for a while isn’t a bad idea.

Just moments ago, Elisa had come to see him and said:

“Kallek, think carefully. Would you really have raised that child in some mountain valley for no reason at all?”
“What are you implying?”
“Five years ago, you were obsessed with reviving this ducal house’s divine tree—the sacred tree of the gods, weren’t you?”

The sacred tree guarded by the Empire’s Four Ducal Houses.
That’s right.
The lord of Winterwald bore the duty of protecting that tree.

But for several years now, the Winterwald tree had been withering.
And since that was tied to the fate of the family itself, Kallek had searched desperately for a solution.

“Are you saying that I raised that brat… to use her for the House of Winterwald? Because I needed her?”