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Chapter : 13
“Juan?”
It was Namia’s voice—slightly suspicious.
Juan…?
The twin brother of Namia I read about in the report?
Immediately after, hurried footsteps and anxious talk about their parents being in trouble faded into the distance.
Kiaros frowned.
Beside him, the aide tilted his head and muttered casually as he passed by.
“So even her twin brother came looking for her… I wonder what serious situation is happening in that strict young lady’s family.”
At those words, Kiaros suddenly lifted his head.
“Is that so? Then investigate the Roapi baron family further.”
“…Pardon?”
The somewhat inattentive aide looked blank.
Kiaros said solemnly,
“If you’re curious, it will affect your efficiency.”
“I… I’m not that curious, though…”
“If it stays in your mind, it will create distractions and you won’t properly carry out my orders.”
“I don’t think it will distract me that much…”
“For your mental health and welfare, this level of investigation is necessary.”
“That’s a bit too much effort for my minor curiosity…”
“Investigating a noble family in the capital isn’t particularly difficult anyway.”
Kiaros placed a hand on the aide’s shoulder.
“Not just surface-level information like last time. Go deeper. Use the ‘Crows.’”
The “Crows” were the Crown Prince’s direct intelligence unit.
In other words, he intended to uncover everything about the Roapi baron family.
“Yes, Your Highness. Understood.”
The aide even teared up at what he perceived as the Crown Prince’s consideration for him.
Flashback
“Father.”
My earliest memory was of falling asleep in my father’s arms, quietly whining in the night.
“Dad… all of this happened because of me, right?”
My father—the kindest person in the world—had the same silver hair and blue eyes as me.
He was born the second son of the Roapi baron family.
But the Roapi barony had already collapsed, and the title was to pass to his older brother. In practice, he was no different from a commoner.
“I’m really sorry… for being born…”
He had originally been a rural ethics teacher.
A simple young man who commuted by bicycle, taught children, and loved reading on the grass.
He met a woman through a parent introduction and married her.
[What is this? You’re supposed to be nobles! How are you this poor?! I thought you were just living simply!]
But immediately after marriage, the woman changed.
There was simply no money.
She abandoned newborn me and ran away.
That woman—my mother—had fled because she was drowning in debt.
Soon, loan sharks came for my father.
[You were tricked, so it’s unfortunate, but not our problem. Divorce her and you don’t have to pay. But give us the child. The child is collateral. There’s already debt registered under her name.]
My father refused to hand me over.
[What? You won’t give the child? Then you pay everything.]
They were known for their cruelty.
In the end, my father decided to repay the debt himself. He quit teaching and took any job he could—construction, mercenary work, anything.
“Our daughter, don’t say that. You are my most precious treasure. I can do anything for you.”
But no matter how hard he worked, the debt only grew.
Still, he never gave me up.
I was placed in various caretakers’ homes and only met him at night.
When I saw his body growing thinner and more injured each day, I cried—but he always held me and told me beautiful stories.
“Once everything is over, let’s go see the stars together.”
“Stars? I can already see them here.”
“No, there’s an observatory far away. When you grow up, I want us to go together.”
I told him everything about my day.
“Really? This makes stargazing even better.”
“…What is that?”
“It’s a magic scroll. I made it myself after reading books in the library.”
“You… alone? You made a magic scroll?”
Sometimes, when there was no place to leave me, he would take me to the library.
To hide me from the loan sharks, he made me wear a hat and a mask covering half my face.
I didn’t like it, but I never took it off.
There, I discovered books about magic scrolls—and began experimenting on my own.
“…What.”
My father stared at the messy scroll I had drawn.
“It actually… works?”
“Yes. Of course it works.”
I was eight years old.
Normally, scroll creation required academy-level education.
So his shock was understandable.
“Namia… this isn’t your first time, is it?”
“Yes.”
I said proudly.
“I even saved someone with this today.”
“…Saved someone?”
“A boy in the library courtyard. A knife was about to hit him, so I blocked it with a scroll through the window.”
“…What?”
“He looked rich, but his attitude was rude. Didn’t even properly thank me.”
My father’s expression darkened immediately.
“You didn’t tell him your name, did you?”
“Of course not! You told me never to tell strangers. I was wearing the mask and hat too!”
“Good girl.”
He sighed in relief.
“But Father…”
“Yes?”
“If things keep going like this… will anything change?”
We both already knew the answer.
The debt would eventually swallow us.
“Father… I don’t mind if I get taken away.”
I fidgeted in his arms.
“If that means you can be free… that would be good too.”
“Namia.”
His voice turned sharp.
“Never say that again. Ever. It hurts me.”
“…Okay. Actually, I’ve thought of another plan.”
“Another plan?”
I clenched my fist.
“I’ll marry a very rich man. You got into debt because of marriage, right? Then I can solve it through marriage too. A super, super, super rich man!”
“To be precise… a Cinderella plan!”
“Don’t say that. You should marry someone you love.”
“But…”
“And stop talking about debt. That’s not something a child should worry about.”
That night, my father couldn’t sleep.
He stared at my scrolls in the early morning, sighing deeply.
“Our daughter is too smart… I really shouldn’t be raising her like this…”
Then one day—
My father didn’t go to work.
Instead, he bought me beautiful clothes and took me out to eat delicious food.
I smiled as best as I could, even though I had a bad feeling.
It felt like I might not see him for a long time.
I thought maybe he was going to send me to the loan sharks.
And I was ready to smile and say, it’s okay.
But the place he took me to was something completely unexpected.
