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Chapter 131
Roke Castle was gloomier than one would expect from the bright and sunny atmosphere of the Southern Empire. Others described it as “dignified” or “solemn,” but…
“It’s gloomy.”
Even the castle seemed to take after its master.
I grimaced as I remembered the kidnapper who wanted to become my dad.
“You really don’t seem to be afraid of the master, Lady.”
“How curious.”
“All the other children cry when they see him.”
“Maybe because you’re the master’s daughter?”
What kind of nonsense logic was that?
How do you jump to the conclusion that just because I’m supposedly his daughter, I wouldn’t be scared of him, even though we just met?
I glared at the maid who said that absurd thing, but—
“Kyaaha, how cute.”
All I got in return was “cuteness.” Damn it.
Why am I so cute!
“Aw, are you angry?”
“Want a snack?”
“What would you like for dinner?”
“I’m not a baby!”
No matter how much I insisted to the maids that I was a child, not a baby, they wouldn’t listen.
“Oh my, you’re mad because we said ‘din-din’ instead of ‘meal’?”
“Should we give you cookies instead of snacks?”
These people…
“…Give me the cookies.”
Still, I didn’t refuse the cookies they offered.
“Kyaah, so cute.”
“So soft.”
“So adorable.”
The maids clung to me. Thanks to the childcare squad back home, I was already used to this treatment. While pushing them away just enough, I sighed at my life once again.
The world really doesn’t leave me alone.
Still, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand their behavior.
When their master, the lord of the castle, was such a scary, gloomy, and terrifying man, it was only natural for them to flip out at the sight of a cute child like me.
“But you’re really not afraid of the master?”
It had been… hmm, how many days now since I was imprisoned after the emperor’s abduction?
Anyway, my daily routine was to meet the regent duke and demand, “Send me back.”
Apparently, people found it amazing not only that I demanded so firmly but also that I wasn’t afraid of him.
Everyone else must have been crushed by his oppression.
“I’m scared too, though.”
“!”
How could I not be scared? His eyes are so sharp.
“I just got used to it.”
His looks and his aura were ferocious, but unlike appearances, the regent duke never did anything to me.
He still spoke in that cold, detached way of his, but if I thought of it as just his usual tone, then with me, he actually seemed… a little softer.
‘Not sure what the difference is, though.’
Besides, even though I threw tantrums every day, lay on the floor, and even smashed porcelain that seemed precious to him—
“Fetch the physician.”
—he worried about me first, not the porcelain.
He even fussed over a tiny scratch I got once, treating it like a big deal, to the point I felt embarrassed.
Since I always threw tantrums on the floor, he even had new carpets put in so I wouldn’t get dirty.
He was definitely a bastard, but… a strangely kind bastard. Which left me feeling conflicted.
‘I’ll just have to make more trouble.’
I’d show him I wasn’t easy to handle. Then maybe he’d send me back.
Luckily, I had the perfect role models for troublemaking(!).
Who would’ve thought there’d come a day I praised the devilishness of the Spherom twins?
“Let’s do this.”
* * *
Ludwig looked over a report and felt oddly refreshed. In contrast, his aide, Germán, tasted pure hell as his heart shriveled in dread.
Gulp.
The longer his master stayed silent, the more it felt like his head was about to roll.
Minutes dragged on in that tense silence.
“So…”
Finally, Ludwig spoke.
“This is the tally of what Arellin wrecked over the past week?”
The broken porcelain, frames, ornaments were countless. Furniture, dishes, and carpets had been replaced dozens of times.
Converted into money, the damages amounted to about the worth of an entire castle!
For about ten days after arriving at Roke Castle, she hadn’t lifted a finger, just stayed in her room. Then suddenly, as if possessed by a spirit, she rampaged around, causing so much havoc that servants trembled as they followed her.
Germán braced himself for the storm of punishment—
“She’s quite lively.”
“…Eh?”
Ludwig chuckled, then pinned the list of damages on his office wall like a trophy.
“Tell the steward to make the castle safe so she won’t get hurt while running around.”
“Huh? Y-yes, of course! I’ll deliver the order right away!”
“Any other reports?”
Caught off guard by this completely unexpected reaction, Germán fumbled before regaining his composure. He cleared his throat.
“There’s the matter of Duke Idichels, sir…”
A different kind of tension filled the office.
“He still hasn’t left?”
“Yes, he’s still staying in the castle, requesting an audience with Your Grace.”
Ludwig tapped his fingers on the desk, then gave his answer.
“Ignore him.”
“Shall we take him hostage, if necessary?”
“Duke Idichels?”
Ludwig’s lips curved into an amused smile.
“Germán, do you know why, through all of history, Paital has never gone to war with Albrecht?”
Germán blinked blankly. Ludwig laughed cheerfully.
The two empires had clashed countless times under the surface.
Not just them.
With the multi-racial empire Shugra, with the Uyo Confederation—the paradise of halflings and beastfolk—there had been endless disputes and frictions.
Layer upon layer of accumulated conflicts had long since hardened into grudges, becoming a ticking time bomb.
And yet, a continental war never broke out for a simple reason.
Because Albrecht, the one with overwhelming power, didn’t want it.
“You don’t oppose blessed ones without divine favor on your side.”
Why was Albrecht the most prosperous of human empires?
Because of divine providence, utterly incomprehensible by normal logic.
Just as the forgotten god’s blessing protected Paital.
“Let him be. As long as we don’t provoke first, the arrogant emperor of Albrecht will never take Halbern’s side.”
Ludwig put his faith in the arrogance of a well-fed predator who already had everything.
A predator so sated it wouldn’t even bare its claws at prey that merely strutted around nearby.
* * *
For the first time, I regretted not having the Golden Eye.
“If I had the Golden Eye, I could’ve caused even more damage.”
Using what I’d learned from watching Ciel and Noel in the imperial palace, Halbern, and the Spherom dukedom, I smashed everything that looked expensive. But it wasn’t enough.
“Do more.”
Instead of scolding me, he encouraged me.
The regent duke didn’t even bother swapping out the castle’s furnishings with cheaper ones.
“Ugh.”
Why wasn’t this working?
At any other house, people would’ve come running to scold me ages ago! Why wouldn’t he get angry?
“A tough opponent.”
I was confused, not knowing what was on Dad’s mind. The regent duke was simply a formidable foe.
How was I supposed to overcome this crisis?
While pondering deeply and sneaking along paths I’d scouted to avoid the maids and attendants, it happened.
“Ow!”
Lost in thought, I bumped my forehead into someone’s back and fell over.
“Huh?”
The man also gasped in surprise, then froze.
“A child?”
“Mm?”
“Are you Arellin Sigria Halbern?”
“…?”
How did he know my full name?
When I took his hand and stood up, I finally saw his face clearly.
Blue hair and blue eyes, like the deep sea. Huh?
“This is our first meeting. My name is Terrence, Duke of Idichels.”
With a voice as clear and resonant as a nine o’clock news anchor, he greeted me with a trustworthy smile.
I found him. Someone who could help me.
“Mister!”
I rushed straight toward this stranger.
“Please help me!”
