TGHB 11

Chapter – 11

“…You said you were sorry? For what?”

“…For havin’ a pow’r… and not tellin’ you….”

My head drooped as I muttered.

“I don’t see why that’s something to apologize for.”

Tap.

A large hand landed gently on top of my head.

I blinked up in surprise and saw Uncle Oliver smiling down at me, meeting my eyes.

“You must’ve wanted to hide it. Everyone has secrets they want to keep.”

“…R-Really?”

“Yes. I have mine too.”

“You do?”

He nodded, then slowly straightened his back.

“Want to see?”

“What?”

“My secret.”

A sly grin spread across his face as he swept his hair back with his hand.

At that very moment—

“…Huh?”

“What on earth—”

“Goodness. I’ve seen so many strange things today….”

Those who had been quietly watching us gasped in shock.

I was no exception.

“Woooow….”

The exclamation slipped out all on its own.

The moment his big hand brushed his hair aside, the brown hair vanished—replaced with a radiant silver.

Oliver’s brown hair and blue eyes had already been handsome, but silver hair with blue eyes?

It was like—

‘He ascended into god-tier looks.’

Truly, anyone would believe an angel had descended to Earth.

Apparently, this was his real appearance.

‘So the brown hair was a disguise for undercover missions.’

Haha…

“See? I had a secret too.”

He gave a low chuckle.

Then—

“Wait. That man is…”

“Silver hair and blue eyes? Could he be—”

“…D-D-Duke Panteive?!”

Even in the daze caused by his overwhelming beauty, bewildered whispers burst forth.

My eyes widened.

‘What? THE famous Duke Panteive came here?!’

In the Empire, Duke Panteive was always a hot topic.

‘He showed up in every newspaper and magazine.’

Thanks to that, even I’d heard quite a lot about him.

Contier Panteive.

The strongest man in Empire history.

A master of darkness who could wield shadows freely.

A prodigy called a genius since childhood.

And also—

‘The Maniac of Panteive.’

Honestly, this nickname was the most famous.

Despite his angelic face, his inner self supposedly housed a total maniac—no, not just sleeping inside him, but wide awake.

‘I never saw his face, but rumor said he was incredibly handsome.’

They said he had shimmering silver hair and mysterious blue eyes that glowed—

…Wait.

‘Silver hair and blue eyes?’

I’d been looking around for Duke Panteive, but my head turned slowly like a broken toy to stare at Uncle Oliver.

“A-Are you… Duke Panteive…?”

Smile.

His perfect, painting-worthy smile had no flaws.

“Correct. Clever child.”

No, the people around me basically said the answer out loud…

‘…WHAT IS HAPPENING?!’

I screamed internally.

‘Uncle Oliver is Duke Panteive?!’

But the shocks didn’t end there.

“Anyway. I’ve been thinking about something for a while—”

The Duke—no, the Duke—tilted his head and continued with a dangerous tone.

“A little kid with silver-white hair and a divine power, hm.”

Gulp.

…Is that a problem, sir?

I fiddled with my messy hair as I looked up at him.

“You, Marshmallow.”

His blue eyes rotated once—then locked onto me again.

Tension shot through me and my palms grew clammy.

Everyone’s gaze was on me too.

Wh-What? What now…?

Then his lips parted.

“Are you my daughter?”

Ah, daughter.

‘Oh, that’s all…’

…Wait. Daughter?

I blinked dumbly.

‘What did I just hear…?’

Glancing around, everyone was frozen stiff.

The only one smiling was the Duke.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds.

Exactly three seconds passed—

“…Whaaaaat?!”

“Huuuuuh?!”

“Eeeeeeh?!”

Someone’s scream led to multiple voices joining in harmony.

And then—

“Hic. Hiccup.”

My belated hiccup followed.

Truly, out of nowhere, a surprise reveal of “Secret birth!” had dropped from the heavens.

“By tomorrow, knights will arrive. Just know that and prepare to leave. Ah, and—”

With me tucked under one arm, the Duke jerked his chin at Dominic, who lay collapsed on the ground.

“Tie him up and lock him somewhere. Tell him if he comes out, he’s dead.”

Cheerfully giving the execution-level order, the Duke turned and walked out of Bramshua.

And now—

‘Where am I? Who am I?’

The Duke and I were sitting in the grass near Bramshua.

A Duke… sitting in the grass?

Ridiculously unfitting—but true.

He plopped down onto the grass and sat, setting me on his lap.

Oh, look, the sky is so blue.

‘Wait, focus.’

“…Um, sir.”

“Yes? What is it.”

“A-Are you really… my daddy…?”

“Well. Who knows.”

“…Huh?”

What kind of answer was that?

“Who knows”? That’s way too vague!

But judging from his attitude—

“…So you’re not my daddy?”

“Oh no, you figured it out.”

Smiling with his eyes, the Duke shrugged.

Oh, come on.

Seriously, COME ON!

“You shou’n’t joke about stuff like that.”

“It wasn’t a joke. It was a genuine question.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Truly. A kid who can use divine power, has silver hair, and is quite smart—you resemble me in many ways. Don’t you think so too?”

Silver hair, divine power, and being smart—like him?

“…Well… maybe a lil’ bit….”

“Exactly. So for a moment, I wondered if you might be my daughter. Of course, it’s physically impossible.”

I’m not a hermaphrodite, after all.

He added quietly, then smiled again.

“So, will you forgive me?”

“Forgive…?”

He nodded and pulled something from his coat.

“Gasp!”

My eyes popped wide.

“GAASP! You’re givin’ me ALL o’ this?!”

“Yes. It’s a bribe.”

It was the jar of candies he always carried around.

Sss… this is tough.

“I forgive you! I wasn’t even mad in the first place!”

“Haha. That’s good to hear.”

Hmph. He doesn’t look like he believes me.

I really wasn’t mad though.

Not because of the bribe—no, gift—but because it was such a ridiculous idea to begin with.

‘Me, with noble blood?’

I used to beg on the streets to survive.

I never believed it, so there was nothing to be angry about.

Oh, but…

“So… what now?”

“What do you mean?”

“The Bramshua big brothers an’ sisters. They’re gonna think I’m your daughter.”

At my rational point, the Duke tilted his head with curiosity.

“…You really are strange. Not very childlike, but oddly realistic.”

“What? What’d you just—”

“I said, ‘That is a serious problem.’”

Weird. I’m pretty sure he said something else…

“Anyway, let’s go back.”

“Go back?”

“Yes! We gotta hurry an’ tell ’em it’s not true!”

“Hm. No need for that.”

…Why not?

I stared, and he smiled warmly.

“There’s a much easier solution.”

“An easier one?”

“Before it becomes a problem, we just make it the truth.”

Make the lie the truth before it becomes a problem?

Well… he did have a point.

If it’s the truth, then there’s no issue—

…Absolutely NOT.

“That’s not okay!”

“It’s perfectly doable. I’m rather talented at turning things into the truth.”

If anyone else had said that, I’d laugh it off.

But coming from Duke Panteive, it sounded believable.

If he wanted to, he really could make any lie into reality.

“So, what do you want?”

“Me?”

“Yes. Your opinion matters too. How do you feel about becoming my daughter?”

Do you like the idea? Or not?

I pondered the two choices carefully.

Hmm…

If I really had to choose between like or dislike—

“…I like it.”