Chapter 14
Kallarof Daygladis, Duke.
He was the head of the Daygladis family living directly across the street—about a 3-minute carriage ride, or 15 minutes on foot.
He was Kaleo’s close childhood friend, the master of Ardores, and also the godfather to Soles.
“Duke!”
Soles greeted him warmly.
Kallarof knelt on one knee and raised an eyebrow, looking slightly disappointed.
“Kiddo, you don’t call me Uncle Kallarof anymore?”
“If I called you that, Nini might copy me. And I’m already 10 years old now, so I have to act a little more mature.”
“That’s good, you’re growing up strong. Still, it’s a bit disappointing.”
As he ruffled Soles’ hair, which had grown quite a bit since the last time they met, his eyes caught sight of Nibelia and the boy nearby.
Kallarof gave a brief, wry smile.
“Nini.”
Nibelia flinched when she heard her name.
“You forgot about Uncle again, didn’t you?”
“……”
Though not exactly blaming her, Nibelia shrank back even more and made sure to hide the boy behind her protectively.
The boy quietly spoke to Nibelia, who was gripping his hand tightly.
“He brought me here. He’s not a bad person.”
Nibelia’s ears perked up.
“…You helped a wolf?”
“Yes. He helped me.”
“But he looks like that…”
Kallarof swallowed a dry laugh.
Al and Rubens, who were giggling nearby, decided to help their father.
“Nini, even though this uncle looks like he’d rough people up, he’s a really great adult. Plus, he’s rich.”
“He’s the dad of me and my brother. So you can trust him.”
Thanks to Al and Rubens, Nibelia’s guard softened a little and she stepped forward.
Kallarof extended his hand.
Nibelia showed scissors.
“Nini wins!”
“No, I’m asking for your hand.”
Kallarof barely managed to kiss the back of Nibelia’s hand.
“It’s an honor to see you again, Lady Dayamor.”
“Indeed.”
“Well, the young lady will have much to learn.”
“Nini is going to study from now on! She already practiced letters earlier!”
“Right, right?” Nibelia asked her brothers for agreement.
Al and Rubens nodded.
“That’s right. We studied together earlier in the library while reading a dictionary. Learning one word counts as studying.”
“We helped her name this boy. She still can’t read yet.”
Soles took a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it.
Kallarof unfolded the paper. Instead of letters, it had large, abstract shapes drawn on it.
Though hard to decipher, Kallarof’s experience with children let him quickly read it.
“Arep?”
“Arep!”
Nibelia shouted.
“That’s the wolf’s name!”
“You named him?”
At that moment, the parlor door, which had been closed, suddenly opened wide.
“Kids, are you having fun?”
Muniel spoke calmly to the children as usual. Her eyes quickly moved to Nibelia and Arep’s joined hands.
Kallarof gave a worried look. Muniel smiled as if to say “Don’t worry.”
“Let’s see, is our Nini taking good care of the wolf?”
“She’s doing well!”
“You greeted Uncle Kallarof, right? Did you behave politely this time?”
“I was polite.”
Kallarof decided not to say anything.
“Grandmother, I just named this child.”
Soles quickly urged the boy to speak gently to not hurt his shoulder.
The boy said,
“Arep.”
“Named after Lord Ardores’s wolf, huh.”
Kallarof said to the boy,
“When Lord Ardores exterminated the monsters long ago, he always fought alongside a wolf with golden fur and red eyes, just like you. Grow up strong and magnificent like that wolf.”
The boy nodded enthusiastically.
“So you ended up choosing that name.”
Meanwhile, Muniel smiled knowingly.
“It suits him well.”
The boy, now named Arep, squeezed out his voice.
“I like the name too…”
Arep.
The Golden Wolf.
The moment he heard the name, Arep felt a strange certainty that it originally belonged to him.
“That’s the wolf’s name.”
Nibelia leaned her head lightly against Arep’s arm, tapping it gently.
Everyone understood Nibelia’s earlier words to mean that the name belonged to the wolf who fought alongside the paladin Ardores.
But to Arep’s ears, it sounded completely different.
It meant the name was originally yours.
“…Yeah.”
Arep also lightly placed his weight on the joined hands.
He wanted to quickly become a person who fit the name.
“Al and Rubens will be sent off before dinner.”
Muniel, who had come out to see Kallarof off as he returned to the mansion, said.
As Kallarof prepared to board his carriage, Muniel handed him a small note.
“Read this and then burn it.”
“……”
“And this is my blessing.”
Muniel placed her hand on Kallarof’s head.
Kallarof knelt down respectfully and closed his eyes as if used to it.
White sparkling dust gently fell on his black hair. The light lightly brushed over his whole body and was absorbed.
Muniel withdrew her hand and asked,
“How do you feel?”
“I feel light. I guess fatigue had unknowingly accumulated.”
“Do you really think it’s just fatigue?”
“Does that mean I’m getting old?”
“Be careful on your way.”
Muniel closed the carriage door herself and watched until the carriage fully left.
The Daygladis mansion was a short distance away by carriage.
It was a very brief ride, but just enough time to read the note and think.
Kallarof read the words inside the note Muniel had given him.
“…?”
The usually stoic duke’s face cracked slightly.
[You said there is evidence of embezzlement behind the picture frame?]
Embezzlement?
Kallarof could answer honestly.
The Daygladis family never commits embezzlement. This was thanks to Muniel and Ardores’s strict teachings since childhood.
“An act against your conscience will always threaten you. It will strangle your neck and collapse the ground beneath your feet at an unexpected moment.”
He grew up always engraving their words in his heart.
So the contents written here were not directed at Kallarof.
‘Then whose embezzlement is this?’
With a complicated mind, Kallarof arrived at the mansion and headed to his office. Somehow, he felt the note needed to be burned quickly.
“Master, you’re back.”
The head maid, passing by, recognized him and approached to greet.
Kallarof nodded lightly and asked,
“How is the child?”
“Are you referring to Miss Lima?”
Kallarof noticed the maid’s voice had softened.
“She must be reading in her room. Yesterday, the young master lent her some books because he was worried she might be bored.”
The maid, apparently fond of Lima, voluntarily shared more details even without being asked.
“She’s such a kind and diligent child. You should have seen her say she wants to be of help to the duke who took her in.”
“……”
“Actually, it seems she wanted to play with the young masters, but she smiled bitterly, saying she’s not in a position to do that. It broke my heart…”
“…Wait.”
Kallarof interrupted the maid.
“Did you just say ‘reading’?”
He recalled what Rubens had said.
“We helped her name this kid. She still can’t read.”
The maid looked a bit startled at Kallarof’s pressing tone but answered obediently.
“Yes, Miss Lima is currently reading. She’s young but already can read, it’s amazing.”
“……”
“Master?”
“It’s nothing. Looks like I need to find a private tutor.”
“She’ll probably show talent quickly if she learns.”
Kallarof arrived at his office with slightly quicker steps than usual and immediately lit a candle. Then he burned the note Muniel had given him.
The note turned into black ashes in the firelight, reflecting in his red eyes.
‘Am I overreacting?’
Not all orphans are illiterate, after all.
‘But the environment didn’t seem suitable for teaching reading.’
How could children, who seemed starving, have learned to read? Arep, a year older than Lima, couldn’t read and had others help him.
Knock-knock.
“Um…”
Snapped out of his thoughts, Kallarof looked toward the door.
“Is Gonja there? It’s Lima.”
“Come in.”
With some effort, Lima opened the door. She wiped her forehead with her arm and smiled brightly as she approached Kallarof.
“Hello, Gonja!”
“What is it?”
Kallarof unintentionally asked in a blunt tone.
He immediately regretted it, but Lima didn’t mind and continued.
“I came to greet you since you arrived, Gonja.”
“You don’t have to go through the trouble.”
“But you help me, after all. Hehe, thank you!”
“……”
Kallarof quietly took in the sight of Lima bowing to him.
She had changed noticeably overnight.
Though still a bit shabby, her face was lively. Her violet eyes sparkled like stars, full of sharpness.
But Kallarof’s mind quickly shifted to another thought.
‘…Is there something wrong with her tongue?’
Neither Nini nor Arep, who were much younger or from the same orphanage, pronounced words this oddly.
‘I should ask a doctor.’
As he thought this, Lima asked,
“Gonja, do you know what happened to the orphanage?”
“Why the orphanage?”
“It’s actually a really, really bad place!”
Lima wrung her hands in front of her chest.
“The truth is, I saw the teachers put something behind the picture frame…”
“Behind the picture frame?”
“I overheard the word… embezzlement? Embezzlement?”
The red eyes that had been watching the child now turned toward the small pile of ashes below the candlestick.
[You said there is evidence of embezzlement behind the picture frame?]
Kallarof looked back at Lima.
“C-Can you punish the teachers with that?”
