TLFP 4

Chapter 4

Blink, blink.

Feeling something soft, cozy, and warm, I curled up slightly—then froze.

Huh? Something felt strange.

Was my blanket always this soft and fluffy?

Well, of course mine was fairly soft and fluffy, but this felt even softer than that.

It smells like sunshine….

Feeling good, I rubbed my cheek against the blanket, then tilted my head.

…Wait, my blanket doesn’t smell like this.

The maids barely even brought me meals—there was no way they would hang my blankets out in the sun.

I slowly opened my eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling. I shut them again.

Ah, it’s a dream.

Hehe, it’s a dream.

I must’ve really wanted to sleep somewhere soft to have a dream like this.

Alright, let’s wake up now. Me!

I squeezed my eyes shut tight, then carefully opened them again.

A well-maintained ceiling that exuded both splendor and dignity. A chandelier that looked expensive at a glance.

An enormous bed that looked three times bigger than the one in my room.

And unlike my plain white blanket, this one looked like high-quality silk, even embroidered with delicate patterns.

…Did I sneak into someone else’s room because I was too cold?

My last memory was definitely hugging a cat and closing my eyes for a moment.

I cautiously sat up.

The room was silent—no one inside.

It was an antique-style room. Clean and neat, with a desk piled high with documents on one side.

“…I’m screwed.”

I’ve gone crazy!

What even happened?

I was too scared to find out.

As I whipped my head around, I began to roughly guess where I was.

The main building of the ducal estate.

Gasp.

Did the butler who followed me bring me here?

Well, he was kind, so maybe he did. But he knew people weren’t allowed into the main building so carelessly.

Especially me—I was practically banned from entering.

I need to get out of here.

If I got noticed and Grandfather scolded Father again because of me, that would be a problem.

It’s so high….

Why was the bed so tall?

I carefully climbed down, clutching the blanket, then hurriedly patted out the dents I’d left behind.

I scampered to one corner and tugged it into place, then ran to the other side and tugged that corner too.

After making sure all four corners were neatly squared, I folded the top edge slightly to make it look tidy.

Done.

They won’t notice, right?

Once I finished cleaning up, I quickly moved to leave the room.

I planned to sneak away before anyone caught me.

Standing on tiptoe, I pressed down the handle with both hands. The door opened. I peeked my head out and looked left and right.

Thankfully, no one was there.

Let’s go.

Wow… this room is so grand and huge.

Do butlers get assigned rooms like this?

After glancing at the antique door, I cautiously stepped into the hallway, sneaking along.

Whenever a servant or a guard passed by, I hurriedly hid in a corner or ducked behind a vase.

Is it this way…?

Waaah, it’s too big!

Why is this mansion like a maze? Someone as dumb as me would get lost in no time.

Thank goodness my house is the annex….

If I lived here, I’d probably only be able to go back and forth between the dining hall and my room.

“Is it here?”

Nope.

“Where are the stairs…?”

I should go downstairs first, I think.

After wandering around anxiously, I finally found the stairs.

They were just a little to the left of the room I had first come out of.

“…Ah, right. I have no sense of direction.”

I’d forgotten, since I never had any reason to wander around.

Glancing around cautiously, I hurried down to the first floor.

“So when did you say the physician would arrive?”

“He’s coming from the servants’ quarters and should arrive within ten minutes, Master.”

Gasp.

The moment I reached the first floor, I jumped at the voices I heard.

Master?

That meant the head of the house—Grandfather, right…?

No, where do I hide?

I whipped my head around.

There wasn’t a good hiding place. The only option was a large vase nearby, so I hurriedly crouched behind it.

“Tch, how does that fool manage a child to the point she comes all the way here over a single article?”

“……”

At the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs, I quickly covered my mouth with both hands.

They’re talking about me, aren’t they…?

The butler must have reported my visit to Grandfather.

…That was close.

He sounded like he hated even hearing about me—how awful would his expression be if he saw my face?

“A pathetic bastard who can’t even fulfill his duties or act like a proper parent.”

“……”

At the unmistakable tone insulting my father, I pressed my lips together tightly.

That’s not true.

…It’s all because of me.

If he hadn’t tried to make medicine for me—if he hadn’t tried to cure me—Father could’ve lived perfectly well on his own.

My dad is a genius.

The records of his independent research were incredible. Even I couldn’t understand a single thing when I looked at them.

So what if his ability was making plants grow faster?

He could grow rare medicinal herbs or fruit trees quickly. That’s a good thing.

If he ran an orchard, it would’ve been a huge success.

As I grumbled to myself, the presence of people moved farther away.

“Phew….”

I need to get out quickly.

Just as I started to rise carefully, seeing the exit ahead—

“Hey. What are you doing here?”

“Eek!”

At the voice behind me, I jumped and spun around.

“Hm… never seen you before. What are you? A maid? Or someone’s kid?”

Black hair. Red eyes.

In the Empire, those features were rare.

…A direct descendant of the Duke of Tigreto.

I swallowed.

I knew this face. I didn’t get to leave the annex often, but still…

Uncle’s… son.

If I remembered correctly, his name was probably Valux Tigreto.

Wasn’t his ability telekinesis?

He was said to be an extremely powerful ability user—and his personality wasn’t great either. Moody and merciless toward anyone who made mistakes.

Most of all, he despised me—the so-called illegitimate child. Every time he saw me, he would curse and turn his head away.

“Y-Young Master. I, I came to look for my dad, but I got lost… I’m sorry….”

I bowed my head deeply and apologized quickly.

I didn’t forget to lower the corners of my eyes to look as pitiful as possible.

“Hm, really?”

“Y-Yes… I’m sorry….”

It was best not to provoke a spoiled brat with a nasty temper like this.

“This isn’t a place to trample with dirty feet. But since I like your eye color, I’ll let it slide this once.”

The boy, a whole head taller than me, lightly patted my hair.

“The servants’ quarters are outside and to the right.”

“Y-Yes. Thank you!”

I bowed again and quickly turned, running out of the mansion.

“Where on earth did the child go?!”

“Eek!”

On my way out, I heard Grandfather’s furious shout.

Startled, I ran with all my might until I could taste blood in my throat.

“The servants’ quarters were to the right….”

Was I an idiot who couldn’t even tell right from left?

The boy—Valux—tilted his head, hands in his pockets.

Well, whichever direction she went, it wasn’t his concern.

Her eyes were like pink diamonds.

It was his first time seeing such vividly pink irises.

So colors like that did occasionally appear outside the main line, huh?

Valux glanced up at the noisy second floor.

Seeing the butler striding down the stairs, he spoke.

“Bel, why is Grandfather so angry again?”

“Ah, Young Master Valux. The third young master’s daughter came all the way to the main building in this cold weather and collapsed. We laid her down in a room briefly, reported it, and went to call a physician—but in the meantime, the young lady disappeared.”

“Oh, that girl? Silver hair and pink eyes?”

“Yes. Did you see her?”

“Yeah… She was hiding behind a flowerpot here. I talked to her, and she said she came to find her dad but got lost. She apologized and ran off pale as a sheet just now.”

Valux pointed toward the entrance with his finger.

“Ah… so she’s gone.”

“Hm. So that was my cousin. Lying to me—what a bad kid.”

Narrowing his eyes, Valux curled his lips into a faint smile and muttered quietly.