🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 39
“Why!”
Arileti shouted belatedly, and Glen immediately shot back.
“Then should I register her under my name? My father’s granddaughter—my daughter.”
“Young Lord, you’re not even married.”
He had only just become an adult. Who would believe he already had a five-year-old daughter?
Glen shrugged like it didn’t matter.
“We can just say the mother ran away.”
“……”
“Or that I don’t know who she is. Sixteen-year-old Glen, going through a rebellious teenage phase, made a mistake. You know—an early accident.”
Arileti, who had been quietly reaching for her third croissant, let out a sigh.
With that face practically labeled ‘upright young man’, talking about an early accident?
If that kind of rumor spread, how was he planning to get married later?
‘Ah, come to think of it, Glen Hezette never married anyway.’
He was the type who never spared a glance at women, too busy protecting his lord, the Third Prince, from the other princes’ schemes.
“Tsk tsk……”
“Why are you clicking your tongue all of a sudden, Teacher?”
“Instead of making a daughter first, how about getting a girlfriend, Young Lord? Try dating.”
In terms of looks, skill, and personality, he was more than a match for any top bachelor in the capital. And yet this face was rotting away on the frontier. What a waste.
Honestly, this territory wastes too many good things.
‘Is there a pretty, kind, capable older sister somewhere? I do know one person…’
If she stood on the Hezette side, she would bring tremendous advantages. Though she wouldn’t come to the Bertel Empire until much later.
‘Actually, this works out. We’ll strengthen the territory’s power before she arrives in Bertel.’
And then she would arrange the marriage. That should repay at least three mandrake roots!
Unaware that Arileti had already completed a long-term marriage plan in her head, Glen tried persuading her again.
“Or we can put you in the collateral branch of the family tree. My father’s niece. My cousin. You don’t like that either?”
“No.”
Whether considering Glen’s marriage prospects or basic morality, becoming a member of House Hezette was unthinkable to Arileti.
‘How could I dare become family with them? They’re people who died unfairly because of me.’
Just because it hadn’t happened in this timeline didn’t mean it never existed. Even if no one else remembered, she did.
Glen didn’t seem bothered by her firm rejection.
“Actually, I have a younger sibling whose face and name I don’t even know.”
She had overheard that once before in the office.
“A few years ago, my mother passed away. At the same time, my younger sibling went missing.”
“Ah……”
“It’s complicated, so I’ll explain another time. The important thing is, if we say we found the lost sibling again, it won’t look suspicious, Teacher. You’ll need a cover identity too.”
“A cover identity?”
“Monster Byproduct Appraiser Aril. Arileti Cadis, the Time Mage of the White Forest. Neither can really be shown publicly, right?”
That… did sound convincing.
Arileti hesitated, then asked, “What’s so good about becoming Arileti Hezette?”
“I’ll raise you to be the greatest swordsman.”
“Not interested… I wanna eat warm meals, wear pretty dresses, and live with jewels all over me.”
She had deliberately chosen an answer that would make him hesitate, but he didn’t falter at all.
“I can do that now. If you don’t want to be a swordsman, I’ll raise you like a princess, Teacher.”
“……A princess?”
“Yeah. A fairy-tale princess with nothing but a happy ending.”
Arileti’s eyes, stubbornly fixed on the bread basket, began to waver.
How did he know that used to be my dream?
Temptation flooded in without mercy.
“And if you officially become a Hezette, you can get involved in the territory’s administration and businesses more easily. You can even use the family seal.”
“……”
“You could shape the territory however you like. My father has already agreed.”
Even as he spoke, Glen carefully observed her reaction. She seemed more interested in decorating the territory than in being raised like a princess.
Though she tried to hide it, budding excitement was already sparkling in her eyes.
“You won’t regret it?”
If it weren’t for you, this entire territory would’ve become monster food.
Glen swallowed those words and simply smiled.
“Of course not.”
“……Then I’ll just borrow the Hezette surname for a while….”
“Yeah. That alone is enough.”
From now on, Arileti would be introduced as the youngest child lost a few years ago by House Hezette. Noble status was the strongest protection of all.
The knights and soldiers under Hezette now had legitimate grounds to draw their swords for the child.
Only then did Glen relax and casually add,
“Oh, by the way, a friend will be coming soon.”
“A friend?”
“Yeah. The friend you’ll need most from now on.”
Holding her rabbit doll, Arileti looked puzzled. She awkwardly rolled the word friend around in her mouth.
Suppressing the sharp ache in his chest, Glen continued,
“The friend is coming from far away, so I’ll have to go meet them. So promise me you’ll focus only on recovering until then, Arileti. Okay?”
After hesitating, the child gave the faintest nod.
Time passed quickly while Glen was away and Arileti idled around the lord’s castle.
The Ice Dragon Elardio faithfully upheld his contract with her. The cold and blizzards retreated, and for the first time in a hundred years, the territory experienced a true summer.
“Even the Nermar Viscount’s house is sending food regularly. After fixed expenses, we actually have money left over.”
Arileti lay stretched like melted cheese in the Marquis Hezette’s arms while receiving the report. She sipped the precious mandrake potion through a straw.
“Since the dragon of the snowy mountain is guarding the border, we no longer have to haul supplies all the way to the summit.”
Hmm. Lord Elardio is being more cooperative than expected.
“With the cold gone, we don’t need to over-purchase warming stones either. In the end, income has surpassed expenses.”
The Marquis, with Arileti sitting on his lap, was already opening another potion. Every day, he fed her until her stomach grew round with food and potion.
“In the hundred years Hezette guarded the border, we never once had surplus money.”
Grandfather, don’t say such sad things so seriously. And I’m not drinking more potion. It’s too wasteful.
“So aside from food and necessities, we don’t even know what to spend money on. For now, I’ve invited a herbal specialist to secure mandrakes. Doctor Sergio said his knowledge alone wasn’t enough. The new expert is a graduate of the Imperial Academy.”
Wait. Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?
“……How much are we paying for travel expenses and salary…?”
“Hmm.”
The Marquis avoided her gaze.
When she heard the amount he finally confessed, Arileti dropped her potion.
He hurried to explain.
“Isn’t it the price of your life, child? What’s a bit of money compared to that?”
It is a big deal! It’s a huge deal!
The image of 1,000 gold coins flying away shimmered before her eyes.
It wasn’t enough that the mandrake field had already been cleared out—now they had to pay 1,000 gold every year in salary.
Her stomach ached at the thought.
Meanwhile, the Hezette family acted as if the cost of mandrakes and hiring an Imperial Academy graduate wasn’t wasteful at all.
‘In the end, money is just leaking out again!’
