Chapter 16

Seeing me hesitate to speak while gauging his mood, the Duke let out a small sigh and smiled.

“You don’t need to walk on eggshells. Just speak. There isn’t a soul in this estate who would dare make my daughter tread carefully.”

…My daughter.

At the Duke’s resolute words, my chest somehow felt tight.

Strange. Did I eat too many snacks?

I pressed a hand to my churning chest and broke the ice.

“Well, you see. Thewe’s a weally big pwoblem.”

“A big problem? Those aren’t words that suit the Young Lady of Panteyebe.”

No.

This is a problem that arose *because* I became the Young Lady of Panteyebe.

“How… do you be a daughter?”

Laughably, after confidently telling the Duke to just trust me, I realized I knew absolutely nothing about the father-daughter dynamic.

What kind of relationship is a father and daughter supposed to be?

What do I have to do to look like his real daughter?

No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t find an answer.

‘I suppose I’d only know if I’d ever had one.’

After all, this is the first time in my life I’ve had a dad.

At this rate, I’m going to get fired before I even write up that contract.

“I have to be a pewfect daughter, but I don’t know what to do… What if people get suspicious?”

“Who knows. I doubt that will happen, though.”

“Weally…?”

“Yes. But if it bothers you, just drag anyone who looks suspicious to me. I’ll take care of it.”

The Duke said with a grin.

How exactly will you take care of it…

Swallowing the curiosity I didn’t dare voice, I let out an awkward ‘hehe’.

‘Right. I’ll just have to figure this out myself!’

…Anyway.

I took a wittle sip of my orange juice through the straw and subtly gauged his reaction.

Honestly, there was one more thing I wanted to bring up.

‘Bramchois… was it handled well?’

I was curious about what happened to Bramchois after I left.

Of course, according to my memories before the regression, the sisters and brothers would receive compensation and a place to live, ending up just fine.

‘But I’m still curious about what happened to them right now.’

However, I couldn’t easily bring myself to ask.

I had only just started living with Panteyebe, and I was afraid he might think I was clinging to my past.

‘…Right. Let’s just not ask!’

Sniffle.

It was the moment I sniffled and resigned myself.

“You have an awfully quick tendency to give up on useless things.”

“Huh?”

A long index finger gently tapped my forehead.

“Ah, no. Mewony is supew persistent.”

“Liar. You were just about to ask something and stopped.”

Gasp.

“I heard you asked the maids for a newspaper? ‘Saturday’s Gossip’, was it? You must have asked for it because you were curious about something.”

Gasp!

‘…He’s sharp.’

It seems geniuses are quick-witted in every way.

Everything he said was hitting the nail on the head to the point of stinging.

Unable to deny it, I subtly avoided his gaze, and a small chuckle reached my ears.

Soon after.

“Here, take this.”

He held out a newspaper.

“It’s not the gossip magazine you wanted, but the news you’re curious about should be in there.”

The Duke was right.

The front page of the neatly folded newspaper featured a massive headline about Bramchois.

The horrific truth of Bramchois and the stories of the innocent people trapped inside.

And the news that Panteyebe would protect their identities while providing them with compensation and places to live.

“Hup.”

It was the moment I gasped as a surge of relief and joy washed over me.

Plop.

“Huh?”

Something fell out from between the folded pages.

“This is…”

“Ta-da. A surprise gift.”

“A suwpwise pwesent?”

I carefully picked it up.

The gift was an envelope.

As I turned the envelope over in my hands, my eyes grew as wide as saucers.

‘To my beloved Melony. From Jeanne and Ricky.’

Sister Jeanne.

Ricky!

“Well? Do you like it, Marshmallow?”

Do I like it?

To the Duke’s question, I bit my lip and nodded vigorously.

It truly was the best present.

* * *

The front page of the newspaper.

The eyes gazing at the massive headline were chilling.

“Panteyebe again. Not a single quiet day, is there…!”

The woman who snarled roughly crumpled the newspaper and tossed it aside.

“First Empress, please calm yourself.”

The one who spoke was a priest who had just entered through the door.

Because of the deeply pulled-down hood, the only thing visible was the faint curve of a smiling mouth.

“Oh my. You’ve seen me in an unseemly state.”

The Empress flushed and covered her mouth as she spoke.

“How is the Prince? Is there any problem?”

“Yes, His Highness the Prince is doing well.”

“Phew, that’s a relief. I am always grateful to you, Priest.”

“Not at all. I am simply doing what I can.”

The priest answered humbly and turned his head toward the newspaper the Empress had thrown.

Beneath the pitch-black shadow, his gaze swept over the newspaper and back.

“Bramchois. It seems Panteyebe has stirred up something interesting this time as well.”

“Phew, don’t even mention it. Thanks to this, His Majesty’s mood is beyond foul.”

From the perspective of an Emperor who had always envied abilities, Contie Panteyebe—hailed as the strongest in the Empire’s history—was nothing short of a thorn in his side.

Because of that, every time his name appeared in the papers, the Emperor’s mood hit rock bottom.

Whether it was for good or ill.

The public’s attention focusing on Panteyebe was the Emperor’s ultimate trigger.

Consequently, the ones who ended up exhausted were those by his side.

“Duke Panteyebe uncovered and dealt with a bizarre prison that locked people up for money. He didn’t even report it to the Imperial family and went so far as to infiltrate it himself! I simply cannot fathom such insolence.”

“Indeed. Then and now, Panteyebe remains consistently arrogant.”

“So arrogant and reckless. They even say he took a child from Bramchois claiming it’s his bloodline, a child who uses a unique ability.”

“…A child who uses a unique ability, bearing the Duke’s blood?”

The priest asked in a peculiar voice.

“Yes. I heard she can repair broken objects… though nothing is certain. It’s hard to believe a new type of ability has appeared when none has ever existed before. I would be certain if the Duke had reported it to the Imperial family, but he hasn’t!”

The Empress’s voice grew louder as she continued.

Her ragged breaths mixed with poorly concealed rage.

However, the priest across from her didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

“A child with the ability to repair broken objects…”

And a child the Duke claims is of his bloodline, no less.

‘Could anything be more covetable!’

The face hidden beneath the hood was as eerie as a doll’s.

“First Empress.”

“Yes? What is it, Priest?”

“It seems I need to station some people at the ducal estate.”

Clack.

The man set down his teacup and spoke like an excited child.

“I find myself wanting to learn more about that child.”

The man’s free hand toyed with the ring on his finger.

A ring with a bizarre design—a sword pierced through a serpent’s head.

* * *

The rear garden of the Panteyebe ducal estate.

The noonday sun beating down from above cast a massive shadow behind the mansion.

And beneath that pitch-black shadow, a group of people were gathered in twos and threes.

They were none other than the maids of the Panteyebe ducal estate.

Among them was Ena.

“All of you… you heard that question from the Young Lady, right?”

At Ena’s words, spoken with a solemn expression, the other three nodded.

“Yeah, I heard it.”

“I heard it too.”

“…Me too.”

The three answered in unison and let out a deep sigh.

Ena was the same, letting out a sigh.

Haaaa.

About three days ago, the Young Lady began secretly posing questions to a few of the servants.

These four were exactly the ones who had received the Young Lady’s secret questions.

“Excuse me. What should a daddy and daughter do?”

“W-What does a weal daughter do?”

“Daddy and daughter… what is that?”

“…What should a famiwy do?”

The wording of the questions varied slightly, but the subject was the same.

A father and daughter.

Family.

“I suppose she’s self-conscious about her position. Since the Duke suddenly brought her in as an illegitimate child, opinions among the servants have been divided. Whether she’s his real daughter or not.”

“True. Honestly, at first I thought the Duke had gone crazy—no, that he was pulling some bizarre stunt. Honestly, the Duke only ever had eyes for Lady Labela. After that, he never even saw another woman.”

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s why I honestly didn’t think the Young Lady was the Duke’s real flesh and blood, but…”