CH 38

“I’m sure Yohan told you that I’m busy.”

I lowered my head as if I had become a sinner.

“… Yes.”

“And Yohan must have informed you that I dislike being disturbed during work.”

“… Yes, he did.”

“But despite that, what am I doing to disturb me? Did you really think that receiving a proposal from a guardian knight is more important than running the family?”

“…”

“May Flotina, there’s nothing more important to me than managing the estate.”

The reason he is so dedicated to asset management is simple. It is to uphold the family’s lineage.

There’s nothing strange about it. After all, he abandoned his daughter, claiming she was useless to the family.

“If you have something to say, do it later. Whatever it is, it’s not worth interrupting my work.”

What’s truly strange is that my heart yearns for his affection.

***

That night, I couldn’t easily fall asleep.

I got lost in my thoughts while staring at the monotonous ceiling created by moonlight.

No matter how rebellious he may be, he is still my father, and I hoped he would at least treat me with the bare minimum of fatherly care.

I never imagined feeling like this before going to the orphanage. With a firm determination to survive, my biggest desire was not for him to treat me as his child, but to somehow let me live in Flotina.

But now, it’s different. Ever since he said he would become my father, I have become an endlessly young child, a young daughter.

I wanted to go out together like Persis, not for anything extravagant, just like any other daughter. I wanted to be loved.

So, despite knowing that he was busy, she acted petulant. She asked if he couldn’t spare some time, even if it was just for a moment.

And when he returned…

“May Flotina, nothing is more important to me than managing the estate. If you have something to say, say it later. Whatever it is, it’s not worth interrupting my work.”

He didn’t even realize how it affected the child’s heart.

I can’t sleep. The ceiling I stare at remains unchanged, like someone’s expression frozen in time.

After tossing and turning for a while, I finally managed to close my eyes.

“Dad! Let’s eat cookies together!”

“Sure. Bring the coffee-flavored cookies you like.”

“Dad! Shall we eat out for dinner?”

“Do you have something in mind? If you want, I’ll take you anywhere.”

“Dad! Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Of course. I’ll read you a bedtime story before you sleep.”

It didn’t take me long to realize that where I was it was just a dream. There’s no way that affectionate person, who gently stroked the platinum-haired girl’s head, could be Persis.

“Dad, how about we go shopping together tomorrow? There’s a dress I want.”

“As you wish, my dear.”

As painfully warm and peaceful,

As painfully tragic, the dream was.

***

The next morning, Persis conducted a contract negotiation with Count Cuthus, the upper house landlord, in his office.

At the height of a scorching summer day, Count Cuthus, who finalized the contract, gathered the scattered documents on the table and spoke.

“You’ve made a wise decision. The Painted Area is mainly hunted by the Third Knight Order, headed by Hestia. There’s no need to hunt in the same area.”

Count Cuthus showed a composed determination and wore a professional smile. His ash-gray beard followed along his lips.

“However, it’s not like Elam agreed to the contract willingly. As the Count said, there are many hunters in the Painted Area, so we chose another location.”

“But still, there could be advantages to being associated with Hestia, right?”

Count Cuthus frowned. If someone who didn’t know him well saw him, they might mistake him for being cunning, but he was a trustworthy person to the extent that Persis agreed to the contract.

“You don’t want to risk hunting in the Painted Area and accidentally crossing paths with the Third Knight Order, resulting in injuries to the knights…”

The Count lowered his head, as if he didn’t even want to imagine what he had just said.

“Wouldn’t that be a headache for you? Your grace is already strong, but if you were to receive an attack mistakenly, you could even lose your life.”

Perhaps he had imagined such a situation, as the Count’s face soon became pensive.

“If a knight were to die… we might have to go to war against Lady Hestia. Lady Hestia treasures the knights of the Third Knight Order as her own children…”

“…”

Seeing that Persis didn’t seem to have much interest in Hestia and her Order, the Count quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, your complexion looks better, which is fortunate. You look much better than when I visited around this time last year.”

His words were not empty. Persis’s complexion had noticeably improved compared to last year.

‘Could it be because I no longer have nightmares?’

Since bringing May back to Flotina, Persis no longer had nightmares. he no longer dreamed of being betrayed and abandoned by his own body.

Without having a single nightmare and enjoying restful sleep, it was impossible for his complexion not to look good.

‘I wonder why I stopped having nightmares. It used to be a persistent and agonizing nightmare that followed me every day.’

Perhaps it was because he was receiving some positive energy from that child…

Tap, tap! Count Cuthus neatly placed the organized documents into a camel-colored satchel bag.

“By the way, there’s a rumor in the social circles about a successor appearing in Flotina. The rumor is that Your Grace has a ten-year-old heir.”

Persis narrowed her eyes as if displeased.

“Who spread that rumor?”

“Well, hmm… Could it be a noble family who pays special attention to Plotina? It’s unlikely that it’s a baseless rumor spread against Flotina… They probably hired an informant to smuggle the information.”

Hiring informants among the nobles is quite common.

The Count spoke nonchalantly, but Persis was uncomfortable with the fact that others knew about May’s existence.

“Then this time, it was the Count who spread the rumor.”

“What rumor are you talking about?”

“The rumor that if anyone dares to mention my son, they’ll lose their head.”

Upon hearing this, the Count froze for a moment but managed to laugh it off.

“Haha… I-I will make sure of that.”

Persis was truly someone who could take a person’s life. Look. Even now, her gaze seems like she could easily take someone’s life. Although she forced a smile, the Count’s laughter was not genuine.

“I will take my leave now. I will see you again during the next contract.”

“Very well.”

Count Cuthus, who rose from the sofa, politely bid farewell to Persis and left the reception room.

Yohan, his personal knight, who stood behind the sofa where Persis was seated, spoke to her as if he had been waiting for Count Cuthus to leave.

“Why did you get angry yesterday when you cherish the young master so much?”

Persis remained silent and thought about the subject mentioned by Johann, while basking in the warm sunlight coming in through the window.

May Flotina.

That little one had been bothering him recently.

“I have something to tell you. Can you please open the door?”

Persis unexpectedly acted like a child.

Why did he behave that way? It’s incomprehensible. When he was May’s age, he had never bothered his father.

He had never thrown a tantrum or made his father feel annoyed. Persis couldn’t understand May’s behavior.

However, unlike Persis, who had grown up without any affection, Johan understood why May acted that way.

“Young master… He wanted praise and congratulations. He has never received praise and congratulations from the master, so he wanted them even more.”

Yohan’s expression was dark. He had witnessed firsthand Persis’s words, actions, and expressions towards Mei yesterday.

“So, how about praising him and congratulating him, my lord?”

You can do that much.

However, Persis’s attitude remained cold.

“He is not an official guardian knight yet. Praising and congratulating can be done after he becomes an official guardian knight, and it won’t be too late.”

“…”

Johann wanted to ask his master about something.

“Then, will you apologize?”

That was more important than managing the estate. Even when he thought about it again and again, he knew it was Persis’ fault. How much hurt must those sharp words have caused the little girl?

Unfortunately, Johann couldn’t directly ask Persis. He wasn’t in a position to tell his master to apologize.

Instead, he mustered up the courage to persuade the pitiful girl and offer some help.

“How about having dinner with the young master tonight? Since the contract is complete, you will be busy hunting monsters from tomorrow, and Count Nazret will visit later this afternoon. Today evening is the only time you have free.”

If you suggest having dinner together first, the young master’s mood will improve.

“…”

Yohan looked at his silent master’s profile. It was always the same. The expressionless face seemed to prioritize his own interests, even though it was just having a meal with his own child.