IBSGAD 18

Episode 18:Call me Dad?

Ain was already officially my father from the moment I entered this mansion. *He* was the one who asked me to come in as his adopted daughter. So why… why give me this letter *now*?

*‘Duke.’*

At that moment, Duke Iter’s face suddenly popped into my mind—how he always froze whenever I called him “Duke,” how his expression would turn strangely serious.
No way.
No way… does he want me to call him *Dad*?

“…No way.”

I scratched my head while staring at the letter. If he wanted to say something this embarrassing, he should’ve said it directly, not in a letter.
Well… I suppose it *is* the kind of content that’s hard to say out loud.

*‘Try calling me Dad!’*

I could not imagine Duke Iter saying that with a straight face.

“Duke…”

The moment I muttered it, Azelta and Delfiro’s expressions shifted suspiciously.
They were clearly thinking the same thing I was.
Does he really hate being called “Duke” that much?
Enough to send me this… no, technically he didn’t “send” it, he shoved the letter into my hand and ran off.

— *Tap.*

I neatly folded the letter and tucked it back into the envelope.

“Put this in the drawer.”

“Are you keeping it separately, my lady?”

Azelta asked carefully.
I nodded.

“Yep. I’m going to respond.”

If you receive a letter, manners dictate you write back.
But what do I even write?
*‘Nasia von Iter is Ain von Iter’s daughter.’*
That sounds like homework where you copy sentences… I scratched my cheek.

“……”

I pursed my lips, silently mouthing the word: *Dad.*

As someone who was an orphan even in my previous life, trying to call someone “Dad” now felt absurdly embarrassing.
Still… if I plan to stay in this mansion, calling him *Dad* might be better than always saying *Duke*…

“Mmph!”

I shook my head and hugged the pillow on the bed tightly.
I didn’t even care that Azelta and Delfiro looked confused.

This is mortifying! He wants me to call him *Dad*!
I squeezed the pillow like I was strangling it and shut my eyes tight.

—

I must have been exhausted.
Or maybe the Duke’s intense aura made my fatigue worse.
When I opened my eyes, it was already morning.

“Ah…”

— *shhrrrk.*
Azelta drew open the curtains. Warm sunlight flooded the room.

“Did you sleep well, my lady?”

Sure, kids sleep a lot, but this was excessive.
I sat up abruptly. Lately it felt like all I did was eat and sleep.

I mean, in my previous life I’d said things like *“For kids, eating and sleeping IS their job!”*
But being the kid this time? Not fun.

“Mmph…”

I touched my stomach.
It used to be unusually flat and skinny for a child’s body—now it was getting soft.
My arms were getting rounder too.

If this keeps up, I’ll end up rolling around like a ball!

Urgent situation.

“Where’s Cassion?”

I remembered the shameless intruder who popped his head in through my window.
Azelta smiled brightly.

“He returned the day you were at House Deas.”

“Yes!”

Best news I’ve heard in days.

“He’ll be forbidden from coming near the Mist Sea for a while.”

I beamed. I had no desire to see him again.

“Great.”

Since I heard good news… maybe I should go outside today.
Only around the mansion, of course—my stamina limits me.

When I threw off the blanket, Azelta rushed over with slippers.
Today’s pair was pale sky-blue flying squirrel slippers.
Soft, with little side flaps—apparently meant to look like flying squirrels.

Cute.

— *tap.*
I slipped them on and turned toward the window.

“Maybe today I’ll—”

Go outside…

“You should eat breakfast before going out, my lady.”

I didn’t hear her.
Because outside the window—

“…What is that?”

Fog.
Dense fog.
Like the mansion was swallowed by a cloud.

Ten steps outside and you’d vanish into it.
It was so thick that even a few meters ahead were completely invisible.

“This is when the mist really starts covering the mansion,” Azelta explained.

“Soon the neighboring estates will disappear into the fog as well.”

“Oh…”

I’d heard this place had heavy fog, but I didn’t expect *zero visibility*.
The mansion’s immediate area was visible, almost as if there were a dome of clear air protecting it—beyond that, nothing but white mist.

“How come the fog doesn’t enter the mansion?”

Azelta nodded.

“It hates the blood of House Iter.”

Hates… blood?

More like—the Iter blood naturally repels the mist.
Basically, Iter blood is naturally resistant to mana interference.
Which makes this fog-filled region the perfect territory for them.

“Where does the fog come from?”

“From beyond the sea.”

“Beyond the sea?”

I remembered the faint ocean view I saw at the shell house with the Duke.

“When this fog clears, the waterside fog will recede too. If you’re lucky, you may see the sea.”

She leaned in and whispered:

“I can’t see anything through it, but Lord Rotia says he can.”

“Oh…”

Right, his *magic eye*.
Even in thick fog, he could probably see whatever’s hidden in there.

“What’s beyond it?”

“I only heard that… something enormous is there.”

“I see…”

Even with a magic eye, seeing across a far sea wasn’t easy.

“So interesting.”

My curiosity as a mage flared up.
This fog is mana-rich.

“I want to go there.”

Azelta flinched.

“We don’t know what might appear from there! It’s dangerous!”

Right.
They don’t know magic here.
I pouted.

Once my body recovers even a little, I *will* go.
Even if not like in my previous life, once I regain physical strength and some magic ability, fog like this would be mine to command.
If I could manipulate the entire fog…

Then the fog-source area would basically be my front yard.

I clenched my small fist.

“I’m going to exercise!”

I’ll get strong and go beyond the sea someday!
Sparkling with determination—I suddenly froze.

“You must not overdo it. And even when you’re healthy, beyond the sea is still—my lady?”

Azelta knelt down to my eye level.

“Y-yes?”

Her eyes were full of genuine concern.
Seeing that look… I realized something:

I was already *imagining a future here.*

My eyes widened.

—

**“Where is the young lady?”**

Inside Ain’s office, Delfiro reported while placing Nasia’s chart on the desk.

“Her condition is improving at the usual pace.”

Ain exhaled slightly.
One of his worries since she returned from Deas had been resolved.
Yet his expression remained serious.

“Did she say anything else?”

Because there was *one* more worry left.

“Anything else… such as?”

Delfiro asked carefully.

Like… regarding a certain letter.

Ain narrowed his eyes.

“She must have seen it.”

Delfiro blinked.
Seen… what?

Ain looked down at the paper.

**[Ain von Iter is Nasia von Iter’s father.]**

Even though he wrote it himself, it sounded ridiculous now.
He only simplified the wording so a child would understand.

Would she call him Dad?
Did he earn enough trust for that word?

—

“The young lady is going outside,” a knight reported from the door.

Ain nodded.

“Do not restrict her. She may go wherever she wishes around the mansion.”

The knight paused.

“Even restricted zones?”

“Of course.”

Ain replied without hesitation.

“As long as she is of Iter blood, there is nowhere in this mansion she cannot go.”

Unlike Baron Revoir’s estate—where the child grew more withdrawn the more she was seen—here, the healthier she got, the more she wanted to go outside.

Maybe, like him when he was young, she was searching for a place that belonged to her.

“…At the very least, this means she trusts the people accompanying her.”

He said quietly.

Back then, he had only Rotia.
Everyone else was an enemy.

“Ensure her safety. Especially during this fog season.”

He stood and looked out the window.

“The fog is unusually strong this year.”

It was so close that it pressed right up to the windows—far closer than ever before.

Something was drawing it in.

Then—he saw a flash of pale pink hair outside.

—

*Beep, beep, beep—!*
Every time Nasia walked, her slippers squeaked.

“…Slippers are dangerous.”

They were soft and cute, but with the fog making the ground damp, she could slip.
Ain frowned slightly as he watched.

He remembered her small hand placing the seashell crown on his head.

“Winter is coming soon…”

There were almost no supplies for a child here.
She would need clothes that fit, gloves, boots—even proper shoes for going outside.

“She enjoys going out. We should prepare outdoor shoes.”

Delfiro bowed stiffly.

“She already owns more than ten pairs.”

Naturally—the daughter of House Iter wouldn’t lack shoes.

But the young lady refused them every time.

“There must be a reason she insists on slippers.”

Delfiro stared, suddenly grave.

“Then shall I order outdoor shoes with the same characters and materials as the slippers?”

Ain shook his head slightly.

“First, conduct a satisfaction survey. Ask her what she thinks about the shoes.”

“…A survey, sir?”

*Are we… running a business?* Delfiro blinked.

“And also… whatever items she wants—”

Then Ain stopped speaking.

Right.
She was young.
She’d need countless things as she grew.
Instead of ordering every time—

“Who made the slippers and bedding?”

“Camper Atelier. Very famous in the capital—known for cute animal designs, popular with noble young ladies.”

Popular = hard to book.

“Bring them here.”

“Pardon?”

Bring… them *here?*

“A few craftsmen refuse to come because it’s not safe—”

“I’ll provide them unlimited Liahto fabric for life.”

“…S–sir?”

Liahto—extracted from flowers that bloom only in the thickest fog of the Mist Sea.
A rare, cloud-soft fabric worth a fortune.

Giving it *for free*?

That could bankrupt someone emotionally.

Delfiro’s jaw dropped.

“In that case… perhaps we should recruit not just Camper Atelier, but accept applications from workshops nationwide…”

And just like the value of Liahto—

The situation escalated.