Chapter 6
“…How interesting.”
Erno Etam watched the little girl slowly walking away beyond the window.
He had only been passing through the corridor on an errand, but the voices he’d overheard had been enough to make him stop.
That child is…
The very same girl who had stunned Duke Miriel Etam during the New Year’s meeting.
She already caught my attention when I found her in the library looking through the orphanage registry…
A quiet chuckle escaped Erno.
Most people born into the Etam family clung desperately to even the smallest connection to the house.
Children were precious in the Etam family, and there were countless people who prayed to be accepted as even a branch-family member.
Yet this little girl—officially a child of the branch family—had been searching through a list of orphanages because she wanted to leave the house.
He had found that fascinating.
That tiny spark of curiosity was something Erno never ignored.
So he had deliberately dropped his ring.
If the child hadn’t returned it, his curiosity would have ended there.
She had nowhere to go.
The sight of her quietly burying her head in a book, painstakingly sounding out the letters without asking anyone for help, had told him as much.
So, if she returned the ring…
He had intended to give the tiny creature a place to return to, if only temporarily.
If she hadn’t brought it back, that would have been the end of it.
It had only been a small game to satisfy his curiosity.
“I thought it might be the case, but I never imagined she was actually preparing to run away.”
He laughed to himself.
Besides… the energy I felt from that ring…
It had only lasted an instant, but he’d felt a refreshing sensation, as though the violent headaches caused by his berserk episodes had been soothed.
Perhaps he’d imagined it.
Even so, that was why he hadn’t dismissed his curiosity.
He had already been planning something rather entertaining for this year…
But the meeting had been interrupted halfway through.
Erno quietly stared at the now-empty bench.
“Hey, my mom and dad told me not to play with homeless kids because they’re beneath us.”
“You don’t have parents, a home, a family name, or even friends. What do you even have?”
“If you hit me, you’ll have to pay compensation. My mom told me so.”
Sometimes children’s words were sharper than adults’.
Children didn’t know how to hide their feelings.
Nor did they know how to conceal their malice.
Watching the little girl lower her head, Erno had assumed she would burst into tears at any moment.
“Heh…”
Leaning casually against the wall, he laughed.
Never—not even for a second—had he expected her to march over to a boulder as big as her own face, wobble under its weight, and throw it at them.
“Well… since I’m curious about a few things, perhaps I’ll reward her.”
He resumed walking.
“And parents who can’t educate their children properly deserve punishment.”
For some reason, the image of the little girl hugging her knees with her head lowered kept lingering in his mind.
* * *
The New Year’s meeting resumed exactly one week after it had been interrupted.
“You.”
“Y-Yes!”
“Come forward.”
I swallowed hard and carefully descended the steps before stopping obediently in front of Duke Miriel.
“Right. Last time we only heard your plan. Now tell us why you intend to leave.”
“It’s… my birth secret…”
“Exactly. Go ahead and explain it.”
For some reason, the audience—
No, the conference hall—
felt even more crowded today.
Am I imagining things, or are there more people than before?
It felt like a crowd of middle-aged women eagerly returning to watch the next episode of a scandalous soap opera after last week’s cliffhanger.
I shook my head to clear the ridiculous thought.
At least I’m completely prepared to run away.
Just in case I transformed back into a lizard, I’d hidden jewelry in several places that a lizard could easily carry.
If I escaped safely, I’d collect everything, wrap it into a bundle, and leave.
“I… actually…”
Just then—
A long shadow stretched across my back.
“The truth is, that child is my daughter. I suppose it’s finally time to reveal it. Isn’t that right?”
“Y-Yes… that’s right… Actually, I’m his dau…gh…ter…?”
I automatically repeated the words out of sheer nervousness before realizing what I’d just said.
Frozen, I slowly turned my head.
Erno Etam was leisurely walking toward me with his usual relaxed stride.
Is this how prey feels when a well-fed predator strolls across the grass toward it?
“My child, say it properly.”
His gentle voice delivered utterly horrifying words.
“‘He is my father.'”
Um…
If I say that…
Will I still live to see tomorrow’s sunrise?
I forced myself to swallow the words threatening to burst out and merely darted my eyes around.
“Go on.”
He’s actually serious…?
Seeing the determination in his eyes, I squeezed mine shut.
Powerless people had no choice but to obey.
“Y-Yes… you’re… my father…”
“Heh… Hahaha!”
His laughter echoed throughout the hall.
My face turned bright red.
“Enough with the tasteless jokes. Step back. Do you think this is your place to interfere?”
Duke Miriel’s icy voice made every hair on my body stand on end.
Even under that terrifying glare, Erno continued smiling calmly.
Only…
His eyes weren’t smiling.
“Haha. That’s amusing. Have I ever waited for permission before stepping in during your lifetime, Your Grace?”
“You’ve only just been released from confinement, you insolent—!”
“Ah. I’ve heard making brief notes in a notebook is excellent for improving one’s memory, Your Grace.”
He effortlessly ignored Miriel’s interruption.
My twenty years of surviving by reading people’s moods told me one thing.
That was absolutely a sarcastic jab.
It was the elegant, refined kind of insult you’d hear in aristocratic romance novels.
What he’d just said basically meant…
“Your memory is terrible.”
“Erno Etam!”
“You needn’t call my name so affectionately. My hearing is perfectly fine. You shouldn’t judge everyone by your own standards.”
And that translated to…
“Unlike you, I haven’t gone deaf.”
The veins bulged across Duke Miriel’s clenched fist.
They looked as though molten lava were flowing beneath his skin.
Erno Etam truly deserved to be called insane.
He smiled pleasantly, spoke politely…
And every sentence was a knife.
“Here we go again. I wondered why last week’s meeting was so quiet.”
“It was interrupted halfway.”
“Exactly. Without this, it doesn’t even feel like the New Year. Lord Erno always causes some outrageous spectacle.”
“Looks like that child’s his newest target.”
“Seems that way.”
“Poor girl. He’ll get bored of her in less than a year.”
“A year? She’ll be lucky if she lasts six months.”
As the argument escalated, the surrounding whispers became surprisingly easy to hear.
Turning my head slightly, I saw people quite a distance away chatting among themselves.
Ever since I reincarnated into this body, my hearing has become strangely sharp.
Maybe it was because I was no longer surrounded by modern technology.
Either way…
This clearly wasn’t unusual.
Well, judging from the novel…
Erno had always been described as an utterly insane psychopath.
Normal wasn’t a word that belonged anywhere near him.
In , Erno eventually adopted the heroine as his daughter.
Unlike most childcare fantasy stories, however, theirs wasn’t a sweet father-daughter relationship.
If anything…
Everyone else fussed over the heroine far more than he did.
Their relationship always felt more like a business partnership—using each other whenever necessary.
“Six months? I’d say three. Remember last year? Rumors spread that Lord Erno had become interested in men. He even brought one to the New Year’s meeting, and the Duke went berserk and practically destroyed the conference hall. That whole act only lasted about four months.”
“True. The Duke even collapsed from the shock.”
“But when Lord Erno finally ended the relationship, they say he gave that man enough money to buy a small island.”
That made my ears perk up.
Ah… I get it now.
So all this is just another stunt to provoke the Duke.
Everything suddenly made perfect sense.
I let out a long sigh of relief.
If I pretend to be his fake daughter…
…then I won’t be kicked out immediately.
And when he gets bored of me, he’ll probably pay me to leave?
They said six months at most?
This is…
An incredible deal!
If I simply played along…
Apparently I’d earn enough money to buy an island.
I’m still a child.
Even half that amount would let me live comfortably for the rest of my life.
My eyes sparkled as I eagerly continued listening.
“But what good is money? After he dumped that person, they begged for months just to stay by his side. The whole family was in an uproar.”
“Honestly, I understand why. Lord Erno was unbelievably kind back then. Anything they wanted—anything at all—even fruit that wasn’t in season, he’d somehow get it for them. Be honest. Was there anyone who didn’t fall for it? I certainly did.”
Oh?
So he could actually be quite romantic.
Well…
Just like in , he used people whenever they were useful and discarded them without hesitation.
Being a psychopath didn’t stop him from being charming.
“Ahem… compared to everything else he’s done, that was probably his greatest scam.”
“Honestly, if a man with that face treated only me so gently… I’d know exactly what kind of person he was, and I’d still fall for it.”
I nodded in agreement.
If someone as dangerously handsome as that showed kindness exclusively to you…
Most people would be swept away.
Not me, though.
Years of dealing with my rotten brothers had made me immune to fake affection.
They’d acted kindly too…
Right before betraying me and laughing at me when it mattered most.
Thanks to them…
I’d developed serious trust issues.
“So… are you planning to hear my proposal or not?”
While I’d been absorbed in the gossip, the argument at the front had apparently continued.
“When did I ever grant you permission to speak?”
“Isn’t fairness and equality the principle you strive for, Your Grace? As I mentioned before, keeping notes in a notebook…”
He had an extraordinary talent for getting under people’s skin.
If provoking people could be called a talent.
“Will you just shut up?!”
“My plan for this year is quite simple.”
Without the slightest change in expression, Erno calmly announced,
“I intend to become a good father to the daughter I have only just reunited with.”
“Then try becoming a good son first, you unfilial brat!”
“My, my… it seems your parenting has been a failure.”
His bright smile was fresher than a perfectly ripe lemon.
