Ā Chapter 06
Albert, the mage. The youngest prodigy to ever receive the title of ‘Merlin’.
Currently, he works as a professor at the Royal Magic Academy of the Euredia Empire, dedicating himself to nurturing the next generation, yet he is not yet thirty years old.
This famous figure, often appearing in newspapers and books, was a romantic man who occupied a chapter of my mother’s diary, and now, he was a man grieving the loss of his lover.
And amidst the warm early summer scenery, the bizarre sight of snow falling only around my mother’s grave was clearly Albert’s doing.
“If only I had been a little braver. If only I had come a little soonerā¦ā¦.”
Albert wiped his tears with his gloved hand and placed a bouquet before my mother’s grave.
It was a bouquet of lilies made of snow.
“You said you were going north to see the snow. This snow will never melt by your side.”
He knelt and kissed the headstone engraved with my mother’s name.
“Goodbye, Adelaide.”
It was a sight that made even the onlooker feel sad. My chest ached with a dull pang.
After finishing his farewell, Albert stood up and, belatedly noticing me and Kies, flinched in surprise.
“Who are you? This place isn’t open to just anyone.”
Perhaps embarrassed at having been seen crying, his tone was prickly. Kies, abandoning his usual leisurely demeanor, spoke formally.
“This child is the daughter of the owner of that grave.”
Albert looked at me with a blank expression.
“Adelaide’s daughter?”
“Yes.”
Our eyes met. His green eyes, clearly flustered, were moist with tears.
He approached me and asked.
“You look so much like your mother. What’s your name?”
“Daphne.”
Albert sat down to my eye level and smiled kindly. It was a warm smile that instinctively put one at ease.
“That’s a pretty name too. I’m Albert.”
I found myself smiling back at him. Albert gently stroked my head, then stood up to face Kies.
“How old is Daphne?”
“About three years old?”
“Three years old… Then, if you don’t mind me asking, who are you?”
Their wary gazes crossed. It seemed there was such a thing as male intuition. Kies paused for a moment, then shrugged.
“I had a relationship with Adel.”
“May I ask when that was?”
“When Adel came to Orgo, so about four years ago?”
“That’s around the same time I met herā¦ā¦.”
Albert said meaningfully. His gaze, which had been locked with Kies, turned to me.
“The one who commands the white-tailed eagle, heir to the House of Thesaurus. The one who sent this bookmark isā¦ā¦.”
Albert showed me the bookmark in his hand.
“Daphne, was it you?”
Feeling a little shy, I nodded emphatically.
Albert looked at me with an admiring expression. Kies abruptly scooped me up into his arms. There was wariness in his actions.
“Daph, let’s come back later. See you!”
Kies lifted me up and quickly walked out of the cemetery.
I could only blink in bewilderment, but I didn’t stop Kies from his actions.
As we passed by the Death Angel and left the cemetery, I looked back at Albert. He was still watching us.
***
Early in the morning, large laborers came to Thesaurus Castle. They were the contractors Julia had hired to renovate the castle.
They bustled about without even greeting us.
“Alright, move it, move it! You there, unload the equipment!”
I didn’t want to remodel Thesaurus Castle. I wanted to preserve it as it was, with all the traces of my mother left intact.
With the sole determination to stop the contractors, I ran towards the man who seemed to be the foreman.
Smack.
I clung tightly to his sturdy calf.
“Sir!”
The man, whose leg I had grabbed, looked down at me with a bewildered expression.
Sighā¦ With these short limbs and small body, I was no match.
“Little one, it’s dangerous here. Hey, hey!”
“Sir! Don’t do it!”
I shook my head and stubbornly repeated myself. But my words as a toddler had no influence whatsoever. The man, carrying an armload of lumber, shook his leg vigorously to shake me off.
“You should treat children carefully, don’t you think?”
Instead of being shaken off and falling flat on my bottom, I was gently scooped up into a warm embrace.
“Kies!”
“She’s the owner of this castle. You should listen to her.”
“Huh, this baby is the Count of Thesaurusā¦ā¦?”
The man hurriedly dropped the lumber and bowed his head to me.
“I apologize. The Countess’s aunt, who commissioned the work, was so unreasonableā¦ I was just trying to get it done quickly.”
There was no way Julia had been polite to the contractors. Since she hadn’t canceled the request, she probably thought Julia was still at the castle.
“Daph, what do you want to do?”
Kies asked for my opinion first. I clamped my mouth shut and shook my head firmly. Kies smiled and nodded. Then he said to the contractor.
“Let’s pretend the request never happened.”
“Ah… I can’t cancel on the same day. We’ve already gathered the materials and hired the workers.”
“I’ll pay you. Just go back.”
“We can’t just leave after accepting the job.”
I understood the contractor’s firm position. If the job was suddenly canceled after costs and manpower had already been invested, there would be losses regardless. I didn’t want to cause him losses either.
I clenched Kies’s sleeve tightly. Kies patted my back reassuringly.
“Double the priceā¦ā¦.”
“Instead, would you be willing to take on the castle’s repairs for the same price?”
Just as Kies was about to negotiate with the man, Alfred approached with a benevolent smile.
“The castle is old and has many areas needing repair.”
“Hmmā¦ā¦.”
Alfred’s words made the contractor ponder. The money wasn’t an issue, but he seemed more inclined towards a viable alternative rather than wasting the equipment he’d already prepared.
After a moment of thought, the contractor spoke.
“Then let’s change the scope of the request. Where should we start?”
“Could you please inspect the ceiling of the banquet hall first?”
Alfred smoothly guided the contractors.
So this is the skill of a capable butler!
Kies and I blinked at each other, then followed them into the banquet hall.
Alfred pointed out various places needing repair and smoothly directed the workers. Kies and I wandered around the bustling banquet hall, watching the workers.
We were watching a worker repairing a window near the center of the banquet hall.
“Watch out!”
Crash-!
Before Alfred’s urgent shout could finish, the chandelier fell right over Kies’s head.
“Kies!”
I screamed his name in terror. The shattered pieces of the chandelier were scattered messily across the banquet hall floor.
Having been hit by that, Kies must beā¦ā¦.
Grim thoughts dominated my mind. The world behind my tightly shut eyes spun dizzily.
But even after waiting, no one screamed. When I cautiously opened my eyes, there was no sign of anyone crushed under the chandelier.
“Haha, haā¦ā¦!”
That’s when I heard a hollow, weak laugh, as if someone had barely survived.
“Whoa, that scared me.”
Kies laughed ruefully, brushing the chandelier fragments off his clothes. His sly voice relaxed my tension.
My heart, which had been racing with anxiety, suddenly flooded with relief, and a loud sound escaped me.
“Kies!”
I ran over to him and anxiously checked for any injuries. Kies patted my head as I fussed over him.
“I’m fine. Still, that was really dangerous.”
He shuddered, looking at the chandelier fragments that had fallen due to its weakened joints. I left the unharmed Kies and looked at Alfred. His complexion was even worse than Kies’s, who had almost been in the accident.
“Alfred?”
Only then did I realize that I, who had been near the chandelier, hadn’t been hit by a single fragment. It was because Alfred had jumped in front of me.
I felt guilty for not noticing his injury sooner.
“Alfred, you’re hurt.”
“As long as the young Count is safe, I am fine.”
Alfred tried to smile reassuringly. But he seemed to be in considerable pain.
“I can’t believe it. It happened so fast, even I couldn’t react.”
A familiar voice interjected. We all turned simultaneously toward the direction of the voice. It was Albert, wearing the same traveling cloak as yesterday.
He walked towards us.
“Hello, Daphne.”
Albert came to Thesaurus Castle?
I stood frozen, a mixture of joy and bewilderment filling me.
“This person is quite injured.”
Alfred was now drenched in cold sweat. Albert placed his hand on Alfred’s injured arm and murmured something.
A soft, white light emanated from his hand. The chandelier fragments embedded in his arm floated out into the air, turned to dust, and vanished.
“Don’t use this arm for about a day.”
Albert withdrew his hand. The flesh of the injured area had cleanly healed. Kies and I couldn’t hide our astonishment.
“Wow, amazing.”
Having been hailed as a genius since childhood, Albert remained unfazed by such reactions.
Alfred, after repeatedly touching the new skin, bowed respectfully to Albert.
“Thank you, Mage.”
“Don’t mention it.”
As the two exchanged polite greetings, Kies interjected crookedly.
“So, what brings you here, Mr. Mage?”
Albert glanced at Kies, then looked at me with a gentle smile.
“I looked around the village. I found out that you only recently acquired the rights to be Daphne’s father. And not through proper means, but through a bet.”
“So?”
“Winning custody through a bet… it’s a novel idea, but it’s undignified and not a desirable method. Therefore, I cannot recognize you as Daphne’s father.”
“Did you come here to lecture me on dignity?”
Kies sneered, and Albert smiled wryly. At first glance, it looked like a kind smile.
“I thought about it all night. The child’s age, her cleverness in precisely identifying the owner of the item she sent, and her excellent qualities.”
Albert paused for a moment before continuing.
“Daphne is clearly my daughter.”
The banquet hall fell silent at his unexpected declaration. Albert, looking at the deeply wary Kies, spoke kindly.
“I, Albert de la ValliĆØre, hereby claim the parental rights of Daphne.”
