Chapter 14

I instinctively wiped away my tears and jumped to my feet.

Then, darting out from behind my dad, I spread my arms wide and stood in front of him.

“No—!”

[Eve!]

“…!”

Was it just my imagination?

‘Huh?’

I looked at the nobleman with a confused face.

Contrary to what I thought, he hadn’t drawn a sword.

There was a long sword at his waist, but it remained sheathed, calm and untouched.

Then what was that sword sound I heard earlier?

Still flustered, I wiped away my tears with my sleeve.

Then I hugged my dad tightly around the waist.

“P-please don’t get mad at Dad…!”

Sniffling softly while clinging to my father, I looked up at the nobleman.

His face looked a bit pale.

Was it because a child had suddenly jumped out and blocked his path?

Or because a mere commoner’s child had raised her voice in front of a noble?

He was a noble, and I was a commoner.

I knew very well that if I stepped out of line, both Dad and I could lose our heads.

If we were lucky, it would end with execution—if not, we might be sold into slavery and made to work for life.

But for some reason, I couldn’t stop speaking.

I had completely forgotten about the strange sound of a sword I’d heard just moments ago, and spoke through sniffles.

“Please don’t hurt my dad. He didn’t do anything wrong… I’m sorry he called you ‘Father-in-law’… huuuh. I’ll apologize on his behalf…”

“…You.”

The nobleman looked between me and Dad before awkwardly lowering himself to my level.

Now our eyes were at the same height.

‘Huh?’

I stopped wiping my tear-stained cheek on Dad’s clothes and stared at the nobleman with a puzzled face.

He cautiously reached out to me and asked,

“You… child, how old are you this year?”

“…My age?”

Why was he asking that?

Still hugging my dad tightly, I hesitated for a moment before replying.

“My name is Eve Roise… and I turned eight this year.”

“…”

The nobleman didn’t respond right away.

I felt Dad nervously tug at me as he called, “Eve!”

But I stood my ground, planting my feet firmly.

“Um, sir, please don’t worry. My mom said she was a commoner. My grandfather… she said he passed away. So that grandpa isn’t my… f-father-in-law?”

Why is “father-in-law” such a hard word to pronounce?

Even though I stuttered a bit, it seemed like he understood me.

“Dad just got confused for a second, right, Dad?”

I gently tugged on Dad’s sleeve.

With a troubled expression, he wiped away my tears.

“Eve…”

“Hm? Right? You made a mistake. Just apologize to the nobleman and let’s go…”

As soon as I finished speaking, a wave of emotion surged again.

But this time, I didn’t cry. Crying all the time was for toddlers.

I was eight years old now.

Way past the age to cry over something like this.

So instead of crying, I held back my tears with all my strength.

Then, the nobleman hesitantly took a step toward me.

…Why is he coming closer?

Startled, I quickly wiped my tears and stepped back.

“You… what did you say your name was?”

“…E-Eve Roise.”

“…Eve?”

He softly repeated my name, then looked up at my dad.

The strange atmosphere made me stop wiping my face and look between the two of them.

Then—

Dad grabbed my shoulders and gently pushed me toward the nobleman, confessing,

“Yes, this child is Eve. She is Irene’s and my… daughter.”

I was suddenly standing in front of the nobleman, blinking up at Dad in confusion.

Huh?

What is he saying?

‘Isn’t Irene my mom’s name?!’

[Hey, kid! What did he just say?!]

X buzzed in my head, speaking to me. But I didn’t have the mind to answer him.

“She is Irene’s and my daughter.”

Why would Dad say that to… this noble grandpa?

“…Eve.”

…Why is this grandpa saying my name like it’s so precious?

“…Dad?”

Dad quietly looked away.

Why is he looking away?

I rubbed my eyes roughly, forgetting I had been crying just moments ago.

Ow, that hurt.

I rubbed too hard.

[Idiot.]

I heard X clicking his tongue in disappointment, but I ignored him.

Then, Dad placed his large hand on my head and said,

“Say hello. This is your grandfather.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really…”

“You’re not joking with me?”

“Why would I joke about something like this?”

Dad bent down to meet my eyes. I stared at him, still unable to understand anything.

“Eve, your mother wasn’t a commoner.”

His large, warm hand gently wrapped around mine.

“Then…?”

“Remember how I told you your hair color comes from your mom?”

“Yeah, you told me before.”

How could I forget?

Dad was a skilled weaponsmith, but we were poor, so we didn’t have noble luxuries like portraits.

Of course, there wasn’t even a single picture of Mom.

The only drawing we had was a clumsy sketch Dad made long ago as a gift for her.

He wasn’t a good artist, so the only thing I could recognize was her long golden hair.

That golden hair, which I had inherited, was my most precious feature.

It was also why I had refused Dad’s suggestion to dye it before coming to the capital.

“Your dad is a commoner, but your mom wasn’t. She was a woman born of the second-most noble bloodline in the empire.”

Dad gently tousled my hair as he spoke.

“Your mom was Astrid Ferdinand, a viscountess of the Ferdinand family. And the man standing here is…”

“…Ferdinand?”

My mom… was a viscountess of the Ferdinand family?

Even I, a girl from the countryside, knew about the Ferdinand family.

The Guardians of the Kalixte Empire.

The only ducal house in Kalixte!

A legendary swordsmanship family that had produced generations of Sword Masters!

…And Mom was from the Ferdinand family?

“…This is Duke Ferdinand. He’s your grandfather.”

Like a broken wooden puppet, I stiffly turned my head toward the “nobleman.”

He was still staring at me with a troubled expression.

I quickly examined the clothes and sword of the noble grandpa standing before me.

Both looked far more expensive than anything I owned—

[Hey! Your sword is even more valuable!]

…Well, whatever. They still looked expensive.

When I focused a little more, I could sense the presence of people watching us from all directions.

Many eyes were peeking toward us.

If Dad was telling the truth, and this man really was Duke Ferdinand, then those people watching us were probably his knights, right?

I stared blankly at the “Duke Ferdinand,” then quickly turned to look at Dad again.

“Dad!”

“Yes, Eve?”

“You—You can’t joke about something like this! Really! We’ll get arrested or something—”

“No, it’s true.”

“…Really?”

Dad nodded.