IBDHD 9

Chapter 9

And that wasn’t all.

Peek. Peek.

The little squirt kept glancing at him, her large eyes darting around as though she were trying to gauge his mood.

Cassian, who had always considered the child nothing more than a nuisance, suddenly felt strangely wronged.

Sure, he wasn’t her biological father, but he’d fed her, given her a place to sleep, and taken care of her for several days.

Well, perhaps not exactly taken care of her.

Still!

How could she actually move her seat away from him?

Was this why people said there was no reward in raising children?

“I’m not a scary person, you know.”

“(I made eye contact with the eye drawn on your back, Mister.)”

“You’re hurting my feelings, you know? I even washed your face and picked the meat off the chicken bones for you earlier.”

“(Mister, are you a really scary grown-up? I’m a very, very good little girl…)”

Good children aren’t supposed to stay with scary adults, are they?

Because scary adults are probably bad adults, and also…

Lost in thought, the little girl rolled her eyes around.

Cassian let out an exasperated sigh, while the tattoo artist burst into laughter.

“You’re going to make the kid cry at this rate. Forget the tattoo for today and take her out for some milk instead.”

“Shut up. What did I do wrong? That little brat has nothing to do with this, so just—”

Cassian couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Gasp!”

The little squirt suddenly held her breath, her expression turning unusually solemn.

Then she sprang to her feet and approached him.

Stretching her tiny body toward him, she reached out with her little hand and grabbed a fistful of Cassian’s hair.

“Ow!”

This little thing actually dared to grab an adult by the hair!

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Just as Cassian was about to pry her walnut-sized hand away—

“Hoooo! Hoooo!”

The tiny little squirt began gently blowing on his cheek.

It was the cheek where one of the magical thorns had grazed him earlier, leaving a small, bleeding wound.

Cassian hadn’t even realized his cheek was injured.

For a moment, he was so bewildered that he could only blink stupidly.

What is she doing?

“Hoooooooo!”

Completely unaware that she’d left the grown man speechless, the little girl even began carefully rubbing his cheek with her palm.

Cassian’s eyelids trembled.

He wasn’t trying to suppress laughter, yet his cheeks seemed to be twitching uncontrollably.

“Oh. So this is why everyone wants a daughter.”

The tattoo artist let out a quiet exclamation of admiration.

The little girl remained focused on his wound, gently blowing on it again and again.

“Hoooo… Hoooo…”

Then her golden eyes met his.

And at that very moment—

Riiiiiiiiing—

A high-pitched ringing filled Cassian’s ears.

A memory from long ago flashed through his mind.

“Iris. I would even give my life for you.”

Those golden eyes he’d encountered during a leave of absence granted in recognition of his achievements.

He remembered the happiness he’d felt when a small, outstretched hand brushed against his cheek.

The memory left Cassian completely stunned.

He couldn’t react at all.

“(Mister, doesn’t it hurt? Whenever I get hurt like this, I get so scared that I start crying.)”

“…”

“(But that doesn’t mean I’m a scaredy-cat! I’m actually a really brave little girl. It’s just that sometimes my tears come out all by themselves.)”

“…”

His stomach churned.

He felt so nauseated that he might throw up at any moment, and his body trembled faintly.

Iris is dead.

She’s definitely dead…

So why can’t I still let you go?

And why am I still alive when I can’t even bring myself to die?

Roll, roll.

When Cassian continued to remain silent, the little squirt rolled her eyes nervously, trying to read his expression.

Then she muttered,

“(I-is this not right? Th-then…)”

Her chestnut-sized hand slowly crept upward.

And then—

Pat! Pat!

She began stroking Cassian’s head.

The little girl spoke.

“G-good boy. So pretty.”

Her expression looked ready to crumble into tears.

Her posture was stiff.

Her pupils trembled nervously.

The little squirt’s very first sentence in the Imperial language was a painfully obvious lie.

The mister was acting strange.

Normally, when you blew gently on someone’s injury, the pain would disappear, and they’d feel much better.

But the mister looked as though he might burst into tears if someone poked him.

‘Is he actually really weak?’

A friend who had come from the countryside once told me something.

Even though eagles looked strong because of their sharp claws, their cries sounded like little squeaky chirps.

Piyong! Piyong!

Maybe the monster mister was the same.

Maybe he was actually a weak little monster who would go piyong, piyong if someone poked him.

The wound on his cheek wasn’t very big, but it probably hurt and scared him.

That must be why he was acting like this.

‘The best way to make someone feel better is to praise them!’

So I decided to praise him with all my heart.

“Such a pretty boyyyy!”

There were other kinds of praise, too.

Like “You’re such a good child,” “You worked really hard,” and “You’re so good at eating your food.”

But my favorite compliment was always “You’re pretty.”

So I decided to tell the mister he was pretty.

Unfortunately, even if he was secretly a squeaky little eagle, it seemed he didn’t like being called pretty.

Creeeak.

The mister’s head slowly rose like a rusty screw being turned.

He stared straight at me.

“W-what?”

“Prettyyyy!”

“Pfft!”

The other mister who had been talking to him flared his nostrils.

His hand was covering his mouth, but it was trembling uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, the monster mister’s entire face had gone stiff.

He looked just like…

‘A-a villain?!’

Does the mister hate being called pretty because he’s actually a villain?

Did the Goddess abandon me with a villain because she doesn’t like me?

Once I turned fifteen, I would have been allowed to leave Sunshine Orphanage to visit Mommy.

But because the Goddess hated me, had she deliberately…?

“(M-Misterrr, they say grown-ups need compliments just like children do… Because compliments can even make a whale dance! I’ll make you dance too, Mister. D-dancing makes you feel happy!)”

“Pffft! I have no idea what that baby’s saying, but I can tell she absolutely adores you.”

“Shuddup.”

Huh? That’s strange.

Don’t people usually feel happy when they’re praised?

Maybe being called pretty isn’t a compliment for the mister?

Since he didn’t look happy, I decided to try praising him again.

“G-good boy?”

Pat. Pat.

I stroked the mister’s head just like Teacher Anne-Marie used to stroke mine.

His slightly curly hair slipped softly between my fingers.

Although he looked like a tiger, his eyes were wide with astonishment as he stared at me.

And then, all of a sudden—

“HEY, YOU!”

“HIIIIK!”

I thought lightning had struck!

Terrified, I immediately pulled my hand away and scrambled backward.

The mister stared at me with his mouth wide open, opening and closing it like a fish.

“Y-you… You…”

“Pffft! Cassian Calypso, there goes your dignity! Well, I suppose you really are preeeetty! Pfffft!”

The monster mister’s face turned bright red.

H-he’s going to scold me!

I was so scared of the mister that I pressed my lips tightly together.

Tears began gathering in my eyes.

“Uuu… Sniff! Hng…”

But I only wanted the mister to become a good grown-up, just like I’m a good little girl…

They said that even naughty children would eventually become good if you told them they were good every day.

“You’re going to make the baby cry. Look, she’s crying because of you.”

“Don’t cry! Don’t cry!”

The monster mister shouted frantically.

Then he grabbed my hand and used it to stroke his own head.

“G-good. Thank you. Mister’s actually a pretty good person, you know. Yeah. That’s right. I’m a good person.”

“Pffft!”

“Just laugh already. Watching you hold it in is even more annoying.”

“BAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHA!”

The mister’s friend burst into uncontrollable laughter, pounding the floor with his hand.

Meanwhile, the mister grabbed me by the back of my collar, lifted me up, and marched straight out of the shop.

Cassian glared at the little squirt sitting across from him, happily sipping her drink.

Back at the tattoo parlor, she’d looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.

But now that she had something tasty in her mouth, she was swinging her legs without a care in the world.

‘After completely destroying my dignity in front of everyone…’

He considered taking her to the orphanage right now.

However, evening was already approaching, making the timing rather awkward.

‘Tomorrow morning. The moment I open my eyes, I’m taking her straight to the orphanage.’

And as for that bastard Baron, who had abandoned his childcare duties and run off…

The moment he returned, Cassian was going to hang him upside down and bury him somewhere.

How dare that bastard leave work without permission and stay absent for days!

“Hey, squirt. Where’s your mother?”

“(I dunno. I wanna go home too, but I can’t remember my address.)”

“Do you at least know your mother’s name?”

“(My mommy’s name is… He—)”

“What a pretty daughter you’ve got. She looks just like her daddy.”

The tavern owner interrupted as he brought over their food.

What the hell is this nonsense now?

Cassian clenched his molars.

“If you’ve got eyes, use them. What part of this kid looks like me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Where on my face do you see anything as tiny and adorable as her?!”