Chapter 10
“I’d appreciate it if everyone kept at least that much distance when speaking to my daughter…”
Erno slowly parted his lips.
“Anyone have a problem with that?”
At his gentle, almost affectionate question, everyone—now deathly pale—shook their heads in perfect unison.
Because they all knew exactly what would happen if anyone dared nod instead.
“M-Miss…”
A pitiful voice, barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz, called out from ten steps away.
I turned toward it with an awkward smile.
The man glanced nervously at Erno before cautiously asking,
“If… if we showed you a map… would you be able to point it out?”
I slowly shook my head.
I couldn’t read maps.
I’d never had the slightest talent for them.
I was the kind of person who could get lost trying to retrace a route I’d walked only an hour earlier.
But even I knew how to get to the mountain behind the estate.
“So… you don’t know exactly where it is?”
“I do!”
“Where?”
“The back mountain!”
“What…?”
Duke Miriel frowned as if he’d misheard.
“The back mountain!”
“…Which back mountain?”
“This one!”
“…You’re saying there’s levitation stone on the mountain behind this estate?”
“Yes!”
The duke fell silent.
Apparently, the answer had been much closer than he’d expected.
Honestly…
I’d been just as dumbfounded when I’d read it in the novel.
I understood how he felt.
“The back mountain…? Could you have mistaken an ordinary stone that someone threw? From a distance, those can look like they’re flying too…”
“But it’s true we never investigated the mountain. We never imagined there would be anything there…”
“Well, considering how young the young lady is, it’s not as though she’d have wandered all the way into distant mountain ranges…”
“It won’t hurt to check. Investigate it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Listening to their conversation, I figured they’d find it on their own now.
After all…
Floating rocks weren’t exactly common.
“My daughter.”
At Erno’s voice, I instinctively turned my head.
Poke.
A long finger gently pressed against my cheek.
My eyes widened in surprise.
“Daddy…?”
“How does my daughter know so many things?”
His meaningful words startled me just as I hurriedly searched for an explanation.
“Fluffball, you…”
Just as Duke Miriel began speaking—
The meeting room doors burst open.
“Your Grace!”
“What is all this commotion?!”
“I’ve come to report urgently regarding the matter you ordered investigated!”
The man hurried over and whispered something into Duke Miriel’s ear.
“…Are you certain?”
“Yes. According to the report, it’s over ninety percent confirmed.”
The duke’s usually steady eyes trembled.
Without another word, he immediately stood.
“So that child’s daughter is in a place like that… Tch. We’ll adjourn today’s meeting!”
Taking the messenger with him, Duke Miriel hurried out of the conference room like a gust of wind.
The others looked completely confused.
But…
I had a pretty good idea what had happened.
The heroine is coming.
Resting in Erno’s arms, I quietly thought,
…The heroine?
Wait…
Isn’t this way earlier than expected?!
Wasn’t her appearance supposed to happen later?
Well…
The novel had never given an exact date for when she was adopted.
One day, the heroine appeared like a ray of sunshine.
In no time at all, she won over the entire household.
She possessed the ability to calm the family’s “berserk state.”
The novel often described how members of the Etam family felt peaceful whenever they were near her.
That was probably why Erno Etam—who suffered from the worst berserk episodes of them all—became interested in her first.
Including the duke’s round trip… she’ll probably arrive within a week.
Once the heroine appeared…
Wouldn’t Erno forget about me almost immediately?
“Mmm…”
“My daughter, what has you thinking so hard?”
A voice whispered directly beside my ear.
My whole body instinctively shivered.
Clutching my ear, I looked up at Erno.
For some reason…
He was smiling brilliantly.
…Uh-oh.
He’s in a bad mood.
That dazzling smile only appeared when he was upset.
“Daddy…?”
Right.
I’d completely forgotten I was still sitting in this lunatic’s arms.
“My daughter is impossible to read sometimes.”
“Huh?”
“It’s nearly dinner time. I was thinking I’d introduce you to my sons tonight.”
“Sons?”
“Yes.”
He smiled.
“They’ll be your older brothers.”
So… those are the two who proudly declared they were taking a vacation during the New Year’s meeting.
At first, they acted coldly toward the heroine.
Then they eventually became hopeless little-sister fanatics who adored her.
He’s even introducing me to his sons…
This man really commits to his acting.
Now I understood why the man who’d once pretended to date Erno had eventually begged to stay by his side without asking for a single coin.
What a dangerous man.
I slowly shook my head.
Though… that man had agreed from the beginning that it was only a fake relationship.
Maybe he was the one at fault for failing to separate business from personal feelings…?
No.
Why was I thinking about him?
My own future was hanging by a thread.
“Don’t you want to meet them?”
“No! If Daddy’s happy, then I’m happy too!”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
Just keep being the daddy-loving daughter he wants.
Then, once the heroine arrives and he loses interest in me…
I’ll take my bank account and move into that orphanage I found.
Perfect.
Thankfully…
Once a bank account was opened, no one except the owner could close it or withdraw its funds.
Not even a parent.
After staying at the orphanage, I could eventually help reunite the future Master of the Mage Tower with the noble family who lost him and ask to stay under their protection.
Money comes first.
Lost in thought, I didn’t notice Erno carrying me back to my room.
“My daughter, do you like me?”
“I do!”
“Why?”
Why?
Because you’re my source of income…?
Because even though you’re a psychopath, you always pay what you owe…?
Obviously…
I couldn’t actually say that.
My brain spun frantically.
“B-Because you’re handsome! You’re cool!”
“I see. What else?”
What do you mean, “what else”?!
How much more do you want me to come up with?
“Umm… you’re really, really strong! Whenever Daddy talks, everyone runs away really, really fast!”
“Hm.”
What is it now?
I honestly had no idea what this man was thinking.
“Actually…”
I hurried to add,
“I don’t really like people very much… so Daddy looked like a hero earlier!”
“A hero? I don’t particularly like heroes.”
Seriously?
You’re so picky!
“…The Demon King?”
I instantly changed my answer.
He chuckled.
“That’s not bad.”
Then he smiled.
“I didn’t realize my daughter disliked people as well.”
“Well… not exactly dislike…”
“No… I just don’t like them very much.”
For some reason, my answer pleased him.
“My daughter resembles me in quite a few ways.”
He smiled happily.
“I don’t like pigs and dogs… no.”
He corrected himself.
“I don’t like people. They’re far too noisy.”
…Didn’t he almost say “pigs and dogs”?
He definitely almost called people pigs and dogs!
I stared at him in disbelief before pretending I hadn’t noticed and forcing an awkward smile.
He carried me all the way to my room.
“Then I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Yes! Goodbye, Daddy!”
I waved him off.
The moment he left…
I dove under the bed.
Whew…
It’s still here.
Wrapped carefully in an old cloth beneath the bed were all the valuables I’d secretly gathered the day before the New Year’s meeting.
Golden decorations from around the detached residence.
Silver tableware.
Even gemstones I’d pried out of ornamental statues.
Sneaking everything into the main mansion during my move had taken considerable effort.
Preparations are complete.
The heroine should be arriving soon.
I wasn’t going to cling to Erno Etam.
Instead… I’ll ask him for money.
Satisfied with my nearly perfect plan, I nodded to myself.
* * *
When dinner time arrived, Myra bustled around busily.
Somewhere, she’d found a lovely yellow dress for me.
After helping me change, she lightly touched my cheek, her own face tinged pink.
“Young Miss… you’re adorable no matter what you wear…”
“Really?”
“Yes… truly.”
Ever since moving into the main mansion…
Myra had changed.
She’d always been kind.
But now she seemed even more enthusiastic.
It was probably because her status had risen along with mine—and, naturally, so had her salary.
Money really is the best.
That was simply an undeniable truth of the world.
Knock, knock.
Just as we finished getting ready…
A polite knock sounded at the door.
Has Father already come?
Myra looked even more startled than I was.
With a tense expression, she hurried over and opened the door.
Meanwhile, I tucked my black tiger plush under one arm and stood by the entrance, ready to welcome Erno.
But…
The person standing outside wasn’t Erno Etam.
