Chapter 2
I sarcastically named this hellish Baros Empire Hellbaros.
The word struck a strong chord among the impoverished commoners and became wildly popular.
There were even rumors that the name of the empire should officially be changed from Baros Empire to Hellbaros.
For a while, adding the prefix “Hell-,” meaning hell, to just about anything became a trend.
Anyway…
I was just beginning to get used to living on my own in Hellbaros when, all of a sudden, some noble-looking man appeared and declared, “I am your father.”
Honestly, it was hard to accept right away.
The fact that I had been placed in such a situation as a child was, of course, something for which I couldn’t help blaming my parents.
So naturally, I had assumed that both of my parents must have died…
“I expect this will be a long conversation. Would you give us some time alone?”
“Yes, yes, of course.”
At the nobleman’s words, Mr. Dumpling hurriedly fled without even looking back.
That bastard.
Even if our relationship was nothing more than employer and employee, we’d known each other for quite some time.
How could he just sell me off to this nobleman at a single word?
He used to call me the lucky charm of our inn, too.
Hmph.
But more importantly…
I was the daughter of a nobleman?
Heh…
Well, there was no point hiding it.
I had always been somewhat extraordinary compared to the other children.
While all the other kids had either black or brown hair and brown eyes, I alone stood out with beige hair and red eyes.
And while everyone else looked like half-grown potatoes, I alone had a doll-like face.
…Though, after living through such hard labor, I’d become rather grimy and shabby.
“…May I sit?”
“Oh, yes… Please, come in.”
Oops.
I’d gotten so lost in my thoughts that I’d forgotten there was a man—or rather, my father—standing right in front of me.
Perhaps because he’d been standing for so long, he looked a little tired.
Well, someone who had been born looking as noble as this man probably felt completely drained just from entering such a dilapidated inn.
I let the nobleman into my room.
Unfortunately, the only place to sit was a creaking bed that looked as though it might collapse at any moment.
The bed was covered with gray bedding. I suspected it had originally been white.
I watched as the nobleman looked around my room and his delicate brows subtly drew together.
“I’ll just stand while we talk.”
“……”
Having seen the condition of the room, the nobleman spoke in a deliberately solemn voice.
Hmph.
He could pretend to be dignified all he wanted, but I hadn’t missed the fleeting look of displeasure that had crossed the face of the nobleman who had otherwise maintained a perfect poker face.
So he doesn’t want to sit somewhere this shabby.
“Yes, Fath—er… Sir.”
“…You may simply call me Uncle. I have no intention of being treated as a parent after all this time.”
The nobleman spoke in a slightly resigned voice.
That suited me just fine, so I nodded.
Judging by his reaction, however, he seemed to feel at least a little guilty about leaving his own child in a place like this.
Still, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief at his words that he had no intention of being treated as my father.
Just because a father who had never existed suddenly appeared with a dramatic ta-da! didn’t mean a nonexistent father-daughter bond would suddenly spring into existence.
Just as you couldn’t sever a parent-child relationship simply because you didn’t like it, I couldn’t bring myself to acknowledge this man as my father when, outside the novel, my actual parents—the people who had given birth to me—were still alive, even if they had died in this world.
Besides, this man looked about the same age as the original me…
No, if I included the time I’d spent inside the novel, I might actually be a little older than him.
How was I supposed to sweetly call such a young man, “Daddy, Daddy~”?
“I am Bernando Levish de Heartfinder, the eldest grandson of the Count of Heartfinder, the family that governs the western territory of Baros. May I formally ask your name?”
“Issolette.”
Why is his name so ridiculously long?
Compared to his, my name was painfully simple.
“Yes… Issolette. I’ve only seen you in photographs. This is the first time I’ve seen you in person.”
“You… know me?”
Though I hadn’t intended it, my question seemed to carry a hint of wistfulness.
The man looked at me with perhaps 0.1 grams of wistfulness in his eyes and answered.
“Your grandfather—that is, my father—showed me a photograph of you when you had just been born.”
“……”
“You were such a tiny, adorable child. And yet, somehow, you ended up living like this all by yourself…”
Bernando, the handsome nobleman who seemed to be recalling what I had looked like as a baby, suddenly stopped speaking and stared intently at my face.
“……?”
I tilted my head up at Bernando with a question mark practically floating above my head.
I waited with a fluttering heart for my father’s first assessment of me.
Look how wonderfully you’ve grown.
Look how beautiful you’ve become.
What kind of judgment would this father make about me?
Bernando pondered for quite some time, making a low, thoughtful sound.
After struggling for a while to find the right words, he finally opened his mouth.
“…You’ve become… this.”
“……”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
I barely managed to suppress the urge to grab my father’s collar.
“Anyway! What exactly brings you here?”
I asked in a slightly curt voice.
Only a few minutes had passed since meeting Bernando, but I already had the feeling that we weren’t going to get along very well.
At my question, Bernando looked at me as though I had asked something utterly obvious.
“Does a father need a reason to come see his daughter?”
“Daughter?”
I tilted my head in confusion.
I need to hear what this guy is talking about.
“Yes. Two days ago, I learned of your existence, and I investigated you. When I discovered that my daughter had been struggling to survive all by herself, I couldn’t simply sit still. So I came here immediately to take you home.”
“……”
“You are, after all, a legitimate member of the Count’s family. You have every right to enter the mansion.”
“……”
“I know it is very late, but even now, I want to make amends to you by allowing you to spend the rest of your life in happiness.”
“……”
Yes, yes.
What a beautiful and touching story.
Then why does your expression look like you’re about to kill me?
Is that really the best you can do?
You’re trying to win over a child here.
Can’t you put on a slightly sweeter expression?
Your face is actually quite handsome because you look so much like me.
Apparently, Bernando was simply the type of person whose facial expressions rarely changed.
Hmm.
After listening to Bernando, I fell into thought for a moment.
I was already thoroughly sick of poverty.
That was why, when I had first fallen into this novel, I’d mostly resigned myself to my fate. After all, there wasn’t even anyone I could blame.
But…
That also meant that, under normal circumstances, I might never have had to experience such a miserable life on the streets.
Just because I’d experienced hardship before didn’t mean it stopped being difficult.
For a while, I stared into those unwavering red eyes.
If I had truly been a nine-year-old child, the situation would have been so perfect that I might actually have been tempted to follow Bernando.
But could a situation really be this perfectly arranged?
I shook my head.
There is always poison hidden inside a brightly colored snake.
There was one thing I’d learned after coming to Baros.
There was no bottom to poverty.
I never thought I’d end up missing my modern-day life, where I’d once gone pigeon hunting just because my little sister was crying because she wanted chicken.
Yet even someone who had already grown thoroughly accustomed to poverty found life in Baros unbearably difficult.
Every night, I’d fall asleep wondering whether I would starve to death the next day.
Before I knew it, survival itself had become my ultimate priority.
And then, one day, a noble father suddenly appeared.
It was a situation so sweet that I wanted to be deceived even though I knew better.
Anyone would probably think they were the protagonist of the ultimate rags-to-riches story.
But I wasn’t naive enough to simply follow Bernando without question.
I withdrew my gaze from the red eyes of the man who claimed to be my father and shook my head.
When I rejected him, I could clearly see Bernando’s body stiffen.
“Why?”
“……”
“I don’t understand why you would refuse… Is it simply a whim?”
I looked up at Bernando’s red eyes again and spoke.
“That is only the superficial reason.”
“……”
“Would you tell me the real reason?”
At my words, Bernando’s red eyes were momentarily colored with surprise.
He stared at me for a long while, seemingly forgetting even to blink.
Then he quietly looked at me and said,
“You’re interesting.”
“……”
So if you find me interesting, couldn’t you at least make an expression that looks like you’re actually interested?
I felt like I was being threatened and intimidated.
He had the face of a gentle, handsome man, so why did he always look so cold?
It was a shame to waste such a good-looking face.
“Your instincts are remarkably sharp for a child.”
“……”
“How did you know I was lying?”
“Do you remember what the first thing you said to me was?”
My first meeting with Bernando.
It had happened only a few dozen minutes ago, so I remembered it perfectly.
When Bernando entered the room and saw me, his pupils had widened.
At that moment, Bernando had genuinely been surprised.
And then he had unconsciously blurted out his first thought:
“I suppose there won’t even be any need for a paternity test.”
That had been a genuine reaction of amazement.
Since he’d said it unconsciously, there hadn’t been any time for him to fabricate a lie.
:::
