Chapter 7
I plopped down on the floor and let out a loud cry.
“Ouch!”
“……?”
I clutched the arm he had shaken off and sat there on the floor.
“What was that? I didn’t even hit you that hard!”
“…….”
Seeing me pretend to groan without answering, Iqua, who had been standing a fair distance away, gradually darkened in expression. He then approached me with a serious look and knelt down as if to check whether I was hurt.
“…….”
“Let me see the injury!”
“……Gotcha!”
“Gah!”
“Just kidding.”
Taking advantage of the moment Iqua came closer, I suddenly sprang to my feet.
Startled, Iqua fell backward and landed hard on his bottom.
He clutched his chest as though trying to calm his racing heart.
Someone who was going to become a Sword Master someday is this easily frightened? Then who’s going to protect the Baros Empire?
The future of Hellbaros looked bleak.
I shook my head.
“You, youuu……!”
“……?”
Just as I was seriously contemplating the future of Hellbaros, Iqua seemed to regain his composure and abruptly stood up.
Apparently, he was very angry.
I felt a little sorry for pretending to be hurt and startling him, but if I hadn’t done that, he looked ready to run away from me at full speed.
Iqua was the future Sword Master and the strongest knight in Baros, and even though he was still a child, he was already receiving knight training.
If he shook me off and sprinted away, there was no way I could catch him.
……Well, to be honest, I also just wanted to tease him a little.
It was my first time meeting him today, but Iqua was the kind of child who somehow made me want to tease him.
“…….”
After staring at me and huffing for a while, Iqua suddenly calmed down.
Oh……
I was slightly surprised inwardly.
He had clearly been worked up just a moment ago, but now all signs of anger had disappeared.
Perhaps because he was receiving knight training, he seemed unusually good at controlling his emotions for a child his age.
As long as I didn’t suddenly startle him like I had just done, he probably wouldn’t get too angry.
Iqua spoke to me in a calm voice.
“……I heard from my uncle. You’re Isollet, right? Only members of House Heartfinder are allowed at dinner.”
“…….”
“So what right do you have to join us? I won’t recognize you as a member of our family!”
There was a faint hostility toward me in Iqua’s red eyes as he spoke calmly.
I was so dumbfounded that I could only stare at him with my mouth hanging open.
What is this all of a sudden……?
For a child his age, perhaps it was natural to resent suddenly having a new family member appear overnight.
But…….
I stared blankly at Iqua as he loudly declared his position, then quietly said,
“I never said that.”
“What?”
“I never asked you to recognize me as a member of your family.”
“……Huh?”
Iqua’s expression went blank.
He looked as though he had never expected that response.
Had I ever told Iqua that I wanted to become part of his family?
Hmm…… I thought back over it, but I couldn’t remember saying anything of the sort.
All I’d done was make a deal with Bernardo to pretend to have a good father-daughter relationship under the guise of baby therapy.
There had been nothing in the contract about getting along with the members of House Heartfinder.
Of course! There was nothing wrong with getting along with them…… but did I really need to?
So far, I hadn’t seen any reason to.
Which meant Iqua had been beating his own drum and dancing to it all by himself…….
I shook my head from side to side.
I put one hand firmly on my waist.
Then I pointed at Iqua with the other hand and declared,
“All I want from you is one thing. I just want you to tell me where the dining room is!”
At my words, Iqua fell silent as though someone had poured cold water over him.
After a moment, he opened and closed his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then apparently gave up and shut it.
He turned his back on me and resumed his rapid little walk.
His ears had turned red, probably because he was embarrassed about his misunderstanding.
“Why are you following me?!”
“I just happen to be walking this way.”
“I’m not going to the dining room, so there’s no point in following me!”
“…….”
Iqua answered sharply without turning around.
Bernardo had told me that dinner was supposed to be a family affair, with everyone gathering together.
Apparently, it was a rule established by the Count of Heartfinder.
It seemed that the Count’s word was absolute in this household.
Even though the Count himself was away recuperating, everyone was still following the rules he had left behind.
I spoke in a teasing voice.
“If we don’t hurry, Grandpa is going to scold you~.”
“How dare you speak so casually about Grandfather!”
Iqua spun around and angrily snapped at me.
Even as he said that, however, he kept nervously glancing out the window.
I already knew that Iqua both respected and feared the Count.
With a deep sigh, Iqua resumed walking.
I followed behind him, giggling.
It was simple.
I finally realized why no one had bothered to tell me where the dining room was.
It was embarrassingly close.
I remembered running straight down one hallway after bursting out of my room earlier.
The sign pointing toward the dining room had been right beside it.
“…….”
I stared blankly at the sign pointing toward the dining room.
Following the sign, I went down one floor and stood blankly in front of the dining room entrance.
As Iqua passed me and entered the dining room, he casually muttered,
“……You really have no sense of direction.”
His voice was quiet, but I could hear him.
“…….”
……I couldn’t exactly argue with that.
I kept my mouth shut.
Standing before the dining room, I straightened my clothes before entering.
There was no harm in making a good impression on the people of the household, after all.
When I entered the dining room, the family members were already seated at the table.
Bernardo noticed me first.
“You’re here.”
“Oh my!”
The moment I entered the dining room, someone let out an exclamation.
I turned toward the voice.
A cute-looking noblewoman with short blue bobbed hair and blue eyes was sitting there.
Ah, this must be Lady Sinelloa, the person Riatrice had told me about.
She was…… hmm…… Eloise’s wife, if I remembered correctly.
So, my aunt!
I didn’t know her exact age, but despite being the mother of two children, she looked lively and youthful enough to be in her early twenties—or even her late teens.
The seat to Lady Sinelloa’s left, on the right side of the long dining table, was empty.
……Was someone absent?
Iqua was sitting to her right, and beside him sat a man who appeared to be Iqua’s father.
So that must be Eloise.
He was a young man with black hair and red eyes, with an intimidatingly cold appearance.
From beginning to end, his gaze remained fixed straight ahead.
Even though I had entered the room, he treated me as though I didn’t exist.
No…… perhaps he simply wasn’t interested in me at all.
Ice-cold.
That was my first impression of him.
Bernardo was sitting across from Eloise.
Meanwhile, the seat of honor in the center was left vacant.
It seemed to be the designated seat of the Count of Heartfinder.
I looked around and put on my brightest smile.
First impressions are important!
“Hello?”
I greeted everyone, but the only person who answered me was Lady Sinelloa.
Sob.
What a cold family.
Bernardo was cold, Eloise was cold…… and Iqua, while not quite as cold as the other two, was pretty cold too.
What kind of family is this, with an icy breeze blowing everywhere?
At this point, it was clearly a problem with their upbringing.
Or maybe the land itself is cursed?
I sat down beside Bernardo, and the servants brought out the food before retreating to a distance.
Dinner began.
As though she had been waiting for the opportunity, Lady Sinelloa asked Bernardo,
“How old is Miss Isollet?”
“…….”
At Lady Sinelloa’s question, Bernardo pressed his lips together.
Then he looked at me.
“…….”
“……?”
For a moment, I couldn’t understand why Bernardo was looking at me at a time like this.
Then a certain possibility occurred to me, and my expression slowly stiffened.
Don’t tell me…… he doesn’t know!
“You knew, but you forgot, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
I stared up at Bernardo incredulously.
Hey! Answer her! Answer her already!
I sent Bernardo a telepathic message with my eyes.
In response, Bernardo lightly nudged my foot under the table, urging me to answer.
“Ha…….”
I let out a hollow laugh.
Even if we want to pretend to be a close father and daughter, we at least have to be on the same page!
……Fine. Whatever.
My partner was a man who hadn’t even batted an eye when his only son died.
I spoke in a half-resigned voice.
“……I’m nine years old.”
“……Nine years old?”
The sharp voice came from across the table.
