TEWMD Chapter 07

Chapter 7

Gasp! What?!

I quickly put on the Invisibility Cloak and held my breath.

Who is it?

My heart started beating fast because I hadn’t expected anyone to come.

Since the person wasn’t heading straight toward the laboratory, it probably wasn’t Dad Kyle.

Still wearing the Invisibility Cloak, I quietly walked over and pressed my ear against the door.

Tap, tap, tap.

Someone’s light footsteps continued for a few moments.

Then…

Creeak.

I heard another door opening and closing.

Judging by those footsteps…

It must be Dad Derek.

Come to think of it, Dad Derek’s room was right next to the stairs on the first floor, so it was the closest room to the basement laboratory.

He was still awake this late?

If he had come out of his room just a little later, he might have caught me.

A cold shiver ran down my back.

Still, it was lucky that he didn’t check my room.

All those years of being a well-behaved child and not causing trouble are finally paying off.

I should be able to leave now, right?

I waited until I couldn’t sense him anymore.

Then I grabbed a few more useful items and quietly left the laboratory.

Good.

Now I just had to carefully return to my room—

“Someone’s here.”

At that exact moment…

The door suddenly flew open.

Dad Derek’s voice struck my ears.

I froze and stopped breathing.

But I heard several doors closing earlier. I thought he had gone back into his room.

Why is he still in the hallway?!

I pressed a hand against my rapidly beating heart and continued holding my breath.

I stared at Dad Derek.

Dad Derek was also staring directly at the place where I was standing.

“……”

There was complete silence.

Not even the slightest sound of breathing could be heard.

His golden eyes shone brightly, but I couldn’t read his expression.

I was supposed to be invisible.

He shouldn’t be able to see me.

So how could he look directly at me like this?

Is this the hero’s instinct?

I’m scared. I’m so scared.

If I moved even a little, I felt like he would notice me completely.

Just when I was slowly running out of breath…

“Why are you standing there?”

Dad Harzen’s voice suddenly came from the side.

Only then did Dad Derek’s gaze move away from me and toward Harzen.

“…It was you.”

Phew. Thank goodness.

Apparently, Dad Derek had mistaken the presence he sensed earlier for Dad Harzen.

I could use this chance to quietly go upstairs to my room—

“You seem troubled too. I suppose that’s natural, considering Yuria is going to the Imperial Palace.”

…Actually, I should listen to this conversation a little longer.

I tightly held the things I had taken from the laboratory and listened carefully.

“…Danger.”

“That’s right. It may be dangerous.”

Even though Dad Derek only spoke a short, unclear word, Dad Harzen seemed to understand exactly what he meant.

“There are certainly many enemies there. The problem is that we cannot identify all of them with complete certainty.”

“Even so—”

“Even so, we have to go.”

Dad Harzen’s eyes shone as he quietly added,

“Because Yuria wants to.”

“……”

“She has always been like that. If she wants something, all we can do is follow her.”

I stood there with my mouth open.

Wow. That’s amazing.

I guess they’re truly the original male leads. They really can’t resist the heroine.

This is like watching one of the greatest scenes from a novel in real time, from the front row!

“And besides, nothing serious should happen just because we stay there for a few days.”

But those words immediately made me depressed.

Do you know something, Dad?

Something very serious is going to happen just because you go there for a few days…

“Even if something does happen, I won’t simply stand by.”

Not only will you refuse to stand by, you’ll destroy the whole world…

Of course, Mom’s death and the destruction of the world wouldn’t happen immediately.

I don’t know exactly when Mom will die.

But since Mom going to the Imperial Palace seemed to be the starting point of the side story, something would definitely happen there.

Something terrible.

Something that would eventually lead to Mom’s death, something even the great archmage Harzen couldn’t prevent.

That’s why I have to stop it.

I’m the only person here who knows the future.

So I had to do something.

Save Mom.

Save the world.

And get my happy future back.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could accomplish something even my dads couldn’t stop.

But I have to try.

I can’t just stand there and watch Mom die.

I have to do something.

I can do it!

I’m Cici.

I’m already seven years old!

I’m a big girl now!

No matter how impossible the problem looks, I’ll solve it one step at a time—

“Speaking of which… We won’t be able to see Cici for several days. Maybe I should go see her before we leave.”

Gasp.

I immediately stopped thinking.

My whole body stiffened.

Is he going to my room?

Please, anything but that!

“…Light sleeper.”

Just as I was about to press myself against the wall and quietly sneak away, Dad Derek stopped him.

Fortunately, Dad Harzen understood what he meant and laughed.

“Yes, I know. Our princess has always been a very light sleeper. I wonder who she inherited that from.”

Oh, please.

Obviously she got it from all of you.

Anyway, thank goodness.

I almost got caught before I could even begin my plan.

I slowly moved toward the stairs and sighed with relief.

This little scare was a good reminder not to get overconfident.

I needed to stay careful until the very end.

For Mom.

For the world!

The Next Morning

“Is this all the luggage?”

Count Rionard looked at the trunk in front of him and asked.

Harzen answered with a cold expression, clearly still unhappy about the situation.

“We’ll be coming back soon anyway. There’s no reason to carry more luggage than necessary.”

“Harzen.”

Yuria gently scolded him and gave him an awkward smile.

“Just as Harzen said, I don’t plan to stay in the Imperial Palace for long. I made a promise to our child.”

Yuria closed her eyes for a moment and remembered the previous evening.

Cici had nodded with her cheeks puffed out after hearing that Mom would return after ten nights.

Just remembering it made Yuria feel guilty.

After speaking, Yuria glanced toward the second-floor balcony.

“Is she still sleeping…?”

“With all this noise outside? There’s no way she hasn’t woken up.”

Kyle clicked his tongue and looked toward Cecilia’s room as well.

“She probably hasn’t come out because she’s still sulking. She hasn’t looked happy since yesterday.”

She had even refused Yuria’s offer to sleep together.

Normally, Cici would have grabbed onto her mother’s clothes and begged to sleep together.

She must have been really upset.

She probably inherited that stubbornness from her mother too.

Kyle glanced at Yuria, who was sadly pouting.

Both of them are stubborn, slow to understand things, and ridiculously cute.

“What should we do? Should we go drag her downstairs?”

Yuria shook her head and smiled.

“…No, it’s okay. We’ll see each other again soon anyway.”

“Then at least take a communication orb. I’m sure she’ll start crying and complaining that she misses Mommy just a few hours after we leave. ♪♬”

“Oh, that’s okay too. It’s better not to give the Imperial Palace another reason to criticize us.”

“We’re already receiving more attention than necessary.”

Yuria gave a small smile.

Count Rionard seemed to understand what she meant and bowed deeply.

“…I sincerely thank you both for your cooperation. We will make sure you have everything you need during your stay at the Imperial Palace.”

“Yeah, sure you will.”

“Enough, Kyle.”

Yuria gave Kyle an awkward smile before turning to him and Derek.

“Anyway, we’re leaving now. Take good care of Cici, okay? And don’t do anything strange while we’re gone. Make sure she eats properly and doesn’t skip foods she doesn’t like. And don’t take her too far from home…”

“I understand. Just hurry up and go.”

Kyle shook his head in exasperation and gently pushed Yuria forward.

After some time passed…

A huge magic circle created by Harzen appeared beneath the feet of Harzen, Yuria, and the Imperial Palace Knights.

“……”

Derek, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly began walking quickly back into the house.

Kyle was surprised and followed him.

“Hey, hey! Where are you going all of a sudden? They haven’t even left yet!”

“……Need to say goodbye.”

“Then why the ♬♩ are you—”

“Cici too.”

Derek quickly climbed the stairs.

Then he stopped in front of Cecilia’s bedroom.

He could hear the faint rustling of blankets.

And the soft sound of someone sniffling.

It seemed obvious that Cici was crying alone in her room.

“Cici.”

Derek opened the door and walked toward the bed.

Then…

“……?”

Derek suddenly froze.

There was something lying on the bed.

He stared at it.

Why was there a pile of scrap metal on the bed instead of the child?