TPOK 04

Chapter 04

“If you value your life, stay away from that man.”

“Don’t scare the child.”

“What did that man say?”

“Th-that…”

Before I could answer the question, the man cut me off.

“When you speak with me, look me in the face and speak clearly.”

“I’m sorry.”

How tall am I supposed to be for that?

I barely managed to swallow the complaint before it escaped.

However, despite hiding my thoughts, the man seemed to realize something. He looked as if he had just noticed something and sheathed his sword before lowering himself. Apparently, my discomfort had unintentionally shown on my face.

He knelt down on one knee and crouched in front of me. Only then did his face finally line up with my eye level.

The man’s face, which I saw up close for the first time, was quite rough.

Not the kind of roughness that came with age. If I had to compare it, it was like the belly hide of a beast that had been thoroughly soaked in sunlight and salty seawater.

The corners of his eyes were sharply raised, and his eyebrows were unusually thick, giving him an intense appearance. The kind of face that would appear if someone were asked to draw the portrait of a fighter.

Rather than a person, he resembled a hawk.

However, there was something in the man’s eyes.

A sense of confusion.

“About drawing my sword…”

The man paused for a moment, thinking carefully, then corrected himself.

“I’m sorry for drawing Pukpuki.”

“Ah, yes…”

“‘I’m sorry! Pu, Pukpuki isn’t dangerous!’”

He held his sword upright in his left hand and spoke in a fake voice, as if he were playing with a doll.

Though it was supposed to be a childlike voice, it was still extremely deep.

“Ah, yes…”

“Calling it ‘Pukpuki’ sounds more brutal than calling it a sword.”

“Quiet, Clown! Children like this kind of thing!”

Did I like things like that when I was ten?

I didn’t think so, but I decided not to argue and raise suspicion.

The Thunder King said things like, “Pukpuki will go home and sleep soundly!” while skillfully returning the weapon to its sheath.

Ah. This was becoming difficult to endure.

“Why did you suddenly barge into someone else’s room and do this?”

“It’s obvious. Child, didn’t this man say something sweet and flattering?”

“I didn’t! I made her honeyed milk, didn’t I?”

“Your room doesn’t even have a refrigerator—forget it. Child, didn’t this man ask you to become his daughter?”

I carefully nodded.

“He wasn’t seriously trying to convince me.”

“Convincing you isn’t the issue. I have no intention of criticizing him for that. But shouldn’t he have explained things first?”

The Thunder King turned his head toward me with an awkwardly kind smile.

“Child, um… if you choose a father right away… well…”

He hesitated, carefully choosing each word as if constructing the sentence one piece at a time.

“You die.”

The finished sentence, however, wasn’t nearly as gentle as the process of making it.

“I’ve told you countless times. When you speak, you need more of an introduction and a conclusion.”

“I die?”

“Yes. You die.”

I quickly looked at the Clown King.

Until just moments ago, he had been happily talking about choosing a father as if it were something as simple as picking a seatmate on a school field trip.

He subtly avoided my gaze.

“How do I explain this so a child can understand…”

The Thunder King placed his hand on my shoulder and lightly squeezed.

There wasn’t much force behind it, but just from the pressure, I could tell that his grip must have been incredibly strong.

That was when the Clown King suddenly interrupted.

“Do you like dates?”

“Yes…”

“I like them salted.”

“I wasn’t asking you. Now then, imagine there’s a big, beautiful date growing at the very top of a tall tree.”

He pretended to be a large tree with his hands and began speaking like he was telling a fairy tale.

“But there’s a ladder here…”

The Clown King paused and changed his sentence.

“But then a cute baby giraffe comes along. Oh! If the children ride on the giraffe’s neck, they can reach the top of the tree! The children who wanted to eat the dates were excited.”

“Yes…”

“But then the giraffe points at one child and loudly says, ‘I’ll carry this little one on my neck!’ What happens?”

“The child would be happy!”

“I wasn’t asking you. Anyway, yes, that child would be happy. But the other children wouldn’t be able to eat the dates anymore, because the chosen child would eat them all.”

He pretended to hold a nonexistent fruit and eat it so realistically that even I found myself reacting like a child.

Right… that wouldn’t be fair.

“So what would the children who weren’t chosen by the giraffe do?”

“They push the giraffe down! They climb on its corpse!”

“I told you not to answer… Well, whatever.”

The Clown King scolded the Thunder King, who kept interrupting his story.

But I began to suspect that perhaps the violent wording earlier had been intentional—a performance designed so the Thunder King could say the cruel parts himself.

Not for me.

For that strangely foolish man.

Regardless of the true intention, it was a very convincing presentation.

“I understand what you mean.”

“The Thunder King’s way of saying it was a little extreme. But… it’s the truth. I didn’t want you to announce your father immediately either. I had no intention of forcing you into that choice.”

“You probably did intend to get the first stamp of approval before she understood how serious the decision was.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Child, don’t trust people carelessly here. Watch where you step.”

“And you!”

The Clown King grabbed the Thunder King’s shoulder and spun him around to face him.

“The reason you came here is obvious too. You came to my room and caused a scene just to score points with the child, didn’t you?”

“I have no interest in that.”

The Thunder King raised one eyebrow and crossed his arms.

As the fabric around his upper arms tightened, the outlines of the scars carved into his shoulders became faintly visible.

“A child is the fruit of love between a husband and wife! I merely wish to know whether this child is truly the child of my wife and me! If she is not my biological child, there is no reason for me to become her father. I am satisfied simply being my wife’s husband!”

“I was actually talking about that with the Clown Uncle.”

I climbed onto the bed so I could look directly at the Thunder King’s face.

I had realized it halfway through.

This man probably couldn’t hear very well.

“You said you really like my mother, right? Is that true?”

“Of course!”

His expression was filled with pride.

It was a face overflowing with genuine affection and satisfaction.

Compared to him, the Clown King beside him, resting his chin on the bed with a tired expression, looked completely exhausted.

“Traditionally, most of the later-numbered husbands come from vassal states. I am the same. They call it a political marriage, but from their perspective, they were basically beaten and dragged here. It would be difficult for them to like their wife.”

The Clown King flopped down completely on the bed and rolled his eyes.

Apparently, this was not the first time he had heard this speech.

“But in my homeland, that is an incredibly normal and legitimate—no, ideal—courtship process!”

The Thunder King placed his hands on his hips proudly.

“The suitor proves their strength, and the one who loses submits to the other’s will! It is a very natural and reasonable form of marriage. I understand why the other kings complain, but I cannot sympathize. Isn’t forming a bond with a strong partner something every creature naturally desires?”

“We never really complained.”

The Clown King muttered defensively.

As always, the Thunder King ignored him and continued.

“My dream is to have a child carrying the blood of such a strong partner! Succession, power, things like that are irrelevant to me. Therefore, I have no reason to force you to choose me as your father.”

He bent his knees slightly and brought his face closer to mine.

“I only want to know whether you are truly that child.”

Even after bending down, his massive size meant he still looked down at me.

His irises were unusually small, and from below, the whites of his eyes showed prominently, giving him a strange, almost mad appearance.

At that moment, I finally understood why the Clown King had claimed he was the most reasonable one by elimination.

“Okay. I understand. That was touching.”

The Clown King pretended to clap and cut off the conversation.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I really was planning to tell you once you felt comfortable.”

“You should have said it first.”

“I wanted you to relax first. Like yesterday. The other men were shouting and frightening you, weren’t they? You pretended to sleep on the chair.”

I flinched slightly.

He knew.

Hearing it from the mouths of adults made the reality sink in.

This place was probably dangerous.

Every king treated me kindly.

Because they wanted me to be on their side.

But the moment my side was decided…

Everyone else would become my enemy.

The Thunder King stood up with a grunt.

“…Well, that’s all I wanted to say. Don’t run in the hallway from now on!”

“Wait…!”

I grabbed the strap of the sword sheath hanging from his waist and stopped him.

“Pukpuki” dangled from the strap.

“Uncle, you must be good with a sword.”

“I am not an uncle, but yes, I am skilled with a sword.”

“He’s definitely an uncle.”

“Then… then…”

I hesitated before speaking.

“Please teach me how to use a sword.”

“A sword?”

Interest flashed in the Thunder King’s eyes.

“You want to know if I’m your real daughter, right? So if I try something you’re good at… maybe I can find evidence that I am your daughter or that I’m not.”

“I am not an uncle, but that is certainly a reasonable proposal. Our people are all naturally gifted warriors.”

Facing the Thunder King’s smile, I nodded quickly and repeatedly.