Chapter 14
All I wanted was to leave that place and comfort Father as soon as possible.
Even though he continued to fulfill his duties as a marquis, it was clear that emotionally, he was completely drained. His steps on the way home were slow and heavy.
“Dad.”
He didn’t answer the first time, so I called again—twice, maybe three times—before he finally blinked and looked at me.
“Huh? What is it?”
“Are you okay?”
“O-of course! Daddy’s fine! Should Daddy give you a hug, my darling daughter?”
“No thanks. If you hug me now, you’ll probably collapse.”
“That’s not true!”
He tried to laugh it off, but his red eyes wavered faintly.
“Not today,” I said softly.
“O-oh… okay?”
“Yeah. You should go rest early tonight.”
When we arrived home a little later, I gently pushed Father away as we entered my room.
“You’re not going to spend time with Daddy today? It’s our reading day! And we’re supposed to eat chocolate together, remember?”
“I’m skipping reading today. I’m just going to roll around and be lazy. And the chocolate—I’m eating it by myself.”
“What? Then Daddy will roll around with you—”
“A cool marquis never abandons his work, remember? So go finish your work, Dad!”
“Well… I suppose I could still play with my lovely daughter for a bit first…”
As usual, Father was being clingy.
He was a diligent man—devoted to his duties, rarely taking breaks. Normally, he didn’t even have the time to play with me. But tonight, I didn’t feel like talking much.
“Amannet, do you hate Daddy now? Daddy only has you left…”
“I love you too!”
“I heard you’ve been spending more time with the twins lately and ignoring Daddy…”
He pouted as he stepped fully into the room, his voice sulky.
“Are you jealous?”
“Jealous? Well… maybe a little…”
He scratched his head awkwardly, pretending otherwise—but the truth was obvious.
He was jealous.
Honestly, it was kind of cute.
“You’re the one who told me to be nice to the twins!”
“Oh? That’s true. Then how about now—you be even closer with me instead, hmm?”
“You can’t just change your mind like that!”
I began pulling off my outer clothes, scolding him with exaggerated seriousness.
Even though it made no sense, Father looked touched—like my silly words were the most precious thing in the world.
“You’re right,” he said softly.
“Shouldn’t you be praising me instead? I’m the one who actually listened to you!”
“That’s true,” he said with a warm smile, nodding. Then, gently, he ran his hand through my hair.
“It must have been hard for you,” he murmured. “You’ve always liked having all of my attention, but you’re still trying so hard to get along with them… Thank you.”
His eyes shimmered faintly with tears.
In my past life, I could never have imagined seeing him like this. But now, I was doing my best—for both of us.
“Yup! So you can’t get jealous anymore. Besides, once you’ve built up your muscles like I told you to, I’ll praise you lots!”
“That’s…”
“I’ll even pat your head like this.”
I stood on tiptoe and reached up. Realizing what I meant, Father lowered his head toward me.
His red hair—messy and soft like a poorly dyed doll’s wig—brushed against my palm as I gently stroked it.
He smiled faintly, the first relaxed expression I’d seen on his face since our visit to Grandmother.
“It feels nice,” he whispered.
I continued running my fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him.
“You worked hard today, so just a little more, okay? Hang in there.”
“Alright, I will. If my Amannet wants it, Daddy will get stronger—eat well, exercise, and build lots of muscles.”
“Good!”
So please, stay healthy. Live long. Let’s avoid the tragic ending this time—the one where we both die.
Let’s just live peacefully, like this.
I couldn’t say those words out loud, so I just smiled instead.
Before long, even Father’s tired face softened again.
He must have felt my feelings without me having to say them. That alone made me relieved.
“Okay, all done!”
I tried to gently send him off so I could have some alone time, but Father still wasn’t ready to leave.
He leaned closer again, pretending to pout.
“Already? Daddy wanted to hear you say, ‘Daddy, you’re so handsome,’ a few more times.”
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“Clingy men aren’t attractive.”
He froze, eyes wide with shock.
His little gasp—“Ah”—sounded like I’d just broken his heart. But I had to say it, or he’d never leave.
“It means if you keep asking, I won’t want to do it anymore.”
“Oh…”
“So that’s enough for today!”
Finally, Father sighed and nodded, realizing I was serious.
He knew if he kept pushing, I really would get mad.
“If you say so, I’ll stop. But… you’ll do it again later, right?”
“Yup. Later. Now, go. I’m tired!”
At my firm tone, he reluctantly stood up. He clearly wanted to stay longer, but he knew it was hopeless.
“Well, if my daughter’s tired, then Daddy shall leave. But remember—you can always come find me whenever you want, okay?”
“Okay!”
Of course, I had no intention of doing that—but saying so would only make him sad, so I just waved my hands.
“Ah, I don’t want to go,” he said with a sigh. “Does my Amannet even know how much Daddy loves her?”
“I know!”
“Ah… I see…”
He looked at me one last time, then finally turned to leave, still glancing back every few steps as if hoping I’d call him again.
“Go already! Good night, Dad!”
“Good night, Amannet. Sweet dreams.”
Honestly, I sometimes wished he weren’t such a kind person.
If only he were a little colder, like the tyrants you read about in novels. Someone who could stand up for himself.
Because as gentle as he was, that kindness made him too easy to hurt.
“Haah…”
How can I make him stronger?
I wanted him to be someone who could talk back to the family—someone who could shout when something was unfair.
But for now, my mind was blank.
I watched his back disappear down the hall, then fell backward onto my bed.
The maids came in, saying they’d help me change, but I didn’t want to do anything.
I waved them away and rolled around on the bed.
“I just… feel awful.”
It’s fine if I’m treated badly. But not him. Not my dad.
The memory of what happened earlier wouldn’t leave me alone—it kept twisting inside my chest.
If I stay by his side, this will keep happening.
But that doesn’t mean I want to leave him.
I don’t want to abandon him—or let the same tragic future repeat itself.
So I grabbed my stuffed lion, hugged it tightly, and sat up.
“If I want to change the future… tomorrow is the most important day.”
To change fate, I had to act.
Sitting still, feeling sad—it wouldn’t change anything.
I took out a piece of paper and began drawing with my small, round hands.
“This goes here… and that goes there. I’ll only draw pictures—if I write words, they’ll get suspicious.”
What I was drawing was a map—a secret one that showed the twins how to escape.
If they managed to run away successfully after seeing it, that would be great.
Because everything that went wrong in the original future started with them staying here.
But even if they failed, it would still help me.
They’d trust me more for trying to help.
And for now, that was reason enough.
