Chapter 24
Dad let out a small sigh of “Ah,” and gave a hollow smile.
“Ha….”
“There were so many things I wanted to do if Mom were still alive!”
“R-Really?”
Hearing something he’d never heard before, Dad stuttered as if flustered.
“Yeah! Because now I can do all of those things. So it doesn’t matter what form or appearance she’s in.”
“I’m sorry, Amanet… Why didn’t I ever think of that?”
Were Dad’s eyes glistening just my imagination?
Probably not.
He’s too kind.
All he had to do was get angry in front of Grandma—ask her what the hell she was doing and what she wanted by acting like that.
When she said bad things about me, he could’ve simply spoken up. But Dad was painfully kind, timid, and overly conscious of others. People might’ve called him frustrating, but I knew very well that he couldn’t do anything in that situation.
“So don’t worry. Dad, I’m really fine, so just do what you want to do!”
“Aah…”
I gently stroked Dad’s hair, still unable to speak.
“My dad is so pretty.”
“……”
“You’re doing well.”
“……”
“I’m really glad you’re my dad. You were trying to protect me too, right?”
At my final words, Dad nodded hurriedly as if he’d come back to his senses.
“Probably… yes.”
“So keep protecting me from now on. Not like earlier—do it confidently. I only need you.”
Please don’t become like you were in the past—
I, someone who never really knew how to comfort others, gave Dad something that wasn’t quite comfort yet somehow was.
My comfort had always been clumsy, and even in my previous life before becoming Amanet, people nitpicked the way I tried to comfort them.
Who do you think you are to comfort me?
You’re not rich, you’re not impressive—what comfort can someone like you give? It’s insulting.
So I stopped comforting people.
And then they said I was kind but selfish.
Comforting others became something I instinctively struggled with—
Afraid that people’s perception of me would change because of something I said.
But Dad was different.
“Amanet really likes Dad a lot!”
He wasn’t the type of father who acted like a tyrant and did whatever he wanted.
He didn’t have powerful authority that made everyone around him bow down.
That’s why I liked him. Because I could see him struggling desperately to protect me even without strength.
“And Dad really likes Amanet too.”
“Mm-hm! So from now on you have to love Amanet for a long, long time, okay?”
“Of course. I’ll love you until the day I die.”
“Mm-hm! So you have to live for a long time.”
Seeing Dad nod, I also renewed my determination.
That I would save him no matter what.
No—
that I would let him live a life far better than the one he had before.
While thinking that, we arrived at my room.
The maids, who had been in the room instead of the party hall, looked genuinely startled at our arrival.
Dad and I didn’t respond to their gazes and went inside.
Unlike usual, he carried me to the window and set me on the windowsill.
“Come to think of it, you didn’t properly open your gifts.”
“I don’t need any gifts!”
I meant it. Dad was my present.
“Hm? Why? You used to like things like that.”
“I do! But anything I ask Dad to buy for me, Dad always buys.”
Finally understanding something, Dad let out an Ah.
“I see.”
“So I’m more curious about Dad’s gift than all those dozens of other presents! You didn’t forget it, right?”
“Of course.”
With a faint smile tinged with sadness, Dad stroked my head.
“But it’s not fully ready yet.”
“Huh? Ready?”
Dad’s gift he couldn’t give me yet.
I knew exactly what it was. Because after he died, the gift arrived for me.
“For now, let’s use this in its place.”
Dad took out a small box from his pocket and opened it.
Inside was a necklace with a mysterious sheen.
“What is this?”
Even though I knew, I pretended not to and asked.
“It’s something from a country in the East. They say it protects the one who wears it. I don’t really believe in that kind of thing, but…”
It was said to hold mysterious magic. Whether it was real magic or just sorcery, I didn’t know—
but thanks to the necklace Dad gave me, I avoided any major incidents.
Though after Dad died… I did end up dying too.
Was I wearing the necklace then?
Strangely, after I started wearing it, I stopped getting minor injuries.
So it did break.
Thinking about it now, at first it had been transparent, but over time it gradually turned black.
“It sounds unbelievable, I know. But I worked very hard to get this. The shape is a bit rough, but the effect should be good.”
“Mm-hm! Thank you!”
I beamed brightly at Dad.
“You really like it? I thought you wouldn’t… You really do seem like a completely different child. Before, you only liked expensive and rare things.”
“I still like those now. But a gift from Dad is more precious than anything!”
Seeing my genuine joy, Dad’s cheeks turned faintly red.
“I’m glad.”
“So what’s the thing you’re still preparing?”
“That is… for much later. I’ll tell you then.”
He didn’t say it out loud, but I already knew.
What Dad was preparing was a mansion—one being built on the outskirts of the Empire. A place with wide fields and a stream flowing out front.
Dad wanted to give everything up and live there with me.
Because our busy lives kept us from each other.
As soon as he learned Grandma hated me, he bought the land and started construction.
A place where he could spend more time with me.
After Dad died, the land deed, the house deed, and Dad’s letter addressed fully to me were found.
He wrote that I was someone who deserved to receive only love.
That someday we would live there together.
That he would love me every day in that place, and that if I married someday, he hoped my children would also grow up receiving only love there.
The building, which had been under construction for years to make it perfect—
that was the gift Dad had been preparing.
“Ah, I want to know…”
“If you’re curious, shall we go together later?”
My eyes sparkled at his words.
In the past, I used to get mad at Dad for giving me weird necklaces and not proper gifts.
I wasn’t even curious about what he was preparing.
I was just sulking because I didn’t get something rare and fancy on that day.
So back then, he didn’t say anything about going together—but because I reacted positively to the gift this time, he acted differently.
“Okay! Okay, I love it!”
“Then let’s definitely go together next time.”
I took the necklace out of the box Dad was still holding.
“Put it on me!”
“Are you really sure? Even if you don’t wear it and just keep it…”
“No. I want to wear it now. Because it’s from Dad!”
With a slightly moved expression, Dad quickly fastened the necklace around my neck.
The necklace I used to carry around in my pocket was now around my neck.
Because of the weight of the gemstone, my neck felt a little heavy.
“Do you like it?”
“Mm-hm! I love it!”
“I’m glad.”
Dad’s large hand stroked my head.
Feeling that kindness and that gentleness, I smiled more brightly than ever.
The past… can be changed.
Even if that damned god tried to guide me down the same path again, I would walk a completely different one.
Firmly deciding that once more, I spent time chatting quietly with Dad.
He did express regret that the birthday party ended like that, but perhaps because he had resolved not to dwell on it, he soon became absorbed in talking about other things.
