Chapter 43
Even then, Dad seemed unable to stop worrying that he couldn’t pay attention to me, and while holding Yeojoo, he kept glancing back at me over and over.
Each time, I replied by smiling, as a way of saying it was okay.
“Our daughter has really grown so much. You seem like an adult now. I’m sorry, Dad.”
As soon as we got into the carriage, Dad propped a cushion under Yeojoo’s head and laid her down, then sat beside me and gently stroked my hair.
“No! You don’t have to be sorry. Dad was incredibly cool today!”
“I was?”
“Yes! You appeared right at the perfect moment and brought the friend I wanted!”
At that, Dad laughed softly with a sad expression, unlike his usual self.
“I honestly don’t know if this was the right thing to do.”
“Huh?”
“For that child, that place must have been her entire world—her only world. I wonder if we changed her environment too abruptly, just because we wanted to. Maybe I should have looked into it more, observed the situation longer, before bringing her.”
As worry piled upon worry, like skewered dried fish lined up in a row, Dad’s cheeks seemed to shrink more and more. I placed my hands on both of them.
Then I smiled so brightly that my eyes nearly disappeared.
“I don’t really know much, but I do know that Dad did the right thing!”
“Did I really?”
“It hurts! What’s wrong with bringing a sick friend so they can be taken care of? And they wouldn’t even give her proper treatment there!”
“Well… that’s true.”
“So Dad did the right thing. My dad is really amazing!”
As if he had been waiting for someone to say that, Dad finally let out a deep sigh and nodded.
“Hearing you say that puts me a bit more at ease.”
“Yeah. So don’t worry! But Dad.”
“Yes?”
“Is it okay if I make that child my friend?”
Only then, as if returning to reality, Dad let out a hollow laugh.
“I don’t think ‘friend’ will work.”
“Huh?”
Because she was from an orphanage and might actually be ill, was that only natural…?
I had expected Dad to oppose it, but hearing him say no without even a moment’s hesitation left me flustered.
Well, we had already solved the issue of bringing her to the marquisate, so it should be fine. After all, all I really needed to do was show the female lead to my twin older brothers, so it wouldn’t become a huge problem.
Still, it felt best to take her along as a friend…
Just as I was starting to feel disappointed—
“I think she’ll have to become your sister instead of a friend.”
“What?”
“Since I’ve already caused this situation, it’s not like I can cancel the adoption now. And since I have to adopt her anyway.”
“Well, th-that’s true.”
“You don’t like the idea of a sister instead of a friend? Come to think of it, you’ve always looked lonely, my daughter. I’ve been so busy that I couldn’t really pay attention to you…”
Dad, I don’t think that’s the issue here.
“Well, you’ve been getting along well with the twins lately, at least…”
“I—I like it! But Grandma… will she be okay with it?”
I was genuinely worried about Grandma. Given her personality, she would absolutely refuse to acknowledge this child as family. She didn’t even like my existence to begin with.
Of course, Grandma later came to like the female lead very much—enough to push her own grandchildren aside.
It would have been nice if the girl turned out to be a hidden child of a ducal family or a child secretly concealed by the imperial family, but in reality, she was simply one of many children from a fallen noble family with lots of offspring.
She was the eldest daughter, with three younger brothers beneath her.
Her father, who struggled just to make ends meet, was willing to do anything that could bring in money—and one of those things was selling his daughter for cash.
Her unique hair color and subtle, mysterious aura had given her an undeniable charm since childhood.
In the end, the orphanage director bought her cheaply, thinking that if she raised her well, the girl would be useful later on.
The female lead remembered that she had been sold by her father.
This was something mentioned even in the novel. However, after arriving at the orphanage and suffering a severe fever, she lost part of her memories, and as a result, she couldn’t remember her family at all.
Shamelessly, her family showed up later the moment they learned that the crown prince and the twins were devoted to her.
At the time when she was happiest, she remembered that she once had a family—and that, at a very young age, that family had sold her.
Her father had been abusive, and the family she had longed for so desperately was something she couldn’t even bring herself to acknowledge.
One of her younger brothers went to prison for killing someone, another beat people whenever he drank, and even her mother went around committing fraud.
At what should have been the happiest time of her life, the female lead fell into despair because of her family.
And yet, the reason Grandma had cherished her was because of a special power.
The power to heal people.
As soon as that power became known, everyone in the empire began to covet her. Her family appeared only because she had become famous.
Because of her ability to cure any illness, the temple began to protect her, calling her a “Saintess,” and her status rose higher and higher by the day.
“She’ll probably be fine.”
While I was lost in thoughts about her, Dad seemed to have sorted things out as well and gently stroked my hair. Then his gaze shifted to Yeojoo, who was lying across from us.
Melinji was sitting beside her, and Yeojoo was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of anything.
This should be fine. Yes. We had planned to bring her to the marquisate anyway, so whether she became my sister or anything else, it would be even better if we went through the proper adoption process.
In the end, the temple would take her away under the pretext of protection, but until then, at least she’d be able to live like a human being.
“Mmm…”
“Don’t worry, Amanette. In the past, I would have assigned meaning to every one of Mother’s actions and worried over them, but I won’t do that anymore.”
“Really?”
“Yes. There’s too much I need to protect now. If Mother says anything, your dad will handle it all, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you, Dad. If only I hadn’t said I wanted to be friends with her…”
It was obvious that this would cause another conflict with Grandma, so I pressed my nails into my palms and put on a gloomy expression.
“No. On the contrary, thanks to you, Amanette, I learned what was really going on inside that place. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve thought that orphanage director was taking good care of the children. I would’ve kept sending donations, too.”
“Ah…”
“What a despicable person. If a child is sick, of course they should receive treatment—saying something like that… How could they lock children up in a place like that?”
I quickly grabbed Dad’s hand as he fumed.
“Now that we know, it’s fine!”
“That’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yeah!”
At that perfectly timed moment, the carriage slowly began to slow down.
“Looks like we’ve arrived. Let’s hurry and have her examined.”
“I will carry the child.”
“There’s no need. No matter how thin she is, a child is still a child. And carrying someone who’s completely limp is too much for you. Instead, make sure everything is prepared so we can call the physician immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
In the end, Dad carried the child out of the carriage. I trotted along behind him, and Melinji ran off to summon the physician.
Dad headed to the guest room and laid the female lead down on the wide bed. Seeing her properly in the light made her look even more pitiful. Like a winter flower—so fragile it seemed she would melt away at the slightest touch.
Just looking at her was enough to make my heart ache. It wasn’t just because of her matted hair or her dirt-streaked face from not being washed.
A feeling different from when I first saw the twins washed over me.
“She’s thin.”
“Yeah. She looks about the same age as me, but she’s really skinny. And she sleeps really deeply…”
You’d think she’d stir at least a little during the move, but the child slept quietly, breathing softly.
Then, in a rush, someone burst into the room.
“Who is the one who’s ill?”
The physician hurried inside, now seeming a bit cautious around Dad.
“It’s this child.”
Apparently assuming that either Dad or I was sick, the physician alternated his gaze between us before finally looking toward the bed.
“An outsider? I’m sorry, but I do not treat outsiders, Your Excellency. This is clearly stated in the contract.”
Seizing the opportunity, the physician hurriedly tried to reprimand him, as if Dad were asking something unreasonable.
Perhaps he thought his own situation had worsened recently because of Dad; his attitude was extremely sharp.
“She’s not an outsider.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“She’s a child I’ve adopted. That makes her my daughter. Examine her.”
“Ah—no, that is…”
“Why? This should be specified in the contract, shouldn’t it?”
The physician let out a small sigh and slowly opened his medical bag.
“V-very well. However, Your Excellency, after treating this child, I will have to report to the former Marchioness.”
“I know. I plan to go see Mother together with you.”
“Ah.”
Though he muttered as if he truly didn’t want to treat someone he considered an outsider, Dad was firmer than ever.
In the end, with a deep sigh, the physician carefully examined the child. Once he seemed to steel himself, he actually conducted a thorough examination.
“Hm…”
“How is she? According to the person who had her, she apparently has some kind of unknown illness.”
“No. She’s healthy.”
“Huh?”
Both Dad and I were stunned by his decisive answer.
“Of course, she’s not healthy in the way an average person is, but considering how thin she is, she’s strangely healthy. There’s not a single place where she’s hurt or ill. She’s simply sleeping right now.”
“She’s healthy? Not even frail?”
“Yes. She’s extremely healthy. It’s strange. If she were this thin, there should be problems somewhere, but she’s healthy to an unusual degree.”
Hearing the physician’s words, I couldn’t help but let out a small gasp of realization.
