Chapter 05
“Second Prince?”
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
Why is he here?
And at this hour of dawn, no less.
For the servants’ quarters, this was the start of the day—but for royalty like Xabier, it was far too early.
What is that pitiful expression, as if he lost something precious?
Xabier stormed in wearing sleepwear—his robe half undone.
Good grief, Your Highness. Have you thrown all dignity away?
“Who here is Annabella!”
Those unbelievable words came out of his mouth.
I wondered if I had heard wrong, but the people around me, as if possessed, slowly pointed at me.
I had even forgotten I was crying and just stared at him blankly.
“You are Annabella?”
“Yes… I am.”
I could only answer dazedly.
“You are my daughter!”
“…What?”
“I am your father!”
I am your father?
Xabier stared straight at my face. His voice sounded emotional, but his eyes were sharp—piercing through me like blades.
“You’ve been here all this time…”
What is this man…?
How does he even know I’m his daughter? And how does he know my name?
In the original story, the false testimony Annabella gave against Xabier was that she was his hidden daughter.
And that wasn’t all.
She also claimed Xabier used his power as prince to harm her mother.
She said she was secretly raised in disguise as a maid to hide her identity, and that “uncle” Declen took her in out of pity.
Because of that, Xabier’s reputation completely collapsed.
But all of it was false testimony.
Xabier had no idea that the lover he once deeply adored had given birth to a child—and even less idea that the child was growing up right beside him.
He probably didn’t even know that the strawberries he ate yesterday were picked by his own daughter.
“This little one… here all this time…”
Yes. He was not supposed to know.
Not until the end.
And yet now, Xabier was kneeling in front of me, calling me his daughter, holding me tightly in his long arms.
The surroundings had gone completely silent.
Leaning against the solid chest of the man holding me, I blinked and slowly steadied my breathing.
No. This is impossible.
In the original story, Xabier only learns of his daughter’s existence when Annabella gives her false testimony at age eleven.
That means this shouldn’t happen for another three years.
And he even knows my name? How?
“How do you know my name…?”
“Of course it’s Annabella. I once said that if I had a daughter, I wanted to name her Anna, and she wanted Bella. We fought—no, we argued fiercely—and the compromise ended up being Annabella.”
As he spoke, Xabier gently touched my shoulder, explaining the origin of my name.
I had never heard this story before, and for some reason my chest felt strangely ticklish.
There was even something like lingering affection in his eyes as he spoke.
“Ah… uh… yes?”
I didn’t know how to respond.
Should I cry and call him father too?
I wish I had a script so I could at least act properly.
But how did he even find out I was his daughter?
Did my mother change her mind and tell him?
At that thought, I felt a strange sense of hope.
It wasn’t how the original story went, but maybe I had become a variable.
Maybe my childhood wish had finally been understood by my mother.
But the moment I met Xabier’s eyes, that hope stopped.
His gaze had a strange heaviness to it. His well-shaped lips curved slightly, and a short laugh escaped—so quiet only I could hear it.
It felt like he was mocking me, and a chill ran down my spine.
“In a dream,” he said.
I swallowed.
“A woman appeared. She told me that if I went to the servants’ annex, I would find the fruit I love shivering in the cold, and I should bring it back in a basket.”
The earlier mocking expression now looked like it had been my imagination. His eyes were warm again.
I listened blankly, then frowned slightly.
What kind of dream is that? The fruit you love is strawberries.
Whoever that woman was, wasn’t she basically telling him to pick his own damn strawberries?
Maybe that strange smile earlier wasn’t mockery of me—but self-mockery for believing such a dream.
“When I woke up, I thought about it for a long time. The woman in the dream felt strangely familiar. Then I realized—it was Lady Maia, the goddess of love and family. I believe her revelation must be about me and her child.”
“Oh…”
I nodded as if I understood, but I understood nothing.
I had never even heard of a goddess named Maia.
So there really was a god of love and family.
In the Etharinta Empire, belief in dragon power was strong, so religious faith was relatively weak.
Many gods had faded from people’s memory.
Though the empire bordered the Holy Kingdom, that land was now more of a tourist site than a sacred place.
So this is about a “divine revelation,” huh?
Even though they didn’t really believe in gods, the idea of divine revelation still carried strong influence.
Legends of a saint receiving revelation and guiding the hero who defeated the dragon were still widely known.
Even though no one even properly remembered the saint’s name anymore.
As soon as Xabier mentioned “revelation,” the people around us changed in attitude.
A divine revelation?
Even I wasn’t sure.
How did he even know the name of this goddess Maia…?
“I never forgot her, Mago. When she left me, I was angry, yes—but I believed there must have been a reason. She must have been afraid because of you. I hated myself for not giving her enough trust.”
“I see…”
“How much must she have hated me? You may resent me too. But I truly loved your mother. And you are the proof of that love. If I had known you existed, I would never have let Mago go, and I would have cherished you more than anyone.”
“Yes… I believe you…”
Is this… a sermon?
Is His Highness preaching to me right now, using the words of that goddess Maia?
Despite my confused reaction, his eyes remained wet and glistening, as if he would cry if I touched him.
His deep-set eyes only added to his sorrowful aura.
Frankly, his face was more convincing than his words.
“It may be late, but I want to keep you by my side now. I want to become a big tree that shelters you from all the pain and hardship you’ve suffered. Can you give me that chance? If you want to leave like your mother did, I will accept that too… but if you can give this unworthy father a chance…”
A soft sob was heard behind me.
But the person being held in his arms—me—only felt like I was watching a stage play.
A very melodramatic tragedy.
How strange.
I’m sorry, but none of this overwhelming paternal love was reaching me at all.
