~Chapter 34~
Suddenly, her legs lifted into the air, and her neck tightened.
Someone had grabbed the back of her neck and lifted her up.
“Where do you think you’re going! You think Father has so much free time—”
“Let go.”
“What?”
Esther turned her head, her face dark.
“Without my permission, don’t touch my body.”
For a moment, Nigel could have sworn her pupils narrowed vertically like a slit.
“Let go.”
The golden eyes shone fiercely, and without meaning to, Nigel flinched and let go.
She fell suddenly and rolled on the floor once before she could balance herself.
“What are you…”
Nigel looked at his hand in shock, then back at Esther.
The small child, far tinier than most her age, didn’t cry. She calmly got up and brushed the dust off her clothes.
Her face looked just as innocent as before, as if nothing had happened.
“Niece! Are you okay?”
“Mm, I’m fine.”
Esther looked up again.
“Uncle Old-Man.”
Nigel hesitated at the child’s bright smile, then clenched his fist and shouted.
“…It’s Nigel, not Old-Man!”
“Okay, but be careful on the road today. I think your fortune looks bad.”
“What?”
“My gut says so. Bad vibes.”
She shook her head slowly. Nigel frowned, startled, but she had already turned away.
“If your luck turns bad, come to me! I’ll make you a charm! Cheap!”
Esther waved with a sly grin. Nigel snorted, feeling strangely unsettled, and turned away.
Of course, just a few days later…
Nigel would have no choice but to come find her.
“Hmm~ A curse for bad luck… one that makes you say your thoughts out loud… maybe some nightmares too…”
Esther was walking while drawing formulas in the air, picking curses that wouldn’t kill but would be enough to annoy someone.
If she wanted to kill, she could—but in the past, she would’ve leaned that way without hesitation.
‘But this place…’
Using magic always left traces.
Especially here—this was a holy empire, and the Egbert family was one of the houses most blessed by the gods.
If she got caught, she could end up in a place where she couldn’t use magic, interrogated and tortured by inquisitors.
This frail body wouldn’t last long.
“Huh?”
Lost in thought, she tripped over a rock.
Her head tilted forward first.
“Ah!”
Thud—
Her body, about to crash face-first to the ground, was suddenly caught firmly. She was lifted lightly into the air, and her eyes widened.
“If you don’t watch where you’re going, things like this happen.”
“…Father?”
It was Kaelos Egbert.
“Where are you going alone? Where are your servants?”
“They went to do their work.”
He adjusted his hold on her. Esther glanced at him carefully.
‘He didn’t hear me muttering about curses, did he?’
From his expression, it didn’t seem so.
“Then you should be going back to your room.”
“I was going there.”
“…You were walking with your eyes in the air, completely unaware of where you were. This is outside the mansion.”
“Mm, I know.”
Of course she knew—she walked out here herself. Kaelos froze.
“Don’t tell me you’ve been staying outside?”
“I’m settled in the annex.”
“Annex…?”
His face immediately darkened.
“The one that’s collapsed into a dusty ruin?”
“…”
“Covered in vines like something out of a horror story, and you’re staying there?”
He wasn’t wrong, but… why did it feel insulting?
“…Unbelievable. Did she throw you out there?”
“No, I moved out. The person you sent to decorate my room needed time, so I had nowhere to stay.”
She blinked as she spoke, and Kaelos stopped.
“…You could have just asked for another room.”
“Who would I ask? Everyone hates me.”
His eyes widened. Was that really something a five-year-old should be saying?
“Why would everyone…”
He started to offer some shallow comfort, but his own words died in his throat.
‘You knew this would happen.’
And yet, he had left her to it—left her so she would detach from the family, from this house, from him.
By all appearances, it worked.
The child didn’t cling, didn’t demand, didn’t chase after him anymore.
She handled things on her own, knew her place, and kept her distance—just as he had wanted.
Then why…
“And this isn’t something you need to worry about, Father.”
Every word felt like it stabbed him. His own contradictions churned in his chest.
“From the start, if you couldn’t take responsibility to the end, you shouldn’t have begun. Being a parent isn’t easy. Standing by someone despite opposition—do you think that’s easy?”
“I’ll think about it and decide.”
“…You think chances come back just because you want to start again? Do you think timing always waits for you? Did your woman never stop you? Did the child never reach out to you?”
“…”
“Not even considering that it might already be too late—that’s arrogance. That opportunity you’re imagining might already be gone.”
Mari Egbert’s words came to Kaelos suddenly, bringing a strange sense of dread.
He realized now she had been completely right—he understood what she had meant.
There might be no opportunity left.
The thought weighed on him for the first time.
‘Why am I meeting so many people today?’
While Kaelos was silent, Esther sighed inwardly.
She was exhausted.
Sure, the limited-edition candy was nice, but mentally… she was a bit tired.
‘I just want to eat, then sleep.’
In this child’s body, her sleepiness had become overwhelming.
“Put me down. I’m going.”
“…You might fall again, I’ll take you.”
“Huh? Why, Father?”
“…Who knows.”
He closed his mouth and walked silently.
Whatever.
Too lazy to argue, Esther leaned her cheek on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
“…Do you dislike me?”
Through the haze of sleep, his low voice reached her.
Why was he talking to her now, when she was almost asleep?
“No…”
“…”
He was just about to speak again—
“I don’t dislike or like you… Those are feelings, and I don’t have any for you, Father.”
“…What?”
“It means I wouldn’t be sad if you died.”
Honestly, he was already a stranger.
She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Kaelos stopped dead in his tracks, stunned.
“…I see.”
“Mm.”
The annex was now in sight. From a distance, Denver seemed to notice her presence—his energy was moving toward her.
‘He’s sensitive.’
Normally, in a master–servant contract, the master could sense the servant’s location, but not the other way around—unless the servant was extremely perceptive.
And Denver always seemed to sense her.
As he drew closer, Esther lifted her head.
“My subordinate’s here, so I’ll go now, Father.”
“Subordinate…?”
“Young Miss, I was just about to go looking for you since you were late.”
“Mm, I’m sleepy.”
“I’ll take you straight to your bedroom.”
Looking more lively, Denver strode up to Kaelos with a smile.
“…Who are you?”
“I’m Denver, recently hired by the Young Miss.”
“…You don’t seem like an ordinary servant.”
Sensing something unusual about him, Kaelos’s voice lowered.
“I’m also her guard. The Young Miss doesn’t have enough people around her.”
Still smiling, Denver held out his arms toward Kaelos.
“I don’t know who you are, but since you look tired, please return the Young Miss to me.”
“…You work for this house and yet don’t know who I am?”
“You must be mistaken. I’m not hired by the family—I work directly for the Young Miss. She pays my salary. Right, Young Miss?”
“Mm. Father, you can go now. I’m going in.”
“You hired someone without permission?”
“Yep. My choice.”
Esther held out her arms, and Denver, making sure Kaelos could see, took her into them.
Her face relaxed a little as she closed her eyes.
“If you’re tired, sleep, Young Miss.”
Denver smiled at Kaelos as he said it.
“Mm.”
“Then, I wish the Young Miss’s father a safe return.”
“Why didn’t you just ask for another room instead of staying in the annex?”
Denver asked as he patted Esther’s back gently.
“She said everyone hates her, and if she’s disliked more, life here will be harder. Seems she understands that.”
Kaelos couldn’t respond.
Everything was his fault.
His sins had pressed on the child so painfully—and now they were pressing on him.
“Then please, take care on your way back.”
Denver started walking away the way he’d come.
The child slept peacefully, as if nothing had happened.
