Chapter 45
“But will it be all right?”
“Huh?”
“If we go, you might get a little tired.”
“Yeah! It’s fine! Dad will be there. And I think I’ll be able to tell them directly about the friend I brought. I was the one who found them first!”
“That’s reassuring.”
Dad scooped me up in one swift motion.
“Don’t worry! I’ll protect you, Dad!”
“All right. Suddenly, I feel much more at ease. It feels like I can overcome anything.”
I smiled even brighter at Dad, who was smiling a little, as if he were happy.
I didn’t know what would happen going forward, but I resolved to make an effort too.
Just like that, Dad headed toward the main house with me in his arms.
As expected, there was an orphanage carriage parked squarely in front of the main house.
It wasn’t flashy, as befit an orphanage carriage, but there was an emblem engraved on the front.
‘They really came. I guess the director must have been in quite a hurry.’
Because of the sudden appearance of guests, the main house was in quite a bustle.
Everyone moving about hurriedly made it obvious that someone important had come to visit.
“Where is Mother?”
“I will guide you.”
As soon as we arrived at the main house, a servant who seemed to have been waiting led us inside with a rather grave expression.
Seeing this, one would doubt who the master of this family really was. Dad was clearly a marquis, yet no one here regarded him as one.
They were only watching Grandmother’s mood.
‘There’s no one bowing their head to Dad.’
A scarecrow. That word fit him perfectly. They just gave perfunctory greetings, bobbing their heads slightly.
‘I don’t like a single one of these people.’
All of this happened because Grandmother’s power was far too strong.
“Dad.”
“Hm?”
“Why does everyone here ignore you?”
I deliberately raised my voice. Dad, apparently not expecting it, only tilted his head in confusion.
“Huh?”
“That’s right. Aren’t you a marquis, Dad?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why is there not a single person who bows their head to greet you?”
As if sensing that something was wrong, the expressions of those around us darkened in an instant.
“D-Did it look that way?”
“Yeah! It feels like you’re being ignored, Dad! And it makes me feel like I’m being ignored too!”
Like an innocent child, I blurted out exactly what I felt.
‘Now it’s time to make them choose.’
It was time to make the servants clearly decide which side they were on.
Before Dad’s power grew stronger, we needed to find the people who would truly become Dad’s people.
Even if I had already lived this life once in the past, I couldn’t possibly know who stood on which side. There were well over a hundred servants working for this family.
I might remember a few of those who did something especially notable, but I wasn’t that much of a genius.
‘Isn’t it supposed to be that when you possess someone, you remember everything perfectly with amazing memory?!’
Of course, I had spent my days just playing around and enjoying this life, not paying much attention to what was happening around me.
‘Who lives their life remembering everything while expecting they’re going to die anyway?!’
Still, it was true that I had lived like a complete delinquent.
In any case, since I had lived the past in such a mess, I needed to change the present even more boldly. So I exaggerated further and spoke in an even louder voice.
“Hmph.”
Some of the servants showed clear discomfort at my words, while others, as if coming to their senses, hurriedly bowed their heads.
Watching those reactions, Dad’s expression gradually changed as well, as if something had shifted in his heart.
After looking around for a long while, Dad finally spoke.
“You’re better at this than I am, Amanet.”
“That’s because you’re too kind, Dad. That’s the problem.”
“I thought that as long as things stayed peaceful, that was enough. But now I see it. I never imagined that because of my complacency, you would be looked down on as well. I really was a fool who could only think one step ahead.”
That was why people liked Dad.
‘But being kind is useless. It just makes you easy to take advantage of.’
“That’s right! Dad, I hate being looked down on.”
“I’ll change this place so you never have to feel that way.”
“Okay!”
Those who openly showed discomfort quickly left the area.
I memorized each of them with my eyes. Roughly speaking, I could tell: those people would oppose Dad, they were completely on Grandmother’s side, and they didn’t care in the slightest about the marquis—my father.
In the meantime, we arrived in front of Grandmother’s room. But the atmosphere inside was quite different from what I had expected.
Grandmother and the director were chatting and laughing together, as if having the time of their lives.
“Let’s go in.”
Even after hearing that, Dad showed no change in expression.
The door opened, and we entered the room. The moment we did, Grandmother’s face, which had been filled with joy just moments ago, stiffened instantly.
Perhaps because she hadn’t fully recovered from the previous incident, Grandmother looked somewhat tired, and as soon as Dad arrived, her expression hardened.
“You’ve come.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“You know why I called you this time, don’t you?”
There was no invitation to sit, nor an offer of tea.
Grandmother simply wore an uncomfortable expression.
“Yes.”
“Because of what you did, the orphanage director came to me saying he was in a very difficult position.”
“I believe I informed you about this matter beforehand, Mother.”
When Dad—who normally would have prostrated himself—straightened his shoulders and spoke confidently instead, Grandmother let out a deep groan.
“Hm. Yes, you did tell me beforehand. But now that I look at it, it doesn’t seem to be quite as you said.”
“So you think I lied. It seems you trust that person’s words more than mine, Mother.”
“Well.”
The fact that Grandmother didn’t deny it outright was clearly different from the past.
In the past, Grandmother hadn’t been this openly hostile toward Dad. She had doted on him like a well-behaved puppy. But the Grandmother of now was entirely different.
‘Since everything has been sped up, has the time when Grandmother starts to dislike Dad also come sooner?’
In the meantime, Dad set me down and looked at the orphanage director.
“So what are you trying to say? You clearly said the child would be adopted.”
Only then did the director bow his head politely and raise it again.
“It has been a while since we last met.”
“Yes.”
“Normally, it would be right for me to express my gratitude and proceed with the adoption, but that child cannot be adopted.”
“That again.”
Dad’s face, hardened like never before.
“What exactly is it that can’t be done?”
“As I mentioned before, that child is different from ordinary children.”
“He did seem different. It looked like he was being abused.”
“That’s not true!”
“Then why was that child left alone in a room like that? Alone, in a room where not even sunlight reaches, with no one else?”
Unlike last time, the director was nothing but confident.
“I did inform the former marchioness first, but that child is truly ill. Sunlight is not good for him, and for the health of both the other children and that child, he was merely kept in isolation.”
“He’s ill?”
“Yes. I have brought documents regarding that.”
As if he had been waiting for this moment, the director picked up the documents on the table and handed them to Dad.
Grandmother seemed to have already read them, as the papers had been oriented toward her.
“These are documents stating that the child’s health is compromised and that isolation from other children is necessary.”
Dad picked up the documents without any change in expression and calmly examined the pages.
“I see. The child’s health is poor, and isolation is necessary because of it. It says this is absolutely necessary for both the isolated child and the other children. Exactly as you said, without a single word being different.”
“Yes! That’s correct.”
“And according to the documents, these were written a year ago?”
“Yes!”
“For papers that are a year old, they’re remarkably stiff—almost like they were made recently.”
At that moment, the director’s complexion stiffened.
“T-That’s because they were preserved well.”
“No matter how well they’re preserved, it wouldn’t be easy to keep paper in this condition. I’d like to learn that preservation method someday.”
As Dad spoke with the corners of his mouth raised, Grandmother cut in.
“Is that really what’s important right now?”
“I was simply curious. I’m allowed to be curious in my own way.”
“Indeed. Very well. I will explain about the paper later. In any case, that child is not suitable to be sent for adoption.”
“Because of the child’s health?”
“Yes. That is the biggest reason. I’m only worried that the child’s illness might spread and make others sick. As someone responsible for protecting children, that is my only concern.”
At the height of his hypocrisy, Grandmother nodded as if she agreed, but Dad merely snorted.
“If you care so much about the child’s health, why is there no record of any recent medical examinations?”
“That is….”
“Well. You’ll probably come up with some excuse for that too.”
“An excuse? I’m only telling the truth.”
The director looked toward Grandmother, as if asking for help.
“Logically speaking, why would a director lie? I don’t understand why you’re being so negative. I did think you’d been acting strange lately, but….”
Grandmother’s gaze shifted to me, as if implying that I was the cause.
“I think you should objectively consider whether I’m the strange one, or whether that director is. Mother. I have brought evidence regarding this.”
