Chapter 51
Before another character appears, before something else changes again.
“Would that be okay?”
My flustered father hurriedly met my eyes.
“Yes! Why wouldn’t it be? We’re all family now!”
“But still… I don’t know if it’ll really be alright. Ellie is… no, Eliza is—”
My father, who had been about to gently use the heroine’s nickname, hurriedly waved his hand.
“Anyway, that child seems to be in a rather unstable state.”
“That’s exactly why she should meet people. It’s better than just staying still like that. And who knows? Maybe the three of them will get really close.”
By fate, things would somehow work out for them.
If I dealt with that side first, it felt like my heart would finally be at ease. The things Callisto and Bernhardt had done last time still bothered me, though.
‘It’s not like the two of them have anything to do with me anyway.’
It’s not as if they’d actually try to slice me up just for that much. They might be feeling a bit resentful right now, but we have plenty of time ahead of us.
‘They wouldn’t kill me… right.’
As various thoughts ran through my head, I forced a smile to hide my expression.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
My father, still worried, slowly nodded at my words.
“Yes. I suppose I’m worrying over nothing.”
“Yeah, Dad. Everything will work out.”
“Alright.”
“Take me to Ellie!”
Perhaps deciding there was no point in stopping me anymore, my father left things as they were and slowly started walking with me.
For some reason, today my father’s red eyes looked even redder than usual. Seeing them, something suddenly occurred to me.
‘It feels like there’s something I’m forgetting…’
In the past, I didn’t really need to pay attention to politics. I didn’t have to concern myself with it. I just lived each day faithfully as it was given to me.
I was so busy eating and playing every day that I can’t recall much clearly. Still, I feel like I’m missing something important.
‘That girl they brought from Grandma’s natal family… She definitely caught the Emperor’s eye and received a lot of Grandma’s affection. But how did she catch the Emperor’s attention in the first place?’
It happened a little later, but I remember that Grandma, who hadn’t been on good terms with the Emperor, became somewhat closer to him through that girl.
Yet no matter how much I think about it, I can’t remember the reason.
‘There must’ve been something special. What on earth was it?’
“Our daughter. What could you be thinking about to look so serious?”
“Ah, no…”
“You look like you have a lot on your mind.”
“I guess I do.”
Even though I knew that telling my father my worries wouldn’t really solve anything, a bit of petulance slipped out without me realizing it.
“I was just… curious about His Majesty the Emperor.”
“You’re curious about what kind of person His Majesty the Emperor is? Then shall we go meet him?”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know why our daughter is worrying about His Majesty this much, but if you’re that curious, wouldn’t it be better to meet him once?”
At my father’s suggestion, I found myself nodding naturally.
“Is that really okay?”
“Of course. I was planning to go see His Majesty anyway.”
“Wouldn’t it be awkward if you took me along?”
“Still. If I inform him beforehand, he won’t refuse. So don’t worry.”
I felt a vague confidence that once I met him, I’d surely learn something.
“Okay! Sounds good!”
Lately, I’d been wondering if I was a useless person, since aside from supporting my father, being kind to the twins, and bringing the heroine here, it felt like I hadn’t accomplished anything.
But I have to live. To save everyone.
Meanwhile, my father set me down in front of Ellie’s room.
“I think it’d be better if Dad doesn’t go in.”
“Hm?”
“She seems to really dislike me.”
“It’s probably just because it’s your first meeting. With time, she’ll surely realize what a good person your father is—someone she doesn’t need to be wary of.”
“Thank you, at least, for saying that.”
After setting me down, my father smiled very faintly and patted my head.
“You can go by yourself from here, right?”
“Yeah! Don’t worry! This is all my house—what’s there to worry about?”
“Alright. Then I’ll be off. I’ll come back around dinnertime.”
As if he had urgent business, my father said goodbye more quickly than usual and left.
As I quietly watched him go, I turned my gaze to Melinge, who was sticking close behind me.
“Melinge.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Take the snacks to my brothers’ room.”
“You’re going there to eat?”
“Yeah! Why, is that bad?”
“No. It’s just that you haven’t been going there recently, so I thought I’d ask. I’ll have them prepared right away.”
“By the way, hasn’t a nanny been chosen for my brothers yet?”
“Ah, it seems they’ve been looking for suitable candidates recently. By tomorrow, many people will probably come in for interviews.”
“Good.”
“But my lady, you’re a bit strange.”
She casually said something that an ordinary maid would never say to the person she serves.
“Huh? Strange how?”
But since Melinge had often been like this, I looked at her without much reaction.
“You’re looking for their nanny first instead of yours.”
“Oh. Well, I have you, Melinge, and plenty of people who look out for me. Alright, I’m going in!”
Before Melinge could ask another question, I hurried inside.
“You came? You really came?”
Perhaps she’d already heard the sounds outside, because the moment I opened the door, the heroine was crouched in front of me like a puppy.
“Uh… I came. But why are you like this?”
“I can’t stand it when I hear Savior-nim’s voice!”
“I told you I’m not a savior.”
“Do you not like being called that?”
“Yeah.”
It felt like I’d given a puppy food only to snatch it away, but I firmly nodded.
“Ah…”
“Just call me Amanet.”
“Amanet… nim.”
“Not ‘nim.’ Just Amanet! That way I can call you comfortably too.”
“You’ll call me comfortably?”
“Yeah! We’re family!”
For a brief moment, the heroine’s eyes froze.
“We’re… really becoming family? Is it really okay if I don’t go back?”
“Yeah. You can stay here, eat whatever you want, and do whatever you want.”
“But… is it really okay?”
“It is. Come on. There are people we’re going to meet today.”
“But… I want to stay with you, Amanet-nim—no, Amanet…”
I held out my hand to her.
“No. I’m busy. So let’s go quickly.”
“Ah…”
“I know you’re afraid of people, and I know meeting others scares you. You were trapped there for a long time.”
I stroked her head as she sat there, hesitating over whether to take my hand.
“What I’m doing might feel like forcing you and making things hard for you. But if you don’t take even one step forward, you’ll always stay right here.”
“……”
“So let’s try to be brave, just a little. You’re afraid of adults, right? Even if you call me a savior or whatever, the reason you could look at me is because children aren’t scary to you—but adults are.”
Like a puppy soaked through by rain, the heroine slowly nodded.
“So let’s go. They’re people with a lot of scars too… You’ll be able to get along.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry. I promise. You’ll definitely be able to get along. Being together will have an even more positive effect.”
Only then did the heroine seem to soften a little as she looked at me.
Every time I see her, I can’t just leave her alone. I don’t know if this is some kind of heroine buff, but my heart keeps wavering. Even when I try to be harsh, I end up being less so.
“So, don’t just stand there—let’s go.”
“Mm…”
At last, the heroine slowly stood up and took my hand.
“Then let’s go.”
Her expression was still anxious, but she seemed less worried than before as she stuck close to my side.
As soon as we stepped outside, she rolled her big eyes around, looking exactly like a rabbit.
Overflowing with a protective instinct.
Maybe because of that, I kept pulling her closer to me, all the way until we reached my brothers’ room.
“Let’s go straight in.”
“Is it… really okay?”
All the way there, she’d been trembling, clinging tightly to my side as if the maids and attendants scared her. Now she peeked her head out.
“Yeah. It’s fine. If it really doesn’t feel right, we can just come out.”
Though that would never happen.
Grinning, I stepped inside through the door the attendants opened.
“I’m here!”
Just like before—just as if nothing had happened last time—I greeted them brightly.
As expected, Bernhardt spat out words at me in a sharp voice.
“What brings you here? I thought you wouldn’t come.”
“I was a bit busy!”
“Busy?”
“Yeah.”
Normally, Callisto would’ve come up to speak to me first, but perhaps because of what happened last time, he didn’t even spare me a glance.
Deliberately ignoring him, I gently pulled the heroine beside me a little forward.
“I came to introduce a friend today.”
“You didn’t have to bring someone.”
“I’ll come without doing that next time.”
“Really? You’ll come again?”
It seemed his anger had already faded, because Bernhardt’s face brightened a little.
“Alright, look here. This cute and lovely child is Eliza. Her nickname is Ellie.”
Apparently displeased that I’d come with someone, Bernhardt frowned again—but when he faced the heroine, his expression quickly began to change.
“Ah…”
