Chapter 14

Just moments ago, he’d been trying to probe me for information.

Now he looked deeply shocked.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure it was something worth being that shocked over, but whatever.

Just as families come in many forms, people have all kinds of personalities too.

‘Anyway, I’m glad the plan worked.’

Operation Shake Bertolt’s Mental State for Information Gathering.

Complete success!

I took a huge bite of tart and grinned.

Maybe it was because I’d eaten something sweet, but my brain felt like it was working better than usual.

‘But if I were satisfied with just this, I wouldn’t be Mom and Dad’s daughter.’

Should I dig a little deeper?

“So, were you and Daddy really close?”

After swallowing my food completely, I spoke again.

At that, Bertolt, who had been frowning, seemed to snap back to his senses and let out a small exclamation.

“Ah, of course. Naturally.”

“How close?”

“When Harzen was here, I was always the one supporting him. He trusted and relied on me at all times.”

As if reminiscing about pleasant memories, he continued with a small smile.

“You could say Harzen’s entire childhood was built around me.”

And that’s something you’re proud of?

Looking at his pleased expression, I pursed my lips.

Maybe that’s why he’s a hidden mastermind.

He’s not right in the head!

“Back then.”

At that moment, the Emperor, who had silently listened to our conversation, suddenly spoke.

“Was he doing well there?”

“Daddy…?”

I dragged out the word and stared at the Emperor.

His expression was still stern and intimidating.

But if I looked closely, it somehow felt like I could sense concern for his son.

“Of course!”

I answered energetically to reassure him.

“Daddy always says he’s happier now than he’s ever been in his whole life!”

That wasn’t a lie.

He says it every night before bed.

“I see.”

At my words, a faint smile like a sigh appeared on the Emperor’s face.

And right at that moment.

Ding!

That ominous sound rang through my ears.

The instant I checked the scroll, I glared at Bertolt.

Ah, why?!

Why did it suddenly drop to ten minutes?

Not ten hours.

Ten minutes?

‘Why?’

…Though there was really only one answer.

Daddy Kyle had never made a teleportation device, so it couldn’t be because the dads had teleported.

More importantly…

‘It says a key character’s emotions changed!’

A key character!

Bertolt’s emotions!

Enough that the estimated waiting time dropped to ten minutes!

Without taking my eyes off Bertolt, I desperately thought things through.

This definitely happened because of the conversation between me and the Emperor.

But what exactly in that conversation had upset him?

The Emperor asked whether Harzen was doing well.

‘And I said Daddy is happier than he’s ever been.’

Then the progress reset.

And if I combined that with what I’d figured out about Bertolt’s personality…

Yeah, the answer was obvious.

He hates the idea of Daddy Harzen being happy.

Though that only made it harder to understand why he’d treated Daddy so well in the first place…

‘Let’s not try to understand a villain’s mind.’

At least not right now.

“Um, but…”

The moment I finished thinking, I immediately spoke.

Forget Operation Shake Bertolt’s Mental State.

I needed damage control first!

“I sometimes think Daddy might be lying.”

I glanced at Bertolt and started rambling.

“He isn’t really that close with the other dads, so he mostly stays home reading books.”

“…”

“Our house is far away from the village, so it takes forever to get to the market. And…”

I paused and rolled my eyes.

‘This isn’t it!’

Get it together, Cecilia!

There’s no way something this trivial will change Bertolt’s mind!

Use your brain, use your brain.

Use all that sugar you just ate and come up with the best idea possible!

“Ah.”

At that moment, inspiration struck.

“I don’t think I’ve ever really seen Daddy laugh from the bottom of his heart.”

Harzen smiled more than any of my other dads.

He’d even smiled when the imperial palace knights arrived, despite probably hating them the most.

But I knew the truth.

Most of those smiles were fake.

They were merely a habit born from years of wearing a mask.

‘Of course, when he says he’s happier than ever, that part isn’t a lie.’

He’d given up the imperial family’s surname to gain this life.

Naturally he’d be happier than before.

But the Daddy Harzen I remembered always wore a picture-perfect smile.

“Gasp. Is he really unhappy?”

I blurted out the words in genuine shock.

At the same time, Bertolt’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Soon, with another ding, the contents of the scroll returned to what they had been before.

Phew, thank goodness.

It changed back to roughly when Daddy and Mom would arrive.

I guess my shocked reaction looked genuine enough that he’d changed his mind.

Which made sense.

I really was shocked.

“To think that even after leaving the imperial palace, he still hasn’t found happiness…”

Bertolt slowly shook his head.

His voice sounded sincerely sympathetic at first glance.

“How truly unfortunate, wouldn’t you agree?”

But I could see the faint emotion hidden in his eyes.

A tiny flicker of delight.

So faint that nobody would notice unless they watched every expression and movement closely.

I automatically frowned.

‘Daddy Harzen is way too pitiful.’

To think he’d relied on someone like that all those years while living in the imperial palace.

That’s just cruel!

Part of me wanted to snap back at him immediately.

‘But not now.’

What if I stirred things up again and the waiting time dropped to ten seconds?

After making my decision, I took a long deep breath.

Think about Mom and Daddy Harzen somewhere else in the imperial palace.

That’s how I’ll endure this.

“…That foolish boy.”

As I breathed in and out repeatedly, the Emperor suddenly spoke in a displeased tone.

Judging by the atmosphere, he seemed to be talking about Daddy Harzen rather than Bertolt.

Still…

‘Is he worried about him?’

Unlike Bertolt, there wasn’t even the slightest trace of joy in the Emperor’s blue eyes.

More importantly, I knew that look very well.

It was exactly the same look my dads gave me whenever I cried after causing trouble.

“Grandpa.”

I stared at him and spoke.

“Are you not close with my daddy?”

“…”

“Why not?”

Take this!

The pure, innocent, and absolutely brutal question attack of a child!

“I’m super close with my dads.”

I delivered the finishing blow and popped a cookie into my mouth.

Bertolt had calmed down now, so it was time to move on to the next target.

After all, the reason I’d stayed behind in the first place was to figure out why the Emperor and Daddy had fallen out.

“…You’re quite bold for a child.”

The Emperor muttered in disbelief.

If this were earlier, I would’ve been too scared to ask.

But not anymore.

‘He’s way less scary than I expected.’

An angry Mom is scarier.

I deliberately widened my eyes and waited for his answer.

Only after a long silence did the Emperor finally speak again.

“Who knows. Even I no longer know where things first went wrong.”

“…”

“Too much time has passed to argue about who was right and who was wrong.”

The moment I heard that, I immediately answered.

“That’s cowardly.”