Chapter 16

At Bertolt’s words, Mom slowly nodded once more.

“The one fortunate thing is that I have the ability to heal Her Majesty the Empress.”

“…”

“It’s something only I can do.”

Her distinctive purple eyes shone as clearly as glass marbles.

Relief and happiness that she could save her.

Worry born from the existence of a mastermind behind all this.

And…

‘Mom is really angry.’

I’ve never even seen Mom this angry when I caused huge trouble.

I reflexively trembled.

Too scary.

“However, I think it will take quite a bit of time to completely heal Her Majesty.”

Even so, Mom continued explaining in a calm and gentle voice.

“Her Majesty’s stamina has already been severely depleted. If I recklessly purify the demonic energy all at once, it would put tremendous strain on her body. I need to gradually heal her by purifying portions of the demonic energy while slowly allowing the remnants to disperse.”

“Since you’ve already found a solution, time is no longer an issue.”

Wearing a smile similar to Harzen’s, Bertolt spoke.

“I shall personally relay everything you’ve told me to His Majesty. I believe that would be best for my younger brother as well.”

At first glance, it sounded like he was being considerate of Daddy Harzen.

‘No!’

Who knows what that man might tell the Emperor!

Since Bertolt was a villain, he was more than suspicious enough to be considered a suspect in this demonic energy injection incident.

Which meant there was no telling how he might twist the story in the middle!

“Then I’ll-”

Just as I hurriedly tried to speak.

“No.”

Mom shook her head and refused before I could.

“I think it would be better if I tell His Majesty personally. He’ll feel much more at ease that way.”

Mm-hmm.

My mom really is smart.

In that case, once again…

“Then I’ll-”

“Cece.”

But once again, my words were mercilessly cut off.

And not by Mom or Bertolt this time.

By Daddy Harzen.

“It seems you and I still have something to discuss.”

I swallowed hard and couldn’t continue.

What?

This is strange.

I feel like I’ve experienced this exact situation recently…

* * *

And so, the room was left with only Daddy Harzen and me.

“As for how you managed to follow us all the way here… this alone is enough for me to figure that out.”

Harzen glanced at Daddy Kyle’s invisibility cloak and spoke.

“What I need to ask you is… yes. Why did you come all the way here?”

Maintaining perfect attention posture, I lowered my head like a turtle.

“Th-That’s…”

Mom, please save me.

This atmosphere is way too scary!

“Cece.”

At that moment, Dad bent down to meet my eyes.

His voice had become a little gentler than before.

“I’m sorry about what happened in the audience chamber.”

“Huh?”

“At first, I was startled and raised my voice. But I never intended to scold you unconditionally.”

“…”

“I simply want to hear why you made this choice.”

I stared directly into his blue eyes.

Rather than immediately scolding a child, he first tried to understand while meeting their gaze.

Perhaps this was the kind of “conversation” young Harzen had once wished for.

“I…”

Gathering a little courage, I slowly opened my mouth.

“I-I wanted to protect Mom.”

Whew, thank goodness.

Looks like I’m allowed to say this much.

“Protect?”

Dad echoed my words with a puzzled expression.

Encouraged, I continued.

“Dad, do you trust that man?”

“That man?”

Daddy Harzen blinked in surprise before letting out a small sound of realization.

“You mean my brother.”

“Mhm.”

I couldn’t bring myself to call him uncle.

I didn’t want to acknowledge him as family.

“Why would you suddenly ask something like-”

As I frowned while recalling Bertolt’s face, Dad murmured to himself.

Then, before I could answer, he seemed to realize something and spoke again.

“I think I vaguely understand why you’re asking that question.”

Gasp, really?

Did Dad finally realize something…?

“You must have overheard the conversation Ria and I had in the carriage. And things weren’t exactly pleasant here either.”

…I don’t think he realized the right thing.

“But, Cece.”

Dad gently curved his blue eyes as he smiled.

This time it wasn’t a fake smile.

It was a faint smile filled with sincerity.

“My brother is one of the very few benefactors who cared for me in this cold imperial palace.”

For some reason, those words stabbed at my heart.

“My childhood was very different from yours, Cece. And yet, the reason I managed to survive without losing my mind was largely because of my brother’s help.”

Unable to say anything, I simply stared into his eyes.

The affection there was different from what he showed Mom and me.

It was deep enough to feel heavy.

A person who had been the only one to approach a lonely boy first.

I understood well enough how much that must have meant.

“Then, Dad…”

Unable to maintain eye contact, I hesitantly spoke.

People say that sometimes the truth can be poison.

Something so cruel that it can completely overturn and rewrite a person’s entire life.

‘But…’

I know better than anyone now how much Dad trusts him.

How much he cares about him.

But as far as I know, Dad’s brother is a truly terrible person.

And on top of that, he’s supposedly going to drive Mom to her death.

That’s why I have no choice but to destroy Dad’s illusion of him.

To save Mom.

“Then does Dad like that man more than Mom?”

No matter what answer I received, I was still going to do everything I could to uncover Bertolt’s crimes.

Even so, I asked because I wanted to complain.

And maybe because I wanted reassurance from Dad.

Reassurance that even if I shattered his illusion, he wouldn’t be devastated as long as Mom was alive.

That he’d brush it off and smile more brightly than he does now.

Not a smile he wore while thinking about Bertolt.

But a bright smile he wore while thinking about our family.

“Hm?”

Dad raised an eyebrow once again at the somewhat sudden question.

Soon, he answered in the same gentle voice as always.

“Well, I don’t think those two can really be compared in the first place.”

“Why?”

“Because Ria is the person I love most in this world, while my brother is the person I trust most. The nature of those feelings is different, so comparing them wouldn’t make sense.”

“That’s hard.”

Feeling disappointed, I deliberately puffed out my lips.

“The person you love most should be the person you trust most.”

Trust Mom versus trust Bertolt.

Shouldn’t Mom obviously win?

Sure, family is important too!

Even if I had someone I loved someday, I think I’d still trust Mom and Dad first.

Even so!

“You’re a dummy, Dad.”

I grumbled while continuing to stare at the floor.

Dad placed a hand on my head and gently stroked it.

“It may be difficult for you to understand right now. You’re still young.”

No, Dad.

Even though I’m only seven, I understand exactly what you mean.

I just don’t want to accept it.

‘I wish Dad didn’t like that man.’

I wish Dad didn’t trust him.

…I don’t want Dad to get hurt.