Chapter 5

“Waaaahhh.”

“Waaaaaaahhh.”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah…”

The desperate shout I let out spread far away on the gentle breeze.

Maybe it was because the village was surrounded by tall mountains.

It felt just like yelling “Yahoo!” from a mountaintop and hearing the echo come back.

Though that was probably because nobody else was saying anything.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around.

“…”

“…?”

As expected, every single gaze was fixed on me.

The people who had been having such a serious conversation only moments ago now all wore blank expressions.

“Gasp.”

This much attention might be a little overwhelming.

‘Though if it saves Mom, I can do much worse than this.’

I quietly glanced at the scroll.

The progress remained stuck at one percent.

‘Just as I thought.’

The side story won’t begin unless Mom says, “Let’s go to the imperial palace!”

In other words, if I stop her from going, Mom won’t die and the apocalypse won’t happen either.

“What’s wrong, Cece?”

“Are you feeling sick?”

Mom and Daddy Harzen were the first to recover and asked with worried expressions.

Good. I’ve successfully diverted their attention.

‘Now I need to seal the deal.’

I had to use this opportunity to separate Mom from Count Leonard.

Even if it was only a temporary solution.

“Mooom.”

I climbed down from Daddy Harzen’s waist, grabbed the hem of Mom’s clothes, and looked up at her with wide innocent eyes.

“There are too many people here. I’m scared.”

“Is that why you screamed, Cece?”

“That wasn’t a scream. That was basically a battle cry. For a second I thought some monster had shown up. ♪♬”

Daddy Kyle muttered while shuddering dramatically.

I shot him a glare before making the most pitiful expression I could manage.

Right now, I am Puss in Boots.

Nobody in this world can resist these eyes.

Sniffle, sniffle. Big sparkling eyes…

“Certainly…”

Had my desperate gaze worked?

Daddy Harzen swept his blue eyes across the surroundings and spoke.

“This is indeed an environment that could frighten a child. If all you wanted was our cooperation, there was no need to bring such a large force.”

At those words, Count Leonard swallowed hard before answering.

“I believe I already explained that a moment ago.”

“You already explained it?”

“In the event of refusal, His Majesty ordered us to bring you back by force if necessary…”

“By force?”

Harzen immediately let out a cold laugh.

“With that many people?”

“…No matter how powerful Duke Einhart may be, we won’t tolerate any further insults toward our soldiers.”

Jesus Christ, holy moly.

I came here to stop the end of the world, not accidentally cause the end of the empire!

“Mom, Daaad.”

I hurriedly reached out and grabbed Daddy Harzen’s leg.

“That scary man is scary and Dad is scary too. I wanna go home.”

That big intimidating man and my dads all need to be separated.

Preferably forever.

“Why don’t you go inside with your dads first, Cece? Mom just needs to finish talking and she’ll be right in—”

“No! I can’t without Mom!”

You’re the most important one here!

“Cece.”

Mom called my name with a stern expression.

Looks like there’s only one option left.

I’d decided to become a mature and well-behaved seven-year-old.

‘Sigh, it can’t be helped.’

I’ll put Good Daughter Cece aside for just a moment.

I carefully lowered myself onto the ground.

Then.

“Nooooo!!!!!!!”

I immediately began kicking and flailing my legs with all my might.

“Those men tried to hurt Mom earlier too! They’re bad people! No!”

How’s that?

This is the power of a troublesome seven-year-old tantrum!

“Oh wow. That’s embarrassing. Wow…”

Daddy Kyle covered his face with one hand and turned away.

Meanwhile, Daddy Derek strode straight toward me.

“Bad behavior.”

The moment he picked me up off the ground.

“Enough.”

Daddy Harzen spoke again, his face still cold.

“This is the first time we’ve ever seen the child express such strong dislike.”

“…”

“And for people who claim to be asking for our help, your conduct has certainly been lacking.”

“That—”

“Leave for today.”

He lifted his chin and spoke sharply.

“Your proposal is far too sudden for us to accept immediately. We need time to think.”

“But—”

“Or are you planning to subdue us by force?”

The instant Daddy Harzen finished speaking, a massive magic circle appeared above the soldiers’ heads.

“…I will return at this same time tomorrow. And next time, I shall come alone.”

Count Leonard reluctantly stepped back.

I checked the progress bar, which was still sitting at one percent, and let out a sigh of relief.

Good. At least the side story wasn’t advancing right now…

“And Cecilia.”

At the same time, an icy voice fell from above my head.

“We need to have a talk inside.”

So now all that remained was paying the price for acting like a troublesome seven-year-old.

* * *

After going inside, I got scolded.

Thoroughly.

Completely.

‘Ughhh, I’m exhausted.’

Getting lectured by four people at once felt like it was sucking the soul right out of me…

“Cece.”

After enduring an endless round of scolding.

I was back in my room, desperately thinking things through, when a voice came from beyond the creaking door.

“Are you still upset?”

I turned toward the sound.

As expected, Mom and the dads were standing in the doorway.

Looks like they felt guilty after scolding me so much.

They were lined up like a string of sausages.

“Honestly, these guys took it too far. One lecture would’ve been enough, but they had to keep going with part two and part three.”

“That’s not it.”

I shook my head and rejected Kyle’s claim.

Meanwhile, the four of them gathered around my bed.

“Doesn’t seem like that’s true.”

“Our princess still looks unhappy.”

That’s not because I got scolded.

It’s because tomorrow looks terrible.

‘Actually, this might work out.’

Since we’re already here, I’ll try convincing Mom.

“Mom.”

The moment I made up my mind, I fixed my gaze on her and slowly spoke.

“Are you going to the imperial palace?”

“Well…”

“Can’t you not go?”

I can’t explain it, but I have a really important reason.

“What am I supposed to do if you’re not here? Hm? Hm?”

“What do you mean? You’ll stay with your dads.”

“Even without Daddy Harzen?”

You’re seriously planning to leave me with those two?

Really?

Seriously?

“…”

Mom pressed her lips together and looked away.

“What’s that supposed to mean? What’s wrong with us?”

“Lots of things.”

“Hey. Even so, you’re not supposed to say that.”

Mom let out a long sigh before speaking.

“Cece. You want Mom to live a long, long time, right?”

“Mmhm.”

Of course, Mom.

That’s exactly why I’m trying this hard to stop you.

“Just like you want Mom to live a long time, there’s someone Mom wants to live a long time too. And that person is very sick right now.”

Gasp.

She actually pulled out the empathy lesson.

How am I supposed to argue against that?

“What if it’s a lie?”

“What if it isn’t?”

“…”

“I’ll really be back soon. If you’re good and listen to your dads, I’ll come back within ten nights.”

After saying that, Mom held out her pinky finger.

I stared silently at it.

If I made a pinky promise here, Mom’s life would be put in danger.

But whether I promised or not, Mom wasn’t going to change her mind.

Sure, our Mom is terrifyingly strict toward bad ♬♪ people.

But she’s also someone who always wants to save others.

An incredibly selfless person.

‘Hngh. Just this once, I wish Mom wasn’t so admirable.’

I glanced toward the scroll.

Zero point five percent.

Was this thing seriously messing with me?!

“Ugh… Fine.”

I puffed out my cheeks and looked at Mom.

‘In that case, we’re moving on to Plan B.’

Because I’d happened to see this after returning to my room.