Chapter 4

Blink, blink.

Feeling something soft, warm, and cozy, I curled up slightly. Then I froze.

Huh? Something felt strange.

‘Was my blanket ever this soft and fluffy?’

Well, it was fairly soft, but this felt even smoother than mine.

‘It smells like sunlight…’

Feeling good, I rubbed my cheek against the blanket, then tilted my head.

‘…Wait, my blanket doesn’t smell like this.’

The maids who barely bothered to bring my meals would never hang my blankets out in the sun.

I cracked my eyes open.

It was a ceiling I had never seen before. I shut them again.

‘Ah, it’s a dream.’

Hehe, it must be a dream.

I must have wanted to sleep in a soft place so badly that I dreamed of it.

Alright, get up now. Me!

I thought to myself as I squeezed my eyes shut, then slowly opened them again.

An elegant and grand ceiling that looked well maintained. A chandelier that clearly cost a fortune.

A bed at least three times bigger than mine.

And unlike my plain white blankets, these were embroidered silk, fine and luxurious.

‘…Did I sneak into someone else’s room because it was too cold?’

The last thing I remembered was holding onto a cat and closing my eyes for a moment.

I slowly sat up.

No one was in the silent room.

The decor was antique. Clean, orderly, and with a desk piled with papers on one side.

“…I’ve lost it.”

I’ve gone insane.

What happened?

I was scared to even find out.

I turned my head quickly, and I started to get an idea of where I was.

The main building of the ducal estate.

‘Gasp.’

Did Butler Bell bring me here after finding me?

Well, he was kind, so maybe. But he also knew better than to bring someone unauthorized into the main house.

Especially me, who had been banned from entering.

‘I need to get out of here fast.’

If Grandpa saw me and scolded Father because of it, things would get complicated.

‘It’s so high…’

Why was the bed so ridiculously tall.

I grabbed the blanket and climbed down, then hurriedly patted and straightened out the indentations I had left.

I scampered around pulling at each corner, making sure all four were tucked properly, then folded the top edge neatly.

‘There.’

No one would notice now, right?

After tidying up, I quickly opened the door to slip out.

I planned to sneak away before anyone saw me.

I stood on tiptoe, pulled down the handle with both hands, and peeked out. No one was there.

‘Go.’

Wow, what a luxurious and enormous room.

Was this the kind of room the butler was assigned?

I glanced at the ornate door, then carefully crept into the corridor.

Whenever servants or soldiers passed by, I pressed myself into corners or hid behind vases.

‘Is it this way…?’

Ugh, it’s so big.

Why was this mansion like a maze? A kid with a bad sense of direction like me would get lost in no time.

‘Good thing I live in the annex…’

If I had grown up here, I probably would have only ever known the dining hall and my bedroom.

“Is it this way?”

Nope.

“Where are the stairs…”

I should go downstairs first.

I tapped my feet anxiously as I wandered around, then finally found the staircase.

It was just a short walk to the left from the room I’d woken up in.

“…Ah, I forgot I’m terrible with directions.”

I hadn’t needed to move around before, so it slipped my mind.

I glanced around nervously and hurried downstairs.

“So when is the physician arriving?”

“They should be coming from the servants’ quarters and will arrive within ten minutes, Master.”

Gasp.

The moment I reached the first floor, I heard voices and jumped in place.

Master?

That meant Grandpa.

‘No, where can I hide?’

I whipped my head around.

There wasn’t a good hiding place, but I spotted a large vase and quickly crouched behind it.

“Tsk, what kind of guardian lets a child wander all the way here over a newspaper?”

“…….”

Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, I clapped both hands over my mouth.

‘They’re talking about me…’

The butler must have reported my visit to Grandpa.

‘…That was close.’

If he hated even hearing about me this much, imagine what it would be like if he saw me.

“A useless fool who can’t do his duty as a man or a father.”

“…”

He was clearly talking about Father. I kept my mouth shut.

But that’s not true.

‘…It’s all because of me.’

If he hadn’t tried to make medicine for me, if he hadn’t tried to save me, Father would have lived a good life on his own.

‘My dad is a genius.’

The records of his research were incredible. Even I couldn’t understand them.

What’s wrong with having the ability to make plants grow quickly.

‘It’s perfect for growing rare herbs or fruit trees.’

If he’d run an orchard, he would have made a fortune.

I grumbled silently to myself until the voices grew distant.

“Phew…”

I should get out now.

I was just about to stand up when it happened.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Eek!”

I jumped and spun around at the voice behind me.

“Hmm…, I’ve never seen you before. A maid? Or someone’s kid?”

Black hair and red eyes.

People with that appearance were rare, even in the empire.

‘…A direct descendant of the Tigreto ducal house.’

I swallowed nervously. I knew this face. I hadn’t seen him often because I was rarely allowed out of the annex, but…

‘My uncle’s son…’

If I remembered correctly, his name was Valux Tigreto.

He had telekinesis as his ability, I think.

A powerful ability user, and his personality wasn’t great. He was infamous for being capricious and unforgiving toward anyone who made mistakes.

More than anything, he despised me, the illegitimate child. Whenever he saw me, he would curse and turn away.

“M-milord. I-I was looking for my dad and got lost… I’m sorry…”

I bowed my head deeply and apologized.

I made sure to angle my eyes down to look as pitiful as possible.

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Y-yes. I’m sorry…”

The best thing to do with a bratty, ill-tempered boy like him was to avoid provoking him at all costs.

“This isn’t a place to be trampled by dirty feet. But your eye color is one I like, so I’ll let it slide once.”

He was a head taller than me. He patted my head twice.

“The servants’ quarters are to the right when you leave here.”

“Y-yes. Thank you!”

I bowed again, then quickly turned and dashed out of the mansion.

“Where on earth did that child go!”

“Eek!”

On my way out, I heard Grandpa’s furious shout.

I jumped and ran so hard that I could taste blood in my throat.

* * *

“The servants’ quarters are to the right, huh…”

Was she too dumb to tell left from right?

Valux tilted his head, hands in his pockets.

Not that he really cared.

‘Her eyes looked like pink diamonds.’

He had never seen such a vivid shade of pink before.

‘So even outside, such striking colors can appear.’

He glanced up at the noisy second floor.

As Butler Bell came striding down the stairs, Valux spoke.

“Bell, why is Grandpa so angry again?”

“Ah, Young Master Valux. The third young master’s daughter came all the way to the main house in this cold weather and collapsed. We laid her in a room to rest, but while we were reporting and calling for a physician, the young lady disappeared.”

“Ah, a girl? Silver hair and pink eyes?”

“Yes, did you see her?”

“Ah… yeah. She was hiding behind a flower pot, so I talked to her. She said she was looking for her father and got lost, then went pale and ran off.”

Valux pointed toward the front entrance.

“Ah… so she left.”

“Hmm, so that was my cousin. She lied. What a bad girl.”

Valux narrowed his eyes and curled his lips into a small grin as he muttered.