***
Delight recalled an event from his childhood after a long time.
It was a day not long after he had started living with his master, when they went to a nearby village to buy supplies.
Once a young child who had lost his entire family, he believed he had to call the person his master to stay with him.
At that time, being in a special relationship that was different from others was everything in his world.
If he couldn’t be a disciple, he thought it would be better to be a master and servant.
“At my age, nothing has changed.”
Delight murmured to himself, shaking his head.
He desired even more strongly.
He felt that if Ollia called him ‘Dad,’ he would feel acknowledged.
There was no need to be in such a hurry.
If he waited, the child would eventually start talking, and it didn’t matter if the first word wasn’t ‘Dad.’
It would sting, or rather, it would hurt a lot, but no matter what Ollia said, he had to smile and praise her as a father.
“From now on, there’s no need to invite friends from the palace under the pretense of playmates.”
As he organized his thoughts, his anxious heart calmed down a little.
After leaving instructions with Zaire, Delight closed the document he was reading and spoke.
“By the way, has there been anything unusual this time?”
Delight and Zaire had been tracking fake mana stones for a long time.
Recently, they had detected the existence of someone distributing fake mana stones within the empire, through the incident involving Delia and Sonia, who were former maids of Violyana.
The distribution network for fake mana stones was more widespread within Promian than they had initially thought.
If fake mana stones were circulating so discreetly without causing a stir, it was clear that nobles were involved.
The reason for inviting the parents of the friends Ollia played with was also related to this.
Currently, there was a high possibility that they were among them.
“Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much progress.”
“As expected.”
“We plan to keep a closer watch on families heavily involved in trade.”
The family primarily involved in trade was the Marquess of Flint.
“However, during this investigation, an item that caught our attention appeared.”
Zaire showed Delight an item.
“This fake mana stone is different from what we’ve seen before.”
Delight examined the fake mana stone that Zaire handed to him closely.
“It looks like a real mana stone. It’s hard to tell if it’s fake or not.”
It was clearly an artificial item, but it contained mana.
But this mana was also…
“It’s not real mana. Are they even artificially creating mana?”
This was an item that had never existed before.
If that was the case, it meant that the completion of fake mana stones was near.
Moreover, given the unidentified secrets, it was unknown what kind of danger it might hold.
As his thoughts reached that point, Delight abruptly raised his head.
“Where is Ollia now?”
The sight of the fake mana stone reminded him of the past, making him worried about Ollia.
“It would be better to cast a protection spell on Ollia.”
When Delight went to see her, Ollia was not in her bedroom.
He went to the garden to find her, but only Monia was there.
“Where is Ollia?”
“Your Majesty, the princess is currently playing hide and seek.”
“Hide and seek?”
“Yes, I am the seeker, and the princess is very good at hiding.”
“Really?”
Delight showed interest and squinted his eyes.
“Then I should join in the search.”
And surprise her.
With a cheerful heart, Delight began to walk slowly, looking for places where Ollia might be hiding.
As Monia had said, Ollia was indeed very good at hiding, as she could not be seen.
‘Hmm, maybe she isn’t here either?’
This time, he entered a rather deep part of the garden.
Then Delight saw a figure that made him smile just by looking at it.
‘Ollia is here.’
As he approached quietly to surprise the child, he saw another figure next to Ollia.
‘Who is that?’
He squinted and looked closely.
‘That guy is…’
It was none other than Prince Serdin.
Why are they together?
Surely he had warned him to stay away.
As he frowned and felt displeased, he saw Serdin smiling and Ollia frowning and being stubborn.
That expression was new.
Ollia always had such expressive and lively facial expressions that it was fun to watch her.
Even though she was frowning and being stubborn, it was the first time she didn’t seem unpleasant.
Wait a minute.
It’s natural for her to frown at Prince Serdin.
But why does she look happy?
Delight’s brows furrowed.
It was time to stop watching and go to Ollia and pick her up.
Since her leg wasn’t fully healed yet, he had to carry her.
Just as Delight took a step forward.
“Terdin!”
Delight definitely heard it.
Ollia called Serdin. Ollia was speaking.
***
Tok tok tok.
He hurried his steps and arrived at the corner of the garden.
“You’re here?”
“Since when were you here?”
“I just arrived.”
Serdin said lightly as he stood up from the sunken grass.
After Serdin found out that Ollia could talk, she accepted Serdin’s proposal.
They decided to share a secret together.
“Great. Let’s become really close.”
Since then, they had met several times.
The way they met was mainly by playing hide and seek with Monia.
Monia would be the seeker, and Ollia would pretend to hide while meeting Serdin.
It was important to let Monia find her hiding spot before she worried too much.
Today, too, Ollia was meeting Serdin under the pretense of playing hide and seek.
She was about to find a suitable hiding spot before Monia started worrying.
“What… how did this happen?”
Gasp.
Suddenly, a familiar voice fell from behind Serdin.
“What did I just hear? Did Ollia just call that guy Serdin?”
It was a trembling voice of someone who couldn’t accept reality.
Before she knew it, Delight was standing behind Serdin.
And behind him was Zaire as well.
This was bad.
Because of Serdin, Ollia didn’t notice other people’s presence!
Moreover, Delight witnessed Ollia calling Serdin.
Caught red-handed.
Delight’s cold gaze confirmed Ollia and Serdin together, and it was directed at Serdin.
“What kind of trick are you pulling?”
Delight seemed ready to devour Serdin at any moment.
“Why is the princess calling your name? Have you been secretly approaching the princess all this time?”
Despite Delight’s threatening demeanor, Serdin calmly opened his mouth.
“We just happened to meet here.”
“That’s even more suspicious. Why are you here now?”
Delight took a step closer to Serdin, and the pressure was immense.
“What did you do while playing hide-and-seek for the princess to call your name?”
He was trying to suppress his almost explosive anger.
“I had introduced myself previously. It seems she remembered. And I think the princess likes me.”
Serdin’s explanation only made Delight’s face twist in rage.
“So, you’re saying she called your name because of that? What nonsense.”
Delight’s voice was cracking.
With every word Serdin spoke, Delight’s face grew more complicated and subtle.
“It’s true! That’s why she called my name!”
“Are you bragging in front of me now?”
Delight’s demeanor became even more menacing.
“No, I’m just stating the facts…”
As Serdin spoke, he paused and looked straight at Delight.
What is this? Why do I suddenly feel uneasy?
“I never expected that the princess would remember me enough to mention my name for the first time.”
His instinctive anxiety was soon proven correct.
“What?”
“Your Majesty! I will help the princess learn to speak! I can do it well!”
The more Serdin tried to explain, the more vicious Delight’s expression became.
It was only natural. Serdin was deliberately provoking Delight!
“The princess will soon call you ‘Dad’ as well.”
“How impertinent. The princess calling me ‘Dad’ is only natural. I don’t need your help for that.”
“But since she seems to like me, if I’m around, it might happen faster…”
Is Serdin crazy?
With every insane word that came out of his mouth, I could only sense the impending danger.
If I didn’t call Delight ‘Dad’ soon, I’m doomed.
