What’s this? Could it be… a moment of regret and reflection
But that thought was short-lived. He stood up and spoke again with a face that had turned cold once more.
“That’s that, but anyway, don’t get beaten up again.”
I stared at him with my mouth open. What did he just say?
“It means that now that I’ve acknowledged you as my son, you must never let yourself be beaten by others. Even if your opponent is royalty. No matter what, you must always hit back harder.”
“……”
For a moment, my mind went blank at his extremely unreasonable attitude. Wait, in situations like this, aren’t parents supposed to comfort their children, or at least not tell them to hit people?
“I’ll call a doctor, so get treatment first.”
Seeing him about to leave after saying just that, I became even more bewildered.
“I’m not Your Highness’s son.”
I felt I had to tell him the truth, so I said it.
He stopped abruptly in his tracks.
I was about to follow up with ‘I’m your daughter,’ but he slowly turned around. His face had hardened frighteningly.
“…What?”
In that instant, I felt chills run down my spine. The tremendous killing intent emanating from him overwhelmed me. Is he that displeased that I’m not a son but a daughter? As I was thinking this dazedly, he spoke in an ominous voice.
“Are you saying that your father is someone else?”
“Wh-What? Gasp! What are you thinking? That’s not it, I’m saying I’m a daughter! I mean, I’m not a boy, I’m a girl. So please don’t flip my clothes up like that in the future… Aaaah!”
As he quickly approached, I was startled and stepped back.
He bent down deeply and looked closely at my face. My heart was pounding as if I were seeing a wild beast right in front of me.
“…You’re saying you’re not a boy?”
I realized for the first time that emotions other than indifference and anger could coexist on his face. An unfamiliar expression covered his face. Surprise, confusion, bewilderment—such emotions. Ones that didn’t suit him at all…
Wait a minute. He’s flustered? The man called the Ice Grand Duke flustered because of me. That’s impossible.
“Then with the body of a girl, not even a boy, you’ve been doing these things.”
He muttered to himself, then suddenly closed his mouth. And then he shouted loudly towards the door.
“Call a doctor here right now!”
I felt a bit dumbfounded at those words. When he thought I was a boy, he just got angry and told me not to come back beaten up, but now he was calling for a doctor himself.
Does it mean he’s more worried about his daughter? It’s not a bad thing for me, but it was quite unexpected. Being a doting father doesn’t suit his personality at all.
Soon, the doctor who was called to the room began treating my wounds.
The Grand Duke, who watched the entire treatment process, nodded as if relieved only after hearing that there wouldn’t be any scars.
“I’ll prescribe medicine and ointment. Just remember to take them and apply them well each time.”
After the doctor left, I cautiously asked him, who still had a complex expression on his face.
“Um, can I stay with Mom?”
He stared at me intently, and I tried to put on the saddest expression I could.
“I want to be with Mom. I’ll just stay quietly by her side. Please?”
In the original story, he didn’t like me being with Mom. He thought we might try to run away again together.
So even as I said those words, I didn’t really expect much. If he said no, I could just meet her secretly anyway.
But he seemed to think for a moment, then answered simply.
“Alright.”
I was surprised once again.
“…Really?”
“However, your mother is not yet fully recovered, so you must absolutely not let her overexert herself.”
“Yes, I won’t! I absolutely won’t let her overexert herself!”
My face immediately brightened. I didn’t expect that he, who had forcibly separated the mother and daughter in the original story, would now give permission so readily.
“Thank you so much!”
He made a slightly strange expression as he looked at me smiling brightly. I don’t know why he made such an expression, but I was so happy just to be able to be with Mom that I couldn’t stop smiling.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
After receiving treatment, my plan to go straight to Mom was slightly altered. This was because Jas burst in with a servant as soon as the Grand Duke left. In the servant’s hands were clothes and shoes that looked expensive even at a glance.
“…What are those?”
“His Highness the Grand Duke ordered us to prepare and send the things that Young Master Ar needs right away.”
I looked at Jas, who suddenly changed the way he addressed me. He was grinning.
“Jas?”
“His Highness the Grand Duke has ordered us to treat and serve Young Master Ar properly from today. It seems His Highness has taken quite a liking to you.”
Taken a liking? All he did was call a doctor to treat me?
“…Can I go to Mom wearing those?”
Jas smiled brightly at my question.
“Yes, and now I’m your subordinate, so please speak informally to me. You are His Highness the Grand Duke’s only child, after all.”
In fact, since my parents weren’t officially married, I wasn’t the Grand Duke’s official daughter—that is, not a Grand Princess.
This meant that I wasn’t in a position to speak informally to Jas, who would become Count Rekiand in the future. In romance fantasy novels, count titles might be common, but in reality, even a count is a very high status.
I suddenly realized how extremely ambiguous my status was.
A high-ranking man. And the illegitimate daughter born to his mistress.
A being that can’t be fully integrated into noble society, yet not a commoner either—neither here nor there. Especially in this world, where women have limited options.
Even among commoners, it’s difficult for girls to survive, which is why my mother had me dress as a boy.
Even if I safely become an adult, no noble man would want to marry me, an illegitimate child. Even if there were any, they’d only be pathetic guys attracted to the dowry or trying to leech off the Grand Duke’s power somehow.
If I had been born a man, I might have been called an illegitimate child all the same, but at least I could have lived doing my own work.
“I understand. No, I get it. Jas, and actually, I’m…”
And just as I was about to tell Jas that I was a girl, I saw the clothes the servant was holding. They were silk pants and a shirt.
If I revealed my gender now, Jas and the servant would try to bring the girl’s clothes again.
Rather than repeating such a hassle, I thought I’d just tell them next time. Besides, I had promised Mom that I would never tell others that I was a girl.
“It’s nothing. I’ll change clothes now.”
“Yes, this servant will help you change.”
Jas pointed to the servant next to him. The moment the servant stepped forward, I hurriedly waved both hands.
“I can do it alone! I’ll change by myself!”
“If you’re uncomfortable with the servant, then I can help you change.”
Jas stepped forward as if he would strip me of my clothes immediately. I finally shouted loudly.
“Enough! Both of you, get out!”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
My status changed completely in just one day.
After changing my clothes and stepping into the hallway, the knights of the Grand Duke’s household, as well as the employees of Salle Castle, were busy greeting me.
In particular, the lord hurriedly brought Ledo to apologize to me separately. He explained that it was just a bit of a prank between friends that got out of hand and asked me to put in a good word with the Grand Duke.
Well, I’m not sure when Ledo and I became friends, but still, power is indeed nice. I got to receive the Lord’s apology as well.
After dismissing the father and son with a casual nod, I was finally able to see my mother.
“Mom!”
I jumped into my mother’s arms as she sat on the bed. She looked much better than yesterday. There was a bit of color returning to her previously pale face.
She looked surprised to see me in my neat clothes.
“Ar, did His Highness give you those clothes?”
“Yes!”
When I glanced at Jas, who was standing beside the bed, he bowed respectfully to my mother.
“Just as Young Master Ar said, His Highness has ordered everyone to make sure that nothing unpleasant happens to Ar from now on.”
Mom brought her hand to her lips. Her eyes trembled with emotion.
“Then, has His Highness accepted Ar?”
“Yes, didn’t I tell you? Anyone would come to like Young Master Ar. And it’s only natural for her father to do so.”
“Ah….”
Mom hugged me tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.
“That’s great. I’m so relieved, Ar.”
I understood the meaning behind my mother’s tears well.
In the original story, Arcadia was never publicly acknowledged as the Grand Duke’s daughter. Mom was the Grand Duke’s hidden mistress, and the daughter she bore was kept even more thoroughly concealed.
Arcadia wasn’t even the daughter of the main characters, but rather that of a sub-couple, so her role in the original work was almost negligible. What happened to her after her parents’ deaths wasn’t described either. It was clear she would either die or become a slave, being the child of a traitor.
In any case, this time the Grand Duke had acknowledged my existence, which he had never done for his own daughter in the original story. So, it was no wonder Mom was happy. Especially since he had even suggested she get rid of the child in her womb.
“Yes, Mom.”
I patted her back. This wasn’t the end, and the challenges ahead were even more daunting, but for now, it felt good to see Mom happy.
“But Ar, how did you know your father was alive?”
Until now, Mom had told me that my father had passed away a long time ago. So, it was only natural for her to be surprised when I suddenly brought him back with the ring.
I decided to resolve this predicament in a simple, childlike way.
“I saw Dad in a dream. That’s how I knew.”
As I smiled brightly while saying this, Mom was left speechless.
“But Mom, I told Dad that I’m a girl. Is that okay?”
Mom smiled and patted my head.
“You did well. I haven’t had the chance to tell His Highness yet either.”
At that moment, Jas shouted loudly from the side.
“W-Wait, are you saying Young Master Ar is a girl?”
