The Grand Duke nodded briefly and then stood up.
“The doctor will be here soon. Don’t forget to take your medicine properly.”
As he left the room, Jas gave me a brief nod and followed the Grand Duke out.
Not long ago, Jas had hinted to me that once my mother regained her health and the monster hunt was over, they would soon depart for the Grand Duchy in the North.
The Grand Duchy…
While my mother was receiving treatment, I sighed softly as I looked out the window.
Recently, I had been deeply pondering where we were in the story of the novel. Although my presence slightly altered the original plot, the overarching narrative was still progressing as it had before.
Right now, it was six months before the Grand Duke would launch a full-scale rebellion. This meant that preparations for the rebellion were likely underway beneath the surface.
The problem was that, since my father was not the protagonist of the novel, I lacked crucial information. The story revolved around the main characters.
Moreover, because the Grand Duke was a villainous character, his true identity would only be revealed later in the story. In other words, what he was doing at this time was hidden from the readers as well.
I tried to align the development of the story around the point when the Grand Duke went to hunt monsters, but since monster hunting was something he did routinely, I could not pinpoint the exact moment.
This was a serious issue. If we went to the Grand Duchy like this, the story would inevitably unfold as it did in the original…
While I was lost in such thoughts, someone outside caught my eye.
It was a person wearing a magician’s robe. I found it fascinating that a magician, so rarely seen, was here in this countryside, so I continued to watch him. Was he a guest of the Lord?
However, I saw Jas welcoming him. Jas led the magician into the castle.
The fact that Jas moved meant that the magician was not a guest of the lord but rather a guest of the Grand Duke.
At that moment, a line from the original story flashed through my mind.
[Meanwhile, Grand Duke Iskas, who had gone to a small village near the border to hunt monsters, had a secret meeting with a magician there.]
The small village near the border, monster hunting, and the magician.
When this narrative first appeared, readers thought the Grand Duke was simply meeting with the magician for the purpose of monster hunting. Later, they realized that this was not the case. That brief description was an important hint that the Grand Duke was a villainous character.
I jumped up from my seat. I finally figured it out. I knew exactly where we were in the original story.
“Ar?”
At my mother’s question, I hurriedly replied.
“Mom, I’ll be back in a moment!”
I dashed straight into the hallway. If my thoughts were correct, that magician was no ordinary magician.
He was the assassin summoned by the Grand Duke to kill the male protagonist of the original story, Duke Acanthus.
Before the full-scale rebellion, the Grand Duke decided to eliminate his closest friend and loyal subject of the kingdom, Duke Acanthus, first.
Unlike the cold-blooded Grand Duke, Duke Acanthus was a principled and righteous man. He felt a deep sense of guilt over the series of tragedies that had befallen the Grand Duke’s family and was willing to do anything for his friend.
Initially, the Grand Duke approached the Duke with a plan, but over time, he genuinely grew to like him as a friend.
For this reason, the Grand Duke agonized over the assassination thousands and thousands of times before taking action.
However, as long as the Duke existed, his rebellion could not succeed. Thus, the Grand Duke had no choice but to choose the path of killing his friend.
To do this, he hired a magician from the Ram Empire. Duke Acanthus was a magician of immense power, and to confront him, the Grand Duke needed the help of another magician.
However, in the original story, his assassination plan ultimately fails.
The Duke suffers life-threatening injuries but survives in the end. At this moment, the Grand Duke makes a significant mistake.
During the duel, Duke Acanthus had left a mark on the Grand Duke, who was wearing a mask that only he could recognize, and it was later discovered.
Thus, the Duke belatedly learns that the one who tried to kill him six months ago was none other than his close friend.
From that point on, the development of the story progressed at an uncontrollable pace. The fact that his best friend was actually an enemy and was plotting a rebellion was fully revealed.
Due to the premature discovery, the Grand Duke faced the Duke and the royal army without sufficient preparation, resulting in a disastrous defeat. Having lost his loved one, he gave up his life without hesitation.
Therefore, I had to prevent this incident at all costs. The attempt to assassinate Duke Acanthus was the beginning of all that tragedy.
As I ran down the hallway, I spotted Jas and the magician and pressed myself against the wall.
Jas was guiding the magician to the guest room the Grand Duke was using. As soon as they entered the room, two guards stood in front of the door, creating a tense atmosphere.
With nothing else I could do, I returned to my mother’s side.
I then fell into an even deeper state of concern. I knew that the Grand Duke would soon go to assassinate the Duke, but the narrative in the novel did not provide the exact location and time. It only stated, “The Duke was attacked late at night in a forest near a small village by the border.”
So, first and foremost, I needed to gather information about the assassination plan. That way, I could either interfere or prevent the Grand Duke from going.
At that moment, my mother spoke.
“Ar, if you have any misunderstandings about your father, that’s not true. Your father has never abandoned us. There were circumstances that caused me to leave your side and stay elsewhere for a while.”
Ah, my mother still hasn’t given up on hoping for me to become close with ‘Dad.’
I smiled brightly at my mother.
“I’m not misunderstanding anything, so don’t worry. And I’ll try to get closer to Dad.”
Immediately, my mother’s face brightened.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I promise.”
Then I suddenly realized.
Perhaps I could use this as an excuse to approach Grand Duke Iskas and find out something.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
In front of the mirror stood a cute child with silver hair. The pretty child’s cheeks were charmingly tinted with a peachy hue, making it impossible for anyone to resist pinching them.
However, despite the cute appearance, the child had an expression that seemed to carry the weight of the world. After letting out several deep sighs, the child raised her head as if making a decision.
“Ah…”
For a moment, the child wore a face as if chewing on a mouthful of sand, but then smiled brightly again.
“Daddy! Today, play with Ar, okay? Ar is bored.”
While the small body was acting all cute and charming, the child in the mirror—meaning me—collapsed onto the floor. My whole body felt like it was covered in hives, and chills ran down my spine.
Ah, I really can’t take this! Do I have to go this far?
After deciding that I had to somehow get close to Grand Duke Iskas, I began practicing my ultimate cuteness. It was called the “Operation to Make Grand Duke Iskas a Fool for His Daughter.”
The plan was to appeal with extreme cuteness to melt him down and extract information, but I only now realized that I had started off on the wrong foot.
How could I melt that cold person when I couldn’t even be cute in the first place?
But there was no other way. With my current abilities, it was impossible to break through that heavy security and gather information.
I made a firm resolution and stood in front of the mirror again. After all, I had risked my life to save my mother; this much was nothing.
I had to do it. That was the only way to survive!
“……”
However, standing before the Grand Duke with such a firm resolution, I froze, unable to say a word. His expression as he looked at me was incredibly blank.
Is that the look a father gives his daughter? Even a monster would look at me with warmer eyes than that.
“……”
After suddenly blocking his path, I stood silently, and Jas, who was beside the Grand Duke, spoke first.
“Miss Ar, do you have something to say to His Highness? Please feel free to speak.”
With Jas’s help, I barely managed to open my mouth.
“Ah…”
Now I was supposed to say “Daddy!” and unleash all my cuteness, but it felt as if my mouth was weighed down by a heavy burden. My lips only trembled.
In the end, I suffered a glorious defeat in my battle against myself.
“…Ah, it’s nothing!”
The rule of the defeated is to flee quickly. Just as I turned to run away, a voice suddenly echoed from behind.
“Ar.”
I widened my eyes in surprise and turned around. It was the first time he had called my name.
“Follow me.”
And the Grand Duke began to walk ahead with long strides.
