I'm Searching for the Villainous Dad's Memories!

Chapter 20

Since an 8-year-old child was new to the family, Blaine likely brought a bag full of toys with a heart full of excitement and worry. There might even be some unreleased new products in there… So, how much would they cost?

“Honey, don’t blame yourself too much. We came so suddenly, the child must’ve been startled. Kalec, I didn’t notice before, but the child seems quite timid, doesn’t he?”

“…I guess so.”

Kalec responded indifferently.

‘I thought nothing could scare him.’

Something felt off, a lingering unease.

Leaving Kalec behind, Blaine rummaged through the bag.

“Since she’s a girl…”

The face of the old man, once infamous as the king of mercenaries and a legendary weapons dealer, was deeply sullen.

“…I even made a bunch of embroidered dresses in the carriage.”

Swoosh.

The maids gasped quietly. The hem of the cute dress was densely adorned with intricate strawberry embroidery.

‘Wow, seriously. As expected, Lord Blaine’s embroidery skills are amazing.’

Is that even possible in a swaying carriage?

And can those thick hands even hold a needle? How does he even thread the needle? Does he wet the thread with his mouth?

Curiosity welled up, but no one could approach Blaine at the moment.

“Forget it… A trash like me is better off just making lethal weapons like I always do.”

The old man, with drooped shoulders, trudged out of the dining room.

“Hah. His self-esteem’s dropped again. Kalec! I’ll go take care of my husband, so you take care of your daughter!”

“She’s not my daugh—ugh. Anyway, the maids are already with her, so it’s fine.”

“Huh? You’re not going to comfort her?”

“The maids will handle it. Probably better than I would. And besides.”

“……”

“She’s just a child who’ll be sent away in a month anyway.”

Eliza, who was about to turn around, stared at Kalec.

Just because she had been away from the mansion didn’t mean she was unaware of its affairs. She’d heard plenty about the recent interactions between Kalec and the child.

‘Hmm.’

Kalec looked up, meeting Eliza’s cold gaze.

She’d heard something about him serving the child like a servant.

‘Was I mistaken?’

Then Eliza realized: Kalec was employing a strategy of ‘avoidance and rejection.’

‘Come to think of it, didn’t they say he particularly struggles to control himself in front of the child?’

Maybe this was different from the 27-year-old Alec, who used to stumble around in those video messages.

Now, with his 22-year-old mind, Kalec seemed to be grappling with the disconnect between his rational mind and physical impulses.

“Well, do as you please. I don’t know anything about raising kids anyway. More importantly, have you looked into what I asked?”

“What did you ask?”

Eliza waved her hand, dismissing all the servants.

“The reason you’ve kept that child by your side for the past five years. In other words.”

“……”

“Does the child have any value?”

Thud.

At that moment, Kalec set down the documents he was holding, releasing a cold aura that couldn’t be entirely suppressed.

“Wake up at 8 a.m. Five minutes of morning exercises.”

Huh? What’s he talking about?

“After wiping her eyes and washing her face, she runs in front of this office for 30 minutes starting at 8:30. With her brother. After that, they have breakfast at 9. Then, there’s a light tea time.”

“……”

“Before noon, she plays around near the maids. After lunch, she clings to the trees around the mansion, chattering away. Sometimes, she even sings. Her skill? Quite impressive. At 4 p.m., she has snacks with the maids. Dinner is at 7. The day ends with a bath. Afterward, she retreats to his room.”

“Are you a servant?”

“What use could such a child possibly have?”

Eliza’s eyes narrowed.

‘It’s not like I want to protect the child, but I hate the idea of anyone else exploiting her.’

If he’s in sight, her instincts drive her to be kind, but if he’s out of sight, her reason kicks in and she pushes him away.

Wow, what a mess of a man whose future seems filled with regret.

‘Ah, he’s my son.’

Ahem. Eliza shook her head.

“No, I was just curious if the child knew anything about the Divine Beast. Maybe there’s some hidden power… There’s a chance, right? The child might have picked up some of the information you’ve uncovered over the past five years.”

“You’ve always had a poor sense when it comes to things like this, Mother. The child has about as much power as a candy.”

That’s true. Eliza nodded in agreement.

“I’ll handle the matter of the Divine Beast. So please, refrain from unnecessary comments. It’s not wise to disclose family secrets to a child who’ll be leaving soon.”

“Fine, fine! Ugh. You stubborn kid. You just have to have the last word, don’t you?”

“It’s getting late.”

“I’m going!”

Eliza stomped out, but even in her frustration, her posture remained impeccable out of habit.

As she was about to leave the office, she abruptly turned around.

“Hey, Kalec. I may not know much about other kinds of love, but I’ve learned a truth about love from being with Blaine. Something I didn’t get a chance to teach you!”

“Oh dear, this conversation is dragging on so long I’m starting to yawn.”

“Affection doesn’t get across unless you express it!”

“Hah.”

“That’s what everyone in our family, including me, is the worst at, you brat!”

“Indeed.”

Kalec’s lips barely moved as he kept a face of stone.

As a secretary entered, Eliza turned to him with a warm smile.

“Ruska? Kill him.”

“Lady Eliza…”

Ruska, worn out from overtime, calmly adjusted his glasses.

“It sounds like a very appealing offer. Shall we discuss it further?”

‘Wow, I was terrified.’

I pressed down on my pounding heart.

I couldn’t even remember how I managed to climb all the way to the fourth-floor bedroom.

“But I didn’t show that I was scared, right, Theo?”

The fact that I even managed to take care of Theo while running away—I’m proud of myself.

But Theo shook his head firmly.

“Bu.”

“You think it was obvious? No way! I only ran out because I had something urgent to do! It didn’t look like I was running away, right?”

“Bu!”

“I just shed a tiny bit of tears.”

I recalled what had happened in the dining room.

The memory of the large elderly man, his face flushed red as he approached me, and the dark shadow he cast, made my body stiffen again.

Come to think of it, I think I heard Eliza’s voice too.

If that’s the case… Was that person…

‘Could it have been Blaine Wintervalt?’

As expected from his reputation, he was an incredibly terrifying old man. His size only made the pressure even more overwhelming.

Of course, my dad is also quite big, but since I’m used to him, it’s fine.

‘I was planning to avoid him as much as possible.’

But from the very start, I failed miserably. Honestly, I never thought Blaine Wintervalt would come looking for me first.

‘Was it rude of me to run away right in front of him?’

My shoulders slumped in regret.

Before being a scary old man, he’s still my dad’s dad, so maybe I should’ve acted more politely.

‘I’ll have to apologize when I see him next time.’

Hah. He probably has a bad impression of me now.

‘But I’ll still apologize respectfully.’

Even so… Even so…

I hugged Theo tightly, trying to calm my mind.

“That large figure is still scary, no matter how I think about it…”

As one day passed, and then two, the atmosphere in the mansion became increasingly busy.

The grand procession was truly just around the corner now.

I took the chance to move while Theo was napping, as usual. Ever since the encounter with both Eliza and Blaine, I hadn’t really seen them.

I heard they’ve been staying in the west annex.

Of course, I’ve been busy too, so I hadn’t had much time to think about them.

‘Today, I’m definitely going to find the protective magic artifact!’

Clenching my fist, I tiptoed down the stairs.

“Found it, the storage room.”

Among the many storage rooms, this was the last one!

Thanks to the map the head maid gave me, finding it wasn’t too difficult.

There wasn’t any special lock on the underground storage room.

Well, who would even dare to steal from the Wintervalt Dukedom?

“Except for me.”

Now a thief in my new role, I sneaked in and carefully inspected the shelves.

Ah, correction. Strictly speaking, this isn’t theft.

Before I lost my memory, my dad used to tell me this as often as he ate meals:

“Lirin, everything that belongs to Dad is yours. Say it after me. Everything that’s Dad’s is Lirin’s!”

“Everything that’s Dad’s is Lirin’s! And everything that’s Lirin’s is Lirin’s!”

“You learn so fast! How clever!”

‘Everything Dad owns is mine, and everything I own is mine too…’

So this might actually just be a situation where I’m using what’s mine.

My conscience pricked a little, but regardless, I found a shelf full of magical artifacts.

‘There it is, the protective magic artifact!’

My eyes gleamed as I spotted the label on the box on the lowest shelf. When I carefully opened it, a small magical device revealed itself.