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

Episode 24

They should have gotten up and started bothering me earlier.

He considered checking on the children, but decided against it.

‘They’re probably asleep. What could possibly happen?’

Besides, he figured the maids would take care of everything. It might even have been fortunate that they weren’t being a nuisance. If they threw a tantrum like yesterday, demanding to be taken to the parade, that would have been troublesome.

“What are you doing, lying under the tree?”

“Receiving divine guidance…”

“You sure do a lot of things.”

“Formerly my dad, now just some Duke. The divine message clearly stated: You must bring an 8-year-old child with pink hair to tomorrow’s parade…”

“What an interesting way to say you want to go. Are you getting up or not?”

Lirin let out a silent scream, flailing around before jumping up and dashing off somewhere. I couldn’t understand it.

The child was busy all day long.

One moment, she was chattering among the strict and meticulous servants of the mansion, and the next, she was hugging the trees in the garden or peering at the flowers with a magnifying glass.

Bright, talkative, and sociable.

A carefree little one, through and through.

Still, it wasn’t as if I could just place such a young child in front of me during the parade.

Lirin had said they’d ride in the carriage behind, but as always, Kalec only thought about things his way.

‘Besides, if we meet the Emperor at the palace, he’ll undoubtedly ask annoying questions about the child.’

Lirin had no intention of following us to the palace, but Kalec, of course, thought otherwise.

Kalec stared at the tightly shut fourth-floor window before slowly turning away.

He felt uneasy about not seeing the child’s face, but…

‘It’s fine. They can handle themselves just fine alone.’

Plus, since the child would be sent away in a month, there was no need to pay too much attention. Thinking that way, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

But since he didn’t want his emotions to waver anymore, Kalec stopped thinking about it.

The long procession slowly left the Duke’s estate.

“Wooohooo!”

“Congratulations!”

“Glory to Etherion! Glory to Wintervalt!”

Amid the excited cheers of the crowd, Kalec leisurely passed through the center of the capital.

Just then, a bit of commotion arose at the back.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh, Lady Eliza says a bug flew into the carriage, so we’ve been momentarily delayed while she tries to get rid of it.”

Looking back, Kalec saw the door to the extravagant carriage slam shut.

“Shall we proceed, Your Grace? It’s nothing serious.”

Kalec’s finely shaped eyebrows raised in a slight arc. With a short sigh, he muttered indifferently.

“She could have just opened the window. How troublesome.”

I pressed my forehead against the window, watching the outside scene unfold.

“Wow… It’s amazing…”

The sight passing by outside the carriage was incredible.

Whenever the wind blew, colorful banners fluttered, and flower petals danced in the air.

As attendants scattered coins from their baskets, the crowd erupted into cheers. Horns blared from the front, and wizards, summoned from the mage tower, intermittently sprinkled flower rain.

“A parade…!”

An extravagant parade! So cool!

“Hey, your body’s practically melting!”

Then came a sharp reprimand.

I hurriedly turned my head from where I’d been peeking outside the window.

“Sit up straight. It’s distracting. If you keep that up, I’ll put you on my lap.”

An elderly woman with elegantly styled silver hair looked down at me with a stern expression.

“Oh no. I’m sorry. I’m just a country bumpkin, so I’m weak to this kind of excitement.”

“But why in the world are you sneaking around in someone else’s carriage?”

Well, that’s because…

‘My dad didn’t formally allow me to come along.’

To activate the magic seed artifact, I had to accompany Eliza. It was essential to precisely time the activation of the artifact.

But the Duke was harsh on me. He wouldn’t even let me ride in the corner of the carriage.

So, I had no choice but to move secretly at dawn as per my plan.

I carefully hid the magical artifact under the seat of the carriage, and along with it, I hid myself.

Since I concealed myself after the carriage attendant had thoroughly completed the final inspection, I managed not to get caught.

Even if they decided to check again before departure, they likely wouldn’t have thought to inspect the small space under the carriage seat.

‘Then I fell asleep… and surprisingly, it was a good nap.’

Truthfully, I’d been a bit tired lately.

The capital’s weather was notoriously awful, with rain falling almost every night.

I only woke up after the carriage passed through the main gate of the Duke’s estate.

“Huaah… Theo, I slept well…!”

“Oh my goodness!”

“…Hello? I was just admiring how pretty the carriage is…”

I apologized to Eliza for startling her. Since the parade had already started, Elisa said she’d drop me off at a convenient spot later.

‘Well, I was planning to hop off somewhere halfway anyway.’

To act when danger struck, I needed to observe the situation from a distance.

Above all, I was terrified of loud explosions, so if I stayed by Eliza’s side, the chances were high that I wouldn’t be able to move, let alone activate the magical artifact, as my body would freeze up.

‘Anyway…’

I glanced at the noblewoman sitting next to me.

Come to think of it, this was the first time I’d faced Eliza since arriving at the Duke’s household.

But somehow, it didn’t feel awkward, probably because I’d been thinking about her quite a bit these past few days.

Her appearance was just as cold and stern as the rumors described about the Wintervalt family. Especially her elegantly upturned lips and the small mole on the right side of her mouth, which only heightened the air of strictness around her.

Her dark crimson silk dress was incredibly elegant, down to the very cuffs, which looked exceptionally luxurious. I’d heard she had an eye for high-quality things… It seemed the rumors were true.

‘She’s a stylish grandma. Really impressive.’

They say she’s called the Ice Duchess. With her mouth closed, she really did give off a chilly vibe.

“That ring.”

At that moment, Elisa suddenly raised her head.

“Wh-what?”

“That rascal Kalec still hasn’t taken the ring from you?”

I blinked and confidently declared,

“No! Because it’s mine!”

And if I give it to him, he’ll kick me out!

“Hmph, with his personality, I thought he’d have forced it from you long ago, either through threats or by any other means.”

“Huh? That’s way too violent. I know where the government office is. I’ve learned most of the Empire’s language, I’ve got a good memory, and I can sign things well!”

“Ha! You sure are ready to make a formal complaint if he tries to take it by force!”

“Of course! You have to make your complaints properly; you can’t do it half-heartedly!”

“Where on earth did you learn such an argumentative way of speaking?”

“From my dad!”

“Well, that’s just… amazing!”

“Huh?”

“Ahem, I meant it’s quite impressive.”

“Oh, okay.”

Eliza cleared her throat a few more times and turned her head away again.

I glanced out the window at the passing scenery.

‘It’s almost time.’

I gulped. Although I had confidently responded to Eliza, in truth, I was extremely nervous.

‘In my dream, the labyrinth appeared after passing the inn.’

I could see the inn approaching in the distance.

Soon, the labyrinth would come into view.

I hugged my turtle-shell bag tightly and looked at Elisa.

“By the way, grandma.”

“Grandma?”

Her expression stiffened subtly. Oops, maybe that was too familiar.

“I’ve actually been meaning to say something if I got the chance to see you.”

“What is it?”

“I wanted to thank you for bringing me to the mansion.”

Eliza straightened her back and glanced at me sideways.

“Thanks to you, I was able to meet my dad easily. Otherwise, I would’ve caught a cold sleeping on the streets with Theo. I would’ve really struggled. I might’ve even become a pickpocket out of desperation.”

“Well, it’s fortunate you didn’t. Someone as small as you would have already been…”

She swallowed the words she’d been about to blurt out impulsively.

“…Ahem. Never mind. Don’t say such ominous things.”

I giggled and scooted a bit closer to Eliza.

Just a little closer.

A little bit more.

“Ugh! This is so boring. Why is he dragging out the procession so long?”

“Ugh.”

As I suddenly clamped my hand over my mouth, Elisa looked at me in surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“I suddenly feel like I’m going to be sick… Ugh!”

“No! Don’t you dare throw up on my expensive Eastern Continent silk dress!”

Eliza, seeing my face turn pale, was at a loss for what to do. Struggling to speak, I managed to say,

“C-can I get off and head back to the mansion? Ugh, I think I’m going to be sick…”

“Alright, alright! Stop the carriage!”

Eliza banged on the wall, and the carriage quickly came to a stop.