Episode 5
The pink hair fluttered wildly. Bright green eyes.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the fearless little head ran up and wrapped its arms tightly around my leg.
‘What is this? This ragged piece of cloth?’
The thick, pink hair, reaching down to the waist, was tangled in all directions. The child’s clothes were covered in dirt, as if they had nearly been run over by a carriage.
“Who are you?”
The infamous Duke looked down at the top of the child’s head and spoke threateningly.
The cold tone left the surrounding servants frozen in fear.
Ignoring their reactions, Kalec tried to shake off the unfamiliar warmth clinging to his leg.
But then.
…?
‘…What is this?’
Before he realized it, his right hand, without his permission, was shaking as it lifted.
“…”
Kalec, who rarely showed any signs of confusion, looked down at his rebellious hand in a daze.
A brief silence filled the icy air of the Duke’s mansion.
Kalec, who had been frozen in shock, let out a hollow laugh.
‘No way.’
Was I… about to stroke the child?
Me? With this hand?
Was I really about to gently stroke that pink head?
Even Kalec, known for his sharp judgment, found this situation hard to comprehend.
‘No, that can’t be.’
Stroking someone’s head? There was no way he would do something so absurd.
This must be a side effect of his memory loss.
Quickly regaining his composure, Kalec scowled fiercely and growled at the people around him.
“What in the world is going on here?”
At that moment, the child hurriedly backed away.
“Oh, Your Grace. I’m so sorry. I was just so happy to see you that…”
“…”
Kalec’s cold gaze turned to the small child, who was now nervously fumbling with their words.
“Lady Eliza told me on the way here! You lost your memory, right? It must be really confusing… But don’t worry too much! I’m here now! Ah, and Theo came with me, too. So, Theo is…”
Kalec’s eyebrows furrowed sharply.
‘Has Mother lost her mind? She revealed my secret to this child?’
To disclose such a crucial secret to someone whose identity was unclear…
‘Depending on the situation, I may have to…’
A ruthless thought crossed his mind, and his fist clenched tightly.
At that moment, an elderly woman was seen approaching slowly in the distance.
It was fortunate, perhaps. The main house staff had been strictly warned, so even if the child shouted at the top of their lungs, it wouldn’t matter.
Moreover, thanks to Eliza’s prior arrangements, only Kalec’s closest aides were present at the moment.
Still, Kalec was filled with frustration at this situation that had spiraled out of his control.
He was about to yell at the dazed-looking Eliza Wintervalt when, suddenly, his gaze was drawn to the thin stream of blood running down the child’s scraped knee.
Kalec sucked in a breath.
‘Doesn’t that hurt?’
How could the child smile so brightly without even wincing?
His head, which had been throbbing, now ached as if it would split open.
With a rough gesture, he ran his hands through his hair.
***
It had been a few time.
‘It’s true…’
I stepped back from Dad, trying to hide my sadness.
‘Dad really forgot me.’
Tear stains in the shape of my face were left on his crisply ironed pants, but since Dad was so tall, he wouldn’t see them. So, it was fine.
‘I really couldn’t help it. I was so happy that I just hugged him.’
I shook my head, thinking I had been reckless.
Honestly, I had hoped, just a little… But as expected, Dad didn’t remember me. Confirming that made my heart ache.
‘Ah, my knee stings.’
The dirt ground had scraped my knees, and the stinging pain was starting to set in. But I knew well that no one here would listen to me complain about being hurt.
‘That tree earlier, why did it have to say something so ominous?’
[ You, you’re going to die soon. ]
“Huh?”
[ So, if you want to avoid your fate, r-run, r-run, run away! ]
The tree had spotted a carriage racing towards me and warned me about it.
‘Still, thanks to that, I was lucky enough to meet Eliza Wintervalt.’
The moment I turned my head in response to the tree’s warning, I saw a runaway carriage in the distance. I also recognized the familiar snowflake emblem on it.
On top of that, the spot I was standing was near the path leading to the Wintervalt Duchy.
There was only one conclusion to be drawn from all these clues.
‘That carriage belongs to Kalec’s mother, Eliza Wintervalt!’
In that brief moment, I did all the calculations in my head and decided not to run. Instead, I waited for Eliza Wintervalt’s carriage to rush toward me. Then, at just the right moment, I fell right in front of it.
If I had recklessly gone toward the Duke’s residence, I might never have met her.
I guess I could say I was lucky.
“Child! Are you alright? I’m so sorry! My butler will discuss compensation with you,”
Cough, cough “Ah, my head. Oh no! In my dizziness, I dropped my precious ring!”
“Gasp! This ring!”
It was a good performance…
Now then.
‘Time to get down to business!’
I sat on a large sofa, enduring the heavy atmosphere. The reception room was excessively grand and ornate.
Opposite me sat my father. His appearance seemed unfamiliar.
‘As I thought… He must’ve lost his appearance-altering magic tool in the labyrinth.’
His empty earlobes were proof of that.
‘Ugh. He always said it was his mother’s keepsake! That he’d never take it off!’
I had believed him so firmly!
Sitting next to him was his mother, her sharp eyes glaring. I used to think she was devoted to her family, but this level of disrespect was unbelievable.
Gone were the pink hair and green eyes that resembled mine.
Instead, he had cold, silver hair and icy blue eyes, like a frozen lake in winter.
‘Even he facial features look sharper than before.’
To a stranger, they might think, “He looks so much like Alec.” They would never guess they were the same person.
“So… the Duke raised me.”
Pushing aside the swirling thoughts, I swallowed hard and slowly opened my mouth.
“For the past five years, in a remote southern mountain village…”
My fingers fidgeted nervously.
Honestly, I wasn’t the kind of child who got easily intimidated, but even I was feeling a little scared right now.
Shivering, trembling.
Okay, I wasn’t shaking that badly.
“H-huh.”
The teacup in Eliza Wintervalt’s hand shook violently.
I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I had been glancing at it since earlier, and more tea had spilled onto her hand than made it into her mouth.
But it seemed like no one in the reception room had the luxury to care about that.
Feeling all eyes on me, I took a deep breath to play my final card.
And then.
“I have… evidence right here…”
Carefully, I pulled an item from my pocket and presented it.
The box containing Wintervalt’s ring.
I took the ring from the box and placed it on the table.
The people of the Duke’s household, already looking shocked, seemed on the verge of fainting.
“My goodness. It really is true. Oh, I feel dizzy.”
Eliza, after confirming the ring once again, pressed her forehead.
And shortly after.
“Kalleeeeeec!”
Unable to hold it in any longer, she roared.
She threw the teacup she was holding.
‘Whoa! What a temper!’
Even as I shrank back like a turtle, I didn’t forget to quickly snatch the ring.
Crash!
My father dodged the teacup with a slight tilt of his head.
“You brat! How many times have I told you? A man must keep control of himself! It wasn’t enough to act like a scoundrel above the waist; now you’re a scoundrel below the waist too! Ugh.”
“L-Lady Eliza!”
No matter how chaotic things got around him, my father sat there, elegantly sipping his tea.
He looked like he was in another world, utterly peaceful.
In that moment when everyone was waiting for his response.
“This tea is bitter.”
In the quiet room, his deep voice flowed.
Kalec Wintervalt finally opened his mouth. He had regained his composure after briefly seeming flustered in front of the Duke’s residence.
“Summon the head maid. She deserves punishment for ruining my taste.”
His face appeared and disappeared between the rising tea steam.
“That vile man… Even now, he’s complaining about the tea. Did he kidnap this poor child and forget all about it?”
“Please calm down, Lady Eliza. He’s your son.”
“Oh, right.”
Despite the whirlwind of shock and anger surrounding him, my father remained calm and relaxed.
‘Whoa.’
But I definitely saw it.
That cold, sharp look he gave me when he glanced away from his teacup…
Like a predator gauging where to sink its fangs before devouring its prey.
That was the first time I’d felt such hostility, and my body instinctively stiffened with tension.
Clink.
He finally set the cup down. And then he spoke.
“So, kid.”
The man curled his lips into a smile.
“Did you bring the magic tool for the paternity test?”
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
