“Papa? What’s going on?”
“The class is over, so hurry up and go.”
Teacher Deska got up and packed his things.
“I’ll see you next time. Teacher!”
“Oh, yes. See you next time.”
I thanked teacher Deska for telling me all the facts honestly. Teacher Deska bid his goodbye with a grin of kindness. I did the same then hurried to Cardin’s office.
“I’m here. Papa.”
When I opened the door, there was a man sitting in the office with Cardin and Elvin.
“You’re here. Come here.”
Cardin loosened his cross leg. I ran up and sat comfortably on Cardin’s lap.
Who is this?
The man sitting opposite us looked normal and in his mid-30s. One thing that stood out was that his face was pale, but I decided to let it pass lightly because nine out of ten who see Cardin look like that.
“This is the author of the Merket book you were looking for.”
The man’s body flinched loudly. I screamed with delight.
“Finally, I found you!”
Meeting the author of the Merket book! I raised both her hands and exuded joy.
“If someone sees you, people might think you’re the one who found him.”
The joy was only for a moment. Because Cardin chuckled and gave me a slight accusation.
“Huh, who said that?”
I couldn’t understand Cardin. The Cardin from Deska’s story and the Cardin I’m using as a chair right now are the same person?
“Come on.”
I swung my foot back in annoyance.
It was a decisive blow, but the person who was attacked easily avoided it, and my soft feet collided with the hard part of the sofa.
“Ugh…”
“Does your foot hurt all of a sudden?”
Cardin rubbed my feet in a sly manner with an expression as if he didn’t know what happened.
I had no choice but to suppress my anger.
“Uhm, Duke. Princess.”
While chatting with Cardin as usual, I belatedly realized that we were not the only ones there thanks to Elvin’s call. Only then did I turn my head and look at the man sitting across from me.
The man was crouching pitifully.
I spoke to the man with a tense face.
“Are you the man who wrote this book?”
I pointed at the book with my hand. The man glanced at the book and hesitated to say something.
“I, if I say that’s right, it can be right…… If I say no, it doesn’t seem right…”
The man gave a gibberish answer with anxious eyes.
“Speak straight.”
Cardin frowned at the unknown man’s attitude and warned him.
The man seemed to swallow his breath for a short time at the sight, but in an instant, he got off the chair and kneeled down to beg.
“Please save my life! I didn’t want to do that, but…!”
Now, Cardin and my eyes met in the air as we watched the man who even cried with tears and runny nose.
“Papa, what did you do to him?”
“Nothing.”
“But what’s wrong with him?”
“How do I know?”
While whispering with Cardin, the man in front of them cried even louder.
“Stop crying there…….”
“.…! I really didn’t mean to. Well, I know it’s a crime, but I thought it wouldn’t be a problem because some of the data I studied was in there!”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“……What?”
The man looked dazed with tears and a runny nose.
Cardin said that if he cried again, he would never let his eyes out of the water, and the man soon stopped crying. The man who sat down again calmly began to tell his story.
The man is 36 years old and runs a small scented candle store in the alley of 6th Street in Vinset Square.
The scented candles being sold at the store were natural scented candles made from various medicinal herbs, and they were a level shop that was being maintained by very few regulars.
Then, four years ago, he was asked by a teacher who taught him the knowledge of herbs.
It was a request to publish a book about Merket in his name.
Originally, in the Empire, it was a crime to obtain commercial interests in the identity of others rather than their self, but actually, it was only a formal law.
Because no one will know if they do not speak about it.
The man, who was worried, eventually compiled his teacher’s materials and published a book under his name, and the profits from the book contributed greatly to the store.
This is because the nobles’ demand for Merket has increased, and naturally, the servants who take care of the Merkets bought a lot of books.
But then, he was brought to the duchy out of the blue today.
The man was frightened because he thought he had been caught publishing a book on behalf of someone else.
He honestly confessed because he thought he was being punished as an example for committing a criminal act.
“If you want to be an example, go to the square right now and confess.”
When Cardin, who was listening to the story in silence, rubbed his chin and spoke benevolently, the man screamed and prayed again.
“Stop it, Papa.”
It looked like a tiger touching a mouse in a corner, so I decided to save the poor mouse at this point.
“I didn’t bring you here to punish you. I was curious about something in this book.”
I opened the book next to me and pointed to the last page.
“Here. This is why I was looking for you.”
“This is….”
I showed him the smallest writing in the corner of the book.
The man looked surprised at the writing I pointed at and quickly hid his expression.
“Isn’t this just a mistake in printing?”
I squinted at the man pretending to be innocent. He was obviously avoiding answering.
This is how you’re going to be.
“I see. Oh, by the way! Papa. Is this guy going to get punished for publishing a book that he didn’t study?”
“Oh no.”
At my question, the man opened his mouth without hiding his expression.
“No – I see. Like this! It’s written clearly, but I don’t know anything……….”
The man explained that it wasn’t a full proxy publication because some of the materials he had studied were included.
“Hmm……”
The man quickly reacted when Cardin showed signs of distress.
“It’s…! The phrase is engraved by my teacher. I really don’t know what it means.”
“Teacher?”
“Yes, that’s right. In the first place, I made this book with the materials my teacher gave me. But I also participated in the research!”
The man repeatedly apologized and prayed that he would never commit a crime again.
I pretended not to know and scared him a little, but I thought it was too much.
I comforted the man to stop crying, and said, “Thank you so much this time.”
If the last sentence of the book was engraved by the man’s teacher, the answer was simple.
If I met the teacher, I will learn more information about Merket.
“I want to meet your teacher, too!”
“That … not now.”
The man’s subsequent words made his body lose strength.
“It’s been more than two years since I saw him, too. He likes to go around a lot.”
“Then you don’t even know when he’ll be back?”
The man didn’t give a definite answer. The man’s teacher is said to be away every few months or years at the most.
“Ah, there are materials that Master was studying in the store. It might help the princess a little?”
“At the scented candle shop that you run?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“Whoa.”
It was a very interesting suggestion, but I pretended to think for a moment.
I had to think with a serious expression because I was afraid I would look like a child if I bit them right away.
“haha.”
Then I heard a little laugh from someone.
When I turned my head to the side where I heard the sound, Cardin and Elvin were looking away side by side.
“All right, let’s go.”
I made an appointment to go to the store tomorrow. The man accepted my words and gave me the address of the store and left.
Elvin also left the office, saying that he had something to do with the Knights.
In the meantime, I ate the snack that my nanny brought to me with Cardin.
“It’s delicious.”
Every time I took a bite of the fluffy cake, I laughed at the sweetness that filled my mouth.
Then a cookie came near my mouth. I took everything I was given without saying no.
“Give me the one over there, too. No, not there.”
“You’re quite a dictator.”
Cardin talked a lot, but he picked up the cookies I wanted and put them in my mouth.
The nanny, who watched the scene happily from the side, advised me to eat only a little snack because I’m going to eat dinner later.
“Tomorrow will be fun.”
I hummed excitedly thinking of the outing tomorrow.
“By the way, why do you like Merket so much?”
I wanted to eat one last thing, so I picked up the biggest cookie.
However, without tasting it, Cardin caught it and handed it over to the nanny.
I rolled her eyes and glared at Cardin, but I couldn’t eat any more snacks because of his resolute demeanor.
Cardin was curious about Merket, so I decided to tell him the truth.
“Because…”
I lowered my voice and beckoned Cardin to come closer.
I gathered my hands in Cardin’s ears as he approached me and whispered in a small voice as if I was telling a secret story.
“Merkets are fairies who are cursed. I have to lift the curse.”
“……..”
Hearing my secret story, Cardin made a subtle expression and called the nanny.
“How should I react in this case?”
“Duke. It’s important to give wings to your child’s imagination. That way she can grow into a creative adult.”
Cardin turned her head and secretly talked to my nanny.
Cardin and Nanny were trying so hard that they decided to pretend not to know.
“…I really hope you can lift the curse of the fairies.”
“Thank you, Papa.”
Cardin, who listened to my nanny’s advice, barely uttered his words.
They couldn’t help but hold back their laughter at the child’s imagination.
Little do they know…