Chapter 100
She’s confused.
She knows she’s like a 19-gold Romance Fantasy Novel baron, but this is not it.
Come to think of it, why isn’t her dad the male lead?
He has a miserable and terrible past, lots of serious secrets, a broken family, is raised by trash parents, has only one friend and has a series of miserable relationships, is irrational, seems mentally ill, and has many personality flaws, which is the typical male protagonist.
Wow, this is the exact opposite of Pession.
“I think this is my mother…”
She couldn’t ignore this intense gut feeling. What about her father?
‘But if I think about it, isn’t there no guarantee that my current father is my real biological father?’
When she saw her father in real life, she didn’t have the same strong intuition as she did when she saw this portrait.
It still felt distant and a little awkward.
She thought it was just because she wasn’t close to her father, but maybe not?
“Hmph.”
Is it her father or her uncle?
“Let’s cover it.”
She doesn’t know.
Who cares if he is a biological father or not?
If he feeds her, you put her to bed, he raises her, that’s her father.
It’s a birth secret, it’s a nabal, and if someone tells her, she’ll go and think about it.
“But where is it really?”
The portrait room is big, but it’s too big.
Where the hell is it stuck?
She scratched her head and stepped out into the main hall.
“Huh?”
She spotted a second-floor passageway that had been out of sight due to the elevation, so she went up to check it out and found her father sleeping soundly on the couch.
“Dad!”
Only the Archduke of Halbern, the master of the manor, could escape the many devices and traps of the enormous Halbern estate.
Perhaps that’s why he was often found in places no one else would venture.
“Dad?”
She scrambled to get closer and heard a small whimper.
‘Looks like you’ve been using up a lot of your powers.’
She was worried because she knew that there were always side effects and after-effects after using the powers.
“Does it hurt?”
His long, graceful eyebrows, stretched out like a fan, twitched and rose, as if he’d been asleep.
The pale purple eyes held her.
Are you really sick?
“Did you sleep?”
“No.”
He exhaled sharply and looked at her. Suddenly her eyes started watering.
“…”
“…”
She squeezed her eyes shut and held on, and her father smirked. It was her victory.
“It’s my first time.”
“What?”
“That we’re smiling at each other like this.”
His voice was a slow, raspy whisper.
“That’s strange, I know you always had your eyes closed. Why are you moving?”
“Me?”
“Your voice, it’s like I’ve never heard it before.”
Her father stretched out his hand, looking lost.
“My daughter…”
A white, slender hand stroked her cheek. Fingers that were firm despite their appearance, they touched her with the care of porcelain.
“You’re alive. You’re warm. Is this a dream?”
“It’s not a dream.”
“Really?”
She heard a raspy laugh. Her father looked at her through unfocused, confused eyes.
“Dream on.”
“What dreams?”
“Dreams of losing you.”
The eyelashes, which were densely packed along the smooth almond-shaped eyes, fluttered slowly.
“No matter what I choose, no matter what I do, I always lose you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Valar gave a cloudy smile.
“Sometimes I kill you. Because you look like you’re in pain, or because I’m just crazy. And then Mehen leaves.”
He whispered, like a father telling a very old secret, that when Mehen leaves, he becomes a monster.
“He’s the last bit of my humanity.”
The one thing that never lets him forget he’s human. The one person who never changes. The only human being you trust.
“It was just him.”
Dad laughed, saying that no matter the situation, no matter the moment, he was the only one who never changed and made the same decision.
The slow, languid voice’s story was so far removed from reality that she wondered if her father was really sick, but it also reminded her of a dream she had once had.
She dreams that she’s dead, Mehen is gone, and her father is missing.
‘Does Dad have dreams like that too?’
“Sometimes I’ve thought of sending you to the imperial palace, entrusting you to another family, asking for a pagoda or a temple… but then you’d die sooner.”
Her father’s voice was somber as he rested his hand on her forehead.
“If I raise you, you’ll die sooner.”
Her father mumbled something unintelligible, like he was asleep.
“I’m supposed to… Raise you.”
Was this a side effect of his powers? Or an aftereffect?
She couldn’t let this happen.
“Dad.”
Dry, parched eyes looked at her.
Eyes that had longed for something so long that even thirst had become chronic.
She reached out and grabbed her father’s cheek. Her father’s cheek pressed against the shape of her hand.
“I’m here.”
“…”
“I’m not dead yet.”
“What if I kill you?”
Her father’s hand touched her cheek.
“What if I can’t save you again?”
He suddenly felt so childlike, like a father. He’s obviously a grown man, and he was pretty big when he came to her rescue.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re like a kid.”
She’s younger, but for this moment, she’s more like her dad.
“We’ll do it again.”
She cupped his cheek and pressed their foreheads together. She felt a cold chill.
“I can wait. Dad will come for me, right?”
His breath caught in his throat. The color of his unblinking eyes deepened to purple in surprise.
“…I’m you.”
“…”
“I could hurt you.”
In the past, she would have considered this a death threat, but not now, not even if she wrote it down.
“Look at it now. You can’t even touch it.”
How is he going to kill her if he can’t even touch it for fear of breaking it if he touches it wrong?
His eyes, soaked with moisture, were watery, their color softened. The pale purple color shone through.
She thought she now understood the truth of her father’s answer when she asked him why he hadn’t come to see her before.
It was a confession, not a murder warning.
“Dad.”
She still doesn’t know what this man is thinking, looking at her.
Does he think of her as his daughter?
She’s not sure about that either.
How do fathers and daughters usually relate?
What do they say, what do they do to bond? Shs doesn’t know, because it’s like having a father and not having one.
“I don’t hate you dad.”
“Yeah.”
“He seems to like it a little bit.”
The point is.
“I want to get to know my dad.”
“Why?”
“Um…”
Valar’s eyes narrowed, as if gauging her sincerity.
“You didn’t even pay attention before.”
She shrugged.
“You said I was an old man.”
“You’re an old man. You’re older than me.”
“…”
Her father smirked at her.
“I can’t win.”
Pushing himself up, her father ran a hand through his hair. His decadent eyes and good looks made her smile.
Funny. The face.
“Are you awake now?”
“Yeah.”
Her father leaned toward her, as if he was sorry to see her hand fall.
“It’s warm.”
He rubbed his cheek against her hand, which was much smaller than his, and opened his eyes. His clear, focused gaze met hers.
“Are you looking for me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t see you this morning.”
Part of it was Mehen’s doing, but ultimately, she just wanted to see him.
“Dad, aren’t you eating?”
“I’m eating.”
“Then why didn’t I see you this morning?”
She gave her father a sharp look, as if he was having a hard time answering, and he just smiled vaguely.
“Are you avoiding me?”
“No.”
“Then eat with me.”
“Sure.”
“Let’s take a walk together.”
“Sure.”
“And.”
“Yes. And.”
“Play with me!”
The faint smile on his lips was pretty. Her father whispered in a pleasant voice, his lips languidly drawn and his eyes gently lowered.
“Again.”
“Again?”
“Say more. What you want.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle at the frankness in his voice, telling her to say whatever she wanted. He sounds like a real father.
“Give me a hug.”
“If that’s what my daughter wants, of course.”
Her father leans up and picks her up lightly with one arm.
Mehen picks her up with both arms.
Their foreheads pressed together in their wide embrace, she couldn’t help but smile.
She feels like these hugs will protect her from any hardship.
***
For a moment, Mehen doubted the sight before him.
Arellin in Valar’s arms, so close to him. Valar and Arellin?
‘That sounds nice, but why do I feel so disturbed.’
Mehen’s expression turned subtle, and Valar chuckled, scratching his head.
“Honey, are you upset?”
The pen flew into the sky faster than the answer.
