The Troublemaker Daughter of the Grand Duke Wants To Live Alone

I had a dream I hadn’t had in a very long time.

I stood staring blankly at the sparkling surface of the lake. The moon in the night sky was reflected on the water.

I approached the lakeside to check my reflection, but the rippling water made it difficult to see my face.

Everything reflected in the water didn’t feel real, and I sensed a sense of disconnection.

I could feel eyes watching me from behind a laurel tree in the distance.

A deep, unpleasant gaze. Once I became conscious of it, it felt like it was running over my skin. Despite being far away.

A gaze that, under normal circumstances, I would never have noticed, or if I did, I would have tried to ignore. But I jumped to my feet and glared at the laurel tree.

The silhouette behind the tree, panicked as if they were trying to hide or reveal themselves. I walked briskly over to where he was.

I’m not afraid.

I’m not scared.

And just as I was about to grab the man, I woke up.

I thought I wasn’t scared, I wasn’t afraid, but a cold sweat was trickling down from the depths of my subconscious.

I thought maybe I should get a glass of water before I go back to sleep. As I started to sit up to reach for the teapot, someone gently tapped me on the chest.

“You must have had a nightmare.”

At the soothing voice, I abandoned the idea of drinking water and laid back down, my gaze fixed on the owner of the voice.

My father gently stroked my hair. He said he’d stay with me until I fell asleep, but apparently he kept watching me after I did.

“No, it wasn’t a nightmare.”

I said, my voice sounding groggy from sleep. He said he was glad and continued to stroke my hair.

Watching my hair being gently combed by his hand, I felt reassured that even if I had had a nightmare, it would be okay now

Because my father’s memory is back.

When he miraculously regained his memory, the first thing he looked for was me.

He grabbed me by the waist, lifted me up to the ceiling, and spun me around. It was something he had never done to me, not even when I was very young.

I was so surprised that I let out a yelp. I thought Lucas would tease me for the scream, but he was shedding tears as he looked at me and my father.

“Brother, I’m glad. I’m so glad to hear that.….”

After carefully setting me down on the floor, my father walked over to Lucas and hugged him tightly as he cried.

Lucas, who always appeared cheerful, seemed to have suffered more than I had realized.

My dad would understand that more than I would, and that’s why he was able to give him such a beautiful hug.

It was the first time I’d ever heard Lucas call my father “brother”.

I knew that they were relatives who had been together since they were young, but it was still surprising. If anything, he seemed even more affectionate to him than to his brother, Duke Bluea.

Then I remembered Tia Bluea behind my father who ran to find me.

Tia Bluea was looking at the three of us with an unreadable expression.

Maybe it was because my father’s memory had returned, but as I relaxed, I finally saw her as Jung Seulbi. I mean, she’s my… she’s my younger sister.

Although she’s actually my cousin, until my maternal grandmother passed away and I moved in with my aunt, Tia and I were the only ones of similar age among our relatives.

She was very rude and greedy, yes. But she was my sister. I wonder if she remembers Ha Sohee? If she remembers me, how does she remember me?

How did she get here? Wasn’t it hard?

“Tia Bluea…….”

Perhaps she didn’t expect me to call her name, as a look of surprise appeared on Tia Bluea’s face. I cautiously extended my hand toward her.

“………what are you doing?”

“……thank you.”

Reaching out to say thank you? It was a ridiculous excuse, but I did it anyway, because she had been at my father’s bedside talking to him when he was sick while I had a lot on my mind.

Do I feel sorry for Tia Bluea now that my father has regained his memories of me? I know it’s a ridiculous hypocrisy, but it really hit me.

It’s just that my enemy is the God of Death, and everyone under him seems to be a victim.

“Um, would you like to have some tea before you go?”

“What?”

“There’s a delicious dessert.”

I had asked for a custard pie, the most delicious of the desserts Arsene used to procure for me when we were in the village.

Tia Bluea looked a little confused at my suggestion, but said nothing.

“… next time.”

Tia Bluea continued to stare at me as if trying to read my mind, but then she let out a small sigh and returned to the Duchy of Bluea, saying that I should rather spend my day with my family.

What I felt was relief as I looked at Tia Bluea’s back, who did not accept my invitation. My momentary impulse had almost made for an awkward time.

And right now, my father was guarding me by my bed, protecting me while I slept.

I could feel his loving eyes on me, like a strong shield wrapped around my body.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“I’ll go when you fall asleep.”

“But you didn’t leave when I fell asleep.”

“I know. I couldn’t turn around.”

He had every reason to be tired, as we had just enjoyed a raucous family feast to celebrate my father’s regaining his memory of me, but he had stood by my side the entire time.

As if he was guilty of not being able to protect me until now.

“Sometimes I have nightmares about someone looking at me so intensely. He was just looking at me, but it felt so scary.”

“……Do you want me to pull his eyeballs out?”

“I had that dream again earlier, but now I wasn’t afraid of that stare. I recognized who it was that was looking at me like that, so I walked straight toward it.”

Trying to ignore my father’s ferocious murmur, I proceeded cautiously.

He must have known who was looking at me like that in my dream, but he remained silent, listening to me.

“That dream didn’t scare me……. I guess it’s because my father protected me like this from the side.”

“…….”

“And now that laminaicho is done…….”

My father patted me on the head and whispered softly in my ear. ‘You’ve grown up every time I don’t see you.’

Before he regained his memory, father had been unable to fall asleep due to a constant headache. I used both harsh and gentle words to tell him to go to bed so in the end he went back to his room.

I told him that Lucas and Hestia would nag him in the morning, and it seemed to work.

With my father gone, the room fell silent. I couldn’t sleep, but I wasn’t restless.

“Mary.”

I jumped up at the sound of a small voice calling out to me. I had expected Arsene to come now that my father had regained his memory.

He must have waited until he left the room.

“Huh?”

I shouldn’t have been surprised, since I knew Arsene would come, but I stood frozen in place. I froze in my tracks because there was Demimore next to Arsene.

“Why is Demimore here…….”

Demimore rushed up to me, eyes brimming with tears, and hugged me. I hugged him back tightly in my arms.

Did Demimore know that my father had regained his memory? Why was he here with Arsene at this hour? And come to think of it, wasn’t I in my pajamas?

“Demimore took care of X.”

Arsene said as if confessing a secret from beside me as I patted Demimore on the back, my head spinning with tangled thoughts.

The words made me feel as if someone had cut the tangled thread in my head with scissors. I whispered Demimore’s name softly, and he hugged me tighter.

“Thank you…”

I felt like I was spitting out a word that I had never said before. Only then did I realize that it was not a miracle that Grand Duke Estin’s memory returned.

Demimore’s body was shaking. I was suddenly frightened.

“Is something wrong with Demimore because of what he did with X?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m keeping an eye on him.”

“Please take care of him.”

It made me feel small that all I could do for Demimore, who had risked everything for me, was ask Arsene to take care of him.

I quickly checked Demimore’s body, wondering if something had happened to him like what had happened to my father.

And I saw the black marks on his neck. As if he’d been struck by a strong force.

“Why did you…….”

Why did Demimore have to suffer because of me? I had a sinking feeling.

“Thank you, Demimore.”

I wanted to say I was sorry, but somehow I knew I shouldn’t. Demimore and I looked at each other and laughed with tearful eyes.

I remembered what my father had said earlier. He said I was growing up whenever he wasn’t looking.

I understood, in the faintest way, what that felt like.

Demimore had grown up when I wasn’t looking.