Chapter 4

2. The Empire’s Shadow, the Birth of House Ersioni

At that very moment, Caesar—who had been turning the entire mansion upside down looking for his daughter—snapped his head up at the sound of her voice echoing in the distance.

“Princess!”

Thud!

He rushed forward, ready to catch her the instant she came into sight.

But his daughter leapt so powerfully that she slammed right into his face instead.

As a result, Caesar fell flat on his back.

“Ugh… Lirian, are you all right?”

“Yep!”

“Thank goodness.”

He sat up with his daughter in his arms.

Even with his hair mussed and clothes rumpled, Caesar somehow still looked dashing. Proof that true handsome men stayed handsome no matter what.

Running his fingers through his messy hair, he asked,

“So, what was it you were saying?”

“Oh, right. Daddy!”

“Yes?”

“I regressed.”

Lirian gazed up at him with sparkling eyes, full of expectation.

“Hm.”

Her mysterious violet eyes reminded him of someone mischievous. Caesar chuckled.

“Did you now?”

“Yes!”

“Then we’ll have to eat fried eggs again tonight. Since the ones you ate this morning don’t count anymore.”

Blink.

Wait. That wasn’t the reaction she expected.

“No, that’s not what I—”

“What? You don’t want fried eggs?”

“N-no!”

She tried to explain, but in the end, she lost to fried eggs.

Damn it. World-saving: 0. Fried eggs: 1.

“I’ll eat them! But first, Daddy, listen to me.”

She lowered her voice dramatically, determined to convince him.

“Twelve years from now… the Abyss… the world will end… if we don’t stop it…”

She tried to summarize the future as best as her brain could manage.

“…And that’s why this happened.”

It wasn’t perfect, but it was her best effort.

“So we have to stop the destruction before twenty years pass!”

Clenching her tiny fists, she shouted with all the seriousness she could muster.

That should be enough to convince him.

“Of course, Daddy understands. This time you’re playing… Hero, right?”

Huh?

“Our princess, your vocabulary’s getting so impressive.”

Smiling proudly, Caesar seemed utterly convinced it was just another make-believe game.

Lirian’s face twisted.

“That’s not it!”

“Oh? Then is it… Villain vs. Villain? A game where bad guys fight each other?”

“Aaagh! It’s not a game!”

No matter what she said, he only thought she was role-playing.

Finally, she used her trump card.

“Daddy, I hate you!”

“L-Lirian?”

“Dummy, dummy, dummy! You’re an orc! An ogre! A troll!”

“W-what harsh words…”

Reeling from the blow, Caesar stumbled back. But fiery Lirian didn’t stop. She hopped to her feet with all the indignation of a betrayed daughter.

“I’m leaving!”

“Lirian, wait!”

And thus, father-daughter bonding time ended in disaster once again.

Caesar felt troubled.

Since the day before, Lirian had shut herself in her room.

Not even eating.

Could she… have been serious?

His expression hardened.

“Lirian.”

Knock, knock.

“May I come in? We need to talk.”

That night, he stood before her door, voice low and heavy.

Click. Creeeak.

After a moment, the door cracked open.

Through the gap, he glimpsed her plump cheeks—thinner than before. The sight pained him.

With a sigh-like smile, he asked,

“May I come in?”

She nodded, and he stepped inside.

Father and daughter sat a handspan apart on her bed.

Awkward silence filled the air.

Lirian fidgeted with her fingers, head bowed, while Caesar simply watched.

At last, he spoke.

“About what you said yesterday. Daddy thought about it.”

Her fingers twitched.

“First, what I want to say is…”

“….”

“I’m sorry.”

Her head turned slowly toward him.

“For not taking you seriously.”

He reached out and gently stroked her hair.

With a pained smile, he said,

“Would you tell me again? I want to hear your story.”

Her lips opened, closed, then finally she nodded.

They talked for a long time—about everything.

At the end, Lirian emphasized,

“If we don’t stop the dragon, so many people will die.”

Her fists clenched tight.

“So please, Daddy.”

She looked up at him with eyes full of trust and desperation.

“Help me.”

It was his daughter’s plea.

Caesar didn’t answer right away.

Instead, he knelt before her, pulling her into a firm embrace.

“Were you hurt?”

She hadn’t said much about her family in her story, but from that absence alone, he understood enough.

How many nights had she cried herself to sleep, facing the world’s storms alone?

“…Not hurt. Just…”

That was how she put it.

That meant the Lirian who had lived through destruction still existed somewhere.

What had become of her?

Caesar didn’t dare imagine.

His body trembled faintly as he held her.

Startled by his unexpected reaction, Lirian stammered,

“I-I’m fine, Daddy. Really…”

Her small hand patted his back, comforting him.

Caesar clenched his teeth.

She was only twenty-five in that other life—still younger than he was now.

I won’t let such tragedy touch her future again.

They said people grew strong when they had something to protect.

Then how strong must a parent become?

In his blue eyes, a light blazed, fierce as dawn breaking.

“All right. Let’s do it.”

Saving the world?

If it meant protecting his children, he would gladly take it on.

“Family meeting.”

The next morning, after father and daughter had reconciled, Caesar declared solemnly.

“Family meeting?”

“It’ll be your first. Whenever something important comes up, the entire family gathers for discussion.”

This was the famous Ersioni Family Meeting.

The thought of seeing her mother and brothers again filled Lirian with joy—but also curiosity.

After all, her three brothers were in the capital, and her mother was living alone in some far-off northern estate.

Why her mother chose such a place, Lirian never knew. They’d promised to explain when she was older, but then the Abyss…

Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it!

She shook her head hard, pushing away the memories.

“So, when is it?”

“Let’s see… three…”

She assumed it would be in thirty days.

“…two, one.”

“Lirian! My baby girl!”

Bang!

The door slammed open, and a whirlwind swept her up into the air.

“Did you miss Mommy?”

Dark violet hair, eyes glowing with magical power, breathtaking beauty—

It was Duchess Resa Ersioni herself.

Lirian’s face went blank.

“…Mom?”

Why was she here?

The north was at least a three-week journey away!

“Ahem.”

As Resa showered her daughter’s cheeks with kisses, Caesar cleared his throat and slipped in to hug them both.

“If you think you can steal all of Lirian’s cuteness, think again.”

Resa gave him a sidelong glance and laughed.

“Please. I’m an expert in these matters.”

And Caesar grinned back, moving closer—

“Waaah! No! That’s R-rated!”

Lirian threw herself between her parents to stop the lip-to-lip affection.

Thus proving herself a true “fire attribute filial daughter.”

Though disappointed, Caesar sulked adorably, while Resa gazed at him fondly.

And Lirian suddenly remembered—

Oh right. Daddy’s the younger one.

She felt like she’d stumbled onto a parental secret she shouldn’t have.

“What about the others?”

“They said they’d take the warp gate this morning, so they should arrive within an hour or two.”

Warp gate! That explained it.

So that’s it. The Mage Tower still exists at this point.

Warp magic circles could only be installed at mage towers, not used individually.

But when the Abyss erupted, the Mage Tower was one of the first places destroyed.

That’s when the world lost its mobility.

Her violet eyes gleamed.

She was starting to see where the future needed changing.

“Are my brothers coming too?”

“Say ‘are coming,’ Lirian.”

“Are my brothers coming?”

“Good girl. They’ll be here soon. Want to take a nice bath with Mommy until then?”

“D-dear?”

“You stay here. Don’t get between us girls.”

Poor Caesar looked utterly left out as Resa whisked Lirian away to the bath.

Cuddled in her mother’s arms, Lirian whispered in her heart,

Sorry, Daddy.

“This one’s cute, and so is this one… Oh, they all look perfect on you, what do I do? I can’t choose!”

She had forgotten.

If her father was a kiss maniac, her mother was a dress-up fanatic.

Fresh from her bath, Lirian sat on the bed in twin pigtails, staring seriously at dozens of outfits spread before her.

At this rate, they’d never pick one in less than three hours.

“Mom, I want this one.”

“This? You like it?”

“Yep!”

“Then that’s the one.”

Being a dutiful daughter, she quickly picked the nearest dress-and-ribbon set to save her mother the headache.

“Our Lirian, you’re so beautiful.”

Resa’s lively eyes softened with tenderness.

She, too, hadn’t seen her daughter in so long.

So long…

Lirian felt the same, but her head started buzzing with a thought she couldn’t quite grasp.

Ugh, brain strike! No thinking!

Having used her head too much lately, her brain refused to cooperate.

If it was important, she’d remember later.

For now, she followed her parents into the grand hall, where the Ersioni Family Meeting was held.

At her seat, labeled [Lirian (Youngest)], she glanced at the three empty chairs and tilted her head.

“My brothers?”

“Here they come.”

“We’ve returned, Father, Mother.”

Click. The door opened—

And in walked a boy like something out of heaven.

Soft black hair, gentle blue eyes, a faint smile.

It was the eldest, Seran.

Age: nine.

“….”

Next came the second, Yuri.

Sharper features, dark-tinged black hair, and silence like a blade.

At seven years old, he scanned the room, nodded with satisfaction, and quietly took his seat.

Even without expression, his thoughts came through.

Finally—

A commotion erupted outside the door.

“The third’s always so full of energy.”

“He’s going to hurt himself one day.”

“Children grow by stumbling. You worry too much.”

Resa’s voice was calm, unlike Caesar’s anxious muttering.

“He was right behind me a moment ago—”

And with Seran’s quiet observation, the door slammed open with a bang.

“Dad! Mom! Brothers!”

The whirlwind of noise burst into the room.

“And shorty! How’ve you been?!”

The moment the third son charged in,

The entire hall fell silent.