Chapter 7

“Daddyyyy!”

When Caesar returned home, he couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of his daughter rushing toward him, her adorable little face smeared with soot.

Scooping Lirian up in his arms, he asked:

“My princess, I heard you had a very exciting day causing trouble again?”

“Eeeh, no I didn’t.”

“No? Then what’s with this coal-monster face?”

He waved off the anxious servants, signaling them to continue their duties, then carried Lirian toward the bath.

To the outside world, Caesar was the Iron-Blooded Duke—the “Demon King.”
But he was a man who knew how to read situations.

He understood. Servants couldn’t possibly keep two wild little children under control.
Even he, their father, struggled to rein them in. It was even harder for them, bound by class and status.

So instead of trying to stop them, Caesar had chosen to let the children run free—while reinforcing the entire mansion with protective magic to keep them safe.

The Demon King’s Castle was, in truth, more like a fortress.

“Arms up, princess.”

“Up!”

Carrying Lirian into the bath, Caesar washed her face first with the warm water already prepared. Then he lifted her arms so he could strip off her sooty clothes, set a floating duck toy in the tub, and plopped her gently into the water.

“Pfft! Hahaha!”

Lirian giggled, bobbing on the surface like a little cork.

“Lirian.”

Of course, safety was one thing, but as a parent, Caesar also believed discipline was necessary.

“High places are dangerous. And fire—ouch, hot—stays away from that too.”

He rolled up his sleeves and began washing her hair with practiced hands.

Eyes squeezed shut tight, Lirian pressed her tiny palms over them and replied boldly:

“But it’s not dangerous.”

“Yes, not—wait, what?”

“It wasn’t hot either!”

She really meant it. Neither had felt dangerous to her at all.

Caesar froze, speechless. Then he sighed inwardly.

‘As expected of my daughter.’

His children were all exceptional, but Lirian especially—when it came to physical ability, she surpassed them all.

It was a source of pride, but also a problem. Normal words like “That’s dangerous” didn’t work on her.

“…Ahem. Liri, it’s… dangerous for Daddy’s heart.”

Yes. That was the answer.

It might sound silly, but it was all he had.

Thankfully, his daughter—still the sweet, devoted child despite her past life’s memories—suddenly turned to him, foam piled on her head like a crown.

Her big violet eyes blinked wide as she pressed her tiny hand over his chest.

“Daddy, does it hurt?”

Caesar’s heart really did ache then—just in a different way.

Overcome with emotion, he stared at her with misty eyes.

But then—

“Waaah! My eyes sting!”

“See? I told you it’s dangerous. Come here, Daddy will rinse you off.”

The heartwarming moment didn’t even last a minute.
Soap had gotten into her eyes, and chaos returned.

And as always, Caesar ended up soaked to the bone.

Purrr…

After bath time, Lirian was bundled up in a huge towel, warm and cozy.

So soft… so fluffy…

She hadn’t felt this safe and comfortable since before her family’s loss. Half-asleep, she grinned as she dozed.

Watching her with gentle eyes, Caesar asked:

“Princess, shall you sleep with Daddy tonight?”

“I can sleep by myself…”

“But Daddy has something important to talk about.”

“…Talk?”

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked up.

Caesar dried her hair with a spell, dressed her in rabbit pajamas, then nodded.

“Liri, you said before that someone helped you in your last life.”

At those words, Lirian’s drowsiness vanished.
She looked up sharply.

“You said his name was Illei.”

After confessing to her family about her regression, she had worried over her next step.
She needed to find Illei, the one most important to her in that ruined world—but she had no idea where he was in this timeline.

So she had asked her parents for help.
Naturally, they agreed.

Illei had been not only her greatest supporter, but the empire’s Supreme Commander in her past life.

“Illei was royalty, right?”

“Mm-hm. That’s what people said.”

“And he was active in the Church too.”

She nodded.

“Illei had tons of holy power. For the Empire’s sake, he gave up being a… a…”

“An imperial heir.”

“Yes! He gave up being an imperial heir to join the Church.”

Caesar’s face grew thoughtful.

“Yes. There was such a prince.”

“Really?! Daddy knows him too?”

Her violet eyes sparkled as she looked at him.

Caesar hesitated over how much to say, then explained.

“The Imperial Family has seven children—three princes and four princesses. But only two are legitimate, born of the Empress. The First Prince… and the Fifth Prince.

That Fifth Prince was born with extraordinary holy power. The Empire was in an uproar. He even received the middle name Serebia, meaning God’s blessing.”

But was it truly a blessing for a child?

“…Two years ago, that same prince suddenly renounced his title and declared he would join the Church. He said it was for the good of the Empire.”

Caesar remembered it clearly.

Back then, a city had been completely annihilated by a terrifying monster.
It should have been an easy hunt for knights, but the creature’s vitality and hatred were abnormal.
The Imperial Knights failed again and again.

The incident was known as the “Subjugation of Acranse the Hateful.”

In the end, even one of the Church’s famed “Seven Stars” had to be dispatched to slay it.

But the damage to public faith was already done.

The people whispered: This is all because the Sword of Dawn has lost its light.

That sacred relic, once wielded by Emperor Leonhardt I, had gone dark since the current emperor’s coronation.
Without its glow, the Imperial Family’s legitimacy was in question.

So, to appease public unrest, the emperor announced:
The Fifth Prince—blessed by God—would voluntarily join the Church.

…Voluntary? Hardly.
He had been only five years old.

“So Illei’s in the Church now?”

“That’s the problem. We know he was sent there, but after that… his whereabouts are unknown.”

Lirian’s eyes widened. Caesar quickly added an explanation.

“That means we don’t know whether he truly stayed with the Church, or if he was quietly hidden in the palace instead.”

“Hidden? In secret?”

“Exactly. They could pretend to send him to the Church but keep him close in the palace. He gave up his title, yes, but he’s still the emperor’s son.”

Of course, that would be risky politically. But Caesar didn’t say that part aloud.

Sending a child away to the Church was essentially abandoning him.
As a father himself, Caesar didn’t want to believe any parent could do such a thing.

“I get it!”

Suddenly, Lirian’s face lit with realization.

“It’s hide-and-seek!”

Caesar chuckled, patting her head.

“Yes. A game of hide-and-seek. Illei’s either hiding in the Church or hiding in the palace.”

“I’m really good at hide-and-seek!”

“I know. My princess is the best at it in the world. That’s why—how about we go to the palace together?”

Her eyes sparkled.

“To find Illei?”

“Yes. The Church will take more time to investigate, so we’ll search the palace first.”

The palace wasn’t a place one could just stroll into. But Caesar was the Duke of Ersioni.
If he wanted an excuse, he had dozens.

Besides, while the boys had already visited the capital, Lirian hadn’t.
It would be good for her to see the world a little.

Finding the Fifth Prince was important, yes.
But more than that, Caesar wanted his daughter to experience life.

And—he simply wanted a little father-daughter outing.

“Yay! Let’s play hide-and-seek!”

She jumped up in excitement.

Thunk!

“Ow!”

Her head smacked right into his chin, hard enough to make stars burst before his eyes.

But Lirian didn’t even notice. She was already bouncing on the bed like a rabbit.

I’ll be the seeker, and Illei will hide. No matter where he hides—I’ll find him.

Caesar rubbed his aching jaw, then gently calmed his overly excited little bunny.

“All right. But seekers need to go to bed early, right?”

“…I don’t like sleeping early.”

“Then seekers can’t play hide-and-seek.”

She pouted, but against Daddy’s expert pats and cuddles, she couldn’t win.

So, when Resa returned to their bedroom later that night—

“Shh.”

“Pfft…”

There was Lirian, fast asleep, curled up in Caesar’s arms like a little starfish.

The sight made Resa laugh softly.