Chapter 26
But Neil wasn’t like that.
Neil Royce was inherently kind and a bit of a fool. He probably thought it was morally wrong not to inform the biological father about his daughter’s death.
Thanks to that, Theobald was able to find out.
About his daughter’s death—and the birth of his granddaughter.
But that was all.
He couldn’t go to his daughter’s funeral or even visit his newborn granddaughter.
Because when they left, he had sworn never to see them again…
What a foolish vow it was.
If he could, Theobald wanted to turn back time to that day.
He had lived with that regret for eight years.
And after eight long years, he finally met his granddaughter.
‘Neil was right.’
After receiving Neil’s letter saying he was coming to the capital, Theobald tracked him down and had someone tail him, waiting deliberately in that alley on that particular day.
Hoping to run into his granddaughter by chance.
Hoping that by some accident, he’d at least be able to see her face…
She was the granddaughter he had longed to meet so desperately.
And yet—what had he done to the beloved granddaughter he’d finally met?
He couldn’t stop seeing the look on Eve’s face as she stormed out, her face full of hurt.
Neil, who had been hesitating a little, spoke cautiously.
“I’ll try to calm Eve down. But I’m not sure it’ll work. As you’ve seen, she takes after Astrid a lot…”
It was true.
His granddaughter was the spitting image of his daughter.
Dressed in one of Astrid’s favorite childhood dresses, she looked so much like her that he could’ve sworn Astrid had come back to life.
“Let’s go, Dad. Let’s go back to the Imperial Palace. His Highness might be waiting.”
Even the way she spoke—so firm and decisive—was exactly like Astrid.
And if she really did take after Astrid, then her stubbornness would mean she’d never go back on her decision or change her mind.
Thinking that far made his heart heavy. Theobald brushed his dry palm along his jaw and looked at Neil.
“Neil.”
“Yes… Father-in-law.”
“…I know I was wrong. I’ll even apologize to you. So please, calm Eve down. Change her mind.”
“I’ll do my best. But I can’t promise…”
“At the very least, convince her to stay the night here. I’ll send word to the palace. So please.”
Theobald continued in a troubled voice.
“Just… give me a chance to make things right. I’m begging you.”
***
“She’s in here, Lady Eve.”
Charlotte said as she gently handed over my dress.
It had been folded neatly, and not a single wrinkle could be seen—clearly the maids had ironed it while I was away.
I accepted the dress, which looked as crisp as new, and bowed politely.
“Thank you, Miss Charlotte. And really… thank you for everything today!”
“Hoho, it’s nothing. Serving Lady Eve is my duty, after all. But Lady Eve, may I ask… did something upsetting happen today?”
“…Huh?”
“If not, please just ignore my question. But I have a niece around your age, and I can tell just by looking at your expression how you’re feeling.”
Charlotte chuckled softly and pulled out a nicely wrapped piece of candy from her pocket.
“You came out in the middle of the meal, so… something must have upset you, right?”
I couldn’t answer easily.
I couldn’t just blurt out, ‘Yes, you’re right!’ but I also didn’t want to lie and say ‘No, nothing happened.’
My heart was still too hurt to lie, but I was too embarrassed to admit it outright.
“…Haha.”
So in the end, I just gave an awkward laugh.
Charlotte smiled along as if she understood.
She handed me the candy with a kind expression.
“I don’t know what happened, but I truly hope only good things happen to Lady Eve from now on.”
I hugged the dress tightly and accepted the candy she offered.
“Thank you…”
“This is a secret… but this candy is a magical one that makes you feel better. Once you eat it, you’ll forget all about the sad things.”
“Really?”
“Of course! Charlotte would never lie.”
“Wow.”
There are candies like this in the capital?
A candy that makes you forget sad things when you eat it!
Well, I guess it makes sense. There are dragons and magic too.
It would be strange to be surprised over something like this when magic exists.
I slipped the candy into my pocket and gave her a bright smile.
“Thank you, Miss Charlotte. I’ll never forget your kindness. And if we ever meet again…”
Next time, I’ll give you something delicious in return!
But I had to swallow the rest of that sentence.
“Eve! Eve—!! Eveee!!!”
A very familiar voice came from far away.
“Dad?”
That slightly silly voice definitely belonged to my dad!
There’s only one person in the empire with such a goofy voice.
I stopped my conversation with Charlotte and turned my head toward the corridor.
At the end of the hall where the dining room was, Dad came running toward me, out of breath.
“Eve! Huff, puff, wait—”
“Dad, don’t tell me you’re already tired just from running a bit?”
“Puff, no—I’m not tired, I mean…”
“Not tired? You look super tired. Miss Charlotte, doesn’t my dad look really tired?”
“He does look a bit exhausted. Hoho.”
“See? Told you.”
Dad couldn’t even argue back and just gasped for air.
I crouched down and waited for him to catch his breath.
“All done resting?”
“Yeah… yeah…”
“Then let’s go to the Imperial Palace now. His Highness is probably worried. It’s rude to return too late.”
“Ah, about that—Eve!”
Dad suddenly stood up and pulled me tightly into a hug.
…Huh?
What’s going on?
I blinked in confusion, wrapped in my dad’s arms, and looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
“…What are you doing? Don’t tell me you want to stay here one more night, or that you’ve already contacted His Highness so we can come back late…”
“That’s it! That’s exactly right, my genius daughter, Eve!”
Dad hugged me even tighter, clearly trying to stop me from running.
He knew exactly what I was about to do.
Ack!
I struggled with all my strength, flailing my arms and legs, but Dad’s strong arms didn’t budge.
‘…So that’s how you want to play it?’
If that’s the case, it’s time for the ultimate weapon.
Still trapped in my dad’s arms, I took a deep breath and shouted at the top of my lungs:
“NOOOOOO!!!”
***
“Really, I swear I’ll never ask to come here again. I won’t even look in the direction of the Duke of Ferdinand’s estate.”
“…”
“I mean it! So please, Eve…”
“…”
“Just one night! Just one night, okay? Let’s just sleep here tonight. Just one night and we’ll leave right after breakfast. Then I’ll never suggest coming back here again.”
Dad flopped dramatically onto the soft, thick bed covers.
“When will we ever get to sleep on bedding like this again? Right? Right, Eve? I really want to try sleeping in this bed tonight… If I can sleep here just once, I’ll die happy.”
I looked at Dad rolling around on the bed.
He really did look like someone who wanted to sleep here.
Seriously…
I crossed my arms and gave him a long, meaningful look.
