TOKVM 45

Chapter 45

4. Dad Has Disappeared

Dad disappeared.

That was the conclusion I reached after scouring the whole village all day.

“This idiot of a man…!”

It’s been ten years since Rahel left this village.

Which meant it was about time the original story was about to begin.

The story starts with Dad disappearing, and me—Vivian—heading up to the capital to find him.

And until the very end—until the conclusion of the original story—Vivian never finds him.

‘Even while Vivian marries Allen and lives her life, he never shows up… so that probably means Dad….’

Maybe he disappeared of his own will at first, but somewhere along the way, he must’ve been caught up in an accident.

For me, who knows the future, what frightened me more than ending up unhappy like in the original story was losing my dad.

But I couldn’t exactly tie up a grown man hand and foot and lock him away, so a few years back I started brainwashing him.

[ Dad, I’m going to cling to you forever, leeching off you all my life. So don’t you dare abandon me and go anywhere, okay? ]

[ If Dad dies, I’ll just go and die too! So don’t get involved in anything dangerous, got it? ]

I gave him plenty of worry-laden, love-filled brainwashing—though it sounded more like threats.

Since I befriended Rahel, met Kkamang and became a spirit user, and twisted the original plot so much, I thought maybe I could avoid being separated from Dad…

But in the end, this man didn’t take his precious daughter’s words seriously at all!

‘If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve tied him up last night and locked him somewhere.’

Come to think of it, Dad did seem strangely off after coming back from the neighboring village last night.

But with the festival just ending, and me exhausted from running the bakery in Dad’s place, I collapsed into sleep.

And when I woke up this morning…

My Princess.

Don’t skip meals just because Dad’s not here.
Don’t wear thin clothes when it’s cold.
Lock the doors at night.

Of course, my princess is smarter and wiser than Dad, so you’ll take care of yourself well.

That was all he left behind—a single little note.

It was the same loving nagging as always, except for one thing that was different.

If the bakery work ever gets too much, check the space under Dad’s bed.
No matter what you do, or where you are, Dad will always support you and love you.
Forever.

There was no mention of when he’d be back.

And most importantly, under Dad’s bed…

‘…Gold coins?’

I had no idea when he’d started saving them, but there was a whole pile of gold coins.

At a glance, it looked like enough money for me to live idly for at least ten years.

But I didn’t feel the slightest bit happy.

Because that meant Dad had been saving up this money for a long time—

‘Which means… he’s been preparing to leave me all along.’

A lump of frustration welled up inside me.

I screamed out my resentment, even though it would never reach the person it was meant for.

“How could you leave behind your poor bunny of a daughter like this, you irresponsible old man!”

Late at night, in a villa near the capital.

The mercenary captain hiding there swallowed hard when he saw the man with the silver mask appear outside.

‘He really came.’

That man was the very leader of the guild Terrak he’d only ever heard about.

Terrak had started operating only two years ago. Despite being new, in just that short time they had risen to become the most influential guild in the capital.

Their work wasn’t much different from any other guild, but one thing was unusual—

No one knew the guild master’s age, status, or even face.

All anyone knew was that he was a man.

In other words, his identity was shrouded in mystery.

Other guilds, who had struggled for years to establish themselves in the capital, naturally didn’t take kindly to Terrak.

Desperate to find the Terrak master’s weakness, they began to dig into his identity.

They speculated that he hid his identity because it was his weakness.

Eventually, one guild managed to plant a spy inside Terrak and learned a way to lure the master out.

‘Whenever it’s information related to the dethroned emperor Leofried, the master comes in person.’

And sure enough, Terrak’s master had taken the bait.

Thankfully, he only brought along two subordinates.

And one of them was their spy—so unmasking him would be easy.

‘At last, I’ll see that bastard’s face.’

The mercenary captain prepared fake documents containing the information Terrak wanted, and went down to the reception room on the first floor.

There, dressed in a black robe and wearing a silver mask, was the master of Terrak.

When their eyes met—blue eyes visible behind the mask—the mercenary captain flinched without even realizing it.

It was just eye contact, but he felt an inexplicable pressure from that gaze.

It was pure instinct.

Pretending to be a seller of information, the mercenary captain bowed politely and began.

“You must be very busy, yet you came all the way here. Since this concerns information about a traitor, there have been many eyes watching us…”

He offered the fake documents he’d prepared.

The master of Terrak skimmed through them before speaking in a chillingly low voice.

“This doesn’t seem to be everything.”

“Half will be given once you confirm the payment.”

Normally, gold coins were carried by subordinates—they were too heavy to bring directly.

The captain had already arranged that the spy would be the one carrying the pouch of gold.

When the spy stepped forward to “show” the payment, he was supposed to deliberately drop the coins, distracting the master long enough for his mask to be pulled off.

Meanwhile, the other subordinate would be subdued by mercenaries waiting nearby.

Everything went according to plan.

The master nodded at the spy to come closer.

The spy pretended to hand over the pouch—and dropped it.

Clatter—

The sound of coins scattering rang loudly through the quiet reception room.

The master’s gaze instinctively shifted.

‘Now!’

The spy lunged for the mask.

But in that instant—

“Aaagh!”

The master grabbed the spy’s fingers, snapped them, and in a flash moved behind him.

By the time the spy realized what had happened, his own dagger—snatched away at some point—was already slitting his throat.

‘That reaction speed—!’

The spy collapsed without even landing a proper counterattack.

The mercenaries froze in shock.

They hadn’t even made a move against the other subordinate yet, and they had the numbers advantage.

But after seeing that one move from the Terrak master, instinct told them—

They were already defeated.

The tense silence was broken by the master’s cold, mocking voice.

“Do you really think no one has ever seen what’s behind this mask?”

He didn’t give them an answer. But the mercenaries knew.

The answer was lying dead at his feet.

“Best not to let curiosity go too far.”

At last, the mercenary captain realized—

The master of Terrak had already identified the spy long ago. He had deliberately brought him here.

It was a warning.

If they ever tried to plant another spy and pull such tricks again…

It would mean open war with Terrak.

Watching the mercenaries gape wordlessly, the master tossed aside the dagger and turned away.

His last remaining subordinate followed behind.

They teleported away from the villa and located a hidden portal nearby.

Closing his eyes for a brief moment, then opening them again—

The dark alley vanished, replaced by the interior of a mansion in muted tones.

The master accepted a towel from the subordinate waiting there and calmly wiped the blood off his leather gloves.

“Dispose of his belongings however you see fit.”

Dismissing his men, he entered the bedroom.

Finally alone, he took off the mask he had been wearing all along.