Chapter 04
“Edith.”
“Yes?”
At my grandfather’s call, I stopped stirring the brown broth.
“Are you unwell? Why aren’t you eating at all?”
When I lifted my head, I saw my grandfather looking at me with concern.
Oh no, he noticed.
“It’s nothing. It’s just a bit hot, so I was eating slowly.”
I hid my agitation and replied with a small smile.
“Is that so? Give it here. I’ll cool it down for you.”
Watching his wrinkled hand carry the dish away, I let out a quiet sigh.
It had been three days since Roberick last came.
I did manage to drive him away somehow, but he wasn’t the kind of man who would give up and retreat like this.
…What should I do?
It was only because Roberick had acted more gently than expected that I managed to push him back on my own. If he were to use his status and power to crush us, I couldn’t think of any way to resist.
“We should change the pot or something. It’s hot enough, yet the ingredients are still undercooked…”
Just as I was sinking into uncertainty about the future and my grandfather was clicking his tongue over the poor quality of the pot—
Knock, knock.
“…?”
“!”
A sound came from outside the door.
Slow. And distinct.
Clang—
The spoon slipped from my hand.
A loud noise rang out, enough to hurt my ears.
…No way.
I pressed my cold lips together and stared at the door.
Did Roberick come?
Is he planning to go all out regardless of whether my grandfather is here?
“Stay seated.”
My grandfather got up and opened the door.
Thump, thump—my heart pounded wildly. In that moment, through the gap of the opened door, the face that appeared was, unexpectedly—
“…You bastard!”
It was Perion.
“…?”
Why are you here?
“…”
Standing like a grim reaper against the darkness, Perion stared at my grandfather with a stiff expression.
“…Why are you here? Get out of here this instant!”
My grandfather shouted angrily.
Considering everything Perion had done so far, it was a completely natural reaction.
“Move aside!”
Even so, Perion said nothing, and my grandfather roughly pulled on the doorknob.
Thud—
“You insolent…”
But Perion’s grip firmly caught the closing door and stopped it.
A ferocious voice, no less intimidating than when he had smashed a stone into Roberick’s head a few days ago, surged from my grandfather’s throat.
The atmosphere turned dangerous. I bit my lip.
Why did he come? At this rate, they’ll really start fighting—at least explain the reason first!
“I have urgent matters to discuss regarding His Grace, the Grand Duke of Hailian.”
At that moment, as if reading my thoughts, Perion finally spoke.
“!”
My grandfather, who had been glaring at him fiercely, visibly faltered.
“Will you not regret it, even if you refuse to hear me out?”
Perion said this while looking down at him through the half-closed door.
“…Stop wasting time and state your business. Then leave.”
That was my grandfather’s answer.
With a click, as my grandfather withdrew his hand, the old door blocking Perion’s entry fully opened.
“…Your strength is still impressive.”
“Shut up.”
Perion muttered while wiping the faint sweat on his forehead.
His red eyes—similar in color to Roberick’s but sharper and murkier—turned toward me.
…What kind of story did he come all this way to tell?
I showed my wariness toward him without hiding it.
“…It concerns that child.”
At that moment, Perion revealed the reason for this sudden late-night visit.
“…What?”
“Shiorn Arkaites Bastevan. I have a proposal for you.”
Perion said this with a clearly displeased expression.
I looked down at the sacks scattered across the table, several metal objects that seemed to be keys to a vault, and tokens whose purpose I couldn’t understand.
“So… what you’re proposing now is—”
“Flee to a place where His Grace the Grand Duke cannot find you.”
That was the ‘proposal’ Perion presented after suddenly visiting to avoid Roberick’s eyes.
“I will provide all the funds necessary for your escape. You are currently stripped of your identification token to restrict your movement, so I have prepared a forged one to replace it. I will also assign one of my trusted subordinates to escort you safely to your destination while evading the Grand Duke’s eyes.”
“…What do you gain from going this far? Do you have any way to prove that your actions are not influenced by Roberick Arne Hailian?”
My grandfather asked, frowning deeply.
Before answering, Perion slid his gaze toward me.
I flinched slightly and clenched my hands.
“Proof, you say. …To be honest, I do not want your granddaughter to be recognized as the Grand Duchess of Hailian.”
Perion revealed his true intentions without hesitation.
“The current situation is the most harmonious. The one who would shatter that peace is that child.”
It seemed he didn’t want Shastya and Alea’s positions to be shaken by my appearance as Roberick’s only biological child.
“…I cannot understand it myself, but His Grace intends to accept your granddaughter as the Grand Duchess.”
“What?! What right does that bastard have—!”
Unaware of how persistently Roberick had been clinging over the past week, my grandfather shouted in shock.
“…He has every right. After all, he is her biological father.”
No matter that I was the child of a woman stripped of her title and branded a villainess, I still inherited the blood of the Grand Duke and the noble blood of House Bastevan.
Meanwhile, Alea, who had not inherited even a drop of the Grand Duke’s blood and was born to commoner parents of unknown origin, could not compare at all.
And now that Roberick himself had firmly decided to take me in as the Grand Duchess—
Perion added, unable to hide his unease,
“What do you want? I will meet your conditions as much as possible. You do not wish for your granddaughter to become the Grand Duchess of Hailian either, do you?”
It was a very Perion-like reason.
I understood his intentions, yet felt a chill.
To go so far as to protect the woman who married his master and her daughter—even against his master’s will.
It worked in my favor, but still, both master and subordinate were out of their minds.
“…Ha.”
My grandfather looked visibly troubled by the sudden proposal.
“How can I trust you…”
That confusion was filled with hatred and distrust toward Perion.
After all, he was someone who had assisted the protagonists and contributed to the downfall of House Bastevan.
“Is it difficult to decide?”
Perion murmured coldly as he looked down at my grandfather.
“Then let me add one more thing. His Grace the Grand Duke is showing an excessive level of obsession toward that child.”
“…What?”
I already knew that.
But he was acting so blatantly that even Perion noticed? That lunatic.
“From the start, it was ominous enough that he came spouting nonsense about being her father… but if he had even a shred of shame, he wouldn’t go this far…”
“That’s enough. I need your answer. Will you accept this proposal?”
Perion’s proposal was clearly an opportunity.
If it was Roberick’s decision to take me as the Grand Duchess, then no matter what my grandfather and I did, we wouldn’t be able to overturn it.
So the only solution left for us was—
To run.
To escape somewhere Roberick could never find.
To cross the empire’s borders and flee to a distant foreign land.
“….”
My grandfather remained silent for a long time, deep in thought.
But it seemed he reached the same conclusion as I did.
“I’ll accept your proposal.”
At last, the words of agreement left his lips.
‘Decide on your destination as soon as possible. You must not delay your preparations. There is a limit to how much I can divert His Grace’s attention.’
With only those words, Perion turned and left.
The sack of gold coins, the vault keys, and the identification token he left behind still sat on the table.
“….”
But what was the reason for this heavy silence?
Sitting on the sofa, swinging my feet, I glanced at my grandfather, who had been silent for a while.
…It made sense he would be this serious.
Because of me, we had to abandon the home we had lived in for the past seven years and flee to an unknown land, relying on the help of someone as hateful as Perion.
And there was no guarantee we would even escape safely.
The weight in my chest was just as heavy.
Damn Roberick.
If it weren’t for him, there would be no need for this sudden escape.
We could have continued living the same peaceful, even monotonous life as before.
…How did he find out about me?
A question that should have arisen long ago finally surfaced in my mind.
For seven years, he had no idea I existed.
So why now?
“Edith.”
“Yes?”
My grandfather’s voice pulled me out of my deep thoughts.
Startled, I answered in a slightly raised voice.
When I looked up, he was gazing down at me with a complicated smile.
“You heard the conversation between that man and me earlier, didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”
I answered hesitantly. His smile trembled slightly.
“You probably didn’t understand everything. But that’s fine. You don’t need to know anything. This old man will handle it all.”
His warm hand rested heavily on my shoulder.
“And… Edith, what do you think about leaving this place and moving somewhere far away?”
I bit the inside of my cheek.
“If you don’t want to, we won’t leave. Don’t think about anything else. Just choose what you want.”
He added, perhaps misunderstanding my hesitation.
How foolish.
I steadied my wavering heart, shaken by the fear of choosing the unknown.
I couldn’t become a burden to my already struggling grandfather.
“…I’m okay. Actually, I’ve wanted to go outside the village for a long time. Anywhere is fine with me, Grandfather.”
I would rather die than live as Roberick’s daughter, separated from my grandfather.
If that was the case, we had to leave.
“…I see.”
A pained smile formed on his lips.
“You’ve grown up too early.”
The hand patting my back felt unusually weak today.
“But… where are we going?”
After watching his expression, I asked carefully.
A small, unknown country?
Or… Nisha was also a possibility.
It was a kingdom hostile to the Roshan Empire, so while its ideology was somewhat unpleasant, it wasn’t a bad place to flee to.
“…A place where an old friend resides.”
“Huh?”
At his unexpected answer, I tilted my head.
The smile on his face shifted from pain to something closer to regret.
“It is a place detached from the interests of all kingdoms and empires… there is no more suitable place for us to go.”
I blinked, unable to understand what he meant.
Dong— Dong—
Just as I was about to ask, the sound of a clock echoed loudly through the darkened house.
“It’s late.”
My grandfather smiled gently.
“What time is nine o’clock?”
I pursed my lips and answered,
“…It’s time for a good child to go to dreamland.”
“You know well.”
He stood up first and held out his hand to me.
“You’ll have a good dream tonight. Forget all your worries, and allow this old man to appear in your dreams as well.”
