Chapter 06
* * *
“What is this?”
Finally, at 3 p.m.
When Marquis Leo saw me, he stepped back like he had seen a ghost.
After getting secret information from Ebot, I sneaked through a small hole near the kitchen and successfully entered Father’s dining room.
“Father.”
I smiled brightly, even though my dress was a little wrinkled.
He frowned at the servants.
“I clearly said something yesterday!”
“W-We don’t know how the young lady got in…”
The servants looked just as shocked.
“Ersha is hungry.”
“!”
Before I could be kicked out, I quickly ran to the dining table.
The chair was too tall for me, so I used both arms and all my strength to climb up.
After finally sitting down, I saw Father still standing there in disbelief.
“You want to eat breakfast with me?”
“Yeah!”
Breakfast was long over, you unemployed man!
I held back the urge to smack his back and looked at the servants.
“Ersha needs a fork too.”
“Pardon?”
The servants looked at the Marquis like the world was ending.
He let out a deep sigh.
“Go back to your room immediately.”
“You won’t even give me food?”
I blinked my round eyes.
Father rubbed his face in annoyance.
“…If you came again to talk about a tutor, fine. I already chose someone for you. So you don’t need to come see me again.”
“!”
My face brightened.
Yesterday he rejected me so firmly, so I was disappointed. But now I finally had a tutor!
“Thank you, Father!”
I raised one hand toward him.
It was a high-five gesture.
But the dining room stayed cold and silent.
Father stared at me, then signaled to the servants.
“Give her a fork.”
“Yes, sir.”
“There won’t be a child-sized one. Give her my dessert fork and teaspoon.”
“Yes.”
I slowly lowered my hand and smiled happily.
Marquis Leo unwillingly sat across from me.
Soon, the servants placed dishes and utensils in front of me and gave me small portions of food.
The fork was long, but small enough for a child.
The omelet smelled delicious.
‘It looks so good.’
The room still felt tense, but I didn’t care.
The most important thing was surviving.
But if I wanted to survive, I also needed to fix this family’s tragic future.
Maybe the family’s happiness would become my happiness.
I could leave later and live well on my own, but I couldn’t ignore the dark original story.
First, I had to eat.
After eating a little, I drank some milk and began the real conversation.
“By the way, Father.”
“?”
“Did the count’s son really do something that deserved being hit?”
“….”
“Grandpa is too harsh. He didn’t even listen to your side until the end!”
His expression became darker.
He put his wine glass down hard.
“That is none of your business.”
“What if Grandpa really kicks you out?”
“Hmph.”
He sneered.
Sneered?
“I wish he would kick me out. That annoying old man.”
…
Right.
I didn’t expect him to suddenly regret his actions.
“Father, are you really okay with dying?”
“M-Miss?”
The servants were shocked by my bold question.
I quickly added,
“I mean… if we get kicked out, we might all die…”
We really will die, you idiot!
In the original story, right after we were kicked out, he was hit by a carriage and died. And because I was with him, I died too.
And that wasn’t the end.
Five years later, Grandfather would die and pass the dukedom to Oscar. But Oscar would only live three more years.
Everyone died.
After Grandfather Shurman died from illness, the main character, Oscar, inherited the title.
But surviving relatives refused to accept the young Oscar as head of the family.
His supporters told him every day that he must kill the relatives who threatened his position.
Every night, Oscar suffered from assassination attempts.
Eventually, he killed his own uncle, Louis Shablin, and his aunt, Violey Shablin.
When Louis killed Oscar’s father, Freddy Shablin, Oscar could not endure it anymore.
It was a cruel cycle of killing.
Even after securing his position, Oscar was filled with guilt for killing family members.
He developed hallucinations.
‘And in the end… he jumped off a cliff.’
It was truly a story about how empty power can be.
Just thinking about the fierce battle for the dukedom made my whole body shiver.
In the end, the Shablin family continued fighting among themselves and slowly declined.
And all of that tragedy started with Leo.
Because Leo, the only rightful heir, died early, Grandfather had to skip his other sons and choose young Oscar instead.
But Marquis Leo looked at me coldly.
“Erusha.”
“Yes?”
“This mansion and this family are the ones suffocating me.”
“….”
“Your grandfather is the real cause of our sickness.”
“…Ah.”
I let out an awkward sound.
He looked serious as he lifted his wine glass.
“If I get kicked out, be happy. That will be the day my true freedom begins.”
…
I had nothing to say.
His idea of “true freedom” probably meant drinking and fighting.
Then I remembered something I wanted to ask.
“But Father, you’re Grandpa’s heir. Don’t you want to inherit the family?”
He stared at me.
“My happiness as a human being is more important than wealth and family glory. A life controlled by the family is not truly my life.”
“I see… okay.”
I decided to just eat.
I forced a small smile and picked up my spoon again.
‘Is it even possible to fix this crooked father?’
It felt like I was raising the most difficult parent in the world.
In romance fantasy stories, there are cool tyrant dads or secret mastermind dads.
Why is my dad just a crazy troublemaker?
Instead of being loved and protected, I have to raise my father properly just to survive.
Fine. I won’t aim for perfection.
‘He just needs to become normal enough not to get kicked out.’
No hitting people.
Drink less.
Stop causing trouble.
At least he didn’t seem obsessed with family wealth or power, which was surprising.
He looked flashy and covered in jewels, but maybe he cared more about fashion than power.
I was about to sigh and look away when—
“Your Excellency.”
The dining room doors opened.
Well-dressed people walked in.
The moment Leo saw the person standing in the center, he frowned.
