Chapter 6

It seems that this short-haired man is named Paul.

The Earl is also a dashing and handsome man, but Paul, with his short hair, is a well-built and refreshing type.

His occupation is, surprisingly, the captain of the knights.

"Captain of the knights... that's cool."

Paul, hearing the unintentional murmur, doesn't seem to mind at all.

"Well, I'm not sure if I'm your father, but it might be me... you can boast that your dad is the captain of the knights."

Paul, who said this while giving a thumbs up, looked like a child despite being an adult, and he seemed quite proud.

I found his appearance amusing and couldn't help but laugh.

"Hehehe"

Paul, who had been watching me laugh, suddenly picked me up.

"Tori, you look cute when you laugh."

He smiled, showing his white teeth, and his refreshing charm doubled.

This man, who might be my father, seemed to be the type who could naturally say flattering words.

At that moment, I thought he must be quite popular.

And then, the Earl, whose infidelity suspicions had been completely cleared, seemed relieved.

He smiled at me for the first time.

"Tori, if Paul is your father, I would be your uncle."

"Uncle?"

"Yes. If you have any troubles, just tell me."

Seeing my wide-eyed surprise at his sudden kindness, the Earl said,

"Olivia was very concerned about you. If you were my child, she said she intended to raise you herself."

"Olivia?"

"Yes, but Olivia is currently called by the Empress and has been away for a few days."

I understood why I hadn't seen Olivia in this mansion recently.

With all the recent events, I had been feeling anxious, but now that I understood things, I felt a bit more at ease.

Perhaps because I was feeling more relaxed, a big yawn escaped me.

"Go to sleep now."

At the Earl's words, I nodded.

"I'll take you to your room."

Paul, still holding me, left the room.

"This mansion is quite large, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"Which room are you using, Tori? On which floor?"

"Um, the second floor."

"Hmm? Are there guest rooms on the second floor? Well, we'll see when we get there."

Paul's steps are very long.

The corridor, which seemed long, was quickly traversed by Paul, and despite carrying me, his steps were light. We soon reached the second-floor corridor.

"So, which room are you using, Tori?"

"Um, this way."

Paul followed the direction I pointed.

"I think this is a storage room. Are you sure?"

Paul said this as he opened the door.

Seeing the fluffy futon in the corner of the room, I was certain I hadn't come to the wrong room.

Additionally, dinner was prepared near the entrance, so this was definitely the room I had been using.

"Thank you for bringing me to my room."

"Who told you to use this room?"

I was surprised by the low tone of Paul's voice.

"Hey, tell me."

"Um?"

"No, I'll go and ask directly."

Paul, still holding me, retraced his steps. The speed of his movement was so fast that I couldn't help but cling to him.

With a loud bang, Paul opened the door to the Earl's office.

"What's the matter?"

To the Earl's puzzled look, Paul said in a low voice,

"Did you know that Tori was staying in a storage room?"

"What?!"

When Paul told the Earl that he had taken Tori to her room and found it to be a storage room, the Earl looked surprised.

"John said he had shown Tori to a guest room..."

"Call John."

"John is currently serving as Olivia's guard at the castle."

"Did your brother not come to see Tori?"

"Yes, there was a landslide in the territory, and he was busy dealing with it. I had left Tori's care to the maids."

Then, both of them started bombarding me with questions.

They asked in detail who, when, and what was said and done.

"Um, well, that..."

If I tried to evade or fudge the answers, they would cleverly change the questions and before I knew it, I had spilled everything. The Earl, I thought, must be very skilled at negotiations, as he was able to get a clear understanding of what had happened to me.

"Hmm, Oliver did that, did he?"

The Earl, placing his hand on his chin, seemed to be thinking, but his expression was not a good one.

It felt like I was tattling on Oliver, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I tried to smooth things over.

"Um, well, Oliver helped me take a bath."

"Bath?"

Paul, who was supposed to be talking to the Earl, suddenly joined the conversation.

"Yes, I was very, very dirty. But thanks to Oliver, I'm all clean. My clothes are clean too."

That's right, I'm a four-year-old with a clean body.

In the confusion, I had been dressed in clothes that I now loved.

All thanks to Oliver.

"Oliver saw you naked, did he?"

"Um?"

It seemed I was the only one who thought that at four years old, gender shouldn't matter in such a situation.

"I'll have a talk with Oliver later."

The Earl, smiling, said this, but it made me feel strangely scared, and I couldn't help but give a nervous laugh.

Then, Paul, hitting his fist into his palm, said,

"Right. I haven't trained Oliver and Brian in a while."

"Um, do you know which maid was coming in and out of your room?"

I shook my head.

"I don't know. I haven't talked to her."

"Did she have any distinctive features?"

"Um, no, no, no."

I remembered the maid wearing glasses, but I didn't want to tattle, so I tried to evade the question.

"Tori, you're not a good liar."

Paul's words shocked me.

I muttered to myself, "I was an adult in my previous life, you know."

In the end, even without me saying anything, it was quickly discovered that the maid with glasses had been coming in and out of my room, and she was called in.

The maid, upon entering the room and seeing me, seemed to realize why she had been called.

"I'm very sorry."

"Why did you do such a thing?"

The maid, lifting her head, said,

"One night, when I went to turn off the lights in the lady's room, I saw her crying alone, saying that her husband was cheating on her. I also heard rumors."

"What did you hear?"

"That the child was sent by someone who wanted to claim the Earl's fortune."

It seems that there were rumors about me in the Earl's household, and the maids and servants all believed them.

If that was the case, I thought it was surprising that I hadn't been subjected to worse treatment. The meals I received were always luxurious and served hot, so I considered the level of mistreatment to be low.

In my previous life, I had worked in a female-dominated workplace and experienced various factions and issues. Considering my life experience, small acts of mistreatment were nothing.

"Tori is not my child. She is probably Paul's."

Hearing the Earl's words, the maid, who was very surprised, apologized profusely, to the point where I felt bad for her.

The Earl, realizing that most of the people in the mansion knew about his infidelity, smiled in a troubled way.

Looking at the Earl, I thought,

Indeed, his face looks like he's smiling.

We are that similar.

"I'm having Tori's birth investigated urgently."

"I'll also try to find out who might be the father."

The room I was shown to that day was the luxurious guest room I had been taken to first.

Although it was too luxurious for me to feel comfortable, a tired four-year-old can sleep anywhere.

Just before falling asleep, I felt a soft touch on my forehead.

"Have a good dream."

Thinking that Paul, who might be my father, would be popular, I fell asleep. Thank you to those who reported typos and omissions.