Chapter 87

Silence.

Dad remained silent as if he would wait for me to speak forever.

And then—

"Wow, what do we do?"

My mind was in turmoil, spinning nonstop.

I let my guard down!

I got anxious thinking that Joseph might have hooked up with someone other than Dad—

"This is bad. Dad seemed to doubt me before, too."

At that moment, I had made a firm resolution.

Not to stick my neck out and get caught by the sharp and perceptive protagonist, but to step back and stay one step behind.

"But, then again, if I can't recruit the bookseller, it's game over from the start!"

I couldn't just sit idly by.

So, I had no choice.

"Hmm."

I tried my best to stay calm and tilted my head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I decided to play it off as if I didn't know.

"......"

Dad just stared into my eyes again.

I felt exposed...

"Ahaha!"

Suddenly, Dad burst into laughter and flopped down on the bed.

"It's nothing. I must have been confused."

"Is that so?"

I cautiously lay down next to Dad and pulled the blanket over us.

We lay side by side in silence for a while.

'I'm caught. This is it, for sure.'

I squeezed my eyes shut.

In fact, I couldn't have avoided the sharp protagonist's pursuit forever.

"Princess."

"Uh-huh."

Dad, who had turned to look at me, propped his chin and said,

"A few days after you entered the academy, Uncle Joseph came to see me."

"Oh, he did?"

"He said he wanted to be friends with me."

"Wow, that must have been nice."

"Yeah. But, we have to keep it a secret from others that I'm friends with Uncle Joseph."

That's when I realized.

'It was an undercover operation.'

Joseph Rüdman was a well-known figure from the past.

Many nobles who wanted to grab power had kept him close.

If Joseph openly attached himself to Dad, what would happen?

It could be revealed that Enoch Rubinstein had grand ambitions.

The emperor would also be wary of Dad.

"Uncle Joseph decided to pretend to be friends with someone else instead of Dad."

"Uh-huh."

And the reason Dad was telling me all this now...

'I'm really caught. He knows everything.'

Duke Enoch Rubinstein must have been certain that I was the one who wrote the letter that sparked Dad's revolution.

"Hmm. I'm sleepy. Aren't you, Princess?"

"I'm sleepy too."

"Then let's go to sleep."

Dad pulled me into a hug, kissed my cheek, and fell asleep quickly.

Of course, I couldn't sleep at all.

I was trying to gauge the protagonist's intentions for noticing my suspicious behavior but not asking anything.

* * *

I guessed that Dad would definitely investigate me.

So, for about a week?

I lived like a very ordinary seven-year-old noble child.

Eating, sleeping, using the bathroom, and playing.

I also temporarily stopped communicating with Rico through Jet and Joon.

Then, it was a rare outing.

By myself—!

"Hehehe."

—Of course, that wasn't possible.

I smiled and waved at the towering guards outside the bakery.

They all adored me, the cute little girl.

They waved back, puffing out their cheeks.

'Why did Rico ask me to come here? I can't do anything suspicious.'

While I was thinking—

"Miss, here's the chocolate macaron and cocoa you ordered."

"Wow! Thank you... Twaisi!"

The bakery employee, wearing a pretty pink apron and serving the dessert, was someone I knew.

It was Rico!

On either side of him were two female employees with cheerful smiles.

"Outside, the guards? Try to look natural and act like you're inviting me to play. The other employees can join too. They're my guild members, so don't worry."

"Ah, I see. Okay."

Rico is indeed smart.

I naturally sat Rico down and looked out the window.

Good, it looked natural.

Rico and the two sisters would appear as if they were sitting with a bored noble girl for company.

"First, congratulations on graduating from the academy."

"Thank you."

"Your rank was unexpected."

"Yes, it turned out that way."

"Try the macaron. I made it myself."

"Oh?"

Curious, I quickly took a bite, and it was delicious.

The multi-talented Rico...

"The situation has become complicated."

"What happened?"

As I stammered, Rico sighed.

"Joseph Rüdman. It seems he has hooked up with someone else. He met with Viscount Alon Chamber about a month ago."

"Oh."

I shook my head, wiping the chocolate cream from my mouth.

"You don't have to worry about that."

"Why not? Didn't you plan to recruit Joseph Rüdman?"

Rico, who asked, wiped the remaining chocolate from my mouth with a tissue.

"Because it would cause a scandal if he stuck with Dad. Viscount Chamber is a decoy."

"Ah, I see."

Rico sighed in relief.

"Wow. Joseph is quite meticulous. To be on guard to this extent already."

Of course. Joseph Rüdman was the smartest character in the story.

"RicoRico! Do you like candy?"

"Huh? Candy?"

I took out a bag of candy from my rabbit bag.

I fed a piece of candy to Rico and the guild sisters from the bag.

"Isn't it delicious? Isn't it?"

"It's strawberry-flavored."

"Hehe. Finish the rest."

I handed the remaining bag to Rico.

"Ah."

Rico glanced inside the bag and smiled.

Actually, the bag contained Salvacion, hidden among the candies.

"You're meticulous too, Miss."

"It's basic. But, does Rico work here?"

"Yes. It's my public job. I'm actually a well-known patissier."

"Wow, you're meticulous..."

"It's basic."

I chuckled at Rico, who repeated my words.

"But did you ask me to meet because of Uncle Joseph?"

"That's part of it. There's also something you need to know."

"What is it?"

"Viscount Onyx's illegitimate child is Doss, right?"

"Oh, Cheshire. Yes."

"Viscount Onyx is preparing to take him back."

"Really?"

"Oops. Isn't it hot?"

I was surprised and spilled my cocoa while blowing on it.

"What do you mean...?"

Rico wiped the cocoa dripping from my chin and said,

"Just as it sounds. Doss is rare, so it's a blessing for the family when one appears."

"Doesn't it matter that he's an illegitimate child?"

"Of course not. Viscount Onyx gains much more by bringing the child back than he loses."

Rico continued, rolling the candy in his mouth.

"These days, the viscount and his wife argue every day. He's not thinking of Cheshire as a bastard but as the one to inherit the family."

"Wait, Cheshire never said he was going. Why is he...!"

Beating the drum and playing the clapper?

Where did his conscience go, really?

I was so flabbergasted that I just blinked.

"Since the child is still a minor and has no legal guardian, the viscount can gain custody by proving paternity."

"No..."

"They are currently looking for the child's mother and preparing documents by asking servants who knew about the child's existence to testify."

What kind of sudden news is this?

This didn't happen in the original story.

'Ah.'

As I seriously thought, I realized something.

The reason the conscienceless viscount wanted to take Cheshire back, different from the original story...

"Guardian. It's because there's no guardian, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Even though your father is the guardian, if the biological father claims custody, the child must be given to him."

"If Cheshire had a stepfather, then it wouldn't matter, right?"

"Yes. If he's already registered in another family, there's no way to take him back even with paternity proof."

In the original story, Dad brought Cheshire in and registered him immediately.

That's why, even when Cheshire's status was revealed later, Viscount Onyx couldn't do anything about it.

But, unlike the original story, Dad is now just Cheshire's guardian.

'I need to adopt him quickly. Cheshire, quickly...'

For some reason, my mind went blank.

* * *

At that moment.

Enoch was sitting across from Viscount Onyx.

"What brings you here?"

Even as he asked, Enoch wasn't particularly curious about the viscount's business.

It was obvious.

"I'm going to take the child back."

When the viscount said this, Enoch nodded and muttered,

"Right. I thought you only sent your morals to hell, but it turns out you have no conscience either."