Chapter 67
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Chapter 67
"Scolding you like that—it's my senior's true love, reminding you not to make the same mistake next time."
Hildegard deflected Lahedis's criticism with practiced ease and approached Vivian and the child.
"Hello there, little miss. Why are you crying?"
While Hildegard spoke with the child, Vivian made a request of Lahedis.
"Could you go buy some ice cream for us?"
The moment I handed the ice cream over, the child's tears stopped as if she had never been crying at all.
The three of us obtained a description of the child, then dispersed to search for her mother.
However, in case their paths didn't cross, the child and I remained at the spot where we first met.
I crouched down beside the child as she gazed at the street and the surrounding shops.
"Are you still hungry?"
"No."
Yet the child's gaze remained fixed on one particular spot.
Following her eyes, I could see a toy shop brimming with children's playthings.
"Would you like to go look at the toys?"
In that moment, the child's eyes sparkled, but then they dimmed and she shook her head.
"...No. What if my mother comes?"
"Then I'll tell her: 'Mother, Marina is waiting at the toy shop.' How about that?"
"I still don't want to."
Even as she refused, her eyes never left the toys, so she was clearly interested, but there was nothing I could do against her stubborn refusal.
'If only there was something to distract her.'
When alone in a negative situation, only negative thoughts come to mind.
I was looking around for something to divert the child's attention when she spoke to me first.
"Hey, big sister."
"Yes?"
"Do you think my mother will really come looking for me...?"
"Of course she will. Why would you think your mother wouldn't come find you?"
The child glanced toward the toy shop before answering.
"Whenever I ask my mother to buy me toys, she always tells me to go live in the toy shop, that she'll abandon me there."
Now I understood why the child was so interested in the toy shop yet refused to go inside.
The child was so endearing that I burst out laughing.
'Children and parents are the same in every world.'
The child looked at me as if the situation were serious, and embarrassed at laughing alone, I suppressed my smile and asked.
"Ahem, you're worried because you've caused your mother so much trouble?"
The child's expression grew downcast at my words hitting the mark.
Seeing this, I flinched.
'Oh no, I can't let her cry!'
I began comforting the dejected child by stroking her head.
"Of course, your mother was very upset with you for throwing a tantrum at that moment. But she didn't mean it."
"...Really?"
"Yes. And this is a secret from your mother, but there are no parents in this world who abandon their own children."
"...."
"Marina's parents will come looking for her, no matter where she is in this world."
The child's expression brightened a little at those words.
The girl, her large eyes brimming with hope, asked a question.
"Then have you ever lost your mom and dad?"
"Huh?"
"Did your mom and dad come to pick you up?"
Vivian found herself at a loss for words at the unexpected question.
Because my current situation was no different from this child waiting for her mother.
I couldn't bring myself to say that they hadn't come yet, that I was still waiting.
It wasn't the answer the hopeful child was expecting.
Vivian gazed into the child's hopeful eyes and nodded with a bittersweet smile.
"Yes, they came to pick me up. Always."
Before I recalled my past life, even when I got lost in the Forest after sneaking off with friends.
Even when I was kidnapped instead of Rachel.
Father came looking for me every single time.
"...No matter where I was."
So this time too, I had no choice but to believe it would be the same.
The child finally smiled upon hearing the answer she'd hoped for.
"I hope Mom comes soon."
And the child's mother truly did come looking for her.
"Marina!"
With a face exactly like Dias's, the one who always came looking for me.
"Mom!"
The child who ran into her mother's embrace smiled brilliantly, as if she possessed the entire world.
"Sister, goodbye! See you again."
Vivian waved back at the child waving to me.
"It all worked out. Didn't it?"
She asked this with a smile, but in that moment, Lahedis noticed it.
A crack had formed somewhere in that smile.
* * *
"Ah, Dad.... Gasp!"
When I opened my eyes after thrashing about, what greeted me was the familiar pattern of the ceiling I'd grown accustomed to over the past month.
Only after taking several ragged breaths did the boundary between dream and reality blur away.
'It was just a dream....'
I had dreamed of discovering my dead father at the scene of an accident I'd rushed to.
Even knowing it was merely a dream, it took quite some time for my racing heart to fully accept reality.
"Meow?"
Blackie, who guards me every night from the nightstand beside my bed, sensed my distress and leaped onto my shoulder.
I stroked Blackie, who seemed startled by my reaction.
"It's fine. I just... had a dream."
Ever since arriving in the Capital, I'd been having frequent nightmares about Curtis Rohan coming to harm. Recently, their frequency had only increased.
Since I'd been in the Capital for over a month, it meant I'd been tormented by these dreams for that entire duration.
At the same time, it also meant that more than a month had already passed since I'd last found any trace of Curtis Rohan.
'When I first came to the Capital, I thought I'd find him quickly.'
After all, the Duke himself—the Empire's sole Duke—had promised to help.
Yet a month had already passed without any news.
Wondering if he'd gotten caught up in some incident I knew nothing about, I'd even asked the Imperial Princess, but she said she hadn't seen anyone matching his description.
'Could Curtis Rohan be avoiding me?'
If that weren't the case, how could I possibly fail to find him?
As such thoughts consumed me, I shook my head to dispel the negativity.
'No, that can't be right.'
Being alone only seemed to breed more pessimistic thoughts.
With that in mind, I quickly finished preparing for the day and left my room.
Unlike when I'd worked at the Imperial Palace, I now had Blackie perched on my shoulder.
Just then, I spotted Inyoung approaching from down the corridor.
"My, Vivian. You're up early?"
She was the maid I'd grown familiar with since my time at the Villa.
"I had restless dreams. Did you sleep well?"
"Wonderfully. Here, today's newspaper."
The Duke, having noticed that I read the newspaper every morning, had arranged for a separate copy to be delivered for me.
Thanks to that, I could start each day by reading the paper.
"Thank you as always."
After parting with the maid, I immediately unfolded the newspaper and searched for the incidents and accidents section.
Fortunately, there was no mention of Curtis Rohan or any unidentified casualties who might be him.
"Phew..."
I thought I'd grown accustomed to this, yet a reflexive sigh of relief escaped me.
But at the same time, the thought that I still hadn't found Curtis Rohan weighed heavily on my chest.
'Well, no news is good news, as they say.'
Trying to think positively, I headed toward the Dining Room when I sensed a presence behind me.
By now, I'd grown so familiar with that presence that I could recognize it instantly.
And most tellingly—
"Meow!"
Blackie's reaction was proof of it.
I turned around with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Lahedis."
"You're up early."
"Ah, well... I forgot to close the curtains before bed."
It was a lie, but I didn't want to talk about nightmares and such things.
'There's no need to tell a story that would make the listener uncomfortable.'
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org