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Brought to you by ‌‌‌Valir Scans! To ‌‌‌support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 2
Chesa's answer rendered the entire space silent.
The Orphanage Director, the children, even the Coachman of the Basilian Count ‌‌‌Estate.
All ‌‌‌of them stared at Chesa with wide eyes and expressions of shock. ‌‌‌
Their thoughts were transparent to me.
They must have thought it was absolute nonsense.
But Chesa was ‌certain.
Through this answer, I had captured the Basilian Count's attention.
From the moment Kieran stepped into the Orphanage, he had deliberately revealed his aura.
He made no attempt to conceal the sharp, piercing presence he carried.
It was something an ordinary person could never withstand.
Indeed, the Orphanage Director and the children trembled, unable to even meet the Count's gaze properly.
The reason Kieran behaved this way was simple.
The child he needed was one who wouldn't be afraid of him.
But if she could also pique his interest?
'Then she would be the perfect adoption candidate!'
Chesa burst into silent laughter within my mind.
I had rolled through the underworld enough to know its ways.
Reading someone's intentions was child's play.
'Choose me, Count!'
And as expected.
Chesa's strategy worked perfectly.
Kieran, who had been wearing a mysterious smile, let out a low chuckle and reached out his hand.
"...?"
Chesa's eyes widened in surprise.
My body ‌had lifted effortlessly into the air.
Kieran cradled Chesa in his arms as gently as if picking up a pebble.
Despite my filthy, foul-smelling state, he showed not the slightest concern.
He asked in a soft voice.
"Your name?"
"Chesa."
The moment I answered, I felt a twinge of embarrassment. ‌
My short tongue made the forcefully pronounced name sound rather pathetic.
'But there's nothing I can do about it.'
The effects of the infant transformation potion Hata had given me were far too potent.
My original goal was to transform into a child around five to seven years old. ‌‌
But after taking the potion, I had become a two-year-old instead.
Adapting to these shortened limbs had ‌‌been so difficult.
For an entire month in the Orphanage, I had rolled ‌‌‌about, struggling to adjust my body.
'But this short tongue ‌‌still hasn't adapted.'
I wanted to abandon this ridiculous ‌‌‌‌charade of a child's life as soon as possible.
Once I ‌‌infiltrated the Basilian Count Estate and extracted useful information, I would immediately revert to my true form.
For now, however, I had no choice.
So Chesa flashed the most adorable, angelic smile I could muster.
Fortunately, the Orphanage Director stepped forward to correct Chesa's name for me.
"It's Chesa. She's two years ‌‌old and...." ‌‌
Catching the scent of money, the Orphanage Director eagerly began to ramble on with explanations.
Then Kiern raised a hand lightly.
The Orphanage Director immediately fell silent.
Kiern studied ‌‌‌Chesa quietly, then murmured something cryptic.
"...She resembles someone."
Before I could even process the strange remark, he smiled gently.
"Yes, Chesa."
He pronounced Chesa's name with unusual clarity.
His elongated eyes curved smoothly.
As his eyes crescent into crescents, the cold atmosphere that had surrounded him vanished completely. ‌‌‌
Kiern tilted his head.
Bringing his face close to mine, he whispered as sweetly as candy.
"From today on, I'm your ‌‌‌father."
It was the moment of adoption confirmation I had ‌‌so desperately ‌‌wanted.
Yet why was it? ‌‌‌
Chesa felt no joy whatsoever.
The instant I heard that saccharine whisper, goosebumps erupted down my spine.
Something about this felt....
deeply wrong.

***
I had stayed at the Orphanage for a month, yet there was nothing to ‌‌pack.
It was only natural.
The very clothes I wore would have to be abandoned.
The stone-hard bread I'd found so useful, I gifted to the one boy who'd been decent to me.
I needed to leave a mark before departing.
I had to inform Hata that I had been safely adopted into the Basilian ‌‌Count Estate.
Chesa ‌‌‌‌pretended to gather her belongings while subtly pressing her hand against the windowpane.
A faint shimmer of light ‌‌‌bloomed, and luxuriant flowers blossomed around her.
The fragrance of blossoms spread in all directions as butterflies took flight. ‌‌
It was a vision as beautiful as a fairy tale.
"Ugh."
Chesa waved her hand dismissively, scattering the illusion with an air of annoyance.
It was beautiful, but far too ostentatious a display of power.
Normally, it was useful for drawing others' attention, but in this situation, it ‌‌posed ‌a problem.
As the brilliant effect faded, a small flower imprint appeared in the corner of the window. ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌
The crimson flower mark soon ‌‌‌vanished without a trace.
When Hata came searching for me, it would reappear and reveal my location.
With the mark left behind, there was nothing more to do.
Chesa departed from the Orphanage with empty hands.
Kieran, standing before the carriage, waved his hand in ‌‌greeting.
As I rushed toward him, I glanced ‌‌back at the Orphanage Director and the children one last time.
While I had pretended to gather my nonexistent ‌belongings, they remained gathered in the courtyard, their eyes strangely vacant.
What was that?
The thought struck me as odd, but there was no time to dwell on it.
Kieran had ‌‌‌already scooped me up and carried me into the carriage.
The carriage ‌door closed with a heavy thud.
The carriage glided smoothly ‌‌‌‌down the road. ‌‌
At last—escape! ‌‌
I wanted nothing more than to gaze out at the receding Orphanage through ‌‌‌‌the window and laugh with glee.
But the curtains had been drawn, making it impossible.
With a twinge of disappointment, I fidgeted, and a drowsy murmur reached my ears.
"Restless little thing."
Kieran, cradling me in his arms, smiled gently as ‌‌our eyes met.
I responded with ‌‌a smile, my plump cheeks dimpling.
“....”
We exchanged smiles, gazing at each other as time passed.
His smile gradually deepened.
"It must still feel strange, having a father, ‌‌‌Chesa."
I shook my head.
Chesa shook her head in denial.
But it seemed he hadn't actually been waiting for Chesa's answer.
"Here, a gift for you."
"Huh...?"
Click.
A black bracelet materialized around Chesa's wrist.
The bracelet contracted to fit her size perfectly.
As the bracelet tightened around her wrist, Chesa swallowed a ‌‌‌‌‌‌stifled groan.
A large hand gently stroked Chesa's head.
"I wanted us to get closer."
And Chesa silently screamed.
'This is a mana suppression bracelet!'
A mana suppression bracelet prevented its wearer from casting magic.
It also dispelled all magic affecting the wearer.
He'd put it on to verify ‌‌whether I'd ‌‌‌transformed into a baby using magic.
'But the potion I drank isn't magic.'
Beastkin and faeries—now nearly extinct, their numbers dwindling to almost nothing.
The power wielded by fantastical beings was fundamentally different from magic.
The potion that Hata, a beastkin, had created had nothing to do with magic, so it wouldn't be affected by the mana suppression bracelet.
I'd anticipated this possibility, but a flash of irritation still coursed through me.
'To suspect such a cute, beautiful, ‌‌‌‌and innocent baby like me!'
Even if my appearance was currently obscured by grime.
In any case, the innocent baby Chesa faithfully played her role and responded.
"Thank you, mister."
She pronounced her words with a round, childlike lilt to sound endearing.
Kieran watched Chesa with a satisfied smile, waiting.
"..."
The carriage fell silent.
When nothing changed, he belatedly continued speaking.
"Ah, yes."
A large hand gently grasped Chesa's wrist.
"But Father made a mistake with the gift. Let ‌‌me take this back, and I'll exchange it for a different bracelet later, yes?"
"Oh, okay."
Remove it now, you bastard.
Chesa cursed him inwardly while maintaining a bright smile on her face.
Kieran removed the mana suppression bracelet ‌‌and gently kneaded Chesa's small ‌‌‌‌hand as he asked.
"How did you end up at the Orphanage, Chesa?"
"I don't remember."
This was the truth.
The faerie Lichesia had no memories from before being brought to the Orphanage.
There was only one thing I remembered about my parents.
It was only the strange lullaby her mother used to sing.
Chesa suddenly gazed into Kieran's eyes.
Now Chesa had pink eyes, but when I was Lichesia, I had eyes as crimson as the Count's.
'If we stood side by side, we'd look quite similar.'
Pushing aside the useless thought, Chesa also probed him gently.
"Father's eyes... Why are you taking her ‌‌away?" ‌‌‌‌
But what came back was not an answer, but a question.
"Is there something you want, Chesa?"
He poked her cheek repeatedly as he asked.
"Should I punish the people who bullied you at the Orphanage?"
It was a remarkably idle question.
But Chesa sensed something.
The instinct that 'punish' could never mean anything remotely conventional.
As I merely blinked, Kieran smiled slyly.
"Father will make everything you desire come true."
"...."
"In return, you only need to do one thing that Father wants."
He whispered again.
"Just one. Easy, right?"
As his hand caressed her gently, Chesa thought.
'This is completely a con artist's line.'
I didn't know what the Basilian Count wanted.
But it felt far from simple.
At the same time, curiosity bloomed abundantly.
I was curious what he was trying to accomplish.
That ‌‌was when it happened.
The carriage that had been rushing forward suddenly slowed its pace.
A small window connected to the coachman's seat opened.
"Checkpoint ahead."
At the ‌Coachman's words, Kieran furrowed his brow.
He clicked his tongue lightly.
Soon after, knights approached the side of the ‌‌‌carriage.
Kieran opened the window and asked casually.
"A sudden checkpoint? Is something the matter?"
Peeking her head out through the window, Chesa inhaled sharply.
Mounted on white horses ‌‌‌and clad in white armor with blue cloaks, they were Holy Knights.
The Holy Knight answered in a blunt voice.
"We are searching for the sorceress Lichesia."

‌‌‌
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our ‌team and enjoy the latest ‌releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------