Chapter 14
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Chapter 14
"Please, send our Namia to the Academy in the Capital."
Father brought me before Baron Loapi, his own brother.
"She's a clever girl. I promise you—I'll see she receives a proper education. This money should be enough for us to relocate to the Capital."
Father handed the Baron an envelope, and the moment he opened it to check its contents, the Baron broke into a bright smile.
"Of course, don't worry about that."
"...You've been rotten to the core since childhood, so I'm concerned. I can only hope you've become at least somewhat human by now."
Looking back on it now, Father's judgment had been remarkably accurate.
"Then register Namia in your family registry. Since she's the same age as Huan Loapi, we can list them as twins. Once you're in the Capital, no one will know you anyway. Who's to say whether they're truly twins or not?"
It was actually a reasonable approach.
When registering Huan Loapi at the Academy, they would inevitably ask, "You have a twin? Where is the other one?"
This way, I could naturally be registered alongside him.
"I will return, without fail. And when I do, I'll come to bring Namia back."
Father spoke these words to the Baron.
"Until then, please take good care of our Namia. She carries your blood too, after all—surely you won't treat her carelessly."
At that moment, I could only stare anxiously at the envelope of money Father had offered.
Father was already struggling just to pay the interest on his debts. Where could such a large sum have come from?
'Where on earth did that money come from...?'
I was consumed with questions.
But Father's expression looked so sorrowful that I couldn't bring myself to ask further.
Pretending not to understand an adult's circumstances was the virtue of a child who had grown up too quickly.
Father pulled me into a tight embrace and whispered.
"My daughter, wait for me just a little longer. You know Father loves you, don't you?"
I wanted to beg him not to go. I wanted to cling to him and stay by his side forever.
But just as I did every morning, I smiled calmly and answered.
"Yes, Father.... I'll wait bravely and patiently. I'm quite intelligent, after all. So don't worry about me. Please take care of yourself."
That was our last conversation.
"Brother, don't forget. You must send Namia to the Academy."
"Of course. Don't worry. Think back to our childhood and trust me! I won't be harsh or unreasonable."
"...Remembering our childhood makes that impossible. Let's draw up the most ironclad, unforgiving contract in existence."
Before leaving, Father even drafted a legally binding contract with the Baron.
If the Baron failed to send me to the Academy, Father would return and demand double the compensation.
But there was one more surprising development.
The next day, loan sharks came to me and handed over a document.
It was a certificate proving that all debts registered under my name had been paid in full.
'This can't be real.... That wasn't money that could be easily repaid.'
Though I had been freed from the debt that had bound me since birth, I could only stand there in stunned disbelief.
In any case, the Baron used the money Father had given him to relocate to the Capital. Afterward, he honored the contract and sent me to the Academy alongside Huan Loapi.
But when I achieved the top score on the Academy entrance examination.
For the first time, the Baron struck me across the face.
"You're the top student? You, Huan's twin, are the top student? What is this doing to our Huan! He'll be constantly compared at the Academy!"
The Baroness chimed in as well, her eyes gleaming with indignation.
"And here you are, living off our charity, with no sense of propriety!"
After that, I deliberately failed my Academy exams. I half-heartedly completed my assignments.
I wanted to continue attending the Academy, but I was terrified that Baron Loapi might tear up the contract.
'What if he demands compensation and forbids me from attending the Academy?'
And so, year after year passed.
Huan Loapi Sr. never returned.
The worse his absence became, the more Baron Loapi's treatment of me deteriorated.
I could only manage meals by doing Huan's assignments for him.
Of course, Baron Loapi only sent me to the Academy—everything else was utterly neglected.
"Where did your father go? Hmm. He told me before he left, naturally."
Yet I could not defy Baron Loapi in the slightest.
"Well... I'll tell you when the time comes. You're still too young. There's no need for you to know now. I made a promise with your father. I won't tell you until you come of age."
I couldn't respond to those words because I myself had a vague suspicion of the truth.
The debt that had fallen upon me was truly enormous.
But if he could pay off all that debt at once and even purchase a barony...
'Father was honest and kind, but he was never a man of exceptional talent.'
He must have sold himself. With that much money, it certainly wasn't through legitimate means.
So I waited until I came of age and could earn money. Wherever Father was, I wanted to go rescue him.
But after I came of age and entered the Imperial Palace, Baron Loapi changed his tune.
"Just until you become a viscount. Only until then, please? Namia."
The Baron and Baroness wanted to attain a viscountcy.
There were quite a few ways to purchase a viscountcy if one had enough money.
But since they were short on funds, they asked if I could give them my salary.
Now that they had come to the Capital, their greed had only grown.
"Once we become a viscount's household... and Huan establishes himself more confidently as the viscount's heir... then I'll tell you. All right?"
"Until then, we're also frightened. We don't know what kind of trouble your father caused. We have things we must accomplish. You understand, don't you?"
Yes...
I was so afraid that Father might have been involved in some grave crime that I was terrified even to visit the Information Guild and ask questions.
'I want to learn the information as safely as possible from Baron Loapi.'
So I understood his desire to keep a low profile until he could purchase the viscountcy.
But I had no intention of yielding entirely.
"If I give you my salary from now on, you must tell me later where our father is. You understand, don't you?"
"Of course, of course! Let's draw up a contract! A cold, strict contract just like your father made!"
"Five years."
"What?"
"I'm saying I'll give you my salary for exactly five years. I can't give more than that."
"Five years isn't enough! Ten years, let's make it ten!"
In the end, the contract we drew up specified a period of seven years.
He said he'd tell me where Father went if I just gave him my salary for seven years.
[Our daughter, please wait just a little longer. You know Father loves you, right?]
Father had devoted his entire life to protecting me.
My childhood spent with Father was the most radiant time of my life.
Sometimes when there was nowhere to leave me and the Library closed, Father would take me to his workplace.
[It's not hard at all with you here! Just seeing our daughter's face gives me all the energy I need!]
With me nearby, Father would work tirelessly yet flash me bright smiles and wave at me throughout the day.
And on the way home as evening fell, Father would hold me in his arms the entire journey and gently pat my back.
'Father....'
Now that I'm an adult, I will find Father no matter what.
Wherever Father was trapped, I wanted to rescue him.
'To rescue Father, I'll probably need a lot of money, so I've been quietly saving up overtime pay and vacation compensation without Baron Loapi and his wife knowing. I even skip evening meals when I work late....'
In any case, Baron Loapi was the only one who held any clue to Father's whereabouts.
Not listening to Baron Loapi felt like abandoning Father.
That's why I've lived this way all this time.
[I don't know all your circumstances, but just cut ties and live your own life.]
This was my situation.
Others might say it was nothing, but to me it was truly urgent.
When Father had given his entire life for me, enduring seven years of giving up my salary was something I could bear.
'If he demands anything more than this, I won't stay silent....'
I quickened my pace toward Baron Loapi's residence.
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