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Reytan was puzzled by Berry's behavior.
Today of all days, she kept trailing after him like a little chick, and then she was reading a book with some suspicious title.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't pinpoint what was going on.
"Berry."
"Yeah?"
Even now, Reytan glanced at Berry with confusion, watching her nervously scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes. She looked like a meerkat in the desert. Though, of course, his daughter was much cuter.
"You're just going to keep sitting there like that?"
"Yup. Don't mind me, Dad~ Just do your thing."
Was this part of the hero games that Jeffrey was always going on about? Reytan shrugged and turned his gaze back to the book he had been reading.
It looked like he was focusing on the book, but the words didn't even register.*
'Lucian Alexis.'
The contents of the letter that Lucian had sent to Berry kept flashing through his mind since yesterday.
At the end of the letter, Lucian had written as if he didn't want that woman to take Berry away.
The phrase "holding her back" made Reytan want to point a sword at Lucian and tell him to explain himself more clearly.
'At least our goals align.'
He, too, didn't want that woman to take Berry away.
Judging from the letter, it was clear that the woman planned to use an alchemist's potion to change her appearance and get close to him, possibly as someone from his surroundings, someone inside Travel, or even someone he didn't know at all.
"……."
Reytan straightened his posture for a moment, then moved even closer to Berry, who was still acting on high alert like a meerkat.
"Oh? Dad? What is it?"
"Nothing."
As Berry welcomed him happily, Reytan poked her cheek.
The soft and squishy feeling of her cheek pressed warmly against his hand.
"Berry."
"Yeah?"
"How did you end up being so pretty?"
"Oh, come on. Who else would I take after? Obviously, you, Dad."
With a smile, Reytan gently stroked Berry's hair.
"I don't need it."
It was the day Reytan first held Berry in his arms. The woman spoke with a cold tone that seemed impossible for someone who had just given birth.
She turned her head and lay down as if she had no intention of even looking at her child.
The baby, still slick with amniotic fluid, not even fully wiped clean, was abandoned by her mother, but still, she gripped Reytan's finger as if to say she wanted to live.
Reytan felt nothing but hatred for that woman.
"If you don't want her, I'll take her. But don't ever show your face in front of this child again."
"……"
"You gave her up, Bellesa."
The memory of that day was still vivid.
The sense of betrayal he felt from Berry's biological mother.
The deep disappointment that his precious family meant nothing to her.
As he carried the baby in his arms, Reytan made a vow.
That this child was his daughter.
That he would never let her hear she was unwanted ever again.
'If she comes looking for her, I won't forgive her.'
His blue eyes, lowered and cold, were chilling.
***
"Ugh…"
There was one problem with sticking close to Dad for protection.
A seven-year-old's stamina just couldn't last 24 hours...! Worse, constantly being on alert around anyone who came near him drained my energy even faster.
"Berry, it's 11 o'clock. That's enough. Go wash up and get ready for bed."
"Nooo…"
Gurgle.
But no matter how I felt, my head kept nodding forward.
Dad supported my forehead with his hand and called for Sister Sherry. Even then, my eyelids kept fluttering shut.
"Sherry, can you help Berry wash up?"
"Oh my. Has our little bodyguard Berry finally passed out?"
"No, I haven't…"
"She definitely has."
Sherry laughed softly as she took me to the bathroom. I washed my face with warm water, changed into my pajamas, and lay down in bed.
It was all like a dream, the way my eyelids fell and lifted again, the way I drifted between sleep and waking. I was caught in the middle of a losing battle against sleep.
The next morning. When I woke up again, I was alone in bed.
"Huh?"
It wasn't unusual to be alone, but still. My mission yesterday had been to stay beside Dad even while sleeping, to remain on guard for any intruders.
'Someone familiar will likely visit soon.'
That's what Lucian Alexis had written in his letter. I couldn't let my guard down, not even for a moment.
I quickly got out of bed and headed to Dad's room, but he wasn't there. I spotted Sister Sherry nearby cleaning and called out to her.
"Sister Sherry! Did Dad say where he was going today?"
"Young Master Reytan…? Let's see, he said he was heading to Goldport today."
"Goldport?"
"Yes, he said Chief Investigator Damian came by, so he's going to meet him."
"Gah!"
My plans were falling apart just like that.
As I stood there, frustrated, Sister Sherry smiled and said.
"Would you like to go with me?"
I stared blankly at her.
"To where? Goldport?"
"Yes. I can escort you to where Young Master Reytan is, right?"
"Oooh!"
Sister Sherry said she would take me to where Dad was. What a dependable ally she was!
"If I go with you, Dad won't get mad, right?"
"Of course not. As long as you're accompanied by an adult, Young Master Reytan won't scold you."
"Phew! That's a relief!"
It was the best news ever. As I walked down the stairs, I said to Sister Sherry.
"Then I'll tell Theon and Jeffrey to get ready too!"
"Young Master Theon and Jeffrey too?"
"Yup! Last time we talked about Goldport, Jeffrey said he wanted to go! And Theon said he had fun there before. Everyone will love it if we go together~!"
Afraid Sister Sherry might change her mind, I quickly went to find Theon and Jeffrey.
Thankfully, they were both downstairs reading the newspaper.
"Goldport? I'm in!"
"If Berry's going, I'll go too."
Both readily agreed to go with me to Goldport.
Sister Sherry, the three of us, and I soon got into the carriage prepared by Count Travel's household.
It was one of the carriages assigned to Stone House, simple but decent in form.
Sister Sherry sat next to me and asked.
"You seem really happy, young miss?"
"Yup~ I get to see Mr. Damian too!"
Apparently, Dad had some business at the 17th branch of the Central Investigation Bureau in Goldport.
"I'm excited~"
I couldn't wait to see Dad again.
Sitting on the tall carriage seat, I swung my legs back and forth.
***
Goldport, Central Investigation Bureau Branch 17 of the Hayshal Empire.
Inside the branch chief's office, Chief Investigator Damian handed Reytan a brown vial filled with liquid.
"Here. Just use the dropper attached to the lid and drop a single drop onto a strand of hair. If someone drank the alchemist's appearance-changing potion, the hair will evaporate."
At Reytan's request, he had brought an investigative tool used by the bureau.
"……"
Reytan took the brown vial, pulled out a strand of hair from his coat, placed it on a mirror, and dropped some liquid onto it.
The hair did not evaporate, it remained intact.
"So, this person is trustworthy, I suppose. Whose hair is it?"
"Damian Knox's."
"…No wonder my scalp tingled earlier."
Damian pressed down on the side of his head.
Reytan tucked the brown vial into his inner coat pocket and asked.
"Thanks. I'll put it to good use. By the way, is the actual branch chief on vacation again?"
"No. He's outside."
Damian pointed past the glass. A middle-aged man stood outside, sneaking glances into the office while sipping coffee.
"Let's return the office to its rightful owner and get going."
"Already? Won't you even have some tea?"
"I'm in a hurry. I left Berry behind."
He had considered bringing her, but the outside world was too risky.
He'd left Berry in the care of Rex, along with Theon and Jeffrey, asking them to keep watch over her.
Just as the anxious Reytan opened the door to leave.
"Daaad-!"
"Berry?!"
From afar, Berry came running toward him. She looked like she was about to trip, so Reytan quickly grabbed her upper body and met her eyes.
Urgency was written all over Berry's green eyes. Reytan's chest tightened.
"What happened?"
"Dad, quick!! Outside!!"
At Berry's urgent cry, Reytan dashed outside. Damian, the branch chief, and several other investigators sensed something serious and followed him.
There was the Travel family's carriage.
Crash!
With a loud bang, the carriage door slowly creaked open.
And inside it.
A man subdued by Theon and Jeffrey.
A strikingly handsome man with pink hair, resembling a delicate deer.
"…A maid outfit?"
One of the investigators muttered.
🍓; *This often suggests that the person is distracted, preoccupied, or emotionally detached, perhaps thinking about something else, upset, or numb.
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