“Such a crybaby, really.”

He said while continuing to pat me.

“Sob, sniff, then it’s a promise.”

Trying to hold back my tears, I looked at Dad.

“No matter what happens, you’ll always be my dad.”

“Yeah, let’s promise.”

I extended my pinky finger.

“A promise!”

Dad awkwardly hooked his pinky finger. It seemed like he was doing this kind of promise for the first time.

‘Ahem! Then I’ll teach you.’

I have to introduce him to the concept of K-Promises!

Dad tried to withdraw his finger, so I moved my thumb back and forth.

“You can’t remove it! You have to stamp it!”

“But we don’t have a stamp now.”

Seeing him muttering seriously, I couldn’t help but giggle.

Oops, I shouldn’t laugh after crying, or I’ll grow horns on my butt.

I quickly composed myself and solemnly said, 

“This is how you stamp it.”

I pressed my thumb firmly against his.

“Next is the signature!”

Dad’s hand was quite large. I wrote ‘Phaeraton’ on his palm with my fingertip.

“Dad too. Come on.”

Dad looked at me silently for a moment and then signed my palm. The space was a bit cramped, but whatever.

“What’s the last one for?”

“It’s for copying! We carve our promise on our palms and copy it onto each other’s, so we each have one!”

“That means we can’t break it, I guess.”

“Yeah! Now, no matter what happens, you’re my dad.”

We have our promises etched on our palms!

He stared at me intensely and asked, 

“Even if I’m not handsome?”

…Yes?

“Even if I’m not wealthy or smitten with you?”

Only then did I recall the memory of me throwing a fit, saying he’s not my dad.

‘Uwaaah!’

“I’ve thought about it, and those conditions for your dad seem to apply to me.”

Dad had an incredibly arrogant expression as he said that.

But I had to admit it. Dad was handsome and wealthy.

However…

“Even if the condition is for me to kneel and die?”

“…Yeah.”

It was a slow but resolute tone.

“If you were to die, I’d want to die too.”

I stared blankly at Dad.

I couldn’t tell if the slight upward curve of his lips was sincere or a joke.

Chapter 5. I Came to Collect My Money, Marquis

Thump.

Thump. Thump.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The attendees exchanged puzzled glances.

Unfamiliar with such a disruptive noise in the Duke of Phaeraton’s residence, they expected someone would be reprimanded soon.

But Duke Phaeraton remained unfazed, continuing to sign documents without any reaction.

‘What on earth is this?’

They exchanged glances, but no one had an answer.

That’s when it happened.

Thump thump thump thump thump

The frequency of the thumping changed, and simultaneously, Duke Phaeraton’s hand paused.

‘Of course.’

‘That…’

The onlookers expressed condolences to the one who had caused the commotion.

Suddenly, the noise intensified.

Thunk. Along with the sound, Duke Phaeraton vanished.

All that remained on the desk was the fountain pen he had been holding.

“……?”

“W-What’s going on?”

“Is he trying to kill them?!”

The onlookers were in a frenzy.

“If you run like that, you might trip and hurt yourself,” 

A voice from outside the window remarked.

“What? It sounds somewhat like the Duke…”

“Yeah, right? This guy! Completely different. Is that some kind of prank? Can’t even recognize your lord’s voice?”

“That’s true. When did our lord’s voice become so sweet and tender?”

“Indeed, and to top it off, he even said, ‘hurt yourself’! It’s not something the Duke would say!”

The vassals exchanged astonished remarks, trying to reconcile the unfamiliar voice with the image they had of Duke Phaeraton.

“So who… who is it?”

No one could provide an answer to that question.

That’s when it happened.

“Ha-ha!”

Laughter, clear and joyful, echoed from the garden. It was the laughter of a child.

“A child’s laughter?”

In the Duke’s residence, where such sounds were thought to be impossible…

The vassals rushed to the window.

In the garden, Duke Phaeraton’s daughter, the young miss, was in the Duke’s embrace, giggling with delight.

It was an astonishing sight, one that defied belief, and the vassals could hardly trust their eyes.

“Could it be that what we saw earlier was really His Excellency’s…?”

The shock was so great that they couldn’t finish their sentences.

A shiver ran down the vassals’ spines.

However, they were competent individuals who quickly grasped the situation.

“Oh, it must have been a dream. I got quite a surprise.”

“Yes, it’s an eerie dream. No nightmare could be scarier than this.”

“Even a bad dream… This bad dream… I should offer prayers at the temple as soon as I wake.”

They desperately wanted to escape this frightening and dreadful nightmare as quickly as possible. The vassals wiped away their cold sweat and hurried to wake up from the dream.

But…

“Huh?”

“Why, why can’t we wake up?”

Even though they strained their eyes to the point of bloodshot, pinched themselves, and shook their heads vigorously, they remained trapped in the dream.

‘If that’s the case, could it be… that everything we’ve experienced so far is reality?!’

The vassals stared at the garden with puzzled and desperate expressions.

In the Duke’s arms, the image of a child smiling brightly without a care in the world came into view.

Soft and plump cheeks.

Round and sparkling eyes.

Chubby little arms and legs.

‘Oh my…’

It was such an adorable sight that it made their hearts swell with emotion.

However…

“Daddy, put me down! Hehe, I wanna get down!”

The problem was that the person holding the child was Duke Payerathon himself.

The corners of the Duke’s lips were slightly upturned, making it even more eerie.

As the child squirmed in his arms, the Duke of Phaeraton put her down on the ground.

Did he think they were playing tag?

The child immediately ran off with a ‘dadadada’ sound, and every time she did, there was a sound under her feet.

Ppyo pyo pyo pyo pyo pyo pyo!

“Catch me! Kyaaa!”

The child ran around the garden as though she was about to fall but miraculously didn’t.

Watching the lively child bouncing around, a warm feeling filled a corner of their hearts.

It was a peaceful sensation, unlike anything experienced before, working at the icy paradise of the Phaeraton Castle.

“Hehe…”

“It’s like cotton candy rolling around.”

The soft, pink hair looked just like cotton candy.

The onlookers couldn’t help but smile, unknowingly.

But there was a presence momentarily forgotten…

Everyone held their breath as they saw the Duke of Phaeraton following the child.

Could it be that the cruel Duke of Phaeraton was about to harm this lovely child?

The sweet voice that had whimpered ‘ouch’ earlier naturally vanished from their minds.

But…

“Your Excellency…”

“Oh, it seems like you’re getting along?!”

Everyone stared at the garden, frozen.

The Duke of Phaeraton kept a distance, as if he would catch her but not quite, until the moment the child seemed about to fall, then he swiftly scooped her up.

The giggling child wrapped her arms around the Duke’s neck.

The gazes of the onlookers widened in shock.

The Duke of Phaeraton had a faint but definite smile.

* * *

“Then, I will visit again next time.”

“Yes, I hope next time you visit, it will be with good news.”

“That part is not up to me but up to my master to decide. But I also hope for that.”

With a polite smile, the Duke of Phaeraton’s butler left the office.

Eutra bid him farewell with a relaxed expression.

But as the door closed…

“Hoho…”

There was no way to suppress the laughter that escaped.

“At last…!”

“Congratulations, boss!”

Receiving congratulations from the employees, Eutra confidently sat down in her chair.

Eutra was a designer who had even received a single audience with the Emperor, truly walking the path of success.

However, in this vast empire, there could be only one designer like Eutra, someone with a meteoric talent.

Every year, every season was a competition.

Indeed, at the founding celebration, Eutra designed the Empress’s dress, but for the upcoming coronation, another designer had been chosen.

‘But what if the Duke of Phaeraton only wear the clothes I design.’

Duke Phaeraton.

The talk of the empire, the ultimate trendsetter, carrying countless gazes and rumors.

The Duke of Phaeraton was even called the cheat key of all the empire’s gossip columns.

The moment gossip about the Duke was published, sales skyrocketed.

‘And a perfect model, too.’

Eutra chuckled as she thought of the Duke of Phaeraton.

From his face to his body, he was truly perfect, words fall short.

And what about the Phaeraton lords?

‘They’re like living billboards for different age groups.’

Just by what they wore, everyone would be placing orders with Eutra.

‘And that adorable, fluffy little angel!’

Thinking of the cute angel, Eutra’s heart raced.

“Boss, your judgment was spot on.”

“Yes, I thought we might go out of business when you even got a sorcerer involved in making magical shoes with Mana stones.”

Eutra delivered all the outfits ordered from the Duke of Phaeraton and gave one special gift: shoes that made a distinctive sound with each step, like ‘pyo, pyo.’

The materials for the shoes included diamonds, lace, silk, leather, all luxurious, and when you added the development costs, it was as if the profits earned from the Duke of Phaeraton were spent entirely on these shoes.

“As for the gift, I thought it would be more efficient to give it to the Duke rather than the princess. Isn’t that usually the case?” 

Eutra responded to the employee’s question, tapping her fingers as if she didn’t know what they were talking about.

“What’s most important is that it pleases the Duke. He’s the one who spends the money, and he’s the one who makes the decisions.”

“Yes, so naturally, it should be a gift for the Duke.”

“Does His Excellency truly wish for you to pour your heart into a gift?”

The employee raised an eyebrow.

Eutra decided to provide a hint. 

“His Excellency isn’t particularly interested in clothing. He finds it bothersome to take measurements and even delegates choosing designs to his senior butler.”

“That’s true…”

“But what about when it comes to the outfits for the Princess?”

The employee nodded with understanding.

“Oh, I see! Unlike His Excellency, the Princess is of an age where she’s quite interested in pretty clothes, so targeting her would be—”

“No?”

Eutra looked at the employee as if they were talking nonsense.

“It’s just that the Duke of Phaeraton spoils his daughter… I mean, cherishes her a lot.”

Daughter? The Duke of Phaeraton?

“The best way to win the Duke’s favor is by giving your best when making outfits for the Princess!”

Eutra clenched her fist and shouted.

“The true power in that household is the youngest Princess! Remember it if you don’t understand!”

With Eutra’s forceful proclamation, the employees also clenched their fists and echoed, 

“The true power in the household is the Princess!”

“And I will win the favor of the Princess too! She’s my muse, after all!”

Yes?

“Am I supposed to let some other designer steal her away? The Princess’s clothes are mine, all mine!”

Eutra’s eyes blazed with determination.

It seemed like there were quite personal emotions involved in this.

‘Is this company really okay…’

The employees wondered.

* * *

“Your Excellency.”

As Dad entered the office, embracing me, the vassals greeted him, trying to hide their confusion.

Since they had all been gathered here, perhaps they were in the middle of work.

He must have been in the middle of something.

I wonder if I interrupted him.

‘But earlier, I turned into a complete child.’

There was nothing I could do about it.

Dad set me down, and there was a distinct ‘pyo!’ as the sound echoed.

“That shoe…”

“Eutra brought it.”

The vassals gasped and looked at Dad in astonishment.

“Your Excellency, addressing a designer by name…”

“This is a first.”

Murmuring voices filled the room.

“They make a sound when she walks.” 

Dad said, gesturing for me to come to him.

Pyo, pyo, pyo, pyo!

Dad picked me up again and looked around at the vassals.

The vassals, who had been caught off guard by his gaze, finally found their voices.

“You walk quite well!”

“Your dainty little steps are as cute as a fairy’s!”

“It seems our youngest lady enjoys going to Your Excellency even when you put her down!”

“Well, I seem to meet all the requirements of a father that my daughter desires.”

Dad raised his chin arrogantly in response.

‘……Why am I the one who feels embarrassed?’

“Shall we resume the meeting then? There are important matters that everyone should pay attention to.”

The atmosphere in the room changed with Dad’s declaration. The vassals looked at him with serious expressions.

“When my daughter walks.”

Huh?

Suddenly, it’s about me?

Dad pressed his hand firmly against the sole of my shoe.

Plop, plop, plop.

“When it makes this sound, you can relax.”

Plop, plop, plop, plop.

“When it makes this sound, you must stay alert and vigilant. However…”

Pyopyopyopyopyopyo.

“The moment you hear this sound, you all switch to high alert, ready to protect my daughter. The moment my daughter falls or disappears from sight.”

His gaze darkened and his voice lowered.

“If you’re not curious about what might happen.”

The vassals, pale and horrified, responded promptly.

“We will treat it as an emergency!”

“We will keep our ears wide open even when we sleep!”

“We will make sure the youngest lady doesn’t fall!”

“Very well.”

Dad nodded in satisfaction.

“Then let’s begin the meeting.”

“Yes, Your Excellency. Firstly, regarding the celebratory feast, do you plan for the young lady to attend?”

“…She’s still too young. There’s no need to show my daughter to those old foxes so soon.”

Oh, it’s the celebratory feast.

Honestly, I didn’t think it would be a good idea for me to attend, considering I might act like a baby at any moment.

“Understood. We will exclude the young lady’s name from the guest list.”

As I listened to the vassal’s words, a question I had wondered about for a long time came to mind.

“But, Dad.”

I grabbed his shirt, stretching it out. Dad immediately looked down at me.

But he was still too far. I raised both my hands, gesturing for him to come closer. Closer.

Dad finally bent down completely to me.

I created a little cave with my hand and brought it close to Dad’s ear. I could sense Dad smiling warmly.

“What’s my name?”

I whispered.

“What?”

I must have been too quiet. I asked Dad again.

“My name.”

I whispered again.

“And how old am I?”

Dad didn’t have an answer.

Did Dad not know either?

I felt something was off and looked up.

The spacious office was frozen.

It was an eerie silence, where not even a breath could be heard, a chilling silence.