C 26
"...this is driving me crazy."
Approximately two hours after the carriage departed, we were found crouched under the driver's seat.
The carriage was older than I thought, rough and hard, and I felt like my back was about to break.
"...I'm sorry."
"..."
I obediently offered my apology, but Richard remained silent.
"Come back now."
"No."
As I shook my head, Albion's eyes turned fierce.
His anger was justified, knowing where we were going this time.
Of course, that didn't make it a reason to give up.
"I-I have to find someone..."
"Who are you looking for?"
"I..."
"If you tell me, I'll do it, the capital is dangerous. Just go back..."
"I have to go myself..."
It was also my job to explain to Duke Collin.
There would probably be some questions, so I had to think of an appropriate answer for them.
"Eirin, I'm not playing."
After a while, Albion knelt down and grabbed my shoulder as he looked at me.
"Me neither. I'll listen, Uncle..."
"It's dangerous."
"...I know."
Finally, I had no choice but to close my eyes and open my mouth.
"You know... what?"
"Do I know where Uncle's daughter is?"
As soon as the words were finished, Albion's demeanor turned fierce.
"...you."
His gaze, which had become so fierce that it looked like his pupils had torn vertically, emitted a hint of murderous intent.
Richard jumped and blocked my path.
"Director, what are you doing to my BamBam?"
"Get out of the way, she might be an assassin..."
An assassin?
It was clear that Albion paused as he spoke, realizing how absurd his words were.
"...How the hell do you know that?"
"When I was a lizard, by chance..."
"You went to my office?"
Oh, thanks for misunderstanding me like that.
I pretended to hesitate, then nodded slowly.
"You must have heard me muttering then."
I didn't know what I was muttering, but since I felt relieved thanks to the excuse, I nodded again.
"But my daughter is already dead. She was stabbed with a sword right in front of my eyes."
This was one of the reasons he became obsessed with children.
The enemy took his family hostage to stop him as a hero.
And he lost his daughter right in front of his eyes and was so attacked by the enemy that even her corpse was lost.
"Yes, but she didn't die immediately."
After the war, she survived for several years in a nearby monastery hospital.
She lost her legs and couldn't move in bed, but there was something she could leave behind.
So what I found out after reading the novel is....
"I know exactly where the director's daughter's grave is."
"...How do you know that?"
Actually, I didn't want to talk about this. I didn't want to use his painful wounds for this.
Originally, several years later, the heroine would tell Albion what she found out by chance.
There was no place for me to intervene.
"But, I couldn't help it."
I wanted to live.
I really didn't want to have a pitiful death as a two-line extra in a novel.
"How I know is a secret."
Albion looked into my eyes for a long time before opening and closing his fists several times.
I could see the desperation to believe it despite knowing it was very likely a lie.
"If that claim is false..."
"You can kill me."
"..."
Faced with my words, Albion frowned.
He clenched his fists and gently grabbed my shoulder, then let go.
"I won't even joke about that. Since you entered my domain, you're my original disciple, so I'll definitely protect you."
Unknowingly, I opened my eyes and smiled faintly.
"I don't trust you. I'll hear more about this later. But if you want to do something dangerous, I have no choice but to stop you."
"No."
"...Get in the carriage, both of you."
Barely given permission.
Richard led me carefully.
"Any news?"
"I haven't found her yet. However, pink hair and golden eyes are not common, so obviously..."
"Should I blame you for your incompetence if you haven't been able to find something so uncommon for a month?"
"...I'm sorry. Because there's a high probability that the young lady is still a lizard..."
"Then, shouldn't we catch all the lizards in the world? Isn't that why I'm throwing money down your throat?"
The subordinate, who was very nervous due to Erno Etham's sharp voice, clenched his fists and lowered his head.
The eyes that crossed the border between gold and red were full of life.
Knock, knock.
Erno Etham slowly turned his head at the knock that sounded exactly twice.
"Father, it's me."
"Come in."
Callan Etham entered and let out a brief sigh.
When he gave a slight nod, the subordinate, who had been standing there on the verge of tears, rushed out of the room as if fleeing.
"What is it?"
"Sharnae is here."
"I said I didn't need her."
"What if she faints when she sees my father when he returns?"
After Eirin's story came to light, Erno Etham slowly turned his head.
"Please, at least maintain your human form."
While adding and gesturing, Sharnae, the female protagonist who had been observing the situation outside, entered with Silian Etham.
"May I take your hand?"
"Just do it."
It was a blunt response, not suitable for Erno Etham, who always appeared relaxed.
"What's so important about that girl...?"
Even after thinking that, thinking that the gentle girl was not in his hands made him feel furious.
"Incredibly..., I don't think my abilities work well on my uncle."
Sharnae, who was holding his hand and using her abilities, spoke with a strange expression.
While the eye color of others returned to normal within just 10 minutes, her eye color was restored the next day even if she endured for a couple of hours.
"I need to develop a drug soon..."
Callan Etham scratched his head and muttered in frustration.
"Callan, have you checked the bank?"
"Oh, yes. However, they're quite firm about not revealing personal information."
"So?"
"So, after playing with that, they said they would report her visit history to the bank or if her account has been opened."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, I asked them to contact me when they do..."
Callan Etham laughed wickedly.
"If they don't want to die, I think they'll contact me."
"Very well."
"...But it's amazing, I thought my father was joking again."
Silian Etham peeked in and opened his mouth carefully.
"...Yes, it's a joke."
It was a joke.
It had started that way, but even Erno Etham couldn't understand what the hell had made him do this.
"Thank you, Father!"
"This... he looks like my father! I like this."
Interest in finding the refreshing feeling she sensed from the ring that had been in the girl's hands. That was the starting point.
The girl voluntarily entered his game without asking anything, as if she knew it was a game.
It was a play.
A play about a father who would do anything for his daughter and a daughter who loved her father.
The girl obediently followed along. He thought it was a funny parody after a long time.
"Since when did he become sincere?"
He looked at his dead sister's daughter holding his hand.
"Father... is being scolded by Grandfather... Father, don't get angry... I'm sorry..."
"If my father wants to, I want to too! Father is the best! The coolest! Amazing! The best demon king!"
"No! Eirin likes Father more! My father is the best."
Although he knew the girl's words weren't true, he couldn't help but feel a strange emotion bloom in a corner of his heart.
It seemed that the little play wasn't just a play for him.
"The fact that I can't even find her..."
It meant that the girl had decided to hide, or something had happened to the girl.
Either way, it was annoying.
With a soft murmur, he abruptly grabbed Sharnae's hand and pulled it away.
"Oh, Uncle! Not yet..."
"Enough, it doesn't seem to have any effect."
He let out a brief sigh at the constant headache and the heat seeping from his body.
"The culprit who stole the fragment is still unknown..., ah. Here comes the senile old man."
"Who talks to their father like that?! You, worm. You're a total mess. You're not even looking at your father."
"Then don't come. I'm not in the mood to play with the Patriarch."
Erno Etham opened his mouth without even looking in the direction of Duke Miriel.
Duke Miriel seemed to hesitate as he stood still for a long time before finally opening his mouth with a sigh.
"Hmm... ahem. Haven't you found the girl yet?"
