C 80
"………"
But why are you revealing that to me?
When I saw him with a grimace on his face, he got up from his seat.
"Now that I think about it, it's said that imprints can't surpass true flesh and blood... you must hope that your true parents never return."
When I said I didn't know what he meant, I furrowed my brow, and he got up from his seat again with a naive expression and a malicious smile.
"Then I bid you farewell, my lady."
Seeing him nod, I agreed.
"I hope you have it ready for next week."
"I expect significant results."
Upon my words, he smiled and opened the door.
Kwang-!
And so, he fell forward.
"Ouch...."
Rolling on the floor, he rubbed his neck.
It seemed really painful.
He sat on the ground and pressed his neck with both hands.
"Aren't you really hurt?"
I sprayed the handkerchief with cold water nearby and rushed over, pressing the handkerchief to his head.
Water dripped from the damp handkerchief.
"... My lady?"
"I thought you needed it..."
Even after saying it, I thought I had done something foolish. I didn't wring out the handkerchief, so the water flowed and soaked his clothes.
"I'm sorry."
"Mmm..."
Hill Rosemont's face approached.
"It would be very easy to kidnap you."
When I furrowed my brow at the words criticizing me for doing him a favor, he got up from his seat as if nothing had happened.
Looking at the back of his head, it seemed a bit swollen.
"Take the handkerchief. And stop falling on purpose, it hurts."
I don't know why you treat yourself so carelessly.
Hill Rosemont looked at me, holding the damp handkerchief I had given him, and then turned around.
"Please prepare the promised items properly."
Watching him walk away, I let out a deep sigh.
"I don't know why everyone seems to be broken in some way."
Hill Rosemont is also a person who needs healing.
"I have to put a cat in everyone's arms someday."
Cats are the most powerful healing animals.
As I thought, I heard a happy voice from behind.
"Eirin."
"Dad."
"What are you doing here?"
"I was seeing off the professor. What about you, Dad?"
"I came to pick you up."
Erno Etham smiled and bent down to pick me up and hug me. As I was used to being in his arms, I patted his back.
"Where are we going?"
"A meeting, since you've become the matriarch of the family, there are many people to introduce you to."
"Isn't it a joke?"
"It's real."
"There's also territory granted by His Majesty, right?"
Even handling that would give me a headache.
"Yes, they're also planning to choose an administrator. After being introduced today, you can make your choice."
"But I don't know anything...?"
"I'll be there to help, so don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Why are you telling me not to feel pressure after suddenly gifting me to the Etham family?!
What kind of family was the Etham family?
Isn't it one of the families that holds the pillars of the empire?
It was a family that had it all, money, power, and honor to the extent that it was said the only thing missing was personality.
"For Koreans, I suddenly became the president of a conglomerate."
Being a company president at the age of 10 could leave one speechless. It must have made headlines in the newspapers every day.
"But why did you give it to me? It's an important job. You said you were going to give it to me even when you didn't know I was a dragon."
Erno Etham told me the other day that he was originally going to give it to me.
"You...."
He licked his lips gently.
"I thought that if I gave you the position as the matriarch of the family, you wouldn't think about leaving the house."
"...what?"
"I thought you didn't consider us a real family because I started on the wrong foot."
"Don't I consider you...?"
Am I wrong to feel like everyone else knows it?
"Yes, I also asked Callan and Silian."
"You have other relatives. Dad's brothers..."
Erno Etham laughed as if it wasn't even funny.
By that expression, it was clear how much he ignored the other family members.
"The lower ones never get a second chance."
Erno Etham said.
Certainly, even though my father is the youngest, he's living in the mansion as the most likely heir...
That's not wrong. But it was also a bit arrogant.
"But you took it and gave it to me...."
Perhaps my dad was the shortest-lived patriarch of the Etham family?
"But his children..."
"I, the patriarch, made you the successor and handed it over to you, so what does that matter?"
He said brazenly.
That's right, it was definitely the patriarch's discretion to decide on a successor.
"I'm sorry for Grandfather..."
My father, who had always had problems like this, finally said he would take care of it, so he handed over the title of patriarch and then gave it to me.
I can understand why he looks at me disapprovingly every time he sees me.
Even if I'm like this, I don't think he sees me as pretty.
So, where are we going now?
The place I arrived at in my father's arms was the conference room. It was much larger than where I was before.
When Dad entered, the buzzing crowd instantly fell silent.
A group of strangers sat around a large round table. I panicked and clung to my dad's hem, and he patted my back.
He entered and sat me right in the center of the round table, and when I was by his side, all the adults who had been sitting and looking at me with curious eyes got up from their seats.
"We greet the Matriarch, the owner of eternity."
They all bowed their heads.
The only ones who didn't bow were the former patriarch, Erno Etham, and the Duke of Miriel, who had become the family patriarch before the war.
When I rolled my eyes in an unexpected situation, Duke Miriel opened his mouth.
"All you have to do is ask them to raise their heads."
"R, raise your heads and sit..."
My voice trembled. When I barely spoke, they raised their heads and sat down like well-trained gentlemen.
Everyone was looking at me.
"...What do they want me to say?"
I hate standing in front of someone.
Although I've been in charge of data research and PowerPoint organization in group tasks since old times, I wanted to avoid making a presentation, even if I died soon.
Nothing ever went well when I faced someone.
In middle and high school, every time I said something, all I could hear was silence or mocking laughter.
My heart raced as they looked at me.
"I was quite surprised to hear that the youngest fool, who used to live life randomly, suddenly adopted a daughter, but isn't she a very cute niece?"
The first to speak was a bold-looking man about the size of a grandfather, who stood next to my father.
He had black hair and golden eyes, just like my father. However, he had been living outside for a long time, so his skin was slightly tanned.
Unlike when he bowed his head, he opened his mouth with a rather light voice.
"Should I say that my dad has defined muscles and his are very large?"
Uh, but... niece?
"My name is Charniel Etham. The eldest of these boys, the eldest son."
When I tilted my head, he smiled and introduced himself.
"So all these people... ."
Are they direct or collateral descendants of the Etham family?
[—The Etham family summoned them all, both direct and collateral, to the main mansion after you woke up.]
Although the emperor had said it before, it seems he really summoned them all.
"Because of me, dad...."
My eyes widened.
This time, a woman the size of a fist in front of Charniel calmly opened her mouth with her chin resting on her chin.
"That's right, the youngest has no tenderness at all. I can't believe I'm the only one who did all the work and found out late because of a society rumor..."
"Ah, I'm Nelia Zardan. Niece. I'm the eldest daughter and the second sister."
She pushed back her light golden hair and smiled. At first glance, there were small muscles in her arms.
Upon closer inspection, the fan also seemed to be a heavy-looking iron fan, not something like wood.
"I'm scared."
She played with the fan with one hand as if playing with a branch.
"Oh, what are you talking about? Am I the only one who thinks this is strange? Nell, do you think it makes sense to give the position of matriarch to a ten-year-old girl? We're not some kind of poor family, we're the Etham family!"
The woman sitting next to Nelia Zardan pounded the table and stood up.
She had black hair. In terms of appearance, honestly, she was only surpassed by her father's beauty.
"My dad is the best."
The good-looking woman held a fan, but it was a normal fan.
"...Does this person like lizards too?"
There was also an image of a lizard on the fan. She turned her head and looked at me.
My eyes opened wider as I tightly closed my mouth from tension.
"Um... Well, that's true."
"Isn't that right?! Is she still a child? She's a girl who needs to grow up and run a bit more! She's not even tall enough in the first place!
"......"
My sore point was pierced.
"I thought I would grow taller soon...."
When I pressed my head down with a sullen expression, the beautiful woman who saw me shook her shoulders.
"Hey, you! My estate will send you milk and cheese, so eat a lot! You have to grow up fast to do business or politics! I'll only send you the highest quality, so eat it all!"
The woman extended her fan.
Seeing that, Erno Etham's expression wrinkled. Nelia Zardan laughed and opened her mouth.
"Akrea? If you're going to be so blunt, why don't you get rid of those children's toy fans?"
I was drawn on the fan. To be precise, the lizard I saw in the mirror when I was little.
Her face turned bright red.
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