Chapter 18

Chapter 18

* * *

“Wow, balloons!”

I followed Kallen into the carriage and saw several balloons tied inside. I smiled broadly, knowing exactly who they were from.

“Thank you, Jade.”

Wow, there are so many colors. There’s a gold one, a silver one, a pink one…

“They’re beautiful. Are they all for me?” I asked, delightedly tapping the balloons.

Jade hummed in affirmation.

“We can stop by the toy store if you’d like,” Kallen added.

I knew there was quite a difference between Kallen’s exterior and interior. While he appeared calm and carefree, I couldn’t tell what he was really thinking.

Is he always this kind to sick children? I wasn’t used to seeing him this way. He doted on me, but his every move felt awkward.

“The toy store? Why?” I asked.

“I’ve been meaning to get you a toy, ever since I saw you eyeing that toy store the other day,” Kallen said.

“Oh…”

“You were staring at the display case with such longing eyes. It was rather endearing.”

Oh, right. The day I ran out of the dress shop in search of my balloon, I stopped and stared gloomily into a toy store. I can’t believe he remembered. But after everything that had happened, I didn’t want to be the kid who begged her family to take her to the toy store.

“Let’s go next time,” I suggested shyly.

What will it be like to visit a toy store with Kallen? I remembered what I’d seen on the kingdom’s streets on the eve of important festivals: young girls in pretty, caped coats, visiting toy stores alongside their parents. I had never felt envy at the sight, knowing full well they lived in a different world than mine. But things had changed.

One day, if Kallen is in a good mood and has some free time, then maybe… I blushed, giggling inwardly at the thought.

“We can go to the toy store whenever you wish,” Kallen said.

“Yes, perhaps next time…”

“I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I bought the whole store.”

“E-excuse me?”

He did what? I couldn’t believe my ears. “Why would you buy the whole store?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I can’t predict the fancies of little girls, and I’ve never bought a toy in my life. I thought buying the entire store would be less troublesome.”

“Sion, is this true?”

Sion smiled awkwardly. “I tried to stop him, my lady. To be honest, His Grace—”

“Do not say anything unnecessary, Sion,” Kallen interrupted him.

“Huh? Why? What is it?” I stared at the butler with pleading eyes.

He cleared his throat. “To speak plainly, His Grace stopped by the toy store two days ago to buy you a gift for when you woke up. However, he had trouble choosing a toy, which led him to…”

“To buy the entire toy store?”

“He wanted to leave a deposit, to be more precise. As he didn’t know what you would like, he decided to leave a portion of the money and later ask you to choose whatever toys you’d prefer. It’s simply that the amount he paid happened to be enough to acquire the whole store.”

I turned to Kallen and asked, “Is this really true?”

But he avoided my eyes. Did the cold-hearted Kallen always have this caring, indulgent side?

“Wait a minute. Did Your Grace say you’d never bought a toy before? Does that mean you’ve never bought Jade a present?”

For a moment, the duke looked pensive. “Marianne pestered me into buying a toy for Jade once. It was a teddy bear, I believe. Or was it some sort of soldier?”

Jade snorted and crossed his arms. “It was a teddy bear dressed as a soldier, Father.”

“That’s right. And after receiving the gift, Jade said, ‘You need not treat me the same as other children, or try to play the part of the doting father. Let us stick with a rational father-son relationship.’”

“Ah, yes, I remember. While we’re on the subject, I propose we avoid the hassle of exchanging birthday gifts and the like. Though of course, Sion was the one choosing my gifts all this time.”

“Y-you knew, Master Jade?” Sion asked solemnly.

“How could I not? Every year, I received useful gifts like a sword, a book, or a rare taxidermy. There’s no way Father would give such practical gifts.”

Kallen narrowed his eyes and said, “I have no idea what you’re implying.”

Why does this father-and-son relationship feel so distant? In the end, it just means the duke never bought Jade a birthday present.

“At least I gave you permission to enter the taxidermy room,” Kallen began to argue. “I even acquired that venomous snake you wanted.”

“Yes, but that snake is now deceased. Besides, you urged me to put an end to my research on chimeras.”

“That’s because said research has failed many times in our family, over many generations.”

Sion turned to me, smiling reassuringly. “His Grace is not very good at buying gifts for children.”

“If it’s a toy in the shape of an animal you desire, I have a taxidermy brown bear that I hunted in the palace forest. Wouldn’t that be superior to a meager toy model of it?”

There was an edge to Kallen’s voice.

I chuckled at his bluntness, but my chest felt tight.

I see. Kallen probably never received a gift from his parents because he was forced to grow up too quickly. He couldn’t ask for such things.

“You know, I’ve heard that teddy bears can comfort you when you have scary dreams at night,” I said.

In my past life, the one I’d spent in a hospital, my mother had told me that on the day she’d bought me a teddy bear. I had cherished that doll for a very long time.

“When a ghost appears in your nightmares, the teddy bear will chase it away,” I explained.

“That’s merely superstition,” Kallen insisted.

“Right, a superstition…” I said, pouting at the duke. “All right then. Because Your Grace has no teddy bear, you can hold on to me whenever you have a nightmare. Even if you have to come into my room at all hours.”

The carriage suddenly fell quiet.

Huh? What’s wrong with everyone?

After a minute’s silence, Kallen looked at me and firmly patted my head.

“Ow, my shoulder…”

“You’re so adorable, I could just eat you up.”

Jade and Sion exchanged serious glances with the duke in response to his remark.

“I know your meaning, Father, but perhaps you shouldn’t say such things in front of the child.”

“I agree with Master Jade.” What was that? Why does “I could just eat you up” sound a bit more literal when Kallen says it?

“All that aside, my lady, is there any toy you would like?” Sion asked gently. “I shall retrieve whatever you desire from the toy store. You would do well to stay at home until you fully recover.”

To think he’d be “retrieving” the toys instead of “buying” them…

“Can you withdraw your purchase from the toy store?” I cautiously asked. I felt burdened, knowing that His Grace had spent such a handsome sum on me. But I was only met with silence.

“You really can’t?” I asked again.

“I’ll cede the store to you when you’re older,” Kallen finally said.

“But I really don’t need an entire store. Can’t you just choose one item and be content? I’d be very happy if Your Grace bought me my first doll.” At this point, I had no choice but to try to reach a compromise.

“Try that one more time.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You’d be happy if…”

“Oh, uh… I’d be very happy to have a doll bought by Your Grace.”

For some reason, Kallen sat and stared at me without a word. Then after a moment, he leaned in to kiss my forehead. “I’m sad to hear you call me ‘Your Grace’ again, but I will surely buy you the best doll there is.”

I smiled faintly. “All right, but you must remember to give back the toy store!” I said, but Kallen merely shrugged. Before I knew it, the carriage had arrived at the stunning white manor. I stared outside, eager to return to the place I now called home.

* * *

The moment I stepped foot inside, I was put on partial bed rest.

“It is imperative that you rest, and you must not leave this bed until the priests and doctors arrive,” Sion had warned firmly.

But it doesn’t even hurt. Did I really almost die? I had spent several days in a coma, but thanks to the priests, I didn’t feel any pain. I did however feel sore and antsy from lying around all day. It was now the middle of the night. I decided to roll out of bed and stretch my legs.

Ugh, my body feels heavy… I’d only taken a few steps, but my body refused to move the way I wanted. I gave up the plan of strolling down the corridor and instead stared out the open window.

The moon looks beautiful tonight. Wait, today’s the night of the mienus moon, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.

“From now on, I’ll seek out your opinion from time to time”

I thought about what Kallen had said, but I only felt uneasy. We had solved the last case in the novel that I knew.

Which means I probably won’t be of help anymore. Even worse, Kallen had mentioned he was once suspicious of me.

A very bad person, huh? I wonder who he is. The book I had read only contained stories about Kallen brilliantly solving cases.

But an unknown man who sends red flowers? That certainly sounded ominous. Thinking back, something wasn’t quite right.

The fortune-teller who dressed up as a redheaded woman had been a destitute man from the countryside. How then did he get his hands on such a valuable poison? This world may be filled with criminals, but obtaining an odorless, tasteless poison would have been difficult.

I wonder if Kallen’s wondering the same thing. I looked up at the door to the duke’s room, seemingly so out of reach.

“I wish you would call me Daddy instead.”

Of course, I wished I had a dad. Being on my own was lonely, and I hadn’t wished in my wildest dreams that I’d find a family.

But I still feel uneasy. It’s scary when too many good things happen at once. What if I call him my father and the other shoe drops? What if he grows sick and tired of me? What if he realizes I’m not very useful and kicks me out?

I squeezed my eyes shut.

I want to stay in this house. And right now, that was my only desire.

* * *

“I dealt with the flower seller, sir, and positioned his corpse so it would be discovered. He knew our faces, so I figured he was liable to become quite the nuisance. He was the fortune-teller’s peddler, after all.”

The man with his back to the window had been swallowed in shadow, but his bright silver hair gleamed in the moonlight. “Tonight’s the mienus moon, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“According to legend, the night of the mienus moon is the harbinger of equality, as everyone stands beneath the same moonlight. Isn’t that right, Eins?”

The man smiled, and the boy named Eins stood quietly for a while.

“That poison was too precious to be wasted on that fortune-telling bastard, sir. He was quite unsightly, that man. Dare I suggest that you choose a criminal who can be of greater assistance next time?”

“I help whoever needs my consultation. At the end of the day, my vocation is to concoct crimes of all sorts,” the man said, sitting down comfortably in his chair. “Anyway, I heard Kallen adopted a young girl into his family?”

“Yes, sir. She’s nine years old.”

“Just nine years old, you say? That’s much too young to be receiving flowers from just anyone. That means the red flowers I sent must have been her first.”

The man gently raised his hand. There was a red flower tattooed on the back.

“I look forward to meeting her,” he hummed with a sinister smile.