I Became the Villain’s Lost Daughter Chapter 83

 

The afternoon sun shining through the window illuminated my father and Aaron.

 

‘…Let’s talk about it now.’

 

Sipping my cooled herbal tea, I glanced at the two men in front of me.

 

Right now, my two selves were colliding in my head.

 

‘Should I wait until I’ve gathered my thoughts a bit more before I tell them, or should I ask them right now?’

 

The subject of my intense deliberation was to ask my father and Aaron about the story I had heard from Callian at the Masquerade Ball yesterday.

 

— Your father was the one who stopped the Empress then.

 

The truth that Callian confided in me afterward was not what I expected… no, not even what I imagined.

 

To think my father and Callian had an alliance, eight years ago!

 

Eight years of my life, and I’ve been so careless. Even though I was so relieved, I couldn’t hide my heartbreak.

 

‘I was so worried, not realizing it was already solved.’

 

If I were to count the hairs on my head that have fallen out from worrying about what if my family turned against Callian like the original, it would be well over a thousand.

 

And I can’t help but feel my gaze soften at my father and Aaron for keeping such an important fact from me.

 

‘Well, there’s nothing to worry about, better to tell them now than later.’

 

It was my lustful feelings for the two of them that made me decide.

 

I had a lot to hide, too, but I decided to put that aside.

 

“Father, brother.”

 

I called out to the two men, their faces glowing from equally tiring yesterday.

 

Then two pairs of red eyes turned to me, side by side.

 

“Are you two busy today?”

 

“No.”

 

“I’m not busy.”

 

I asked if they had a schedule, and the answer was simultaneously firm and satisfying.

 

“Are you free all day?”

 

Because this could take more than two or three hours.

 

Both my dad and Aaron nodded their heads without another word in response to my question, which simply asked if they were free, without any explanation.

 

It was a good thing, because if either of them had been busy, I would have had to wait for the next one.

 

“Why all of a sudden?”

 

“I needed to talk to you.”

 

As I said with a shrug, and my father and Aaron shared a glance. They might have already guessed what I was going to say.

 

“Well, for starters, I’m skipping the rest of the Debutante banquet.”

 

Before I got into the meat of the matter, I told them what I had decided yesterday.

 

The Debutante Banquet was still three days away, but I had accomplished my immediate goal, so I didn’t need to go now.

 

It wasn’t as if I wanted to make friends in social circles in the first place, so it was no surprise that my desire to go had quickly faded.

 

‘Now that I’ve confirmed that the Empress was a black wizard, I need to think about the next step.’

 

My ultimate goal in the first place was to ensure my family’s peaceful future and help Callian become Emperor.

 

In that sense, the fact that my family and Callian were the same was newsworthy of a Eureka moment for me.

 

‘And as for how to deal with the Empress and Thesis in the future…’

 

‘It would be better to discuss it with the two before me.’

 

My father will be helping Callian become Emperor, too.

 

It still stung to think that he’d done this without me, but it was certainly reassuring to know that they had the same goals.

 

“Very well. I’ll do as you wish.”

 

My father replied nonchalantly when I told him I wasn’t going to the Debutante Banquet anymore.

 

Aaron didn’t seem too bothered either.

After all, they’re not really into this sort of thing.

 

Besides, I can’t force them to do something they don’t want to do.

 

Anyway, when I realized that both of their schedules were clear today, I opened my mouth with a grimace.

 

“Well, maybe you’ll have some time for me today.”

 

It was more of a request than an announcement.

 

💫

 

Presently, we were sitting on the couch in my room.

 

The atmosphere was somehow not conducive to chatting in the parlor.

 

I could have asked them all to leave, of course, but I chose to bring my father and Aaron into the comfort of my room.

 

Clink—

 

Mary set the table with light refreshments and a fresh brew of the herbal tea I hadn’t finished earlier.

 

“Thank you, Mary.”

 

“You’re welcome. Let’s talk, then.”

 

Smiling faintly, Mary bowed to father and Aaron, then left the room with a shuffle.

 

As the door closed with a small click, I snapped my fingers and cast a silence spell around my room.

 

One layer, then two, then three.

 

“Done.”

 

With a total of three layers of magic, no one would be able to hear our conversation in this room.

 

My father and Aaron’s faces looked a little shaky as they watched me work the spell.

It’s no wonder, since they both said yes to my request for time, and I quickly brought them to my room and surrounded it with magic.

 

“…Erita.”

 

“What?”

 

“Do you think there’s any need for magic?”

 

“Of course, because what I’m about to tell you is very, very important.”

 

I nodded in agreement with Aaron’s question. I trusted the people of my manor, but it was something they hadn’t told me, so it couldn’t hurt to be cautious.

 

Likewise, I paused for a moment, wondering how to begin.

 

We have plenty of time, so we can take it one step at a time.

 

“I spoke with His Highness yesterday.”

 

But what came out of my mouth was neither an introduction nor a point-by-point conversation, but a straight to the point.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

I could see the confusion on my dad’s and Aaron’s faces as they listened.

 

‘Oh, that’s not it.’

 

I’d assumed they knew I’d met Callian, but I hadn’t planned to tell them so publicly.

 

Since this morning, I’d been thinking about him, and it was almost as if the words had come out of my mouth unconsciously.

 

‘…Maybe it’s better to just say it right away.’

 

After a moment of embarrassment at my unintentional words, I decided to press on.

 

“I’m sure you and my brother already know what Callian told me.”

 

The two men’s expressions changed to one of embarrassment.

 

Normally, when I showed up late at the banquet yesterday, either my father or Aaron would have asked me where I had been.

 

But yesterday, they didn’t ask me anything.

 

‘They didn’t ask because they knew I had met Callian.’

 

And I didn’t think Callian would have confided in me without discussing it with my father. I glared back and forth between my father and Aaron.

 

“Um, Erita.”

 

“Yes, Dad.”

 

“Where do I even begin to tell you this…”

 

My father chose his words slowly, as if trying to explain. I was relieved that he didn’t seem to be trying to cover up or hide anything from me.

 

“First of all, may I ask where exactly you heard it?”

 

He hesitated for a moment, then asked.

 

“That my father and this prince joined hands eight years ago, but I haven’t had much time to listen to the details.”

 

“Perhaps you should just start at the beginning.”

 

Aaron replied lightly, then turned to his father.

 

“From the beginning, from eight years ago?”

 

“…Yes, that would be great.”

 

Father agreed politely, looking at me with warmth in his eyes.

 

“It won’t be a short story. It’s from sixteen years ago, not eight, and it’s a story that might remind you of a painful past.”

 

“Sixteen years ago…” I muttered softly.

 

A past that hurt me.

 

Apparently, Aaron’s ‘from the beginning’ was sixteen years ago, not eight.

 

“And you still want to hear it all?”

 

The low voice was that of a father concerned for his daughter.

 

But his question didn’t change my desire to listen. In fact, it made me want to hear more.

 

The story before I entered this world, the story of when it all began.

 

The long past, when Serbia died and Erita was separated from her family.

 

I could tell from his words that Serbia’s death and Erita’s disappearance were no mere accident.

 

“Yes, I want to hear it.”

 

I nodded and replied firmly.

 

“…Yes. If that’s your decision, you’ll have to tell me everything.”

 

He looked at me with warm eyes and began the old story.

 

💫

 

One ordinary winter day, sixteen years ago.

 

A stern-faced knight rode swiftly through the silence of the great castle.

 

The lord of the castle did not like hustle and bustle, but the news he had to deliver was dire enough that he had to hurry nonetheless.

 

“Your Highness-! Urgent news!”

 

The knight shouted as he reached my lord’s door.

 

“Come in.”

 

With a low permission, the door opened.

 

Thud —

 

The door closed once more behind the knight, and a man with jet-black hair looked up.

 

“I thought I told you not to raise your voice. What was it?”

 

The knight’s cool red eyes swallowed hard, and his gaze swept over Aaron, who sat quietly on the couch for the briefest of moments.

 

A moment of hesitation flickered in the knight’s eyes, but then he spoke urgently.

 

“They say the carriage the lady was riding in has crashed.”

 

“What?”

 

Aslan’s face went white.

 

“My lady was badly injured and was being treated at a nearby temple, but her whereabouts are unknown…”

 

Unable to finish his sentence, the knight held out a small piece of paper.

 

“This was a message from Kyle. He says they are currently searching for your location.”

 

Aslan snatched the small piece of paper out of the air.

 

The letter was not long.

 

[On our way to the Marquise of Valeria, our carriage crashed on a mountain pass due to teleportation interference. 

 

The lady was badly injured and is being treated at the temple, but is in critical condition. 

 

Her whereabouts are unknown, and a search is underway. 

 

The sorcerer believed to be responsible has taken his own life by ingesting poison.]

 

Aslan’s face grew increasingly impassive as he read down the short list, then flared with anger at the last sentence.

 

Thwack—

 

The white paper crumpled in Aslan’s hand. His eyes seemed to turn white.

 

‘Serbia is in critical condition and my two-year-old daughter is unaccounted for!’

 

— Honey, I’m leaving.

 

— Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?

 

— It’s okay, I’ll just go with Erita, since I’ll be back by magic soon enough.

 

— Mom, you should come back soon.

 

— I’ll be back before dinner. I promise! Now, my sweet girl, I’m going to go see dad and brother. Say bye to them.

 

— Bye!

 

The wife and daughter were smiling and greeting each other as they left the house an hour ago.

 

Then the carriage crashed.

 

Bang—!

 

Aslan jumped to his feet.

 

“I’m coming right now.”

 

I couldn’t believe it unless I saw it with my own eyes. No, I didn’t want to believe it.

 

“Father…”

 

It was her trembling voice that slowed Aslan’s hasty grab for his coat.