I Became the Villain’s Lost Daughter Chapter 87

A cold wind blew across the face of my father after he ended the communication.

 

In retrospect, it was the suddenness of the schedule that made me so upset. But my father looked puzzled by my expression.

 

“What’s the matter, you don’t look so happy…”

 

“Dad, don’t say that again.”

 

It was Aaron who interrupted my father, who was trying to soften the blow.

 

With an expression of barely contained irritation, Aaron glanced at the communicator in his father’s hand, then at the flushed face that turned away from him.

 

‘Don’t you see what you’ve done wrong, father?’

 

Aaron’s glance said it all.

 

‘What do you mean, what did I do?’

 

‘You called His Imperial Highness without explaining to Erita. I’m not responsible for this, so you’ll have to deal with it yourself.’ 

 

‘No, wait, Aaron.’ 

 

A glance that said exactly that passed between my father and Aaron. He finally realized why I was upset.

 

“Erita, I’m sorry, I should have told you.”

 

Aaron apologized to me in a hushed voice, ignoring my father’s urgent glare.

 

He was obviously doing it on purpose to get my father’s attention.

 

“…No. You didn’t know, and it’s not your place to apologize.”

 

I shook my head furiously at Aaron.

 

“How can it be my brother’s fault that I ended up meeting the crown prince without his knowledge?”

 

Then I added a word. In a very gravelly voice.

 

“…”

 

My father’s bewildered gaze pierced mine, but I kept my gaze fixed in the opposite direction. The words were meant for him to hear.

 

There was a moment of awkward silence.

 

“…I’m sorry, Erita.”

 

“…”

 

I could hear my father’s apology.

 

But when I continued to avoid his gaze, he paused for a moment, then walked around the table to stand in front of me.

 

“Sweetheart, are you angry? This father is sorry, and it will never happen again. Okay?”

 

Sure enough, the man who a few hours earlier had reminded me of a fierce black panther was now fidgeting and sulking.

 

Slowly, I turned my head and locked eyes with my father.

 

“Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was for me to suddenly meet His Highness the Crown Prince? That was very unkind of you.”

 

“Yes, you are right. I didn’t think of you, and my impatience got the better of me, and I apologize.”

 

As I grumbled in frustration, my dad nodded hastily and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m sorry for how I acted earlier.”

 

Suddenly, my pouty mood eased. I was about to reply that I was fine now.

 

“Erita, if you don’t want to see the prince today, I’ll tell him not to come. How would you like me to do that, right now?”

 

After saying that, my father moved his body as if he was going to contact the prince right away.

 

…What? No, that’s too far gone!

 

“Oh, wait, no!” I shouted in panic.

 

My father and Aaron’s eyes locked on me.

 

Under their stares, I hastily added an afterthought.

 

“Never mind, you already asked him to come, how can you tell him not to?”

 

“Your opinion is the most important thing to me. If you don’t want it, we’ll just make another appointment and that’s that.”

 

My dad didn’t seem to mind my answer. 

 

He looked like he was about to say, ‘I don’t want to meet with you today, and if I say one word, I can call Callian right away and come back another time.’

 

‘No, he’s the prince of the empire, the prince!’ 

 

But I knew that if I told my father and Aaron, they’d just give me a look that said, ‘What the hell,’ so I swallowed my frustration and stood up.

 

“We’re meeting today, so you and my brother should both head out. I’m going to have to get ready again, thanks to a schedule I didn’t see coming, so let Mary know when it’s time.”

 

And with that, she shooed her father and Aaron out of the room.

 

After a few moments of shouting, Dad disappeared through the door.

 

💫

 

“Miss, what are you doing all dressed up like this?”

 

“Huh?”

 

Mary asked, wondering why I was so out of place at a family dinner, pulling out new clothes and re-doing my hair.

 

“You usually say you don’t mind if I try to dress you up, so what’s up with you today?”

 

She asked me with a look of genuine curiosity on her face.

 

Since I was meeting the prince, of course, I couldn’t leave the house in the same clothes I was wearing at home, but I couldn’t tell her the truth.

 

“Well, it’s just that we’re having dinner in the greenhouse tonight. I just wanted a little something extra for a change, haha.”

 

Luckily, the right excuse came out of my mouth.

 

“Oh, I see you’re in the mood for the season, so why don’t you wear some jewelry? I’ll make you look pretty!”

 

“Eh, what?”

 

“Just trust me, Miss. I learned a lot from Marilyn!”

 

In a flash, Mary pulled out several jewelry boxes.

 

Before I could say anything about it.

 

“Hmm, do you like this one or this one?”

 

“Well, Mary.”

 

“What? 

 

Mary looked up at my call, and I couldn’t help but notice how excited she looked.

 

“…No. I want it to be pretty.”

 

Swallowing what I was about to say, I awkwardly smiled and said that I’d be happy to oblige.

 

Little did I know that my words would ignite Mary’s motivation. The results were revealed just an hour later.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

A lingering gaze from the side.

 

‘Hah… I just want to return to my room.’

 

The right side of my face felt very tingling where the gaze was piercing.

 

Then, the subject of the gaze opened his mouth.

 

“…My dear sister, why are you so pretty today…”

 

“Brother, stop.”

 

I quickly cut off Aaron’s afterthought, which I knew without hearing it.

 

Something about the way I looked, probably about three times as imposing as when I was talking to the two of them earlier.

 

“Hmm.”

 

“…”

 

It seemed that Father had something to say as well, but I stubbornly ignored their stares and continued walking toward the greenhouse.

 

I had overlooked Mary, who, along with Marilyn, loved decorating me the most in the world.

 

‘Mary… this is too much…!’

 

My screams for Mary echoed only in my throat.

 

“Tervan, we’re going to have a little chat before we dine, so you’re not needed.”

 

“How long will it be before dinner?”

 

Tervan’s question made Father glance up at the sky.

 

It was just after five o’clock and the sky was a pale scarlet color.

 

“In a couple of hours, I’d say.”

 

“All right, have a good time.”

 

Tervan nodded and opened the greenhouse door with a stiff bow.

 

“Thank you, Tervan!”

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

Tervan’s wrinkled eyes curved gently at my greeting.

 

‘…As expected, Tervan is a flowering middle-aged man.’

 

Inside the greenhouse, a table had already been set with a proper tea.

 

“Let’s wait a bit.”

 

“Sure.”

 

I waited for a while, chatting with my father and Aaron about various things.

 

“…Uh.”

 

Without realizing it, I lifted my head.

 

…Magic?

 

It was a fleeting moment, but I could definitely feel a flow of magic.

 

It belonged to a very familiar person.

 

The magic that appeared for a moment as if he had used magic had quickly disappeared, but a faint remnant was coming towards me.

 

‘…This is Fern’s magic.’

 

My eyes narrowed slightly as I looked at the harmoniously growing flowers and trees.

 

Was Fern coming here too?

 

“Fa…”

 

The moment I opened my mouth to ask, what came to mind.

 

Shuffling—

 

Several footsteps sounded.

 

I turned to see three men, including a familiar blue-haired mage.

 

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

 

“You kept me waiting.”

 

The one who caught my eye more than any of the others was, of course, Callian, who smiled weakly at me.

 

💫

 

There was a distinctly awkward air around the table of six.

 

As if that weren’t enough, the person standing behind Callian was someone I recognized.

 

‘…The owner of a jewelry store with a strange name.’

 

The gentle-faced man was clearly the owner of a jewelry store with a name that sounded like a fantasy world, Twilight Dawn.

 

I forgot the man’s name, but the name of the store was still fresh in my mind.

 

‘I can still remember the name of the shop because it’s a bit like a second-rate bottle.’ 

 

But now that he’s here with Callian, I don’t understand what’s going on.

 

I snapped my head around and glared at Aaron.

 

‘Brother, I don’t understand what’s going on.’

 

The meaning in that gaze was clear.

 

Aaron seemed familiar with the man, who was obviously Cayden.

 

“Um…”

 

Aaron gave an awkward smile at my expression.

 

“It’s been a long time, Princess. I’m Cayden of the Barony of Ambrone if you remember.”

 

The man who had been looking at me and Aaron chuckled and introduced himself.

 

Not Caden, but Cayden.

 

“Ah, I’m Erita Krovachatz, Baron Ambrone. We met at the shop the other day.”

 

“Haha, I’m honored that you remember me.”

 

Cayden smiled sweetly at my modest response.

 

But there’s no way my father would have called him here just because he knew Aaron. My eyes flicked over to Cayden in disbelief.

 

“Oh, I actually forgot to tell you what I do for a living.”

 

“What?”

 

Cayden’s eyes narrowed.

 

‘Your real job…?‘

 

He owned an oddly named jewelry store, one of the most popular in the capital.

 

“I lead the Amber Guild, albeit a small one.”

 

The next words, though, I couldn’t help but wonder why he was here.