Chapter 81

“What do you mean, it’s connected to me?”

“...It would be better for you to see it yourself.”

With that cryptic reply, Grace opened the door.

Better for me to see it myself?

That was unlike Grace.

The royal consort was precise in everything she did. As someone who studied magic and drew formulas, she hated vague expressions more than anything in the world.

What could possibly be so difficult for someone like her to say outright?

The moment Calypse stepped into the treatment room, dozens of possibilities flashed through his mind.

Then—

Could Aisha die the moment Pose dies?

He imagined the worst possibility he could conceive.

With dark magic, a curse like that seemed entirely plausible.

Then another question followed.

If that is the case, can I accept the execution sentence King Argen has issued?

“.......”

Although numerous suspicious circumstances had come to light, Argen had taken a step back after pinning every crime on Duke Pose, and he remained the ruler of the Frozen Kingdom.

The moment Calypse defied his command, he would become a traitor.

Even so—

I will refuse as many times as necessary, if that is what it takes to save Aisha.

Calypse’s red eyes turned cold.

Whatever dark magic had been placed upon Aisha’s body, he was prepared to accept it.

Just then—

“Your Majesty?”

A young voice snapped him back to himself.

It was Aisha.

At some point, the child had awakened. She was sitting on the bed, swinging her legs back and forth.

She looked as cheerful as ever. The only strange thing was that her eyes were squeezed tightly shut.

Could the dark magic have robbed her of her sight as a side effect?

Thud.

Calypse’s heart plummeted at a possibility he had not considered among all his assumptions.

“Aisha. Will you open your eyes?”

Grace bent forward to meet the child’s gaze and spoke.

“Now?”

Aisha asked brightly as her eyelids slowly opened.

The instant their eyes met—

“.......”

Calypse’s entire body went rigid.

“Gasp! Father, you’re here? Are you all right?!”

Blink, blink.

He heard her anxious question, but Calypse could not answer. He could only stare at her blankly.

The eyes that had once been as vividly blue as the sky and sea had turned red.

Just like his own.

***

“It seems this is Lady Aisha’s true appearance. Apparently, dark magic has been concealing it all this time...”

Grace was in the middle of explaining when she suddenly let out a small laugh.

“You appear to have a great deal on your mind.”

Just as she said, Father was only staring at me without a word.

W-Why is he acting like that?

Whip, whip.

My head darted from side to side as I hurried to assess the situation.

I had collapsed in Father’s arms, and when I regained consciousness, Empress Grace was in front of me.

According to her, she had been treating me to break Duke Pose’s dark magic.

Is Father all right? He must be in far more pain than I am.

I was worried about my own condition too, but once I had recovered some strength, I wanted to see Father.

He was so strong, yet he had collapsed after being attacked by someone as small as me. What a fool.

Why had he believed me? Why had he let his guard down?

Until the moment he collapsed, I had forced myself to hold back all the reproaches threatening to spill out.

It was a miracle everything had ended safely. I would have to lecture him thoroughly and make sure he never did anything like that again.

But Grace had been staring intently into my eyes while I thought all this.

When I asked why, she told me to close my eyes and wait for a moment. I did, and somehow we had ended up in this situation.

“...Father?”

Calypse looked much healthier than I had expected.

There was probably a bandage wrapped around the stab wound in his abdomen, but he did not seem to have suffered any other injuries.

Thank goodness.

But that was separate from the lecture he still deserved.

I was about to open my mouth when I noticed something was wrong.

Calypse looked as though he had been struck by lightning.

Well, of course. He must be almost as shocked as I was.

He had nearly died, then survived and been reunited with his daughter. How happy must he be?

“Hmm.”

...Maybe he isn’t happy?

The moment I reconsidered, uncertainty seized me, and cold sweat broke out across my skin.

Come to think of it, Calypse learned Ariana’s true identity right before he collapsed. He even found out that I was Ariana’s daughter.

The wife he had loved was a spy. The adopted daughter he had loved was actually his biological daughter—and had been created from the beginning for the purpose of destroying him.

It had been a shock to me, but for Calypse, it had to be even harder to accept.

After learning so many devastating truths, perhaps he had wished I would never wake again.

“...Aisha.”

His stiff voice made my heart drop.

I raised my trembling eyes and barely managed to look at Father.

“Are you feeling all right?”

The question was entirely unexpected.

“...Yes.”

“I’m glad.”

When I slowly nodded, he answered like a sigh.

Even then, his expression did not soften, and I remained tense.

“...I’m so glad.”

Without warning, his enormous body closed around me in an embrace that seemed ready to swallow me whole.

I stood there dazed within Father’s cavernous arms, an embrace I had thought I would never feel again.

Then a large palm settled against the back of my head.

“Never again,”

His voice was hoarse as he continued.

“Never again say strange things about being nothing but a mockery made for my sake.”

“.......”

My eyes widened in shock.

“If you say anything like that again, you will truly be in trouble with Father.”

I had never expected him to say something like this.

“...Whether you share my blood or not, I do not care who your mother is or what meaning was assigned to your existence. You are my daughter.”

Calypse cared for me far more deeply than I had imagined.

He must have felt overwhelming betrayal and rage, yet he loved me enough to overcome even that.

“I-I’m sorry.”

He truly was a man who became far too soft when it came to family.

He had nearly died.

He had felt enough rage to want someone dead and had stood before a person who deserved death.

Yet he was still telling me that I was his daughter.

I was being scolded with words that were the complete opposite of the lecture I had intended to give him, and it made me feel strange.

It was as though soap bubbles were rising inside my heart, swelling until they threatened to burst.

I felt restless for no reason, grateful—and unbearably hurt.

“I’m sorry.”

Only then did I stretch out my short arms and burrow into his embrace.

I bit my lip hard to keep from crying. Afraid that my arms might slip away, I tightened them around his neck.

“Now that you know you were wrong, you won’t do it again, will you?”

Father gave a faint laugh at the sight of me, lifted me into his arms, and rose.

Then he looked at my face and asked,

“Why are you crying? Are you a little crybaby with a runny nose?”

A runny-nosed crybaby? Father, where did your character go?

“I’m not cryiiing!”

Sniffling, I hurriedly rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand. The heavy atmosphere quickly eased.

Calypse suddenly looked away, and I followed his gaze.

Come to think of it, we were not the only two people in the treatment room.

Grace stood in one corner, wearing an expression that suggested she had no idea what to do.

I had heard that her personality type was definitely Thinking.

When our eyes met, she gave me an awkward smile. Calypse looked at her, then asked me,

“My daughter. I’m glad the dark magic has been broken and that you are safe. Did you thank Her Majesty Grace?”

“Yep. Of course! I even gave her a full-body bow!”

“...A full-body bow?”

Calypse asked in confusion, and Grace nodded.

“So that was meant as gratitude? I was not sure why she showed me her undergarments.”

“What? Aisha?”

Eek.

As Calypse recoiled in horror, I flapped my hands frantically and rushed to explain.

“That’s not what happened! I bowed too deeply and ended up doing a handstand!”

“Ah, so that was it! Still, Lady Aisha, you must not do that in front of anyone else while wearing a dress. It was fortunate that it happened in front of me, but if someone else had seen...”

“Y-Your Majesty Grace! I-I understand!”

I thought I was wearing a patient’s gown.

Usually, when you wake up in an infirmary, they have already changed you into one!

My lips jutted out in indignation, but that was not the real problem.

No matter what we said, a pair of terrifying, axe-sharp eyes continued to glare at me.