It was the start of a fresh, green summer.
A garden party was being held in the imperial palace garden of the Etherion Empire.
"This party's pretty fancy. It's buzzing, probably because kids are allowed."
"Yeah, you're right."
The Green Garden, where sweet green grapes were ripening.
High-class nobles were mingling in small groups.
They chatted, but they also kept glancing at the entrance.
"Have you heard? Duke Winterwald is supposed to be here! That's probably why it's so packed."
"Yeah, I heard. I was like, 'What's he doing here?' He hates this kind of thing!"
"There he is!"
Just then, heavy footsteps could be heard.
A man appeared from beyond the white archway, looking regal and imposing.
His very presence had an intimidating vibe that made you sweat.
Sharp, strong, perfect features. Silver hair neatly combed back.
The strange thing was the streaks of pink in his hair.
The man had been missing for five years. People said the pink was a side effect from back then.
‘No clue what he was up to for those five years, but…’
People were sneaking peeks at him, remembering all the high-society gossip.
“……”
His icy stare scanned the area slowly.
Everyone respected and feared him.
The head of the Winterwald family up north, known for being cruel.
Etherion's arrogant, gorgeous troublemaker, Calex Winterwald.
"Huh? But,"
Someone tilted their head.
"Who's the kid with him...? What's that about?"
Because Calex was such a captivating figure, they were late to notice.
Looking closely, there was a child toddling along beside him.
"Well… now that you mention it, I heard there was a child Winterwald has been sponsoring recently. Did he actually bring them to the party?"
…That Calex Winterwald?
That cold-hearted guy from the North who treats kids like dirt?
"Whoa…"
The kid, with her lips all puckered up, made a little noise. Her pink bob was tied up in messy pigtails.
Probably around eight years old.
The child was slightly panting, trying to keep up with Calex’s pace. Her cute cheeks were all red.
"Whoa! There are so many people!"
Calex looked down at the kid, nonchalant.
Then, he scowled.
"Lose the magnifying glass. And what's with the turtle shell on your back?"
His voice was cold and low.
But the child was unfazed.
"It's my collecting bag with my tools and plant book! You said you'd show me the palace gardens, Dad... I mean, Duke!"
"Yeah, so why do you need that at a party? You're always messing around in the garden at home, why are you still going on about plants here?"
"Aww, geez. Why are you being so grumpy...?"
The kid pouted, and Calex smirked, as if he'd been waiting for it.
"Duh. My plan is to be a jerk so you'll leave."
"Too bad. I'm gonna be super nice and stick to you like glue, Duke."
The child smiled, her eyes crinkling.
Then, she hugged his leg tight.
"Like this!"
‘So I can help you remember you're my dad, and stop the bad stuff from happening... So you won't die!’
Of course, no one knew the child’s inner thoughts.
"Ha."
Meanwhile, Calex just looked down at her little round head, used to it by now.
His sharp eyes scanned her up and down. His own thoughts were just as complicated.
He was just thinking about…
‘Did she have her snack yet?’
Stuff like that. It just popped into his head, you know?
Why would he worry about this little brat?
He was the Duke of Winterwald, the coldest guy in the Empire; everyone knew it.
"You."
“……?”
"Go get some crackers with salmon on them and some of that smashed-up green grape juice. Now. And the reason is..."
The man arrogantly raised his chin.
"Because I'm hungry."
"Yes, sir!"
The kid snapped to attention like a toy soldier and answered. Calex's eyebrows shot up.
"Don't call me that."
"Why not? You made me your secretary yesterday... You said I was your chief secretary and that's why I'm here..."
Oh, right.
Calex relaxed his eyebrows and mentally facepalmed.
‘She kept begging to stay, so I told her she had to be a maid to earn her keep.’
She kept trying to clean his desk, so he made her his secretary.
‘Wait, was I being a total jerk?’
Making an eight-year-old a maid! What was he thinking?
‘Even though I was being so mean, I don't get why she won't just leave.’
Saying Calex was her dad.
And she had the Winterwald family ring.
‘...Did I really spend five years raising her in some mountain town?’
Because Calex had lost all his memories from the last five years in an accident a while back.
So, of course, he had no idea who this kid was, showing up like that.
‘I was totally planning to kick her out.’
How did it even get to this point?
‘But for some reason, I just couldn't tell her to get lost.’
He was the Duke of the North. A cold-blooded man.
Calex gave up thinking any further.
Lately, he was just... being a total creep, hoping she'd take a hint and leave.
...Not that it was working.
"Here you go!"
Just then, the kid came running back with a plate and some grape juice.
Calex said, in the most stuck-up, annoying voice he could manage,
"Good. Now eat it all. I'm just making sure it's not poisoned. It's not like I care about you or anything."
He'd already seen the staff check for poison, anyway.
"Yes, sir!"
The kid, Lirin, scarfed down the crackers and chugged the juice. It was kind of cute.
"Burp! I'm stuffed! No poison, yay! Can I go look around now? This garden is awesome! It's like, a hundred times better than the one at home, I gotta explore!"
"Ha! You think you can just do whatever you want?"
“……”
"Yeah. Just stick with me and keep making that pouty face."
Calex brushed a cracker crumb off her chubby cheek with his big hand, then gave her an even colder smile.
"So, are you getting annoyed yet? Your cheeks are twitching; you must think I'm the worst. Then pack your stuff and get out of here, go to the Winterwald orphanage. It's where we dump a ton of money every month, so it's super nice. Everything's brand new; it'll make you cry."
He had to kick her out. He would definitely kick her out.
Some eight-year-old kid he didn't even remember shows up and says she's his daughter. How crazy is that?
"No way!"
"Tsk. You little... If you keep this up, I'm gonna squish you."
"Don't say you wanna kiss me in that creepy voice!"
"I don’t."
He really didn’t.
Feeling a sense of crisis, Calex decided to threaten her as menacingly as possible. The most effective way to threaten someone was ‘to bury them without a trace.’
He would use that.
"I swear, Lirin Winterwald. I'm gonna bury you in the garden later today. Right next to that three-year-old brat at home."
"Aww, you're just saying you'll take really good care of me..."
Seriously. Why isn't she scared of him?
"Whoa! Look at all those grapes! Sir, I gotta go check 'em out!"
The kid, clearly bored, started wiggling towards the grapes, magnifying glass in hand.
Just as she was about to run off, Calex grabbed her turtle backpack.
"What now?!"
“……Bag.”
“……?”
That bag had been bugging him all day.
And he couldn't stand anything that bugged him. Because he was a jerk.
So, no, it definitely wasn't because he was worried or thought the bag was heavy. Nope.
"I'm taking your bag hostage."
"Wow, it was getting kind of heavy, how'd you know? You're the best, sir! Hold it tight!"
A dark-haired guy with a bright green turtle backpack dangling from his hand...
"This is all wrong, isn't it?"
What was he doing wrong here?
How was he going to get rid of her like this?
‘Am I gonna end up raising this kid till she's grown? A daughter I don't even remember having?’
He broke out in a cold sweat.
Meanwhile, everyone was watching and whispering.
"What is it?"
"They look like... a cute dad and daughter?"
Whisper, whisper.
The kid ran through the garden, hearing them whisper.
She sighed.
"They have no idea."
‘It took forever to get here!’
Dealing with a villain dad who lost his memory!
