I swear, it was only today that I realized my dad's handsome features could twist into such a nasty, repulsive look.
So, without thinking, a slightly grumpy voice escaped me.
"That's a magic tool that's too expensive and hard to find. No matter how much I sell potatoes and tomatoes, I could never buy something like that in my entire life."
And besides, we're not even a real father and daughter anyway.
I snapped back a little, upset, and the man smirked, raising one corner of his mouth.
"Then, I guess you'll never be my daughter."
In the end, that meant he didn't believe a single word I said.
"...The ring! I just showed it to you! Dad, you gave this to me. You said to use it in an emergency."
"Ah, the ring."
The arrogant man lifted his chin and coldly scanned me.
"Well… I wonder what kind of proof that could possibly be."
"..."
"What if you just happened to find a ring I lost and are now insisting you're my daughter? In other words, what if you are…"
"..."
"A spy sent by my enemy?"
Inside the room, besides Dad, were Elisa, their aides, and a bunch of servants.
Under all their stares, I let out a small sigh.
'It's kind of stating the obvious, but... this is really sad.'
It's like the family I loved so much has totally forgotten me and is treating me like a stranger, no, worse than a stranger.
It felt like my only ally, the one I thought would always have my back, had just left me and gone far, far away.
To be honest… I felt like I was going to cry.
But I straightened up, sniffled once, and then looked around at the adults standing nearby.
"Um, Dad… no, Duke. If you just give us some privacy, I'll prove I'm telling the truth."
I said, rummaging through my turtle bag, and Dad gave a little sideways smirk, as if I were ridiculous.
"So, you're just making a last-ditch effort because you've got nothing else?"
His icy blue eyes scanned me coldly.
"...No, that's really not it, seriously."
I stuck out my lip and sighed heavily.
'I can't help it.'
I was trying to hold back on this for Dad's social standing and prestige.
"I have no choice but to use my last resort..."
"…?"
I took out a round magic tool that was rolling around in my bag.
It was a video orb, the kind that only plays a limited number of times.
Even though we were broke, Dad got it from a wandering magician because he wanted to have memories of my childhood.
"It's only got one play left... So, since we're watching, everyone really focus!"
As I lightly held it in my hand, the video orb emitted light.
And a face popped up, huge, in the room.
"Whoa! It's the Duke! It's really him!"
Even though his hair and eyes were a different color, the servants and the former Duke, Elisa, who recognized him from his features, started freaking out.
"Wh-what's with that expression?"
"He looks way too happy?"
"Oh my gosh."
Even though the guy in the video was frowning a little, he seemed so unfamiliar that everyone was shaken up.
<...Is it working? Hmm, guess it's not a piece of junk.>
The video orb's angle widely showed the bedroom of an old shack.
A moment later, Dad in the video jumped towards a round, fluffy lump on the bed.
<Daughter! Wake up! It's a day off! You didn't forget we were going to take the video orb and have a picnic in the woods, did you? Huh?>
"…?"
"…?"
"Who…?"
"What am I watching right now?"
The room began to stir.
Drip, drip, drip.
The maid, who was pouring tea into Dad's cup, didn't even notice it overflowing; she was just staring blankly at the screen.
Even Dad, who was holding the teacup, didn't notice.
"Sniff."
I really miss the dad in the video.
<Hey, stop rubbing your face so much.>
<Then I'll just give you one kiss and stop.>
<Phew. Okay, just one, on your right cheek.>
<Smooch, smooch.>
<Hey, why two kisses!>
<'Cause I gotta kiss you as much as I love you~>
<Really? Then don't stop.>
The former Duke, Elisa, who couldn't stand to watch anymore, grabbed his son's face with trembling hands.
"You, you little…"
"…"
"What the heck is wrong with his tongue...?"
Calex, who had been as still as a rock, slowly blinked.
And then said,
"That's... me?"
Yes.
Calex was, for once, speechless.
What is this? What the heck is going on?
His eyes darted around, not knowing where to look.
As a member of the dignified and prestigious ducal family, keeping a straight face was usually as easy as breathing.
But right now, he couldn't manage it.
<Oh my gosh! Ririn! Did you grow potato sprouts? Ogu, ogu, ogu, my treasure! Ogu, ogu!>
<Ehehe.>
<Your smile is so cute, I could just die! Ogugung!>
'Does that guy have some kind of language problem? Ogu... What? Is that baby talk all he can say?'
The man, grinning like an idiot, was patting the child's bottom.
The moron in the video was him, but it wasn't him.
Suddenly, an old shack came into view behind the brightly smiling child in the video.
Calex squinted, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.
Static, and the scene changed.
"Oh, this is the part I filmed... The video orb had a little bit of recording time left..."
The little kid mumbled, fidgeting with her hands.
The maids had wiped it off, but there were still dried blood scabs on her little knees.
Tearing his eyes away, Calex looked back at the video orb.
On the screen, lying on the vegetable garden…
He saw what looked like a loaf of bread.
<Theo! Down here, down here! Did you see the little tomatoes? Big sis is gonna go show Dad real quick!>
<Woo!>
Ririn whispered to the round back of the head that was staring intently under the sapling.
It wasn't a loaf of bread; it seemed to be the back of a baby's head.
The video orb was shaking all over the place. She must have been running.
<Daddyyyyyy... huh?>
<Oof.>
<What are you doing lying down by the well all of a sudden?>
<Uh, Dad was, uh, just about to splash some water on himself to cool off. Haha. Our daughter, you've gotten so fast at running...>
<Huh?>
Calex, lying on the dirt floor like a log.
The kid put the video orb down on the ground.
On the screen, you could see a man with his tanned upper body exposed, and the back of a little kid running towards him.
"Oh, damn it… That tattoo… It's definitely Calex Winterwald."
Elisa clutched her forehead like she had a splitting headache.
<Da...ddy...? What's this on your arms and back? Whoa! You've got so many pictures on your body!>
<Ri, Ririn? Don't flip Dad over, and, uh, could you not get so close with that magnifying glass?>
A dragon, running wildly across the man's right forearm, over his thick shoulder, and all the way down his back.
It was the mark that only the heir to the Winterwald Dukedom could have.
<Ooooh! But Uncle Bill said only bad kids get drawings on their bodies-ng!>
<Haha, i-is that so? Mr. Bill, he's so full of prejudice, like the old fogey he is.>
<Dad... Do you want to be a bad guy? Ririn would rather you be, um, a sketchbook! Theo would be scared of a bad guy, too!>
<Oh, absolutely! Of course, Dad's dream is to be a sketchbook! This, uh... Dad got this when he was young and a little wild. But I'm totally good now, right?>
<Uwaaeng. Yeah.>
The man sat up halfway and squished the kid's cheeks before giving her a big smooch on the forehead.
<So, sweetie. Don't tell anyone about this. What if people get scared of Dad and avoid him because of it, huh?>
<Okay! Aaaah-! So that's why Dad doesn't wear short sleeves even when it's hot? But you can wear them around me from now on! I'm not scared of Dad, even if you're a bad guy!>
<Really?>
<Yeah! Ririn loves Dad no matter what!>
<…>
The man was silent for a moment, gazing at the child.
Then, he showered her little cheeks with a barrage of kisses and 'ogu ogu's.
Under the bright sunlight, the man, laughing with his eyes crinkled up, looked unbelievably happy.
Calex, watching, tilted his head slightly.
He realized for the first time that he was even capable of laughing like that.
It felt like he was watching someone else's life, someone completely unrelated to him.
"That's all I can show you."
The video orb, which had been glowing non-stop, suddenly went dark.
With the kid's tiny voice as the last sound, the room fell into a heavy silence.
