Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: A Cool and Amazing 10-Year-Old
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I glared at the child who had declared herself the "real daughter," scrutinizing her closely.
This kid somehow reminded me of a tiny bird.
As if she hadn't even imagined being left alone, the child blinked in surprise.
I handed her a cup of warm tea.
The child fidgeted with her hands, seemingly flustered at the idea of drinking warm tea.
In the meantime, I examined her thoroughly.
I measured her body, checked her eye color and hair color meticulously.
Of course, I already had a plan.
First things first...
"Hey, Sir Ted!"
"Yes?"
"Paternity tests can only be done by Count Yoter's merchant group, right?"
Ted, who was nearby, replied quietly.
"Yes, that's correct, Lady Sien."
I clenched my fist tightly.
There was a reason Count Yoter was throwing his weight around like this.
'The only institution in the empire capable of conducting tests is Count Yoter's group, with its massive capital!'
But suddenly, doubt crept in.
Among the empire's nobles, there were plenty who committed adultery. And it wasn't just them—major tycoons and commoners alike were the same.
No matter how you looked at it, the paternity test business was a blue ocean.
There must be plenty of merchant groups with superior technology, so why was Count Yoter still the only one doing them?
Just as those questions began swirling in my mind like clouds, it happened.
Maybe because I'd left the window open just in case.
From outside—specifically the plaza—came the sound of people murmuring. It was clearly the riot reaching its climax.
'Dad said to wait ten minutes. So I need to extract as much info from this kid as possible before then!'
Actually, it wouldn't even be ten minutes.
Based on my intuition, he'd be here in three minutes or less.
Feeling a bit rushed, I spoke to the child in front of me, starting with the most important question.
"What's your name?"
Straight to the personal info interrogation.
I stared at her intently. The child looked back at me with an anxious, dazed expression, mumbling repeatedly.
"My name is... I'm Lord Matthias's real daughter."
"I asked for your name."
"I'm... the real daughter."
Like a broken clockwork toy winding around, she just kept repeating those words. I tilted my head, gazing down at her quietly.
Shall I deny it and see?
"...No, you're not. I'm the real daughter."
"You nobody. Do the test kit right now, Count Yoter!"
She seemed like something force-fed into her.
I narrowed my eyes and whispered to her.
"Sister."
"Yes?"
"Let's grab her."
For now... I need to catch this one.
I stood up and approached her closely. Then I signaled to the maid sister.
The maid sister looked at me with a confident expression and said.
"Shall we... give her a hug?"
I gently embraced the child and yanked a lock of her hair firmly. But even as I pulled out her hair, the child didn't flinch.
'She's being way too docile and weird about it?'
I scratched under my chin, lost in thought.
And right then, with a click, the outer door opened.
"Lady Sien!"
Dad's adjutant, Uncle Sam with his fierce-looking face, came rushing into the room.
I turned my head with a puzzled expression. The adjutant approached me cautiously and said.
"Her Highness the Princess has returned to the palace."
"Huh?"
"Count Yoter said he's taking the child with him too. So please don't worry."
That's when I started sensing something was off.
The princess, who had been causing such a scene, just left? I couldn't believe it.
Just moments ago, she hadn't seemed like she had any intention of leaving.
"...Why did she leave?"
I'd just caught onto this child's suspiciousness and was about to brainstorm ways to bring the princess back.
For her to leave so anticlimactically and easily!
"Ah, Lord Matthias persuaded her well."
"...Huh?"
"She said she'd leave easily."
Sniff sniff.
I wrinkled my slightly puffed-up nose.
Something smelled fishy.
"Oh my, she looks just like a puppy..."
"So cute...!"
...The maid sisters' whispers interrupted my thoughts, but they couldn't stop my suspicions.
At that moment, Dad entered with a relaxed expression.
"Sien."
"Daddy!"
"Let's send that... no, that friend back now. There was a misunderstanding. Must've been a mistake."
It didn't look like a mistake or misunderstanding—she seemed dead set on it.
I stared intently at the child, who kept mumbling like a broken clock, "I'm Lord Matthias's daughter."
'She's super duper suspicious!'
But Dad seemed unconcerned. He gripped my shoulder firmly and turned my gaze toward him.
"We're doing the paternity test with another merchant group."
"Hmm...?"
"We need to confirm for sure that you're Daddy's daughter. But I just can't trust Count Yoter's group."
Something felt a little off.
'My kind-hearted Daddy is thinking the exact same thing as evil me!'
I'd planned to use another merchant group for the paternity test instead of Count Yoter too.
But...
"I'm sorry to the temple folks, but it can't be helped."
Even in this situation, he was politely apologizing to the temple—proof he was still a long way from becoming a true villain.
"Fine, got it!"
I nodded vigorously at Dad.
Then Dad's adjutant—the scary-faced but soft-hearted uncle like tender tofu—strode energetically toward the little girl.
"Time to go home."
Uncle over there only did weird mustache stuff in front of me!
Lowering his voice like that made him look super stern.
I rolled my eyes and watched them.
I wondered if she'd throw a tantrum at him like she did with me. Or maybe insist she was Lord Matthias's daughter.
But the child showed no such behavior.
She simply took the uncle's hand meekly, as if submitting to the logic of power.
Without a single word.
Seeing the parrot-like kid who kept insisting she was the real one leave like that felt strangely off.
I furrowed my brow slightly and muttered.
"Sisters."
"Yes?"
"Something... smells suspicious."
I'd clearly said it to the sisters, but Dad jumped into the conversation.
"...What suspicious smell?"
"Hmm..."
Dad persuading the princess so easily felt totally weird.
'Does this world really listen to our dad... this well?'
Feeling something was deeply off, I ran simulations wildly in my head.
'Maybe it turns out our dad's the strongest in the world. So one word from him, and bam! Everyone falls in line.'
Hah, even I laughed at the thought.
'Does that make sense? No way!'
There had to be some hidden reason.
Like, the princess retreating with some big scheme in mind.
***
A few weeks passed like that.
Putting aside that "hidden reason" for now, the most important thing to me right now was still the paternity test. The princess had tucked tail and fled for some reason, and she was still keeping quiet...
'But since she made it into the family, she'll definitely pull some underhanded tricks from the shadows.'
Plus, that child's identity was highly suspicious.
We shouldn't have let her go so easily, but there was no pretext to hold her. And Dad and the adjutant had both insisted on sending her back.
Clutching the hair I'd plucked from that child, I thought.
'It's about time... to take on the palace, led by Count Yoter.'
If the crown prince and princess kept interfering with our business, I wasn't planning to sit idle anymore.
It seemed the day had come to clash with the palace from the shadows.
They'd fired the first shot, so my actions were clearly self-defense.
'I'll cut off the crown prince and princess's funding first.'
Step by step, I planned to seize everything the temple had that blocked me and my gullible dad's path.
The foundation for that was raising this tiny fist and slamming it on the sofa—thud.
"Let's go."
"...Pardon?"
The maid sisters looked bewildered, mid-sip of their tea. Ted, Ashid, and the maid sisters were having tea with me.
Over the past few weeks, just like the palace folks, I'd been working behind the scenes too.
And in the midst of that, I'd finally found it in a small local gossip rag.
A small merchant group in the Bipal Principality that was developing paternity test kits just like Count Yoter's.
The Bipal Principality was a tiny place clinging to the edge of our empire, speaking the same continental language as us.
'Plus, it's a neutral country famous for its many skilled technicians!'
I'd heard the Sheriff Merchant Group was a commercial outfit formed by promising technicians from Bipal too.
I lifted my chin and said to the maid sisters.
"Bring the scarf and sunglasses!"
"Pardon?"
"Lady Sien, why the scarf..."
"I have important business."
The maid sisters looked baffled. But true to form, they obeyed my dignified command faithfully, standing to fetch the scarf and sunglasses.
In the original story [Life of Melodia], the Sheriff Merchant Group from a nearby principality invents simple test kits using magic power.
So all I had to do was sponsor the Sheriff Merchant Group.
Unfortunately, in the story, they were crushed by Count Yoter's tyranny and black propaganda—backed by the palace—before they could even bloom.
Count Yoter would stomp out any proper kits that threatened his sales of his shoddy, overpriced paternity test kits.
'There must be people desperate for real paternity tests, and he's an absolutely vile guy!'
But now there's a cool ten-year-old me, so I'll just help them out.
The only one not flustered here, Ted, quietly stood and bowed before me.
"Shall we head to Sheriff right now?"
"Yeah, Ted."
I felt Ashid's gaze on me. I met it with a bright smile, as if responding.
"And Ashid too, with us."
These two were the most crucial for this operation.
Dimples formed at the corners of Ashid's mouth, as if he was delighted to be of help.
***
Arriving at the Sheriff Merchant Group on the outskirts of the capital was no trouble.
I'd secretly rented a cargo wagon and checked all preparations inside it.
"This is the kit made by Count Yoter's side. Lord Matthias's hair too..."
"Good."
"And the child's hair is here."
I'd smuggled in Count Yoter's kit with gold bars.
'I yanked out Dad's hair perfectly.'
I grinned slyly and held the kit.
"By the way, no other kits?"
"Oh, no... none. Count Yoter's the only one handling paternity tests."
"I see. Got it."
Holding that kit, I stared at Ashid and Ted. They could help me. More precisely, me and the Sheriff Merchant Group.
'According to the original story's timeline, they might be in the final stages of kit development by now.'
Before Count Yoter's sabotage, so the atmosphere should be pretty lively.
But...
The actual Sheriff Merchant Group entrance felt strangely off.
Like a funeral home.