TBDS 07

Chapter 7

While Father was meeting Mr. Hedebo, I seriously reviewed my plans.

From now on, there were three main things I had to do.

1. Repay the favor

2. Take revenge on my enemies

3. Create a happy future for the people precious to me

The most urgent one right now was number one.

More precisely, I had to save Bastian, who was probably picking up rotten apples from the gutter and eating them by now.

Sebastian Bellueur. Bastian for short. Or Seb.

He was the abandoned prince of the royal family.

Unlike the fairy tale where a princess marries the prince of a neighboring kingdom and lives happily ever after, reality was never that romantic.

The royal marriage between Loire and Albion, which had long been infamous for their terrible relationship, was nothing short of a miracle achieved through the blood, sweat, and tears of diplomats.

And the birth of Sebastian between them was also surely a miracle created by the almost brainwashing-like early education the heirs of both kingdoms had received since childhood.

But Sebastian, the miracle child born from that union, was switched with a stillborn baby immediately after birth and abandoned in the slums.

It was the work of Violetta Diane de Satin, the king’s mistress.

If I followed my heart, I wanted to take him straight to the royal palace right now.

But I had never even been granted permission to enter the palace, I lacked evidence, and above all, Violetta was there.

Instead, my family would probably be destroyed even earlier than in my previous life for insulting the royal family.

Then, the second method.

Hire him at the estate, raise him properly, and then take him to the royal palace.

It was more realistic than the first method, but even this was almost impossible.

What if the young lady of a household who had never gone outside in her life suddenly brought home some filthy child from a back alley and ordered everyone to raise him?

It would probably be easier to insist on keeping an abandoned puppy.

“Then… I guess there’s only the last method.”

The method that would take the longest and be the most painful, but was at least relatively safe.

I would go out into the streets myself and become acquainted with him.

Then, whether by coincidence or by design, I would keep running into him and help him escape the slums.

So that his abilities could sprout and bear fruit much earlier than before.

“…Let’s go to the market for now.”

If I couldn’t save him myself right away, I just had to make someone else save him for me. Father or Uncle Guillaume would surely recognize his abilities.

But first, I needed to find out what condition he was currently in.

“Antoine, do you want to go look around the market with your sister?”

“The market?”

They say life insurance, dental insurance, and a savings account for a home are better to start as early as possible.

I headed to Father’s study to ask for permission to go outside so I could meet my future pension insurance.

I wonder if he had finished talking with Mr. Hedebo by now?

Just as I was about to knock, I heard the two of them bickering on the other side of the door.

“I’m thinking of giving my daughter a toy.”

“A toy? Are you kidding me right now? You called me here for something as trivial as that?”

Perfect timing. I celebrated inwardly as I pushed open the door.

“Dad! Can’t we go buy that toy ourselves?”

“No.”

Before I could even explain why I wanted to visit the market, I received an answer as firm as if it had been cut with a knife.

“Why would a young lady need to go to the market? What for? If you just wait quietly at the estate, Uncle will bring you the prettiest doll in the world.”

Mr. Hedebo also blinked as if he couldn’t understand it at all and agreed with Father.

It was the reaction I had expected, but I deliberately drooped my eyebrows and shoulders with Antoine, showing how disappointed we were.

“I want to choose it myself….”

“But you don’t even have a governess right now, do you? How do you know what might happen if you leave the estate without a guardian?”

So that was the reason after all.

The governess position was currently vacant, and Mother was lying down because she had suddenly felt ill again that morning.

And simply going with a maid wasn’t exactly a good look in the eyes of others, either.

Then there was only one answer.

‘I really didn’t want to use this method if I could help it….’

Sigh. I had no choice.

I slightly turned my legs inward, tapped the tips of my shoes against the floor, put my hands behind my waist, and lowered my head.

Finally, I swayed my body from side to side, stuck out my lips like a duck, and blinked my eyes widely.

“Adel wants to go on a date with Daddyyyy….”

I am ten years old. I am ten years old. This is a little performance to make my father happy. I am simply suggesting that my father and I go on a little outing together….

“Hedebo, I’m sorry, but forget about the request I made earlier.”

“What? Viscount Charmoize?”

It worked incredibly well.

If I used it twice, my soul would probably die for real.

Father had been ready to go to the market with me immediately, but at the last moment, he changed his mind and decided to stay beside Mother.

“My goodness, I’ve never seen that look on Charles’s face before. Should I have had a daughter too…?”

“It’s not too late even now, Mr. Hedebo.”

Mr. Hedebo looked at me with an expression that said he couldn’t believe what he had just heard, then suddenly burst out laughing while holding his stomach.

“What? What does a child know about that… Still, thank you. But what can I do? The woman who would have given me a daughter has gone far away.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

Ugh, why did the mood suddenly become so heavy?

But did Mr. Hedebo have a deceased wife? I was sure that in my previous life….

“No, you don’t have to apologize. I divorced her, and she’s living abroad.”

“……”

This man, seriously!

Don’t tease a child with such a heavy topic! Since it was me, I could only stare at him with wide eyes!

In my previous life, I had thought that even as Mr. Hedebo grew older, he never lost the mischievousness unique to a boy.

But now that I thought about it, maybe that was simply because he had become much more dignified with age.

“And besides, why are you so formal, calling me Mr. Hedebo? If you’re Charles’s daughter, you’re practically my niece, so call me Uncle.”

At the word uncle, my shoulders flinched before I could stop them.

To me, the word uncle had never been associated with good memories.

“…Sorry. I was being too informal with the young lady of the House of Charmoize. I apologize, Mademoiselle Charmoize.”

When I closed my mouth with a stiff expression, Mr. Hedebo hurriedly corrected his posture and even tried to speak politely to me.

“No! It’s a misunderstanding. I was just a little surprised…. Since you’re Father’s friend, you can treat me like family too, so… without being formal! Ah! I’ll call you Uncle Guillaume. Is that okay?”

Whatever. Let’s just go with it.

“Oh? I don’t think that’s a bad idea.”

Uncle Guillaume’s face immediately brightened again.

Thank goodness he was such a simple person.

Hmm, Uncle Guillaume.

Considering I blurted it out on the spot, it wasn’t bad at all.

“Let’s see. You two will probably be going to Rière, right?”

There were two major shopping districts closest to the Charmoize estate.

Rière Street and Réforme Street.

Rière was an upscale shopping district filled with guilds and workshops, covered in ivy that had grown so thick it seemed to have become the walls themselves.

And Réforme was a traditional market that opened early in the morning like morning glories.

Naturally, we were going to the former.