The Reason I Keep Avoiding My Childhood Friend - Chapter 30

At my fervent gaze, the Grand Duke murmured what he seemed to have heard from my father before.

“There really is no resemblance.”

Even my father nodded, so I was furious. No! You shouldn’t do that, father.

“There’s a resemblance here.”

I pointed my index finger at my curly hair– the only thing I inherited from my father– and the Grand Duke burst out laughing.

Acting so maturely till now, and then suddenly showing childishness at such a ridiculous place– this kid’s attitude was really unpredictable.

The Grand Duke pondered for a moment, and then finally promised me immunity. I could see that the promise also included the reward for my father.

Still, not yet satisfied with the situation, I went one step further and asked him to write it down, instead of just a verbal promise. No matter how solid the Grand Duke’s words might be, I could not trust it without evidence.

The Grand Duke was staring at me with his mouth hanging open at my thoroughness.

“I’m worried about what you’ll be when you grow up.”

“I’m going to be a civil servant!”

I firmly announced my dream to allay the Grand Duke’s worries.

And the Grand Duke burst out laughing again as if he’d given up. It was a ‘this really is an amazing kid’ reaction. Then he started patting my hair in earnest.

“Yes, be a good civil servant. I’m looking forward to seeing how much money a smart kid like you will earn when you grow up.”

I need to grow taller. You keep patting my head and it’s driving me crazy.

The day after this conversation, as promised, I received the contract of immunity bearing the official seal of the Grand Duke.

And a few days later, in the Grand Duke’s parlour, I slapped Kirsec on the face. Hard. It couldn’t have been more satisfying.

To tell the truth, I didn’t get immunity for the purpose of slapping Kirsec. I was just trying to live a peaceful life.

But I had no choice but to take action because I couldn’t stand the brutality of the intruder who interfered with said peaceful life.

The day after the discussion with the Grand Duke, when his subordinate visited me and handed over the contract of immunity he had promised, I jumped around with joy.

Not to show off my child-like act but in the excitement that I’ve finally, finally got this in my hands. This was more of a treasure than any lottery.

My father sighed and shook his head when he saw me like this. He must’ve been curious as to why I needed such a thing, but he didn’t ask me about it, true to his quiet personality, and I was rather grateful for it.

I kept the documents with me.

In fact, I hoped the day would never come when I’d have to use it. It was only an insurance policy, just in case.

My father’s wounds were quite deep and he was prescribed several more days of treatment at the temple. I stayed beside my father to take care of him instead of going back to the Grand Duke’s residence.

After the treatment was done, on the day he was to be discharged, the priest advised my father.

“The injury has been cured. But, since the wound was severe, I recommend you take enough rest at home for about a week.”

“I understand. Thank you for the treatment.”

My father nodded carelessly. It was obvious. He would answer like that and then immediately get back to work without taking a rest.

I held my father’s hand. Was it because I had cried my eyes out with a runny nose and all? Behaving like this didn’t seem so embarrassing anymore.

“A week, you’re taking a break, right?”

My father flinched. Look at that. It was clearly a reaction of the guilty. I waved my hand in front of my father’s eyes which were trying to avoid meeting my gaze.

“You’re going to stay with me at home, right? You have to listen to him. What if it hurts again?”

I stared at him with watery eyes, as if I were going to burst into tears any moment now. My father looked tormented by guilt and gave me the answer I wanted.

“… Yes, I need more rest. Of course I’m going to rest.”

My father patted my head so that I wouldn’t worry, and I gave him a proud look. My father looked at me and smiled. The priest looked on with great pleasure, like it was his first time seeing such a lovely pair of father and daughter.

Such an inflexible, hardworking man, my father. He was someone who only knew how to work, so I was relieved to get such a definite answer.

Since my father couldn’t overdo it yet, I called a carriage to take us back home.

I finally returned home with my father after a long time.

My father wasn’t good at taking care of household matters, and I was too young to do it in his stead. Perhaps that’s why we lived so humbly, even though we were a semi-noble family. Stuffy air greeted us as we entered, as if to inform us of our absence.

“I’ll have to hire someone first.”

My father murmured, thinking about the cleaning work. In fact, it was my nanny, Helena, who took care of house chores. To be exact, Helena, who took care of house chores, became a nanny since she had to take care of me on behalf of my late mother, who passed away as soon as she gave birth to me. Anyway, we had someone to help with the house chores.

But Helena, who was a native of the Torr province—the same region where my father went on the expedition—went home since she was worried about her family.