Common Sense of a Duke's Daughter

CHAPTER 97: The Reflections of a Man

It is those far off days that spring to mind when I close my eyes,

Those warm days when we all lived together as a family.

Father had managed the company back then, the workers loved him, the business continued to expand, and as a child, I looked up to him. I thought he was majestic.

My mother...she could be frightening when she scolded me, but otherwise, always wore a soft smile and was a truly warm woman.

And while we did have servants, my mother would cook everything, supporting father even behind the scenes. As a child, seeing my father and mother smiling at each other gave me a sense of pride and a sense of warmth.

And then there was my spirited, bright-eyed younger brother. It was the first time I would know someone that was younger than me. And for that reason, I swore in my heart to protect him.

We were that sort of warm family. Those were such gentle days.

The loss of them was truly unexpected.

...They say that a person will understand the true value of something once they have lost it...they were right.

The things that we enjoyed and took for granted, how hard, in fact, were they to come by. How privileged we had been.

With these recollections, I turn remorseful... and wistful.

That is how important those days were to me.

Suddenly, I open my eyes.

What enters my vision is the study.

The room that I am presently in is the president's... in other words, the room that my father had used; had thrown himself into his work.

When I saw it long ago, there was a great deal more books and documents around, it had appeared to me as an awfully disorderly room.

Now it seemed deserted, and the sight that entered my vision was strangely lonely.

As these thoughts returned to me, I straightened my curved back against the backrest and tightened my hands into fists.

Finally, I've taken it back...

The loss of it all was truly sudden.

On that day...father and mother had taken a carriage to the royal capital on account of some business.

I did not think, nor could I have ever imagined as I saw them off, that they would be involved in an accident and would cease to exist.

I received the news that my father and mother had died. There was no time to grieve, and I had to make preparations for the funeral and handle other matters.

I was still very young at the time, and it was Vuld Rankam, who was the deputy head at the time, who conducted everything in my place.

"It will be fine, just leave everything to me."

I had lost those I depended on, and in my loneliness, I appreciated those words beyond anything.

And so I did everything as he instructed.

"...There's a little trouble at the Conglomerate. Unfortunately, they may bring the investigation to the former head, your father's house as well. Would you mind leaving the house and live in hiding somewhere else for a time?"

And that is why. ...I accepted what he said, so unquestioningly.

And so I left the house and began living in hiding in a rundown house located in a corner district of the royal capital.