Why are you smiling so carelessly? You do know you're going to die without making a single sound right now?
Come to think of it, it occurred to him that the child had followed him so easily, even though he was a stranger.
Hasn't anyone ever taught this kid "don't follow strangers"? He remembered something from a few years ago, there was a girl next to this child who dared to stand in front of him at Ruby Palace.
When I came to think of it, I realized that I had been staring at Felix, who had been there for a while.
"Felix?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Get out."
It would be better to have one stranger than two.
Claude gently closed his eyes after issuing the dismissive command to Felix. If someone else looked into his head, they might have been surprised to find out all this normal way thinking.
Felix hesitated for a moment but was forced to leave the door at his command. Then Claude spoke to the unmoving child again.
"Athy is a nickname."
Athanasia and then Athy. It was a cute nickname that was quite different from the grand meaning of the name.
"Athanasia. Atanasia."
It was the mother of the child who named it. I could remember what a haughty girl she was.
'How dare her name my child, and to a girl. If she were alive, she would have been left with a grave sentence right there.'
All I can think of is a vague face. Even then, when I tried to recall my memory, I get a headache.
Something like this was abnormal. However, no matter how much I think about it, it was useless because it was just all white, as if it were covered with something opaque. And even this quickly became a nuisance.
"What are you doing? Try to eat."
Suddenly the child, gazing at him, came into view and then he opened his mouth.
"I had ordered to prepare what my child might like, and if you don't eat it, I'll have to punish the ones who brought it."
"I..I'll eat well."
Claude looked at the child with a fork as if she only moved because of his words.
I've guessed since I've kept the tight pouches with precious stones, but how can you say that the child's appearance is from the royal family? It's appalling?
It was enough to say that the clothes were not top-of-the-line. Well, it was surprising that someone cared for the child who was forgotten to exist.
"My stomach is full."
Said the child, whose cheeks were full, muzzling. It strangely caught my eye when she put the cake into her mouth as if it were her first time eating it.
"Who taught you etiquette?"
"Lily taught me."
In the meantime, I was curious that she was quite good at etiquette.
"Yes. You mean Lillian Yorke."
As I've guessed. It looks like that girl was still next to her.
"Your mother and that girl was the only ones who have kept you from dying in my hands, they even have kept you to be in front of me."
When he recited it unconsciously, Claude felt sorry for her.
Lillian Yorke. Even so, has the child's mother ever stood in his way? I certainly didn't have that memory. But why did he just tell a story he didn't even know himself?
Claude's eyes sharpened.
I was feeling bad as if someone was gnawing at my nerves. Come to think of it, it's been like that ever since I first met my child.
"Do you know who I am?"
I'll just kill her.
I thought as I saw the innocent eyes of the child looking up at me with whipped cream on her cheek. Let's stop this boring charade.
The child, however, spoke with a sweet voice.
"Oh, F..father?"
At that very moment Claude's eyes squinted in thought.
I only thought she was a fearless, careless kid who follow someone she never saw before....she must have known who he was.
Lillian, might be the one who told her. Or did she notice by herself looking at the same jewel eyes?
"......Papa?"
......but that's weird. Why do I feel this way?
When he saw the face of the child whispering in a small voice, he suddenly hesitated to kill. As Claude gaze at the face of the child, who was staring at him, a conflict occured in his mind.
But his troubles came to an end the next time the child smiled broadly at him.
"Papa!"
Claude de Alger Obelia, frankly, hasn't been having fun living until that day.
But maybe it will be a little fun......that's what he thought at that moment.
Not knowing that his choice of that day will change his whole life.
* * *
"Your Majesty, what the hell is going on?"
Claude was unperturbed by the incredulous questioning of Felix that evening.
"If she's your daughter, how could I not have known her existence?"
Felix's question was reasonable. And Claude knew the answer.
"That's what I commanded."
It was a memory that came to my mind after I ordered Felix to take my child back to Ruby Palace, looking unabashedly at an empty plate that has only crumbs.
"If the rumor about the newborn of the palace ever comes to my ears, I said, 'I will kill everyone in the palace and every child with my own hands.'"
It was after the gust of wind that turned over Ruby Palace. They've all been very good for the last four years, whether they're worth their lives or not.
So it was hard for Felix, who had known almost everything about Claude, to only have known about the child he had forgotten.
"Is it also the time of the Ruby Palace tragedy? How...?"
Felix, in rare cases, raised his voice toward Claude.
"How can you hide from me the fact that your child is still alive? I'm sure neither Diana told me at that time that the child was dead. I can't believe a young princess who needs care, grew up alone in such a remote palace for many years. What the hell are you thinking? But still I'm...."
Felix paused, looking as though swallowing something, then opened his mouth again. Then Claude's eyes suddenly resembled a sharp line at his subsequent remarks.
"If you don't mind me saying, I've always thought it was a bruise on your heart that you let Diana die so early. But was that just my stupid delusion? I don't want you to treat the child that Diana left behind with so much irresponsibility....!"
"Shut up if you don't want to die."
The moment a low voice sounded like scratching on the floor, the surrounding temperature dropped instantly.
"There's no reason to listen to you just because of that little girl."
"Your Majesty!"
Felix, as opposed to Claude's chilling voice, was still cynical.
"I let you talk to me, but you're crawling up without knowing the end of the line. How dare you argue about my decision? Since when did you become so cheeky without even recognizing your master?"
Felix's face was distorted by frustration. But Claude had no intention of listening to him anymore.
"Get out. That's all I can stand from your mumbling."
In the end, Felix looked at Claude with dark eyes and turned away without a word. Claude didn't look at him.
Tap tap
And as soon as the door closed, Claude closed his eyes and touched his head, which had been suffering from severe pain. Extreme pain came as if someone were poking his head with a sharp iron stick.
'How can you hide from me that Diana gave birth to your child?’
'I've always thought it was a bruise on your heart that you let Diana die so early.'
Diana..Diana......Diana?
Was the name of the girl who gave birth to his child Diana? Claude recited the name several times inside.
It was as if something very, very missed was squeezing painfully into my heart.
But I don't remember. Don't think of anything anymore. If you think of something you've forgotten so far, you'll surely regret it.
With the incessant whispering voice in his head, Claude finally closed his eyes once again.
* * *
"You seemed to have gained more weight during the time we didin't meet."
Claude casually spoke to the child he had not seen in five days. She seem to actually be against it? Is what I thought.
That's weird. Why does her face look pale every time she look at me?
Of course, her cheeks were still chubby like white milk bread, but I see pale and fluffy whenever I meet her, perhaps because of his mood.
Somehow. She was used to eat every single piece of cake in front of him. Is the food in Ruby Palace, where the child is staying, poor?
"Hey, Papa is pretty, too!"
It's the fourth time we've met face to face since our first meeting. The child had quite a fling to her. That's what it was like to throw such words at him without fear.
Even during a couple of refreshments, the child was not afraid to say such a thing.
"Follow me."
Claude looked down at the child who was glancing at him again today and soon he turned around.
"I'm just about to go boating, so get ready."
"Your Majesty, I beg you, Princess A-Athanasia, to be at the water...…."
"What are you worried about when she's with me?"
Lillian Yorke, who was next to him, was bold enough to interfere with him again, but Claude cut it off without mercy.
How about I torture the larynx.
In the end, Claude got on board alone with the child, leaving behind Felix and Lillian, who had looked at him with uneasy eyes until the last minute.
The child was looking around as if it's the first boat she had ever been on was a novelty. Until just the time Claude picked up the little body and put it on the boat for the first time, she looked frightened, and once she got on board, she no longer seemed to feel scared.
"What are you thinking?"
I was looking at her ever-changing expressions at some point and asked her what she was thinking. Then the child smiled broadly at him again and uttered strange words.
"Papa's head is flapping! It's pretty!"
The same was true of the child's shiny hair. He has a different color, so his light golden hair that shone must look like a sunflower under a clear blue sky. And It looks like the lake was worth watching.