MFAWW 02

Chapter 02

“Your grandfather also regrets it deeply, though he doesn’t show it. So please, let go of your anger now and forgive him. Alright?”

“Ah! Seriously! I don’t care about the Bright Young Lady or whatever, I told you I don’t know!”

“Hic?”

I couldn’t take it anymore. My patience had run out. When I finally burst out yelling, the startled man let out a hiccup. A single tear rolled down from his rounded eyes.

“I’m losing my mind, really! Just listen to me!”

Listen to me… listen to me…

My voice echoed loudly through the holding cell. The man stopped crying and stared at me with startled rabbit eyes.

“Hoo.”

I took a deep breath, looking at the man who had gone as silent as a mute. I wanted to flip everything over, but if I did, I’d end up in jail for sure—so I held back.

“Listen carefully, Father of the Bright Young Lady.”

I swallowed the curses rising in my throat and put force into my eyes. It was a breach of etiquette, but since I didn’t know exactly who he was, I had no choice. When our eyes met, the man who had been hesitating flinched, his shoulders trembling.

“I am Iris Subrina.”

As I enunciated my name, letter by letter, the man’s eyes grew wide. Dazed, he blankly repeated.

“Iris? You’re Iris?”

“……? Yes.”

“Hic!”

The man gasped sharply at my answer. His body trembled as if he had witnessed a miracle. Then, before I could react, he pulled me into a tight embrace.

“Iris!”

“Good heavens! W-What are you doing?!”

What now, again! I told you I’m not your daughter!

Damn it, I don’t care anymore. At this point, it was all or nothing. Whether I became a criminal or not, I couldn’t take it any longer. Just as I was about to grab his clothes, unable to hold back the surging irritation, the man spoke in a tearful voice.

“Goodness! Iris! It’s me! Daddy!”

“Excuse me?”

Daddy? Daddy? What kind of nonsense is this now?

At the unexpected word, I froze mid-motion, ready to flip him over. As I turned my stiff neck, the man was looking at me with tear-filled eyes.

“As I mentioned earlier, I am Iris Subrina.”

“Yes, Iris! My daughter!”

Your daughter is the Bright Young Lady. I frowned at the man shouting with an excited face. Ah, wait—could it be a case of the same name?

“Is the Bright Young Lady’s name perhaps Iris?”

“No, that girl is Archelanta!”

The man snorted and said with a delighted face. He was bouncing around like a rabbit, so I couldn’t bring myself to curse out loud and instead did it with my eyes.

As I hesitated, wondering whether to throw him off right now, and put strength back into my hand gripping his clothes, he urgently shouted as if he’d read my mind.

“Wendy!”

“Eh?”

That’s my mother’s name.

I was so surprised by his words that I let go of his clothes. Seeing my reaction, his eyes lit up with near certainty.

“Your mother’s name is Wendy, right?”

“That’s right, but…….”

“As I thought!!”

The man trembled with joy. His green, deep-pooled eyes gazed at my face with longing.

“……You really do resemble Archel a lot. No wonder people get confused.”

“I’m sorry…… but I don’t understand what’s going on right now.”

I pressed my temples firmly as I watched him mutter in a moved voice. With one incomprehensible situation after another, my head was starting to ache.

“That’s understandable. The last time we met, you were only six years old.”

What. We’ve even met before? When I was six? Could it be……

No, no. I still couldn’t believe it. The butler had repeatedly warned me that the capital was full of swindlers.

“You’re surprised. Yes, that’s only natural.”

When I shot him a suspicious look, the man cleared his throat lightly and extended his hand.

“This is going to be a long story…… let’s go home for now.”

What should I do? I looked at his outstretched hand, contemplating.

But I didn’t really have a choice. The top priority was getting out of this musty-smelling holding cell.

Having made my decision, I expressed my intent by lightly grasping his fingertips. The man beamed with a broad, cheerful smile.

—

* * *

—

*’Mother, where is my father?’*

I’d asked her once, a long time ago when I was very young. It wasn’t that I missed a father whose face I didn’t know. I was just curious, since all the other children in the territory had fathers.

But at my innocent question, the nanny wiped her tears with her sleeve, and the butler bowed his head with a pained expression. And my mother wore a very sad look.

*’Iris, your father is in a place very far away.’*

*’How far away?’*

*’Hmm, a place you could never reach with your current pace.’*

*’So I can never meet him?’*

*’Well…….’*

My mother trailed off ambiguously at my question. Sensing I might have said something wrong, I was hesitantly gauging her reaction when she grabbed both my shoulders with an unusually serious face and said:

*’Iris.’*

*’Yes, Mother.’*

*’I’m truly sorry to tell you this, but…… for you, it’s as good as not having a father.’*

*’Hmm, I don’t really understand what you mean.’*

*’You don’t need to understand now. You’ll know when you grow up.’*

*’……I understand.’*

—

Mother, why didn’t you tell me properly back then?

I sent a resentful telepathic message to my mother, who was probably wandering somewhere in the empire. Even if my resentment wouldn’t reach her, I at least hoped her ears would itch. Though she’d probably just scratch them and move on.

Anyway, I had always believed my father was dead. In the territory, the word ‘father’ was practically taboo. Given the atmosphere, I assumed there was some sad past that even I, as his daughter, couldn’t be told about, so I never dared to ask.

But to think he was alive and well all this time. And to have a twin sister as well.

The more I thought about it, the more absurd and infuriating it was. Though, knowing my mother, if I confronted her about why she never told me, she’d probably have the audacity to say, ‘I never said he was dead, did I?’

Anyway, a father.

I stared at the man beaming in front of me with complicated eyes. Though it wasn’t yet confirmed that he was truly my father, he was a much more remarkable person than I had expected.

The Imperial Chancellor, Marquess Hemoser Bright.

Just a moment ago, I was shocked to learn his identity. And I had nearly tried to throw such a person to the ground. If I’d made one wrong move, I wouldn’t have ended up in jail—I’d have lost my head.

This famous figure being my father was an unexpected birth secret that left my mind in turmoil. No, not so fast. It wasn’t confirmed yet that he was my father, so I shouldn’t let my guard down.

The butler had said that the capital was a place where you could get your nose cut off while your eyes were wide open. I needed to keep my wits about me!

“Iris, we’ve arrived.”

Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, the man spoke in a very familiar tone. As his words ended, the carriage came to a gentle stop. As expected of a high-class carriage.

“Wow.”

The moment I stepped out of the carriage, a gasp of admiration escaped me at the sight of the building. The mansion, boasting a massive and majestic presence, was more splendid and beautiful than any palace I’d seen in picture books.

“Master, Young Lady.”

As we got off, an elderly man with wrinkled skin approached us. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be the butler. He greeted me with a formal bow.

“Welcome back, Young Lady.”

“No…… I’m…….”

I could see he’d mistaken me for the Bright Young Lady, so I tried to correct him, but the self-proclaimed father beside me jumped in first.

“Eden, this girl isn’t Archel—she’s Iris!”

“……Pardon?”

At the self-proclaimed father’s words, the butler’s eyes widened. He stared at me in disbelief.

“Iris Young Lady, you say?”

“Yes! The one in the holding cell wasn’t Archel!”

The self-proclaimed father shouted with delight.

“How…… truly, are you really Iris Young Lady?”

The butler, called Eden, asked with a mix of doubt and hope.

“Goodness.”

Instead of answering, I gave a light nod. The butler, unable to hide his astonishment, covered his mouth with both hands.

“Now, now, let’s not stand around here. First, escort Iris to the reception room. It seems Wendy didn’t tell her anything.”

“How could…… No, if it’s Lady Wendy, that is certainly plausible.”

The butler’s eyes went round at the self-proclaimed father’s words, then he nodded as if understanding. Seeing him so naturally speak my mother’s name made my feelings complicated.

……Am I really this family’s daughter? Then what happens now? With the butler reacting this way, I was starting to think the self-proclaimed father’s words might actually be true.

“I will escort you to the reception room, Iris Young Lady.”

The butler, whose wrinkles exuded experience, was indeed seasoned. He quickly composed his expression and guided me with courteous demeanor.

“Gasp.”

“Goodness…… she’s alive?”

As I entered the mansion, I felt gazes from all directions. I pretended not to hear the servants’ murmuring as I followed the butler obediently.

Since only the butler had heard the story from the marquess so far, to them I probably looked like the Bright Young Lady. I wanted to deny it right away, but putting out the immediate fire was more important.

Besides, it would soon be revealed that I wasn’t the Bright Young Lady anyway, so there was no need to waste energy.

“She really is the Young Lady, isn’t she?”

“Shh, quiet! She’s looking this way!”

The servants’ reactions were consistent. Despite the Young Lady returning after months away, no one showed relief or reddened eyes. Most frowned or averted their gazes.

Considering what I’d experienced today, the Bright Young Lady seemed to have many enemies. Setting aside the people I’d encountered in the capital, the servants’ reactions alone made that clear.

“His Excellency will change clothes and join us.”

The reception room was decorated with various ornaments and antiques that were obviously luxurious. It was so vast and splendid that the Subrina manor’s reception room looked like a stable in comparison.

“Please wait a moment.”

The butler left, saying he would bring tea. Left alone, I awkwardly looked around the reception room before tentatively sitting on the sofa.