I Reincarnated as the Daughter of a Runaway Sub Heroine - Chapter 63

At that moment, a loud crash was heard from outside. Realizing that Rose had taken action, I began to rummage through the items on my desk.

First, I quickly skimmed through a stack of documents on one side. I couldn’t find anything special there; it was simply a list of items purchased from the guild. It would have been nice to find something like a customer list, but it was unlikely they would leave something so important here.

Next, I opened a drawer. I desperately hoped there would be a notebook with important notes, but all that was inside was a neatly folded handkerchief.

“Damn it, I made all this noise just to see this stupid handkerchief…”

However, the moment I unfolded the handkerchief, I couldn’t help but freeze.

One corner of the white, high-quality silk handkerchief was vividly embroidered with a black dragon. Without needing to look further, I knew it was the emblem of the Grand Duke’s family.

“What the hell is this…?”

A handkerchief bearing this emblem could only be carried by direct family members of the Grand Duke. And naturally, that family currently consisted of my father, mother, and me.

How on earth did this guy get hold of our family’s handkerchief?

At that moment, Derek’s voice echoed from outside.

“I’m sorry! We will compensate for all damaged items! You can go in and speak to our lady!”

I realized that was the signal, quickly folded the handkerchief and put it away, then closed the drawer. Just as I turned around to sit back at my desk, the door opened.

Jakar entered with a staff member. The staff member quickly cleared off the desk and organized the teacups before leaving.

“I apologize. There was a commotion outside, so it took some time to clean up.”

“What happened? It sounded a bit noisy.”

I asked casually while looking at Jakar. In that short time, he had changed into a neat new shirt.

Jakar approached and scrutinized the desk with sharp eyes.

“The dog that the lady brought suddenly went wild. According to the escort knight, it just happened to spill a snack he was about to give it, which caused the chaos.”

“Oh my!”

I covered my mouth with my hand and inhaled sharply.

“Our Rose caused a ruckus, didn’t he? I’m sorry. Rose has quite the appetite, and he loses his mind whenever he sees a snack. If there’s any damage, I’ll compensate for everything.”

In that moment, Jakar’s gaze turned towards me.

“Did you just say the dog’s name is Rose?”

“Doesn’t it sound too much like a human name? Despite the name, he’s a male.”

“…Is it a dog that the lady is raising?”

“No, Rose is raised at the Duke’s residence.”

After a moment, he muttered softly, “I see…”

Then he sat down in a chair, his face looking oddly dazed. Just a moment ago, he had looked at me with suspicion, as if he thought I was doing something shady, but that expression had vanished in an instant.

“As for the compensation for the damaged items…”

At my words, he shook his head.

“It’s fine. I’ve already received compensation.”

“You’ve already received it?”

“I received more than enough, so I will specially reduce the fee by half. However, there is one thing.”

Jakar spoke with a very cold expression, unlike before.

“Next time you come, please leave that dog at the mansion. I’m not particularly fond of furry beasts.”

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

What on earth was that handkerchief?

That night, I lay in bed and unfolded the handkerchief I usually carried with me.

The handkerchief had my initials embroidered beneath the emblem of the Grand Duke’s family. After officially becoming a lady of the grand duchy, all my handkerchiefs had been embroidered with these initials. The same goes for my mother’s.

But the one I saw during the day didn’t have any initials. That means it must be my father’s handkerchief.

Perhaps this is related to why he knows too much about the Grand Duke’s family. So what could our connection be?

First Hypothesis: An enemy of our family.

For some reason, my father has made an enemy of his family, and now he’s seeking revenge against us? Maybe he vows to take revenge every day while looking at the handkerchief.

Second Hypothesis: He is my father.

What if my dad had an illegitimate child, and that child is the guild master? He could be carrying the handkerchief as a mark of being a son, just like I sought out my father with a ring bearing our family emblem.

So, if that guy is planning to take over our family…?

As I thought that far, I knocked my head with my hand.

Ugh, what nonsense am I thinking right now? I know better than anyone that Dad is a fool who has only ever loved Mom!

Alright. Then the third hypothesis is…

Grrroooowl.

At that moment, a thunderous sound erupted from my stomach. I had been so preoccupied with these thoughts that I barely touched my dinner, and now I was hungry late at night.

In the Grand Duke’s residence, if you got hungry at night, you could go to the kitchen and find something to eat. But here, in someone else’s house, that didn’t seem appropriate. Besides, I didn’t want to wake Bell, who was sleeping.

Holding my increasingly noisy stomach, I tried to force myself to sleep when I heard a small sound from outside.

Peeking through the curtains, I saw Hyperion walking with Rose, just like last time. It seemed that taking a walk at midnight was part of their routine.

Rose, who had been bouncing around happily, spotted me and barked loudly. I quickly opened the window and tried to calm Rose down.

“Shh! Good puppies don’t bark at night!”

The clever Rose stopped barking and just wagged his tail excitedly towards me. As I leaned over the windowsill to look at him, Hyperion approached. His blue eyes sparkled in the darkness.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“There’s a bomb going off in my stomach right now.”

“Hmm?”

“That means I’m hungry and can’t sleep.”

“……”

Hyperion probably heard a lady say she was hungry for the first time in his life. Usually, ladies consider such statements to be quite embarrassing.

“Oh, I’m so hungry.”

Saying it made me even hungrier. As I slumped over the windowsill like a piece of laundry, Hyperion spoke.

“I know a place in the kitchen where they keep simple food. Would you like to eat that?”

I lifted my head and quickly replied, “Yes!”

There was no reason to refuse the host’s offer to raid the kitchen.

I threw on a robe over my pajamas and went downstairs.

Upon entering the kitchen, I found candles lit on the table used by the servants. Hyperion had laid out fresh milk, simple bread, and fruits.

“Thanks for the meal!”

As soon as I sat down, I grabbed a piece of bread from the plate and took a bite. Rose was looking at me with such an eager expression that I couldn’t help but feed him some fruit.

As I enjoyed my food, taking a bite for myself and then one for Rose, Hyperion didn’t touch any of the food at all.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I don’t eat at night.”

How impressive. He really is the pinnacle of self-discipline.

“Did you do this when you were a child too?”

“When I was a child?”

“Did you ever sneak into the kitchen at night? At the Grand Duke’s residence, the kids would sometimes raid the kitchen at night because the adults restricted the quantity of snacks.”

“So? Did you succeed?”

“Most of the time, yes. I was the one leading, so it was only natural, right? I moved with a pretty meticulous plan.”

Hyperion laughed at my proud declaration. He rested his chin on his hand and asked, “By the way, did you live with other noble families’ kids at the Grand Duke’s residence?”

“Yeah. It was for educational reasons. Good teachers are rare there, so some kids lived at the Grand Duke’s residence. It was kind of like early studying abroad.”

“Is Lord Rotrec one of them?”

I chuckled at that.

“Most of the reason I raided the kitchen was because of Derek. He was terrified of the dark but could never give up chocolate.”

Derek, who had a big appetite, would come to my room after everyone else fell asleep, begging me to take him to the kitchen. So I had no choice but to lead the way. I would hold the candle and scan ahead, while Lucas stayed close behind, looking around. Then, following us would be Derek and the others trailing behind.

“Lucas was quite mature from a young age, while Derek was just a kid. It was like I was raising Derek. Every night, I would find snacks for him, and when he cried about missing his parents, I would comfort him. He was really cute when he was little and listened to me well, but as he grew up a bit, he started acting out and not listening. Maybe his teenage years came late.”

“I thought you seemed particularly close to Lord Rotrec. Was that why?”

“We’re like family. Derek is my little brother.”

“I see.”

Suddenly, Hyperion smiled and pushed the milk toward me, saying, “Drink some milk while you eat. You’ll get indigestion.”