Chapter 6: Allies

First of all, I told my father about the truth, and I didn’t cover up anything Rouge-related.

About being tempted, about sneaking into the study, about those documents, and about the threatening pinky-promise that followed.

Furthermore, I told him as much as I could remember about Rouge’s plans on destroying Father’s and Mother’s relationship by offering advice to both sides. I told him everything I could remember.

“I want to explain everything that happened, so please just listen until the end, and try to hear everything that I tell you.”

I asked him to do so, but from the middle of the conversation to now that I have finished speaking, my father remains silent as he props his elbows on the bed in a gendo pose. (***it’s that brooding pose where your elbow are propped up and your hands are crossed over your mouth. Like the “Sasuke” pose from Naruto)

Furthermore, the temperature in the room has dropped drastically, as if something magical is reacting to my father’s emotions.

There’s a terribly frigid air rising up from around my father’s feet—is this okay? It’s not like this is right before a magical outburst or anything, right…?”

As for my sudden recovery, I played it off as if I had heard a voice from within a dream. I can’t tell him that it was because I remembered a memory from a previous life, especially now that my sanity was greatly restored…

“I finally ran out of energy and strength to live, and I knew I was going to die. I thought it would be better if I wouldn’t be causing anyone any more trouble. Then, in my dream, I heard a voice. It told me that it was still too early for me to leave this world.”

It sounds like a weak excuse, but by the way my father was sniffling and crying in that gendo pose, he probably believes me.

I mean, from my knowledge as Alice, magic and spirits are real in this world, so it’s not so unnatural to say that she heard the voice of a god or was whispered to by a spirit or ancestor.

I’d like to study these lighthearted fantasy elements carefully once I get rid of that evil woman.

Now, Father, who had been in the gendo pose for a long time, looked up.

The air became tense with pins and needles.

His eyes are swollen with tears, but his expression is as the head of the Archelaus family.

“Do you believe what that maid told you?”

After looking at my father’s face I knew the answer. He was clearly preparing for the worst, so I just figured it had to be that.

In that case, I’ll just tell him what I feel.

“I love both father and mother. And I believe that you love me. So I don’t care about the truth of Rouge’s words…either way.

The last part was a lie.

The part of my heart that had lived as Alice was sobbing. A the other soft, still undeveloped part of my heart was crying out.

That’s why the tears poured out from my eyes so quickly even though I was so calm.

Suddenly, just as I was starting to feel hopeless, my father held me tightly in his arms.

He had climbed onto the bed and wrapped me up in a strong embrace.

“Alice. As your father, I love you so much. Even if the way it started out was different than most parents and children, that’s the truth.”

My father said this to me slowly and meaningfully with each word.

I responded by gently wrapping my arms around my father’s back.

***

We hugged each other for a long time, enough to feel the love between father and child, but a knock brought us both back to ourselves.

My father let go of me regretfully and returned to the antique chair next to the bed.

By the way, the cold air in the room was safely fizzled out when we embraced.

It brought me tickled happiness when father gave me a gentle pat on the head as we pulled apart.

“Is it Alphonse?”

‘Yes,’ was heard, and Alphonse-san, who had been granted permission, entered the room.

“Have you finished paying people off and keeping them quiet?”

“Yes, it’s done. I’ve asked them not to send anyone to this area. How do you want me to handle this next?”

I nodded at my father as he asked me with his eyes what I wanted to do, and I nodded at him.

“Yes…right. Alphonse. You know this child’s true birthplace too, right? You may join the conversation.”

Oh my, so Alphonse-san knew about my origins, too.

As I blinked my eyes in surprise, Alphonse-san panicked.

“Ma-Master!! Why are you telling that story in front of the young mistress…?!”

“Alice was informed of all this about herself two years ago. That’s why she asked for the area to be cleared as soon as she woke up to discuss this.”

“!! But why…such…Who the hell would…!”

Alphonse-san stuttered and put his head in his hands, unable to believe it. He was so troubled that he started trembling. Yes, well, I guess to a five-year-old…actually, I was only three years old at the time. To reveal such a thing to a three year old would be the devil’s work.

Anyway, that’s why I explained the whole thing to Alphonse-san.

Normally, Alphonse is a calm and cool person who does his job gracefully and briskly, but as the story unfolded, he was quite busy crying, getting angry, and becoming depressed.

For some reason, when Alphonse-san became angry, the temperature in the room rose sharply, and there was a blur behind him like a mirage, but when my father sensed this, he muttered something and waved his finger, and a cold wind blew and the temperature returned to normal.

Aha! Fantasy~! I can’t wait to focus on the fantasy setting, but for now, I must focus!

As I was talking with such a fuss in my brain, Alphonse-san got into the same gendo pose as my father. I laughed a little inwardly, which was a secret.

While I was still explaining things to Alphonse-san, I just happened to glance at my father and was shocked. I couldn’t help but look away again when I saw his savage, bloodthirsty expression. He must have been like this before too, but I couldn’t tell because his face had been mostly concealed behind his hands.

At the part where I was being threatened, his face took on an icy look into the void, with even a faintly elegant smile, as if he had reached his limit. This is the look of a man who will definitely kill Rouge. His determination felt as strong as the Demon King himself.

All this time, I only ever saw him in a tired and pessimistic state, but now his spirit was returning and he seemed almost refreshed. In that moment, I swore to myself to never make him mad though…Scary!

When I’d just about finished speaking, Alphonse-san waveringly stood up and gave me bow, slyly sinking into a perfect 90-degree angle.

“My lady, I am very sorry for the all-important deeds of my workers in this instance. One of the workers under my care has done something deserving of death. And I failed to notice when the young lady was in pain, and that she was trapped for even longer. I was of no help to you. Again, I apologize to you.”

In a bitter voice, Alphonse-san continued. Then he turned to my father next.

“Master, there is no more excuse for not being able to fully control the people in the mansion as a steward. I am willing to accept any punishment after this matter is completely over. I have failed as your butler.”

“Okay. In that case, I will punish you.”

“!!”

I returned my gaze vigorously to my father. My father was staring at Alphonse with eyes that didn’t show any emotion.

“Very well. When this is completely over, I will hand over my position, and then even if you toss me out as a fraud…”

Alphonse-san bowed his head again with a look of determination on his face.

“Ah, yes. As I see it, it will be another seventy years before it’s completely resolved, so until then, I’ll be in your care.”

“!!”

Alphonse-san looked up sharply.

My father had a look on his face that said, ‘Good grief.’ Then he muttered tiredly,

“There is no better steward for the Archelaus family than you. Therefore, you cannot hand over your position. So, to the best of my ability, I will not allow you to retire until you are happily married and have raised a strong butler’s heir.”

“Siegmund-sama…”

Alphonse-san was shaking with emotion. A tear fell from his lowered head.

“Rather than forcing your to retire, I should be the one resigning from the head of the family, and my titles as a husband and father. After all, I couldn’t even find out what had happened to my own daughter, or why my wife was so ill.”

“I don’t like that!”

I cried out as soon as I could.

“Father has endured all these years, and yet he has continued to love me and mother! I like the fact that father is my father!”

In fact, it was true. How patient and loving my father was, especially from what I had seen of modern Japan, where divorce was common.

“And I also saw how Alphonse supported my father and mother. It was because of Alphonse-san that I was able to get to this point! I, too, prefer Alphonse-san as my butler!”

I was the one shouting what I thought, but it was Father and Alphonse-san who seemed more affected. They had to choke back their own feelings and were forced to look away from me.

The conversation didn’t go anywhere, so I turned to them and declared.

“Well, anyway…I love both father and Alphonse-san. I regret that I didn’t get back on my feet sooner, but I don’t hold anything against my family. So, together we can take out the bad guys!”

Let’s go kill Rouge! Destroy her!…Those were things I couldn’t say, so I sugarcoated it a little bit. Even so, the air around my father and Alphonse-san changed.

“Leave it to me, Young Miss. This time, as your butler, I will exterminate the vermin nesting in your mansion, even if it costs me my life.”

As soon as Alphonse-san declared that, the temperature around him rose sharply in line with the excitement of his emotions, just as he had done earlier. Alphonse-san’s deep red hair danced softly.

His reddish-brown eyes were burning with the fire of determination.

My father also continued with an indomitable aura.

“As Siegmund Stephan Archelaus, head of House Archelaus, I promise that this time I will not make a mistake in my actions. I promise you only the end you want for my beloved daughter.”

This, too, was matched by an outpouring of emotion, and his hair, which was the color of light blue ice, swayed in the cold air that blew out of nowhere.

His blue eyes held a beautiful and unfathomable light.

And thus, I gained thee support of the strongest allies, my father and our butler.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T/N: Lmao, RIP Rouge. It’s over now.

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