IHDOE Ch 100

Satina froze completely. She had never expected to hear such words from her father.

What did he just say? Sorry?

She had not anticipated this scenario at all. If he had demanded help using her status as a ducal daughter, she would have understood. But what on earth was this?

Am I hearing things now?

The man sitting across from her kept speaking, proving she had not misheard.

[Father] "I know well that I was not a good father to you. No matter how angry I was at your mother back then, I shouldn't have left you behind..."

He cast his gaze downward bitterly.

[Father] "I always wished to apologize. Yet after parting with your mother, I tried to find you again, but your whereabouts proved elusive. I also left the Empire for a time to earn money..."

[Satina] "..."

[Father] "Upon returning to the Empire, I heard news that the daughter Duke Bersabet took in when remarrying was named Satina, yet I assumed it was someone sharing the same name. Who could have imagined your mother would remarry a duke?"

He looked at Satina and smiled.

[Father] "You must have suffered so much all this time. You grew up so beautifully, my daughter."

[Satina] "Don't say such things. I am not your daughter."

She sneered, her voice ice-cold.

[Satina] "Have you forgotten the last words you spoke? You told me I was no longer your daughter, so I shouldn't even call you father."

[Father] "I-I am sorry. I..."

[Satina] "I don't wish to hear excuses. The only reason I showed up today is that I didn't want to create an unnecessary scene because of you."

[Father] "Satina."

[Satina] "Let's not make things complicated for either of us. If you want money, speak honestly. If I view it as child support from my youth, I can easily pay it."

The man waved his hands, flustered.

[Father] "It isn't that. I wanted to see you again... That is why I did this. Money? My situation isn't destitute, though it can't compare to a ducal house. I never wanted your money."

[Satina] "..."

[Father] "I understand your feelings too. A father who disappeared for over ten years suddenly reappearing must be bewildering."

Tears welled in the man's eyes.

[Father] "I had no intention of putting you... putting you in a difficult spot. I am sorry. I merely... merely wished to meet my daughter again."

He bit his lip, holding back tears.

[Satina] "If you care for me at all, there is only one thing you can do for me: keep living as strangers, just as we have until now."

[Father] "...Yes, I understand. Still, if anyone crosses you or if you ever need help, please tell me. You might find me unreliable, but my circumstances are very different now."

The torment she endured at House Bersabet flashed through her mind, but her voice remained cold and steady.

[Satina] "Who would cross me while I am in a ducal house? I don't even need to worry about starving to death like in the past."

[Father] "Did you not have some trouble with 'The Dark Grasp'? Borrowing money or... I thought so when I saw you looking at that building alone without knights..."

[Satina] "It's none of your concern."

[Father] "...Yes, if you say so."

[Satina] "If you have nothing more to say, I shall take my leave."

[Father] "Ah, S-Satina!"

He hurriedly produced a large gift box.

[Father] "This is a gift. Since meeting you for the first time after so long, I wished to give you something... I pondered for a long time what you might like, but this was all I could think of."

[Satina] "I don't need it, so take it back."

She spoke without even looking at the box, but he didn't take it back. Satina hesitated, but she eventually accepted the box. Rather than prolonging the argument, she just wanted to leave.

[Father] "Thank you for coming today. I hope we can see each other again later if an opportunity arises."

Satina looked at her father's face one last time. He looked older than in her memories, smiling at her with red-rimmed eyes.

Satina left the restaurant without answering and stepped into her carriage. Only then did she let out her breath.

[Satina] "Haa..."

Her mind was in complete disarray. Even so, she had no intention of meeting him again. Though shaken briefly by his apology, she intended to leave the Empire soon anyway.

Regardless, the priority now was investigating the moneylender known as The Dark Grasp to locate Grand Duchess Duskel's promissory note.

---

[Satina] "Have you still not uncovered the changes to their security system?"

Hedzel looked exhausted at her question.

[Hedzel] "Not yet. But I found out why they suddenly changed the security system. I bribed a few guys going in and out, and it seems they recently moved the vault containing promissory notes elsewhere."

[Satina] "Where?"

[Hedzel] "Still looking into it."

[Satina] "And you still don't know who the boss is either, right?"

[Hedzel] "Yeah. It'll take some time. As you know, places like that operate secretly because getting caught means getting arrested right away."

[Satina] "Understood. Just look into it as much as possible for now."

Yet even after speaking, Hedzel continued to gauge her reaction.

[Satina] "What now? Something to say?"

[Hedzel] "No! Nothing!"

Despite his denial, Hedzel continued walking on eggshells, which was entirely unlike him.

[Satina] "Is it about my father?"

He flinched like a rat caught stealing cheese.

[Hedzel] "H-How did you know?"

[Satina] "What else would make you tread on eggshells like that? Spill it. What is it?"

[Hedzel] "Well..."

He hesitated before speaking.

[Hedzel] "Your father was investigating The Dark Grasp, got caught by their members, and was beaten up. But because he claimed he started digging around suddenly because of his daughter... people are asking what's going on since Baron Galle has no daughter..."

The conversation with her father two days ago flashed through her mind.

Did you not have some trouble with The Dark Grasp?

Her hand tightened around the paper. Even though she had told him to stay out of it, he had ended up getting hurt.

[Hedzel] "I debated a lot whether to tell you or not, but since he's your biological father after all..."

[Satina] "No, you did well."

Satina spoke nonchalantly, but Hedzel's words haunted her all the way home.

[Hedzel] "He got caught using his merchant contacts to dig for information and was beaten severely. He's in the hospital right now."

Ignoring me all this time, and now he wants to act like a parent?

She had sworn never to see him again after he abandoned her so coldly, but learning of his injuries stirred her heart.

The carriage slowed as it arrived at House Bersabet. Satina looked up at the luxurious gate of the ducal estate.

Memories of passing through that gate for the first time as a child resurfaced. Back then, she had been a foolish girl, thrilled at the prospect of gaining a new family. But no family awaited her inside those walls.

As she stepped out of the carriage, she ran into Sharlan.

[Sharlan] "You said you would be late, yet you returned sooner than expected."

[Satina] "...Yes, business wrapped up early."

Sharlan acted as if he cared for her lately, but Satina saw right through him.

If she were still the useless Satina of the past, or if she screamed how much she hated him, would he still treat her like this?

She knew the answer all too well.

No.

Affection stats would drop, and she would face a bad ending. Her current self was no different from a dog crawling submissively, all for the sake of a Normal Ending.

How could this be called family?

She wanted to grab his collar and demand why he had treated her so horribly back then, but she swallowed her anger, reminded of the bad endings.

[Satina] "Are you heading out now? Take care."

Wanting to survive, she offered a sweet smile before hurrying to her room.

---

Her gaze landed on the gift box sitting in the corner. It was a gift from her father.

She had intended to throw it away the moment she left him, but lingering attachment had stayed her hand. She had carried it all the way back.

After hesitating for a long time, she slowly opened the box. Instantly, she regretted it. She wished she had thrown it away without opening it.

Inside the box lay a white-furred rabbit doll.

She squeezed her eyes shut. She wished young Satina's memories would stop flooding back.

Young Satina hated and feared her father, who fought with her mother every day. Yet on rare occasions, when he was in a good mood, he would call her over to buy her a treat.

On those walks along the bustling streets, her gaze had always drifted toward the dolls displayed in shop windows.

[Father] "Do you want something like that too?"

Startled by his question, Satina shook her head.

Packed with soft fur and cotton, adorned with a pretty ribbon, the doll was far too expensive for her. Though young, Satina understood that good children shouldn't ask for such things.

[Father] "Why lie when you're staring right at it? Taking after your mother already? Speak honestly."

As her father scowled, she finally gave a hesitant nod.

[Father] "Begging for expensive things without considering our situation, just like her. Exactly the same."

They returned home without another word.

She thought that was the end of it, but the next day, her father brought home a rabbit doll and tossed it to her.

[Father] "Here."

It was not new. Someone had likely thrown it away, and it lacked the soft fur and fluffiness of the one in the window, but she treasured it deeply.

Until her parents divorced and her mother remarried Duke Bersabet, that doll was her only friend.

In the end, Sharlan tore it to shreds after she arrived at House Bersabet.

Yet there the doll sat before her now.

It was not a discarded trinket, but a pristine, beautiful white doll just like the one she had admired in the shop window as a child.

The moment she saw it, tears filled her eyes.

---

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