She's Not Our Daughter! Ch 4

Exactly as Expected

A suspicious scent filled the air.

Sierra stepped out of the pharmacy. She walked past the strangely tidy path toward the nursery.

A bizarre sight greeted her. The small building glowed with a flash of light. Gold leaf now covered the walls. She narrowed her eyes and approached.

[Sierra] "What on earth is that?"

Neighbors gathered on the path, sharing her confusion. In a small village, rumors traveled faster than the wind.

[Sierra] "What is going on here?"

The moment she spoke, a small figure dashed through the nursery's front gate.

[Hanael] "Mommy!"

Sierra sighed. She couldn't exactly tell the girl to stop calling her "Mommy" in public. She hugged Hanael tightly.

[Sierra] "What happened, Hanael?"

[Hanael] "A pumpkin carriage came to the nursery! It was magic!"

Hanael giggled. Behind her, the nursery principal walked out with a peaceful, generous smile.

[Principal] "Hanel's Mom, thank you so much."

[Sierra] "......?"

What was she thankful for? Their relationship was strictly professional. The principal was a picky, sensitive woman in her forties who usually only cared about tuition.

[Principal] "I heard you paid to remodel the entire nursery."

[Sierra] "I did?"

When did I do that?

[Teacher] "Oh, thank you! I had no idea you were so wealthy!"

A greedy teacher rubbed her hands together like a fly. This woman had always looked down on Sierra, assuming she was poor.

Sierra turned her gaze back to the building.

Usually, buildings were raised in two ways: by hand or by magic. In the countryside, people hired builders because mages were too expensive.

[Terra] "Sierra, you didn't donate this yourself, did you?"

Terra, the village's only eligible bachelorette, pouted.

Before Sierra could answer, Terra pushed further.

[Terra] "Ha! You must have caught a rich noble. Is he trying to turn you into Cinderella?"

Sierra raised an eyebrow, her irritation rising.

[Sierra] "Stop talking nonsense."

[Terra] "I know your bank account. Don't try to deny it!"

[Sierra] "And why do you think I caught a rich noble?"

The situation felt far too suspicious.

Sierra grabbed Terra by the collar, demanding an answer without speaking a word.

[Terra] "Hey! Let go!"

As they glared at each other, someone else answered.

[Villager] "Miss Sierra, noble knights brought a mage here to expand the building."

[Sierra] "Noble knights?"

She tightened her grip on Terra's collar. She looked fragile, but years of drinking her special strength potions made her incredibly strong.

Terra struggled, but she couldn't escape.

[Villager] "Yes, noble knights! They set up camp at the back gate. I heard they belong to a great Duke who won the monster war!"

The pieces clicked together. Only one person had the massive wealth, the knights, and the misplaced guilt to do this.

Cassius Ideos!

She released Terra and whispered to Hanael in a gentle voice.

[Sierra] "Hanael, stay with the teacher for a moment."

[Terra] "What is wrong with you!"

[Sierra] "Terra, move out of my way."

Sierra ignored the glowing building and marched toward the back gate.

The knights standing outside scattered like ants the moment they saw her. They scrambled to hide in the forest, avoiding her gaze.

Fortunately, she caught one awkward knight by the arm before he could vanish.

[Sierra] "Excuse me, Sir Knight."

[Knight] "Yes? I—I don't know anything!"

[Sierra] "You know who I am, right?"

[Knight] "N-no......"

The knight scratched his head. Sierra crossed her arms, standing her ground.

[Sierra] "This involves Duke Cassius Ideos, doesn't it?"

The knight looked down at her.

With her pale blonde hair and almond-shaped green eyes, Sierra looked like a delicate flower. But the knight felt a strange pressure.

[Sierra] "You know the answer."

[Knight] "W-well, what do you want from me?"

[Sierra] "Where is the Duke? I have something to say to him."

---

Cassius had been nearby all along. The moment he heard she was looking for him, he followed her like a puppy.

Why is he acting like a stray dog in the rain?

Sierra didn't have deep feelings for him anymore, but she felt uneasy seeing a man trapped in such a strange misunderstanding.

[Sierra] "I have something to say, Your Grace."

[Cassius] "Sierra."

His eyes said everything. Even without words, his expression was clear.

Have you been living here all alone, surrounded by such trash?

Has it been this hard for you?

[Sierra] "I have questions. Strange things happened to me today."

She kept her arms crossed. Cassius tilted his head and whispered in a low voice.

[Cassius] "Strange things?"

[Sierra] "Mr. Scrooge suddenly stopped charging rent! Hans went to prison! And now, a mage rebuilt Hanael's nursery!"

She felt a bit awkward getting angry since these were all good things, but she pressed on.

Cassius lowered his gaze.

[Cassius] "Hans...... so you were on a first-name basis."

Is that really the important part right now?

[Sierra] "Duke Ideos, stop interfering in my life. Hanael is not your daughter."

It was nice not to see Hans the stalker anymore, and the free rent was a blessing. But everything was built on a lie. If he found out Hanael wasn't his, his rage would be terrifying.

Sierra tried to be firm, but Cassius spoke first.

[Cassius] "Fine."

[Sierra] "What?"

[Cassius] "I will do as you say, Sierra."

Grief twisted his handsome face.

[Cassius] "I will do anything...... except leave you."

His rough fingertips, calloused from years of swordplay, brushed her shoulder as gently as a butterfly. He tightened the knot of her shawl with surprising warmth.

Sierra still didn't know the full story of his past five years.

What is with that tragic, emotional face?

She sighed. Luckily, a carrier pigeon flew toward them from a distance. It meant Abel had finally arrived.

---

[Abel] "Noona, this is weird."

Abel frowned. Sierra was surprised; he rarely looked this serious.

[Sierra] "What's weird?"

[Abel] "Duke Ideos. I think he's been searching for you for over five years."

[Sierra] "......?"

Five years?

She settled in this village five years ago, right after her one-night stand with Cassius.

Thanks to her sister's protection magic, no one should have been able to find Sufe Village.

Had he been searching for her since the very beginning?

Why would the sole heir of the Ideos family spend five years looking for a woman he only knew for a month?

[Sierra] "That makes no sense."

[Abel] "I thought so too. But I checked the old newspapers."

He handed her a yellowed morning paper.

—"The Mad Dog." Who is the woman Duke Cassius Ideos is hunting for?

The Duke had returned from the monster war as a hero after just one year. Since then, rumors claimed he was obsessed with finding a talented blonde woman from the Imperial Academy.

[Sierra] "This is just gossip. And 'Mad Dog'?"

The title didn't fit her memory of him at all. War changed people, but she remembered a different Cassius.

[Cassius] "Sierra, the marigolds are beautiful. Just like you."

He used to smile gently.

[Cassius] "I tried to fix the garden because I thought you'd like it...... but it's hard."

He used to blush to the tips of his ears and look away. He was like a Golden Retriever—harmless and sweet.

How did that man turn into a sharp icicle in five years?

[Abel] "He's been looking for you this whole time, Noona."

[Sierra] "Could he think I got pregnant after that one night?"

[Abel] "It's possible. The Ideos family struggles to produce heirs."

Abel was right. The Ideos line was famous for having only one child per generation. Cassius himself was a child of a mistress who took the title because there were no other heirs. People joked that the family was cursed or possessed by a "bloodline obsession."

Now his behavior made sense. He liked her back then, but they weren't in a deep relationship. They were just "dating mates." But if he thought she was carrying his child, his obsession was logical.

[Sierra] "You're right. The Ideos bloodline obsession is famous. He came here because he thinks Hanael is his."

[Abel] "He won't give up easily. We need a special measure."

[Sierra] "A special measure?"

Abel nodded and opened his secret weapon: a scrapbook of newspaper clippings.

[Sierra] "You have a plan, don't you, Abel?"

[Abel] "Yes, Noona!"

Sierra grabbed his hands and took the scrapbook. She knew she could trust him.

---

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