She's Not Our Daughter! Ch 89

I Will Protect You

The Crown Prince shifted his gaze toward Amille. Her poor control over her expression for the past few moments aroused suspicion.

[Prince] "Amille."

[Amille] "Yes."

[Prince] "Is the development of the dark magic circle to kill Duke Ideos still incomplete?"

His expression carried its usual malice, but rage broke through. He always wore this face when discussing Duke Ideos. Amille replied quietly.

[Amille] "The Duke is a Sword Master. It can't be easy."

His face hardened into a rigid mask.

[Prince] "Is a Sword Master that impressive?"

He asked as if ignorant, but the truth remained clear to him. A Sword Master commanded incredible power. During the monster war, where the army neared destruction, the entire force returned safely solely due to Cassius' extraordinary power. Even compared to the Great Archmage, he stood superior.

[Prince] "I asked if he is that impressive. Why does no one answer?"

[Subordinate] "Of course, Your Imperial Highness is far more impressive."

Despite the flattering voice echoing through the room, the Crown Prince's furrowed brow didn't relax. In truth, he understood Cassius better than Cassius knew himself. High society gossip and his own father continuously compared him to the Duke in every way. He had meticulously studied what kind of man Cassius Ideos was.

But the game would change now. The Crown Prince raised his hand.

[Prince] "Power fills this very hand."

[Group] "......"

The Crown Prince murmured, whispering like a man driven mad by an inferiority complex.

[Prince] "I will never suffer defeat like a fool again. Since they crossed me, they must pay the price, rightfully so."

A time existed when everyone compared the Crown Prince to Duke Ideos and placed the prince in an inferior position. But the present differed entirely from the past. Following the monster war, Duke Ideos lived in seclusion and failed to display his power. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince grew stronger through constant effort.

[Prince] "I am stronger than him."

He muttered, as if brainwashing himself.

Everyone present knew from experience that it was best to leave the Crown Prince alone when his sense of inferiority toward Duke Ideos flared. That knowledge explained why silence rushed across the table the moment the Crown Prince began whispering. Fortunately, his outburst didn't last long. Before long, another name escaped his lips.

[Prince] "Amille."

Amille served as the next target. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at her. The Crown Prince possessed a real talent for seeing through acting and pretense.

[Prince] "You have aroused my suspicion for a while now. You are reacting with unusual sensitivity lately."

She flinched and answered.

[Amille] "It is nothing major."

Despite her plain response, his expression turned chilling.

[Prince] "Shut your mouth, hound, and do exactly as I command."

[Amille] "......"

[Prince] "Prepare yourself, for I will cast the brainwashing curse upon you again."

Amille cast her eyes downward and nodded. Wearing a satisfied expression, he shifted to the next topic.

[Prince] "The most important matter. Is the research on the Hidden Piece progressing well?"

[Amille] "Yes, but I have yet to find the primary material required to construct the Hidden Piece."

[Prince] "We will find it soon. It will undoubtedly show itself."

He scowled. Lost in his own thoughts, the Crown Prince missed the way Amille's face turned deathly pale at the mention of the Hidden Piece. She bowed her head and took a quiet, deep breath.

I can change it this time. I must change it.

And......

I can protect them. I must protect them.

Repeating those words to herself, Amille lifted her gaze once more.

---

At the same time, inside the detached villa where the ducal doctors stayed, peace reigned......

[Hanael] "Hmph!"

[Kilo] "Oh my, Lady Hanael!"

[Hanael] "Why! What! Why!"

[Kilo] "Sh-Shall I play with you?"

[Hanael] "Bring the baby toys!"

[Kilo] "Yes, ma'am!"

or rather, it didn't.

The villa, usually silent as only doctors resided there, burst with energy upon Hanael's arrival.

Seated on the sofa and looking at the doctors on either side, Hanael used her plump fingers to yank the hair of Kilo, a doctor from the Hippo Kingdom.

[Hanael] "Hair mana!"

She gripped Kilo's hair in an instant, making the doctor wear a miserable face.

[Kilo] "......Urgh. It hurts."

Hanael wiped the corners of his eyes as he whimpered.

[Hanael] "Soowy! But these are fake tears!"

Kilo blinked. He had shed fake tears just to gain her adorable sympathy, but his expression revealed that he had been caught. Hanael shook her head and spoke.

[Hanael] "Should I blow on it?"

Entirely captivated by her cuteness, Kilo nodded vigorously.

[Kilo] "Yes! Please blow on it quickly!"

Watching his expectant eyes, Hanael pouted her lips like fish roe and spoke.

[Hanael] "Hmph, then answer me."

[Kilo] "Yes? About what? I'll answer anything!"

Left alone, he looked ready to recite even his bank account password. Hanael wore the satisfied expression of a little troublemaker.

Wow, he's totally falling for it!

[Hanael] "Good! My follower! Listen well!"

[Kilo] "Yes! I follow you! I believe in you!"

Staring at Hanael, who puffed out her plump cheeks, Kilo replied with a shout loud enough to deafen anyone.

[Lanya] "Kilo, you idiot......"

Lanya, Kilo's twin, shook her head in disapproval. Turning a sharp gaze toward her, Hanael asked.

[Hanael] "Isn't big sister my follower too?"

Lanya knelt reverently and answered.

[Lanya] "I am. What are you curious about?"

She's just like me......

Kilo refused to let the cunning Lanya steal the privilege of hearing Hanael's holy word! He knelt beside Lanya, his eyes sparkling with reverence.

Hanael watched her two fanatics, nodded with satisfaction, and sipped her mango juice.

The two fanatic doctors stared passionately at Hanael, then turned their heads as a sudden thought struck them both.

[Kilo] "By the way, we're supposed to attend the symposium, but our feet are tied too, aren't they, Master?"

Hanael tilted her head.

[Hentel] "Yes, you are stuck here. Let us focus on conducting the final stage of the paternity test properly."

[Lanya] "Everyone is just so busy......"

Lanya and Kilo sighed simultaneously. Hanael blinked at them.

[Hanael] "What are you doing?"

[Lanya] "We plan to do some research in the villa for a while, Lady Hanael. We'll examine some medical papers too. It feels like we've been missing a lot of things."

Hanael rustled the papers on the table and tilted her head.

[Hanael] "Research papers? What kind?"

[Kilo] "Ah, they're papers regarding paternity tests."

Kilo and Lanya answered casually. Hanael pouted her lips like a bird's beak and nodded.

[Hanael] "Then I want to do it too!"

Kilo and Lanya exchanged glances.

[Kilo] "Uh...... pardon?"

[Hanael] "I'll do it with you! I'm bored!"

Hanael offered them a mischievous grin. Lanya and Kilo exchanged another glance. They were about to prepare the third stage of the paternity test.

Is it really alright to conduct this test alongside Lady Hanael?

Of course, the outcome of this game was already decided.

[Hanael] "The four of us are trapped here together! We're friends!"

The word friends made Kilo grin broadly. He leaped up and nodded. Then, he turned to his master, Hentel, who sat quietly reading medical papers behind them despite the chaos.

[Kilo] "M-Master! What do you think?"

[Hentel] "It could be dangerous."

[Hanael] "If it's dangerous, I'll run away!"

Hanael declared solemnly. Lanya clasped her hands over her chest and murmured.

[Lanya] "Master?"

Gathering that his disciples had already given in, Hentel let out a hollow laugh.

[Hentel] "You may watch, but only to the extent that it does not affect the results."

Hanael nodded.

[Hanael] "I'm a genius, so I'll understand the moment I look at it!"

Pride in her own genius filled her heart. In this confinement where she couldn't go outside, a small breakthrough appeared for Hanael.

I'll do something fun and tell Mom about it!

Only that thought occupied Hanael's mind.

---

That night, Sierra lay side by side in the same bed with Cassius and Hanael. Having tucked Hanael snugly into Cassius' embrace, she stared at the two of them sleeping peacefully.

They are sleeping well.

Then, she wore the expression of a criminal committing a perfect crime.

[Sierra] "Heheh."

Sierra quietly sat up and stared at Cassius' face illuminated by the moonlight. Seeing him sleep so peacefully brought a sharp pang to her chest.

He possessed a soft spot for Sierra. He frequently performed foolish acts exclusively for her, and today was no exception.

Sierra had secretly taken the butterfly brooch. Pressing her hand, which tightly gripped the butterfly brooch, against her chest, she closed her eyes tightly.

Even if I hold it while sleeping, will the scene of my death appear in my dream? Or else......

Sierra forced her alert mind to settle and closed her eyes tightly. A few minutes later, as she slept peacefully, something resembling an old recording began to play before her eyes.

[Amille] "I love you, Sierra."

Her sister's distant voice felt as vivid as if she heard it in reality. The exact situation remained a complete mystery.

[Amille] "We can meet again, without fail."

Only those two deeply lingering words pierced Sierra's mind. The exact context remained impossible to determine.

What is this......?

Sierra woke up with the butterfly brooch still gripped in her hand. She had certainly experienced a different dream from Cassius' nightmare.

She slowly opened her eyes as sunlight flooded her vision. She froze as his face appeared inches away from hers.

[Sierra] "W-What is it?"

[Cassius] "Did you have a nightmare? Your face looks gaunt."

He possessed quick wits. Sierra urgently tried to hide the butterfly brooch squeezed in her hand, but he moved faster. Cassius scowled upon catching sight of the gold-plated brooch peeking out from her fist.

[Cassius] "You took it after all."

[Sierra] "Ah, yes."

He gently rubbed her hand to relax her grip and easily snatched the brooch away.

[Cassius] "I must throw this away immediately. Your expression looks terrible."

He muttered, staring at the brooch with a dark countenance. Sierra shook her head, calling his name.

[Sierra] "No, it wasn't a nightmare, Cassius."

Addressed so firmly, he flinched.

[Sierra] "It was just a dream where someone told me they loved me and declared with certainty that we would meet again."

[Cassius] "That was your dream?"

Sierra took a deep breath at his slow question. Upon waking, an intuition had taken root in her mind.

[Sierra] "Yes."

She quietly continued.

[Sierra] "What this brooch displays...... it isn't entirely a simple dream."

Cassius remained silent. His gaze rested quietly on Sierra.

If I say this, I will look completely insane. It will sound like I am talking nonsense right after waking up......

Yet his trusting gaze gave her strength. Sierra blinked and continued.

[Sierra] "It could be a prophetic dream, just as the medium said. A future exists where I die. If it isn't that......"

[Cassius] "......If it isn't?"

A sudden thought flashed through her mind. It sounded absolutely absurd, but......

[Sierra] "It feels like something that already happened, which we can't remember. It is far too familiar to be the future, and the lingering feeling runs too deep for a mere random dream."

Even as she spoke, the absolute absurdity of the idea remained clear to her. How could something that already occurred exist in the world without them remembering it?

There is absolutely no empty gap in my memory, not even for a single hour.

Yet Cassius didn't dismiss it as a joke. Instead, he looked at Sierra and spoke quietly.

[Cassius] "Does that mean you died and came back to life?"

[Sierra] "Yes."

Replying lightly, she swallowed hard.

[Sierra] "Well, that makes......"

[Cassius] "......"

[Sierra] "......absolutely no sense, does it?"

Humans couldn't return to life after dying. Damn it. Time to stop wasting energy on such absurd assumptions.

Sierra sprang out of bed like a coiled spring.

[Sierra] "This won't do. I must meet the Great Archmage inside the Crown Prince's palace."

Sierra knew where Amille was held and understood her situation. Since the Crown Prince kept her imprisoned, her life could be in danger.

Sierra fully recognized that rescuing Amille immediately was impossible. However...... she gripped Cassius' hand tightly, her eyes flashing.

[Sierra] "Is it possible to meet her, even if only for a brief moment?"

Perhaps Cassius could pull it off. Unlike the past, they now knew Amille's exact location.

Couldn't they meet her for just a fleeting second, even if only for a few moments?

---

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