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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: A Father's Worries
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* * *
The next day.
I was reading Rico’s reply, delivered by Jeti.
[The friend who needed the antidote is doing much better now.
When I told her about you, she said she really wanted to meet you.
Thank you.]
“Hee-hee.”
I’d asked about his sister, but I never expected him to actually reply…
Maybe Rico is kinder than I thought?
[‘Joseph Luttman,’ whom you asked about, is currently in the Balterak Territory in the central region.
He lost his entire family two years ago, left the capital, and vanished. Now, he’s living half-mad.
You can find him at a gambling den in the city of Balterak. He spends every day there.
He’s a complete wreck, so you’ll have to whip him into shape if you want to use him.]
The surprising thing was that Rico had willingly shared Joseph Luttman’s whereabouts.
Wasn’t the principle of information exchange give-and-take?
[Payment for the transaction is usually required upfront, but since you are a special client, I’ll put it on your tab.]
I was a little touched. I almost cried.
[If you intend to pass this information to your father, please ask Jeti.
And I hope you do well in the equestrian competition.
Happy early birthday, as well.]
After reading the reply, I asked Jeti to cut out the part from ‘equestrian competition’ to ‘as well.’
The paper had to be burned to destroy the evidence, but that part was too precious to lose. I had to keep it.
“What should I write to the Duke, my lady?”
Jeti burned Rico’s reply and then laid out a fresh sheet of parchment.
I began dictating to Jeti, who was ready to write.
“Hear me, Duke Enoch Rubinstein!”
“…Whaat?”
Jeti flinched, then chuckled awkwardly.
“Isn’t… isn’t that a bit too arrogant?”
“It’s fine.”
“Oh my, yes.”
Jeti picked up her pen again.
The members of the Red Falcon guild each had a unique talent, and Jeti’s ability to write in various scripts was particularly useful.
“Wow! It’s perfect!”
Looking at the finished letter, which resembled a pretentious revolutionary manifesto, I smiled with satisfaction.
“Hmm…”
Jeti stared at the letter for a long moment before folding it, placing it in an envelope, and then looking at me intently.
“Um… my lady, may I ask you something?”
I hesitated at the curious look on Jeti’s face.
*Hmm. After seeing the contents of the letter, it’s only natural she’d have questions.*
She seemed both thrilled and excited.
“My lady, who are you, really? You’re on your second life, aren’t you? Without something magical like that, this is absolutely… No, more importantly. This letter, is it what I think it is? Then, my lady, are you…?”
“Jeti.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Perhaps because she was so pleased with the letter’s contents, Jeti’s eyes sparkled like a loyal subject’s as she awaited my answer.
I said with a serious expression.
“The Red Falcon, Rule Number One.”
Jeti, who had been staring blankly with her mouth open, soon let out a soft laugh and slumped.
“If you want information, you must offer information of equal value. Yes… what information could I possibly have that’s worth knowing your identity, my lady? I understand. I won’t be curious.”
“Hee-hee-hee.”
* * *
Rubinstein Ducal Estate, training grounds.
Enoch watched the private soldiers training, his mind filled with thoughts.
*“All I need is you, Dad.”*
*“Let’s just the two of us live happily.”*
Lilis was so perceptive and mature for her age. She had probably said that for his sake, so he wouldn’t worry.
Until now, he had thought that as long as he, her father, did a good job, it wouldn’t matter that she didn’t have a mother…
*‘There must be things I can’t do for her as a father. More will come up as she grows. Especially since she’s a girl.’*
It would be different if she were a son, but she was a daughter. After meeting Selena, the absence of a mother felt particularly grave to Enoch.
“Hah.”
As Enoch sank down and let out a deep sigh, he paused and glanced to the side.
Chessier was there, taking a break.
“…”
For some reason, Chessier looked uncomfortable. He kept poking the inside of his mouth with his tongue, making his cheek bulge.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Chessier replied curtly and suddenly stuck his hand into his mouth. He seemed to grab something around his left canine—
“Hey, hey! What are you—!”
—and yanked it out.
Enoch’s eyes widened.
After moving his mouth a few times, Chessier spat the tooth out onto the ground with some blood.
“…”
Then he nonchalantly bit down on a cloth he was holding, likely to stop the bleeding.
Enoch, who had been watching with his jaw dropped, finally realized.
“Ah.”
“…”
“You haven’t lost all your baby teeth yet.”
It seemed he’d pulled it because it was loose.
With his own hand, in one go, as if it wasn’t scary at all.
*‘W-wait. My princess, too…’*
At that moment, the single dad Enoch Rubinstein recalled the emotional moment when his daughter’s two bottom teeth had adorably sprouted.
It had been so amazing and beautiful that he’d even cried…
His neighbors, Susan and Joe, had laughed, teasing the young, doting father and asking if he was going to collect all her baby teeth when they fell out.
*‘My princess will be losing her baby teeth soon, too!’*
“Y-you. Chessier. Have you always pulled out your teeth by yourself like this?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you scared?”
“…What’s there to be scared of?”
“You’re brave, kid. No, more importantly.”
Enoch hurriedly grabbed Chessier’s chin and peered inside his mouth.
“When did you lose your first tooth? How many have you lost so far?”
“…”
Chessier thought for a moment before answering.
“My bottom front teeth fell out first when I was six. I think almost all of them are gone now, except for a few in the very back.”
“I-is that so.”
*Six years old?* Enoch clutched his head, his mind going blank.
* * *
*Fwip, fwip, fwip.*
The pages turned rapidly.
Enoch had gone straight back to his office, and now his desk was piled high with childcare books.
!Childcare Facts!
~When Primary (Baby) Teeth Fall Out~
-Typically, primary teeth begin to fall out around age 6-7, making way for permanent teeth.
-It is common for all primary teeth to have fallen out by age 12.
Over ten childcare books all said the same thing. Enoch despaired.
Since coming to the capital, Enoch would still brush his daughter’s teeth himself whenever he had time, so he knew the state of Lilis’s teeth better than anyone.
Not only were Lilis’s teeth showing no signs of falling out, but she even had some baby teeth that hadn’t come in yet…
*‘My daughter… she’s already seven…’*
His daughter’s development had been worrisomely slow. She had also started speaking late.
But at some point, she had started boasting a richer vocabulary and clearer pronunciation than her peers, which had reassured him…
“It’s slow.”
He had to admit it. Even considering the individual differences between children, Lilis’s development was clearly not good.
What could be the reason?
There were more than a few possibilities.
He hadn’t been able to give her breast milk, of course, and he hadn’t even started her on solid food until she was over five months old…
Was that all?
Although he had tried to provide a varied diet, her meals back when they lived in Zenon had been far less nutritious than they were now.
*Thud.*
A wave of self-loathing washed over him, and he slammed his forehead on the desk.
“Stupid…”
He was already worried about the future, thinking of all the things he couldn’t provide for Lilis due to her mother’s absence.
The fact that he hadn’t been doing a particularly good job up to now made Enoch feel terribly sorry.
“The solid food was definitely too late…”
He lifted his head from the desk after a sigh that could have split the earth,
“…Ah, you startled me.”
And there, before his eyes, was the butler, Rem.
“Rem, could you make some noise when you walk?”
“About ten times? I knocked hard enough to break the door, Young Master.”
Rem added with a bright smile.
“And even if I had crept in, you are someone who should be able to detect any presence. I was wondering what could have possibly stolen your attention so completely, and it turns out…”
Still smiling, Rem picked up the childcare book Enoch had been reading and shook it.
“Young Master, you may think this is presumptuous of a mere butler to say, but…”
“Then don’t.”
“…You no longer need to handle childcare yourself, Young Master. This house is full of maids who specialize in it, and they are attending to the young lady with the utmost care.”
“…”
“You, Young Master, should focus on your duties.”
*Thump.*
Rem placed the documents and mail he had brought onto a corner of the desk and added.
“You must fulfill them. Are you not a man for whom twenty-four hours in a day is not enough time to get through all this?”
“Hoo, Rem.”
Enoch ran a hand through his hair.
“You’re a father too, Rem. Don’t you understand? Can you really be at ease entrusting your child to someone else’s care?”
“Before being a father, you are the head of a house. Please leave the young lady to us and work, sir. Work.”
“It’s not like I’m not doing it…”
“All of this needs to be handled by the end of today. And please check all the backed-up mail. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
Rem spoke coldly, gathered all the childcare books, and whisked out of the room.
Left alone, Enoch looked at the mountain of work and listlessly stroked his cheek.
“I don’t even have time to look after my child, so what am I doing this for…”
Sighing, Enoch was flipping through some documents when he paused.
As the stack of papers tumbled over, a single envelope stuck out.
The red wax seal, clearly stamped with the initial L, looked familiar.
*‘This is…’*
L. The one who had informed Enoch of Chessier’s whereabouts when he was searching for him.
It was them.
Enoch hurriedly opened the letter.
