‘What the heck? Where did he go?’

He was here just this morning, and he disappeared again? I grumbled inwardly as I continued walking.

Just then, a knight who had been glancing at me approached.

He studied my expression, carefully lowered himself, and spoke.

“Um, Your Highness, can I help you with something?”

“Ah, Lo-“

I was about to ask if the Lord had arrived, but suddenly found myself at a loss for words.

Strictly speaking, he was my ‘father,’ so I needed to address him properly.

However, since he wasn’t officially married to the Emperor, I couldn’t call him Father.

Then… Dad?

While that was certainly the most natural title, it somehow didn’t seem affectionate enough.

Since things had come to this, I needed to appear to have a proper father-daughter relationship to others.

After deliberating, I opened my mouth.

“F-Fa… Fa… Fa…”

I kept telling myself this was just a title and unavoidable.

Yes, I needed to deceive everyone perfectly, and surely I could manage this much.

Estria, this isn’t strange. Remember how your sisters acted when they used cute voices with Father.

But my heart and mouth weren’t cooperating. I struggled to speak.

“Where is-“

“Pardon?”

“…Pa… where is Pa…”

“Oh, Papa? Are you looking for Lord Lerrhagen?”

Wait a minute, what did he just say?

I seriously wondered if the knight had a hearing problem.

How did that sound like “Papa”?

Besides, anyone could see I was over five years old, so why would I use baby talk?

But the knight seemed convinced I had said “Papa” and smiled broadly.

His eyes even held a look that said I was cute, which was utterly mortifying.

Whether aware of my feelings or not, the knight chuckled and said:

“I heard from the maids that Lord Lerrhagen is in the garden.”

“I didn’t say Papa! I said Dad!”

Suddenly reduced to a babbling child, correcting the knight’s misunderstanding became my most urgent priority.

However, whatever the knight made of my words, he simply laughed and said:

“It’s fine. My daughter often talks that way too when she’s being affectionate.”

“I wasn’t being affectionate!”

“Yes, I understand.”

You don’t look like you understand at all!

“Would you like me to escort you to the garden?”

“Not necessary.”

Finally, I left Lerrhagen’s doorway with a thoroughly displeased expression.

Soon after going downstairs, I frowned at the sight of maids huddled behind a pillar in the corridor leading to the garden.

“What’s this now?”

The women, clearly maids from my palace, were all blushing and sneaking glances somewhere.

Following their gaze, I turned my head and gaped at the sight of Lerrhagen napping peacefully in a tree.

Are they all gawking at Lerrhagen?

Even worse, Hasis was polishing his sword under the tree, and the gazes of several younger-looking maids were fixed on him.

Of course, I acknowledged that Lerrhagen was attractive beyond mere handsomeness—truly perfect like a sculpture and captivating.

Unlike the delicate, teasable Rigan or the icily cold Duke Kelliard, Lerrhagen was a handsome man with a strangely languid, bored air.

But no matter how handsome, this behavior was ridiculous.

Moreover, this man was currently my ‘father.’ In other words, the man who had a child with Emperor Estria.

I stared at the maids in disbelief. Just then, one maid slightly turned her head and suddenly jumped in shock, screaming.

“Y-Your Highness?!”

“Yes. Do you have business with my… Daddy?”

I emphasized the word ‘Daddy,’ determined never again to be misunderstood as saying “Papa.”

But however they interpreted it, the maids’ faces turned pale, and they suddenly knelt.

“Your Highness, we sincerely apologize! We didn’t mean anything by it!”

I clicked my tongue.

“Maids working in Mother’s palace should maintain their dignity.”

It wasn’t about coveting the princess’s father—maids of my palace shouldn’t be gawking like that anywhere.

The maids hurriedly departed. With an angry face, I snapped my fingers to block sound and walked into the garden.

Hasis frowned at my arrival.

“You’re here?”

Completely ignoring him, I looked up at Lerrhagen in the tree and spoke.

“Couldn’t you just stay in your room? Then the maids wouldn’t be losing their minds, and I, I wouldn’t have suffered such humiliation.”

Lerrhagen slowly opened his eyes at my voice and turned his head.

“I don’t know what happened, but you’re taking out your frustration on me for something I didn’t do.”

“Why are you here anyway? With so many proper places available, why are you lying in a tree where everyone can see you?”

“It’s cool here.”

“…Didn’t you say you liked warmth?”

“Why did you come?”

Lerrhagen changed the subject awkwardly.

Actually, he didn’t even attempt to transition naturally.

That made my anger dissipate.

Fine, it’s faster to adapt to the Dragon Lord than to make him adapt to me.

“I came to ask you to be a bit more careful since I revealed my identity as the princess today. You disappeared like lightning right after the meeting.”

“The meeting was so boring.”

“The Council of Elders would collectively faint if they heard you say that.”

It’s truly remarkable that he could say such things after seeing their expressions in today’s meeting.

Still, I felt better knowing he wouldn’t be manipulated by anyone.

“I’m glad you’re at least in the palace. Please stay in the palace from now on.”

“That’s the plan. Using warp magic takes energy.”

“Even though you have overflowing magical power.”

“So, is that what you came to tell me?”

At Lerrhagen’s words, I rolled my eyes.

Of course, my main reason for finding him was to make my request.

But if it was something I could relay through Rigan, I wouldn’t have needed to come personally.

“Of course not. I obviously came because I have something else to discuss.”

“…Hmm.”

Lerrhagen still seemed uninterested. I crossed my arms and nodded toward Hasis.

“You said you’d grant one request in exchange for letting that guy into my room.”

“I don’t recall agreeing to that.”

“But you never refused either.”

“So, what is it?”

“Please find out if there’s any tool or method that could help me return to my original form.”

Despite his odd personality, Lerrhagen was undeniably a being who shared origins with myth itself.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he wrote half the world’s myths.

Maybe he knew something.

While I harbored this quiet hope, Lerrhagen suddenly sat up and landed in front of me in the blink of an eye.

Oh.

I blinked at his large shadow looming over me.

Lerrhagen stared at me intently. Soon, with an inscrutable expression, he glanced at Hasis and spoke.

“The fact that you haven’t returned yet suggests this isn’t the work of ordinary magic.”

“Obviously.”

“Then.”

Lerrhagen let his words trail off slightly. Then he continued.

“It’s probably connected to some other power.”

“Other power?”

“I don’t know either. But there might be a way to find out.”

“What is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“…”

“I just said there might be a way. I’ll look into it.”

Having quietly harbored hope, I felt disappointed.

But for now, the fact that this dragon who hated inconvenience said he would look into it seemed like significant progress to me.

Wait, why am I considering this significant progress?

Don’t most people do this much without complaint?

I looked at Lerrhagen’s indifferent face. His face truly lacked any expression. After observing him, I spoke.

“Since I’ve revealed myself as the princess, you’ll have quite a few responsibilities as my father.”

“How bothersome.”

“Well, Rigan will handle most things, but please at least pretend to be my real father so it doesn’t look strange to others.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

“How about giving a definite answer for once? Stop finding everything bothersome.”

“One shouldn’t give definite answers.”

“Why not?”

“They create things to regret later.”

Well, we think alike on that. This dragon seems rather shrewd.

Judging a being who might be thousands, or perhaps tens of thousands of years old as shrewd, I turned my head.

“I’ll be going then. Oh, please stay in your room from now on. And if maids are drooling around you, chase them away.”

“Bothersome.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage.”

Though I said this, I dismissed it lightly. Just as I was thinking about returning to my room for a meal, I heard hurried footsteps from a distance.

I frowned. The approaching figure was clearly Rigan.

Finally escaped from the nobles, I thought, removing the sound barrier around us as Rigan arrived, panting, and addressed me.

“Your Maj—I mean, Your Highness.”

“What’s the matter? I told you to maintain composure and dignity in the palace.”

In truth, Rigan never showed any vulnerable side to anyone except me.

I gave him a suspicious look, but his next words made me freeze.

“Huff… The Duke, His Grace the Duke.”

“The Duke? Sever Kelliard?”

“His Grace the Duke requests an audience with Your Majesty.”