Chapter 24

The village hadn’t changed. The area where palace workers lived was always clean, and the people were friendly. One lady recognized Ethea and greeted her.  

“Ethea, long time no see. Going to your father’s house?”  

“Hello, Aunt Silla. I thought I’d drop by since it’s been a while.”  

“Oh, good. I was just wondering when you’d come.”  

It sounded odd.  

“Huh? You were waiting for me?”  

“These days, your father… it’s not nice to say, but he’s not himself. He’s gotten so skinny, doesn’t seem to go to the palace, and goes out every night. I’m worried. Something seems wrong, but you know your father—he’s not the type to talk about his problems.”  

Aunt Silla was a kind neighbor, but Javir wasn’t the type to earn her kindness.  

Back when Ethea’s mother Luire left home, Ethea was too young to cook well, and all the servants had been fired, so there was no food in the house. Javir, who found eating itself bothersome, was fine with dry bread and oil, but growing Ethea couldn’t live on that. She got thinner and thinner, and Aunt Silla brought over a pot of soup.  

Ethea still remembered Javir’s reaction to receiving soup from Aunt Silla.  

‘I appreciate the gesture, but please don’t bring hot, spicy-smelling things again. And Ethea, eat this in the storage room.’  

Thinking of Aunt Silla’s expression then still made Ethea feel bad. No one would feel good after being treated that way, especially after acting out of kindness. Thankfully, Ethea spoke kindly to Aunt Silla and ate the soup in the storage room, which helped.  

For Javir, even neighbors’ kindness was useless and annoying. Maybe that’s why Aunt Silla, seeing his recent odd behavior, didn’t interfere and instead spoke to his daughter.  

Hearing it directly made Ethea feel uneasy.  

“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll go now.”  

“Yes, Ethea. Hurry along.”  

Both the gate and front door of the house were open. The overgrown weeds in the yard gave a sense of foreboding.  

“Father, I’m here.”  

The living room was a mess. Alchemy books and materials were scattered everywhere. On the table, Ethea’s letters lay with their envelopes opened. He’d read his daughter’s letters but didn’t reply. Ethea’s curiosity only grew.  

“Hm?”  

Something else caught her eye.  

“These are Father’s clothes…”  

The uniform of the Alchemy Association’s director looked like it had been reduced to rags long ago. Only one set was issued, since it was so costly to make, and Javir wore it only twice a month for reports. What did it mean that it was treated like this?  

Even more troubling were the gambling coins scattered on the floor. The coins bore the name “Goldium Land,” the only legal casino in the Hillus Empire.  

Javir used to go to Goldium Land three or four times a year for light gambling. Losing money was unlucky, but winning meant he could buy sacks of palladium. Since his main job and alchemy side job barely covered material costs, gambling was a small pleasure for him. Whenever he visited, coins remained at home as souvenirs.  

The coins had dates printed on them, and after those dates passed, they became worthless. Now, thousands of coins littered the house. That meant Javir had been addicted to gambling.  

Ethea, surveying the house, felt a headache and tried to sit on the sofa, but it was too messy.  

Was Javir living only for gambling now, having quit the palace Alchemy Association? No, that made no sense. There was no guarantee of always winning, so where did the money for Ethea’s living expenses come from?  

“You’re here.”  

Javir came down from the second-floor bedroom. Even though he was dressed for going out, his hair was tangled, so he must have gone out yesterday and slept without fixing it.  

Ethea couldn’t greet her father with a smile—it had been so long since she’d seen him.  

“What have you been doing all this time?”  

“What do you mean?”  

“I sent several letters. I was so worried because you never replied.”  

“Worried? I’m alive and well. An alchemist can’t die until he makes the elixir of immortality, you know.”  

Until then, Ethea thought her father was joking. The cynical smile and sharp tone were just his usual self.  

“So you didn’t need to come here.”  

“How could I not? I’m your daughter. Whether you like it or not, you took care of us, so I can’t help but worry about you.”  

Her emotions got heated and Ethea’s voice rose.  

But Javir cleared off the sofa and sat down heavily, then said,  

“I took care of you whether I liked it or not? Don’t be ridiculous. If you’re going to prattle on about father–daughter affection, it’s disgusting, so stop. I never intended to take care of you that much. And I never will.”

Ethea, feeling hurt, stood across from him and protested.  

“How can you say that? Is that what you want to say to the daughter you haven’t seen in a long time?”  

“It’s the truth. Don’t tell me you still don’t know? I’m not the one who’s been taking care of you all this time.”

Suddenly, a face flashed in Ethea’s mind.  

If it wasn’t Father who took care of us, then……  

“It wasn’t me who kicked you out of my house, who got a place for you and your son, or who sent monthly living expenses. I only pretended to do it because I was worried something might happen. As you know, I’m not the type to spend money on things like that.”

“Father…”  

She hadn’t been unaware. The father she knew, sadly, was that sort of person. Even when her grandmother suffered from a serious illness, he spent money on alchemy rather than painkillers. Her grandmother cursed him for being a heartless child.  

But she thought at least he had some parental love, supporting his daughter and grandson. So what had all she received really been?  

“Today, you seem strange…”  

“About the letters. Yes, replying is bothersome, and visiting in person is even more so, so I just ignored them.”  

Ethea felt a chill in her chest.  

“I have to tell you now. Sit down.”  

She did as told and sat across from Javir.  

She was used to this gaze—cold, contemptuous. She’d received it all her life as his daughter, and though she thought she was numb to it, she still shrank from it.  

“As the saying goes, beans grow where beans are planted. The blood born from a frivolous woman doesn’t go anywhere.”

“Fath…?”  

“I know you secretly played with the prince.”  

“……!”  

“Well, now he’s the Emperor. He’s been on the throne for quite some time. That murderer.”  

It felt strange to hear him call Lyle that. It was true he killed nineteen siblings to become Emperor, but murderer? That didn’t suit him.  

Ethea didn’t like Lyle, but she didn’t like hearing him called that either.  

“I had to pretend not to know. That way, everyone could stay safe. Until recently, that man’s enemies were hiding everywhere. I didn’t want to get involved and become a hostage to unknown people. So I pretended to be a loving father and supported you and your wretched son.”  

“……”  

“Anyway, that’s the story. Giving a name to that alchemy monster, registering the birth at the government office, sending money all this time—it was all done on orders from that murderer.”  

This betrayal felt different from what Ethea had felt toward Lyle. It wasn’t that he’d thoroughly ignored her and her son, but that he’d been watching everything while pretending to ignore them. Why? For what reason…?  

“I couldn’t help but obey when he ordered me. Now, finally, the bothersome news about you and your son will end. Sigh.”  

It was just as she’d feared.