Chapter 3 (Part 1)

Duke Lennox was in an unusually good mood today.

After soaking in hot water, he felt all his fatigue melt away, and he couldn’t help but hum a tune. He had also cleaned his cherished armor, which might have added to his good mood.

Just as he was about to enter his study with a light heart, he stopped in his tracks.

“….”

“Y-you came back earlier than expected?”

Reina, who looked flustered, greeted him at the door.

His cherished vase lay shattered on the floor, pieces scattered all over, some books were overturned, and the carpet was slightly out of place.

Moreover, his most treasured armor was tossed into a corner like trash…. It was the first time he had seen the majestic golden armor look so pitiful.

“….”

In that moment, the happiness he had felt just moments ago crumbled like a sandcastle. He stood there, dumbfounded, looking around his study.

It couldn’t have been a thief. And it was hard to believe my grown-up daughter could cause such a mess….

Duke Lennox stopped his train of thought. He had a feeling he knew why this absurd situation had occurred.

“Y-you didn’t try on that armor… did you?”

He hoped it wasn’t true, but a sense of foreboding lingered.

It was the display armor, specially gifted by His Majesty the Emperor, which even he had never worn….

He had only cleaned it carefully and placed it on the sofa to dry, fearing it would gather dust if left on display.

“What? Ahahaha.”

Reina laughed awkwardly and avoided his gaze.

He tried to follow her gaze with narrowed eyes, but her golden eyes kept avoiding his.

She wore it. She definitely wore it!

Duke Lennox felt his body tremble with anger, but he clenched his fists and held it in.

I shouldn’t have left the armor alone in the study….

He regretted cleaning it today, as he only cleaned it once a month to avoid scratches.

He could understand if young Lilith had caused the accident, or even if the family’s large dog, Wolf, had sneaked into the study. But he couldn’t comprehend how his grown-up daughter could cause such a mess.

She just became an adult this year. This year!

Duke Lennox tried to ease his frustration by pounding his chest with his fist, but it didn’t help.

He looked at the armor with sad eyes.

It was a special gift from His Majesty when he stepped down as the Commander of the knights, and now it was in this state.

Of course, he could call a wizard to restore it with magic. But he wanted to keep it as it was, gifted by His Majesty. Using magic would make it feel slightly different.

“Sigh.”

Getting angry at Reina wouldn’t change what had already happened, so Duke Lennox took a deep breath and tried to suppress his rising anger once more.

I’m the one at fault for showing her the armor.

He had thought she had stopped causing trouble recently, but she was alternating with Richelle in causing accidents. With tears in his eyes, Duke Lennox reflected on his complacency.

He had mistakenly thought she had calmed down because she showed no reaction when he gave her a necklace. If she hadn’t calmed down, she would have been running around trying to find the recipient of the necklace.

Was it my greed?

‘The kids are troublemakers because of you. Whose blood do you think they inherited? Every day, my heart races. Do you know that? You wouldn’t, since you’re always out.’

Whenever the children caused trouble, the Duchess would come to Duke Lennox and complain.

‘It’s normal for kids to cause trouble as they grow. Children need to play on the ground to grow up healthy.’

Duke Lennox would always counter her arguments.

Even though the children were troublemakers, he thought, ‘They’ll grow out of it,’ and didn’t worry about their actions.

That was until that incident happened.

Richelle was 10 years old, and Reina was 7.

The sisters, who were close in age, got along well. Both were so mischievous that they caused trouble wherever they went.

Duke Lennox enjoyed watching his daughters run around the mansion.

Like untamed foals, the two girls would become even more rambunctious when the Duke and Duchess went out. They would leave hardly anything intact.

But Duke Lennox saw even that in a positive light.

The golden sunlight poured into the lush garden, and their pink hair, reminiscent of cherry blossoms, made the two girls look like beautiful flowers playing joyfully.

He thought it was better than Louis, who was introverted and didn’t play much. He believed it was normal for young children to play freely.

But after that incident, he began to worry more.

The day Richelle came into the study crying and delivered the shocking news.

‘R-reina is missing!’

She had been playing in the garden with Reina, but when she woke up from a nap, Reina was nowhere to be found. That’s why she had rushed into the study.

There were hardly any dangerous places in the mansion. Moreover, guards frequently patrolled the mansion to ensure there were no hazards.

So, while it was safe for adults, it could be different for children.

Duke Lennox urgently searched everywhere with the knights and servants, but Reina was nowhere to be found.

‘W-we found her!’

They eventually found her by the lake. Rather, they found her shoes neatly placed there.

His daughter was nowhere to be seen, only her shoes. When Duke Lennox saw the shoes, his vision went black.

‘Did you find her?’

The Duchess, who had heard the news late, rushed over, her face turning pale at the ominous atmosphere.

The two of them couldn’t exchange any words. How could they explain the situation to anyone? They had no choice but to search the lake for Reina.

Bracelets, hair ornaments, buttons…. They kept finding her belongings in the water, but not Reina herself.

‘N-No! It can’t be!’

Though they denied it, the longer they couldn’t find Reina, the heavier the ominous feeling grew in their hearts. The Duchess was sobbing beside him, likely feeling the same.

They didn’t want to admit that they had lost Reina so suddenly, but as night fell, they had to stop the search.

‘We… we should stop the search….’

Just as he was about to say they should stop the search, the bushes rustled, and a small hand suddenly popped out.

When Duke Lennox tilted his head in confusion, Reina appeared with leaves all over her face, smiling brightly at them.

‘Oh! Dad?! Ahahaha.’

Duke Lennox was so shocked that he couldn’t move, and the Duchess immediately ran to Reina. She hugged Reina tightly and began to sob, while Reina looked bewildered.

‘I climbed up a tree and fell asleep, and now I just woke up. But why is everyone gathered here?’

Climbing trees was Reina’s specialty. However, they hadn’t thought to check the very top of the tree, assuming a child couldn’t climb that high.

They didn’t realize that Reina could easily climb trees that even adults couldn’t.

No matter how many battles he fought or how many criminals he infiltrated to catch, Duke Lennox had never felt his heart drop like this or been so shocked.

But his tiny little daughter had his heart in her grasp, squeezing it tight. In short, it felt like he had died and come back to life.

Duke Lennox realized at that moment, while scolding himself, that Reina wasn’t just a child.

She was a curious and naive child who absolutely needed constant supervision….

Since that day, Duke Lennox had tried to keep Reina under his watch without her knowing. He thought he was doing a good job of preventing major accidents, but he never expected her to cause trouble even as an adult….

He tried hard to suppress his anger but failed.

Seeing the armor slightly dented made him want to scold Reina. However, he tried his best to remain calm and spoke in a dignified tone.

“You are banned from the study for the time being. I’d like you to give your training logs to the butler….”

“Why? I want to bring them to you myself. Isn’t it nice to give them to you while seeing your face?”

But Reina, unaware of the Duke’s thoughts, smiled brightly.

“Rejected! I am afraid of what other accidents you might cause….”

In the end, he unconsciously raised his voice in anger, which turned into fear by the end.

How many times have I been fooled by that smile….

Sometimes, Duke Lennox found Reina’s innocent smile terrifying.

“What do you mean by causing an accident? It was just an accidental mishap.”

“Are you saying it was an accidental mishap to mess with my armor and turn the study upside down? Did the armor grow legs and end up sprawled over there?”

“….”

Reina, feeling guilty at the Duke’s words, couldn’t respond and hung her head low.

“…And just to be sure, there aren’t any other accidents, right?”

Duke Lennox felt a sense of foreboding but asked just in case, hoping Reina hadn’t caused any more trouble.

“What? No, no.”

Reina should have answered ‘no’ with a nonchalant expression, but instead, she looked up suddenly, repeating ‘no’ twice with a guilty look. Her eyes also wavered anxiously.

She definitely caused another accident.

After sending Reina back to her room, Duke Lennox shook his head.

He didn’t know what kind of accident it was, but he didn’t want to know.

He just hoped it was something that didn’t involve him and that Reina could handle it on her own.