At that moment, a tiny hand tugged at his.

“Daddy, the Bad Uncle said he protected Mommy.”

The little fist clutching a dandelion pointed toward Shed’s retreating figure.

Eclace followed the child’s gaze in silence.

“So you’ve grown close to him, Eve.”

“Mm-hm, Daddy. The Bad Uncle is really nice! He looks scary, but he’s not!”

From Eve’s lips, the words Daddy and Uncle tangled together.

Eclace listened quietly to the child’s innocent language. His eyes lingered on the dandelion in her hand.

The air was still cool—perfect weather to begin something new.

“Eve.”

Her name left his lips, gentle and tender.

“Yes?”

“Haven’t you ever wondered about your real father?”

As he lowered himself, her round eyes met his straight on.

On the way here, he had thought long and hard. The contract marriage he had entered into with Luise under false names was nearing its end.

He knew. Luise’s heart had never once strayed from Shed Lester.

He could never compete with that man.

How could he? Against someone so obsessively, nauseatingly persistent, foolishly relentless.

For five years he had invested all he could. Yet a merchant knows—when a venture yields nothing, it must be abandoned without regret.

“Real father?”

“Yes. Your real father.”

Eclace smiled faintly.

Eve fidgeted with the dandelion in her hand before shaking her head.

“I like Daddy.”

Her soft hand tugged lightly at his sleeve.

Suddenly, the way he asked made her uneasy. It felt as though he might leave at any moment.

Catching the sharp intuition in her young eyes, Eclace gave a bitter smile.

“Daddy likes you too, Eve. Always will.”

“Then why are you talking about my real father?”

“Because I thought you might be curious.”

“…If I get curious, will Daddy leave?”

Eve’s eyelids fluttered open. She pretended not to care, but of course she was curious.

How could she not be? While other children chattered endlessly about their fathers, the only “father” she had ever known was Eclace—the uncle who had taken on that role.

A clever child like Eve would never fail to notice the strangeness of it.

‘My little lady with her endless curiosity… you really held it back all this time.’

Pride and guilt twisted together in Eclace’s chest. Not once had Eve ever asked about her real father until now.

“Don’t worry, Eve. Nothing will change.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then… is my real dad… still alive?”

Her question came as delicately as if she were touching the wings of a sleeping butterfly.

Ah. So she had thought he was dead.

Neither Luise nor Eclace had ever spoken of her father. They had carefully avoided it, leaving Eve to imagine him on her own.

And so she had decided he must be gone. That his absence could only mean he was dead. That she mustn’t ask about him, so Mommy wouldn’t be sad.

Eclace swallowed bitterly.

‘Only three years old… and you bore all that in silence? Even at your age, you thought about your father…’

He gently cupped her tiny hand in his own.

“Yes. Eve’s father is alive.”

The dandelion slipped from her grasp and fell soundlessly to the ground. Her clear eyes filled with a sheen of tears.

“Then… why didn’t he come see me?”

Her chin trembled, her face on the verge of breaking into sobs.

‘If he’s alive, why didn’t he come? Why didn’t he see me? Did he hate me and Mommy?’

Her little heart had longed to know her real father.

“He didn’t stay away on purpose. He just didn’t know he had such a beautiful daughter.”

Eclace stroked her soft hair, explaining gently in words a child could understand.

That her father had missed her and Mommy dearly. That an accident had torn them apart, and he hadn’t even known she had been born. That all that time, he had been searching for them.

Eve’s lips quivered in doubt.

“Then… where is my daddy now?”

“Here. He’s already by your side.”

“…Here?”

“Yes.”

Eclace’s fingertips brushed her pale cheek with tenderness.

It was time to end the long, gentle lie.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

His pace slowed, finally halting at the end of the corridor. He pressed his calloused fingers hard against his aching eyes.

His chest burned.

“…That night with you—that was when your child was conceived.”

‘My child.’

After learning the truth, he could no longer look at Eve the same way.

Watching my daughter call another man “Daddy” was suffocating.

The urge surged within him to seize her, to pull her into his arms and never let go. The words burned at the back of his throat, threatening to spill.

‘Your father isn’t him—he’s here. I’m your real father.’

But fear rooted him in place.

What if, the moment he held her, the smile she had given to Eclace disappeared from her face? What if the radiant grin that revealed her small teeth dimmed in his embrace?

He had to wait. Until she could accept everything. Until he could guide her through each step without frightening her.

Without confusion.

“Uncle…!”

The small but resolute voice shattered his resolve.

Shed turned as though a snare had pulled him back.

There stood a presence so small, so fragile—yet the most precious being his life would ever know.

Eve.

Her lips pressed tightly together, her eyes lifted to him in defiance and trembling fear.

His brows furrowed at the sight of her face, as though she were about to cry.

“Eve… did something—”

But his words faltered.

The child’s green eyes were wide and unblinking, rippling like water. Her clear voice echoed through the air like a bell’s chime.

“Uncle… are you my real daddy?”

The question hit him with the weight of fate itself.

He opened his mouth.

But something heavy lodged in his throat, choking his voice before it could form.

A spring breeze slipped through the corridor, loosening the knot.

“…Yes.”

After a silence that felt endless, the answer escaped his tongue at last.

Eve’s eyes brimmed instantly with tears.

Her lips quivered, her voice breaking as it struck his heart.

“Then why didn’t you say so?”

Her small fists rubbed at her reddening eyes, sleeves dampened with tears.

“I thought… you abandoned me…”

That sight seared itself into Shed’s eyes.

‘Abandon you?’

“Do you… not like me?”

If he was her father, why had he stayed silent all this time?

Was it because she wasn’t good enough, because he didn’t want a daughter like her?

Did he not want to be her father at all?

A single tear finally slid down Eve’s cheek.

In the next instant, her body lifted into the air.

“Never.”

Eve blinked up at the amethyst eyes before her.

They no longer looked frightening. They shone like crystal washed clean in clear water.

A warmth spread across the face she had once feared.

“I’ve been searching for you for so long.”

His low voice trembled against her ear.

“I searched endlessly for you and your mother.”

More desperately than you could ever imagine.

‘I wanted to see you. The ones I love most.’

“Then why didn’t you tell me… that you were my real daddy?”

“…Because I thought you already had one.”

Shed forced the storm in his chest back down.

Real or not, Eclace Vitel had been your “father.” And you looked happy.

I was only waiting—for the right moment to tell you.

Waiting until you could accept me as your father, instead of him.

“I would never abandon you, Eve.”

Their eyes—so alike—met at close range.

Eve hiccupped and drew in a sharp breath.

“Then… can I call you Daddy?”

“….”

“…Can’t I?”

Her tiny hands clutched at his collar as she asked, eyelashes trembling at the edges of her lifted gaze.

Shed shook his head slowly.

“Why wouldn’t you? I’ve been waiting to hear it.”

He leaned forward, pressing his forehead gently to her small, round one.

Warmth spread between them.

“My daughter.”

A smile, fragile but genuine, curved his lips.

It spread instantly to hers.

“Daddy!”

Eve’s mouth opened wide in a radiant grin, and she planted a quick kiss on the bridge of his nose.

🌺⟡───⟡🌺 🌺⟡───⟡🌺

“Eclace.”

When he entered the room, Luise rose to greet him. But he quickly urged her to sit, taking the seat across from her with practiced ease. His gaze was steady, intent, as though weighing every detail.

“Your hair color… it’s returned. Just as it should be for Luise Ideana.”

“Ah… yes.”

“That’s good.”

Eclace smiled faintly, as though everything had turned out exactly as he expected.

Luise remembered the newspaper articles that he had worked so hard to distribute. Even for the Viscount of Vitel, it must have been a considerable effort.

“…It’s thanks to you. Thank you, Eclace.”

“If you’re that grateful, shall we extend our contract?”

His voice dipped lower.

By contract, he meant the one between “Lea” and “Egon”—their marriage in name only.

For a moment, Luise couldn’t hide her startled expression.

Seeing her reaction, Eclace laughed.

“A joke. Don’t take it so seriously.”

He smiled, but Luise could not.

Despite the years they had spent together, he remained an enigma. Had she ever truly understood him? Even now, she could not tell whether he was joking.

In contrast, Eclace always seemed to be able to read her with ease. Just as he did now.

“…I—”

“Allow me to ask just one thing.”

He cut her off before she could speak, perhaps because he sensed that what she had to say would not be what he wanted to hear.

“During your time on Janna Island… it wasn’t unbearable, was it?”

Fingers laced, he rolled a coin between his palms. Though the gesture was casual, it carried the weight of a prayer.

Luise drew a quiet breath, curving her lips into a soft smile.

“No. Thanks to you.”

She thought of the time on Janna Island.

Eclace had lied to her. He had withheld news of Shed and had even given her false information at times. When she found out, she felt betrayed.

However, without that island, she might never have been able to protect Eve. Her bond with Shed might not have been as strong.

Seeing her calm smile, Eclace chuckled.

“I told you once, didn’t I? That Eve is something of a genius.”

He recalled the words he had spoken long ago when he first saw the child.

She was precocious and gifted beyond her years.

He had loved that clever, bright little girl.

“You can’t keep a genius like her confined to a small island forever.”

He slipped the coin back into his pocket, his voice lightening as he did so.

In that moment, Luise understood.

He was ready to end their five-year contract.