“The King of the Dead! What do you think?”

Tie flinched and looked up.

Staring at him with slightly startled eyes, she asked back,

“What exactly...?”

“What title do you think you’ll receive? Baron? Or Viscount?”

The child’s eyes darted around in confusion.

“Tie doesn’t know...”

Right at that moment—

“You certainly ask a lot of questions.”

A gentle voice came from behind them.

Tie’s face immediately brightened.

“Association Head Lady!”

Standing behind the nobles like a savior was Ardiana, somehow having approached without anyone noticing.

Smiling, she said to Tie,

“Would you like to take a little walk with me?”

Under the warm sunlight—

“...Hehe.”

Tie secretly giggled as she looked up at Ardiana’s profile.

Soft grass.

Flowers and trees beautifully decorating the path.

And—

“Association Head Lady. You really aren’t sick anymore, right?”

Unlike the last time they had met, Ardiana looked healthy.

“I’m fine now. Thanks to you.”

Hearing that answer, Tie barely held back a pleased smile.

‘That’s good. When the princess is sick, Tie’s heart hurts too.’

Ardiana was very pretty.

Kind, gentle, and even admirable.

Suddenly, Tie remembered the conversations the squad members had after the Watchtower raid ended.

‘Looking at the Association Head makes me feel like I had prejudices against important people all this time.’

‘Exactly. Seriously, who could’ve imagined it? That she of all people...’

The fact that the Association Head was an imperial princess had only been officially announced today.

But the Agavert members who had participated in the Watchtower assault alongside her had already known for a long time.

‘The fact that she personally went to the Imperial Palace is impressive enough already. She could’ve just stayed behind and given orders.’

‘Where did the rumor even come from that she was the most useless member of the imperial family?’

‘Seriously. I thought she was just some spoiled noblewoman who got lucky being born into the right family.’

Back then, listening to all of that, Tie had thought—

So there really had been reasons for that strange sadness that occasionally crossed Ardiana’s face.

‘But it’s good the misunderstanding is gone now.’

Tie secretly glanced at Ardiana’s profile again.

Ever since they started walking, Ardiana had barely spoken.

She had said she wanted to walk together, and she truly was simply walking beside Tie through the garden.

Tie spent a long time hesitating, trying to think of something to say, when—

“You must have suffered a lot.”

Ardiana finally spoke.

“Alone, in a completely unfamiliar place... just how much...”

She trailed off.

Tie stopped walking.

Then she lifted slightly widened eyes toward her.

“Papa told you...?”

The only place Ardiana could possibly mean by “an unfamiliar place” was Jongno.

Ardiana also stopped and nodded down at the child.

“Yes.”

Tie’s lips parted.

She froze for a moment before mumbling awkwardly,

“Uh... but why did Papa tell you...?”

Under her long sleeves, Tie nervously fidgeted with her small hands.

Noticing something strange, Ardiana bent down slightly.

“Does it bother you that I know?”

Tie flinched and looked up.

“It’s not that...”

After hesitating, the child lowered her brows.

“It’s just... the princess likes my Papa, so you can’t know that Tie is Papa’s daughter...”

Ardiana’s eyes widened.

“People said that if a man already has a child, then it only becomes a burden...”

The Luminel family.

The squad members who had sworn secrecy through the Cleansing of Oblivion.

Even aides like Marquis Veyvril and Selina.

In truth, there were already quite a lot of people who knew about Tie and Tesetan’s relationship.

But for some reason, Tie had desperately wanted Ardiana not to find out.

‘It’s hard raising a child alone, right? Such a young man too... life really turned out harsh for him.’

‘Exactly. A handsome guy like him, living alone like that. He should remarry. A house needs a woman. It’d be better for Mister Kim, and better for Tie too.’

‘Easy for you to say when it’s not your life. Do you think it’s that simple? The child’s still so young...’

When they lived in Jongno, some adults talked about Tie like that.

That because of her, Papa couldn’t find a girlfriend.

And the especially tactless women would even ask Tie directly.

‘Sweetie. Would you like it if your Papa brought home a pretty lady?’

‘Will you stop already?! That’s Tie’s Papa’s business, not the snack shop auntie’s!’

‘Oh my, how scary. I was only joking...’

The woman from Room 203 always got angry at people like that.

And afterward, for some reason, she would secretly watch Tie’s expression.

But Tie herself hadn’t really minded.

‘Papa’s girlfriend...?’

At times like those, she would think about «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» her kindergarten friends’ parents.

People who weren’t alone like her Papa.

People who always walked together.

Carrying bags together, constantly looking at each other, laughing happily.

‘Tie would be happy if Papa got a girlfriend.’

So one night before bed, she had said exactly that.

And Papa had immediately widened his eyes in shock as he looked at Tie lying beside him.

‘Daughter. Where is this suddenly coming from?’

‘The market aunties said Papa gets lonely without a girlfriend.’

‘What?’

‘They said a man needs a woman. And that because of Tie, Papa can’t date anyone...’

‘That’s not true.’

Papa answered before she could even finish speaking.

Then, for some reason, he made an unbearably distressed expression.

‘Don’t listen to things like that anymore. If someone says it again, tell them, “Papa will handle it himself.” And Papa also...’

‘....’

‘Anyway, it’s absolutely not like that.’

Papa had said that, but Tie understood anyway.

‘So it really is because of Tie.’

Just like the adults said, Tie really was a burden to Papa.

And honestly, because of that, she had been a little scared.

‘Those two have been returning together more and more lately.’

‘Exactly! I’ve seriously never seen the Association Head smile that much before.’

‘Vice Captain! So? Well? Hahaha!’

The closer Papa and the princess became.

The more affection filled their gazes day after day.

‘But now the princess knows.’

Tie should have hidden it better.

But in the end, the princess still found out that Papa had Tie.

The child’s face fell completely.

What would happen now?

What if, like in the daily dramas, the princess abandoned Papa because she didn’t want a man who already had a child?

Or worse—what if Papa pushed the princess away because of Tie?

Tie anxiously looked up at Ardiana.

“Princess. Tie is independent already...!”

A crease formed between Ardiana’s brows.

“Tie is big now, and can do everything by herself. And Tie will never ever hold Papa back.”

Tie knew her Papa better than anyone.

And because of that, she could feel it.

“Please don’t hate Papa because of Tie. Papa...”

Papa loved Ardiana very much.

And Tie loved Ardiana too.

She absolutely did not want the two of them to drift apart because of her.

“A burden...?”

At that moment, Ardiana quietly repeated,

“You’re a burden?”

Then suddenly she pulled Tie tightly into her arms.

“Why would you say something like that?”

Ardiana’s voice trembled with fear.

“How could you ever be a burden? Why you? How could anyone possibly...”

Thump.

Thump.

The pounding of her heartbeat echoed in Tie’s ears.

Tie blinked in confusion inside her embrace.

She could feel Ardiana’s shoulders trembling faintly.

Turning her head, the child saw Ardiana burying her face against her shoulder, quietly crying.

“Association Head Lady...?”

Tie couldn’t understand why Ardiana was crying.

Flustered, the child hesitantly raised her hands.

Then awkwardly began patting her back.

“Association Head Lady, are you okay?”

Ardiana didn’t answer.

The more Tie patted her back, the louder the restrained sobs became.

Tie stood there for a long time with an anxious expression.

“Vice Captain!”

Tesetan, who had been standing near the entrance to the banquet hall, lifted his head.

Tie was running toward him from afar, wildly waving her arms.

“Vice Captain! Brother Bale!”

After running up to them, the child tilted her head.

“Why are you both standing here?”

Bale stepped out from behind Tesetan.

“What do you mean why? We were waiting for you. By the way, where’s the Association Head? Didn’t you two leave together?”

Tie let out a heavy sigh.

Walking closer, she spoke as if she had been wanting to say this for a long time.

“Listen, Brother Bale. Tie thinks...”

The child’s voice turned serious.

“The princess has a very severe chill at home.”