“This is the latest report from Irebia, my lord.”

Viscount Arga Ayten Pearlman, chief physician of Cereus Castle, accepted the stack of papers from his trusted lieutenant. Diel Mollekin was only eighteen years old, but he had risen quickly through the ranks thanks to his loyalty and intelligence. He had a pleasing appearance, with pink hair and light blue eyes, but he was also an extremely shrewd and highly capable person.

The report was a list of every single thirteen-year-old girl with blonde hair and green eyes found in the region of Irebia.

“The girls who have been adopted or are currently in orphanages are highlighted in red,” said Diel.

“Good work.”

“Are you planning on going yourself, my lord?”

“Yes, of course,” Arga answered, rubbing his eyes. “I need to be there myself for the paternity tests.”

Arga and his company of men had roamed the continent for years in search of his daughter. They looked for girls of the right age and features—golden hair and green eyes, just like her mother’s had been. Although he’d never once seen his child’s face, he was hoping that there would be some resemblance to himself or to her mother.

Whenever he met a girl who fit the criteria, Arga tested for a genetic match. He’d lost count of how many times he’d done it by now. The testing was a complicated process, and the results took quite a while each time. It was nothing more than a highly inefficient wild-goose chase, but Arga didn’t really care. He would do anything he possibly could to find her.

“But my lord,” Diel said carefully. “Are we certain the girl we’re looking for has blonde hair and green eyes?”

“Yes, Baron Isidore gave me a precise description,” said Arga, while perusing each name on the list. “He said she looked exactly like her mother, with the same color hair and eyes.”

He remembered his wife with perfect clarity. Viscountess Siony Pearlman, née Laberi, had been seven months pregnant when she left to visit her parents’ estate for her mother’s birthday. At the time, Arga had been in the middle of some important medical research for the imperial family, and he had planned to follow her some ten days later. He would have gone with her, but his title and reputation had been at stake. Siony hadn’t wanted to be late for the celebration, so they’d agreed she would travel ahead on her own.

Arga had personally acted as her physician throughout the entire pregnancy—she was in very good health—and he’d known that there was very little chance of complications.

Laberi Island, Siony’s childhood home, was beautifully picturesque, but it was quite remote from the mainland. The route to the island passed through Baron Isidore’s port. During her short stop at the baron’s castle, she had suddenly gone into premature labor. Though Baron Isidore wasn’t a doctor by trade, he had enough medical knowledge that he was able to help deliver the baby. Siony hadn’t wanted to inconvenience the baron by staying too long, so as soon as she was able, she had thanked him for his hospitality, taken her newborn baby, and continued on her journey. Then, they had suddenly disappeared without a trace.

That was the last report that the baron had been able to give Arga.

Siony’s body had later been discovered in a remote area, but the baby had not been with her.

Arga had been half out of his mind at this point. He’d gone ballistic, shouting about abandoning his work and his title. He’d then begun a desperate, half-crazed hunt for his missing daughter, fueled by the tiniest hope that she was somehow still alive.

It had been thirteen years since then.

“Baron Isidore is the duchess’s younger brother. What’s more, he personally delivered my daughter himself and saw what she looked like,” Arga said. His tone brooked no argument. “It was I who made the greatest error. I was the one who said there would be no complications.”

No matter how much time had passed, Arga’s voice shook when he spoke about it. “There is no way the baron would mistake this information.”

Diel slowly nodded, then changed the subject. “I hear you have a new assistant.”

“Yes, but it’s no matter,” said Arga, shrugging. “I get new assistants all the time.”

“True, but I heard you gave this one your daughter’s room. And that you let her wear her clothes,” Diel said cautiously.

Arga let out a snort of laughter at Diel’s dubious expression.

It had been an impulsive decision to give his daughter’s room to the little newcomer. Her posturing and bragging had brought up some fond memories of himself at that age. Not to mention, her medical knowledge was most impressive. Though she had brown hair, her bright green eyes were reminiscent of Siony’s. He’d also noticed her worn, shabby clothes and how thin she was. There was no harm in letting her use the room and wear nice clothing.

“She’s very intelligent, and she will be useful at the castle.” Arga couldn’t quite bring himself to say that she reminded him of himself at that age. “She needs to be spoiled a bit here so she won’t want to go anywhere else,” he said instead.

“Where else would she go?” asked Diel.

“With her skill, she could open up her own practice tomorrow. If I make sure she’s happy enough to stay here, then I can spend more time looking for my daughter.”

Diel whistled. “This is a first, my lord. You’ve never liked any of your assistants so far.”

Arga’s hackles rose. “I didn’t say I liked her,” he barked. “I just said she’s useful.”

“Er... sure.” Diel scratched his chin and looked away innocently.

* * *

I climbed high up into a tree in the garden and squinted. In the distance, I saw Baron Isidore and Wedrick finally leaving.

I’d poked around a little and had found out that they’d been at the castle for four days. I was lucky that they’d left so soon after my arrival. Now that they had gone, I could formally be introduced to Duchess Cereus and Lord Erwan.

The baron and Wedrick are both traitors, I thought. I know that they’re planning on taking over as soon as Erwan dies.

Erwan, however, moped around sadly after their departure, like a puppy who had been abandoned by its owners. It was hard to not get frustrated about it.

From my conversations with Erwan, I knew that he had an unhealthy dependency on his cousin. So much so that if Wedrick told him to do something opposite of Lord Pearlman’s directions, he obeyed Wedrick instead.

There’s only one thing I can do. From the time I’d spent as a village apprentice, I knew how important it was that a doctor earn a patient’s trust. I need to get closer to him, I have to make sure he follows my advice and stops doing what his cousin says.

The problem was that Wedrick had spent the past seven years tightening his hold on Erwan. How could I compete with that?

But I did have one advantage. Wedrick only came for visits, but I lived here now. I could spend much more time with Erwan than he ever could. And our rooms are on the same floor! I thought triumphantly. Wedrick was also four years older, but I was the same age as Erwan, which could help him to see me as a friend.

Erwan trudged back into the hall, looking dejected. I hastily climbed back down the tree. Timing it carefully, I bumped into him in the hall as I was about to go into my room. I smiled brightly at him.

“Lord Erwan!” I exclaimed.

“Huh...?” he said, looking confused. “Oh, it’s you. We seem to be running into each other a lot recently.” Erwan tilted his head quizzically. “Why are you going into that room?”

“Here?” I asked, indicating the door. “Oh, Lord Pearlman told me to use this room.”

Erwan’s eyes grew wide. “What? Are you sure? But that’s...”

“I know whose room it is,” I said, cutting in. “But he really did tell me to use it.”

Erwan blinked at me.

“He probably likes me,” I said cheekily.

He looked surprised. He knew as well as I that the viscount wasn’t really inclined to like anyone or treat them nicely.

I shrugged, feeling smug. “See, I told you I’m going to be here for a long time. I’m better than all those other assistants. Do you believe me now?”

The few times I’d bumped into him in the halls, he had still looked at me warily. But now, he nodded as though he was starting to trust my words.

“Have you had dinner?” I asked.

“Not yet.” Erwan lowered his eyes. “I’ll probably eat alone since Wedrick’s gone,” he murmured.

The duchess was extremely busy and was probably unable to dine with her son on a daily basis.

Mother and son don’t seem very close with each other, I noted. I smiled broadly and spoke in a cheerful voice. “Well then, should we have dinner together?”

“Together?” he asked, stunned. He blinked his eyes rapidly.

“Yes!” I replied. “If you don’t want to eat alone, then we can eat together so you’re not bored.”

“Um. Okay,” he muttered.

This was how I got to have dinner with him so quickly after meeting each other.

However, I was now in a bit of a predicament. Lord Pearlman and I had gone into a dining room for our luncheon. But Erwan was leading me through his own door.

Er... I’m a little uncomfortable going into his room, I thought anxiously. A doctor’s visit was one thing, but this was really just a social occasion.

A servant came in with two meals. Erwan didn’t look at all uncomfortable. He just sat down and waited for me to join him. That was how I found myself unexpectedly sitting across from him at a table in his bedroom.

I looked around curiously. The bed in the middle of the room was much too big for one small boy. The walls were lined with bookshelves crammed full of books. The room was grand and imposing, and not exactly a cozy place for a child.

“You have a lot of books,” I said, running my eyes over the shelves. “Have you read them all?”

“I did, a long time ago. But I don’t read much these days,” he said.

“What?” I asked. “Why not?”

“Wedrick said that I’ll get headaches if I read too much. And when I’m sick I cause such a hassle for other people.”

I hadn’t checked on his condition yet, but I found it hard to believe that too much reading would cause headaches. Also, had he really read and understood all these heavy volumes?

“Lord Pearlman’s assistants used to get annoyed at me whenever I got sick,” he said.

“What?!” I exclaimed loudly. “What do you mean?”

“They were already so busy, but they had to drop everything to take care of me. Wedrick told me that I’d brought it on myself, so I shouldn’t complain.”

“You should’ve told Lord Pearlman,” I said. “Those assistants were scum.”

“Well, they all got kicked out pretty soon anyway,” said Erwan, shrugging.

So this was the reason why he looked at me so warily. He was traumatized from how he’d been treated by all the other assistants. I sliced my steak, wanting to question him further, but he abruptly put down his knife and fork. I frowned. He’d hardly touched his food.

“Lord Erwan,” I said. “Why aren’t you eating anything?”

“Wedrick told me not to eat too much. He said I’ll get fat.”

Just as I’d thought, that evil Wedrick had been doing his best to ruin him. I felt like I was going to explode if I heard the word “Wedrick” one more time.

I looked at Erwan’s pale, spindly arms and spoke firmly. “What?” You’re way too skinny. You need to be eating a lot more. How do you plan to grow up tall and strong if you eat so little?”

“But Wedrick said everyone would laugh at me...” he protested.

“That’s a bunch of nonsense,” I snapped. “I’m much smarter than Wedrick. I’m a doctor, right? Listen to me. You need to eat all your meals, read your books, and go out and exercise every day.”

“But Wedrick told me it’s for my own good,” he argued.

“No, I know better than him,” I said. “I know what’s best for you.” I took Erwan’s plate and cut up the steak he’d barely touched. I speared a piece with his fork and held it out to him. “Here, take a bite.”

“Huh?”

“I know it’s hard to believe me now, but at least listen to me until you become an adult. Please?” I looked into his eyes as I spoke.

Wedrick had already spent the past seven years with Erwan. I had six years until he reached adulthood. Until then, I had to make sure that my influence was stronger than Wedrick’s. A doctor could labor day and night for a patient, but if they chose not to follow the advice given to them, they would never get better.

“I’m the smartest person you have around you. I’m also the most honest,” I said.

I really was speaking the truth. I knew what had happened in the future, and there was no one who’d look out for Erwan like I would.

“I’m the one who cares for you the most, Lord Erwan, out of anyone in the world,” I said.

His dark eyes stared into mine. “Well... Okay, then.”

He took the piece of meat I’d offered him and chewed thoughtfully.

“I won’t forget.”