The Reason I Keep Avoiding My Childhood Friend

My excited heart calms down. I was caught up in the strange feeling I had felt since before. I felt sad that I had lost Father’s attention.

“Then I will use this.”

The little child took out an envelope and handed it to Father without fear. And from then on, it became difficult for me to understand. But unlike me, the little child seemed to be having a conversation with Father. The little child smiled brightly and answered Father’s questions without hesitation. It was amazing.

“I get it. I will not question you about your crime of beating Kirsec. This case is covered.”

I was stunned by the conversation I couldn’t understand, and I was shocked to hear what my father said.

“Father!”

It can’t be. No matter how much he spared people, he never left the person who tormented me. Why is it different this time? He wasn’t even going to do that anymore?

But my earnest cry of courage did not reach Father.

“Your Grace! If you let it go like this, the discipline will be disturbed!”

Grandfather and the others protested and gave me a little hope, but Father was steadfast. I didn’t understand the details. It was only certain that Father favored the little child more than me.

“Anyway, please don’t talk about punishing this child for hitting Kirsec anymore.”

Father, who determinedly cut them off, expressed his intention not to talk about this any more. In the end, Father did not take my side. I shouldn’t cry, I shouldn’t cry over this. Tears welled up even when I closed my child.

Meanwhile, the little child said all the requests she wanted. And I was even more surprised at Father’s reaction that accepted it.

“Huh, Hertman really doesn’t really look like you.”

Although it is disappointing, Father created a ‘smile’ with a slightly raised corner of his mouth. It was shocking. My father had never sent me that expression before. An expressionless face that doesn’t even show annoyance. I’ve only seen faces that look no different than when he looked at the papers.

Father smiled at the little child’s words. Even more sad is the fact that Father’s eyes were on the little child the whole time. My father, who didn’t look at me properly, was talking with the little child, making eye contact.

I seemed to have lost Father. I felt abandoned and wanted to run away, but I couldn’t even do that. I couldn’t help but clench my fists. Because I couldn’t show my weakness.

“That’s enough. Just go.”

I couldn’t say anything even to Father’s words to sort out the situation. It was just that my head was full of thoughts of wanting to run away from this place, so it was rather nice to finally be able to escape.

“Now I will tell you why.”

But the little child stepped forward again.

“The reason why I hit him.”

I wanted this to end quickly, but I hated the little child who brought up meaningless stories. The little child asked Father, who was confused.

“Your Grace, how much do you know about your son?”

I was surprised because I did not know that a story about me would come out. There was a serious atmosphere, and everyone’s expressions hardened. I didn’t even ask, but I just noticed.

“Are you saying that I don’t know my son well?”

My heart raced at Father’s heavy question. There was an unusual tone in his voice. My sad heart disappeared and only the tension increased. I instinctively felt that I had to hold my breath.

“There are enough reports.”

Does Father hear stories about me? Is he really interested in me?

“Do you really think that is enough?”

The little child asked the words that I had kept inside and couldn’t get out. I covered my mouth because I thought I was going to make a sound for a moment.

“What do you mean?”

“Then I’ll change the question. How much time do you spend with your son, Grand Duke? Do you know what kind of character and what kind of behavior your son has?”

My father’s eyes met me. When I saw those intense eyes, I panicked and averted his gaze.

“If a child makes a mistake, it is right for an adult to teach it. Parents should help them develop good character. If we miss that time, I think we would teach them wrong even by hitting them.”

The little child spoke as if I did something wrong, and my head turned white. My father’s eyes were questioning me about what I did wrong. Even though I did nothing wrong, I was afraid to think that I would be scolded. No, I was more afraid that he would say I was useless.

Maybe Father will think I’m not his son anymore. I really felt like I was going to be abandoned. I couldn’t do anything but tremble in fear. I closed my eyes tightly for fear that a scolding would befall me.

But the voice I heard was cold and low.

“Now that I see it, it seems like everyone knows except me.”

“Forgi, forgive…”

Grandfather, who received Gather’s gaze, apologized. I don’t know why Grandfather stepped out. I don’t know what I did wrong. Because I really didn’t know what I was doing wrong.