Ah, I Said I'm Sorry

"Sob...! Sniff!"

Once the tears started flowing, they refused to stop anytime soon.

I'd made a disgraceful spectacle in front of the head of one of Korea's top noble families. I expected him to thunder at me in one way or another.

I thought Douglas, who must have met all sorts of people throughout his life, wouldn't care about a child's tears.

"Hwahahaha...! Just as I'd heard! How fun!"

But he burst into hearty laughter. It was a pure smile, without the slightest hint of contempt or ridicule.

'He's not angry?'

He even reached out and vigorously ruffled my hair. It wasn't my imagination that he seemed to be in a good mood.

......At that point, everything else felt unnecessary.

[The fact that the family head who knew my secret wasn't hostile to me.]

That alone was enough to make me feel relieved that I had survived, and the shock from his thunderous laughter made the waterfall of tears start flowing all over again.

"Bwaaaah..."

"There, there. You must have been startled."

Once again, Douglas lifted me into the air with one bear-like hand.

Supporting my butt with one hand, he wiped my tears with a handkerchief in the other.

Unlike before, his gaze was filled with warm affection.

Held in his arms, I gradually calmed down while sobbing and hiccupping. After a few minutes, my racing heartbeat finally returned to normal.

Despite the considerable amount of time that had passed, Douglas waited until I had fully recovered.

'......Why did he act like that earlier?'

Once my mind had room to breathe, the question naturally arose.

Why would a broad-shouldered old man with such a benevolent smile threaten a delicate girl like me?

Those eyes that had seemed ready to do anything if I didn't hand over a present now felt like something from a dream.

"Are you feeling calmer now?"

"Yes... I'm sorry for making such a disgraceful spectacle, Family Head."

"That's enough. I only wanted to see your reaction, after all."

"Pardon...?"

Douglas smiled mischievously. Then he spoke to Vincent.

"You really are a crybaby, just as you'd said. Since you said she might be a monster, I tested her myself... but I've never seen a monster shed tears before. Therefore, this child is human."

"......But sirens cry."

".......Really? Then from today on, I suppose I'll have to break all their necks. Along with anyone who knows that fact."

Vincent's eyebrows twitched slightly at Douglas's declaration. Then he took a step back and spoke again with a stiff smile.

"Come to think of it, sirens shed crocodile tears. Unlike Raebi, they don't seem to have any emotions."

"Now you're finally making sense! You truly are my son!"

Douglas said that as he thumped Vincent on the back. The slight grimace on Vincent's face suggested it hurt.

'So that's what he meant by talking back... What a nasty old man.'

Somehow, I could guess who had influenced Vincent to tease me the moment he met me.

Thinking I might save him, I gave Douglas a little laugh and spoke.

"Family Head. Could you put me down for a moment?"

"Hmm? Do you dislike being in my arms?"

"Of course not. But it's difficult to take out your present while I'm like this."

Douglas's eyes widened slightly.

"A present...? I only said that as a joke. You really prepared one?"

"Yes, I did."

I hadn't stepped into this place without thinking, after all.

It was common knowledge throughout the country that Douglas was obsessed with treasures. I'd heard about it myself long ago, so I'd made preparations of my own.

A Pygmy made specifically for toys, crafted during the more-than-seventeen-hour flight without sleeping once.

'Let's earn some points so I don't have a bad influence on the old man.'

That was what had prompted me to do this.

"Hmm..."

Douglas lowered me to the floor with a curious expression.

I opened my mouth without delay.

"Bring out one Intermediate Pygmy Summoner."

Ding-

[Intermediate Pygmy Summoner (1) is being summoned.]

As the yellow message window appeared, a masked Pygmy emerged.

This time, it sprang from my palm rather than from a ring.

It was a wooden doll about the size of a goblin, with the edge of its mask reaching roughly to my shoulder.

The moment it appeared, it channeled power through the staff in its hand and lifted me smoothly into the air.

Douglas slightly parted his lips at the sight, and I asked proudly,

"Hehe... What do you think?"

"Oh... Astonishing. Though I can do many things others cannot, I have no summoning ability. Are you truly giving this to me?"

I gave him an ambiguous smile.

"Unfortunately, its owner cannot be changed. But after experimenting on Big Brother Vincent, I found that it can be stored in an item containing another person's mana."

"What?"

At my words, Vincent's brow furrowed. His eyes began to smolder, vehemently insisting, 'This is something I never heard about.'

'Hehe, serves you right for sleeping through it.'

I'd only vented my desire to chat through an experiment. Vincent shouldn't have left me alone while I was excited about newfangled technology in the first place.

When I grinned at him, he stared blankly at his middle finger.

A ring-shaped item radiating mana was sitting there.

"Don't tell me..."

"That's right, Big Brother."

"You...!"

"It was for the Family Head."

At that, Vincent's mouth closed.

He only smiled brightly without saying a word. I was a little worried about what might happen later, but I decided to think about that when the time came.

While our eyes met, Douglas lifted the Pygmy by its torso with one hand. He examined it from every angle with a fascinated expression, then asked me,

"Hmm... But what can this thing do?"

"As you saw, it has telekinetic magic. It also seems to have a skill that puts enemies to sleep. When I tried it once, I felt extremely relaxed."

"Without falling asleep?"

"That's right. It seems to be a phenomenon caused by the difference in mana."

Douglas's mouth opened in an impressed 'Oh-ho.' Then, with a face full of anticipation, he ordered me to demonstrate the technique, and I told the Pygmy Summoner to obey his command.

The experiment was a success. When the Pygmy used sleep magic, a look of comfort settled over Douglas's face. I had worried that the effect might be negligible because he was S-rank, but it seemed not to matter much when the target had no will to resist.

Afterward, Douglas brought over some kind of statue and asked, 'Put it in here.' But then,

Swoosh-!

"Hmm?"

Before I could say anything, the Pygmy was sucked into the statue.

Apparently, the instruction to 'obey the Family Head's commands' had been interpreted exactly as I'd intended.

Douglas was delighted and repeatedly put it in and took it back out.

He couldn't take his eyes off it, as though he was quite taken with his first summoned creature.

"Family Head. I think the child is getting a little confused. Could you give it some time to rest?"

I took hold of Douglas's hand as he laughed heartily and said this.

I had felt the stress the Pygmy was receiving from being moved back and forth repeatedly.

He stared at the Pygmy for a moment, then silently put it back inside the statue.

"Family Head, you promise, right? That you won't overwork the child?"

"There, there, all right. ......But there's something I'm curious about."

"Please, go ahead."

"What made you think of giving me something like this?"

"Hmm...?"

My eyes widened as I was left speechless.

It was an unexpected question. I'd assumed he would simply drool over the present, and of course ask about something related to my identity.

But for that fascinating expression to produce a question about the reason for the gift... No matter how I thought about it, that wasn't a normal person's reaction, was it?

I spoke haltingly.

"Well...... I didn't come here to be a burden. I've already received so much help from 'Douglas Kim' through everything I've been through, so I wanted to offer at least a small token of gratitude."

"Hmm. Now that you're a member of this family, isn't that only natural? You don't happen to want something from me in return, do you?"

"That would be a thief's way of thinking. I don't want to bring shame upon Ambassador Lee Chang-jin, who recommended me."

"Heh heh."

Douglas sat down in the chair behind him. Crossing his legs, he stroked his chin and began staring intently at me.

After pondering something deeply, he soon smiled meaningfully and spoke.

"Raebi."

"Yes, Family Head."

"You are 'Douglas Kim.' Whatever secret you may be carrying means nothing to me. Even if someone were to slander you, the family would move against them. Do you understand?"

"......I know that well."

He was the sort of man who would even make an enemy of the Korean government if someone touched what was his.

'Douglas Kim' was certainly greedy enough to do that.

When I nodded in agreement, Douglas bent down slightly and brought his face closer to mine.

"Good. So the question I'm about to ask doesn't have any other meaning. I'm simply curious."

"Ah... Yes."

"How old are you?"

How old...?

How should I answer?

I began thinking.

Clearly, the memories of my past life belonged to a man in his mid-twenties.

But when I thought about it, a question flashed through my mind: 'Am I really in my twenties?'

After all, an ordinary man in his twenties wouldn't shed tears just because someone had yelled at him.

Nor would he have sulked because he felt hurt by something the other person had done without malicious intent.

I had the knowledge and common sense of someone in his twenties, but

I was in a situation where I cried and threw tantrums like a ten-year-old girl.

'Knowledge' and 'emotion' were creating a strange dissonance. What answer was I supposed to give here?

'Come forth, my age! Hup!'

"Eighteen cycles. In Earth years, I'm ten..."

"Hmm... I don't know what a cycle is, but that means you're ten, right?"

......Huh?

The answer had slipped out naturally.

Even though I'd said it myself, I was startled and opened my eyes wide. Douglas also looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Ah, it's nothing."

For now, I laughed it off. I didn't know what had happened, but the answer I'd just given had clearly been my own choice.

'......The choice was mine.'

I had simply wanted to answer that way all of a sudden.

Afterward, Douglas gave me a few instructions and ordered me to return to the annex.

He probably wanted to talk more, but since I couldn't control my expression, it felt as though he was sending me away early.

I thanked him, then left with Vincent.

"I have to say, you're lucky... He told you to measure your mana however you want."

"Is that a good thing? What do you think, Big Brother? Should I strengthen my nails before the measurement?"

On the way back, I asked Vincent, who was looking at me with an envious expression.

Douglas had told me not to worry about Lee Chang-jin's original plan and to receive a new rank.

Since my physical abilities had already been enhanced, there was no way I'd get E-rank. The reason Lee Chang-jin had insisted on E-rank in the first place was simply to make things easier for himself.

Vincent folded his arms and answered,

"If I were you, I'd take a low rank. That way, training at the academy would be easier, and more importantly, it would make things more fun when you went wandering around outside."

"......That sounds like something you'd say, Big Brother."

So in the end, it didn't really matter, I suppose.

Fair enough. Douglas Kim could arbitrarily behead even government employees, so of course it wouldn't matter to him.

"Are there any other cases like mine?"

"Of course. There are transformation-type ability users, aren't there? Most commoners are forcibly measured at the higher rank, but nobles are generally given freedom."

"You know a lot about commoners, Big Brother."

"......"

He smiled without a word.

......Could this be the twist where he was originally from a commoner family?

"Anyway, the academy starts in a week. The measurement has to be done at least three days beforehand, so decide before then."

"Huh? That's sooner than I expected! Understood!"

***

"Lady Raebi. Here are your invitations."

As soon as I returned to my room, Kang Hana held out several letters to me. I tilted my head and spoke.

"Hmm...? Why are there so many invitations? I shouldn't have anyone sending these to me."

"Most of them are from the nobles in this annex, 'Thebes.' Apparently, word has already spread far and wide that you met with Mr. Vincent."

......Were they my fellow adoptees?

But Vincent?

"Why Big Brother Vincent? Is there something special about him?"

Kang Hana's eyes widened dramatically. Then she blinked and began speaking in an awkward voice.

"Mr. Vin...cent is one of the candidates for the next family head. You didn't know?"

'.......'

I didn't.

But I could more or less guess what was going on. Vincent must have held a better position in Douglas Kim than I'd expected.

I quietly accepted the letters from Kang Hana and began reading them one by one.

Roy, McKinsey, Iliana, Gale, and so on. Most were simply invitations to meet and exchange greetings.

They were my seniors, so I couldn't refuse, could I?

"I'm, uh, quite busy, aren't I? Hehe."

"This is a very unusual case. Normally, the etiquette would be for you to invite them, Lady Raebi."

"Really...? Then, once I'm ready, could I invite them myself...?"

"You can. Shall I reply that way?"

"Please do."

"Understood. However, from next time onward, you'll need to practice your handwriting and write them yourself, Lady Raebi."

...Ugh. I'm going to pull my hair out.

"Phew... Understood."

My head drooped.

Beside me, Han Jihye slowly raised an eyebrow. By now, I could predict what she was going to say just by looking at her eyes.

"......Lady Raebi."

"I'm sorry. Anyway, this is the last one now. Let's see..."

......!

"Big Sister April...?"

I froze at the name of the sender. It was the woman who had said we'd see each other at the welcome party tonight.

But why was she suddenly sending me an invitation?

I began to get a bad feeling about this.

"Lady April delivered the invitation personally. She also left a message telling you to read it as soon as you saw it."

"Personally..."

I cautiously unfolded the letter. As befitted her, it had an unusually luxurious texture.

Rustle-

「To. My lovely youngest.」

-----------------------------

You're quite something.

How could you play a prank on a noble you'd just met?

I won't say much, so come see me with an apology gift I can accept.

If you want your precious ambassador to remain safe.

-----------------------------

From. April Lee.

-----------------------------

......Crack!"'Haha. I'm screwed.'