"Yes. I put my wish for you to do well on the exam inside. I'll attach it to the inside of your jacket."
With those words, Marin attached the pouch to the inside of my clothes.
I watched Marin's actions.
But...
'Her hand is shaking?'
Marin's hand, as she attached the pouch, was trembling slightly.
Is Marin nervous because of me?
"All done."
Marin, lifting her head, smiled.
I stared intently at Marin's face, then smiled back.
"Thank you, Marin."
Marin's eyes flickered at my words.
"It's, it's nothing. I'm your lady's maid. Ah, let's go now!"
"Okay."
I headed straight to the examination hall with Marin.
The exam was held in an annex far from the main building.
It was said to be the largest building among the annexes, chosen because it could accommodate many people at once and was close to the forest, another examination site.
However, it was far away, so we traveled by carriage.
Clatter, clatter.
The carriage moved smoothly without much shaking.
"Wow..."
Marin, who was in the carriage with me, exclaimed and looked around.
Soon, she turned to me quickly and said.
"This is the first time I've ridden in such a nice carriage! Have you ever ridden in a carriage before, Miss?"
At Marin's question, I nodded and replied.
"I have, but I don't remember it well."
"I see! Then it's practically your first time! Oh, look there, Miss! The grass is shaped like a rabbit!"
Marin quickly lost interest in me and became engrossed in the scenery outside the window again.
I, too, looked out the window, recalling the conversation I had with Marin.
Specifically, I thought about the first time I rode in a carriage.
It was as Marin said.
It was practically my first time.
Because when I first rode in a carriage, I was unconscious.
'The Duke picked me up when I was dying on the street.'
It was a long time ago, but I still remember that day vividly.
People were talking about the heaviest snowfall in 10 years, and I hadn't eaten in over a week.
I was wearing only a thin cloth, and I had no shoes.
At first, my whole body was frozen and felt like it would shatter, but as time passed, I felt nothing at all.
The cold that seemed to freeze my breath, the pain that felt like being cut with a knife, the hunger that burned my insides, and the throbbing headache all disappeared.
At some point, I felt comfortable, and that's how I was dying on the street.
And then.
'...I've finally found you.'
Along with a faint voice, I felt someone's hand picking me up.
His embrace was so warm and firm that I thought I had returned to the arms of God.
Why, isn't that what everyone says?
They say that the dead have returned to the arms of God. That they are finally at peace.
I must have died and been embraced by God. God's embrace is truly comforting.
I struggled to open my eyes and saw the person holding me.
I couldn't see his face well, but his snow-white hair was definitely etched in my mind.
I lost consciousness like that, and when I came to, I heard someone's voice.
Struggling to turn my head, I saw the back of the white-haired man I had last seen.
He said to someone wearing white clothes.
'You must not let her die. You must save her.'
'Yes, Master. I will do my best.'
Master... so that person's name was Master.
God's name was Master.
With that thought, I lost consciousness again.
I was sick for two whole weeks, the doctor later said.
I asked him who 'Master' was, and the doctor looked at me with a strange expression for a moment.
'He is Duke Ego Rodbell, the owner of this family, the one who saved you from the snow, and your father.'
The person who saved me...
Duke Ego Rodbell...
Father... my, father?
'It wasn't God's embrace, it was my father's embrace?'
I vaguely knew what 'father' meant.
But...
'That was my father's embrace?'
I couldn't believe that a person's embrace could be so cozy.
At the same time, overwhelming emotion welled up.
'I have a father too.'
I wanted to go outside and shout.
'I have a family too!'
I felt like I had everything in the world.
I had always admired the children holding their parents' hands and walking on slippery roads from afar.
I was so envious of the hands that held them tight so that their children would not fall.
But now I too had a large hand that embraced me.
'I want to see my father again.'
There were so many things I wanted to say when I saw him again.
How we happened to be separated.
How he found me.
How he knew I was his daughter.
Whether he knew my name.
Whether he knew that I thought he was God.
That it was so warm and cozy that I wanted to sleep in his arms forever.
As the days he didn't come grew longer, the things I wanted to say piled up inside me.
I was also worried.
I don't think I could say all these things in a day.
What if he gets tired of listening to my stories?
But... why isn't he coming?
Even after a month had passed since I woke up, the Duke did not come.
Eventually, I asked the old doctor who was taking care of me.
'When is my father coming?'
At my question, the doctor stared at me silently before quietly leaving the room without answering.
I thought the doctor would come back with an answer.
But after that day, neither my father nor the doctor came.
Something was definitely wrong.
Even if the doctor didn't come, for my father not to come and see me.
'Something must have happened to my father.'
That's the only reason he can't come.
That's all I could think.
At the time, I was really only 9 years old, and it was strange to me no matter how much I thought about it that my father, who had run so far to find me, would not find me again.
So something must have happened to my father, and that's why he couldn't come to me.
So...
'This time, I'll go.'
Just as I was saved, I will help him too.
With that thought alone, I left the detached house where I had been living alone and went in search of my father.
I had watched the doctor come and go through the window, so I followed that path.
I think I walked for quite a while. If it hadn't been a single path, I would have gotten lost a long time ago.
As I walked, it became night, and from then on, I headed in the direction of the lights.
And that's what I saw there.
'Daddy!'
A small, lovely white-haired girl, calling the Duke 'Daddy' and running through the snowy field.
'Come slowly, or you'll get hurt if you fall. No. Daddy will come to you, so stay there...'
'Eep!'
'Oh no! What if you get hurt, doing something so dangerous.'
'Hehe, I was sure Daddy would catch me, so it's okay!'
'Our Miracle knows everything.'
'Of course! I'm Daddy's daughter.'
'Yes, Miracle is my daughter. My beloved daughter.'
'...'
The same white hair and purple eyes as my father.
I could tell at a glance.
That the relationship between the two was 'father and daughter'.
How much those two people loved each other, throwing snowballs, making snowmen, and rolling together in the snowy field.
But it's strange.
'I'm also a daughter...'
Why am I hiding here, watching them?
A desire to be among them arose.
So I took one step, one step, out of the bushes and approached them.
How close did I get?
The moment I reached out and said, 'Father'.
The Duke suddenly snatched Miracle up in his arms.
He was glaring at me with cold eyes.
'Daddy? Who is that kid?'
Miracle, in the Duke's arms, pointed at me and asked.
From that moment, my heart began to pound.
I focused all my attention on the Duke's mouth.
I waited for the words that would come from his mouth.
Soon, his lips parted.
But...
'She's someone you don't need to worry about, Miracle. Now, shall we go inside so you don't catch a cold?'
'Okay...'
As the Duke gently coaxed her, Miracle buried her face in his arms as if she couldn't help but feel sad.
Holding her tightly, the Duke turned his back indifferently and said
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