Chapter 10

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Powerfully Hidden Child is Looking for Her Dad 109

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"Here, this is the address."

Tiye's eyes widened round as she took the paper Adelin held out.

Written on it were the words 'Roseworbel Street, No. 89'.

"It's currently in my name, but I plan to transfer it to you, Miss Tiye, as soon as I hire a new financial officer. So before you leave, could you just leave your mercenary identification number?"

Everyone froze in stunned silence at the sudden turn of events.

But soon, Nordics stepped forward, furrowing his brow.

"Roseworbel Street—isn't that the noble district?"

Adelin nodded.

"Yes. Truth be told, I was looking for somewhere quieter, but this was the property Her Highness the Princess recommended at the time..."

She recalled the capital's layout.

Towers piercing the sky and domes gilded in gold.

The imperial palace, which everyone looked up to, stood at the heart of the city where dozens of roads converged.

The noble district unfolded beyond the vast central square encircling the palace.

It was a place where only the wealthiest and most influential nobles of the capital resided.

Broad avenues, roadside trees lining the way.

Townhouses spaced generously apart, family crests fluttering in the breeze.

The bargain property Adelin had snapped up was, ironically, an old mansion right in the heart of that street.

"It was originally a residence owned by Her Highness. When she heard I was looking for a townhouse and was about to dispose of it, she handed it over for half the market price."

Of course, even half price was an enormous sum.

But Adelin had paid it off without strain.

She'd received a generous salary while working under the princess and hadn't spent it elsewhere.

"You'll see when you look at it. It's a perfect building to use as a base."

Yet Nordics still seemed hesitant about something.

That's when Veil asked in disbelief.

"So... you're just giving that mansion to our little one?"

Adelin laughed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"What, you think I'm going to charge you for it?"

"No, but still."

"You all... gave me back my hometown."

Adelin's eyes reddened slightly.

She sat on the edge of the bed where Tiye was sitting.

Gently brushing back Astie's fallen hair behind her ear, she continued.

"...Thanks to you, Miss Tiye, I was able to have that final goodbye with my mother that I thought I'd never get."

Tears welled up in Adelin's eyes again.

With a faint smile, she added.

"Before coming up here, I did a little research on Agaveert."

Agaveert was a brand-new mercenary corps.

One with fewer than ten members.

Adelin had been speechless for a while after reading about their leader, the Division Commander.

A grand sorcerer who summoned the dead and wielded necromancy freely.

Unknown identity, but rumors even said he wandered about in the form of a child.

Adelin had put two and two together about Astie's situation the moment she read that far.

She said,

"...I owe you a huge debt, Tiye."

She recalled the child collapsing pale-faced after making it possible for her to meet her mother.

"I thought I'd never see my mother again."

The last image of Stasia in Adelin's memory had been frozen on the day she left home.

So Adelin had wondered if Stasia might resent her.

"I was... so pathetic."

She'd pretended to be fine, but she wasn't.

The guilt of surviving alone after sending her mother away like that tormented her every night.

"I couldn't fully abandon the village, but I couldn't take back what Reginald had stolen either..."

Lately, Adelin had been slowly giving up on everything.

The lives of the territory's people were pure suffering, and Caldenbine-Ridge was rotting away.

Then Agaveert had appeared.

And they had shown her—a wanderer lost at sea—a solid shore where she could anchor.

Adelin gripped Tiye's hand tightly.

"I'm sorry this is all I can do."

Hot tears traced down her smiling cheeks.

But these were no longer tears of despair or sorrow.

They were tears of relief and hope, stepping forward beyond the past.

A faint smile spread across Tiye's lips.

The child rose and warmly hugged Adelin's neck.

"Sister, come to Tiye's house too!"

Adelin froze.

Tiye patted her back soothingly.

"Come make Tiye orange juice again!"

Why was that?

Suddenly, the moment of her mana depletion flashed through Tiye's mind.

'Back then, it felt just like...'

To Tiye, the sight of Adelin and Stasia finally reunited looked just like her and her dad.

That's why she couldn't hold back the strength pouring out of her body.

She wanted those two to have even a little more time.

Even one more second together.

'I did the right thing.'

And now, Tiye felt her chest swelling with emotion.

The child hugged Adelin even tighter.

Adelin had reclaimed her hometown.

She'd gotten back a home where she could live her whole life.

Now, the people of Caldenbine-Ridge wouldn't suffer anymore either.

"Whenever you miss this place, come visit anytime?"

Adelin pulled away from Tiye.

Her face was flushed from all the crying.

But the smile on her lips was clearer than ever.

"You'll be shocked when you come back. The village will be unrecognizable."

"Eek! Then Tiye will go to the pub again to be surprised!"

"Next time, come to the castle instead of the pub. I'll prepare strawberries ahead of time, since you like them."

"Yay, strawberries...!"

The mercenaries burst into laughter at the excited Tiye.

Adelin's chest swelled strangely as she watched them.

'So much to do from here on out.'

It had been ages since she'd laughed like this.

She'd always hidden her true feelings.

Her days ahead would be busy.

She had to interrogate Reginald, decide the fate of the soldiers under him.

Open the castle to treat the sick villagers, devise new plans to help those bankrupted by excessive taxation get back on their feet.

But her heart felt light.

Adelin gazed quietly at Astie before her.

The child had already climbed down from the bed and was begging Raoul for a piggyback ride.

Suddenly, one person came to mind.

'She really loved children too.'

Whenever the princess spotted a child while strolling the square, she'd always stop in her tracks.

Then, with a faint smile, she'd watch until the child disappeared, before asking,

'Adelin. Do you think I could have a family someday too?'

The princess's eyes always held a strange sadness when she asked that.

'Will a day like that come for me someday?'

Adelin fell silent.

And for a while longer, she watched Astie.

More precisely, the child's dimples, prettily dimpling her cheeks every time she smiled.

Three days later.

"Whoa, why are you giving me all this?"

"Shut up and just take it! The kid was sick, wasn't she? When you catch a cold, this herb is just the thing..."

"Veil! Is all the luggage loaded?"

The Agaveert mercenaries moved about busily.

And in an open lot a short distance away.

"...A-hem! Here, take this."

Tiye's eyes went wide at the sudden item thrust before her.

There stood Jen, the pickpocket kid from their first day in the village, scratching the back of his head.