Chapter 24

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Super-Shy Kid is Looking for Dad 121

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‘……I ended up coming inside on impulse.’

Sitting at the parlor table, Selina crossed her arms.

In front of her, the little girl who had just opened the door was making a fuss with a bunch of people who might or might not be family.

“Gerva, Veil bro. Didn’t Tiye say she had to greet the neighbors next door and across the street?”

“What greetings? Everyone in this alley is nobility, y’know?”

“Even if they’re nobles, you gotta greet ’em. That’s why a friend came to visit here.”

“Nah, they hate us over there too. The folks around here get all creeped out when people like us show up at their door and brush off their front steps like tap, tap.”

“……Why brush off the front steps? ’Cause they’re dusty?”

“Sigh, what I’m saying is—”

Selina let out a sigh at the conversation that lacked context, meaning, or value.

Suddenly, all six pairs of eyes turned toward her.

Selina shook her head and lifted her gaze.

“You’ve brought a guest into the parlor, and this is how you act? What kind of rudeness is this?”

Everyone looked flustered at her words.

But soon, the slender, pretty-faced one asked the burly man.

“Uh, hey, Basto. You know noble etiquette or somethin’? Like how to receive guests.”

“No clue.”

“What about you, Raoul? Enzo?”

“In situations like this, it’s proper for everyone but the representative to leave.”

“Representative? What’s that?”

“Well, the actual master of the house, I suppose. Normally it’d be the head of the family, but……”

“We don’t have a head of the family.”

“But we do have a captain, right……?”

All eyes turned to Tiye at once.

As Tiye looked puzzled, Veil spoke up.

“Kiddo. Think you can handle the guest?”

“Huh? Tiye all alone……?”

Veil glanced at Selina, then whispered into Tiye’s ear.

“Yeah. She’s a kid just like you. Just chat with her a bit. We can’t exactly kick her out anyway.”

“But……”

“She’s from next door, and from the way she talks, she ain’t ordinary. She’s nobility. Gotta put on a decent show before sending her off.”

Tiye swallowed hard and stared at Selina again.

Pretty and neat clothes.

Hair neatly tied back without a single stray strand.

And finally, a calm expression and upright posture.

“Alright, we’re heading out then? Come out when you’re done talking, got it?”

With that, the group filed out of the parlor.

Tiye blankly watched Raoul waving as if to say do your best.

Now alone in the parlor with just Tiye and Selina.

After a brief silence, Selina spoke first.

“……I’m Selina Belmore. I live in the front mansion under my mother’s name.”

Tiye nodded hurriedly.

“Uh-huh!”

“What’s your name, miss?”

But soon enough, she had to make another puzzled face.

She had no idea who this “miss” Selina kept calling was.

But if you don’t know something, the best thing is to ask!

Tiye bravely raised one hand.

“Um, Tiye has a question! Who’s the miss?”

Selina’s brow furrowed.

But Tiye bravely pressed on with her questions.

“Tiye isn’t a miss, Tiye’s Kim Astie. Why keep calling Tiye ‘miss’?”

Selina’s lips parted in呆滞.

But the child quickly collected herself and answered awkwardly.

“‘Miss’ is an honorific formerly used only for daughters of nobles or high-ranking families.”

“Gasp, honorific……”

“But nowadays, it’s used for any noble lady with grace and manners. Like how I’m calling you ‘miss’ out of courtesy.”

Tiye scrunched up her brow.

‘So……’

“Miss” was like the “-nim” suffix used in Korea.

The kind kids like Hyunwoo slapped onto nicknames in games like Spirit Raising Stars or Marvel Craft.

Once she thought of it that way, Selina’s fancy words translated like game chat.

‘You a nim? This mansion’s owner-nim?’

‘Guests are handled by the owner. You came out, so you the owner-nim?’

‘Super Marvel Craft speech……!’

Of course, that wasn’t the point.

‘Here they use “miss” instead of “nim” to be polite!’

Tiye straightened up in her seat.

And said bravely.

“Selina-miss was asking Tiye’s name, huh.”

Selina frowned.

But Tiye beamed and kept going.

“Tiye’s name is Tiye! Originally Kim Astie, but everyone calls Tiye ‘Tiye.’ How old’s Selina-miss?”

Selina unconsciously leaned back a little.

‘What is this, seriously……’

She’d already figured out the kid in front of her wasn’t nobility.

But it wasn’t like she came from some other world all by herself.

How could someone be this clueless about manners?

On top of that, this Tiye kid was using “miss” in the weirdest way.

It was kinda irritating, to the point where it’d be better if she didn’t use it at all.

Of course, Astie had no way of knowing Selina’s thoughts.

“Hey, Tiye’s four years old. Does Selina-miss like fairies by any chance?”

Selina flinched and stiffened as Tiye suddenly stood up.

Tiye ignored it and ran to the coat rack, grabbing her uniform.

Back at the sofa, Tiye proudly thrust the Tanipang embroidery at Selina.

“Here!”

Selina’s furrowed brow relaxed as her lips parted wide.

‘……Wow.’

The fairy in the embroidery was unlike any toy she’d ever seen on the market.

A striking hot pink that jumped right out.

Sparkly eyes and a round face to boot.

Selina hesitantly asked.

“……This is a fairy?”

“Yup!”

Tiye went further and handed the uniform right to Selina.

“Y’know, the painter’s coming in a few nights to draw thirty or forty more Tanipangs in Tiye’s room.”

“……In the bedroom, these fairies?”

“Yup! And Aunt Marshal’s gonna put a ton on Tiye’s clothes too.”

Selina swallowed hard.

Then she examined the embroidered fairy more closely.

“W-Well, then maybe……”

But Selina clamped her mouth shut before she could finish.

‘Almost fell for it.’

She’d nearly asked if they could put one on her favorite loungewear.

But that would’ve been utterly embarrassing.

Especially for a fully grown noble miss of five—er, way past five.

Selina shook herself and hurriedly set Astie’s uniform aside.

“I-I didn’t come to see fairies.”

“Huh? Then?”

“I came because I was curious about the rude neighbors who moved in without even a hello.”

Selina shot up from her seat.

“A-Anyway, now that I’ve heard your name, that’s enough. I have a schedule at the Imperial Academy, so I’ll be going.”

Tiye stared blankly at Selina hurrying out of the parlor.

‘Whoa…… Imperial Academy!’

Selina really seemed like a noble kid.

Neat steps and crisp pronunciation too.

But something felt off.

“Why’s she wandering around alone though……?”

Actually, since last night, the gate outside the garden had been locked tight.

Yet Selina had knocked on the front door.

She’d hopped the fence alone and knocked.

“Doing that without an adult is super dangerous……”

That was when it happened.

“Kiddo! She’s gone! We just pretended not to notice and headed out.”

The group burst back in.

“Captain. What’d that miss say? She looked serious.”

But Tiye couldn’t answer the barrage of questions.

‘Did Selina see Tiye yesterday maybe?’

Did she hop the fence today ’cause she wanted to play with Tiye?

‘But she goes to the academy too, so does Selina have no friends?’

She was lost in thought when—

Ding-a-ling—

A bell hanging on one wall of the parlor rang.

It was the device that chimed when a visitor pulled the cord at the front gate.

Tiye jumped up.

“Selina must be back!”

But when she happily crossed the garden to the gate—

It wasn’t Selina standing there.

“Pardon the intrusion. I’m Leonardo Lumen. I’ve come from the Valentis family to esc……”

“Ehhh? Pigeon Poop Uncle?”

Tiye’s mouth fell open upon seeing him.

The man who’d gotten pooped on in front of the Compensation Bureau.

The one Tiye had lent her handkerchief to—

Was standing there with a fancy carriage and a crowd of people behind him.