Esteban had a secret worry. It was about the way Mabel addressed him. When she was just learning to speak, she used to call him 'papa.' So he naturally believed without a doubt that the next step would be 'dad.' But to his surprise,
It was 'father' instead of 'dad.'
‘Why did she skip right to the next step?’
Esteban was shocked. But it was such a trivial concern that he couldn't bring himself to talk to anyone about it, so he kept it to himself. Even Oscar, who had called Esteban 'dad' since he was young, couldn't understand why Mabel called him 'father.' Esteban subtly tried to teach Mabel to call him 'dad' whenever he was in front of her, hoping that one day she would call him 'dad.' But that day never came. He couldn't force his beloved daughter to call him 'dad,' so he eventually gave up. Then,
As soon as his beloved child, who had been in a coma for a month, woke up, she finally called him 'dad.'
Esteban clenched his fist and hit his shoulder. It hurt. It wasn't a dream. *** The news that the emperor had awakened spread through the palace in an instant. It was a rare piece of good news after nearly a month of unconsciousness. People who had been tense and anxious finally breathed a sigh of relief. The royal physicians, in particular, were visibly relieved.
“Congratulations on saving his life.”
“We should raise a toast today!”
The expressions of the ministers, who had been attending meetings without the emperor, also brightened.
“Did you hear? The emperor has finally awakened!”
“I'm relieved. I was so worried about when he would wake up...”
“Now I can sleep soundly! Hehehe.”
Oscar, who had been practicing swordsmanship with a blank expression all day, dropped his sword when he heard that Mabel had awakened.
He wanted to see Mabel right away, but he held back.
‘I don't deserve to see Mabel.’
He had promised to protect her but failed to do anything. In the end, it was Mabel who saved the emperor from danger.
‘What a useless older brother.’
Oscar laughed bitterly and raised his sword again. The only thing he could do now was to grow stronger to protect someone. On the other hand, there was someone who was walking around the palace with a beaming face, causing shock, confusion, and fear. It was Emperor Esteban.
“The weather is nice today, isn't it?”
Gustav, who received this sudden question, glanced at the cloudy sky and then bowed his head.
‘If the emperor says the weather is nice, then it is nice.’
At that moment, it started raining.
‘...If he likes the rain, then it's nice weather!’
Unaware of Gustav's self-justification, Esteban walked with a light and cheerful step. He planned to spend some quality time with Mabel after finishing his work. As they were walking down the corridor, Esteban called out to Gustav in a low voice.
“Actually, Mabel called me 'dad.'”
Gustav finally understood why Esteban was so elated.
‘She used to call him 'father.'’
Esteban stopped and put on a serious expression.
Gustav's expression also turned serious. He wondered what could be so serious.
‘Is it about the divine name?’
The condition for sending a priest from Abellard to awaken Mabel was to officially recognize the divine name 'Winter' in her name. Esteban had accepted this condition without hesitation. Gustav nodded.
“Indeed, it would have been better to think more about the divine name before making a decision—.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I can just sweep away Abellard. I only pretended to agree to their demands.”
‘Did I just hear something incredible?’
Shocked, Gustav listened as Esteban calmly explained his worry.
“I can't decide. Should I choose the Sinoria Peninsula or the Felicitar Winter Palace?”
“...You can't be serious.”
Gustav was speechless. After giving away all the personal reports and various villas, even a principality, he was now considering a peninsula and a palace. He decided to just go along with it.
“Right? That's what I thought.”
It seemed his overindulgence had gotten worse. *** It felt surreal that he had been asleep for over a month after the attack.
‘Did my hair grow a bit? I seem a bit taller too...’
But there was a more important issue. The change in divine power. I vaguely remembered using divine power to heal the emperor, which seemed to have triggered the latent divine power to surge to a level I could feel.
“Hmm. It seems like a lot.”
I would need to practice with Yang to get the exact measurements. I also needed to think about the sudden manifestation of healing abilities.
My head was a mess with all these thoughts. I curled up, feeling distressed. After hiding my ability to communicate with nature, it suddenly manifested as a healing ability! All my efforts to appear as a powerless baby were in vain.
‘Of course, I did save the emperor with that ability...’
If I were to go back in time and the same situation happened again, I would still heal the emperor. That choice would never change. I lay down and stretched out my limbs.
This second life given to me. Until now, I had been avoiding reality. I had been buried in past wounds and pretended not to see the sincerity of my new family, treating them like strangers. I had made every effort not to get too involved. But now I understood.
Yun Gyeul was already dead. I was Mabel now. The abusive and neglectful father was gone. Instead, the emperor and Oscar loved me unconditionally.
‘I won't think about leaving anymore.’
I wanted to live an ordinary life within the safety of a real family. But there was one big problem...
“It's the throne, isn't it?”
It was absurd for someone as clueless as me to be on the throne. Therefore, my belief in abdication remained unchanged.
While having very solid and productive thoughts about the future, I sensed someone outside the door. As soon as the door opened, I saw the emperor's face.
I almost called him 'father' out of habit but quickly corrected myself. Gustav, who followed the emperor, repeated my words.
‘Just pretend you didn't hear that.’
The emperor, who usually chuckled when he saw me, was smiling even more today as he approached with open arms.
“The most lovely and adorable Mabel in the world. Did you sleep well?”
‘What a lot of adjectives...’
I nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.
The emperor picked me up and cradled me, gently stroking my head.
“You answered well. Mabel, you must be the best baby at answering in the world. Yes, that's right.”
‘It seems his silliness has gotten worse than a month ago.’
I tried to convince myself that it was because he had just woken up after nearly a month and pulled on his sleeve.
“The small fingers pulling on the sleeve are so cute. The cutest fingers in the world—.”
I cut off the emperor's endless silliness.
The emperor's eyes widened. I was also surprised by his reaction.
‘Does he dislike being called 'dad'?’
Now that I think about it, his reaction when I called him 'dad' upon waking up wasn't quite right. He had suddenly hit his shoulder and rushed out. I called the emperor by his usual title.
Seeing his emotional face, I realized I had been mistaken. He was surprised because he was happy, not because he disliked it.
‘...Now I can see. That you care for me.’
Before, it was just a burden, but now it was overwhelming. I didn't know how to reciprocate the love I had never received. So I awkwardly hugged the emperor, no, Dad. His body tensed up.
“Thank you for taking care of me.” (Thank you for nursing me.)
Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick. Thank you for not leaving me alone. I'm sorry for being such a bad daughter. I was talking about the summer when I first fell ill, but Dad seemed to be thinking about when I collapsed this time.
“It's nothing. I just did what was natural.”
“Why are you so grateful and kind, Mabel?”
If he knew what I would do in the future, he wouldn't call me kind. I briefly considered staying a good daughter, but decided against it.
‘He would say it's all fine no matter what I do.’
To live a comfortable second life, there were