Chapter 44

A few days passed. The second and third tests with the hair have been completed.

I sat still for a while looking at the test results alone in the lab. 

The degree of agreement was high enough that the second and third were almost ideal. For the first time in 5 years, a person who passed the third inspection came out.

“Hans Smith… Mary Smith…” I bit my nails and muttered.

It was extremely rare to pass until the third round. Viscount Perelman has also searched all over the continent, but it was said that only five people passed until the third inspection.

Even then, two were found to be distant relatives of Viscount Perelman’s or his wife after several tests.

“It’s not over yet.”

All the tests that can be done with hair have been completed, but there was a more complicated process in the future. Now we had to measure the similarity of mana.

There must be a condition that neither of them uses magic items for more than 10 days, in case the other’s magic power will be transferred. The mana test itself took quite a long time, but it was the first time I had come to this stage.

I felt like I was feeling restless all the time.

The rumor that the butcher and I, who suddenly came one day, even matched the third paternity test, spread throughout the castle.

Everyone noticed my expression which somehow looked stiff even though I didn’t want to show it.

“Lise.” The Duchess called me.

The teatime snacks were as fancy as they always have been, but these days, tea foods that could really move the soul have begun to emerge.

I overheard the maids, saying that the budget allocated to the kitchen had doubled.

“If that person is really your father… What would you do?”

“I will continue to live as a doctor anyway.”

I drank tea casually.

I have no intention of leaving until Erhan healthily inherits the duchy.

Anyway, there was less than a year left until the rebellion, and if Frederick and Baron Ishid did not occupy this estate until then, it was highly likely that they would die at the hands of the crown prince who pummelled the rebels in a lightning speed.

It was good to slowly take time like this.

“But it’s true that I’ve been curious and missed my family.”

It would be nice to live with my family after keeping this estate safe.

Though only an assistant in name, I almost lived here as a doctor, so I thought it would be also fine to live as a commoner with an ordinary family after she reaches adulthood.

I knew that it was only thanks to the one-sided favors of the Duchess and Viscount Perelman, that I got to live comfortably like a noble lady.

Anyway, I am a commoner, and I couldn’t be a nobleman.

Nobles originally do not even step the boundary or places used by commoners.

When I opened a clinic in the old days, it was only because of the ‘debutante ball’ that aristocratic young ladies, who I came to know through gossip, would come to secretly receive prescriptions for cosmetic purposes.

I didn’t know much about that “debutante ball”, but I knew it was a different world from me anyway.

Although life in the Duchy was comfortable, it was also true that it was difficult to truly have a sense of belonging.

“In the end, I’m going to settle down in the village of Rivello. I want to experience normal family life.”

The Duchess sighed at my words.

“Yeah… Well, that’s right…”

The Duchess gave an uncharacteristically anxious expression, wondering what to do, then said.

“Isn’t there a lot of work? Viscount Perelman is always out of town, it’s hard to study or examine my body, right? Would you like to have an assistant?”

“What? An assistant to Viscount Perelman’s assistant? What position is that? I’m okay.”

I shook my head with a smile, but the Duchess firmly said.

“No, we’ve relied too much on you since you were a child. It must have been tough.”

“That’s because I have the ability to do that…”

“I’ll give you an assistant even if you don’t want to, Lise.”

Urgentness was expressed in the tone of the Duchess.

“Even if you settle down in the village of Rivello, I’ll pay you as much as I want, and I’ll provide you with a private carriage.”

“What? What do you mean…”

“Would you remain as an attending doctor here if you can freely travel?”

“Uh…”

It seemed a little strange to me.

Viscount Perelman and I would mostly be outside the Duke’s Castle, and you’re still hiring us as the Main Physician?

But even that way, the Duchess’ expression was desperate, trying to hold onto me.

“I’ll think about it.”

I replied with a smile. The paternity test was still not over anyway.

 

***

 

However, the Duchess was so meticulous that the next day, she began recruiting Perelman’s assistant’s assistant.

In just three days, I was able to receive a list of three talented talents who passed the interview with Diel.

“I really don’t need anything like this…”

They even went through a knowledge interview, so they were all older than me. As I looked at the list, thinking that I had to say no, I took a breath.

“What, what is it?”

There was a familiar name on the list.

[Aaron Krillso, 19, male]

He was the one stuck next to Frederick when I treated the commoners who were forced to join rebels under Frederick’s orders.

‘Wait a moment. This name… It’s come from Baron Ishid.’

Memories before the return came to mind, and it seemed like a lightning bolt hit my head. All this couldn’t have been accidental.

It was clear the intention of anticipating my absence, or planning my absence and then pushing this one in.

So he must have put it in as if he had waited for an urgent announcement by the Duchess to select the assistant of Perelman’s own assistant.

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In other words, Baron Ishid was finally moving.

‘You finally started working on it when you knew he was coming.’

I slammed the list down on the desk. After the paternity test, I felt a sudden return to my dazed mind.

From the moment I received the cherry basket, my head, which had been slightly stopped, quickly turned. The speed of the strange rumbling over the past few days quickly subsided.

‘You’re crazy, Lise Estelle.’

It seemed like cold water was poured all over me.

‘No matter how thrilled I was to find my biological parents, I was being scammed like this…’

After secretly biting my lower lip, I said, smiling brightly at Esther, who was standing by.

“I want to pick this one.”

Esther nodded loudly as I chose a name from the list.

“Oh, I also felt good about him.”

“…I see.”

Esther opened her eyes wide when I answered while gritting my teeth.

“What?”

“No, nothing.”

How dare you touch me? And use the only thing I’m desperate for?

“Aaron Krillso.”

I looked straight into Esther’s eyes.

“Please tell him to pick this man, Esther.”

As much as I was excited, I didn’t think of forgiving.

‘I’m really angry. You’ll see.’

 

***

 

I’ve been stuck in the lab for another few days.

I spent every day looking into the claws of the dragon that Diel got me. Hans was called back after quite a while.

Again, just like last time, it was a pretty wealthy commoner middle-aged man wearing a neat shirt. Brown hair was barely attached to the end of his striped head.

“I heard that the hair test has passed.”

He again brought a basket full of cherries. I was given a basket with a cool expression.

“And this is… A letter with a handkerchief handwritten by my eldest daughter, Len.”

The handkerchief was my favorite color, yellow, and embroidered with the name “Mary Smith.”

When I opened the letter right away and read it, it was written in various ways that every day after I was washed down the river was like hell. It was a duke’s castle, so she couldn’t go to meet me.

In the end, the letter ended with tearful words saying that she had never forgotten the youngest, and still loved me.

“This is a walnut pie that my wife, who is currently bedridden, has struggled and made herself.”

“…I see.”

“She really wanted to come with me when I heard we passed the hair test, but her health itself is very precarious. Before she dies, she prays to see her youngest daughter one more time.”

Hans wiped away his tears.

“Oh, my God, what to do…”

Esther swallowed her breath and whispered. I spoke coldly with my eyes down.

“There’s no guarantee that I’m your real daughter yet. The last test is much more complicated and time-consuming.”

“Still…”

Hans sniffed and smiled.

“I’ve heard that it’s almost 90 percent if you pass the mana test.”

“That’s true. I’ll check the match quickly.”

Diel brought the Mana Test Stone to the parlor.

In the parlor, besides Diel and a few servants, the Duchess, who seemed particularly nervous, Esther, whose eyes were shining, and Joaquin, the commander of the Knights, were with them.

Hearing rumors that he had passed all three stages of the hair test, the Duchess had said that she would see Hans with her own eyes a few days ago.

“If he’s just a bastard… If he’s just an asshole who demands some money for giving birth to you… He doesn’t have the right to take you.”

She has been mumbling nervously over the past few days.

“No, if it’s an impoverished family… No, you still have to show some filial pity… However…”

I’ve heard a lot of similar monologues from her these days, but I’m not interested to hear the end of the sentences, so I pretended not to hear them.

However, I invited her to see the test together. Instead, she emphasized that Hans is also an outsider, so I had to be sure to bring an escort and several servants.

Hans and I touched the magic stone at the same time, and the magical testimony immediately shone brightly.

“…Oh, my God.”

The Duchess blinked and lamented.

The shining Mana Test Stone meant that the Mana Consistency was high. In other words, the conditions for moving on to the next mana test were met.

In fact, it was really rare to get through here. Even if they were not biological parents, they were likely to be relatives of their sixth cousins.

Tears welled up in Hans’ eyes.

“Mary…”

The Duchess held her breath and said nothing. No one would think that Hans is an irresponsible father just by looking at him.

But neither was Hans a typical father or “civilian who lives well and sincerely.”

Diel also looked at Hans alternately with an emotional expression and said blankly.

“Then we’ll do the mana collection for the next test. Both of you roll up your sleeves. And…”

In an atmosphere where everyone held their breath, I stopped Diel from talking.

“Wait a minute.”