……Dad’s words touched my heart deeply.

I was bad and immature. I sent those who tried to harm our family’s happiness to hell first.

Even so, Dad says it’s okay for me to be bad. He tells me I deserve to be happy……

Without realizing it, a small word escaped from my mouth.

“……Yeah.”

Dad laughed happily, as if even that word pleased him.

I carefully lowered my tiny hand, about the size of a corn kernel.

I had tried to cover my face with my hand because it was too obvious that Dad would be restless if I cried.

Now I’m confident I won’t cry, I wasn’t moved at all, he’s just our silly Dad, I brainwashed myself.

I won’t cry, I’ll be fine.

“Oh? Our daughter’s eyes……”

“What. Are they ugly?”

They must have become rabbit eyes. But Dad said it was okay even if I had rabbit eyes……

Still, being unattractive and ugly has no value. Dad laughed cheerfully at me as I looked a little anxious.

“They look like a carp. Cute.”

I was about to cover my eyes slightly again, but I stopped and mumbled softly.

“……I’m not a carp. And I’m actually very very bad.”

Dad stroked my head and said softly, but seriously.

“I told you it’s okay to be bad. It’s okay to be a carp too. Anyway, Dad will protect our daughter’s happiness.”

“Mmm……”

“Now say ‘ah’.”

Dad scooped up some cake with a fork and brought it to my mouth. I nodded and opened my mouth wide.

I really tried to chew the cake Dad put in my mouth.

Because the cake was so delicious.

I stopped my body as I was about to chew the whipped cream with my small baby teeth, pretending nothing was wrong.

My heart feels a little strange.

Suddenly, I felt a wave of emotions rushing in quickly, as if someone was beating a big drum in my heart.

With my mouth full of whipped cream about to burst, I called out to Dad softly.

“Dad.”

Was the word “Dad” always this choked up?

Before I could do anything, my eyes burned hot and tears streamed down.

“Sien? Sien, why are you crying?”

“Waaah.”

With the cake still in my mouth, I burst into tears.

I always thought I had to die if I didn’t fulfill my usefulness. I never expected to hear that I didn’t have to do anything, that I just needed to be happy.

The words Dad said to me every day resonated so deeply in my small heart today.

“I hate you, Dad.”

I hated Dad for being so kind to me, for loving me so much. Because it made my heart melt.

Tears dripped from my eyes.

Dad anxiously wiped my eyes gently.

“I’m sorry, Sien. Did Dad do something wrong?”

Apologizing right away even though he did nothing wrong.

I scolded Dad needlessly while shedding tears from my tiny eyes.

“How can you live in this world being so pure? Dummy!”

Next, I wanted to say things like: I love you Dad, I only have you. I really like you the most in the world, Dad. You’re the only Dad I have.

But after saying “dummy,” tears flowed so much that I couldn’t say anything else and just cried loudly.

Dad wiped my tears hurriedly with his fingertips and looked worried. He furrowed his brows and muttered carefully.

“Did Dad say something wrong? I’m sorry, Sien. This is Dad’s first time being a dad too… I’m clumsy.”

Our silly Dad always said things like that when I cried unexpectedly.

As if I was crying because he did something wrong. He really thought that. So foolishly.

Such misunderstandings are not allowed.

Because I love Dad the most in the world.

Because Dad is the best dad in the world.

“No. You didn’t do anything wrong, Dad.”

The touch of his hand patting me as he held me tight was so warm.

I couldn’t help but cry my eyes out until they swelled up like a carp’s.

In the village, every night, Dad whispered softly in my ear when I had nightmares.

Sien, you don’t have to do anything.

You’re my precious daughter just as you are.

Let’s live happily together.

It’s okay to cry. Cry all you want and let it all out.

You don’t have to force yourself to be strong.

Suddenly, I thought I wanted to live happily with Dad forever.

Keeping that feeling in mind, I chewed and swallowed the tear-soaked cake.

***

Today was a pitch-dark night, as if twilight might come.

Maybe because I cried during the day, Dad canceled all his afternoon schedules and stayed by my side.

I gazed at Dad, who had fallen asleep using his arm as my pillow, and became lost in thought.

‘I don’t have time to just cry. I need to become strong.’

After crying it out, my heart became firmer.

It was similar to how the ground hardens after rain.

‘It’s okay. Those bad guys can’t affect my life at all!’

Having dealt with the Director of Education, I was full of confidence.

Now I’ll keep grabbing the villainous Duke’s family in my grasp! And then the Empire!

I made an ambitious expression with my swollen carp eyes.

‘Dad told me to just be happy, but I can’t. To be happy, I first need to survive.’

Perhaps noticing that my eyes were wide open, Dad called out to me in a sleepy voice.

“Sien.”

“Mm?”

Lying down using Dad’s arm as a pillow, I asked languidly.

‘If we slowly build up power like this, we can be happy.’

We just need to gradually expand our influence in this family, little by little.

Until we build up power, without catching anyone’s eye!

But then…

Dad casually muttered, as if in passing.

“Dad has been confirmed as the heir to the family. I’ll become the Viscount and Count of Rochern territory soon.”

Thud.

That was the sound of my tiny heart dropping to the floor.

I bolted upright in bed.

‘Why has our Dad already become the heir?’

This didn’t align with my plan of “slowly building up power and then becoming a great villain.”

“H-how so soon?”

Unlike my flustered state, Dad remained lying down, eyes half-closed as he spoke.

“I went to the Council of Elders recently and persuaded them nicely. Then they told me to become the heir, just like that.”

“H-huh? Really?”

There’s no way the Head of the Council would do that! He’s a complete villain!

That bad guy was clearly trying to make our Dad a puppet.

Unaware of my crumbling mental state, Dad said cheerfully.

“Yes, that’s what they said!”

I hurriedly opened my mouth and asked Dad.

“Why, why did they tell you to be the heir?”

“Ah!”

Gulp.

I looked at Dad, clinging to a faint glimmer of hope.

‘M-maybe, maybe our Dad has some hidden power… So that person recognized Dad’s power?’

Come to think of it, when Dad grew potatoes, they seemed to sprout really well.

Just as I thought this far, I snapped back to reality.

I stared at Dad with wide eyes.

Dad shyly scratched his cheek, with a kind smile on his lips to boot. I clasped my hands tightly in front of my chest, feeling an inexplicable sense of dread.

“Well, the Head of the Council said Dad has such a kind and gentle nature, that it suits the wonderful Duke’s family well.”

That’s a lie.

That’s really…

Nonsense!

I despaired as I processed Dad’s words that he ‘became the heir because he’s kind.’

‘Anyone can see this is a scam… That evil Head of the Council. He must be planning to control our kind Dad like an avatar from behind the scenes…!’

In the original story, the Head of the Council was a cunning villain. It was certain that villain was targeting Dad now.

I was able to deal with the Director of Education I faced today relatively easily because I knew the tricks he always used. But the Head of the Council was a different story, and the Mirmod villains that would appear one by one after that were even more different.

It was barely enough to secretly build up power, but now to take the heir position.

When Axel returns after hearing this news, we’ll soon end up like dead rats.

‘I can see the future where my kind, foolish, silly Dad gets used by the Head of the Council and killed by Axel.’

I gripped Dad tightly with trembling hands.

‘Refusing the heir position would be the easier way to live, but now that there’s talk of making Dad the heir, we can’t back down anymore.’

Even if Dad tried to avoid it now, it was impossible.

Once marked as the heir, even if he gave up or ran away, all sorts of ambitious people in Mirmod would try to kill Dad.

Now the only way was to build up power so Dad could safely become the Duke of Mirmod.

This won’t do.

I’ll have to use all the knowledge I have of the original story to become stronger as quickly as possible!

I stared at Dad intently with fierce eyes.

“Dad, you must become the Duke.”

“Oh, really?”

“I’ll support you!”

“Just hearing that gives me strength, my daughter.”

Dad sat up and peppered my cheeks with kisses.

Normally, I would have giggled and rubbed my cheek against Dad’s stubbly one, but…

Not now.

I’m Sien Mirmod who will become very powerful, so I won’t do such undignified things anymore.

I said solemnly.

“Dad, go train quickly. Don’t forget to spit too.”

“Huh?”

“Say ‘tsk tsk’. Quickly. Say bad words too.”

“Bad… words?”

Dad’s hands started trembling slightly.

He must be flustered at the mention of bad words. How innocent must he be to tremble like that just hearing the words ‘bad words.’

Silly Dad. Wait! I’ll train you to be a bad villain!

“Yeah, say it well!”

“…Okay.”

Dad looked at me with a very tense expression.

I pointed at the air and whispered.

“You, bad guy! XXXXX! Say it.”

Dad’s eyes grew enormously large.

They were so big that if they were black holes, I would have been sucked in. I tilted my head. It was the first time I’d seen such an expression on silly Dad’s face.

“Where did you learn such scary words!”

Dad exclaimed with wide eyes. I pursed my lips and shook my head. I must absolutely not tell where I learned it!

But…

“You answer first! Say ‘bad guy’!”

“What? No. I will absolutely not say such bad words.”

“Why not?”

“Sien, look at Dad’s face.”

Dad was very firm.

“No. I won’t look!”

I shook my head and stared at Dad.

Then Dad narrowed his eyes and said to me.

“What do you mean no, tell me where you learned it.”

“Hmph!”

I absolutely could not answer. Because they were swear words I learned in my past life. How could I say that! Dad should understand my situation too.

I shook my head.

When I didn’t answer, Dad now furrowed his brows and made a pitiful expression. Even I felt a pang in my heart seeing the sorrow on his sculpture-like face.

“My daughter has changed. Keeping secrets from Dad. Saying bad words.”

But I know!

That’s a strategy to gain sympathy and pity!

“Tch! I have lots of secrets! Don’t try to find out!”

Dad staggered with a shocked expression. To the point where I wondered how a person could sway like that even while sitting down when shocked.

I don’t want to imagine what happened after that…

Because Dad lectured me for about an hour after being discouraged by my words!

It was the first time I’d been scolded like this by Dad since I was a tiny baby. Dad practically brainwashed me that ‘you shouldn’t use bad words’ before he left.

‘And he left vowing to track down the people who taught me bad words.’

Even if kind Dad tries to track down people here, he’d probably just scold them a bit and that’s it.

Anyway, thanks to Dad’s discipline, I’m drained now.

Phew, phew. Taking a few long sighs helped me calm down a bit.

‘Dad is really too upright and pure. This is bad, really bad.’

Who would have thought he’d say about a thousand times that ‘spitting is bad behavior, “bad guy” is a swear word and it hurts other people.’

Even after that, Dad left the tower reluctantly, saying there were documents he needed to take over to be reinstated as the family heir.

When our Dad is enthroned as Viscount, it was clear that villains trying to become heirs would swarm in like a pack of dogs.

What should I do about this? I clutched both sides of my head tightly. Until the downy hair was firmly pressed between my fingers.

Seeing me in distress, the maid sisters exchanged glances and whispered.

“Were you wondering whether strawberry cake or chocolate cake would be better for today’s snack?”

No, that’s not it!

To be, or not to be: that is the question!

The five-year-old child’s head felt like it was about to burst.