“Ah, Dad…?”

Startled at the unconscious words that slipped out, I clamped my mouth shut.

Not Mama or Mommy, but Dad?

Wasn’t this a slightly embarrassing term to use in such a formal place?

Lowering my head with slightly flushed cheeks, a dispassionate voice spoke from above.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

Huh, isn’t he angry?

When I cautiously looked up,

I caught a glimpse of one side of Dad’s lips twitching very slightly.

‘Huh? Why is his expression like that?’

His face, including his eyes, was filled with the same hard and dry aura as last time.

However, his lips were quivering uncontrollably as if he couldn’t control them, which looked a bit strange.

“I thought you still hadn’t been weaned off diapers, but you’re better than I thought.”

…Excuse me, Father?

I’m not completely weaned off diapers yet.

‘Is he mocking me in a roundabout way?!’

I thought he might be pleased because I called him “Dad” for the first time, but

looking at his unique cold tone and the lack of warmth on his face, it seemed that he just wanted to taunt me.

“The First Prince, who participated in the expedition, and the Second Prince’s palace have received a considerable amount of spoils. Although the Rose Palace is closed, something should go to the youngest Princess to be fair.”

As if it had always been the case, my father, with an indifferent expression, gestured to the back, and a surprising scene unfolded.

Guards in military attire dragged a boy over and threw him down in front of the chair I was sitting in.

“Ugh…”

The boy, tossed around like an object by the soldiers, let out a small trembling moan.

Looking at the large and small wounds all over his body, his health didn’t seem to be in good condition.

‘Is this supposed to be a spoil for me?’

I inspected the boy, who was struggling to get up, with a bewildered expression.

In the banquet hall filled with brilliant colors and floral scents, the boy’s presence was utterly alien.

He wore ragged prisoner’s clothing, shackles on his hands and feet, and emitted a foul and nauseating smell.

Most people frowned at the boy’s pathetic appearance or covered their noses with fans, but some were surprised and reacted differently.

“Look at those eyes. Black hair with golden eyes, could it be…”

“A living elixir, a rare species, a Venian?”

Buzz, buzz.

Perhaps conscious of my father, people quietly murmuring from a distance began to flock around the boy.

As the number of eager and greedy eyes mixed with curiosity increased, Sione, who had been silently watching, stepped forward through the crowd.

“Everyone, please step back. I’ll take a look.”

She reached out and touched the boy’s forehead.

The boy tensely furrowed his brow but didn’t resist much, seeming to understand that there was no hostile intent.

“This is… truly amazing. My master was right.”

As Sione removed her hand with a surprised expression, my father muttered, as if mocking her.

“You were the one who moved Elga, after all, Sione.”

“…I apologize.”

“I only had a debt to settle with her. Make sure you understand that I had no other intentions this time.”

Elga must be Sione’s master’s name, right?

‘Was there some sort of silent trade agreement I didn’t know about…?’

Lately, Sione has been collaborating with her master to research a solution for my mana depletion.

I had heard that, since she couldn’t visit her master often, they mostly communicated through magic circles.

Could this boy possibly be the key to solving my mana depletion?

Lost in thought as I alternated my gaze between Sione and the boy, my father had already turned his back and was leaving through the passage reserved for the royal family.
‘No, is this all after not seeing each other for so long?’

My precious daughter has grown up to be so adorable and charming!!

He didn’t even hold her once, let alone call her by her name, just turned away.

He’s really heartless, utterly heartless.

‘Ah, it’s my fault for expecting even a little from him.’

Expecting warmth of blood from such a cold person is unreasonable from the beginning.

Perhaps my lips twitched strangely earlier, or something about my flamboyant appearance seemed ridiculous.

“Thione, I want to go home. I don’t like it here.”

“Will you?”

With her cheeks puffed in annoyance, she suddenly jumped out of her chair.

It was then that she made eye contact for the first time with the boy with the gloomy expression, who had golden eyes.

‘A rare species, called Benian, wasn’t it…?’

I’m not entirely sure since I only read a few lines about it in a book in my past life, but I remember it being said that some of the children born between demons and humans have golden eyes.

However, the book I read didn’t contain much information besides the fact that they have a lifespan similar to humans, and while they can’t use magic, they possess great strength and brute force.

So the comment someone whispered earlier about him being ‘a living potion’ was also completely new to me.

‘I’ll find out more when I take him to the palace.’