I'm The Only Granddaughter Of The Strongest Duke
Ch. 14

I wiped off my tears and jumped to my feet. 

I came out from hiding behind my dad's back and jumped in front of him with both arms stretched.

"NO!"

[EVE!]

".....!"

Was it just my illusion?

'Huh?'

I looked up at the old man with a puzzled expression. The old nobleman did not sheathe his sword as I had thought he would.

He had a long sword attached to his waist, but it was still in its scabbard.

Then what was the metal sound I heard earlier?

I wiped off my tears with my sleeves as my mind was filled with confusion. Then I gave my dad a tight hug around the waist. 

"P-Please don't scold my dad....!"

Hugging my dad, I looked up at the old nobleman and let out a tiny whimper. 

I felt like his face turned pale for some reason. 

Was it because a kid popped out of nowhere and got in his way? Or was it because a commoner child raised her voice in front of a noble?

He's a noble, and I am a commoner.

My dad and I knew that the old nobleman might send our heads flying the second we made a mistake. 

If he sent our heads flying, that would be a relief, but if we were not so fortunate, we might be sold into slavery and forced to work for the rest of our lives.

But I couldn't stop talking for some reason. 

I continued sobbing as if I had completely forgotten about the metal sound earlier. 

"Please don't hurt my dad. My dad has done nothing wrong...I apologize on behalf of my dad for calling you 'father-in-law' earlier...hicc..."

"....You."

After looking alternately between me and my dad, he bent down and met me at eye level. 

'Huh?'

I wiped my tear-streaked cheek on my dad's clothes and stared at the old man quizzically. 

The old man slowly stretched his hand to me and asked. 

"You....kid...how old are you this year?"

"...My age?"

Why would you ask me that?

I tightened my embrace on my dad's waist and began speaking after thinking for a while. 

"My name is Eve Royce...I'm eight years old this year."

"......"

The old man was speechless. I could feel my dad calling me urgently and grabbed my body. 

But I didn't want to back down and kept my feet glued to the ground. 

"My lord, you don't have to worry. My mom was a commoner, and my grandfather had passed away. What I'm saying is you can't possibly be his f...father-in-law."

Why is it so hard to pronounce the word father-in-law?

I stuttered a little as a result, but luckily, he seemed to understand what I was saying.

"Dad, you have been mistaken, right?"

I gently tugged my dad's sleeve. He wiped my tears with a troubled expression. 

"Eve...."

"Hmm? Isn't that right, Dad? You made a mistake, didn't you? Hurry up and apologize to him..."

The sadness swept over me at the end of my sentence.

But I didn't cry this time. Crying all the time was only for four-year-olds.

I am eight years old this year!

I have already passed the phase of crying over small things like this.

So I held back my tears. 

At that moment, the old nobleman leaned over me. 

....Why are you coming closer?

Shocked, I wiped my tears and backed away. 

"You....What's your name?"

"E-Eve Royce."

"Eve...?"

The old man who recited my name quietly looked up to my dad. 

Upon sensing the strange shift in the atmosphere, I stopped rubbing my wet cheeks on my dad's clothes and looked between the two. 

At that moment, my dad grabbed my shoulders and gently pushed me in the old man's direction. He then gave a sincere answer.

"Yes. This child is Eve. She is me and Irene's daughter..."

I stood in front of the old man with a face full of bewilderment, and then looked up at my Dad.

Huh?

What do you mean?

Irene is my mom's name!!

[Hey, brat! What the hell is happening?]

Ex was buzzing as he asked me, but I wasn't in my right mind to even answer him.

'She's me and Irene's daughter.'

Why did my Dad.... say that to the old man?

"...Eve."

...Why is this grandpa calling my name so bitterly?

"...Dad?"

My Dad was avoiding my eyes. 

Why did you avoid my eyes?

I rubbed my eyes, forgetting the fact that I had been crying until a little while ago. 

Ouch! 

I rubbed my eyes too hard.

[What a fool.]

I heard Ex tch'ed as if telling me how pathetic I was, but I ignored him. 

At that time, my Dad put his big hand over my head and said, 

"Say hello to your grandfather."

"....Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious..."

"You're not joking with me, right?"

"Why would I joke around about something like this?"

My dad bent his knee to match my eye level. I still looked at him confusedly. 

"Eve, your mom is not a commoner."

His large hand gently wrapped around my hand.

"Then?"

"Didn't I tell you last time that you got your hair color from your mom?"

"Um, yeah. You told me."

How could I forget? 

My Dad was a skilled weaponsmith, but he was poor, so we didn't have money to commission an artist to draw our family portrait like any other nobles. 

Of course, we didn't have my mom's portrait. 

All we had was a poorly drawn portrait that my Dad made as a gift for my mom when he was young. 

Even so, my Dad was really bad at painting, so I could only recognize that my mom had long, golden hair. 

For me, the golden hair that looked just like my mom's was very precious. That was also the very reason why I rejected my Dad's suggestion to dye my hair before I came to the capital. 

"Dad is a commoner, but your mom wasn't. She was the second most noble woman in this empire."

My Dad said as he gently patted my head. 

"Your mom is Astrid Ferdinand, the young duke of the Ferdinand family, and this person is..."

"Ferdinand?"

Are you saying....my mom is a young duke from the Ferdinand family?

Even a country-bumpkin like me knew about the Ferdinand family. 

The Guardian of the Kalixt Empire, the one and only duchy of the Kalixt Empire!

The great swordmaster family who had produced swordmasters from generation to generation!

....But are you saying my mom was the young duke of the Ferdinand family?

"....The man in front of you is Duke Ferdinand. He is your grandfather."

I turned my head stiffly like a broken puppet and stared at the old nobleman.

He was still looking at me with a look of dismay.

I quickly scanned this noble grandfather's appearance. His clothes and the sword fastened on his waist looked so expensive that they couldn't be compared to what I own....

[Hey! Your sword is much more precious!!]

....Anyway, they looked so precious and expensive. 

And when I returned to my senses, I could feel people staring at me and my dad. Countless people were looking in our direction. 

If my Dad is telling the truth about this grandpa being my real grandfather, does that mean the people who are watching us now are Duke Ferdinand's escorts?

I looked blankly at Duke Ferdinand before turning my head back to my Dad.

"Dad!"

"Yes, Eve."

"W-We can't joke around like this. I'm serious. We'll be in big trouble at this rate..."

"No, this isn't a joke."

"...Are you saying this is real?"

My Dad nodded to my words.