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Episode 7
“Ah, where did this bug come from?”
The employee, noticing Tinker following the woman into the restaurant, frowned and waved his hand dismissively.
“It’s not a bug; it’s a fairy. Can’t these people see?”
Despite puffing up indignantly, Tinker ducked into Letty’s pocket to avoid getting swatted by the employee’s hand.
“Get closer and check. She’s over there.”
The woman wasn’t hard to spot among the crowd, thanks to her white hair. Letty nodded at the fairy’s whisper and approached the woman.
“Look at her. There’s a burn mark on the back of her neck.”
Since the woman had her hair tied up high, the burn mark was clearly visible.
It wasn’t common for features to overlap so much without a protagonist buff. Strange.
The fairy peeked out from Letty’s pocket, muttering quietly.
“This is good! Take her to the old man quickly. Judging by how he paid for your inn, he must have money.”
“…But something feels off.”
Despite the fairy’s enthusiastic exclamations, Letty shook her head firmly. Her twin pigtails, braided meticulously by the fairy that morning, swayed side to side.
“What feels off?”
“That lady doesn’t give off a grandfather vibe.”
The fairy tilted its head, puzzled by Letty’s vague observation.
“They look somewhat similar. Both have that mean-looking appearance.”
The elderly man, with his sharply slanted eyes, seemed like someone who might have broken many hearts in his youth. Meanwhile, the woman was stunning, though not to the same degree.
“No, it’s completely different.”
Even as the fairy objected, Letty resolutely shook her head.
‘Mom always said to trust my gut in situations like this…’
Small animals, like red pandas, had heightened senses, as they needed to evade predators to survive. Among them, red pandas were especially attuned.
Surviving in the brutal world of beastfolk was no easy feat for a small animal like a red panda.
From the beginning, most surviving beastfolk belonged to carnivorous species, including predators.
‘Even though I haven’t awakened any abilities, Mom always said my senses are sharp.’
Simply put, Letty was a naturally gifted 'sense sommelier.'
“What’s so different about them? Why not just ask the woman if she’s lost her dad?”
“Shh, be quiet.”
Glancing around, Letty seized a moment when the employee was busy serving to crawl under the woman’s table.
The view was dark, but fortunately, red pandas were nocturnal. The glow in Letty’s brown eyes made the fairy gulp nervously.
‘This kid might actually live up to being a detective’s daughter.’
Wait, was her parent a detective?
While the fairy was pondering the identity of Letty's mother, fragments of the woman’s conversation with her companion began filtering through the cranberry-patterned tablecloth.
“How did the deal with old Brunhardt go?”
The woman, her long legs crossed beneath the table, was the first to speak.
“Of course it went well! I’m Max Franco. Back in my hometown, people would use my name as a curse instead of saying ‘conman.’”
The man sitting across from the woman laughed slyly as he continued.
“That old man? As soon as he heard his daughter might still be alive, he didn’t think to question it. He rushed in and even paid us this much as an advance!”
Clink.
The sound of coins clattering together was followed by the woman’s admiring remarks.
“Wow, the great Five Families truly live up to their name. They must be rolling in money to pay that much upfront.”
“At this rate, we could just promise to find her and disappear. Pulling a runner wouldn’t be too hard.”
The woman’s shameless suggestion made the fairy cough awkwardly, feeling a little guilty.
“But will he really believe I’m his daughter? They say he was a war hero who dominated the North in his youth.”
“That was ages ago. Ever since the Emperor abandoned him, he’s been nothing more than a toothless tiger.”
“Still, knights are supposed to have a certain instinct.”
“Instinct or not, he won’t be able to see through it. After all, he lost her when she was a child, so he wouldn’t recognize her as an adult.”
Letty crawled out from under the table as the man finished speaking.
She didn’t need to eavesdrop any further to understand that they were con artists scheming to deceive the old man.
“…They really are bad people.”
“True. Your instincts were spot on.”
Even though she had proven herself right to the fairy, Letty wasn’t happy. She understood the pain of waiting for a lost family member.
“We have to tell Grandpa.”
Seeing Letty’s hardened expression, the fairy didn’t argue and simply nodded.
✦ ✦ ✦
‘I wonder if she managed to get by.’
Half a day had passed since the little girl, carrying a talking bug, had left the inn, saying she’d find his daughter. Brunhardt doubted she would return after receiving the advance payment.
‘She looked like she needed money urgently...’
He didn’t know why the child was wandering the village alone without a guardian, but Brunhardt wasn’t in a position to help her directly.
Instead, he gave her a little money for the errand and brushed off any pangs of guilt.
‘At least that pet bug of hers seems smart.’
To think that anyone would dare mess with the wallet of Brunhardt Grizzly, the hero of the Western War and the strongest of the Grizzly family, was quite bold—even for a bug.
In contrast, Letty, who had stood hesitantly beside the bug, opening and closing her tiny mouth without speaking, seemed timid and easily frightened.
‘Why am I worrying about a child I don’t even know?’
What a contradiction.
Brunhardt chuckled bitterly, lifting one corner of his lips at the thought of himself worrying about an unknown child.
He had no right to concern himself with other children or play the role of an adult. After all, he had failed to protect his own most precious child.
“Lord Brunhardt, we’ve found your daughter!”
Just as the image of Letty’s soft, round brown head crossed his mind, a mercenary abruptly thrust his face forward.
“She’s alive, thank goodness. It must be divine intervention!”
“...........”
“Don’t you wish to see your daughter, my lord?”
Of course, he wanted to see her.
If the woman hiding behind the mercenary truly was his daughter, he wouldn’t hesitate to give her all his riches—no, even his own heart. He would have willingly offered his life to the devil.
“…Naturally.”
Brunhardt's slow reply betrayed no emotion, as if finding his daughter was a mere routine.
The mercenary glanced at Brunhardt's expressionless face before stepping aside like revealing a surprise gift, presenting the woman he had hidden.
“Alicia, greet your father.”
“Father...…!”
The woman fell to her knees before Brunhardt, her long, flowing white hair cascading down her back. Her eyes, a deep violet reminiscent of violet petals, looked up at him.
“Alicia.”
At Brunhardt's call, the woman burst into tears.
Father, I missed you. I longed for you so much. Have you been well?
Her tear-streaked face asked these questions, but Brunhardt only offered a faint smile in response.
“You recognize your daughter, don’t you, lord Brunhardt?”
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Brunhardt, who usually seemed like a wooden statue, smiled, prompting the mercenary to beam in turn.
The case of Brunhardt Grizzly’s missing daughter was so infamous in their circles that no one in the industry was unaware of it.
From the time he lost his child 30 years ago until now, Brunhardt had poured enough wealth to build three castles in the capital, all in a futile search for his daughter.
“Alicia…”
Once again, Brunhardt whispered the woman’s—no, his daughter’s—name.
Alicia. Alicia.
Sometimes, even just saying the name, so achingly dear to him, made his heart feel like it might burst. It hurt, as though he’d swallowed a mouthful of thorns.
“Alicia, do you remember the last thing you said to me?”
Only Brunhardt knew what Alicia had said to him back then.
Her appearance, personality, and traits had spread far and wide, but not her final words.
“I love you, Father…?”
Caught off guard by Brunhardt's question, the woman hesitated, offering her answer haltingly.
Brunhardt's timelessly beautiful smile deepened, but only briefly.
“Wrong.”
Kill me, Father.
Those were the final words of his precious daughter, a wish more valuable than his own life.
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