They soon arrived at the successor's room.
Lark laid Navia down on the bed and said, "Rest."
Margaret thought it would be nice to watch Lark treat the child's cheek and have a bit more conversation.
But it was the first day he had decided to live as a father.
'It's just the beginning, so it would be best to approach gradually.'
Margaret smiled gently and asked Lark, "Oh my, Lord. Who are you talking to?
Lark furrowed his brows deeply.
Until now, he had been acting kindly to a miraculous extent.
He had beaten up the cousin who tormented the child and was ready to take down the household.
And even opened up the third floor.
But when the expectant looks gathered around him, his footsteps that were about to turn and leave suddenly stopped.
Navia, too, was looking at Lark, only her eyes peeking out, having pulled the blanket up to her nose.
'Damn, they ask for too much.'
He wanted to kick something out of frustration but held back and forced his mouth open.
"Rest, ……Navia."
It was an awkward tenderness that made the listener feel embarrassed.
Navia felt a bit shy about this situation.
'I'm not really a child...'
Right now, she felt like she had become a real eight-year-old.
And it was good to hear Lark call her name.
It felt like some bond had formed, and that was nice.
"Yes, my lord."
As soon as Lark heard Navi's reply, he strode towards the door as if running away. Then he called Suleiman.
"Suleiman, come to my room."
"Yes, my lord."
Suleiman hurriedly followed Lark into his bedroom.
He asked the question he had been quietly holding back until now.
"What is going on, my lord? What happened with Miss Navi?a"
Lark answered nonchalantly.
"I've decided to adopt Navia."
"Is that true!"
Suleiman involuntarily raised his voice with excitement.
Navia finally became a member of this house! The lord's daughter! He was sure there hadn't been many days as happy as this in his life.
'Our young lady is a blessing.'
He quickly changed his form of address for Navia, now that she had become the lord's daughter.
From Navia to young lady. To his little lord.
Suleiman placed his hand over his fluttering heart, relishing the feeling of being alive.
A revolutionary change was happening in Eseled, which seemed to have been submerged in death.
Lark sat down on the sofa with an indifferent expression, as if he didn't feel any sentiment like Suleiman's.
Instead of the table he had previously split in two, he threw the deed of the anesthesia herb farm owner on the newly brought-in table.
"I need to register Navia as my foster daughter as soon as possible. The royal family will process the paperwork right away if I just give them money. Oh, what happened with the Magic Association?"
Suleiman had gone to sell the magic amplification research materials Lark had created to the Association.
But since the lord had collapsed before he could report back, he hadn't been able to report yet.
"The chairman said he wants to buy it right away. He suggested writing a contract to transfer all rights."
"Do that."
Lark sat on the sofa and drank the anesthesia, lost in thought.
There were many strange things about Navia.
The day he dealt with the assassin, he had watched over Navia while hidden and learned something.
First, Navia was a commoner.
Moreover, she was a child brought from an orphanage, as he had heard today.
'Navia's birth parents can't be ordinary people.'
There was another reason for this assumption.
When Wood pointed the demonic gun at her.
'It was definitely Margaret's magic.'
Ordinary humans couldn't distinguish others' magical scents apart from their family's. But that didn't apply to Lark.
'She's not a copycat magician.'
No, Navia herself couldn't be a magician. She had no magic at all.
He focused on that fact.
'There's some secret.'
The intuition of an infinite regressor was telling him he must uncover this secret.
"Find out about Navia's birth parents."
Suleiman understood Lark's words as just showing deep interest in Navia.
"Understood."
Upon receiving the command, Suleiman left the bedroom, and Lark exhaled deeply and drank more anesthesia.
"……."
He might not last even a year like this.
'Let's find a way.'
A way to extend his life a bit more.
So that he could see the child grow up a bit longer.
* * *
Navia applied a cold towel to her swollen cheek to cool it down.
"This room is really wonderful. I never knew the Black Mansion was this luxurious!"
Charlotte, while arranging Navia's belongings, kept expressing her amazement.
She had never imagined that the combination of black and gold could look so antique and luxurious, but the heir's room was indeed overwhelming in its grandeur and splendor.
'I don't think even a royal residence would be this stylish.'
Since such a statement could be misconstrued as treason, Charlotte swallowed those words and kept quiet.
"Yeah. Eseled is a wonderful place."
Navia suddenly remembered the staircase of light that Lark had created.
'What kind of magician could create something like that?'
Up until now, she thought Lark was just a space magician, but it seems that's not entirely the case.
'This place is full of secrets.'
A mansion as enigmatic as its owner.
And now, a person whose identity is unknown has become her adoptive father.
She had to start calling Lark father.
'...It feels strangely difficult.'
She could call Nikan father right now if she wanted. It would be natural, considering she had been calling him that for so long.
'Father' was just a title, after all.
Navia fidgeted with her hands.
'Calling the Duke 'father' feels strange.'
Was it because he was a unique individual? Or was their relationship a bit unusual?
Navia wanted to calmly organize her thoughts, but her heart was so afloat with emotion that she could only smile.
'Today has been the strangest day of my life.'
Strange. Navia cautiously expressed her feelings to that extent.
"You seem happy."
Margaret, noticing Navia's swollen eyes, jokingly applied a cold towel.
"Your eyes have become puffy, haven't they?"
Navia felt her cheeks warm up as she made an excuse.
"It's because I'm back in the heir's room. It makes me happy..."
"Haha, is that so?"
Navia shyly smiled.
Now she felt more confident using this room.
'I am Navia Eseled, after all.'
Although not formally registered yet, she had unofficially become a lady of the Eseled household.
Margaret, overwhelmed with emotion, spoke in a choked voice.
"Finally, I can call and serve Miss Navia as 'my lady.'"
Navia shook her head in embarrassment.
"No, Margaret. Please continue to call me Navia."
"I can't do that. You are the daughter of our lord."
Navia had never felt this way, even when she was a lady of the prestigious Agnis household.
"Oh, she's the adopted daughter of Duke Agnes?"
Being referred to as someone's daughter had never made Navia happy. It felt like a whip lashing at her.
You must not make a mistake. You cannot bring shame to the family. You cannot become a burden.
'Well... she is an adopted daughter, after all.'
There was no helping it, being an adopted daughter and not a biological one.
But this place was different from Agnis.
'The situation is not different, though.'
Prince Creed, who was to be adopted by Lark, would soon arrive.
'Just until then...'
She wanted to dream only until then.
If she could sacrifice herself for the happiness of the family, that was enough for her.
Navia knew no other way to live but to sacrifice herself for others.
She had nothing. No money, no family, not even a magician.
The only advantage she had was being a 'returner.'
Minerva carefully checked Navia's cheek and other parts before taking out a small medicine bottle.
"Here, I'll apply some ointment."
Charlotte asked worriedly.
"She won't get a bruise, will you?"
"Her teeth are fine, and her flesh isn't torn, and... I think the bruise will be okay too."
Navia was satisfied that she got hit less than expected, but she did not express that thought.
Certainly, they would be upset to know she thought that way.
'If I were in Agnes, I would have refrained from saying so to avoid being a nuisance.'
But now it was different. Navia was slowly learning how to live among those who cared for her.
"Yawn."
Navia yawned involuntarily.
She had been exhausted since the time she was in Lark's arms, and now her eyelids were completely heavy.
"Oh my, our lady needs a nap."
At Margaret's words, Navia laughed shyly.
Charlotte quickly adjusted the curtains, controlling the amount of light entering the room.
"I'll wake you up for mealtime."
After everyone left, Navia yawned again.
She blinked sleepily and murmured softly.
"Navia Eseled."
She repeated her name, now free of guilt, several times.
'I want to do something soon.'
For the first time in a while, her heart was filled with motivation. Navia wanted to be of help here.
Especially, curing Lark's illness was something she needed to resolve.
'What exactly is he suffering from?'
Everyone seemed to clam up about it, making it more difficult to ask.
'Then I should ask him directly.'
Navia sat up, ready to find Lark and ask about his illness, but then lay back down.
"Should I bring him some food he likes and ask him casually...?"
Navia seriously muttered words that would have surprised Lark.
Then, unable to resist her drowsiness, she yawned deeply.
In her current state, she would probably yawn during an important question to Lark, which would be rude.
'Let's sleep for just a little bit.'
She thought a 30-minute nap would be enough to wake her up fully.
Navia murmured in a drowsy voice.
"I may not be an Eseled someday... but I'm still his daughter."
That's why it should be okay to ask.
And since Creed was the heir, she never hoped to remain here. Her plan was to become independent through marriage as scheduled.
'Come to think of it, does this make Creed and me siblings?'
During the 8th round, Creed was officially registered as a part of Eseled's family. It meant that until then, he had been hiding his identity in this place.
'I hope we can get along well.'
She doesn't want any more happiness than this.
So she sincerely hoped that it wouldn't seem like she was taking his place, and that they could get along well, and soon fell asleep.
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