Dad has returned from the deserted island.
Chapter 4
What was there to hide?
The identity of the man who had boldly stormed into the Lambert family estate, terrified Ron and Mary, and, above all, looked at Vivian and called her his daughter.
Naturally, it was Jean de Lambert.
“V-Vivi. What do you mean, 'who is it'? It’s Dad.”
“You’re not my dad...”
As Jean, wearing an expression as if the sky had collapsed at his daughter’s denial, leaned down and took one step forward, Vivian retreated one step with a face full of terror.
Crackle. Jean’s heart shattered into pieces.
However, this was not Vivian’s fault.
“My dad... he doesn't look like this—”
Jean’s current appearance was far too different from the image of him that Vivian remembered.
Jean had originally been a man of such beauty that he could be called the finest in this village—no, this castle, or even this country—though that was purely his wife’s claim.
He had soft brown hair and eyes that seemed to have melted the sky of a spring day. With a sharp nose, lips that curled slightly at the ends, a sleek jawline without an ounce of fat, and a perpetually gentle expression.
Men jealous of him might have slandered him as weak, but women and some men couldn't help but praise him, saying he awakened a protective instinct.
He was a man like a fawn, and even if Vivian imagined a prince from a fairy tale as Jean, there would be no sense of incongruity.
But the Jean standing before Vivian’s eyes now was a completely different sight.
A beard so thick his lower face was barely visible, eyes bloodshot from running without sleep, and hair so matted and disheveled it was filthy.
The body that had been lean and defined with residual muscle was gone, replaced by a hulking frame that looked like it could take down a wild boar with one hand.
He looked closer to a bear attacking a princess than a prince from a fairy tale, so it was only natural that Vivian did not recognize her father.
“Waaaaah.”
Moreover, from the perspective of Vivian’s height, Jean’s appearance felt even more intimidating, so the child had no choice but to burst into tears at the sudden appearance of a man claiming to be her father.
“Oh, Vivi. My princess. Yes, yes. Dad has changed a lot, hasn't he? I did it because I was running so hard to see my princess. I crossed the sea and climbed mountains just to see our Vivi, you know?”
Jean desperately tried to soothe her.
Even though the daughter was afraid, she clung to him the moment he reached out his hand.
Seeing her, so clearly starved for warmth, Jean’s heart felt as if it were being pricked by needles all over again.
“Eyes, eyes! Yes. Look at my eyes for a moment. Vivi. They’re the same color as yours, right? Who did I say was the only person in this world who had eyes just like yours?”
“Dad...”
Since only Jean’s voice remained unchanged, Vivian was able to find a little stability in his arms.
Vivian, who had been sniffling, blinked away her tears and looked into Jean’s eyes.
When she saw the bloodshot whites, she had shrunk back in fear.
But when she saw the sky-blue irises that looked exactly like her own, her terrified eyes widened.
And when she discovered the affection for her overflowing in those eyes, tears welled up again.
“Dad...?”
“Yes! Vivi, it’s Dad. Dad! Do you recognize me now?”
“Da-a-ad—”
Asking why he had come so late, Vivian’s small body collapsed into Jean’s embrace.
She thought she had no tears left to shed, but she was wrong. Vivian wept her heart out, enough to soak Jean’s rain-drenched cloak with her tears once more.
“Yes, Dad, Dad is here—”
Jean, biting his lip, wrapped his large hands around Vivian’s small back. His stomach churned again at the sight of the child, so thin that her bones protruded through her clothes.
Jean turned his gaze toward Ron, who was still staring at him, stunned as if he had seen a ghost, and poured all that resentment into his glare.
“Ron Dozier.”
“M-Master. I, that, I thought you had passed away.”
“Does that mean if I die, you are allowed to abuse my child?”
Ron stumbled backward. They said it was terrifying when a good-natured person got angry, but this was beyond that level.
He was clearly a man who had never killed anyone, yet he radiated a sinister killing intent as if he had killed many.
“A-Abuse? Absolutely not. We have never hit Vivian, and, and—”
The words that spilled from Ron’s mouth were pathetic. It was only natural.
He hadn't hit her, perhaps, but he had done everything else! Locking her in the attic, starving her, and working her to the bone with all sorts of chores.
Ron, backing away again, placed his hand on the dining table. Because of that, a paper that had been on the table fluttered to the floor.
“Ah, th-this!”
“...”
The engagement papers with Vivian and Peter’s names written on them.
The tear stains that soaked them.
He didn't need to ask whose tears they were.
“Eek!”
Jean’s mud-caked boots trampled the document. The paper, ruined by moisture and mud, could no longer function as a document.
While one arm supported Vivian’s body and the other gently patted her back, the face Vivian couldn't see looked ready to tear Ron to pieces right then and there.
“Waaaaah!”
Peter, who had been in his mother’s arms, burst into tears upon seeing that face.
“You, b-be quiet!”
Afraid he might harm the child, Mary covered Peter’s mouth and turned away.
That pathetic display of maternal love only fueled Jean’s anger further.
A parent who knew how precious a child was.
Someone who had seen Vivian since she was born.
Not only did they starve her, mistreat her, and take everything from her, but they even tried to force her to marry their own son.
“...”
Jean, thinking of the future that had not yet come, ground his teeth.
If Vivian were not in his arms right now, if she were not clinging to him as if she would never let go again.
Ron would have breathed his last breath today.
But if he became a murderer, he could not remain by Vivian’s side. He had to endure it.
A metallic grinding sound came from his throat.
“You people.”
Behind Jean’s low voice, the noise outside grew louder.
The sound of horses snorting, the clashing of armor, and the sound of men entering through the open door.
As the sounds drew closer, Ron and Mary’s faces turned pale.
“From now on, you won't be able to see the sky without iron bars.”
What appeared was a group of men.
They were members of the village Guards, the village where Jean and Vivian lived was too small to afford a separate guard force, so the residents had organized a Vigilante Corps,who could only be met after riding for half a day.
“Wh-What is all this?!”
“How did the Guards get here?”
“Ron Dozier, Mary Dozier! We are arresting you both for child abuse, embezzlement, and the crime of insulting nobility!”
“A-Arrest, you say?!”
The words "don't you have any evidence?" failed to escape their throats, blocked by their own conscience.
But how did the Guards know?
And how did Jean?
He had only just confirmed Vivian’s mistreatment, so when could he have reported it to the Guards?
“Is this your son?”
“Th-The child is innocent!”
Mary was horrified when a guard reached for Peter, who was still in his mother’s arms, unable to grasp the situation.
The guard clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. Don't worry, we won't lock the child in prison. But you can't leave him here, can you? Since there’s nowhere for the child to stay until your verdict is reached, we will take him into custody.”
“Waaaaah, no! Mom, Mom!”
The Guards disappeared in an instant, taking Ron, Mary, and Peter with them.
Only Jean and Vivian remained in the ruined Lambert estate.
Vivian had fallen asleep, exhausted from crying. Even in her dreams, she kept a tight grip on Jean’s clothes, as if she would never let go again.
Jean stroked Vivian’s cheek, careful not to blow her away.
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