I Became the Daughter of a Disgraced Duke - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 23
Cassian crouched in the alley, watching the police haul away the human traffickers, and tried to collect his thoughts.
“Her mother must’ve come looking and taken her. A five-year-old can’t wander off that far on her own.”
Cassian drew on his cigarette.
Smoking was supposed to calm the mind, but instead his leg wouldn’t stop bouncing—tap, tap, tap.
“If she was lost on the street, someone probably picked her up and brought her to the orphanage. Maybe that would’ve been better. Who am I to—”
He exhaled.
The smoke tasted sweet.
Sweet? It must be sweet, right?
Yet he couldn’t taste anything at all.
Cassian stubbed out the cigarette, muttering to himself.
“She’s not my kid. Don’t think about it.”
He tried to convince himself, but with the girl gone, he felt like he was going mad.
Tick. Tick. Without realizing it, he was chewing his nails.
But when had he even seen her? What was it about one little girl disappearing that left him this unsettled?
Even when he deployed the coldest, most rational mindset he knew—the Northern Region aristocratic way of thinking—his mouth went dry.
‘I’m losing it.’
He felt like he was losing himself.
If anxiety had filled his heart so completely that it couldn’t function properly, perhaps this was what it felt like.
He worried whether the child was crying.
Honestly—truly honestly—the thought of the girl alone on the streets terrified him.
It didn’t matter if she was his child or not.
He already loved that girl.
The thought of having left that small creature at home and gone out made him want to tear into himself from just hours ago.
Crunch. Shatter.
In a fit of restlessness, he’d grabbed a stone beside him so hard it crumbled to sand between his fingers.
‘I’ll go to Zenobion. I’ll kneel, I’ll do whatever it takes—just find the girl—’
He jumped to his feet and was already moving toward Zenobion’s estate when—
“Iris?”
There, far across the way at the Cafe Terrace, sat the girl sipping a drink.
His body moved before his mind could register what he was seeing.
Cassian bolted forward.
The woman with her looked far too young to be the child’s mother.
‘A kidnapper?’
If she was a kidnapper, he didn’t care if she was a woman or anything else—he wouldn’t hold back.
His heart pounded wildly.
His mind turned cold even as fire burned through every vein in his body.
He reached the terrace and immediately pulled the child toward him.
“Iris! Where the hell were you? You can’t just leave the house without saying anything—you can’t!”
“Uncle!”
The little girl’s eyes sparkled with delight.
She’d eaten her cake with such enthusiasm that a fork was in her hand and cream smeared her lips.
His chest was melting at the sight, but beneath the boiling anger came a flood of relief when he saw she was perfectly fine.
The tension drained from him all at once, and he crouched down, pressing his palms hard against his eyes.
Then, strangely, an overwhelming sorrow washed over him, and Cassian felt the urge to cry.
As if possessed, he pulled the child into his arms.
Just as she had at the hospital that day, the girl fell into him completely.
“Uncle, are you alright?”
The small, warm body of a child.
And the scent of her.
Strangely, his nerves burned even more acutely.
Then he could deny it no longer.
He was terrified—absolutely terrified—of never being able to see this girl again.
It was strange, truly strange.
How long had he known her? There was no blood between them, and she only shared a few features with his dead daughter.
But it wasn’t as though he was mistaking her for that child.
They were different in age, and having experienced his own daughter’s funeral, he wouldn’t dare believe they were the same child.
And yet his heart toward this one was identical, which made him want to believe she was the same.
He’d never properly raised a child, having lived his life in war, but even in the brief time he’d spent with Iris, it was true.
Just watching her suck from a bottle filled his belly with contentment, and her silly babbling made him laugh.
That child was exactly like that.
Watching her eat with those little munching sounds made something warm bloom in his chest, and even when she chattered beside him in words he couldn’t understand, he found himself listening intently.
It was pure instinct, really.
Feeling as though she were his own, that strange ache and tenderness that wouldn’t fade.
“I swear…… my heart’s melting. Completely melting.”
As Cassian lay on the floor catching his breath, the woman who’d been with Iris spoke carefully.
“Well, the child was wandering around outside. She looked like she hadn’t eaten, so I gave her something simple and was trying to bring her to Police Headquarters.”
“(The nice sister bought me strawberry cake!)”
“Don’t you know you can’t just follow strangers around?”
“(But the nice sister was kind…….)”
“Do you know how much I’ve been searching for you? When you run off without a word, don’t you think I worry?”
“(I’m sorry, I’m sorry…… I wanted to find Dad, and I got hungry…….)”
“We’re going home. We’ll talk there.”
Cassian gripped Iris’s hand tightly.
He held her gently in the cradle of his palm—afraid that any more pressure might crush her.
He swallowed quietly.
Something hot settled in the back of his throat.
“Thank you for looking after the child.”
“Oh, not at all. She was so adorable, I enjoyed it too.”
The woman couldn’t tear her eyes from his face.
Normally he would have flashed her a smooth smile, but today he couldn’t be bothered with such things.
He pulled Iris into his arms and headed home.
Not a single word left his lips the entire way.
A blessing, really—he couldn’t think of anything else.
When had he become like this?
All he’d done was feed her and put her to sleep, so why had the center of his universe shifted?
Cassian would soon have his answer.
* * *
“I. Daddy. Find.”
The only Imperial Language words I remembered were “Mama” and “Daddy,” and trying to say I was looking for Daddy was really hard.
So I asked a lot of grown-ups.
The first grandmother I asked said:
“Your daddy? If you lose your daddy, you stay right there and don’t move. Then your mama and daddy will come find you.”
I splashed around at the Fountain waiting, but Daddy never came.
Well, of course not. I was the one who had to go find Daddy.
Then I asked the man with the mustache.
He had such a cool mustache that I figured he might know.
“Our daddy’s name…….”
The man shook his head, saying he didn’t know.
Mama said our daddy was really famous.
So I grabbed an older woman and asked her.
“Oh my, dear child. Did you lose your mama? Let’s go to Police Headquarters. Your mama will come find you there.”
It seemed like it would just waste time like waiting at the Fountain had, so I took off running as fast as I could.
When the women started chasing me, I hid behind a trash bin the way the man and I had done before, and waited until they disappeared.
‘I want to play the path-finding game with the man again.’
I’d already played hide-and-seek with the witch, so it would be fun to find the way home from the alley the way he and I did.
That was when it happened.
Squeak squeak!
A rat came scurrying out from under the trash bin straight toward me.
“Eek! Aaaah!”
I jumped in fright and bolted out of the alley.
Thump-thump-thump!
I kept thinking about the rat’s tail and my heart was pounding hard. I wanted to cry a little, but I held it in.
‘I’m not a coward. Goddess, please give me strength!’
I clenched my fists tight and snorted loudly, puffing out my cheeks.
After that, I asked a handsome older man passing by about my daddy.
“I. Daddy. Daddy’s name is…….”
“That person? Sure, I know! He’s really famous! Is he your daddy?”
“Yep!”
For the first time, I’d found someone who knew about Daddy.
Iris bounced up and down with delight, and Cassian spoke to her.
“I’ll take you to Dad’s house. Let’s go.”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Just as he reached for her hand, a passing woman stepped in.
“Excuse me. What business do you have with my sister?”
“Your sister?”
“Yes. She’s my sister. Who are you, and why are you trying to take her away?”
The handsome man’s eyes wavered sharply.
The woman snatched my hand away and pulled me behind her.
Then she shouted at the top of her voice.
“Are you a kidnapper?”
“No, no. I was just trying to take her to Police Headquarters…….”
“I’ve never seen your face before, and you’re standing here talking about taking her to our father’s house? Get out of here before I call the authorities!”
At the woman’s cry, the man’s face went pale and he fled.
Maybe what Mother said about Father being famous was a lie after all.
I was so disappointed that my shoulders sagged.
My stomach was hungry, and my legs ached.
When I made a sad face, the woman bought me a strawberry cake and comforted me.
And then I met Cassian.
“(Are you angry, mister?)”
“Angry? You should be asking if I’m not! You can’t just wander around alone like that—what if you’d run into someone bad? Do you want to get scolded?”
Cassian was furious.
The thought that I might end up back at the Cave Orphanage made me suddenly terrified.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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