A Secretly Capable Child Is Seeking For Her Dad

Tie forgot even to blink as she stared at the door.

Creak—

The floorboards beyond it groaned softly.

Her right hand instinctively clutched at the collar of her clothes.

She could feel cold sweat gathering in her palm.

‘Priests?’

They said priests checked the Pilgrimage Corps building two or three times a day.

Using the excuse of making sure Agavert was staying comfortably.

But they usually came in the morning or afternoon. Nobody visited this late at night.

‘Especially now, when everyone went to the diocesan building because of the fire....’

Her frightened gaze dropped to the gap beneath the door.

A faint shadow could be seen there.

“It’s alright.”

Lucarion approached quietly and wrapped an arm around Tie’s shoulders.

Even setting aside the fact that they had all gathered in one room late at night—

Tie was currently holding medicine smuggled out of the underground labyrinth.

And if it was discovered, a fight would be unavoidable.

“It’s alright....”

Tie repeated Lucarion’s words without realizing it.

Directly in front of her, Papa’s drawn blade glimmered with bluish light.

And then—

Click.

The doorknob moved.

A silhouette appeared through the slightly opened gap.

A black cloak.

A hood pulled low.

The face was hidden in shadow, but Tie’s lips parted slightly.

At that exact moment, Ribia—who had been hiding beside the wall near the door—launched herself forward.

Twisting gracefully through the air, she landed soundlessly and pressed the edge of her sword against the intruder’s neck.

“Who are you?”

Dead silence filled the room.

Only the distant sounds of people extinguishing the fire at the diocesan building could faintly be heard.

“If you don’t answer, you’ll di—”

Ribia adjusted her grip on the sword, glaring at the silent stranger.

And then—

Vrrm—

A brief vibration rippled through the air.

The next instant, an invisible force knocked Ribia’s sword away.

The blade flew upward, spinning through the air before embedding itself in the ceiling with a heavy thunk.

“Damn it, who the hell is this bastard?!”

Bale lunged forward, seeing that fighting style for the first time.

Basto charged from the other side as well.

To Tie, everything suddenly seemed to slow down.

The intruder’s cloak swaying slowly.

The squad members rushing forward.

Papa preparing to strike from behind.

But among all of it, there was only one thing she saw clearly.

The loose sleeve.

And the hand revealed beneath it.

“Wait, wait!”

Bale and Basto froze.

Tesetan also turned toward Tie.

The little girl had climbed down from the chair and now stood unsteadily in front of the stranger.

Her green eyes trembled.

“Why....”

Her gaze remained fixed on his hand.

A thin hand with protruding knuckles.

And the dark stain spread along one side like old ink.

How could she possibly fail to recognize it?

Tallocium had become familiar and precious to her now, but in the beginning it had felt foreign and unbearably lonely.

And those hands had comforted her again and again back then.

They carried her when her legs hurt.

They patted her back when she couldn’t sleep.

They always told her everything was alright and nothing bad would happen.

Tie’s eyelashes trembled faintly.

“...Why did you come?”

Her voice, barely holding back tears, quietly echoed through the room.

“You were the one who left....”

Tears pooled in her large eyes.

Bale and Basto frowned.

Confusion surfaced on Tesetan’s face as well.

But then—

“...Astie.”

The stranger answered.

With a soft rustle, the hood slowly slid back.

And beneath it appeared a deathly exhausted face.

Dark shadows beneath the eyes.

Lips pressed tightly together.

Hair that had turned completely white.

And eyes soaked with sorrow.

“...Old man?”

Bale muttered.

Basto also froze in place.

The stranger—

No, Nordix—

Took a step forward.

Lowering himself slowly onto one knee, his bent body trembled.

“...I regretted it. Even if I were forced to go back, I would still make the same choice.”

A hand hesitantly reached out from beneath the cloak.

But it stopped midway, unable to bring itself to touch Tie.

“I know I have no right. But just once... just once, I wanted to see you again....”

Tie bit her lip.

Tears spilled from her eyes one after another.

She threw herself at Nordix and hugged him tightly.

“Bad grandpa! Grandpa bad spy grandpa!”

Tie buried her tear soaked face against his shoulder.

And wrapped both arms around his neck so tightly it was as though she never intended to let go again.

“If you were already our squad, then you should’ve stayed our squad! If you were gonna be a spy, then you should’ve only done spy things!”

When Nordix disappeared.

And when she realized he was somehow connected to Papa.

Her small heart had been wounded so deeply words couldn’t describe it.

Because Nordix had always reminded her of the grandmother from Room 107.

“Baaad.... uwaaaah, the worst grandpa in the whole world!”

She had thought Nordix abandoned her.

That from the very beginning, getting close to her had all been deliberate lies.

Sometimes she had even tried forcing herself to hate him.

But when she finally met Luciano on the Central Continent—

And saw with her own eyes that he still knew nothing about Tie—

“Hic....”

“....”

“Did Luciano bully Grandpa? Did he starve you and not feed you? You got more wrinkles....”

Tiny fingers carefully touched Nordix’s face.

His eyes reddened as well.

Suppressed emotions churned within his gaze as though they were on the verge of bursting free.

“No, no. I’m alright.”

Tie understood.

Nordix had never abandoned her.

He had known everything—

Who she was.

Where she came from.

And even so, he had never told Luciano about her.

Nordix felt warm.

No—

Hot, almost burning.

And suddenly, she remembered the words he had once spoken beside the campfire.

“Child, when a person is tangled up inside, look at their hands.”

“Their hands?”

“Yes. A person’s heart is always reflected in their hands. Words and expressions can be faked as much as someone wants. But fingertips cannot lie.”

Back then, she hadn’t fully understood what he meant.

But now it felt as though she finally did.

Hands were more honest than words or faces.

More precisely—

The warmth of the hand now stroking her trembling back.

Sniffling, Tie pressed her cheek even more tightly against Nordix’s chest.

Inside the now silent room—

“...This pisses me off.”

Muttered Bale from where he sat in his chair.

Tie, still sitting in Nordix’s arms, opened her eyes wide in surprise.

But Bale only twisted his expression further.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

He glared irritably at Nordix.

“I should’ve realized sooner that you were a traitor. I was such an idiot I never even noticed....”

“Bale. Swearing in front of Tie.”

Basto interrupted with a serious face.

Tie nodded beside him as well.

“That’s right! You can’t say bad words in front of Tie! And Grandpa isn’t a traitor! He’s a double spy!”

Bale clicked his tongue and let out a heavy sigh.

“...I thought I’d never see you again for the rest of my life. How did you even get here? Didn’t you go back under the Pope again?”

Only then did Nordix slowly raise his head.

And quietly answer.

“There was chaos at the diocesan building, wasn’t there? I used the opportunity to leave for a short while.”

Bale frowned.

Tesetan, who had been silently listening until now, asked:

“You’re currently staying in the diocesan building?”

“I don’t know if ‘staying’ is the right word. It’s more accurate to say... imprisoned.”

At the word imprisoned, Tie’s brows drooped pitifully.

But Nordix continued.

“More importantly, we don’t have time.”

The squad members held their breath.

Without releasing Tie’s hand, Nordix continued speaking.

“You obtained Silencium from the underground labyrinth?”

Hearing the word Silencium, Tie tilted her head in confusion.

But understanding quickly flashed through her eyes.

She pulled the bottle from inside her clothes.

“This? This is Silly?”

Nordix’s eyes widened.

Then he slowly nodded.

“Yes. A type of poison that paralyzes the brain, erases short term memory, and dulls emotional responses.”

Bale clicked his tongue irritably.

“We already know it’s poison. We were planning to make an antidote with it.”

But Nordix shook his head.

“No. You won’t succeed.”

His voice sank heavily.

“Never.”