Raising the Daughter Chapter 21 : Chapter 21

Chapter 21. Iris (1)

Iris was glad to see the two of them.

One, though not related by blood, was her younger sister, and the other, her lifelong master.

But she didn't show it.

‘It’s best not to give them any room.’

She asked with a stiff face, as if they were complete strangers.

"What brings you here?"

Noemi was silent.

Instead, Rude opened his mouth.

His expression was incredibly serious and earnest.

"Let's go ho. It's dangerous here."

His face, glancing at Number 1, looked tense.

Iris, reminded of old mories, was about to put on a wistful expression but stopped herself.

She couldn't show weakness here.

‘So like Master. He’s such a coward, unbefitting of the title ‘Sage.’’

Iris raised her lips in an exaggerated manner and shook her head.

"Ho? This is my ho."

"What are you talking about! Your ho is……."

As Rude tried to grab her hand, Number 1, who was behind him, intervened.

"That's far enough. Stay still if you don't want to die."

Rude flinched.

As the atmosphere grew hostile, Iris stepped in and stopped Number 1.

"He's my master. It's okay."

"Understood."

Iris approached Rude and whispered.

"Master, I have no intention of going back yet. I still have things to do here."

Rude's brow furrowed.

"What is that?"

"That's a secret."

"Hmph."

Iris left Rude and approached Noemi.

"It's been a while."

"It has."

Noemi's face was as unreadable as ever.

Still, she could feel her sister's concern.

"You haven't changed at all."

"You're the sa, sister."

"Did you foresee this too?"

Noemi nodded.

"Roughly."

"Do you know what I'm trying to do?"

"I don't know that much."

Iris let out a sigh of relief and continued.

"Then why did you co?"

"I felt I needed to see how you were living for myself."

"Keke."

When Iris laughed, Noemi laughed along without making a sound.

Iris spoke leisurely, as if doing a favor.

"You've co a long way, so rest for a few days before you go."

"No. I won't stay long."

"How cold."

After hearing her sister's reply, Iris imdiately turned her back.

Rude moved his lips as if to say sothing, but in the end, he couldn't open his mouth.

Because Number 1 was glaring at him fiercely.

She didn't know what he was thinking, coming here despite being such a coward.

But what could she do, that was just how her master was.

***

As Rude and Noemi left, Number 1 spoke with a relaxed face.

"Well done."

"With what?"

"You have to be firm with your refusal."

Iris scoffed as if it wasn't even funny.

"Did you think I would follow them?"

"No. As you said, you have things to do here."

"That's right."

"What do you want

to say?"

Number 1 looked at her as if he were her father.

Iris waved her hand.

"Get out. I'm tired."

Number 1 nodded and vanished in an instant.

She thought she had gotten used to it, but his elusive appearance was still unfamiliar.

‘If I had said I would follow them, he would have killed not only those two but

as well.’

That was the contract.

Either way, betrayal ant death.

Left alone, Iris buried her face in her bed and thought.

‘Is this the right path?’

There was no answer.

It was just a question she asked herself.

‘How did I end up here?’

At first, it was simple rebellion.

She hated that her father treated her like a tool.

Days were so desperate that she couldn't tell if he was treating her as a daughter or a money-making machine.

So when Adel left ho to take the knight exam, she also stealthily ran away.

But the world outside the ho was scary.

A situation where she could neither go back nor live on her own.

That's when she thought of the Unseen Ones that Rude had ntioned.

Iris looked at the ceiling and muttered.

"This is a gamble with everything on the line. I must succeed."

The goal was just one.

To amass a huge fortune and drive Frank out of Rarc Village.

Everything was already flowing in her favor.

‘I'm sending funds to Marquis Moltke, so Frank will soon fall to the status of a commoner.’

She didn't want to get involved with rotten nobles, but Frank was a forr hero.

To bring him down, it would be necessary to strip him of his noble title first.

So might ask.

Isn't killing him the fastest way?

And doesn't she have the reliable backing of the Unseen Ones?

‘No. That's different.’

What she wanted was not Frank's death, but for him to kneel before her and beg for forgiveness.

For that, she was a woman who could sell her soul even to a demon.

Rude, having failed to persuade Iris, was restless.

"Damn it. At this rate, I won't be able to face Frank."

He had boasted that he would definitely bring Iris back, but this was aningless.

On the other hand, Noemi was composed.

She was unfazed, as if she had expected this result.

Seeing Noemi like that, Rude got angry.

"Is that true?"

"What is?"

"I'm asking if you predicted things would turn out this way."

When Noemi nodded, Rude slumped into a chair.

There was much he wanted to say, but he felt drained because Noemi had agreed so easily.

"Haa, then didn't we co here for nothing?"

Rude's sigh grew longer.

But Noemi shook her head and replied.

"No. It was sothing we had to experience soday."

"If you had told us beforehand, we wouldn't have had to go through this trouble!"

At Rude's words, Noemi smiled quietly.

"Then, Master, you probably wouldn't have tried to go."

Noemi knew Rude well.

He had more of an adventurous spirit than anyone, but when it ca to problems with a set answer, he beca passive.

Rude shook his head and lanted.

"Iris is one thing, but you're too much too. It's not like you're teasing an adult."

"I'm sorry. But I couldn't speak carelessly."

"Why?"

Noemi tilted her head and replied.

"I just felt like I had to."

"Because you were afraid the future you saw would change?"

"That's part of it."

"Phew. Right. If the actions change, the result will change too. Well done. I'll go to my room, so call

if anything happens."

Rude shook his head and stood up from his seat.

As he left the room with heavy steps, Noemi watched his receding back and thought to herself.

‘I’m sorry, Master. The problem wasn’t just Iris.’

Noemi, who knew Iris would react this way, couldn't tell Rude what would happen next either.

Because that event would soon happen to Rude, who suffered from claustrophobia.

In a way, it was the most important reason the two of them ca here.

‘I’ll be sure to master it and co back, Dad. That’s the only way I can be of help to you.’

Right now, Anticus, or rather Anonymous, was on our side, but strangely, she couldn't be seen in the future.

In that respect, the thing buried in the ancient ruins must be sothing Dad needed.

Noemi looked north and made a promise.

It hadn't been long since she left Rarc Village, but she already missed her dad to death.

Would things be okay with Adel?

She sure hoped so.

"Hmph. Even if the sword changes, you still can't lay a single hand on my body."

"Ugh! I can still do more!"

"Hoot. I acknowledge your passion. But you're still far from it."

What on earth had happened?

Anonymous, who had been over there just a mont ago, had instantly knocked Anceps out of Adel's hand and pointed her sword at her neck.

It was a wooden sword, thankfully; if it had been a real sword, blood would have flowed.

Anonymous, with a triumphant face, slowly opened her mouth.

"Are you still going to continue?"

"...I have lost."

Adel dropped her head with a discouraged face.

Anonymous, perhaps feeling bad, spat out words of comfort.

"Still, you're much better than before."

But her comfort was unlikely to reach the discouraged Adel.

Unable to watch any longer, I picked up Anceps and handed it to her.