Raising the Daughters to Overcome My Failure

Chapter 5. Noemi (1)

“Noemi?”

The person standing before me was unexpected.

My youngest daughter, Noemi, was looking at me with a shabby appearance.

Her tattered clothes were torn in places.

Dark circles were deeply drawn under her eyes.

A face so white it was almost pale.

Her slender body looked so precarious it seemed as if it would fly away with a single puff of air.

I shot up from my seat and approached Noemi’s side.

“Are you alright?”

Noemi was a newly added character.

Having encountered this situation before I even got to raise her, I didn't know her personality or behavioral patterns.

But one thing was certain.

She too was my precious daughter.

As I wordlessly embraced her, it seemed a smile briefly crossed Noemi's lips.

A completely different atmosphere from Adel.

But I had no more time to think about this.

Because she collapsed right into my arms.

“Noemi!!”

I shouted towards the door.

“Is anyone there! Call a physician at once!”

Soon, the sound of thumping footsteps echoed from the hallway.

Heavy footsteps, as if wearing iron armor.

‘It doesn't seem like Elliot, who could it be?’

However, since that wasn't the important issue, I didn't pay it any more mind and focused on the current situation.

Early response is crucial when someone faints.

I immediately laid Noemi on the bed.

Her lightness aside, her frame was far too small.

What on earth had such a small child gone through all this time?

‘It’s the middle of the night. It will take time for a physician to arrive.’

Without hesitation, I unbuttoned her top.

Women in the world of PP wore corsets, and these often caused problems.

It was common for organs to be damaged or for internal bleeding to occur from tightening the corset too much.

Even in the game, if my daughters' condition was bad for no reason,

‘Nine times out of ten, the corset was the problem.’

I loosened her corset and laid her on her side.

Only then did Noemi's face become peaceful.

‘Finally, a moment to breathe.’

About 10 minutes passed.

Suddenly, two people burst into the room.

Adel, gasping for breath, had entered carrying an old man I had never seen before on her back.

“Who is that person?”

I asked, pointing at the old man, and Adel replied with a dumbfounded expression.

“It's Old Man Hugo!”

“Old Man Hugo?”

“Yes, the only person in this village who knows medicine! This is no time for this. Old man, please treat Noemi quickly!”

Hugo, a name I had never heard before.

No matter how much of a veteran player of this game I was, I didn't have the names and histories of all the characters memorized.

It was also possible he was a new NPC added with the release of a DLC.

I quickly stepped back.

The old man named Hugo carefully examined Noemi's condition.

Soon, I heard these words.

“It is a simple fainting spell due to fatigue. If she gets plenty of rest, she should wake up by tomorrow.”

Phew, what a relief.

If Noemi's condition had been poor, I would have fallen into great despair.

Wasn't this the youngest daughter I had finally managed to meet?

But then, Hugo asked with a cautious face.

“By any chance, was it you, Baron, who loosened the corset?”

“That's right, is there a problem?”

“Not at all! It was a perfect response. If you continue to handle things this way in the future, there will be no need for me to step in.”

He bowed his waist and left the room.

Soon, Elliot, Belita, and the other servants flocked in.

“Master, what on earth is going on?”

That was what I wanted to ask.

I dismissed the people and held Noemi's hand tightly.

Her hidden face was revealed through her silver hair.

‘I couldn't see it properly on the monitor because her hair was covering it, so this is what her face looked like.’

An unbelievably young face.

She looked to be around 10, not 15.

But all over that face were unhealed scratches, dust, and soot.

‘What on earth have you been through all this time…….’

My heart felt heavy.

What on earth had I been doing while my daughter ended up in this state?

Truly, I would have no excuse even if I were called a failed father.

As I was blaming myself, Adel approached.

“Father, the night is deep. I will stand guard here, so you should……”

I slowly shook my head.

What Noemi needed right now wasn't a sister of the same age, but an experienced father.

***

Adel returned to her room and plopped down on the bed.

Her mind was just a jumble of thoughts.

‘Has Father really changed? Or am I mistaken?’

Noemi's appearance wasn't particularly surprising.

That child had often left home before and returned in a similar state.

The truly strange one was her father.

‘To think he would hold Noemi's hand with a genuinely worried face.’

She couldn't say anything to the sight of him even stepping up to nurse her himself.

In the past, whenever something like this happened, her father would coldly,

“Truly, children who are not at all like my heart.”

…mutter that before going off to his room.

But his appearance today was like a completely different person.

And that wasn't the end of it.

‘Was he flustered because it was night? It was surprising that he didn't recognize Old Man Hugo.’

Old Man Hugo was the person who had treated Noemi every time she returned in this state.

As the only doctor in the village, he was not someone her father could not know.

However, Adel didn't think about it any further.

Her father's unfamiliar appearance kept coming to mind, making her feel uncomfortable.

‘I can't seem to fall asleep.’

With a long sigh, Adel put on her armor and went outside the mansion.

Only in the quiet night air did her mind feel like it was calming down.

At that very moment.

‘Someone is watching me.’

She felt a strange gaze from behind her.

It felt like someone was hiding in a dark place, observing her every move.

She instinctively drew her twin swords.

“Who's there!”

She looked around, but there was no one.

The ominous gaze was no longer felt either.

As if there had been no one there from the beginning.

‘Have I become sensitive because of Father…….’

Embarrassed, she sheathed her swords and looked up at the sky.

Stars that glittered as if they would pour down.

‘Now that Noemi has returned, let's leave the matter of Father to her for the time being. The

youngest would be better at this sort of thing than the eldest.’

She let out a light sigh and started walking.

Accepting her father's change was not as easy as she thought.

***

“Whaat? That man brought Noemi into his room and even nursed her himself?”

“That is correct.”

“No way. You didn't see wrong, did you?”

As the red-haired woman sent a suspicious gaze, her masked counterpart stared straight into her eyes.

“You are the one who hired us. Whether you believe it or not is your choice.”

“Huu, alright. It’s not that I don’t believe you. You are the ‘Unseen Ones’ who manipulate the Durani Empire from behind the scenes, after all. I apologize if I offended you.”

“...However, there is a bit of a problem.”

“A problem? What is it?”

Her counterpart paused for a moment, then carefully opened his mouth.

“It seems Adel has detected our presence.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing major happened, but more caution is needed. This is a first for us as well. She is no pushover.”

The ‘Unseen Ones’ never told a lie.

No, there was no need to.

Anyone who saw them was as good as dead.

Thinking anew that Adel was amazing, she slowly nodded her head.

“That's right. Adel is not a person to be taken lightly. Though her being so rigid is a flaw.”

After smiling for a moment as she thought of Adel, she soon erased the smile and returned to her original cold expression.

“How are things going in other places?”

“No problems. Soon, the entire underworld of the empire will be yours, Child of God.”

At the words ‘Child of God,’ the woman's expression contorted.

“You… I told you never to say those words in front of me!”

“What is the problem with calling a Child of God a Child of God?”

“My name is not Child of God, it's Iris! If you want to stay on good terms, remember that clearly.”

Her counterpart was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded his head.

“Understood. For now, you are the employer, so I will follow your words. But remember this. If the calculations are off, you had best be prepared then. We have no eternal allies.”

Though she appeared nonchalant on the outside, her fingertips trembled slightly.

Cold sweat trickled down her back.

‘Hiring the Unseen Ones was the best and worst move. But I can't turn back now.’

As if to reassure her counterpart, she spoke calmly.

“Don't worry. I will never disappoint you. But you should remember this too.”

A faint curiosity flickered in the eyes of her counterpart, who seemed to lack any emotion.

“What am I to remember?”

Where did this courage come from?

Iris poked her counterpart's chest with her finger and said.

“If you betray me, I will chase you to the ends of the world. There will be nowhere to hide.”

“Interesting. We have no eternal master.”

“Then I will definitely make it so.”

The masked man showed a smile that could be a sneer or a bitter laugh.

“Hmph. Your nerve is top-notch. That is why we follow you.”

Unlike the deep night of the Benedict Kingdom, this place was slowly being dyed by the red dawn that announced the sunrise.

But unlike Iris' shadow, which grew longer and longer, at the feet of the Unseen One, as if no one was there at all, or as if he had already transcended humanity, not a single shadow was formed.

***

Conversely, in Frank's house where the darkness was deepening, Noemi was slowly opening her eyes.

Of course, she was lying alone in the bed.

The stuffy, tight corset had been removed.

But she was not surprised at all.

She quietly looked around as if she already knew it would be like this.

Soon, her eyes fell upon her father sleeping soundly next to her.

From him, who was asleep leaning at an angle in a chair, the traces of having nursed her until late at night were evident.

A small smile spread across Noemi's face.

‘Poor Dad. But I know. The fact that you will lead us. If the future I saw is not wrong, we will definitely overcome this hardship.’

Noemi possessed the ability to foresee the future.

So she vaguely knew why her father had been so harsh to them.

‘My sisters probably don't know, but you were raising us to be strong in preparation for the coming threat, weren't you? Don't worry anymore. I will take care of everything.’

Noemi quietly got out of bed and approached her father.

Covering his shoulders with a blanket, she whispered softly.

“Dad, you've been through a lot.”

Her father's face, sleeping soundly in exhaustion, looked particularly lovely to Noemi.

She carefully hugged her father from behind, returned to the bed, and buried herself under the covers.

The bed smelled of her father's familiar scent.

The scent of the person who would always protect her, the father she could always rely on.

That scent warmly enveloped her and lulled her to sleep.

‘Home is the best after all……. Yaaawn.’

The fatigue that washed over her as the arduous journey of the past month came to an end.

But she was proud.

‘Now, the demon tribe bastards will never cross the Elburz Mountains.’

Wasn't that what all the hardship was for?

And so, Noemi smiled and fell into a deep sleep.

A peaceful night that had come after a long time.

Some might have called her the Silent Sorceress.

But at this moment, she was just a small child who had put down all her burdens and returned to her father's arms.