One Day, My Dad Showed Up

Charlotte was a liar.

“Are you asking about my ideal type?”

Bright platinum blonde hair, vivid green eyes, a bold and resolute character, and exceptional talent. Charlotte was the princess of the Magic Tower.

She really was a princess.

Even Zoe Islay, a mere commoner, knew that a princess married a prince.

… still, wasn’t everyone allowed to dream?

Clinging to a sliver of hope, Zoe Islay asked Charlotte about her ideal type.

After a moment of contemplation, Charlotte casually replied.

“A handsome younger guy.”

“… what?”

“A guy who looks good in glasses, is fun to tease, listens well, is cute, and ideally, someone who can talk about magic easily. And, of course, a really handsome younger guy.”

“… what’s the most important condition in all that?”

“His face.”

“… and the second?”

“Younger.”

“Th-third?”

“Glasses.”

The princess had peculiar tastes.

If we were to break it down, Zoe was older than Charlotte, might be fun to tease…?

He was obedient but not exactly cute… they could talk about magic well, and his face…

He couldn’t very well ask outright if she thought he was handsome, could he?

The only condition he felt confident about was their ability to discuss magic easily, but that wasn’t even one of the important ones.

And so, Zoe Islay and Charlotte Yerim remained just friends.

Zoe didn’t have the courage to confess his feelings, and the princess had no romantic interest in Zoe.

He thought it would stay that way forever.

When Charlotte became the Master of the Magic Tower, he would remain her closest friend and a wizard under her command, and they would continue like that…

But then Charlotte suddenly disappeared from the tower and got married.

Not to a prince, but to someone even more powerful.

“… the Duke of Chelsiers?”

He had heard that Charlotte had been imprisoned and mistreated by her father, who had rebelled.

That her marriage wasn’t by Charlotte’s choice, and for some reason, her partner was intensely fixed on her.

But it seemed unlikely that the Astariol of Judgement would want a wizard as a partner.

That was why Zoe went when the Duke of Chelsiers was setting up Charlotte’s research lab and sought a wizard for consultation.

After all, Zoe knew Charlotte’s preferences and research best.

He planned to see how she was doing, understand the situation, and convince the duke to bring Charlotte back to the tower.

And he realized it the moment he saw them.

This was a person who, if Charlotte died, would lay her in a coffin lined with roses and pearls, scatter gold and jewels for three days and nights, and willingly follow her into the grave.

He was utterly obsessed with Charlotte.

“… why is he like that?”

“I cursed him.”

“What did you do?”

“I said, I cursed him.”

“… are you insane?”

“Help me, Zoe. I can’t do it alone.”

Desperate, urgent green eyes.

But soon, Zoe realized.

Though everyone believed this was a curse, it was far too strange to be that kind of curse.

The Duke of Chelsiers’s love for Charlotte was completely different from that of a typical curse victim.

Curses generally operated in the realm of logic. They had structure, could be explained by reason, and their causes and effects could be calculated.

But the duke’s love was entirely .

It was similar to Zoe Islay’s feelings for Charlotte, and yet fundamentally different.

If Charlotte died, Zoe Islay would weep, grieve, and mourn with all his heart…

But he couldn’t imagine himself asking to be buried with her without a second thought.

The day he hesitated and hesitated before speaking to Charlotte.

“Is this really that kind of curse…?”

“It is.”

Her reply came back like a blade, and Zoe Islay realized then.

Charlotte already knew.

She knew it even better than he did.

She simply wanted to believe that this was a curse.

Because, because… if it wasn’t a curse, then the Duke of Chelsiers truly loved Charlotte by his own will…

And that would make Charlotte happy.

On that day, Zoe drank until he was nearly unconscious. He kept silent the entire time, only speaking two words near the end.

“Charlotte is a liar.”

Handsome, younger, glasses. He still remembered all the conditions.

But after thinking about it for a while, it turned out Charlotte hadn’t actually lied.

Charlotte had always said that face was the most important thing.

If the standard was the face of someone like Duke Chelsiers, then Charlotte wasn’t lying…

Even in his drunken stupor, it stung that Charlotte hadn’t lied.

Zoe, frustrated and drunk, cried and broke the glasses he always wore.

He never wore glasses again.

Duke Chelsiers wasn’t younger than Charlotte, didn’t wear glasses, and far from being obedient, he fought with her constantly.

So, he wasn’t cute, there was no joy in teasing him, and they couldn’t even talk about magic…

Yet, somehow, just because of his looks, he managed to overcome all the other conditions, didn’t he?

Of course, the next morning, Zoe woke up with a pounding hangover and admitted that it wasn’t really like that.

After all, it was impossible not to be drawn to someone when you were so loved…

Like in every fairy tale, what moved the princess’ heart was love.

Deep, intense, and entirely focused on her.

‘I should have had the courage back then.’

If he wanted things to work out with the princess, he should have confessed his feelings first. He should have kept trying, even if he got rejected.

But he had lost his chance by being scared off too soon, thinking he didn’t meet the conditions.

Someone who wouldn’t have cared about such things married Charlotte.

So, it was inevitable from the beginning.

Zoe fell asleep every night, blaming himself for having settled into being just friends and giving up on all possibilities.

He knew he couldn’t give her a love more intense than Duke Chelsiers, nor make Charlotte suddenly fall for him instead of Duke Chelsiers.

Yet, despite their deep love, Charlotte and Duke Chelsiers’ relationship was always on the edge.

Even Zoe, who had only studied magic in the Magic Tower, could see how precarious the current situation was, with all its complexities, politics, and intricate human relationships…

Love wasn’t the answer to everything, and the two fought daily.

Charlotte wanted a divorce every day, and when that failed, she suggested separation. And if not a separation, then she talked about being widowed.

“Please, let’s divorce. Living with you is so suffocating, I feel like I’m going to die. Or I might end up killing you instead.”

“I’m happy to die for you, so don’t worry.”

“I’m asking for a divorce so neither of us has to die!”

“Too bad. I proposed because I wanted us to die together.”

They hadn’t been a good match from the start.

And then, when a completely exhausted Charlotte stopped asking for a divorce and quietly began to wither away…

Zoe impulsively asked her.

“Then, Charlotte. Would you run away with me?”

And so, that long-drawn-out first love came to an end.

They were never meant to be.

Zoe knew this from the beginning, so he didn’t feel much regret.

He returned to the Magic Tower and continued his research in the quiet, secluded environment.

Meanwhile, outside, the emperor changed, Charlotte ran away…

Years went by, and he became the Master of the Magic Tower.

A position that was originally meant for Charlotte.

He carried out his duties with a strange sense of melancholy.

And one day, Duke Chelsiers returned with Charlotte. She was pardoned.

“They say there are twins. It seems having given birth to his heirs played a role in the decision.”

“… twins?”

Along with two children.

There were suggestions that he should visit his old friend, but he firmly refused.

His first love had faded long ago, and any remaining possibility had vanished completely.

Yet…

He couldn’t help but feel small, seeing himself stagnant in the same place while his old friend married, fell in love, and had children.

But eventually, he went.

He couldn’t bring himself to see the twins, nor did he know how he’d react if he encountered Duke Chelsiers, thinking he’d avoid running into them this way…

“Oh, I thought you’d be staying in the capital for at least a week during the harvest festival?”

He ended up running into Duke Chelsiers right at the front gate.

Startled, he asked, and Duke Chelsiers immediately got out of the carriage and strode toward him.

With eyes the color of amethyst, glowing dark like a demon.

“Why are you here?”

“To see Charlotte.”

“You’re quite late, aren’t you?”

“Isn’t that my business?”

Being able to respond smoothly no matter how flustered he was one of his biggest strengths.

At least, it was a major asset during oral exams in the Magic Tower.

… though maybe not so much right now.

Duke Chelsiers, who looked like he might grab him by the collar and shout at him to leave, surprisingly held back.

It was then that Zoe noticed a child sitting in the carriage Duke Chelsiers had just got out from.

A child with a faint expression, calm demeanor, and a striking resemblance to Duke Chelsiers.

The child slightly leaned out of the carriage and called out plainly.

“Dad.”

Anyone could see that she was Duke Chelsiers’ young daughter.

She looked so much like him that, if she stood lost in the middle of town, people would guide her straight to the duke’s residence, thinking the young lady had wandered off.

Zoe, caught off guard by the child’s clear and serene eyes, blurted out a question.

“Why… if she had to resemble someone, why not Charlotte…?”

The child blinked.

And this time, Zoe really did find himself grabbed by the collar by Duke Chelsiers.

It was a situation of his own making.

Even without the child’s words, he understood it best.

Charlotte had never given him hope, and Duke Chelsiers had never considered letting Charlotte go.

There was nothing he could do then, and there was nothing he could do now.

So, what could he do?

He could only resent those old words — “Charlotte is a liar” — which the person herself had likely long forgotten and feel sorrow for the girl she once was.