I Became the Abandoned Daughter of an Underworld Boss

Aidan explained calmly.

“The King of Elodia invited neighboring royal families and others to demonstrate the strength of the nation. A delegation of high-ranking officials from the Reef Empire is also scheduled to depart.”

“I see.”

Since he didn’t mention the emperor, it seemed Harun would not be coming.

Alice listened intently, holding her breath.

“As you know, the empire and Elodia don’t officially share a border. Therefore, they will be passing through our kingdom.”

‘Is he suggesting that we also need to host the delegation from the empire after Elodia?’

This time, Alice’s prediction was correct.

He softened his rigid tone slightly and suggested.

“Queen, would you be willing to visit Elodia with them? If you refuse, I will assign the task to another noble.”

“Me?”

Aidan nodded with a faint smile.

She didn’t find the idea bothersome at all.

Reuniting with Heidel and meeting the delegates from the empire.

This could be a good opportunity to figure out Harun’s intentions.

Excited by the possibilities, Alice readily agreed.

The excitement felt like the ice of winter breaking, as if the thrill of spring had finally arrived late.

“Alright. I will fulfill my duty as the Queen of Nea.”

Alice’s tone softened considerably.

Aidan also smiled faintly.

“… Alice, I love you.”

Though his words were brief, they were filled with sincere affection for his wife.

To Aidan, who had lost almost everything when he ascended to the throne, Alice was his entire world.

How much he had agonized over sending her to Elodia to lift her spirits—?

Alice had no idea.

***

Meanwhile, in Dark Town, Asil and Million were engaged in a fierce battle.

Million, with a troubled expression, held a stolen letter high.

“Boss, you can’t!”

“Give it to me now. I’ll burn it.”

“Boss!”

Crash!

A loud noise came from Asil’s office just as Yuriana arrived, her eyes widening.

Today was supposed to be the day for a spring outing.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“Miss. Please wait…!”

Though she didn’t understand, the sounds from inside were suspicious.

Before Levina could reach out to stop her—

Creak.

Without any hesitation, Yuriana opened the office door, and what she saw shocked her.

Her father was wreaking havoc in his office!

“Gasp!”

Whoosh! Thwack! Swish!

Asil was chasing Million around the office, making wind-slicing sounds.

But he was moving so fast that Million was in panic.

Yuriana, with her mouth agape, mumbled.

“Whoa, Levina. Doesn’t my father look like a mountain squirrel?”

“A… a mountain squirrel! Miss Yuriana, you shouldn’t say that about a person!”

“Boss, calm down! Huff… Miss Yuriana is here!”

Exhausted from running, Million felt as though he had found a savior.

Everyone in the Dark House now knew that Asil Litus softened in front of his daughter.

He had found his weakness!

“… tch.”

“Anyway, you can’t burn this. Think about who sent it! If you destroy it, it will cause problems later. Please stop taking out your anger on the paper.”

Million quickly hid behind Yuriana and fled near the office door.

Although hiding wouldn’t make him invisible, Asil managed to calm down.

He could easily grab it from him, but not in front of his daughter.

But the thought made him angrier.

Grr!

“Boss!”

“Boss, Miss Yuriana is right here.”

At Levina and Million’s combined pleas, Asil frowned.

Damn it. He should have dealt with this sooner.

This wouldn’t do. He would have to wait for another opportunity…

“Dad. What is this?”

“Meow!”

“Whoa!”

Lulu, who had come with Yuriana, leaped and snatched whatever Million was holding.

Lulu then brought it to Yuriana.

“Whoa! Lulu, you’ve grown up. Hehe. Let’s see what this is? Lulululala~”

“M-Miss!”

“…”

“Boss?”

Surprisingly, Asil didn’t stop Yuriana’s impulsive behavior.

His gaze, which had been fixed on Million, suddenly turned indifferent!

Rustle.

Yuriana unfolded the letter, which had slipped out of the envelope, and quietly placed it down after reading it.

She had seen it all, the shocking contents!

The sender was Harun, Emperor of the Reef Empire, and the recipient was Asil, Lord of Dark Town.

The term appeared sporadically, suggesting that Karas’ family affairs might have been resolved.

‘Karas is the deputy head, right? Hmm, I wonder if the elders of the family have been released? Anyway, it seems Karas is doing well…’

‘She didn’t fully grasp it. Well, a seven-year-old wouldn’t understand everything in an adult’s letter.’

The balance between father and daughter was once again disrupted by Asil.

He spoke to his daughter, who seemed unexpectedly somber.

“… it’s fine.”

“Yes?”

Yuriana, having only half-listened to what Asil was saying, tilted her head in confusion and asked again.

“I said, your friend Karas is coming to the kingdom. The exact sentence I mentioned is in the letter. Didn’t you see it?”

Asil deliberately emphasized the word , but Yuriana’s eyes grew even wider than those of a startled cat.

“What? What?! I didn’t see anything like that!”

“You really need to study your vocabulary more. And maybe stop wasting time studying that unrelated imperial language. Don’t you think so, boss?”

Seizing the opportunity, Levina quickly voiced her wish.

“Hmm.”

But still, the fact that they had to deal with the empire again.

It was a headache for Asil.

While it was good news that Elodia, ruled by Heidel, was doing well…

Anyway, Harun appointed Karas, Al, Baine, and Charon as delegations to Elodia.

The same group that had previously visited Dark Town.

They would pass through the Nea Kingdom to get to Elodia, but there was one condition.

They requested Lord Litus and his daughter to accompany them!

‘Grr… if that guy wasn’t the emperor, I’d just burn this whole thing down, but the offer is too good.’

Just by following along, they would get a hefty-signed check and additional trade rights.

The goods coming in through Dark Town from the empire were already excellent.

But now they were offering a certain amount of jewels, only found in the empire…

This greatly piqued Asil’s interest, who was sensitive to the value of jewels.

Especially at a time when his desire to raise Yuriana as the greatest princess in the world was growing stronger.

After much internal struggle between his pride and the financial offer, he decided to grit his teeth and endure it just this once.

‘Al is coming too, huh? There were rumors going around that he was punished by Harun… did he get assigned this task as soon as he was forgiven?’

That guess was correct.

It would indeed be better to discuss the doppelganger issue with Al, who was an outstanding wizard.

Even though he had made mistakes in the past.

“Alright. If you’re done reading, hand it back.”

“Okay.”

Yuriana carefully placed the letter back into the envelope and handed it to her father.

“Boss, what should we do about the spring outing? If you’re too busy, we can go on our own.”

“Of course, I’ll go with you.”

“Yay!”

Yuriana beamed, stomping her feet in excitement.

Lulu, too, excited about the prospect of tasty snacks, meowed while holding her tail high.

“…”

“Meow!”

In truth, Asil wished he could leave that cat to train on its own while they went on the outing.

But as Asil’s stern gaze swept over Lulu, the cat quickly hid behind Yuriana.

Why was it that, apart from Levina, all the men depend on Yuriana?

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Yes!”

A few days after the spring outing with her father.

A very excited Yuriana sneaked out to call No. 2, the bald-headed guard when Levina wasn’t around.

“What is it, Miss?”

“I need to go somewhere in the castle, but I’m not allowed to go alone.”

“Alright. As long as it’s not a watchtower or a high wall, I’ll go with you.”

“Hehe, okay!”

Yuriana preferred No. 2, the bald-headed guard, because No. 1 was too strict.

After all, people didn’t always act according to their appearance.

Yuriana’s destination was—

Melissa’s room, who was rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the new Dark House.

“Huh? Isn’t this Miss Yuriana? What brings you here?”

Melissa, surprised by the unexpected visit, looked puzzled.

After Leticia and Sheldon died one after the other last year, the attempts to seduce the boss had significantly decreased.

Even Melissa, who wasn’t lacking in beauty, had given up on that hope and was now focused on saving money.

Her dream was to open a pub serving delicious shrimp dishes and alcohol.

“Ah… hello.”

Yuriana, unusually shy, greeted Melissa hesitantly.

Although she knew Melissa’s face and name, they rarely encountered each other.

And she had never visited like this without an appointment before.

But… but she really had something important to say!

“Well…”

“Go ahead.”

Melissa spoke kindly.

But that only made Yuriana more nervous and shyer.

Feeling tense, Yuriana spoke loudly.

“Well… so!”

“Yes?”

“If you have something to say, please say it quickly, Miss. I need to go to the bathroom.”

The bald-headed guard, oblivious to the situation, made things worse.

Ah, forget it! She didn’t care anymore! Let’s just pretend this never happened!

Yuriana shouted; her face scrunched up in frustration.

“N-Never mind. It’s nothing! Have a nice day, Melissa!”

“What?”

Thud.

As Yuriana began running back the way she came, the bald-headed guard, confused, hurriedly followed her.

All Melissa could do was watch this absurd scene.

‘Huh? Wait a minute. Oh… I see. This is interesting.’

Melissa, who had plenty of feminine charm and experience, finally realized why Yuriana had acted that way.

It was that, wasn’t it? That thing.

As night fell, the bald-headed guard returned.

“Hey. Melissa, you’re still awake?”

“What? Do you have no manners, coming to a lady’s room at this hour?”

The second bald-headed guard was as tactless and straightforward as the number of hairs he had lost.

“Do you know why Miss Yuriana acted like that today?”

“Oh, yeah. Of course.”

He must’ve come to ask her before reporting to the boss about Yuriana’s behavior.