She couldn't think of any other possibility. Just as the girl was thinking this, a system pop-up appeared again. This time, the mission was to win over dad.
So it turned out that due to something that had happened a year ago, their father had become the cold and heartless man he was now. And this mission was to help him resolve his inner knot and restore his relationship with them. But the mission description didn't mention a single crucial point. She had absolutely no clue what their father's emotional knot was.
And then that awful system started glitching again. The rapid barrage of pop-ups overwhelmed her and made her burst into tears. Her brother happened to catch sight of her in that state, which deepened his resentment toward their father.
"So now you're going to hurt my little sister too."
Seeing the girl cry, their father leaped from a hundred metres up without hesitation, then gently wiped away her tears. Just as the girl was still dazed, her brother suddenly slapped his hand away.
"Please don't touch my sister so casually, Your Majesty. It's your fault she's crying. Now you start to care."
At first, the girl thought her brother must be crazy to talk to their father like that. But when she saw everyone else around them remain silent, she instantly realized something was wrong. Now the misunderstanding had really blown up. If she didn't explain things quickly, their father would end up being branded a scumbag dad who only makes his daughter cry.
So she hurried to explain to everyone that she wasn't crying because of their father. But no one believed her at all. Her brother even tried to pull her away. With no other choice, the girl could only resort to magic. She suddenly dove into their father's arms. She believed their father definitely loved them, because the gentle light emanating from him could not be faked.
Just as she wanted to start building up her relationship with him, her brother still dragged her away without mercy. But she absolutely would not give up here. This time, she was determined to save her father.
The next day, the girl officially began her mission. First thing in the early morning, she ran to the garden to look for a clover, then used magic to fly up to her father's window and give it to him. She really gave her father quite a scare, but fortunately, he treated the clover she brought as a precious treasure. He even specially kept it in a teacup to grow. This moved the head attendant to tears. The girl truly might be able to melt the king's long frozen heart.
Besides going to show her presence in front of her father every day, her mission as a one-year-old baby was to eat well and grow up quickly.
One day, she suddenly sensed something was off. Her clingy brother was nowhere to be seen at the table. It was impossible that he would give up a single minute or second of being with her, so she tentatively asked the nursemaid where her brother was. The nursemaid simply assumed her brother had been held up by something and didn't think much of it.
But if her brother had something to do, he would usually tell her in advance. Could it be that he was still brooding over her insistence on sticking to their father? But surely he wasn't that petty, right?
Even though she claimed she wasn't worried, the girl still went to look for their father. But because she waited far too long for him, she fell asleep just like that. When she groggily woke up, she found her father's handsome face right in front of hers. She was so startled that she immediately sat up and asked to be picked up, but her father just froze in place, not moving at all.
The head attendant thought he was simply too tired, and advised him to go rest first. Her father refused his suggestion and directly started taking care of the child. The head attendant asked the girl what she had come for. Only then did the girl remember the important matter and quickly ask if he had seen her brother. When she heard the head attendant say he hadn't seen her brother today either, the girl grew anxious.
Suddenly, she caught sight of the clover growing in the teacup. Her father hadn't thrown it away. This was a good sign. So she quickly came up with a good idea. She hurried to suggest to her father that maybe her brother was sick.
Sure enough, her father's expression changed slightly. At that moment, the head attendant also admitted he didn't know what condition her brother was in. Her father was completely furious now.
"And you call yourself head attendant. Outrageous."
Hearing this, the head attendant immediately knelt to plead guilty. "It is all my incompetence. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
Ever since all the problematic attendants in the prince's palace had been dealt with, her brother had strongly rejected any new attendants. This morning, the new attendants had been sent back again.
As the head attendant spoke, he caught the girl's earnest gaze. He quickly understood what she meant and immediately reminded the king that it might be better to go personally to the prince's palace and have a look. The girl also struck while the iron was hot, persuading her father to go together. But in the next second, the king suddenly stood up, then dumped the girl on the table and fled in a panic, making her so angry that she cursed she'd never play with him again.
In the end, the girl decided to go look for her brother on her own. What she didn't know was that her father had actually been secretly watching her from the shadows. He wasn't doing much better than she was at that moment.
To avoid the girl, he had gone to the place he least wanted to go. He forcibly yanked the covering cloth off a portrait, revealing a picture of him and his wife together. That had been the happiest time of his life. But ever since what happened a year ago, everything had changed. He had lost the wife he loved most. Since then, he had spent every day in atonement and had gradually grown distant from his children, too.
But now that his son was in such a state, he suddenly felt he could no longer sit by and do nothing. So he immediately ordered the head attendant to send people to investigate thoroughly.
Meanwhile, the girl arrived at her brother's palace with a basket of food, only to find it eerily gloomy. It didn't look like anyone lived there at all, but to find her brother, the girl still steeled herself and went in.
Once inside, she snapped her fingers and cast a light spell to brighten the palace. Seeing how deathly quiet the palace was, the girl couldn't help worrying. She wondered if her brother had been eating and sleeping properly these days. Once she found him, she might as well have him move in with her.
They swept through the dining hall, the study and the bathroom, but came up empty. On top of that, the girl discovered dust everywhere. The management here was truly awful. After all, her brother was still a noble prince.
The girl was so angry that she shouted at the top of her lungs. Who knew that this would actually bring a response from her brother, fuming. The girl flew up to him and demanded to know why he had taken so long to answer, but her brother instead noticed her dirty little hands. He thought her maids had also been mistreating her.
The girl quickly yanked her hand back and explained that nothing of the sort had happened. "The maid sisters all treated me very well."
Only then did her brother relax. He then took her small hand and wiped it clean with his sleeve. The girl, meanwhile, pulled out the clover she had prepared in advance. This was a present for her brother.
As soon as he heard that, her brother hurriedly took out a handkerchief and carefully wrapped it up.
"So you got your hands dirty just to pick this for me? Thank you, little sister. This is the second most important treasure of my life. I'll cherish it forever."