Translator: Nox

Chapter 10

I’ll Save My Dad

I’ll Save My Dad, Episode 11

Episode 11

“It’s just… a rock!”

It was a perfect pebble.

To think I received a common rock from Laxek Iron Trabel, one of the wealthiest men in the Heysel Empire!

And I’m supposed to keep it safe or face the consequences if I lose it!

Is this… some high-level prank…!

The image of my grandfather’s irritatingly curled lips flickered in my mind.

My energy drained away. I slumped onto the sofa, resting my head on the armrest, and held the pebble up to my eyes.

“Then why was Uncle Callet so surprised?”

It was an opaque pebble, the color of blue paint swirled into milk. It was certainly pretty, but unless it was some kind of raw gemstone, it couldn’t possibly be worth more than ten thousand Kona.

Unless.

“Is Uncle Callet a victim of workplace bullying, forced to play along with his boss’s jokes…!”

Wait. It was noisy outside.

Still resting my head on the armrest, I tilted my face upward. The sound of people buzzing outside the building drifted in through the window.

“Did Grandfather come back…?”

Feeling uneasy, I tucked the pebble into my pocket, climbed down from the sofa, and walked to the window. The window was high again, but fortunately, there was a small stool nearby.

The moment I stepped onto the stool and looked out at the scenery beyond the glass, I couldn’t help but break into a wide grin.

“Ah, Dad!”

It was like a survival instinct.

My dad was standing outside the building, accompanied by the knights.

‘Ack. Dad’s back already. I guess I spent longer with Grandfather than I thought.’

My plan to return to the Pebble House before Dad got back had crumbled.

Not only that.

The knights looked utterly dejected, like puppies with their tails tucked between their legs.

Even Uncle Rex, the Total Vice Commander, was hunching his shoulders beside Dad.

Even though Uncle Rex was clearly larger than Dad, the overwhelming aura was coming from my father, not him.

‘That spot right next to him is about to be my place soon….’

For now, I had to act happy to see him.

Exercising my survival instinct, I waved my hand enthusiastically. Dad slowly raised his right hand and waved back toward me.

“Berry.”

Dad called my name. The windows were so clear that I could see his lip movements perfectly even from the third floor.

And what did it mean that I could see his lips clearly? It meant I could see the rest of his face just as well.

A cold sweat broke out.

Beneath his wheat-colored hair, his blue eyes were narrowed more than usual.

‘Th-that look.’

That was the look in Dad’s eyes when he was angry.

“Berry, I’m coming up, so stay right there.”

---

Dad entered the Head Commander’s Office with Rex and a few other knights.

“I believe I told you that you could stay here if you behaved yourself.”

“I’m thorry.”

I took my place next to Uncle Rex and apologized to Dad.

“Even if you went out with Anne, did it not occur to you that I would worry?”

“…I wasn’t thinking clearly. I’m thorry.”

I was just planning not to get caught….

But I got caught in the end.

Since I had caused Dad worry, all I could do was apologize.

Leaving the Pebble House and coming to the training grounds wasn’t the issue. There was no place within Travel that a direct descendant couldn’t go, except for the private quarters of other family members.

The problem was that Dad believed I had been caught by Grandfather while trying to steal candy from the Head Commander’s Office and had been scolded for it.

“Young Master, as I mentioned, the young lady is not at fault. I was the one who told her there were snacks in the office in the first place, and it is my failure for not anticipating that the Family Head would visit. Also, look at her face! How much must the Count have scolded her for her to cry until her eyes turned red?”

Uncle Rex even held out both palms as if cradling my face, defending me to my father.

My eyes were red because I’d rubbed them to play along with Grandfather’s act, though….

But there was no reason to refuse Uncle Rex’s help. I looked up at Dad.

Sniff. My nose even started to itch at the perfect moment.

“Th-that’s what happened.”

“Berry, you shouldn’t lie, right?”

“Pardon? It’s not a lie! Young Master!”

“…Not you, Vice Commander.”

It seemed he’d realized I hadn’t actually cried. Dad knows me too well; it’s quite a problem.

Dad’s gaze shifted to the glass jar of candy I was clutching to my chest.

“That candy is—”

He looked like he was about to ask why I was holding it, but he stopped himself. He likely noticed the knights nearby were all ears.

There were indeed too many listening ears. Aside from Uncle Rex, there was no one here I could fully trust.

“Dad, I have something to tell you in private.”

“Rex.”

“Yes. You heard the lady, right? Everyone out.”

“You too.”

“…Yes, sir.”

Once the knights had left and the door clicked shut, Dad asked me.

“What is it?”

I explained the whole sequence of events to Dad.

How I wanted to see the rabbits so I asked Anne to go with me, but then my legs hurt. While Anne told me to wait, I heard the sound of swords and found it fascinating, so I wandered over and became friends with the knights after talking about him.

As he listened to my excuses, the look in Dad’s eyes began to soften.

Without missing the opportunity, I explained what happened in the Head Commander’s Office.

I left out the part about receiving the pebble, though. I didn’t want him to know I’d been teased by Grandfather.

“So you weren’t scolded by your grandfather?”

“Nope! Look, he even gave me candy!”

“Then why did you rub your eyes?”

“Well… Grandfather told me to cry.”

“……Could you explain that in more detail?”

“He gave me candy as a homecoming gift, see?”

I explained the situation to Dad with a bit of creative editing. If I told him I’d noticed Grandfather was only acting angry and pretended to cry in response, it would be revealing my competence. Dad would only worry more.

“But he said if only I got candy, the other relatives might get jealous, so he told me to act like I was reflecting while he pretended to scold me. I don’t know why, but we had to play along—.”

Dad lightly ruffled my hair.

“Berry, Berry. You don’t have to play along with things you don’t understand.”

Dad called me by my nickname. It meant his anger had subsided to some extent.

Though, seeing his set mouth, it seemed he had gained a new worry.

‘Dad must be bothered by the fact that Grandfather put on a show of scolding me too, right? Since it means he took my side. That’s why he’s pondering Grandfather’s intentions.’

Mmm. I still can’t figure out what’s going on in that old man’s head.

I played with Dad’s hand resting on my head and asked playfully.

“By the way, did you see Anne? She was in the hallway when I went into the office earlier. Did she go back first?”

“She’s at the Main House. Your grandmother sent for her while you were with your grandfather.”

“Grandmother did?”

Then news that I’d been scolded must have already reached Aunt Marian.

My aunt and grandmother were on the same side. Since managing the maids fell under their jurisdiction, Anne wouldn’t face any particular consequences for this incident.

In fact, she’d probably get paid as a reward for her spying.

…Anyway, the mood seems to have lightened up, right?

“But, Dad.”

I was finally able to ask the question I’d been curious about.

“What were you talking to Theon about earlier?”

6. A New Family Member

To be precise, it was when Dad had announced from outside the building that he was coming up to the Head Commander’s Office.

Theon, who had been obscured by Uncle Rex, had revealed himself. Dad had spoken with Uncle Rex while leaving Theon aside.

They had talked for quite a while, so I was curious about what was said—.

“Theon is my guard?”

Back at the Pebble House, I was listening to Dad’s explanation while eating the strawberry cake he had bought.

Along with Theon himself.

“…….”

Because I had been a handful when I was younger, it was natural for Dad and me to sit side-by-side even now. Since Theon was a guest, we gave him a spot between us.

Dad, sitting on the left side of the long sofa, answered.

“Not a formal guard.”

Right, direct descendants living in the Pebble House didn’t get assigned personal knights.

More accurately, they didn’t receive support from the Travel family. It meant everything—the knight’s salary, food, clothing, and lodging—had to come out of Dad’s pocket.

“His role is to monitor—no, to be with Berry when I’m not around.”

“Dad, you just said monitor.”

“I didn’t hear anything?”

“Oho. I’ll let it slide this once.”

But I understood. Travel was vast, and there was plenty of opportunity for something to happen to me away from Dad’s sight.

Besides, today’s incident was likely the deciding factor in Dad bringing Theon along.

“But did Theon say he wanted to? Daaaad, you shouldn’t force people to work just because you became a noble.”

“…Berry, I think you’re forgetting. You and I were always nobles.”

“I’m not doing it because I’m forced. I said I wanted to. Total Vice Commander Rex said I could leave the knights, too.”

“Leave the knights? Why?”

“Theon will be staying at Travel as the grandson of Baron Boltman, whom I am sponsoring. Berry, are you okay with going around with Theon?”

“Yeah! I love it! Theon and I are friends!”

Was I just okay with it? I was cheering inwardly.

Now I could be close to Theon without worrying about interference from my relatives.

Even if they did care, they’d lose interest once they did a little background check on him.

For now, the only information they could dig up on Theon was that he was an apprentice knight and the grandson of a poor Baron.

So, while it was great for me….

“Oh, right. Isn’t Theon supposed to stay in the Red Eagle Knights? Baron Boltman sent him to Travel to learn swordsmanship.”

At my words, Theon looked at me in surprise.

“How did you know that?”

“The knight uncles told me.”

I placed the decorative strawberry from the cake onto Theon’s plate. Because he was a guest.

Oh, the cake is delicious.

Dad also placed a strawberry on Theon’s plate as he spoke.

“I can just teach him myself.”

Theon looked at his plate, which now had three strawberries, with a bewildered expression as he tried to process the situation.

“Then is Dad going to be Theon’s master?”

Snap. At my words, Theon’s head whipped around instantly.