Translator: Nox

Chapter 21

I Will Save My Dad

I Will Save My Dad Episode 22

Episode 22

“Submit your assignment after class today before you leave. You can give it to Servair, the head butler.”

Madam Phrea had assigned me the task of writing out vocabulary words a hundred times each.

If the teacher says to do it, I have to do it. What choice do I have?

Hehe. I finished the assignment as if I had no choice and headed toward the outdoor corridor to find Mr. Servair.

‘Submitting the assignment is just an excuse; I’m actually here to find the punishment room.’

For my plan to work, I had to make contact with Anne.

The punishment room was located in the basement of the main house, and its ceiling had a small window with iron bars to let in fresh air.

I patted the outside of my coat pocket, making sure the note was still there. I planned to toss it through the window to Anne.

‘If I run into anyone, I’ll just say I’m looking for Mr. Servair!’

It was perfectly plausible for someone to be wandering around the massive main house searching for a person.

I stepped off the outdoor corridor and walked along the exterior wall of the main residence. Fortunately, I reached the vicinity of the punishment room without encountering anyone—but…

‘Ugh.’

There was one more mountain to climb.

Right in front of the exterior wall—specifically, in front of the punishment room window where Anne was held—knights were standing guard.

‘She’s just a maid, not some heinous criminal!’

I couldn’t get close with them there. What should I do? This was a problem…

“What are you doing, skittering around like a little mouse?”

“Gah!”

Someone spoke from behind me as I stood pressed against the corner of the main house, scouting the situation.

I spun around in shock, only to freeze in even greater surprise.

It was Grandfather.

Grandfather was looking down at me sternly, one eyebrow raised and his hands tucked behind his back.

The overwhelming pressure made it feel like a giant mountain was standing before me, ready to swallow me whole. I stood trapped beneath his shadow. Gulp. I swallowed hard without realizing it.

How long had he been behind me? No, more importantly—

“Ah…!”

“Ah?”

[Oh, Raytan’s daughter! Hello!]

Why was Acom there?!

Acom, whom I had searched for so desperately, was perched right on Grandfather’s shoulder!

“G-Grandfather.”

“Yes.”

“On your shoulder…”

“Is there something on it?”

I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence.

When Grandfather brushed his shoulder at my words, Acom jumped off in a panic and landed right on my head.

[He’s as rude as ever, that Trabel!]

Acom shouted angrily, but Grandfather didn’t seem to care at all.

Can he not see Acom…?

Grandfather’s gaze shifted from his shoulder to me.

“What is that you’re holding?”

“The assignment Madam Phrea gave me…”

“Let me see.”

I obediently handed the assignment to Grandfather.

Flip, flip. Grandfather flipped through the papers, checking the contents.

“These are just more squiggles.”

I didn’t know what he had been expecting, but Grandfather returned the assignment with eyes that had lost all interest.

Can I leave now?

Just as I was about to start inching backward—

“Are you keeping what I gave you safe?”

The question I wanted to avoid most finally flew my way.

“P-Pardon?”

“Why so flustered? I mean that small, pretty thing you wanted so badly.”

“The… small, pretty, pebble that looks like milk mixed with blue paint…?”

Well, it’s right in front of my eyes now.

[Oh boy. Little Quartz. What is this? I could write better than this with my toes.]

Acom was busy rolling around on the assignment in my hands, mocking my handwriting.

“Why such a detailed description? So, do you have it or not?”

“That’s…”

Grandfather naturally placed a hand on my head and patted it.

If I told him that the pebble had turned into a lizard, that hand would probably crush my head…!

“Is it perhaps miss—”

“I-I have it! I put it in a treasure chest and even locked it tight so no one can take it out!”

Since I didn’t know how to turn Acom back into a pebble yet, I had to buy time.

At my words, Grandfather spoke as if he found me ridiculous.

“You little brat. Why would you put it somewhere else?”

“You told me not to lose it, you didn’t say I couldn’t hide it…”

“Didn’t you get the letter from the maid? I told you to keep it on your person at all times.”

“It was too hard, so I couldn’t read it…”

Grandfather’s hand, which had been patting my head, stopped.

He stared at me blankly, as if he had just heard something shocking.

“You… don’t know how to read…?”

When I nodded, Grandfather let out a sigh.

---

The illiteracy rate in the Heysel Empire was twenty percent.

The script itself wasn’t difficult, to the point where commoners could read and write.

Nobles could usually read most words by the age of six, and commoners mastered it around eight or nine.

That’s why Dad and I had coordinated our story to say I was at the level of learning the alphabet.

Grandfather seemed genuinely shocked by this.

His lips twitched as if he had much to say, but instead, he called over a passing knight and told him to take me back to Pebble House.

“Keep that thing on you at all times. I’ll check on it later.”

He didn’t forget to mention the pebble even at the very end.

‘It really is strange, isn’t it?’

When I returned to Pebble House, Sherry and the other maids welcomed me. They said Dad and Theon’s training wasn’t over yet.

I went straight to my room and closed the door.

It was so I could talk to Acom.

‘But before that…’

Something about what Grandfather said was strange.

I thought him telling me to keep it on me was just him showing off that he’d given me Grandmother’s keepsake.

‘Even in a situation where he was shocked to find his youngest granddaughter couldn’t read, he still mentioned that pebble…?’

I smelled a rat.

Either Grandfather was the world’s greatest romantic who loved his late wife more than anyone knew—

‘Or there’s a reason I have to be the one holding onto Acom.’

Actually, regardless of the reason, I needed Acom right now.

[Grrr.]

Acom had climbed onto my bed and was shaking his head wildly while biting a pillow.

If someone walked into the room right now, it would look like the pillow was flapping around on its own.

Since no one else could see Acom or hear his voice…!

That ability to hide his very existence while still being able to touch physical objects.

‘Grandmother kept the pebble all that time, so that’s probably why Grandfather said those things. I wonder how Grandmother became friends with Acom.’

I approached the bed and spoke to Acom.

“Acom, where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Acom let go of the pillow and turned toward me. His tooth marks were clearly left on the pillow, though they were tiny and insignificant since he was so small.

[I was wandering around the Trabel estate.]

“Why?”

[What do you mean, why? I had to check what happened while I was asleep. I’m the manager of this land.]

“Manager? You manage this land, Acom?”

…Even though you’re this small?

[What’s with that look?]

“N-Nothing. Are you like a guardian deity?”

The pharmacist in Bonwell Village, Grandma Marshal, knew many old stories.

I recalled beings similar to Acom from the stories I’d heard from her.

“Or an elemental? There’s a forest near the village where I used to live that’s protected by a dryad.”

[Guardian? Elemental? I don’t know. From the moment I became aware of my existence, I was just the manager.]

I shook the tassel attached to a cushion. Acom glared at it, then lunged and bit it in one go.

He really was small. No bigger than my hand. To think he managed this vast Trabel estate with that body.

‘Maybe…’

I decided to throw out a bit of bait.

“The Trabel estate is so big, it must be hard to manage.”

[That’s exactly what I’m saying.]

Acom flopped down on the bed.

[I wish I had two bodies. It was a bit easier in the past when Quartz helped me.]

“…”

This was it!

I asked as carefully as possible so as not to make Acom suspicious.

“You said you were friends with my grandmother. And I’m her granddaughter.”

[So?]

“How about I help you? Like an assistant.”

Honestly, I expected Acom to accept my offer right away.

[You?]

But Acom burst into laughter.

[You can’t. To help with the manager’s work, you have to be able to read and write the ancient language. You don’t even know the script of the Heysel Empire yet.]

“The ancient language?”

[Quartz was smart. I think you’re cute because you’re her granddaughter, but I can’t work with a dim-witted human.]

“Wait a second.”

I left Acom and went to the desk. I returned quickly and held out a piece of paper to him.

[You want me to look at this? More squiggles…]

Acom’s eyes went wide just as he was about to burst out laughing again.

I read the sentence I had written in the ancient language exactly as it was.

“Instead of an assistant, how about a partner?”