Dad is Back From a Deserted Island - Chapter 35

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Father has returned from the Deserted Island
Chapter 35

It felt so surreal that Eduard could scarcely believe it was real. Yet he was not a man who could deny what stood plainly before his eyes.
“Very well, I’ll keep it secret. In exchange, Vivian, you must keep my aching legs a secret too, yes?”
“Why? If you’re in pain, you should see a doctor and get treatment!”
“Clever child. But Grandfather cannot let people know he’s hurting just yet.”
“But… but still…”
Eduard had fathered his child quite late, having devoted himself entirely to his work. That late-born child still lacked much to inherit the seat of leadership over this vast Merchant Guild.
If people learned that Eduard himself was aging and falling ill in such circumstances…
He could vividly imagine the hyenas descending. This enormous Merchant Guild would be torn to shreds in an instant, devoured by those ravenous beasts.
With a fierce competitor nipping at his heels, he wanted to conceal everything he possibly could.
“When the time comes, Grandfather will seek out a doctor and receive treatment. Will that do?”
“U-um… yes!”
Vivian, who had been hesitant, finally nodded at Eduard’s gentle voice.
“Then, I’ll help support you instead!”
“What? You?”
“Yes! Lean on me like this, just like this. Walk while leaning on my side! Then it won’t hurt as much, and Louis can take longer walks too!”
“Woof! Woof!”
Louis barked excitedly and circled around the two of them in spirals.
Lately, whenever they went for walks, the dog would stop halfway through and whimper to turn back—Eduard had wondered if something was wrong with him. To think it was because Louis had been worried about him all along.
Eduard felt his heart swell as he gazed down at the small girl offering to support him.
“Hehe, hehehehe.”
Laughter spilled out naturally.

* * *

“Huh?”
Jean de Lamber could only express his bewilderment with that single sound.
The moment I awoke and realized Vivian wasn’t beside me, I hastily threw on my robe and rushed out—only to find Eduard and Vivian conversing in the Living Room with the warm, intimate atmosphere of a grandfather and granddaughter.
Until yesterday, the two of them hadn’t properly exchanged a single word.
I couldn’t even fathom what had transpired while I slept.
“Oh! Father!”
Vivian spotted me standing in the doorway and came running toward me with a delighted expression.
“M-my princess. Did you sleep well? Ah, no, that’s not what I meant to say… This isn’t even our home—how can you wander about alone like this? What time did you wake up?”
Seeing her rush toward me and cling to my legs with such an endearing sight, I found myself asking after her well-being before my mind caught up with the situation.
But Vivian was utterly unrepentant.
Waking up early in the morning wasn’t wrong, and besides, she’d gone for a walk with Kiki, so she hadn’t gone out alone!
“I didn’t go alone! I went with Kiki. Father was snoring so loudly that I couldn’t wake you!”
“Still, that’s not the point…”
“Haha, please don’t scold her too much. Thanks to this most courteous and lovely little lady, my dull morning has become quite delightful.”
‘What on earth happened?’
I had served Eduard more closely than anyone for ten years.
Eduard’s son had kept his distance from a father who refused to acknowledge him as a proper heir, so it was fair to say we’d grown closer than family.
Knowing Eduard as I did, I was well aware that he wasn’t someone who opened his heart easily, even to children.
“Grandfather! Father’s awake now, so let’s go eat! You must be hungry.”
“Haha. Shall we?”
Who on earth was this person smiling so benevolently?
As we made our way to the Dining Room, I wore a dazed expression. Vivian, holding Eduard’s hand, didn’t notice my face, but Eduard saw it clearly.
While gazing at Vivian with affection, Eduard’s mind raced furiously.
‘That man knew of his daughter’s abilities and tried to conceal them. Is this mysterious power unique to Vivian, or is it an ability passed down through his bloodline for generations? Looking at that striking appearance, I could believe this family carries fey blood.’
Remarkably, Eduard—the Empire’s greatest merchant—and Anne, who favored anyone with exceptional beauty as long as they weren’t criminals, arrived at similar conclusions.
However, this stemmed from Eduard’s experience as a merchant who had encountered countless people and learned that there were many things in this world that defied his understanding.
He’d suffered losses countless times by denying what stood before his eyes simply because he couldn’t comprehend the mechanism behind it.
Thus, Eduard made an effort to simply accept the information presented to him.
Viewed in isolation, Jean de Lamber was a suspicious figure worthy of suspicion as a spy.
But when combined with a daughter possessing the mysterious ability to communicate with animals and a monkey that followed her around—Eduard, of course, knew what a monkey was and had even seen one in person—they became a family blessed with mysterious powers.
‘Perhaps he possesses the ability to read others’ hearts and emotions.’
As a result, Eduard fell into the misunderstanding that Jean de Lamber also possessed mysterious powers.
Since Jean de Lamber had indeed returned by reversing time, could this misunderstanding truly be called completely unfounded?
By the time Eduard entered the Dining Room, his thoughts had settled, and his gaze now held a considerably warmer temperature even toward Jean de Lamber.
Only Jean de Lamber, oblivious to the reason, remained bewildered.

* * *

From morning onward, the Lamber Family Garden echoed with the laughter of children.
It was the sound of Vivian and Luca playing and running about.
Standing by the window of the Study Room, gazing down at the children, Eduard’s lips curved into a gentle smile.
“Hearing the children laugh like this… it makes the mansion feel like a proper home.”
Luca, who had matured far beyond his years, rarely laughed aloud.
Eduard felt both pride and a touch of melancholy watching his grandson in this way, and so he smiled with quiet contentment.
Had Jean de Lamber been present, I would have thanked him—but Jean had suddenly received a proposal for a significant transaction and had excused himself from the mansion to oversee the arrangements.
“…Hmm?”
In that moment, Eduard’s eyes narrowed.
Had I seen it wrong?
No, I had definitely seen it.
Luca was playing with Vivian as a faultlessly kind older brother would, yet Eduard detected something peculiar in his grandson’s expression.
‘He said before that he liked how Vivian didn’t treat him specially. When did that change?’
I checked again to be certain, but I had unmistakably witnessed that cold glint in his eyes several times.
‘Could they have quarreled without my knowing? But he’s not the sort of child to argue with someone so much younger than himself.’
Still, I couldn’t help but worry. There was a possibility that the children’s feelings might be hurt. No—given the considerable age difference, there was a real chance that Vivian alone would be wounded.
‘What on earth could have happened?’
But to interfere would be… well. I had rarely seen situations improve when I involved myself in such matters.
‘Could he be entering adolescence?’
Without some explanation like that, I couldn’t account for such a sudden shift in his demeanor, so Eduard simply waited for the turbulent emotions of adolescence to settle.
Meanwhile, Eduard was not the only one who sensed the change in Luca’s emotions.
Vivian too noticed that her kind and gentle older brother Luca seemed somehow different from before.
“Luca!”
“What is it, Vivian?”
When I called him, he responded with a smile just as he always did, but the warmth in his gaze had grown distant.
‘What’s wrong?’
[Why is he acting like this?]
“Oh, no. Or maybe? Um, I’ll tell you about it later.”
Vivian whispered softly to Kiki, then quickly grasped Luca’s hand. For some reason, the thought that Luca might have come to dislike me felt unbearably sad.
‘What did I do wrong?’
Luca approached Vivian, who had suddenly grown sullen after calling for him.
“Why did you suddenly become gloomy?”
“Oh, um. I suddenly got hungry!”
“What? Aha, wait a moment. I’ll have someone bring some snacks.”
Watching Luca call for a servant to order refreshments, Vivian could only sigh softly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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