I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 102

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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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Chapter 102

What on earth could be so exciting that Akum was bouncing around like this?
Each time Akum’s short hind legs sprang upward, the spiny protrusions along his back shimmered with droplets of water.
“What is it?”
[A box! It has a lock on it, and when I looked closely, I think this key fits it perfectly!]
The way his eyes sparkled as he spoke suggested this was something important.
But it was nighttime—
[Julia used to keep treasures in that box.]
“Oh!”
My ears perked up at the sound. Julia’s treasure box?
“Where is it?”
I made my way toward the Room of Contemplation to leave Baltar’s letter. Akum trotted along behind me, answering as he followed.
[In the greenhouse near Mariane’s house!]
“Sapphire House?”
[Yes! Inside the greenhouse storage shed! Remember how I didn’t know about those ancient texts hidden by the bushes last time? So lately I’ve been searching every nook and cranny of places I don’t usually go, and I found Julia’s treasure box on the floor of the storage shed! Little Quartz loves things like this, so I came running! Did I do well? Huh?]
“Yes! You’re truly amazing, Akum!”
I praised him with a bright smile, but something felt off.
‘Why would Julia’s belongings be in the greenhouse attached to Sapphire House?’
Not in the Main Estate or Stone House?
Priscilla’s children—Count Trabel’s first wife’s offspring—had always despised Julia, treating her like a concubine. Aunt Mariane felt the same way. It troubled me that Julia’s belongings would be gathering dust on the floor of a Sapphire House storage shed.
‘Hmm…’
I should go see what condition it was in, and if it was being neglected, I ought to bring it back.
Father wouldn’t be pleased if he knew. Fortunately, Father had gone to Goldport and hadn’t returned yet. It was nighttime, but it was close by—if I went quickly, it should be fine!
‘I’m curious what treasures are inside too~’
After leaving Baltar’s letter, I found the key and left the Room of Contemplation.
“Let’s go. Were there no people around when you came?”
[No one~! At this hour, only the Knights on night watch pass through, right? I know all about it!]
The nighttime actually made this convenient. Except for the night patrol and the few servants stationed in the Main Estate and each Separate House, the people not belonging to Trabel had already returned to their living quarters beyond the inner walls.
‘It’s best if as few people as possible see me heading to Sapphire House!’
I changed into a dark-colored dress and slowly opened the door.
A single sculpture embedded with luminescent stones softly illuminated the corridor.
[There’s no one downstairs~]
Akum, who had gone down first, checked the situation and reported back to me.
I was about to tiptoe down the staircase to search for the treasure box—or rather, Julia’s box—when it happened.
“Berry, where are you going?”
“Eek—!”
Theon’s voice came from above my head. Startled, my foot missed the next step and my body tilted precariously. I couldn’t die like this—
Thud.
Theon descended the stairs and seized my wrist, pulling me toward him.
“I… I’m alive.”
“Sorry for startling you, Berry.”
Theon gripped my wrist firmly, his expression even more alarmed than mine as he steadied me and examined me from every angle.
“Theon, have you been upstairs this whole time?”
Theon nodded.
The upper floor housed Father’s Study. Recently, Theon had begun reading not just newspapers but specialized texts and literary works as well, and Father had taken to supervising his studies there, transforming the Study into a makeshift classroom.
Even when Father was absent, Theon seemed to study alone in the Study. Training, studying, eating, sleeping, training, studying…
“Don’t you ever sleep, Theon?”
“Not yet. My mentor hasn’t arrived.”
“Father will be late tonight. Victor said he rented out the entire shop. So you should sleep soon. Children need their rest, after all~”
“…”
Theon gazed down at me in silence.
Ah, that’s right. I was actually younger than Theon. And those eyes of his were beginning to regard me with suspicion.
[Little Quartz~! Aren’t you coming?]
Akum urged me from downstairs.
Sneaking out and returning wouldn’t work. Theon had already seen that I wasn’t wearing my nightclothes.
‘But tonight is the perfect opportunity!’
Nights when Father went out were rare. As I pondered how to convince Theon to let me leave, a brilliant idea struck me.
“Theon, would you come outside with me?”
“Going out at night is dangerous.”
“Exactly. Didn’t you say last time that if I’m going to do something dangerous, we should do it together?”
I grinned, and Theon blinked as he looked at me.

***

The Greenhouse attached to Sapphire House was about a ten-minute walk from Stone House.

“I happened to overhear that there’s a locked box in the Greenhouse’s storage room. Remember that key we found in the crow’s nest last time? We might be able to open it with that.”

Despite my vague explanation without revealing my source, Theon followed without hesitation. He didn’t press further, which made me wonder if I should be concerned. Theon nodded.

“If I can go with you, the reason doesn’t matter much.”
“Wow. Theon.”
“You’ll do it regardless of what anyone says, Berry. It’s my role to help you in case something dangerous happens.”

I was almost moved by my male friend’s loyalty before realizing he’d said it because of my trust issues.
It seemed he’d judged this to be too dangerous for me to handle alone.
“I’ll tell you if I sense anyone nearby.”
[I’ll let you know if there’s anyone on the way!]
Thanks to that, I could proceed with far more peace of mind than when I was alone with Akum. After all, Akum couldn’t sense people outside his field of vision.
“That’s reassuring.”
I murmured sincerely, and Theon faltered.
“…I’ll do my best.”
He was clearly embarrassed.
Before long, we arrived at the Greenhouse. White cloth hung like curtains across the glass walls, obscuring the interior. As I opened the door and stepped inside, moonlight streaming through the glass ceiling illuminated the space within.
“Hmm. Looks like it’s not being used.”
Aunt Mariane had no hobby of tending flowers. Perhaps that’s why the Greenhouse had been left unused.
An open door, empty flower beds and pots, furniture draped with dust covers. After surveying the Classroom-sized Greenhouse, Theon asked me.
“Is that a storage shed?”
[Here, here!]
Akum bounded toward the storage shed in the center of the Greenhouse. It appeared to have been built to store gardening supplies.
“Yeah. That one.”
I nodded at Theon’s question, my gaze fixed on the shed.
Julia’s heirlooms were left abandoned in a place like this.
“Let’s go check it out.”
I took Theon’s hand and walked toward the shed.
I opened the half-open shed door and went to where Akum had stopped. Crouching down, I tilted my head until my hair touched the floor. There, on the ground, was a jewelry box no more than two adult hand-spans in length.
“Berry, it looks like it was hidden on purpose.”
“I know, right…?”
The items on the shelves looked quite valuable, yet someone had deliberately hidden this box on the floor and even placed a pot in front of it. If Akum hadn’t pointed out its exact location, I doubt I could have found it even with information.
“Should we take it out?”
“Yes! Let’s check if the key fits.”
I picked up the key, my eyes gleaming. As Theon moved the pot aside, the keyhole of the lock came into view. Just as Akum said, the key looked like it would fit perfectly.
[Hurry up! Little Quartz!]
In the midst of Akum’s eager urging, I pulled out the box, inserted the key, and turned it.
Click.
‘Oh!’
Click—.
“Berry.”
Theon, holding my hand, locked the mechanism, removed the key, and returned the pot to its original position.
I remained crouching, staring at Theon with bewildered eyes.
“…Why? I just opened it…?”
Julia’s treasure box. I’d opened it, so why close it…?
“Someone’s coming into the Greenhouse.”
“Gasp.”
Theon whispered, and I heard it too. The sound of footsteps entering the Greenhouse, opening the door—!
The footsteps drew steadily closer.
This was trouble. If I left the storage room now, I’d surely be discovered, and if that person entered the storage room, they’d see us here.
‘What do I do, what do I do?!’
In my panic, Theon seized my hand and pulled me behind the shelves.
We hid behind a large trolley piled high with miscellaneous items, and the narrow space between the storage room wall and the trolley left me pressed against Theon’s chest.
Fortunately, since we were inside the storage room, the interior wasn’t brightly lit, and with so much clutter around us, we wouldn’t be visible unless someone looked directly at us.
‘Theon, I’ll keep watch.’
‘…Okay.’
Theon faced the storage room wall while I faced the opposite direction. Since there wasn’t enough space for him to turn his head, it made sense for me to peer through the gaps in the clutter and observe what was happening outside.
Not long after, the Greenhouse door opened and someone stepped inside.
“Damn it. Why do they keep dredging up the past?”
The storage room had an open ceiling. The moment I glimpsed the speaker’s face in the moonlight, my eyes went wide. The grumbling tone was unfamiliar.
Edgar Presto Trabel.
Aunt Mariane’s husband and my grandfather’s adopted son-in-law. Uncle by Marriage typically had a faint impression and a kind face. But now he was frowning deeply—
‘Eek!’
At Uncle by Marriage’s next action, I was so startled that I clung tightly to what my arms had grasped.
“….”
It was Theon’s head.

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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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