I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 122

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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 122

‘Baron Oldman?’
Only then did Mariane realize the commotion wasn’t directed at her. Beneath the brilliant blue sky, a woman who shone even in the sunlight stood before the Temple.
She hadn’t been here long—she was asking a Priest for directions and offering her thanks. As a result, every eye passing through the Temple entrance turned toward her. The woman glanced around as if to confirm the path the Priest had indicated.
Mariane caught sight of the woman’s profile.
“Ah.”
Blue eyes found Mariane, and they curved into a smile. Though they stood in the same space, barely two meters apart, the moment their gazes met, Mariane felt as though a shadow had fallen over her head.
“You must be Mariane Cornelian Trabel?”
“….”
And Mariane understood perfectly why she felt this way. It was a situation that had happened often in her life. The difference was that this woman occupied the position that should have been hers, and this place belonged to others.
Her own light had paled beneath this woman’s radiance.
Mariane watched the woman approach with a gentle smile, suppressing the roiling fury within. Only fools would let their true nature show here.
“Hello. You must be Baron Oldman?”
“Yes, we’ve only corresponded by letter until now.”
“I heard you were someone difficult to meet in person, yet you came all the way to the Temple in response to my letter. I’m so grateful I hardly know what to do.”
“Please, don’t say such things. I heard that you had some concerns, and it’s my duty to clarify them.”
Mariane inwardly scoffed at the sight of Baron Oldman before her. She was considerably younger than herself, and possessed a formidable presence. She stood with her spine perfectly straight before Mariane, her bearing one of refusing to yield in this battle of wills.
‘How presumptuous.’
Mariane’s gaze fell upon Baron Oldman’s fingers. Not a single ring adorned them. Unmarried, then.
Moreover, she had come to the Temple alone, without even a single Attendant to run errands, and without any companions.
‘Fearless, too.’
Mariane felt a dark laugh bloom within her.
Baron Oldman and Mariane shared the same destination. Even as they walked guided by a Priest toward the chamber where the Holy Grail rested, the subtle confrontation between them continued.
Mariane spoke to the Baron.
“I expected someone considerably older.”
“Is that so?”
“I thought one would need to build connections with the Dwarves over many years. So beauty works on the Dwarves too? Had I known, I would have brought someone as beautiful as you when delivering the jewels.”
“The Dwarves have no interest in humans. It was the perfect pearls from the Shusubia Archipelago that you sold me that made the difference.”
“…Hehe. The way you put it makes me sound like such a generous person. I sold those pearls that went for 1.2 billion Kona at auction for 100 million. And I gave you a 15 percent stake in my jewelry business. You should be careful—too much generosity can have its drawbacks.”
“Thank you for your concern. From what I can see, I’m not a glutton, so you needn’t worry. And since I haven’t eaten anything yet, I’m quite hungry. Will my stomach be full by tomorrow? If your finances are tight at the moment, I’d be happy to settle for interest to ease my hunger.”
“Insane….”
Mariane barely swallowed a curse that nearly escaped her lips.
This mad woman didn’t yield an inch to anything she said. After that, silence fell, and the air grew thin as ice.
The Priest guiding them and High Priest Fin, who had been preparing and waiting for the Holy Grail ceremony, both broke into cold sweat at Mariane’s ominous atmosphere.
“W-well then, we shall now conduct the Ceremony of the Holy Grail of Truth. Though brief, this is a solemn occasion where we commune with the sacred relics of Aubaut God. We ask that you conduct yourselves with reverence. Baron Oldman?”
“Yes.”
High Priest Fin pointed his palm toward the Holy Grail placed upon the altar. Baron Oldman smiled brightly and stepped forward toward the Holy Grail.
“Hold the chalice with both hands, and I ask that you answer the questions I pose from this moment forward. Witnesses to your responses will be myself, Mariane, and the Priest present here. I will now ask two questions that Mariane and Baron Oldman have agreed upon beforehand.”
Priest Fin unfolded the question sheet he had received in advance and addressed Baron Oldman, who held the chalice.
“Are you, Baron Oldman himself, the one holding the chalice?”
“Yes.”
“Did you collude with the Dwarves for the assessment of the most perfect jewel?”
“No.”
Two questions and two answers concluded swiftly.
The chalice in Baron Oldman’s hand did not fill with crimson liquid.

***

“My apologies for the misunderstanding. The settlement will be transferred tomorrow.”
“Please, it was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Do take care on your way.”
“You as well, Mariane.”
Despite the truth being revealed that Baron Oldman had not colluded with the Dwarves, Mariane’s demeanor showed little change.
She stood at the Temple entrance, watching Baron Oldman board the carriage he had arrived in. Unlike her sociable smile, the corner of her mouth hidden behind her fan twisted into a sneer at the unsuspecting baron’s retreating figure.
“How naive.”
Mariane murmured to herself.
Whether that young baron had colluded with the Dwarves or not—Mariane had never cared in the first place.
Her true objective was to draw out Baron Oldman, who had been hiding like a frightened mouse, into her presence.
“One can only collect a settlement from someone who’s still alive.”
She had hired twenty assassins. They would follow Baron Oldman in secret and strike all at once in a place without witnesses. How could that woman, who had brought not even a single attendant, possibly survive?
‘It would be a waste to kill someone with such beauty. How dare she indulge her appetite so presumptuously.’
A sense of release washed over her as years of accumulated resentment finally found its outlet. Mariane boarded her carriage with a light heart, humming a cheerful tune.
Tonight, she would sleep soundly, stretching her legs without worry.

And that night.
Crash!
“….”
At Sapphire House, Mariane’s hysterical screams and the sound of wine glasses shattering echoed through the halls once again.
“Not a single report?!”
Out of twenty assassins, not one had come to me with news. I had failed to eliminate Baron Oldman by midnight. This meant one of two things.
Either the failed assassins had fled without confidence they could return my money, or there was no one left to report at all.
Either way, the assumption remained unchanged: I had failed to kill Baron Oldman.
Aaahhh!
Mariane’s furious scream traveled up through the ceiling and seeped into Calips’s room.
“Ah. At this rate, she’ll be performing an opera next.”
Calips muttered without opening his eyes, turning his head to the side. Then, with practiced ease, he grabbed another pillow and covered his ears.
Ugh. So loud.

***

Twenty-four hours had passed since I drank the potion.
What remained in my hands as I returned to my original body was—.

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Depositor: Mariane Cornelian Trabel
Amount: 700,000,000 Cona
Balance: 700,000,000 Cona
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“….”
My first earnings in Baron Oldman’s personal account…!
Unable to believe it, I checked countless times even after leaving the bank in Baron Oldman’s form.
…Hehe.
“It’ll wear out.”
A voice chided me for my behavior. I laughed and spoke to Zikal, who was carrying me through the secret passage.
“If it wears out, I can just get a new one issued! Zikal, is there anything you need? I already sent gifts to Baron Voltman and the Wild Dog Tribe by mail yesterday, so I just need to buy yours!”
“I don’t need anything. I came to repay a debt. There’s no need to receive more.”
Zikal spoke indifferently, but without him, yesterday would have ended in disaster.

“Who dares cause a commotion on my mountain! Get out at once!”

The carriage was passing through the mountains when it happened.
With a deafening roar, the carriage came under attack. Zikal fought off the assassins like the Wild Dog Tribe that dwelt in these mountains, mindful of the eyes upon us. I pressed myself flat against the carriage floor, my eyes squeezed shut until we finally escaped the mountain pass.
‘Goodness. Aunt Mariane…! How despicable!’
In my other memories, Aunt Mariane was the sort who would hire assassins whenever someone displeased her. Her scheme to draw Baron Oldman out into the open was painfully transparent, so I had reached out to Zikal a few days prior to request his protection.
Though I never imagined the assassins would actually strike at the carriage.
“Why don’t you tell your father about this?”

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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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