I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 136

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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 136

But to disappoint those hopeful eyes felt wrong—as if I were committing some transgression against the holy Priest himself. Moreover, Yuraha was a clergyman cultivated by the Grand Temple since childhood.
Based on the mercenary’s words yesterday—”a person of high standing”—he was no ordinary priest. To conclude: an elite high-ranking clergyman from the Grand Temple.
In other words, a man of power in the Heishal Empire, which had adopted the Aubaut Religion as its state faith.
“Truth be told, I was so young when I met the Priest that my memories are rather hazy.”
From experience, the goodwill of the powerful toward me had always yielded more advantage than genuine affection.
Once I claimed the Diamond House, my relatives would begin to actively oppose us. That meant the day would come when I’d desperately need a powerful man’s influence. I smiled with evident warmth and spoke to Yuraha.
“Still, it’s lovely to see you again.”
“Is it?”
At my words, Yuraha folded his arms on the table and leaned his upper body forward. Because of the height difference, our eyes finally met at the same level.
‘Wait—isn’t this rather close?’
Yuraha’s face and mine were separated by only the distance of three adult male fists, a proximity that seemed far too intimate for people who barely knew each other. Jeffrey spoke at roughly this distance all the time.
I considered showing slight discomfort but decided against it.
‘Perhaps he simply hasn’t encountered many outsiders.’
Those who became priests from childhood rarely engaged in social activities, and thus often deviated from conventional social norms. Yuraha might be one such person.
“I have never forgotten you. Berry Quartz.”
For a moment, it seemed Yuraha’s gaze flickered toward something behind me, but I had no chance to turn and verify. His focus returned to me. I met his eyes, now closer than before. Yuraha gazed at me with a brilliantly luminous expression and smiled.
“Not once.”

***

‘Wow. This is awkward.’
It seemed the sanctity conveyed by his appearance faded with continued exposure. These few minutes waiting for the newspaper felt unbearably strange.
Regarding his ambiguous statement that he had never once forgotten me, he offered no particular clarification.
My eyes met Yuraha’s again. When he smiled with his eyes, I offered a faint smile in return.
Inwardly, I cheered for the Employee walking toward us to quicken his pace.
“I’ve brought the newspaper and tea.”
“Ah, right. My companions are waiting for the newspaper. I should take it to them quickly.”
I grabbed the newspaper the Employee had brought and rose from my seat. Contrary to my worry that Yuraha might try to stop me, he let me go willingly.
“See you again.”
“Yes. See you again.”
I climbed to the Guest Room without even having a chance to unfold the newspaper. My heart was beating slightly faster than usual for some reason. I couldn’t tell if it was because I wanted to see Theon, or because of the tension that Yuraha might speak to me again.
“….”
As I opened the Guest Room door and stepped inside, Theon was sitting on the Living Room sofa. His hair looked fluffy, as if he’d just washed and dried it.
‘I want to touch it.’
Fortunately, it remained a thought. Hearing the door open, Theon turned his head, discovered me, and smiled softly.
“Berry, did you get the newspaper?”
“Yes. Do you want to read it too?”
Theon nodded.
I handed the newspaper to Theon and quietly sat down beside him on the sofa. Normally, I wouldn’t have minded our bodies touching, but now I did. If I sat like this, our arms would touch.
“I’m tired.”
I muttered as if for Theon to hear, then leaned my upper body against the sofa’s armrest. Glancing at Theon, his gaze was fixed on the newspaper. My action to create distance seemed not to bother him at all.
‘Isn’t he curious why I was late?’
I had told Theon I was going to the First Floor to get the newspaper before leaving the Guest Room. Since I’d unexpectedly run into Yuraha and it took time, the usual Theon should have asked why I was late.
‘Hmm.’
I was also acting differently than usual, but a feeling of disappointment was trying to slip out. I asked Theon, who had begun reading the newspaper.
“Theon, what were you doing alone in the Living Room?”
“Just….”
Theon slowly opened his mouth. His eyes were still on the newspaper.
“Thinking.”
“About what?”
“Just thinking.”
As he turned a page of the newspaper, Theon’s expression was hidden behind it. I forgot my resolve not to get close to him and leaned forward toward him.
A distance of about two and a half fists. Our usual distance.
“Is something troubling you?”
Instead of answering my question, Theon showed me the newspaper and spoke.
“Berry, look at this.”
Page three of the newspaper—the section covering international issues. Upon seeing what Theon had pointed out, I was startled and burrowed into his embrace. It was to read the article content more clearly.

———-
Coup d’état by the Second Prince of Edencia Kingdom!

Four days ago at dawn, Tieno Valenhardt, the Second Prince of Edencia Kingdom, attempted to seize the royal palace by leading his forces. In response, the King appointed Princess Belesa Valenhardt, the First Princess, as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army….
…(excerpt omitted)…
The rebellion was suppressed, but the ‘Jewel of the Sun’—which proves the legitimacy of the next king—was lost.
———-

‘So it was around this time…!’
I certainly retained fragments of this incident in my other memories, but since it had no connection to Edencia Kingdom, I hadn’t paid it much attention.
All I knew were a few scattered details.
“But why four days ago?”
At my murmured question, Theon shifted his position. He released the newspaper from both hands to hold it with one, using his right index finger to point at an article.
“Here.”
“….”
I found myself embraced from behind by Theon. The underside of his upper arm came perilously close to my right shoulder. Before my entire body could focus on that sensation, Theon mercifully spoke.
“It must be because of this.”
Theon’s index finger pointed to a coronation photograph published alongside the article.
The ‘Jewel of the Sun’ embedded at the center of the crown worn by the current king. Though the black-and-white photograph prevented me from discerning its true color, it was said to gleam brilliantly with an enigmatic blend of orange and gold light.
“I’ve heard that in Edencia Kingdom, one cannot be recognized as the next king without the Jewel of the Sun. The fact that such an important object was lost means the royal family’s security is compromised. They probably wanted to suppress the article from circulating alongside news of the coup.”
“So they controlled the media to buy time to find the treasure?”
Yet the fact that the article had reached even the Heishal Empire meant they had failed to recover the Jewel of the Sun. I momentarily forgot that I was nestled against Theon and focused entirely on the newspaper article.

———-
Edencia Kingdom has appointed Princess Belesa Valenhardt as the chief administrator for the recovery of the Jewel of the Sun,
and announced its commitment to doing everything possible to reclaim the national treasure….
———-

“So Theon, what do you make of this?”
I kept my gaze fixed on that passage as I posed the question to him.
Uncle Lucian was Princess Belesa’s closest confidant. There was no way he wouldn’t be involved in something of this magnitude.
“You said Tory came to Belodia on Uncle Lucian’s orders, right? If Tory—someone skilled at reconnaissance—came all the way to Belodia, doesn’t that suggest the Jewel of the Sun is hidden somewhere in this city?”
“…That’s true.”
“It’s plausible, isn’t it?”
I tapped the newspaper thoughtfully. Grandfather had promised to grant my wishes if I brought him those swindlers. My relatives wouldn’t be able to break my engagement to Theon. But given that wishes were tied directly to results, they would continue to protest to Grandfather. That was the only opening they had to exploit.
‘It’s better to eliminate any opening from the start.’
What if I resolved Kane’s accident and became the benefactor who found the Valenhardt Royal Family’s treasure?
A granddaughter who not only resolved the family’s crisis but also ventured abroad and returned with accomplishments. No matter what reward Grandfather bestowed upon me, no one would dare openly oppose it.
“….”
…Heh.
I was lost in my scheming when it happened.
Thump. Something heavy settled atop my head. Theon had rested his chin there. His voice emerged, calm and steady.
“Let’s do it together.”
“…Do what?”
Caught off guard, I blurted out the question, and Theon replied.
“What you just decided.”

***

“Yuraha.”
High Priest Dershu had come to Yuraha’s quarters.
“Will you take breakfast?”
Priests do not keep attendants. Because of this, priests often served higher-ranking priests. On this journey, Dershu, a High Priest of the Grand Temple, had assumed the role of attending to Yuraha.
“No.”
Yuraha shook his head. The next High Priest of the Aubaut Order. The one who hears the word of God.
His expression was always cold as ice, and he was a man of few words. The sight of him wearing even a faint smile, as he did now, was not something one saw often.
Dershu asked Yuraha.
“Has something pleasant happened?”
“Something pleasant?”
Yuraha turned the final page of the scripture and answered. A blank page greeted him. With practiced ease, he flipped the book back to its first page. Upon seeing the illustration of a black dog, the events from this morning naturally surfaced in his mind. Berry Quartz. And the man who had come down to the first floor of the inn as if searching for her.
‘A new sun.’
Theon Phil Igselona. The man whose face and name had appeared in the revelation he had received.

“I have never forgotten you, Berry Quartz.”

When our eyes met, his dark pupils wavered. Then, slowly, he turned away and left.
‘I have no place meddling in Berry Quartz’s romantic affairs.’
Yuraha ran his fingertips gently across the pages of scripture, thick with divine words, as he answered Dershu.
“I witnessed something amusing.”

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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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