I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 157

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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 157

Belesa Valenhardt did not move unless it benefited her. Such was her nature. It had been this way since childhood, as far as memory served, and her upbringing had only reinforced this disposition.
If you did not seize what you wanted, it would be taken from you. If you did not rise, you would be forgotten even by your own parents.
Belesa had grown up watching her siblings fall prey to these truths.
‘How foolish.’
The fifth prince weeping over a cherished horse that had been stolen from him, the fourth princess who lost her voice when the king asked her name, and so on.
In Belesa’s eyes, they were all pathetic. If they did not wish to be robbed, they should not have allowed themselves to be robbed in the first place. If they despised their own insignificance, they should have done something about it.
‘Why do they all live so stupidly?’
For Belesa, such matters were simple.
One merely selected the pieces to move upon the chessboard and placed the advantageous ones where they needed to be. Trivial obstacles could be swept aside or ignored.
Until she met that man.

“I cannot do this. No matter how high a price you offer, that land is not for sale.”
“How dare you. Do you know whose safety is at stake—!”
“I am aware that you are the princess of the Edencia Kingdom. Even so, that land cannot be sold. If the reservoir disappears, the surrounding villages will suffer greatly.”

A stubborn young man. No amount of persuasion or threat could bend him. Because he had the backing of the Trabel Estate, there were concerns that pressing further would yield nothing but disadvantage.
As a result, the development project into which Belesa had invested a considerable sum was postponed indefinitely.
‘How irritating.’
That man kept appearing before Belesa’s eyes. Those golden irises that saw her so clearly. She found herself thinking of those eyes from time to time.
‘If our paths cross again, I’ll have to remove him.’
Belesa made this vow to herself whenever the man came to mind.
Then, in an unexpected place, she received his help. While enjoying a pleasure boat on the river, Belesa’s vessel was caught in the violent currents brought on by a sudden downpour and capsized.
Belesa fell into the water. Swimming posed no problem for her, but the torrential rain destroyed her visibility. The water below was murky with sediment, and above the surface, she could see nothing but sheets of rain.

“Your High—, ness—!”
“Here!!”
“Where—are—you—!”
“Here, I say!!”

Whoooosh.
Knights who swam to the surface grabbed the overturned boat and searched for Belesa, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of rain.
‘Damn it.’
Belesa clenched her teeth. The current carrying the overturned boat and the current carrying Belesa were different. In her vision, the boat and her companions’ silhouettes grew increasingly distant.
When the rain stopped, Belesa found herself alone in the vast river. Only a broken piece of driftwood served as her lifeline.
‘Is this how it ends?’
She clung to the wood and endured for what felt like an eternity. Whether she had drifted too far or for some other reason, she couldn’t see anyone coming to rescue her.
Her water-soaked body grew colder by the moment. Chills wracked her frame and drowsiness threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn’t die like this. She bit the inside of her cheek hard, fighting off the encroaching sleep.

“This pink hair… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

A man’s carefree voice reached Belesa’s ears as she fought her battle against death.
In that instant, strength surged back into Belesa’s weakening body. She turned her head with all her might.
Upon confirming the face of the man in the fishing boat, her lips moved slowly.

“Brown Quartz.”
“Oh, so you were the princess after all.”
“Save me.”
“…Hmm.”

Brown Quartz.
A stubborn man who made tasteless jokes frequently, whose thoughts were impossible to read, who trembled at the sight of a single coin, yet wouldn’t hesitate to spend gold coins for a suffering commoner child.
‘That man can’t just pass by someone in need.’
Belesa was certain Brown would save her. But Brown paused to consider, then rowed his oars again.

“Wait, where are you going?”
“Getting involved sounds like a hassle. I have a sister who means the world to me. I can’t let her get hurt.”
“Brown Quartz…! Wait!”
“Why? If I save you, you’ll just have people threaten me again anyway.”
“That wasn’t me!”

Here she was, a princess, pleading with this man to save her while asserting her innocence.
Even as Belesa recognized the absurdity of the situation, she was desperate to reach Brown.
At her cry, Brown stopped rowing. Then, looking at Belesa in the water gazing at him with such desperation, he opened his mouth.

“Then what will you do for me?”
“What do you mean, do for you?”
“If I save Your Highness.”
“If you save me…?”

Belesa asked, her lips turned blue, her breath escaping with each word.
Brown chuckled and spoke.

“The princess owes me a debt, does she not?”

***

“Berry, look there.”
“Yes.”
I answered Theon. A carriage was heading toward the harbor where the morning sun had risen.
“It bears the crest of the Edencia Kingdom.”
A crest engraved with dragon wings. Belesa Valenhardt must be riding inside.
“Sister! I’m going first!”
Jeffrey, his hood pulled over his head, rushed ahead and shouted. The wolf tribe humanoid carrying Jeffrey passed in front of the carriage and circled around the knights.
“A wolf tribe!”
“Emergency!”
The knights in the city drew their swords and charged at the wolf tribe. But Jeffrey and his companion moved faster than the blades could reach them.
“It seems we can separate the carriage from the knights.”
We stood at the entrance of an alley where shadows fell thick, watching the scene unfold.
Rem, the wolf tribe humanoid carrying Theon and me, spoke.
“Get down. I’ll join them too.”
“Thank you, Rem.”
Theon descended quickly from Rem’s back, still holding me. The moment our feet touched the ground, Rem kicked off and rushed toward Jeffrey.
“Try to catch me, you knights!”
Crash, clang!
Using the moment when Jeffrey and the wolf tribe drew the knights’ attention, Theon and I quickly opened the carriage door.
“Berry, be careful.”
“Yes.”
Theon lifted me into the carriage, then closed the door from outside.
Click.
I sat on the carriage seat and caught my breath slowly. Because I wore a hood to hide my face, my vision was narrow. As I lowered my head, the shoes of the woman sitting across from me came into view.
Thump, thump, thump.
I could hear my heart pounding.
“Hello.”
“….”
“Do you know who I am? We met once in Belodia not long ago.”
The other person still did not respond. Recalling the one time I had met Belesa, she was not the type to answer warmly.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
In any case, all I needed was for her to answer my questions.
“You owe me a debt from that time, don’t you? I’d like to collect it in the form of information.”
Thump, thump.
My heart continued to pound heavily. I hoped Belesa sitting across from me couldn’t hear it.
“Your Highness, I have something I’d like to ask you.”
I bit the inside of my lip after speaking those words. I’d been confident I could speak without trembling, but now that the words had left my mouth, I felt tears threatening to mix into my voice.
‘I absolutely cannot.’
This was a matter of Father’s pride and my own. I refused to show weakness before Belesa Valenhardt.
I took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and continued my question with my head bowed.
“I heard that Your Highness recently advised the Heishal Empire on strategy. That you also suggested they seek assistance from the Grand Masters.”
“….”
“Why….”
Are you trying to kill Father?
No. That’s not what I meant to say.
A tear fell onto the back of my hand resting on my knee. I hastily wiped my eyes and spoke.
“I’m curious about your reasoning. I’ve been studying such matters recently. I wanted to know if this strategy was entirely Your Highness’s own thinking, or if it came from someone else—”
“Berry Quartz Trabel—”
I fell silent. The voice that interrupted me belonged to a woman I didn’t recognize. When I quickly looked up, I saw a woman smiling with an awkward expression.
“…Are you a lady?”
“Who are you?”
“I am the Princess’s maid.”
At those words, I examined the maid’s attire. She wore a wide-brimmed hat and clothing and shoes befitting a princess.
“Where is Belesa Valenhardt, the Princess?”
“The Princess has ordered that you be shown no disrespect. I shall overlook the fact that you just addressed the Princess by her name without the proper title.”
“…Has the Princess boarded the ship?”
“The Edencia Kingdom has many demi-human soldiers. Among the flying creatures in the sky, our kingdom’s soldiers are mixed in as well. The report that there are those riding the Wolf Tribe and rushing toward the harbor has already been delivered to the Princess.”
“….”
“The Princess has already boarded the ship. I received orders to wear the Princess’s clothes and wait for you here.”
Belesa Valenhardt knew we were coming. Then leaving a maid disguised as herself meant she had something to tell me, didn’t it?
“If you came and asked the same question as just now, she instructed me to deliver this message.”
The maid continued.
“The timing was the Princess’s opinion, but the strategy belongs to another.”
“…Did she not say who that person is?”
“White Birch.”
“Pardon?”
It was a riddle. The maid delivered Belesa Valenhardt’s final words.
“Be wary of that one.”

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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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