I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 171

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

Chapter 171

Mother. That word, referring to Aunt Mariane, made me pause.
“Now that I think about it, ever since she came to the Trabel Estate, the house has been noisy every night. Mother was always upset. But before she arrived, things were fine. She even let me do what I wanted.”
Calips continued speaking. I seized the opportunity to feed Jeffrey the recovery potion and the appearance-changing potion from the inner pocket of his shirt, one after another. When he let out a small groan—apparently the taste was unpleasant—my heart skipped for a moment.
“I only realized after entering the Academy that I sleep better when I don’t have to stay on edge wondering if tonight will be noisy. With good conditioning, my mind works better too, you know? At graduation, I’ll be the student representative. I have the best grades, after all.”
Even in this situation, Calips suddenly broke into self-praise, and I had to bite my lip. I almost blurted out, ‘What is he doing?’
“Calips. Just say what you came to say.”
Kane stood motionless in the smoke screen, finally speaking. He seemed unable to open his eyes yet from the impact of the smoke bomb. His hand, visible as a blurred silhouette, pressed against his eyes.
“So, brother.”
I heard the sound of Calips dismounting from his horse. Then my arm was grabbed by Calips’s hand. I quickly cradled Jeffrey, who had transformed into a Golden Hamster Humanoid, in my arms.
“I don’t want Uncle to become the master of Diamond House. Next year, I’ll be living in Sapphire House again. How noisy will that be?”
“….”
Kane listened silently to what Calips was saying. Calips straightened his bent torso and pulled my arm upward. I stood in a posture as if being threatened by Calips, who now stood behind me.
“Calips—”
“I’ll kill her.”
Calips cut off my words and spoke to Kane. Before I knew it, Calips had drawn a self-defense dagger and held it to my throat. I closed my mouth. Kane’s silhouette was directly in front of me.
“If she just disappears, that’s all we need, right?”
“What’s your intention in suddenly saying such a thing? Calips, you fled with Berry.”
“Well, I don’t want to die at your hands, brother.”
“….”
Calips spoke. I swallowed involuntarily.
I had thought Calips knew nothing about the Trabel Family.
I had believed he possessed a way of thinking that could overlook unreasonable or disadvantageous matters because they were family—a mindset that assumed other relatives would act the same way.
‘Did he know Kane wouldn’t let him live?’
I had expected Calips to think, ‘Surely my older brother Kane wouldn’t kill his own younger cousin.’ A sharp sensation ran through my scalp. My instinct and survival instinct were telling me different answers, but fear—the fear that Calips’s blade might pierce me—quietly raised its head.
“Brother, I’ll kill Berry. Then I’m not a witness but an accomplice. How about it?”
At Calips’s suggestion, Kane was silent for a moment. Then he burst into laughter.
“Calips.”
Kane’s silhouette moved. He removed his hand from his eyes and, moving his sword, looked toward us.
“Finally, such words come from your mouth.”
“What kind of words?”
“The kind my father or your mother would say.”
“Brother Kane, that’s a bit ambiguous.”
“Selfish words that only care about oneself. Wanting more, taking more, and abandoning blood relatives to protect what you’ve gained that way. Words befitting such a person.”
“…Is that so?”
“I consider that to be the essential nature that a member of the Trabel Family should possess. That’s why I’m quite satisfied with what you’ve said.”
Kane took a step forward. With my arm still held by Calips, I watched Kane approach us. The smoke screen still obscured everything around us, though it had grown thinner than before. Thin enough that I could see the contemptuous smile playing at the corners of Kane’s mouth as he stopped before us.
“I regret this, Calips.”
“…Brother?”
“Had I known you were this kind of person, I would have let you live.”
“What…what are you saying?”
Calips’s voice trembled. Kane answered in a tone devoid of emotion.
“Father advised me never to leave witnesses behind.”
In that same instant, Kane swung his longsword. I was within its arc. There was no escape. Damn it. I heard Calips mutter something, and I was shoved by tremendous force, tumbling to the ground.
“Calips?!”
“Tch…! No! I wasn’t trying to kill you!”
Calips had pushed me. Though I couldn’t see what was happening, I understood the situation. Calips had abandoned any thought of escape and chosen to save me instead.
Kane’s blade descended toward Calips—
A wet sound.
I stared at the floor. I heard the blade slice through flesh, and something heavy fell to the ground.
“….”
A terrible silence descended.
‘Calips?’
Memories of Calips flashed through my mind. I needed to confirm what had fallen, but I couldn’t move—afraid of what I might find. My body was seized by the desire not to know.
‘I….’
A high-pitched ringing filled my ears.
My mind grew so distant I couldn’t even tell if I was breathing. Brother Calips.
‘I had hoped you wouldn’t die at the hands of the Trabel Family’s beasts.’
My head spun. I felt as though I would lose consciousness and collapse right then.
A sharp bite.
“Ah.”
A stinging pain shot through my finger. In an instant, sensation returned to my hand. A warm, soft bundle of fur—moving in my palm—had bitten me.
‘Jeffrey!’
Jeffrey was in my hand. I had to escape with Jeffrey. I had to protect Jeffrey from Kane.
The moment that thought took hold, my frozen legs began to move. Like a chain reaction, my other senses rushed back to reality.
“Berry, snap out of it!”
“Ahhhhh! My arms! Both my arms!”
“…I thought I was dying.”
Jeffrey’s cries, Kane’s screams, and Calips’s relieved murmur reached my ears. The smoke screen had already dispersed like a thin mist.
I lifted my head. I’m not one to cry easily, but this time my nose stung. As I made a tearful expression, my boyfriend called out to me.
“Berry.”
“…Theon.”
Theon knelt on one knee before me. With sweat-dampened hair and a frantic expression, he examined me.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
Seeing that I was unharmed, Theon pulled me into his embrace. I held him tightly in return. I could hear Calips clicking his tongue and Jeffrey squealing about dying as he fled, but I didn’t care at all.
“What about Father?”
“You’re unharmed. Not a scratch on you.”
“What about Windis?”
“My teacher took care of it.”
Strangely, Theon’s embrace was so warm. For the first time, I felt like I was exactly where I belonged. I realized that a place to return to could be a person. I couldn’t contain my emotions. I kissed Theon’s cheek and spoke through tears.
“I love you.”
“….”
“So much.”
Theon cupped my cheeks in both his hands. Through the blur of my tears, I took in his face. He looked at me and spoke.
“I love you too.”
His voice trembled.
“So much.”

***

Theon Phil Voltman.
From childhood, he had always been dull to his own emotions. Particularly when it came to romantic feelings—he seemed not merely insensitive, but incapable of feeling them at all.

“Grandmother worries about you.”

When children his age in the village played house and sought partners, Theon would swing a wooden sword with complete indifference.
His grandmother found such a grandson utterly endearing. She couldn’t resist the urge to tease him.

“The Neighbor Grandmother’s grandson is already going to marry the orchard keeper’s daughter. But our Theon doesn’t even have a girlfriend. Is there no girl you’re interested in?”

His grandmother sighed with a serious expression. Theon gazed at her quietly for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“Grandmother.”
“Yes?”
“Eight-year-olds can’t get married.”

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