I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 177

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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 177

“What are you thinking about?”
“You just gasped in wonder.”
I slipped free from Theon’s arm and turned around. When our eyes met, Theon burst into laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because Berry was staring with such sparkling eyes.”
“Was I?”
“You looked like a child.”
Honey dripped from Theon’s gaze. I shrugged my shoulders.
“I’m already twenty-four, so it’s strange to say I look like a child.”
The other me died at twenty-four in spring when killed by the true culprit, presumed to be Yuraha. Now it was summer. Like Father, my future had changed. The Trabel Family’s circumstances had changed as well.
“And I’m an adult with a fiancé, no less.”
At my words, Theon smiled gently.
After Father became the master of Diamond House, he remained the master of Diamond House in the next Annex Succession War.
The master of Sapphire House, which ranked second, changed from Uncle Hevanth to Uncle Yosel, with Calips playing a significant role.
“Do you know what Calips told me last time?”
“What did he say?”
“He said he’d catch up to my achievements, so I should be prepared. He even offered to make a wager.”
“A wager?”
“Yes. So if I win, I get to claim an artwork.”
As a result, Calips was currently walking around with his shoulders held high. He had clearly forgotten those days when he didn’t even know how to write a proper contract and received tutoring from me.
“What if Calips wins? What did Berry agree to do?”
“Help Calips with his work for a week.”
But there was no way I would lose. I flashed a confident smile at Theon.
“I’ll take the artwork that Calips treasures most and display it in my room.”
Uncle Hevanth’s ranking plummeted from Sapphire House to Stone House.
Kane was expelled from the family, and a massive damages claim from the Imperial Palace was sent to the Trabel Estate. During Yuraha’s investigation, Kane’s name was mentioned as an accomplice, which became the basis for claiming damages from the destruction caused by Windis’s rampage. An astronomical sum. Moreover, since the Trabel Estate paid the damages compensation, the performance deficit Uncle’s household had to bear was double the claimed amount.
Uncle attempted risky ventures to cover that loss. But things didn’t go well, and by a narrow margin, he even lost Emerald House to Aunt Mariane.
Having become the master of Stone House, Uncle seemed to have been shaken by the shock and was now living in his own mansion, separate from the Trabel Estate, under the pretense of business.
“In your room?”
Theon leaned forward and took my hand.
“Would you like to come with me?”
“Where to?”
“My room in the Imperial Palace.”
I laughed at those words. While Theon had been staying in the Imperial Palace as the Crown Prince, I had been at the Trabel Estate. Whenever we wanted to enjoy dating away from prying eyes, we would arrange our schedules to be in the same area under the pretense of work and stay at the same lodging. Today was one of those days.
“I can’t go there yet.”
Theon looked directly at me and spoke.
“Berry.”
What was he going to say this time? Given the flow of our conversation, it was obvious something playful would come out. But playing around and exchanging silly banter with Theon was always enjoyable.
“Yes?”
In response to my answer, Theon asked.
“Will you marry me?”
I regarded Theon silently for a moment, then knelt on the bed and draped both arms across his shoulders. Theon looked up at me, my shadow falling across his face.
‘Oh. He really is beautiful.’
Pure admiration flowed through me. Setting aside the fact that I adored Theon deeply, his beauty only seemed to intensify with age.
There was no doubt that his appearance played a significant role in my growing infatuation with him as time passed.
“Theon, why are you looking at me like that?”
“How am I looking at you?”
“With pleading eyes.”
I traced the corner of his eyes. His eyelids closed contentedly, and his thick lashes brushed against my fingertips.
“I almost fell for that look and agreed to marry you.”
I kissed his lips directly. As my lips met his, the corners of his mouth lifted. Reluctant to let our lips part, he gently bit my lower lip before speaking.
“I wouldn’t mind if you did.”
“That’s not happening.”
“The Imperial Palace has water veins flowing through it now too.”
Theon’s eyes met mine—close enough that our lashes nearly touched. We had maintained an intimate relationship for years now, closer than anyone else. The thrill remained, and my affection never wavered.
I understood Theon’s desire to broach marriage so deeply that even a few hours or days apart felt unbearable.
“The Forest Spirit created water veins beneath the Imperial Palace grounds as well.”
When Father and I visited the location marked on the map, it was situated in such a remote and secretive place that one could never find it without knowing the way. At that location where even the entrance was invisible, Father and Theon discovered where the wind flowed differently, and there we encountered the Forest Spirit.

“A child with the power of water? Are such children being born now?”

The spirit appeared in human form with pointed, beautiful ears.
Just as Julia Quartz’s letter had described, the Forest Spirit was extremely fond of me. Upon learning of the water veins beneath the Trabel Estate and my circumstances, it offered to create similar water veins flowing through the Imperial Palace.

“In exchange, I’ll need a considerable amount of gold coins.”
“How much?”
“About five chests.”

Each gold coin was worth one million cona. With 837 gold coins per chest, that came to 4.185 billion cona. Father nodded without even attempting to negotiate, but my hands trembled.

“Does planting ancient language require that many gold coins?”
“About two boxes worth goes into the ground.”
“And the rest?”
“You’re asking the obvious. It’s my labor fee.”
“Would you lower it?”
“It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

The Forest Spirit’s preference wasn’t water—it was money.
However, the rarer the craftsman’s skills, the higher the labor cost they could command. We promised to secure the funds and returned to the Trabel Estate.
I had been planning to liquidate some of Baron Oldman’s assets, but Father brought back the gold coins in just one day.
I was astonished. Father was wealthy, certainly, but not to this degree. Surely he hadn’t sold off Quorta, our main business. Quorta was essential to maintaining Diamond House’s performance. Burdened with worry, I asked him.

“Father, where did all this come from?”
“It’s an inheritance Uncle Brown left behind.”
“An inheritance? Can we use that?”

I had witnessed Father drinking and weeping several times on Uncle Brown’s death anniversary.
That money was surely something Father had never touched. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been living off Marshall Grandmother’s hospitality in Bonwell Village.

“What if Uncle disapproves from heaven?”
“He’ll approve. It’s for Berry.”
“Uncle Brown didn’t even know who I am.”

He had passed away before I was born, so I thought there was no way Uncle Brown could have known of my existence. Grandfather had also said he only learned of me when Father brought me as an infant to the Trabel Estate.
At my words, Father pinched both my cheeks and stretched them.

“Berry, Berry.”
“Mm.”
“Uncle Brown was very much looking forward to your birth.”
“Really?”
“So when you meet him about eighty years from now, tell him thanks. Say you used the inheritance well.”

Thanks to this, I no longer needed to dispose of Baron Oldman’s assets or Father’s Quorta—I could entrust the water vein installation to the Forest Spirit instead.
The money spent proved its worth; the Imperial Palace’s water vein, completed earlier this year, seemed stable enough that I could live there without concern.
Akum, who had been staying at the Imperial Palace to verify the water vein’s condition, had never reverted to stone form even once—proof of its reliability.
“Berry, how are you feeling?”
After that, Theon began pursuing me earnestly. He broached the subject of marriage—something he had never mentioned before—speaking of it often with unmistakable longing.
“Let’s live together. With me.”
Theon whispered the words. I withdrew my arms from his shoulders, and as my fingertips traced his smooth skin, the powerful muscles beneath trembled slightly.
I cared for Theon deeply, but marriage was not yet an option.
“Hmm, let me think about it after I send the ship out today.”
I kissed his lips once more, then his cheek, then the temple beside it, before whispering to him.
“See you tonight.”

***

The breeze was refreshing. As I appeared at the Shipyard, a sailor rushed toward me as though he had been waiting.
“Miss, we’ve loaded all the cargo.”
I nodded and surveyed the surroundings. Another ship near the Trabel Family’s vessel was also preparing to set sail. Cargo was being transferred from a wagon to the ship, and as another box descended, a figure obscured by the luggage came into view.
“Ah.”
A beautiful woman with pink hair, standing and gazing at the ship.
‘Belesa Valenhardt.’

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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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