I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 184

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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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Side Story Episode 4

The day the article was published, I received a telegram from Father.

——
I’m sorry, Berry.
I’ll find a way to handle the media.
——

Since then, there had been no further contact.
‘At this critical moment, when there’s a strong possibility I’m not Father’s biological daughter and not Count Trabel’s biological granddaughter.’
He hadn’t reached out to me or anyone else, and had only left word at Quorta that he was taking a leave of absence?
That meant Father lacked the ability to solve the problem immediately, so he must have gone to find someone who could.
‘He must have gone to Belesa Valenhardt.’
After all, the fact that she was my biological mother was certain.
“…I’m unsettled.”
I’d pretended everything was fine in front of Theon the whole time, but I couldn’t help feeling disturbed that Father had become a stranger to me in this situation.
“Did Father and Belesa make some kind of deal?”
Now, at last, a question I’d harbored since childhood was answered.
I’d never been able to picture the First Princess and Father as a couple, and now I understood why.
“Considering Belesa’s nature, a deal makes sense.”
She’d had the child and was troubled about where to abandon it when, by fortunate timing, she met Father.
Perhaps Father had some weakness that forced him to accept Belesa’s terms.
“…Thinking about it that way makes me angry.”
Despite everything, my true family was Father, not Belesa.
The thought of Father not being by my side was as unimaginable as Theon not being by my side.
“Unless… that’s not it at all….”
“Berry, we should arrive at the Harbor in about an hour.”
Theon had returned to the Guest Room.
As he removed his hat and spoke to me, I found myself staring at him, utterly entranced.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you’re so handsome.”
How could such a beautiful man be my husband?
“…You’re more beautiful, Berry.”
Theon turned away shyly, his ears flushed red.
Why were even Theon’s ears so beautiful? The bed caught my eye, but I had to restrain myself—I couldn’t afford to ruin our smuggling operation when success was within reach.

Whoooosh—.

“Huh?”
“Berry, what’s wrong?”
“…I heard some kind of sound. Didn’t you hear it, Theon?”
“No.”
“Then maybe I imagined it. Your hearing is better than mine anyway.”
I had drunk the appearance-altering potion with Theon and infiltrated the ship as a sailor.
These two vials were the last remaining after I’d given Jeffrey and Zena Chaser a week’s worth of the potion.
Then I came up to the deck.
The plan was to disembark naturally once the ship docked.

Boom—!

But a colossal wave crashed across the deck as the entire ship shuddered with the impact.
My body was seized by the swift current before I could even flee, and I was swept away.

Splash!

My body was pulled into the sea.

“Berry!!”

Beyond the water’s surface, I hear Theon’s cry.
I curled my body into a tight ball.

***

“A paternity test?”
At Reytan’s sudden words, Belesa let out a soft laugh.
She was aware of Berry Quartz Igselona’s situation.
But she had no intention of helping.
Belesa poured herself a whiskey and spoke.
“Honestly, I don’t even understand why you came to me. Even if my blood doesn’t match, it’s more than enough to prove that child comes from your family line.”
“There’s been talk among the nobility. If it becomes known that you’re Berry’s mother, those fools won’t dare speak carelessly about her. The power of the First Princess of the Edencia Kingdom is still quite useful, after all.”
“Hmph. So you’re trying to wage a war of public opinion? Sending a child to the Imperial Palace and now you’ve become a politician.”
“….”
Reytan stared at Belesa’s wrist as she reached for her glass without responding.
“Why should I?”
Though it wasn’t solely because of Berry’s interference, Belesa’s succession to the throne had become precarious.
With the King of Edencia on his deathbed, Belesa’s nerves had grown so frayed that she could barely sleep without alcohol anymore.
“Do you have any idea how much damage that child has caused me?”
“….”
“What did I do to her? Did I use her as a political tool? Or did I send you to the battlefield back then?”
Belesa lashed out sharply, pouring out all the resentment she’d been holding back.
“Do you know what I regret most?”
“What?”
Belesa’s hand trembled as she gripped the whiskey glass, unable to contain her fury. She glared at Reytan.
“That I gave birth to her.”
Lips that resembled Berry’s finally uttered those words.
“She should never have been born.”
Whoosh!
A sharp gust of wind tore through the room.
“Ah! Reytan Quartz!”
Belesa grabbed her bleeding arm and glared at Reytan.
Drip. Drip. Red blood flowed down from the torn wound, staining the floor.
The wind howled violently through the room. Reytan walked through it expressionlessly and stood before Belesa.
Belesa let out a shrill cry as Reytan’s grip tightened on her wounded arm.
“What are you doing!”
“Since that’s your opinion, how unfortunate.”
Reytan’s voice was glacial.
“Tell Berry that her biological mother is dead and won’t come looking for her. And don’t you dare think of appearing before Berry alive. I have no intention of lying to my daughter, so I may have to kill you.”
“…Are you insane?”
“Will you never marry? I haven’t heard any talk of a political marriage yet.”
At Reytan’s words, Belesa twisted her lips.
“Stop meddling.”

***

[I feel a familiar aura!]
[This human! They carry the same aura as us!]
[Push. Humans cannot breathe.]
[Push. Push.]
[To land!]
[To land!]

The waves crashed with a roar.
Cold seawater lapped against my legs in an endless cycle of surge and retreat.
Wet sand clung to my skin, and the sound of crashing waves filled my ears.
My eyes remained closed, consciousness not yet fully restored, yet I could perceive my surroundings.
I was cradled in Theon’s arms. Tightly so.
‘Was Theon swept away by the waves too?’
Fortunately, his heart was still beating. Theon seemed merely unconscious.
If it were Theon, he would have clung to some part of the ship’s structure and never let go. He must have thrown himself into the waves to save me.
‘He’s insane. What if something terrible had happened?’
I had been swept away first, sinking into the depths, while Theon swam toward me with desperate determination.
He pulled me to the surface, and then swam toward land for some time before encountering a broken mast—debris from another vessel.
‘He clung to that all the way here?’
How long had we been in the water? Other concerns surfaced, but the absence of stomach pain was at least reassuring.
I slowly opened my eyes. As expected, I was nestled in the arms of Theon in his transformed state.
I was reaching up to examine him when—
“Oh, you’re awake.”
“…!”
It was an unfamiliar man’s voice.
Startled, I lifted Theon’s arm and pushed myself upright, squinting against the sunlight. Through the backlighting, I could see the silhouette of a man grinning down at me.
“Surprised? Sorry. I was just checking if you were alive.”
“….”
“The man with you is alive too, right? Our village is nearby. You’ll probably need treatment and food. Want to come along?”
“….”
“Haha. Do I look suspicious? You seem like you need help.”
I gazed up at the man, seized by an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
‘What is this?’
He was clearly someone I didn’t know, yet something about him felt familiar, as though we’d met before.
A brown-haired man, a gentle voice, an approachable demeanor.
It was more than just a good impression—there was something from somewhere else….
‘Ah.’

“Uncle Brown. You’re really going to regret this. You have no idea how wonderfully our Berry has grown….”

Once a year, whenever Father got drunk, he would pull out that photograph. The man in it.
“Uncle Brown.”
“Who is that?”
…was a man who resembled him.

***

“A sudden wave swept across the deck? That was close to being a disaster!”
I was following the man toward the Village with Theon, who had regained his senses. According to what we were told, the Village appeared after passing through the Forest from the Coastline where we had been.
The man who introduced himself as Linden had a sociable nature.
Regardless of our responses, Linden’s words flowed endlessly.
“We have an elder in our Village who knows all about such things. They say he answers any question you ask. Let’s ask him about that wave too!”
“Berry.”
Theon whispered to me.
“Hmm?”
“Stop looking.”
“…At what?”
Theon nodded silently. His chin gestured toward the back of Linden’s head. His head kept moving along with the words that continued to flow.
“A sailor, you say. I wanted to ride a ship when I was young too, you know? But….”
Jealousy, in this situation.
I tickled Theon’s ribs briefly.
“I thought that man resembled Uncle Brown.”
“…Your master’s older brother?”
“Yes. But I must have been mistaken.”
Uncle Brown didn’t seem like the type to talk so much.
Seen from a place without backlighting, Linden was a smiling young man with brown hair, but his facial features were different from Uncle Brown’s.
Something that wasn’t a natural object peeked out from above the dense trees not far away.
I pointed at it with my finger and spoke.
“Linden, is that the Village over there?”
“Oh! We’ve spotted our destination! That’s right. That’s our Village. Can you see it clearly at a glance? That’s a statue of our Village’s past benefactor! …!”
Linden seemed to have forgotten the benefactor’s name and trailed off.
And shortly after.
“…Berry.”
“…Yes. I see it too.”
As the statue’s face gradually became visible, Theon and I exchanged glances in disbelief.
“Uncle Brown…?”
The statue was Uncle Brown.

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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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