I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 24

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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 24

“We’ll begin at one thousand cona. Number 17, one thousand cona! Number 28, one million one hundred thousand cona!”
The moment the pearl earrings went up for auction, Yosel participated with terrifying speed.
For Mariane, it was incomprehensible behavior. After all, the one who had possessed the pearl earrings in the first place was Yosel, not herself.

It was the day Reytan Quartz Trabel had returned to the Trabel Estate. The young daughter of Reytan, ignorant of noble etiquette, was laughable, but Mariane burned with curiosity about why her father had summoned Reytan.
Her eldest brother Hevanth was a suspicious man who rarely revealed his true thoughts. She sought out her relatively simpler younger brother and made her way to the Emerald House.
She intended to discuss the current situation surrounding Reytan’s return.

“You… that thing.”

Then she witnessed it by chance.
Yosel, pacing the room like a dog desperate to relieve itself, holding the very pearl earrings that had caused such a commotion when they went missing from the Main Estate.

“Ah, haha. This? It seems my children thought it was pretty and took it from Mother’s room a few days ago. Sister, would you mind pretending you didn’t see it? I was just about to have a servant quietly return it to its proper place…”
“Wait a moment.”

Their mother, Priscilla, was quite furious about the missing pearl earrings. She had demanded the culprit be found, so naturally, even a direct family member would face her displeasure.
Yes, even a direct family member.
Mariane narrowed her eyes and held back a smile at the corners of her mouth. The fan in her hands rustled as the answer became clear to her.
A splendid scheme had occurred to her.
Priscilla had been equally unwelcoming of Reytan Quartz Trabel’s return.
She had conveniently planted a maid in the Stone House, so couldn’t she use that to utterly destroy Reytan’s reputation? Completely and thoroughly.
First, she needed to put Reytan on stage using the earrings as a pretext.

“Would you like to hear a good plan I have?”
“What sort of plan… are you talking about?”
“If we return it to the Main Estate now, Mother will discover that the Twins are the culprits. Let’s make someone else the criminal instead.”

And so I’ve set up the entire scheme and gathered all these people—
“Seventy million cona! Seventy-one million cona! Seventy-two million cona, we have!”
Mariane narrowed her eyes. Yosel’s grip on the numbered paddle tightened visibly.
His entire body was taut with tension, the veins in his neck standing rigid.
Watching him, Mariane recalled Yosel’s recent actions. It was one thing that he’d obediently followed her instruction to hide the pearl earrings at the maid’s residence.
‘Something feels off.’
It was Mariane who had caught the culprit behind the earrings and ensured the charity auction proceeded without incident.
Yet despite being robbed of the credit, Yosel had never once lodged a complaint with her.
‘In fact, he’s never even mentioned the pearl earrings.’
Meanwhile, the auctioneer’s rapid-fire chanting suddenly ceased.
“Bidder 17! One hundred twenty million cona!”
Yosel was the only one left holding a numbered paddle.
The gavel was about to fall.
As the hall fell silent, Yosel’s body finally relaxed. He was breathing a sigh of relief.
“Ah! Bidder 36 has raised their paddle!”
What!?
Yosel’s head snapped around. His eyes widened in shock as he identified the man holding the paddle.
‘Why is he—’
It wasn’t just Yosel. The moment others recognized the man’s face, the entire hall erupted in murmurs.
Reytan Quartz Trabel.
All eyes converged on him.
When Priest Holte, seated at the same table, asked Reytan if he was participating in the auction, Reytan answered with an unbothered expression.
“I’m thinking of giving it to my daughter. It should suit her.”
“…Ugh…”
A hundred-million-cona earring for a seven-year-old—
Yosel bit his lower lip. The cravat around his neck suddenly felt like it was strangling him. The valet must have tied it tighter than usual. He’d have to cut it off.
“Bidder 36 is now at one hundred thirty million cona! Bidder 17?”
“…I’ll continue.”
“Yes, Bidder 17 at one hundred forty million cona! Bidder 36, one hundred fifty million cona!”
“…”
Mariane frowned as she watched Yosel continue bidding.
“Two hundred million cona! Will anyone bid higher?”
The fair market value of the pearl earrings was one hundred million cona.
Reytan was naturally a spendthrift who bought whatever he pleased. Yosel was simple-minded, but not so foolish as to be incapable of basic profit calculations.
Why push this far when he could simply let Reytan have it?
A strong sense of suspicion washed over her just as Yosel leaned toward her, his voice trembling as he whispered urgently.
“Sister, we have to win this bid.”
What on earth was he talking about?
Yosel’s face had turned ashen as he looked back at her. His next words made Mariane’s expression contort.
“It’s…stolen…goods…”

***

It was after Father had left Stone House for the charity auction.
I had been trailing after Theon on the first floor trying to learn about the evening schedule, when I realized an unexpected stroke of fortune awaited me.
Theon was sitting on the carpet cleaning his sword, saying it was dangerous if I got too close. I sprawled across the adjacent sofa conversing with him, then raised my upper body, knelt, and sat properly.

“You have to run an errand for Father? In the evening? Isn’t that dangerous? When will you be back?”

At my words, Theon turned his head toward me. The armless sofa was perfect for meeting his gaze.
Theon regarded me quietly with an unreadable expression.

“Why, why?”
“I was wondering why it mattered when I return.”

Oh no. He pinpointed it exactly.
Spending time with Father must be making Theon sharper too. This could become troublesome going forward.
When deflecting, smiling while speaking worked best. I laughed and spoke to Theon.

“It’s not important, just curious. You won’t be in the room across from mine. It’s lonely, isn’t it? I thought knowing when you’d return would make it less lonely.”
“Probably around when Master returns. …Will I come back quickly?”
“No. Don’t rush back or you might get hurt. Come slowly. Slowly.”

Perfect.
I silently cheered at the impeccable timing. Theon hadn’t forgotten to answer my earlier question either.

“The errand is just walking, so it’s not dangerous. But the errand itself is a secret…. I’ll tell people I’m going for training.”
“Okay, I understand.”

Theon hesitated at the word secret. Father must have told him not to speak of it—had I perhaps pressed him too much?
So I didn’t ask further. What mattered was that Father and Theon wouldn’t be at Stone House while the auction was happening.
Stone House without Father and Theon was a place where I could act relatively freely.

“You wish to be alone until Reytan Quartz Trabel arrives, Miss?”
“Yes. I hope no one comes in!”
“Though it’s disappointing, if that is what you wish, I must comply. Very well, I shall arrange it.”

After that, I asked Akum to watch for a time when people weren’t wandering about, and used that opportunity to slip out of Stone House and make my way to the Auction House.
Today I was hiding in an unused section of the Second Floor Gallery, observing the auction on the First Floor.
[Little Quartz. Look over there.]
Akum pointed to one of the Second Floor Gallery sections on the opposite wall. Between the railing pillars, two small golden curly heads appeared and disappeared intermittently.
“The Twins, isn’t it?”

***

As the auction price surpassed 400 million, Yosel’s hands trembled. He had long since exceeded his allocated budget for today’s auction.
Moreover, having recklessly expanded his textile business recently, most of his available funds had been diverted there. Even if he won the bid, securing the cash immediately would be problematic.
Glance. Glance. Yosel’s eyes darted restlessly between the tables.
Reytan Quartz Trabel, sipping champagne while admiring the pearl earrings on the platform, showed no sign of lowering his bidding paddle.
His mother, Priscilla, was leisurely conversing with a nobleman in the adjacent seat.
His eldest brother Hevanth had his back completely turned, making it impossible to see his face.
Yosel’s gaze, searching for a lifeline, finally landed on an angry Mariane.
“Sister, I’m finished now…”
Yosel’s bidding paddle lowered helplessly. Only Reytan Quartz Trabel remained.
“Ah! Bidder 17 has withdrawn! 410 million! Does anyone offer 410 million!”
At this point, even the auctioneer’s conscience seemed absent. Who in their right mind would purchase pearl earrings at that price?
The Trabel Family’s minus hand had suffered another loss after all.
Most people present thought so. Everyone except Mariane.

“Given that concubine’s son’s personality, I doubt he’ll take those earrings to an appraiser, would he?”

Mariane recalled what Yosel had just said, his face drained of all color. Reytan Quartz Trabel would naturally attend.
And he would boldly protest to the Trabel Family, insisting it was a forgery. Without giving a single thought to the family’s reputation or standing!
The rumors would spread.
The main lot at an auction conducted by the Trabel Family turned out to be a fake, they’d say. And they sold it for 400 million cona, no less. The person responsible for organizing that auction? Mariane Cornelian Trabel!
‘That reckless fool!’
Mariane gripped the bidding paddle. Her fist trembled violently, clenched so hard her knuckles turned white.
“…Bidder 4! Bidder 4 has indicated their intention to bid! We’ll resume from 410 million cona!”
The auctioneer, who had been about to declare the sale, raised the price again upon seeing Mariane’s paddle.
“500 million.”
“Bidder 36 offers 500 million cona!”
“…520 million.”
“Bidder 4 bids 520 million cona!”
The auction hall fell silent except for the auctioneer’s voice. The sum was beyond imagination. At this point, everyone held their breath, watching Reytan Quartz Trabel and Mariane intently to see who would lower their paddle first.
“600 million.”
The second son of Count Trabel, lounging against the backrest with utter composure, called out the amount.
“Bidder 4 secures it at 640 million cona!”
The eldest daughter of Count Trabel, glaring at him fiercely while still holding her paddle.
“1 billion.”
Finally, Reytan Quartz Trabel jumped from 800 million to 1 billion cona.
Crack.
The connecting piece of Mariane’s fan snapped in her grip.
That mad, reckless bastard Reytan Quartz Trabel.

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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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