I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 61

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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 61

“Count Trabel, allow me to do that.”
Callet approached with a handkerchief, offering to wipe Berry’s face. Laksek, displaced from his seat, finally caught his breath.
‘Well, well.’
I had no intention of making my granddaughter cry.
My plan was to extract a confession from that reckless granddaughter about being the culprit who solved the Edward equation problem, and then secretly help her cultivate her talents.

“My apologies, Count Trabel. I was unable to locate a matching handwriting.”

My capable aide had failed. That meant the suspect was someone beyond imagination.
For instance, a seven-year-old child reckless enough to deceive adults.
‘A child who can read and understand newspapers surely wouldn’t be unable to write.’
Berry’s assignment showed the strain of forceful writing, yet her letters crawled like earthworms. It meant the fine motor skills in her fingers hadn’t developed properly for writing.
Then her dominant hand must be the opposite one. Her handwriting would be different too.
‘But could that child really have solved the Edward equation problem?’
It was logically impossible for a seven-year-old to solve a problem of that caliber.
My reason told me so, but my intuition said otherwise.
My granddaughter was unmistakably the one.
Conveniently, the end-of-month evaluation provided a perfect pretext. Laksek wanted to verify it.
‘What will happen if I set a failing score threshold? Since the child fears punishment, I should scold her harshly.’

“Miss Berry scored 61 points in Language Arts and 63 points in History…”

Yet knowing that child’s genius, those scores were so transparent that laughter nearly burst forth.
Wasn’t it identical to Reytan’s childhood? That cunning boy. He deliberately scattered C’s across his Academy transcript.
And so Laksek fell into deep contemplation.
In the Trabel family, extraordinary talent beyond common sense was a double-edged sword. The possibility of becoming the family head and the corresponding checks that followed.
Laksek had already lost a son that way.

“Father, I have one last question. Do you truly believe Brown’s death was an accident?”

Seven years ago, Reytan asked me with bloodshot eyes.
Was my son’s death an accident? Or not? Laksek could offer no answer.
Reytan wandered for months afterward, then one day suddenly left the house with a daughter he’d brought back, and now he was making her do the exact same things I had done when I was young—all in the name of protecting her. He was repeating my own methods.
‘That coward. Afraid of scrutiny, he buries that precious talent.’
With ordinary talent, I would simply let her develop it on her own—
But this was something that couldn’t be hidden, no matter how hard one tried.
“…Sniff.”
Just then, my granddaughter’s crying finally subsided. This time it seemed to have truly stopped.
“Callet, go check on her.”
“….”
“Ahem. I said go check.”
“…Yes.”
At my urging, Callet finally rose to his feet. He bent at the waist and prepared to leave, but it was clear he had no enthusiasm for it.
Before the door closed, I caught sight of my aide’s reluctant gaze.
‘That fellow.’
He was always muttering “(Again) Miss Berry, is it?” to me, yet he’s quite smitten with her himself.
In any case. What does this little thing think she is.
‘What else? She’s my youngest granddaughter.’
I looked down at Berry sitting on the sofa.
She was sniffling, her head bowed. From this angle, her face looked even rounder than usual.
“Will you cry more?”
She shook her head side to side.
Her little head turning slowly in that dejected way. It looked like it would fit perfectly in my palm.
My fingers itched.
I couldn’t help myself and claimed the spot beside my granddaughter on the sofa.
Then, without hesitation, I gently placed my left hand on my granddaughter’s head.
“Eek.”
“I won’t bite you.”
Pat. Pat.
‘How else to do it? I can’t do it like Reytan does.’
With a crying child, it was better to first give her candy to comfort her, and then gently convince her that this grandfather wasn’t a scary person.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”
“….”
“You wanted to hide how clever you are, didn’t you? Only I know you’re the one who solved the Edward Equation. I won’t tell Callet, or your father, or anyone else.”
At my words, her small, tense shoulders relaxed. After a moment of thought, she slowly lifted her head toward me.
When I removed my hand from her head, my granddaughter’s face came into view. Those sparkling green eyes were looking at me. The contrast between her reddened eyes and nose from crying and those bright eyes almost made me laugh.
“Grandfather.”
“Yes.”
Her sniffling words were ones that made sure to secure her own interests.
“Is this a vow from Count Trabel?”
“…Heh.”
Look at this.
Laksek let out a hollow laugh.

***

Within the Trabel Count Family, an oath sworn by the head of the household was never a trivial matter.
An oath that could not be broken.
Grandfather pondered my question for a moment before speaking.

“As the head of the Trabel Count Family, I swear to keep your intelligence a secret.”

He even added that I was welcome to visit him anytime if I had worries I couldn’t discuss with Father.
‘Jackpot.’
He had granted me unlimited private audience with Count Trabel.
I thought I was going to be scolded, but instead something this extraordinary fell into my hands.
‘I’m not sure how he knew I was the one who solved the Edward Equation….’
It felt unsettling, but it seemed better to let it rest.
Pressing Count Trabel on the matter could provoke his displeasure.

Everything had been fine up to that point.
“Grandfather.”
“Yes?”
“How much longer are you going to keep doing this?”
I felt like I had become Grandfather’s armrest.
Grandfather, who had been continuously patting my head, asked a question.
“Should I give you pocket money in return?”
“There’s no helping it. Feel free to touch away.”
I wondered how much pocket money Count Trabel would give me~
Images of coins danced in my mind. Ten thousand cona, a hundred thousand cona, could it possibly be… a million cona?!
“How did you solve the equation? Did you learn it somewhere?”
Gulp. My eyes darted at the sudden question.
It was because I felt caught—this knowledge wasn’t something I had learned naturally.
“Well, I found a mathematics book at the Village Library….”
“You taught yourself?”
Grandfather’s voice grew louder as he cut me off mid-sentence. The hand that had been patting my head stilled, cradling it instead.
“You taught yourself that?”
“…Yes.”
Grandfather’s hand trembled.
His reaction made me increasingly anxious. A seven-year-old child teaching herself Academy-level mathematics from the Village Library—it was unthinkable.
Even thinking about it now, the story made no sense whatsoever.
So that’s why his hands trembled with such fury. He thought I was mocking Count Trabel…!
“G-Grandfather—.”
“A genius has emerged from Trabel.”
Grandfather let out a scoff of exasperation. It didn’t seem like I’d be scolded. I hastily changed my approach, abandoning my prepared excuses.
“But it has to stay secret. Father worries too much if I’m too clever.”
“Hmph. That cowardly fool. He should be proud his daughter excels, yet he wants to hide it.”
“Father isn’t a coward, Grandfather.”
“There you go again, always defending him. And don’t call the High Priest ‘grandfather’ anymore.”
Grandfather’s displeasure shifted from Father to the High Priest.
‘How did he know?’
Now that I thought about it, while I was away on field study, the Twins had bragged about watching the High Priest bless the athletes at the competition.
Did he find out then? I tilted my head in confusion.
“Why not?”
“You shouldn’t call someone ‘grandfather’ if they’re not blood-related.”
“But the High Priest said it was fine.”
“That’s exactly the kind of person you need to be wary of. Those who act overly familiar with strangers, with no real connection. Those are the ones who stab you in the back.”
I flinched at Grandfather’s final words.
‘I had forgotten…!’
My anxiety over the mathematics exam had made me forget, if only for a moment.
This was Grandfather’s Study.
‘The place where I died at twenty-four!’
The day Grandfather’s will was announced.
The other me had come to this study to find clues about who killed Father, and opened Grandfather’s safe—.

— …I found it. A letter from the conspirator to the culprit.
— You shouldn’t read other people’s letters carelessly. Berry Quartz.

“Ugh!”
“What, what’s wrong?”
The voice that flashed through my mind was clearer than the memory from before.
The chilling voice of the person who had stabbed the other me from behind with a sword.
A voice that belonged to someone who couldn’t properly use their vocal cords.

***

I was walking down the Staircase after leaving Grandfather’s Study when I noticed that Calips and the Twins, who had been hiding in the Corridor earlier to watch, were nowhere to be seen.
“Berry.”
I kept my eyes on the steps as I descended carefully.
At the sound of my name, I lifted my head and saw Father approaching with Callet.
“Oh? Father?”
“I hear Grandfather scolded you.”
Eager to get to the point, Father didn’t slow his pace as he spoke. Once he stood before me, he studied my face and asked:
“Did you cry?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You cried quite hard, actually.”
Wait—I thought Callet was on my side, but he went right ahead and tattled to Father.

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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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