I Will Try to Save My Dad - Chapter 94
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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 94
Reytan found himself bewildered by Berry’s behavior.
Today, she wasn’t trailing after me like a chick following its mother, and now she was absorbed in a book with a suspiciously cryptic title.
No matter how much I thought about it, nothing quite added up.
“Berry.”
“Mm?”
Even now, Reytan regarded her with puzzlement as she kept her eyes sharp and vigilant, scanning her surroundings. She resembled a meerkat in the desert. Of course, my daughter was far more adorable.
“You’re going to keep doing that?”
“Mm-hmm. Don’t mind me, Father—just do what you need to do~”
Could this be related to Jeffrey’s hero games that he was always playing? Reytan shrugged and turned his gaze back to the book he’d been reading.
Though he appeared focused on the book, the words simply wouldn’t register in his mind.
‘Lucian Alexis.’
The contents of the letter he had sent to Berry had been gnawing at me since yesterday.
At the end of the letter, Lucian seemed to hope that woman wouldn’t take Berry away.
Regarding the phrase about “holding her back by the ankle,” I had half a mind to point a sword at Lucian and tell him to reconsider his words.
‘Our objectives align.’
I, too, had no desire to let that woman take Berry away from me.
Based on the contents of Lucian’s letter, it was clear that woman intended to alter her appearance using an Alchemist’s potion and approach me. Whether through those close to me, within the Trabel Family, or as a complete stranger.
“….”
Reytan rose briefly, then sat down closer beside Berry, who remained vigilant like a meerkat.
“Oh? Father? Why?”
“Just because.”
Reytan poked Berry’s cheek as she showed delight at my proximity.
The soft, supple sensation of her cheek transmitted fully through my fingertips.
“Berry.”
“Yes?”
“Who do you take after to be so beautiful?”
“Oh, come on. I take after Father.”
Reytan smiled and stroked Berry’s hair.
“I have no need for it.”
It was the day Reytan first held Berry in his arms. The woman’s voice carried a coldness that seemed impossible for someone who had just given birth.
As if she had no intention of even looking at her own child, that woman turned her head away and lay down.
The infant, still not fully wiped of amniotic fluid, abandoned by her own mother—that tiny bundle of life grasped Reytan’s index finger as if determined to survive nonetheless.
Reytan despised that woman.
“If you don’t need her, I’ll take her. But never show your face to this child again.”
“….”
“You made your choice. Belesa.”
The memory of that day remained vivid. The betrayal I felt from Berry’s biological mother. The profound disappointment that my precious family meant nothing to her.
Reytan carried the child out in his arms, making a vow.
This child is my daughter. I will never let her hear that she is unwanted by anyone.
‘If she ever comes back, I won’t let her off easy.’
Reytan’s blue eyes, darkened with resolve, looked ominous.
***
“Ugh.”
My close protection detail of Father had developed one critical flaw.
A seven-year-old’s stamina couldn’t sustain a full twenty-four hours…! Moreover, because I was vigilant against everyone who approached Father, my energy depleted even faster.
“Berry, it’s eleven o’clock. Stop now and go wash up and get ready for bed.”
“No….”
My head drooped forward despite my protests.
Father supported my forehead with his hand and called for Sherry. Even as he did, my eyelids kept closing on their own.
“Sherry, go wash Berry up for me.”
“My goodness. Has our little bodyguard finally given out?”
“No….”
“You’ve completely given out.”
Sherry chuckled lightly and led me to the bathroom. I washed my face in warm water, changed into my nightclothes, and lay down in bed. As my eyelids closed, sleep came; as they opened, I woke. Fighting against sleep made the entire process feel like a dream.
The next morning, when I woke up, I was alone in bed.
“Huh?”
Being alone was my normal routine, but yesterday my goal was to remain vigilant against intruders even while sleeping beside Father.
‘A familiar person will come looking for you soon.’
Since Lucian Alexis had written as much in his letter, I couldn’t let my guard down for a moment. I quickly slipped out of bed and headed toward Father’s room, but he wasn’t there. I happened to catch sight of Sherry, who was cleaning nearby, and called her over.
“Sherry! Where did Father say he was going today?”
“Young Master Reytan? Let me think… He said he was going to Goldport today.”
“Goldport?”
“Yes, he said Demian, the investigation squad leader, had come by, and he was going to meet with him.”
“Oh no.”
So my plans were crumbling before my eyes. Just as I was despairing—
“Would you like to go with me?”
Sherry smiled brightly. I stared at her blankly.
“Go where? To Goldport?”
“Yes, I can simply escort Miss Berry to where Young Master Reytan is, can’t I?”
“Oh!”
Sherry would take me all the way to where Father was. Sherry was truly a dependable guardian.
“If I go with Sherry, Father won’t scold me, right?”
“Of course not. Young Master Reytan wouldn’t scold Miss Berry if she’s accompanied by an adult.”
“That’s a relief!”
It was wonderful news. As I descended the staircase, I spoke to Sherry.
“Then I’ll tell Theon and Jeffrey to get ready to go out too!”
“Theon and Jeffrey as well?”
“Yes! I mentioned Goldport to them before, and Jeffrey said he wanted to go! Theon also said he had fun in Goldport last time. If we all go together, everyone will be happy~!”
Fearing Sherry might change her mind, I hurried to find Theon and Jeffrey. Fortunately, both were reading the newspaper on the First Floor.
“Goldport? I’ll go!”
“If Berry’s going, I’ll go too.”
Theon and Jeffrey readily agreed to go to Goldport with me.
Sherry and the three of us quickly boarded the carriage that had been prepared from the Trabel Estate. It was a carriage assigned to Stone House, so it only had the basic appearance of respectability.
Sherry sat beside me and asked.
“Miss, you seem quite delighted?”
“Yes~ I get to see Demian too.”
Father apparently had business at the Central Investigation Bureau Branch 17 in Goldport.
“I can’t wait~”
I wanted to see Father quickly. Sitting in the high carriage seat, I swung my legs back and forth.
***
Goldport, Heishal Empire Central Investigation Bureau Branch 17.
Demian, who had entered the Branch Leader’s Office, handed Reytan a brown bottle containing liquid.
“Here. Just drop a single drop onto a strand of hair using the dropper attached to the cap. If someone drank an Alchemist’s appearance-changing potion, the hair will evaporate.”
It was an investigative tool from the Investigation Bureau that Reytan had requested.
“….”
Reytan accepted the brown bottle from Demian, placed a strand of hair he’d pulled from his pocket onto a mirror, and dropped the liquid onto it. It remained intact without evaporating.
“So that person is trustworthy, it seems. Whose hair is this?”
“Demian Knox.”
“…No wonder my temple felt a bit sore earlier.”
Demian pressed his temple with his palm.
Reytan placed the brown bottle into his pocket and asked Demian.
“Thanks. I’ll put it to good use. But is the Branch Leader’s Office owner on vacation again?”
“No. Outside.”
Demian pointed beyond the glass window. There was a middle-aged man holding a coffee cup, sipping coffee while occasionally glancing at the Branch Leader’s Office.
“Return the room to its owner and go.”
“Already? Without even having tea.”
“It’s urgent. I left Berry behind.”
I had considered bringing her along, but there were more danger factors outside.
I had asked Rex, Theon, and Jeffrey to keep watch over Berry before leaving.
Just as Reytan, his mind racing, opened the Branch Leader’s Office door and was about to step outside.
“Daddy-!”
“Berry?!”
In the distance, Berry was running toward me. She looked like she might stumble. Reytan quickly caught her upper body and lifted her, meeting her gaze.
Urgency was evident in Berry’s green eyes. Reytan’s heart sank.
“What’s wrong.”
“Daddy, hurry!! Outside!!”
Urged by Berry, Reytan rushed outside the building. Demian, sensing something was amiss, along with the Branch Leader and investigators of Branch 17, also headed outside.
There stood the carriage of the Trabel Family.
Crash!
With a loud sound, the carriage door slowly opened.
And inside, a man being subdued by Theon and Jeffrey.
A beautiful man with pink hair resembling a delicate deer.
“…A maid’s outfit?”
One of the investigators murmured.
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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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