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Chapter 01
The day the second son who had left home returned after six years with his young daughter.
The Travel County, a family of great wealth in the Hayshal Empire.
The front of the mansion, grand enough to look like a palace, was crowded with people waiting to welcome the father and daughter. Yet there was not a trace of a celebratory mood anywhere.
In the cold atmosphere, the frightened cries of a small child echoed loudly through the air.
That child was me.
‘Scary…!’
The golden eyes of the Travel family head, said to be blessed with fortune and wealth, stared directly at me.
It felt like a beast standing on top of a giant cliff.
It was not an aura a seven-year-old could endure.
At first, I burst into tears because I was scared of that.
But—
“Berry, be careful of your relatives. Travel is a den of beasts all fighting for the successor’s seat.”
The reason I was afraid right now was not because of Grandfather.
“Miss Berry! Young Master Reitan has reportedly… passed away…!”
Strange scenes poured into my head like a violent storm.
“Dad, you said a Grand Master wouldn’t die on such a small battlefield. Someone must have caused your death, right? …I’ll uncover the truth.”
Seven years old, ten years old, sixteen years old…
They were all me, yet they were memories I didn’t know.
My head pounded heavily.
I was confident I wouldn’t cry from pain, but this situation was different.
I had never felt this scared and terrified before.
As he looked down at me, a cold light flickered in those golden eyes.
“What a timid child. She won’t accomplish anything great.”
After finishing his evaluation of me, Grandfather turned around without hesitation and walked into the mansion.
Squeeze.
Dad tightened his grip around my hand.
The relatives left standing on the wide entrance stairs watched me sob uncontrollably and mocked me.
“How pathetic. Is that really a Travel? She’s as noisy as a frog.”
“A frog? Then we’ll only see her until autumn. Once winter comes, she’ll crawl into a hole.”
“You can tell she grew up without a mother. Reitan could never have raised a child properly by himself. Didn’t she even have a nanny? She’s crying like that without a shred of shame….”
“Try to understand, Sister. The child apparently lived thinking she was a commoner.”
“Ugh. Harty, did you hear Father? A commoner.”
Though they acted full of contempt, the wariness hidden in their eyes could not be completely concealed.
To them, we were new competitors.
Everyone gathered here bearing the name Travel was a candidate for the next family head.
And—
‘The culprit is here.’
Uncle, Aunt, younger Uncle, their spouses, and their children.
Among them—
‘The one who killed Dad…!’
My eyes burned hot.
I looked at them through blurred vision.
The distorted silhouettes wavered as if whispering to me.
Run away, Berry Quartz.
Otherwise, they’ll devour you.
While the memories continued surfacing, one scene stood out especially vividly.
Grandfather’s study.
An opened safe.
And twenty-four-year-old me standing before it.
“…Found it. The letter the accomplice sent to the culprit.”
“You shouldn’t read other people’s letters without permission, Berry Quartz.”
‘Who?!’
The older me jolted in shock.
At the same time, my own body jerked too, as if I had become that older version of myself.
At that moment, the flood of memories stopped.
The twenty-four-year-old me was stabbed to death by the sword of an unknown man.
I couldn’t feel the pain, but just seeing myself die made it feel impossible to breathe.
“Hk— hk—!”
As I gasped for air, Dad hurriedly grabbed me.
“Berry!”
I blinked, and tears spilled down my cheeks.
Then one person’s face came clearly into view.
Sharp blue eyes.
Dad’s eyes, filled with anxiety and worry.
The reality that Dad was alive.
The fact that I was seven years old.
The moment I realized those obvious truths, all my tension melted away in relief.
With trembling hands, I grabbed Dad’s arm.
“D-Dad.”
“Berry, it’s okay. Take a deep breath, alright? You can follow Dad, right?”
The first day I came to the Travel County.
“I’m… sorry.”
“Berry…?!”
I, the youngest granddaughter of Count Travel, completely ruined my first impression in front of my grandfather and relatives I had just met for the first time… and fainted.
- What Are These Memories?
The Main God, Aubauth, once said:
The four holy swords would save the human world.
And indeed, over the course of three thousand years, the holy swords chose masters among warriors who had reached a certain level.
Then came the four Grand Masters.
Owners of the holy swords.
The peak of Sword Masters.
Sacred knights of God who received the admiration of all people…
“Sacred?”
Serber, the head butler of the Travel County household, muttered while staring at a wanted poster in his hand.
The poster showed the portrait of a handsome man with sharp features, alongside a massive bounty of one billion Kona.
It was Reitan Quartz Travel, former Grand Master and second son of Count Travel.
The wanted posters had been distributed throughout the empire one month ago after Count Travel announced he was searching for his runaway son.
Living up to his title as a former Grand Master, Reitan had hidden himself perfectly for six years.
But no one could resist money forever.
Eventually, witnesses claiming to have seen him began appearing one by one, and Reitan returned home.
That had happened yesterday.
‘Can “Reitan” and “sacred” even belong in the same sentence?’
It didn’t seem like a fitting description for a man who intimidated others with a single glance.
The head butler carefully folded the wanted poster and tucked it into his coat before lifting his gaze.
Above the black front door stood an eagle statue symbolizing the Travel family.
Unlike the statues at the other annexes, whose eyes were decorated with jewels, this one had cold gray eyes.
‘Even the annex resembles its owner perfectly.’
The annex assigned to the child with the lowest successor ranking among Count Travel’s children.
Commonly known as the “Stone House.”
The head butler had come here under the eldest son’s orders to investigate the place.
“Serber, as you know, Father never spends money on useless things.”
One billion Kona.
Enough money to buy three mansions in the capital.
Why would Count Travel spend such an enormous amount to find Reitan?
After treating him like a dead son for six years?
The Travel family chose its successor based on achievements.
Naturally, the direct descendants became nervous at the reappearance of a rival they had believed disappeared forever.
“There’s no need for Reitan to participate in the succession battle now. Watch Reitan and his daughter carefully. Find out why Father summoned him back.”
Swallowing a sigh, the head butler opened the door to the Stone House.
Right then, several maids came into the lobby while chatting excitedly.
“Wasn’t Miss Berry just adorable?”
“Did you see her? She furrowed her tiny brows all seriously and asked, ‘…Sister, are you eighteen years old?’ Ahh, I almost hugged her to death.”
One maid hugged the laundry in her arms tightly, her face flushed with excitement.
The maid walking beside her leaned closer and asked warmly,
“Isn’t it amazing? How did she memorize all our names and ages? She’s so smart for her age—”
“Anne, what’s so amazing about that?”
A brown-haired maid walking behind them interrupted.
“She overheard Young Master Reitan asking us and repeated it immediately. Any seven-year-old could do that.”
“Miss Sherry, do you think I don’t know that?”
As a subtle tension formed between Anne and Sherry, the maid holding the laundry stepped between them.
“But about Miss Berry… she’s even cuter when she hears the answer. Whenever we confirm she’s right, she makes this troubled face. Why is that?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Eek!”
The maid imitating the little lady’s troubled expression screamed at the sudden voice of a middle-aged man.
It was the main house’s head butler, famous for being impossible to joke around with.
“H-Head Butler? Since when were you there?”
“I came to see Young Master Reitan and the young lady. More importantly, what did the young lady do?”
At the butler’s question, the maids glanced toward Sherry, the senior maid of the Stone House.
Receiving all their looks, Sherry smiled slyly.
“You’ll understand once you go upstairs.”
The room prepared for Count Travel’s youngest granddaughter.
Instead of the room’s owner, a man occupied the sofa and stared at the head butler.
“You want to meet Berry?”
His blue eyes stretched sharply at the corners, giving him a cool appearance, yet the gaze within them was as cold as a winter storm.
Reitan Quartz Travel.
Even though he merely looked at someone indifferently, it made their heart shrink like a mouse standing before a snake.
“Before that, there’s something I want to ask.”
Reitan shifted slightly and rested both hands on his knees.
A small gasp escaped the head butler’s lips.
Honestly, if one ignored the naturally dangerous aura surrounding him, Reitan was an extremely handsome nobleman.
Golden hair styled perfectly like a wheat field, polished brown shoes without a speck of dust, and a neat suit with elegant details.
A handsome man with a body honed through swordsmanship and an excellent sense of fashion.
It was impossible not to admire him.
‘He was born into the wrong family.’
Reitan held a strange position within the Travel family.
Though he had reached the highest level in swordsmanship, when it came to business, he had the touch of ruin.
Had he been born into a knightly family, he would have shined brilliantly.
Unfortunately, the Travel family had built its fortune through mining and trade.
As a result, Reitan’s achievements constantly ranked at rock bottom, and he always remained last in the succession rankings.
‘If only he had kept his position as Grand Master, he could have lived luxuriously in the temple forever. No wonder people talk badly about him.’
Six years ago, he returned his holy sword to the Grand Temple, claiming he was retiring for childcare.
Now all that remained of Reitan was the reputation of being the “incompetent Travel.”
“Serber.”
“Y-Yes.”
Startled as if his inner thoughts had been overheard, the butler answered quickly.
“You’re forty-three this year, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“You have a son, you work as head butler in the main house, and… what else?”
“Pardon?”
The sudden personal questioning confused the butler, but seeing Reitan’s narrowed eyes, he felt pressured to answer something.
“M-My white hairs have increased.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
Reitan stood and jerked his chin as if telling him to follow.
Nearby was a bed.
And under the blanket was something wriggling slightly.
…No way?
As the two approached the bed, Reitan suddenly pulled back the blanket.
“Say hello. This is Detective BerryBerry.”
Pink hair sticking up from static electricity, a round little head, long thick eyelashes, double-lidded green eyes.
A cute little girl who looked nothing like her father stared up at the head butler.
She resembled something.
A poodle? A Maltese?
Ah, a baby bichon.
“Serber?”
The little detective blinked her bright green eyes and asked,
“Yes?”
“You are forty-three years old this year?”
The butler blinked at the déjà vu-like question.
Reitan crossed his arms and offered a hint.
“Detective BerryBerry knows everything.”
“Ah, I see.”
The butler understood the situation.
The young lady must have been eavesdropping under the blanket during his conversation with Young Master Reitan and was now repeating it.
Playing along with a child was not difficult for him.
There were plenty of young masters and young ladies besides Berry Quartz in the Travel family.
“Young Detective, your insight is incredible. At this rate, I’m worried you’ll even guess how many children I have.”
The head butler smiled kindly.
If he gained the favor of this tiny girl, watching the Stone House would become much easier.
He already knew what her next answer would be.
One child, works in the main house—
“Did you recently buy a large amount of stock from a collapsing ink company?”
“That company absolutely won’t fail! Baron Mont promised me— …Excuse me? How did you know I bought stocks?”
“How would I know? I’m just repeating things I heard somewhere.”
Reitan covered his daughter’s mouth and interrupted.
“Serber, you should leave now.”
Dismissed so suddenly, the head butler withdrew without even having time to process his unease.
Watching his retreating back, Berry made a miserable face.
‘Waaah. That was right too.’
