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Chapter 09
The moment I saw Grandfather, my mind went completely blank.
In my memories, I had never been alone with him before. Partly because I avoided him on purpose, but also because he never liked me very much.
“A child who won’t accomplish anything big.”
That evaluation from our first meeting followed me my entire life.
‘Huh?’
Which meant… I had no idea how I was supposed to act in a situation like this.
I thought my head was about to explode, but instead, he was patting me.
Was this the kind of thing predators did before eating their prey alive?
“…What are you doing…?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing?!”
After patting my head a few more times, Grandfather suddenly seemed to come back to his senses and spoke sharply.
“I need to hear exactly what you were planning to do in my room. Follow me.”
“Okaaay….”
Even though the commander’s office was used as a lounge by the direct family members, that only happened because Grandfather allowed it.
And if the owner of the room personally asked what I had been trying to do there, powerless little me had no choice but to follow him and explain myself.
I was climbing the stairs gloomily when Theon came to my side and spoke.
“Let’s go together.”
His expression was stiff. He had clearly been intimidated by Grandfather’s overwhelming presence too.
But what was with those determined eyes?
If he came with me, it felt like he might suddenly say something like, “I was the one trying to steal the candy.”
“I want to talk with Grandfather alone.”
I couldn’t let my future ally fall out of favor with Grandfather!
I gave Theon a playful smile and continued up the stairs. Grandfather was already near the top.
Oops, if I didn’t hurry, I might get scolded again.
“Don’t run!”
“Yeees….”
When I slowly climbed the stairs, I saw a crowd gathered along one side of the hallway. It seemed the knights had rushed over after hearing Grandfather’s thunderous shout earlier.
And among them, I saw a familiar face.
“My lady…?”
It was Anne, Aunt Marian’s spy maid.
Her darting eyes looked less worried about me and more focused on understanding the situation. A private meeting between the head of the family and a direct descendant carried enormous meaning.
In a good way, it could mean limitless opportunity. But if things went wrong, it could also attract the relatives’ suspicion—
“The noble sacrifice of Raytan Quartz Travel…”
Suddenly, I remembered the priest giving a memorial speech in front of Father’s coffin.
I hurried after Grandfather, who was nearing the commander’s office door.
“G-Grandfather! I was wrong!”
“What about?”
“Berry was trying to steal Grandfather’s candy from the commander’s office!!”
Swaaaa—
Silence spread through the crowd at my words.
Especially Uncle Rex, who had frozen mid-conversation with one of his subordinates, his hand trembling slightly.
“Quiet! Just get in here!”
Did you see that, Anne? I’m getting scolded by Grandfather… Make sure to report it…
I could already picture Aunt Marian clapping in delight. Wow, this is great.
With the heart of a mouse marching into a lion’s den, I entered the commander’s office.
‘Waaah….’
“My fault… it’s all my fault.”
Staring at the firmly shut commander’s office door, Vice Commander Rex’s complexion darkened to match his gray hair.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine the terrifying things that might be happening behind that door.
The snacks in the lounge were regularly stocked for the direct family members who might visit at any time, but technically, they were still the personal belongings of Count Travel.
Normally, eating a piece of candy would never have been considered a problem.
The real problem was that Count Travel himself had made it one.
“It’s my fault too.”
At the trembling voice of a woman, Rex turned and saw a maid whose face had gone pale white.
“I told the young lady to stay seated on the courtyard bench. I never imagined she would wander around the training grounds alone….”
The maid finally collapsed to the floor in tears.
Watching her, Rex blinked slowly.
It felt exactly like watching enemy prisoners cry fake tears on the battlefield to reduce their punishment.
He didn’t recognize her face.
“Who?”
“She’s a maid from Pebble House.”
“She came to escort Lady Berry back?”
“No. Apparently she came here with Lady Berry from Pebble House. She says the young lady complained that her legs hurt, so she was looking for a knight she knew.”
Hearing his subordinate’s explanation, Rex frowned in confusion.
But Lady Berry had said she came alone.
Still, did any of that matter right now? Count Travel was furious.
And how was he supposed to face Young Master Raytan after this?
Rex was also a swordsman. A large part of the pride he felt serving the Travel family had been built while watching Raytan.
“……”
Feeling helpless, Rex covered his eyes with one hand.
At that moment, the news he had been waiting for finally arrived. The subordinate sent to Pebble House had returned.
“There you are. Young Master Raytan has arrived at the outer gate. I already informed them to pass along the message regarding Lady Berry’s… Has something happened?”
Yes.
Something very bad.
Still covering his eyes, Rex muttered quietly.
What he could see before him was his future.
- Small and Pretty Things
After entering the commander’s office, Grandfather sat on the sofa and pointed to the one opposite him.
“Sit.”
“Yes….”
I trudged over to the sofa and placed both hands on the cushion.
Hup.
I was struggling to climb onto the tall sofa when Uncle Callet picked me up and set me down.
Because he pushed me all the way against the backrest, I couldn’t even bend my knees.
So I ended up sitting there with both legs stretched straight out across the sofa in a rather rude-looking posture while facing the head of the Travel family.
Ugh. It felt less like I was sinking into a sofa and more like I was being buried under heavy pressure.
“Callet, bring that over.”
“Yes.”
When Grandfather pointed behind me, Uncle Callet picked something up and placed it beside me.
It was a glass jar filled with candy.
“Candy…?”
“How old are you?”
Before I could even process it, Grandfather, sitting across from me, asked the question.
I was pretty sure he had muttered earlier on the stairs about whether I was seven years old.
Did he already know and ask anyway?
I wanted to say that, but as nothing more than a tiny mouse, I didn’t exactly have the freedom to speak my mind.
“I-I’m seven….”
“Then why are you so small? You shouldn’t lie about your age.”
“I’m really seven…!”
“Tch!”
Grandfather clicked his tongue sharply.
“You must not have eaten properly. That’s why you didn’t grow.”
“N-no! Dad made meals packed with nutrients every day for growing children—”
“That half-smart fool doesn’t know anything.”
“…He knows a lot though….”
“Hah. Such a tiny thing, yet you never lose an argument. Just like your father.”
I hadn’t meant to upset Grandfather, but I hated hearing Father’s efforts dismissed.
Do you know how hard Dad worked raising me alone?! If Grandfather saw Dad’s recipe book, he’d take back those “half-smart fool” comments immediately! This is so unfair!
“Still.”
Grandfather’s gaze fixed on me, buried in the sofa. His shining golden eyes naturally made people tense up.
Gulp.
Quietly swallowing, I curled my sweaty fingers into my palm.
One memory kept circling in my mind.
“There’s apparently something I’ve been searching for inside your grandfather’s safe.”
It was a memory of Crown Prince Theon visiting twenty-four-year-old me after Grandfather’s funeral.
The crown prince had held a letter delivered to the imperial palace—a letter Grandfather had arranged to be sent only after his death.
“Judging by the circumstances, it’s highly likely to be decisive evidence that your relatives and the conspirators behind Raytan Quartz Travel’s death were working together.”
“…Grandfather knew Father was murdered?”
“We’ll have to confirm it. I’ll handle it.”
“No. I’ll do it. This afternoon is the reading of Grandfather’s will. Everyone will be too focused on who becomes the next family head to pay attention to where I am.”
And so I opened Grandfather’s safe, found the letter containing the evidence… and died after being stabbed by the sword of someone whose identity I never learned.
‘Why did Grandfather send that letter to Crown Prince Theon?’
It was still a mystery.
One of my relatives was definitely the culprit. The item Theon recovered from the murderer carried the crest of the Travel direct line.
Why send the letter to the crown prince? That would expose the fact that one of Grandfather’s own children killed Father.
‘Besides, Grandfather thought Father died in an accident.’
Back then, Grandfather refused to believe me when I said Father’s death was suspicious. I had resented him for it, but I thought it couldn’t be helped.
Grandfather always called Father a useless troublemaker and got angry whenever he saw him.
‘Maybe Grandfather didn’t actually hate Father?’
I thought he simply didn’t care because the dead son was one he hated.
But Grandfather had been investigating Father’s death too. And he had gotten closer to the truth than either Theon or the other me ever did.
‘Telling the crown prince about crucial evidence… was that his way of asking him to punish the culprit…?’
Lost in thought, I barely noticed the golden eyes suddenly moving closer.
I was too busy wondering how those eyes had truly viewed Father.
Grandfather rose from his seat, braced one hand on the table, and looked directly into my eyes from close range.
“This time, you’re not crying.”
“…Huh?”
“Child, are you really not afraid of this old man?”
