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Chapter 03
I had to stop Grandfather somehow.
But how?
No good idea came to mind.
Then the only option left was to block him with my body.
“N-No! You can’t!”
“Yes, I can.”
When I stepped in front of my father to block him, Grandfather’s eyebrow tilted slightly.
His narrowed eyes held less confusion or surprise than clear irritation.
It was the look of someone thinking, How dare you stand in my way?
“You said you’re different from the Thunder Emperor!”
“That’s right. I will kill him by my own will!”
“Then that makes you no different from the Thunder Emperor! No—are you planning to do something even more foolish than he did?!”
It might have sounded disrespectful, but if it meant saving my father, I was willing to say anything.
At my words—not even as good as the Thunder Emperor—Grandfather paused for a moment.
“Grandfather, you still have a chance! And so does my father!”
My voice rose without me realizing it.
Four years.
That was the time left before the Second Prince’s rebellion, the fall of Einhardt, and Grandfather’s destruction.
It might be too short to truly understand someone.
But perhaps it was long enough for a father and son to forgive each other.
“Please give them a chance. Both Grandfather and Father.”
At my request, Grandfather shut his eyes tightly and opened them again, letting out a series of dry laughs.
But the strength in the hand holding the gun loosened slightly.
So it hadn’t been completely ineffective.
“A chance… for both father and son?”
“…Are you planning to end the Einhardt bloodline right here?”
“Rather than watching that idiot son of mine die at someone else’s hands,” Grandfather said coldly,
“isn’t it a father’s final duty to send him painlessly to his mother in a single shot?”
“Our ancestors would probably prefer the bloodline to end with me rather than see Einhardt fall because of that fool.”
His harsh words made my head spin.
This wasn’t just verbal abuse anymore—it was practically murder through words.
No wonder people had given him terrifying nicknames in his youth.
As if used to such abuse, Father didn’t even try to respond.
He simply lowered his head and trembled where he stood.
Like someone who had grown used to violence.
I stepped forward again in his place.
“Please give Father one chance… to reclaim the right to carry the name Einhardt.”
“Why should I?”
“Then I’ll give you a chance too, Grandfather.”
“A chance to become someone’s father again.”
“A chance to become my grandfather.”
“And a chance to become not the branch of Einhardt… but its root.”
“The root instead of the branch, you say?”
“…That is, if Father manages to become a proper branch first.”
Honestly, with Father as he was now, becoming a strong branch seemed impossible.
He looked more like the last leaf clinging to a dying tree.
But I forced myself to ignore that thought.
“Hah.”
Grandfather snorted and looked away from me.
His bright red eyes shifted—this time toward my mother.
Instinctively, I moved sideways and shielded her with my body.
“Your daughter resembles her father in very few ways.”
“W-What? Are you accusing Isabel right now?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Teddy. Has your anger blinded you so much that you can’t even recognize a compliment?”
Grandfather’s icy gaze instantly shut Father up.
“Teddy” was Father’s childhood nickname.
It should have sounded affectionate.
But coming from Grandfather, it sounded terrifying.
Wait… that was supposed to be a compliment?
I began to question whether meeting Grandfather had been the right decision at all.
“Isabel, you don’t have to respond. I have nothing more to say to this man.”
Father finally gathered some courage and tried to lead us out of the corridor.
But a deep voice stopped him like a trap around his ankle.
“Teddy. Are you running away again?”
“In front of your daughter?”
Grandfather continued in a tone that sounded somewhere between criticism, mockery, and laughter.
“What a cold-hearted boy.”
“You had a daughter and never told your father?”
“Such a cute child…”
Father hurriedly hid me from Grandfather’s gaze.
“Stop looking at her like she’s some pet. Why would she be your granddaughter?”
“Oh? Then are you accusing Isabel now? Saying the child isn’t yours?”
Father’s face twisted with anger as his own earlier words were thrown back at him.
Grandfather clicked his tongue as if expecting this reaction.
He didn’t even give Father time to explain before pressing on.
“Look at the state you’re in!”
“Now that I know she exists, I refuse to watch my granddaughter live in poverty wearing such shabby clothes even for one more second.”
“I’ll take the child.”
Grandfather approached us without the slightest hesitation, as if his decision was absolute truth.
“W-Who decided that?!”
Each step Grandfather took made Father flinch and step backward.
Unlike Father, who was completely terrified, Grandfather walked with calm confidence.
Like a predator approaching prey it had already caught.
“Sir! This child is our daughter! She has nothing to do with you!”
My mother stepped forward.
But Grandfather didn’t even bother to laugh.
Instead, he gestured to his attendants.
“Bring my granddaughter.”
The attendants immediately started separating us by force.
“Let go! Let go of us! Don’t touch Isabel! If you lay a hand on my daughter—!”
“‘Won’t let it happen’? You?”
Grandfather cut Father off with a mocking smile and slammed his cane onto the floor.
BANG!
Cracks spread across the solid marble floor.
Father froze completely, unable to even breathe.
Like a mouse in front of a cat.
So this was what people meant by a difference in class and power.
My own heart pounded violently.
Actually… it hurt.
My stomach churned, and a terrible pain twisted deep inside my body.
“Answer me, son.”
Grandfather asked calmly, as if scolding a foolish child.
“What can you possibly do?”
“You abandoned your position and ran away like a worthless brat.”
“What can you do now?”
“I… I…”
Grandfather wasn’t wrong.
Every word was painfully true.
Maybe the fact that he didn’t list all of Father’s failures was his last bit of mercy.
Or maybe Father wasn’t even worth that much to him.
Praying it wasn’t the latter, I groaned softly in pain.
My head feels like it’s going to split open…
It felt like someone was squeezing my heart tightly in their hand.
Each time I blinked, the edges of my vision blurred.
But both of my parents were too focused on Grandfather to notice.
Just as I reached for my mother—
“Theodore Einhardt! Know your place!”
Grandfather roared like a lion.
He raised his cane high in the air.
And swung it toward Father.
“A… Appa…!”
My heart stopped.
At the same time, it felt like my body and soul were being torn apart.
In that moment, I realized something.
So this is the price that voice mentioned…
A wave of regret passed through my mind.
I should have been more careful making that contract.
My vision went dark.
The last thing I saw was Father reaching out toward me.
No…
Am I really going to die before I even manage to change anything?
*
“Irina!”
Theodore screamed as he caught Irina’s collapsing body in his arms.
His head snapped toward Magnus, eyes burning with accusation.
“What did you do to my daughter?!”
Magnus stood perfectly still.
Like a stone statue.
To Theodore, his father looked like a monster.
Someone had collapsed right in front of him.
Not even a stranger—his own granddaughter.
And yet he showed no emotion.
But contrary to Theodore’s belief, Magnus was forcing himself not to show shock.
When he first saw Irina, he immediately knew whose child she was.
Hair like flowing water from a deep river.
Eyes like peach blossoms.
And above all—her courage.
Any normal child would have been too frightened to approach him.
But she had walked straight up to him without hesitation.
Magnus had even joked silently to the Thunder Emperor in the painting earlier.
Once we thought neither of us had any luck with children.
But it seems I won.
At least my son ran away before getting beaten to death and managed to have a child.
But now…
That child had collapsed in her father’s arms.
Magnus had seen a life like this before.
A fragile child.
Born too early into the world.
A daughter who had returned to winter before spring even came.
Theodore lifted Irina onto his back.
Her face hung limp and pale.
For a moment, Magnus saw the image of his own young daughter overlapping with hers.
“We need a doctor!” Theodore shouted desperately.
“Someone call a doctor!”
No one could stop him.
But Magnus had to stop him.
For some reason, he felt certain that if his son left now…
He would never get another chance.
Chance… that damned chance.
Magnus clenched his teeth.
Perhaps this really was the last chance.
“Theodore Einhardt! Stop right there!”
But Theodore didn’t even slow down.
A father’s love could sometimes defy another father’s authority.
Magnus ground his teeth.
Why was he only feeling this urgency now?
He had to stop his son.
He couldn’t lose him again.
Not now.
Not after hearing his granddaughter speak about chance.
“Let’s go home…”
“…to the Einhardt mansion.”
