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Chapter 5
“…G–Grand…father…?”
It was the first time I had ever called someone that.
Not some elderly stranger unrelated to me by blood—but the man standing before me was truly my grandfather, the one whose blood ran in my veins.
Just a title, and yet… the anger I had felt moments ago about being terminally ill quieted instantly.
Pushing aside the unfamiliar emotions swelling inside me, I quickly got to the point.
“Where are my parents? D-Did only I come here…?”
“That is none of your concern.”
None of my concern?! At the cold, decisive reply, I swallowed and asked again.
“You didn’t… k-kill them, did you?”
Grandfather snorted as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. His obvious mockery actually reassured me.
“What kind of father kills his own son? Of course that was a joke.”
“…Was that a cannon I saw earlier instead of a gun?”
“The first father in history to fire a cannon at his own son. What a splendid title that would be. Enough joking. Do you know where you are right now?”
I could tell from the Einhardt family crest embroidered on every cushion.
Grandfather’s mansion.
In other words, the Einhardt estate in the imperial capital.
“Is this the Einhardt estate?”
Grandfather gave a small nod.
“You said you wanted a chance?”
“Yes. It will be a chance for everyone.”
Grandfather’s red eyes stared at me with interest. Just being looked at like that made chills run down my spine and my whole body tense.
Leaning back deep into his chair with a crooked smile, he gestured for me to continue. I straightened my posture and cleared my throat.
“Please send my parents to the North.”
Fortunately, I knew the original story—past and future alike.
Which meant I also knew exactly what opportunity my father needed.
“To the North? Hah. Didn’t you just say a moment ago that you didn’t want your parents chased away?”
I shook my head.
“I’m not asking you to just send them away. Please appoint them as ordinary soldiers in the Northern border guard.”
The northern territory of the empire—where the Einhardt family had lived for generations—was more than just a border.
It was the last bastion protecting the empire from monster invasions.
“An ordinary soldier in the border guard… Why must it be that?”
Grandfather didn’t know it yet, but this year’s monster breeding season would be practically a disaster.
The reason I wanted to send my precious father to such a dangerous place was simple.
It would create a justification.
A reason explaining why my father disappeared for fourteen years.
And a reason why he could return to high society after all that time.
If the future head of the Einhardt family had vanished for fourteen years because he was personally fighting monsters alongside ordinary soldiers on the front lines, who would dare criticize him?
Of course, if someone deliberately dug into it, the story wouldn’t be flawless.
But in the original story I had read—and lived through—no one dared say such things to the powerful House of Einhardt.
The reason he had to be an ordinary soldier rather than a commander was the same: justification.
“That way he can win the hearts of the Northern people. Don’t you think they’d feel more sympathy toward a soldier who fought alongside them every day, only to later learn he had been paying for a personal crime… rather than a commander who suddenly appeared and used them to hide his shame?”
“Is that what you think?”
“Yes. If I were an ordinary soldier, that’s how I’d feel.”
Grandfather’s white-gloved hand stroked his equally white, neatly trimmed mustache.
Then the red eyes, buried beneath wrinkled eyelids deep in thought, suddenly glimmered.
“Interesting. But what guarantee do I have that your parents won’t run away again?”
Unlike the rising corners of his lips, the words that followed were still terrifying and ruthless.
I bit my lip and answered.
“…First of all, my parents aren’t the kind of people who would do that. But aside from that—as long as I stay here in this mansion, that will never happen.”
“That sounds as though you are volunteering yourself as a hostage.”
“…Thank you for valuing me so highly, Grandfather.”
A hostage.
It wasn’t exactly wrong. But it wasn’t exactly a fitting way for a grandfather to refer to his granddaughter.
Grandfather chuckled and placed the cigar back between his lips.
I had noticed earlier, but the smell of his cigar was making my head spin.
“Teddy might not, but Isabel could easily escape even from me. Such a waste for Teddy… tsk.”
Even with my dizzy head, I found that strange.
Didn’t Grandfather dislike my mother?
“…Very well. It’s a splendid opportunity—far more than that child deserves. I was planning to send them to the North anyway, but you beat me to it.”
Even though the plan had been improvised in haste, Grandfather accepted my proposal surprisingly easily.
“Do you want to see your parents?”
I nodded honestly.
Of course I wanted to see them.
As soon as I returned to the past, the first thing I did was go find Grandfather.
I met him, then collapsed the moment my parents arrived.
When I woke up, they were already gone.
Perhaps the first thing I should have done wasn’t find Grandfather—but meet my parents.
Regret arrived too late.
Grandfather cleared his throat and stood up.
“You’ll see them soon. So don’t make that face.”
Apparently my thoughts had been written all over my expression.
Just before leaving the room, he paused briefly and added:
“For a child, the best thing is simply to stay healthy and smile brightly.”
***
After Grandfather left, I was alone again.
Only then did I properly look around.
Turning my head, I saw the ceiling beyond the bed’s canopy.
It was unfamiliar.
A chandelier hung from a ceiling painted with a garden full of blooming flowers.
But looking closer, the flowers in the mural had long since faded.
Even the chandelier had more burnt-out bulbs than lit ones.
And yet, the room didn’t feel neglected.
It felt more like stepping into a museum recreation of a noble’s chamber.
Each breath filled my nose with cold, lonely air.
Dust, longing… and the lingering scent of Grandfather’s cigar mixed together until I couldn’t stop coughing.
“Cough… cough…!”
Suddenly it felt as though my organs were collapsing from head to toe.
My skull throbbed, my throat stung, and a dull ache spread around my heart.
Just from coughing?
The horrible memories of my hospital room threatened to resurface.
It’s just the past now.
There was only one thing I needed to do.
Reconcile my father and grandfather.
Change the future so Grandfather wouldn’t make the same choice again.
And then I would live a quiet, ordinary life in a sunny seaside resort where you could see the ocean from the window.
Even if the treatment failed… I wouldn’t regret it.
Yes. A perfect plan.
Knock, knock.
Before I could respond, the doorknob turned.
My parents?
“Ah, young miss! You’re awake!”
…Not them.
The person who entered was a middle-aged woman dressed in simple black clothes.
Her practical black dress bore the butler-chief insignia instead of a jeweled brooch.
“Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Müller, the head butler in charge of this estate.”
The gray-haired woman set the tray she carried onto the bedside table with a gentle smile.
“W-Why are you calling me ‘young miss’?”
Müller calmly explained without losing her smile.
“His Lordship has acknowledged you as his granddaughter. Therefore it is only proper to address you as young miss.”
As I blinked in confusion, Müller murmured almost to herself:
“You look exactly like Miss Leona when dressed like this.”
“Leona…?”
“That is the name of this room’s owner—your aunt.”
Ah. So the second daughter who died young from illness was named Leona.
Pretending ignorance, I asked again.
“I have an aunt?”
“…She has gone on a very long journey.”
Only then did I begin to understand why Grandfather had brought me to this old, poorly maintained room.
A little girl he had never seen before looked just like his dead daughter.
Around the same age.
Even collapsing right before his eyes in the same way.
Anyone would be shaken.
I looked around the room again.
Perhaps it had been left this way intentionally—to preserve how it once was.
What kind of feelings had Grandfather held while preserving this room?
And what had he thought when he laid his granddaughter—who resembled his daughter—on that bed?
“Here, drink this all at once.”
Müller held something out to me.
It was a cup filled with steaming black liquid.
It definitely wasn’t tea or coffee.
“This is medicine that’s good for your body.”
As expected.
Just smelling it told me everything—bitter, astringent, and even fishy.
And I was supposed to drink this?
“Ugh—! Cough!”
After blowing on it briefly, I gulped the medicine down in one breath.
Suppressing the urge to gag, I took a deep breath and swallowed again.
Finally, I could see the bottom of the cup.
That tasted absolutely horrible.
If medicine this disgusting didn’t even work, I’d never forgive the doctor who made it.
“There is a message from His Lordship.”
“A message…?”
Müller nodded stiffly.
After a moment’s hesitation, she delivered it.
“His Lordship wishes to dine with you this evening. On that condition, he has permitted you to see your parents.”
“Then… my parents…?”
“That is none of your concern.”
The cold reply came instantly.
The icy tone made my shoulders flinch.
“…I’ll go. Please guide me to the dining hall.”
I nodded and got up from the bed.
