WSMD 01

Chapter – 01

Prologue

The Travel Count family, one of the wealthiest noble families in the Hayshal Empire.

It was the day the second son, who had left home, returned after six years with his young daughter.

Many people had gathered in front of the mansion, which looked like a palace, to welcome the father and daughter—but there was no festive atmosphere anywhere.

In the cold, heavy silence, the loud crying of a frightened child spread through the air.

That crying was mine.

I’m scared…!

The golden eyes of the head of the Travel family—said to be blessed with immense wealth—were fixed on me.

It felt like a wild beast standing atop a massive cliff. The pressure wasn’t something a seven-year-old could bear.

At first, I cried because I was afraid of that.

But—

— Berry, be careful of your relatives. The Travels are a den of beasts fighting for the heir position.

The reason I was afraid now wasn’t because of my grandfather.

— Miss Berry! We received news that Young Master Reitan has… passed away…

Strange scenes were pouring into my mind like a torrential storm.

— Dad, you said a Grand Master wouldn’t die in such a small battlefield. There must be someone who killed you, right? …I’ll find the truth.

Seven years old. Ten years old. Sixteen years old…

They were all me.

But memories I didn’t recognize.

My head throbbed painfully. I was confident I didn’t cry easily when I was hurt—but this time was different. I had never felt fear like this before.

Cold light flickered in the golden eyes looking down at me.

“What a coward. Won’t accomplish anything big.”

After finishing his evaluation of me, my grandfather turned and walked into the mansion without hesitation. My father tightened his grip on my hand.

The relatives left on the wide entrance stairs laughed while watching me cry miserably.

“Pathetic. Is that really a Travel? Sounds like a noisy frog.”

“A frog? Then we’ll only see her until autumn. She’ll crawl into a hole by winter.”

“You can tell she grew up without a mother. Reitan, there’s no way that incompetent man raised her properly alone. Didn’t she even have a nanny? Crying like that without any shame…”

“Try to understand, sister. The child grew up thinking she was a commoner.”

“Ugh. Hati, did you hear what father said? A commoner.”

Though they spoke with contempt, they couldn’t fully hide the wariness in their eyes.

To them, we were new competitors.

Everyone gathered here bearing the Travel name was a candidate for the next family head.

And—

They’re here.

My uncle. My aunt. My other uncle. Their spouses. Their children.

Among them—

The one who killed my father…!

My eyes burned with tears as I looked at them through my blurry vision.

Their distorted silhouettes seemed to whisper to me:

Run, Berry Quartz. Otherwise they’ll devour you.

As the memories kept surfacing, one scene stood out vividly.

Grandfather’s study.

An open safe.

And twenty-four-year-old me standing in front of it.

— …Found it. The letter the accomplice sent to the murderer.

— You shouldn’t read other people’s letters without permission, Berry Quartz.

Who?!

The older me jerked in shock.

And I felt like I was jerking too.

At that moment, the flooding memories stopped.

My twenty-four-year-old self was stabbed by an unidentified man’s sword and died.

I didn’t feel the pain, but just seeing myself die made it hard to breathe.

Gasping desperately for air, I felt my father grab me urgently.

“Berry!”

When I blinked, tears fell from my eyes.

My clear vision showed one face.

Sharp blue eyes.

Filled with anxiety and concern.

My father’s eyes.

My father was alive.

I was seven years old.

When I realized that obvious fact, relief washed over me and all my tension disappeared.

With trembling hands, I grabbed my father’s arm.

“D-Dad.”

“Berry, it’s okay. Try taking a deep breath. Okay? You can follow me, right?”

The first day we arrived at the Travel Count family.

“I’m… sorry.”

“Berry…?!”

In front of my grandfather and relatives I had just met,

I, the youngest granddaughter of Count Travel,

completely ruined my first impression—

and fainted.

1. What are these memories?

The divine being Aubaut said:

Four holy swords would save the human world.

In reality, those holy swords found masters among swordsmen who reached certain heights and were active for 3,000 years.

And the four Grand Masters.

The owners of the holy swords.

The peak of Sword Masters.

Holy knights of God respected by all…

“Holy?”

Serber, the head butler of the Travel Count family, muttered while looking at a wanted poster.

Along with a massive bounty of 1 billion Kona was the portrait of a handsome man with sharp features.

Former Grand Master.

Second son of Count Travel.

Reitan Quartz Travel.

The wanted notice had been spread across the land a month ago by Count Travel to find his runaway son.

As expected of a former Grand Master, Reitan had hidden well for six years—but nothing withstands money forever.

Eventually witnesses began appearing.

And Reitan returned home.

That was yesterday.

Does “holy” really suit that young master?

It didn’t seem like a fitting description for someone who could intimidate people with just a glance.

The butler folded the wanted poster carefully and tucked it into his coat before looking up.

Above the black entrance door stood the eagle statue symbolizing the Travel family.

Unlike other statues with gem eyes, this one had cold gray eyes.

Even the annex resembles its owner.

This annex was given to the lowest ranked heir candidate among the Count’s children.

Commonly called:

Stone House.

The butler had come here on orders from the eldest son to observe the place.

“As you know, Serber, father doesn’t spend money on useless things.”

1 billion Kona.

Enough to buy three mansions in the capital.

Why would Count Travel spend that much to find Reitan?

After treating him like a dead son for six years?

The Travel family selected heirs based on achievements.

The sudden return of a rival naturally made the direct descendants nervous.

“There’s no need for Reitan to enter the succession battle now. Watch him and his daughter closely. Find out why father called him back.”

Suppressing a sigh, the butler opened the Stone House door.

Just then, maids were chatting in the lobby.

“Miss Berry was so cute, right?”

“Did you see how she furrowed her tiny brow and asked, ‘…Are you eighteen?’ I almost hugged her.”

One maid clutched the laundry in her arms with an excited face.

Another leaned closer.

“Isn’t it amazing? How did she memorize all our names and ages? She’s smarter than kids her age—”

“Anne, what’s so amazing about that?”

A brown-haired maid interrupted.

“She just overheard Young Master Reitan asking earlier and repeated it. A seven-year-old could do that.”

“Miss Sherry, do you think I didn’t know that?”

As tension formed between them, the maid with the laundry intervened.

“But you know, Miss Berry is cuter when she hears the answers than when she asks. When she’s told she’s right, she makes a sad face. Why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Eeek!”

The maid imitating Berry’s expression screamed when she heard a middle-aged man’s voice.

It was the main house butler, famous for being strict.

“S-Sir! When did you get here?”

“I came to see Young Master Reitan and the young lady. What did she do?”

The maids glanced at Sherry, the senior maid.

Sherry smiled smoothly.

“You’ll see if you go upstairs.”

***

The room prepared for Count Travel’s youngest granddaughter.

Instead of the owner, a man sat on the sofa watching the butler.

“You want to see Berry?”

Sharp blue eyes.

Handsome, but cold as winter wind.

Reitan Quartz Travel.

Even his indifferent gaze made one’s heart shrink like a mouse before a snake.

“Before that, I have a question.”

Reitan leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees.

The butler almost gasped.

If you ignored his intimidating aura, he was undeniably a noble handsome man.

Golden wheat-colored hair.

Polished brown shoes without dust.

A stylish yet refined suit.

A body trained by swordsmanship and natural fashion sense.

Born into the wrong family.

Reitan held a strange position in the Travel family.

He reached the highest level in swordsmanship—

but had a complete lack of business talent.

If he had been born into a knight family, he would have shined brilliantly.

But Travel was built on mining and trade.

His achievements were always at the bottom.

If he had kept his Grand Master position, he could have lived comfortably at the temple…

But six years ago he returned his holy sword for childcare retirement.

Now only the label remained:

“Useless Travel.”

“Serber.”

“Y-Yes.”

Startled, the butler answered quickly.

“You’re forty-three this year, right?”

“Yes.”

“You have a son. You work in the main house… what else?”

“Excuse me?”

Caught off guard, he blurted:

“I… have more gray hair.”

“Unfortunate.”

Reitan stood and gestured toward the bed.

Something was wriggling under the blanket.

…Could it be?

Reitan pulled it off.

“Say hello. This is Inspector BerryBerry.”

Pink hair puffed from static.

Round head.

Long eyelashes.

Green eyes with double eyelids.

A cute girl who looked nothing like her father stared up.

She reminded him of something.

A poodle? Maltese?

Ah.

A baby Bichon.

“Serber?”

The small inspector blinked her bright green eyes.

“Yes.”

“You’re forty-three this year?”

Déjà vu.

Reitan crossed his arms.

“Inspector BerryBerry knows everything.”

“I see.”

The butler understood.

She must have overheard earlier.

Playing along wasn’t hard.

“There are other young masters and ladies in this family after all.”

Smiling kindly, he said:

“Your insight is impressive. I wonder if you’ll even guess how many children I have.”

The answer seemed obvious.

One child.

Works in the main house—

“Did you recently buy large amounts of stock in a failing ink company?”

“Baron Mont said it would never fail… Wait, how did you know I bought stocks?”

“How would she know? Just repeating something she heard.”

Reitan covered his daughter’s mouth.

“Serber, you can leave now.”

Dismissed, the butler withdrew uneasily.

Watching him go, Berry made a miserable face.

Waaah. That was right too.