WSMD 03

Chapter – 03

2. I Will Save My Dad

I have to save Dad.

Hmph. I snorted while looking up at the eagle statue that seemed impossibly high.

My father’s death had been the result of one of our relatives conspiring with an outside force.

Unfortunately, even my other self had never discovered which relative was the culprit, nor the identity of the external accomplice.

But I had a way to save him.

The annex succession competition that happens every five years!

The Travel Count family valued ability above all else, and throughout generations, the most capable direct descendant was chosen as the heir.

Each child of the family head received their own annex, and the ranking of heirs was determined by the gem embedded in the eagle statue above the entrance.

Rank 1: Diamond
Rank 2: Sapphire
Rank 3: Emerald
…
Lowest rank: No gem. Commonly called the Stone House.

Dad deliberately chose the lowest rank. He wasn’t interested in becoming the family head and didn’t want anyone to become a victim of power struggles. But…

The annexes were symbols of power within the Travel family.

In my memories, when my eldest uncle handed the Diamond House over to my aunt, he suddenly suffered a severe headache and collapsed foaming at the mouth.

If Dad becomes Rank 1, he won’t have to go to war. That’s one of the Travel family rules.

There were two annex competitions left. When I turned ten and fifteen.

During the second one, I would make sure my father became Rank 1 heir.

That sly snake Uncle Hebant, that hyena Aunt Marianne, and that fox Uncle Yosel.

Sorry, but eight years from now, my dad is going to be the heir.

Even if I hate the future, maybe knowing it isn’t such a bad thing.

“Hehehe.”

Drunk on my imagined victory, I put my hands on my hips and laughed like a villain.

“Why are you outside without your coat? You’ll catch a cold.”

“Ah, Daaad. I was thinking about something important.”

“Think while wearing a coat.”

“Okay.”

I ended up getting carried back inside by Dad anyway.

***

Now that I had a goal, I needed a plan. Of course, I couldn’t make it obvious.

“Oh, the moisturizer. Please wait a moment. I’ll get it right away.”

“Mhm.”

Sherry, who had been helping with my bath, left the bathroom to get something she forgot. Wrapped tightly in a large towel, I squatted and touched the floor.

“Oh, the floor is warm.”

The Travel family owned many mines, including one that produced heat stones — minerals that naturally emitted heat.

A heat stone the size of a fist cost as much as a common laborer’s monthly salary. You could say dozens of months’ worth of wages were embedded just in this bathroom floor.

Back when I lived with Dad, I had to dry off quickly and put on clothes right after washing or I’d freeze.

But now the whole bathroom felt like sitting in front of a fireplace.

So this is why adults say money is the best!

And this was just the Stone House.

The Diamond House and the main residence where Grandfather lived probably had hundreds of months of wages built into them.

I could kind of understand why my relatives were so obsessed with the heir position.

Which meant I should delay attracting their attention as long as possible.

Until the next annex competition, it’s better if Dad stays at the lowest rank. If he gets targeted too early, something dangerous could happen.

So for the next few years, we needed to quietly build strength. But in the Travel family, where everything reached Grandfather’s ears, that wouldn’t be easy.

However…

— Who would have thought His Highness had once stayed with our family? I heard my uncle drove him out when he joined as a trainee knight.

— Yes, that happened.

— Sometimes I regret not getting close to him then. If we had, maybe we could have realized something was wrong with the war my father fought in.

I had a hidden gem that only I knew about.

Something others thought was just a mud-covered stone, so no one would suspect it.

“How do I get close to him…?”

“With who?”

Sherry had returned with the moisturizer and asked. I looked up and smiled playfully.

Who?

“With you, Sherry?”

“Oh my.”

The person who would become the biggest connection in the Travel family and my future ally.

The Crown Prince, Theon Phil Igsellona.

My first plan was to make him our ally.

“Dad!”

After putting on moisturizer and changing into pajamas, I came out of the bathroom and saw Dad entering my room.

Maybe because I’d been thinking about how to save him the whole time, but I was unusually happy to see him.

“Careful. You’ll fall.”

Dad caught me as I ran toward him and lifted me up.

I rubbed my forehead against his neck and said:

“I missed you so much, Berry.”

“What’s gotten into you? Acting all clingy.”

A soft cologne scent came from him. He must have bathed too.

“So what does my little Berry want from me?”

“Nothing. I’m just happy to see you.”

“Berry.”

“Yes?”

“You didn’t wash your face, did you?”

Caught!

At Dad’s investigator-like question, I instinctively looked up.

So unfair.

“No, I did.”

I stuttered nervously, which only made him more suspicious.

“Really?”

“Ahem, Mr. Leitan. Are you doubting your own daughter right now?”

“Yes. Your record isn’t very good.”

“Whaaat? That’s unfair! Ask Sherry!”

Sherry was the daughter of Dad’s former nanny.

Because of that, even my usually cautious father trusted her somewhat.

“She washed very carefully.”

Sherry smiled and took my side.

Even then, Dad still looked doubtful, so I even had to demonstrate how I washed my face in the air.

“…Pfft.”

I heard them trying not to laugh.

Must have been my imagination.

Because I was completely serious. Adults wouldn’t tease a serious child, right?

“Sorry for doubting you.”

“Accepted.”

With Dad’s apology, my innocence was proven.

Whew. Proving you’re innocent is hard.

It was already nighttime. Sherry said goodnight.

“Why don’t you sleep with Young Master Leitan tonight? If you need anything, pull the cord beside the bed. My room is downstairs.”

“Okay! Goodnight, Sherry!”

“Sweet dreams, my lady.”

I waved goodbye while still in Dad’s arms.

After she left, only Dad and I remained. His room was next door, but he decided to sleep with me tonight since he was worried about me adjusting to the new place.

I tilted my head and our eyes met. I couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m so happy.”

“Why?”

“It’s been a long time since I slept with you! What if I get too excited and can’t sleep?”

***

I was wrong.

The soft bedding. Dad’s voice reading a fairy tale beside me.

For Berry, nothing worked better as a sleeping pill.

My eyelids grew heavy, and the bear illustration in the book kept appearing and disappearing.

Soon, only the sound of quiet breathing remained.

Leitan quietly looked at his sleeping daughter.

Her small hand tightly gripped his clothes, as if worried about something. No matter how mature she seemed, Berry was still only seven.

I have to leave.

He had to leave this place.

Berry was a smart child. A child who instinctively understood how money worked. A lovely daughter with the qualities the Travel family valued most in a successor.

He couldn’t let his siblings see her as a threat. They were the kind of beasts who believed it best to crush danger while it was still young.

“……”

Leitan’s cold gaze turned toward the window.

He got out of bed. Feeling his clothes slip from her grasp, Berry whimpered slightly.

He stroked her hair, and her lips curved into a faint smile.

“I’ll be back soon.”

He whispered to his sleeping daughter, then went downstairs and opened the front door.

Under the dark night sky stood a man with red hair.

“I was going to come find you, but you came first.”

It was Kallet, the assistant to the Count of Travel.

Ignoring Leitan’s unfriendly tone, Kallet calmly stated his purpose:

“The family head is summoning you.”