Chapter – 11
“It’s just… a stone!”
It was a perfect pebble.
To receive a pebble from Laksek Iron Travel, a major noble of the Heishal Empire!
I had to hold onto it, knowing that if I lost it, I’d be in big trouble!
This… this had to be some kind of high-level teasing…!
I could still see my grandfather’s sly smile in my mind.
I felt drained. Lying on the sofa with my arm as a pillow, I held the stone in my fingers up to my eyes.
“Then why is Mr. Callet so surprised?”
The noise outside caught my attention.
I turned my head upward, still leaning on the armrest. Voices from outside the building filtered in through the window.
“Did grandfather come back…?”
Feeling uneasy, I pocketed the stone and stepped over to the window. It was high, but luckily there was a small stool nearby.
When I stood on it and looked outside, I couldn’t help but smile widely.
“Ah… Dad!”
It was pure instinct.
Outside the building stood my dad, along with some knights.
‘Yikes. He’s already here. I guess my time with grandfather went longer than I thought.’
My plan to sneak back to the Pebble House before my dad arrived had completely collapsed.
And that wasn’t all.
The knights looked utterly deflated, like dogs with their tails between their legs.
Even Chief Deputy Rex, standing beside my dad, had hunched shoulders.
Although Rex was bigger than my dad, the intimidating presence came from my dad, not Rex.
‘That spot next to him is probably going to be mine…’
For now, I decided to act cheerful and wave. My dad slowly raised his right hand and waved back.
“Berry.”
He called my name. The window was so clear that even from the third floor, I could see his lip movements.
Seeing the lips clearly meant… I could see the rest of his face just as well.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
Under his wheat-colored hair, his blue eyes were narrower than usual.
‘That… those are the eyes of an angry dad.’
“Berry, stay right there. I’ll come up.”
My dad, along with Rex and a few other knights, headed up to the Chief Commander’s office.
“You should be able to behave, right?”
“I apologize.”
I took a seat next to Rex and apologized to my dad.
“Even though you went out with Anne, didn’t you think I’d be worried?”
“…I didn’t think it through. I apologize.”
I had hoped I wouldn’t be caught… but I was. All I could do was apologize.
Leaving the Pebble House and coming to the training grounds wasn’t a problem. In the Travel estate, the only places the direct line couldn’t go were other direct line family members’ spaces.
The problem was that my dad now knew I’d been caught trying to steal candy in the Chief Commander’s office by grandfather.
“Sir, as I said before, she did nothing wrong. I was the one who mentioned that there were snacks in the Chief Commander’s office, and I couldn’t have predicted that the young master would arrive. You should also see her face! If the Count had scolded her, her eyes would have been red from crying.”
Rex spread his hands as if supporting my face and defended me to my dad.
The redness in my eyes was actually from rubbing them to match grandfather’s cues…
Still, there was no reason to refuse Rex’s help. I looked up at my dad.
Sniff. Perfect timing—my nose itched.
“Is that so.”
“Berry, you mustn’t lie, right?”
“Huh? I’m not lying! Sir!”
“…Not you, Chief Deputy.”
I guess my dad realized I hadn’t actually cried. He knows me too well—it’s embarrassing.
His gaze shifted to the candy jar I held in my arms.
“The candy—”
He seemed about to ask why I was holding it, but stopped. He probably noticed the knights around were listening carefully.
Too many ears. Aside from Rex, I couldn’t fully trust anyone.
“Dad, I have something I want to talk about alone.”
“Rex.”
“Yes. She wants to speak alone? Everyone out.”
“You too.”
“…Yes.”
Once the knights left and the door closed, my dad asked me:
“What’s this about?”
I explained the day’s events to him: I wanted to see the rabbits, so I asked Anne to come with me. My legs hurt, so I waited a bit. Then, hearing sword sounds, I wandered around and became friendly with some knights.
After hearing my explanation, my dad’s expression softened.
I took the opportunity to clarify everything that happened in the Chief Commander’s office.
Except for the part about the pebble. I didn’t want him to know grandfather had been teasing me.
“So grandfather didn’t scold you?”
“Yep! Look, he even gave me candy!”
“Then why were your eyes red?”
“Well… grandfather told me to cry.”
“…Could you explain that more clearly?”
“I was given candy as a welcome-back gift at home. But grandfather pretended to scold me so the other relatives wouldn’t get jealous. I had to pretend to reflect… I don’t know why, but we had to coordinate our actions—hands and feet, you know.”
My dad lightly shook my head.
“Berry Berry. You don’t have to coordinate with anyone when you don’t understand something.”
He called me by my nickname, signaling his anger had eased.
Judging by his stiff expression, he seemed to have a concern—probably about grandfather pretending to scold me. That means he’s siding with me and thinking about grandfather’s motives.
Ugh… I still don’t understand grandfather at all.
I grabbed my dad’s hand resting above me and playfully asked:
“By the way, did you see Anne? She was in the corridor when you came in. Did she leave first?”
“She’s at the main house. When you were with grandfather, grandmother came to find her.”
“Grandmother?”
So Marianne aunt probably already knows I got scolded.
Aunt and grandmother are on the same side. They manage the maids together, so Anne bears no responsibility for today.
She’ll probably even get a reward for her spy work.
…Anyway, the atmosphere seems to have relaxed a bit.
“But, Dad.”
Finally, I could ask what I had been curious about.
“What did you talk to Teon about earlier?”
6. A New Family Member
When my dad announced he’d be coming up to the Chief Commander’s office,
Teon had appeared, hidden behind Rex and unseen by me. My dad spoke with Teon and Rex.
I wondered what they talked about since it took a while.
“Teon is my bodyguard?”
Back at the Pebble House, I ate the strawberry cake my dad brought while listening to his explanation.
Teon was there too.
Since I’d required a lot of attention as a child, it felt natural for me to sit next to my dad. Teon, as a guest, sat slightly apart.
My dad, sitting on the left side of the long sofa, replied:
“He’s not an official bodyguard.”
Right, the direct line of the Pebble House doesn’t get a personal guard.
Strictly speaking, Teon isn’t supported by the Travel family. His salary, meals, clothes, and lodging all come out of my dad’s pocket.
“He’s there to keep an eye on you—or rather, be with you—when I’m not around.”
“Dad, did you just say ‘keep an eye on’?”
“I misheard?”
“Oh, never mind then.”
Still, I understood. The Travel estate is huge; there’s plenty of chance for something to happen without my dad noticing.
And my dad bringing Teon was probably decided based on today’s events.
“But did Teon agree? Dad, we can’t force him just because he became a noble.”
“…Berry, don’t forget—you and I are already nobles.”
“It’s not forced. He agreed. Chief Deputy Rex said it’s fine if he leaves the knight squad.”
“Leave the knight squad? Why?”
“I’ll teach him myself.”
Teon looked at his plate, bewildered, as three strawberries were placed on it.
“So you’ll be his teacher, Dad?”
At my words, Teon quickly turned his head.
I added a strawberry decoration from the cake to his plate—it was polite for a guest.
It was delicious.
Dad did the same for Teon.
“Don’t worry, Teon will stay here in Travel. Is that okay with you, Berry?”
“Yep! I like it! Teon’s my friend!”
Not just okay—I was so happy I wanted to cheer silently.
Now, I could get closer to Teon without worrying about relatives interfering.
Even if they tried, a little investigation would show there’s nothing interesting—he’s just a trainee knight and a poor baron’s grandson.
I asked, remembering something:
“Teon isn’t supposed to leave the Red Eagle Knights, right? Baron Voltmann sent him here to learn swordsmanship in Travel.”
Teon looked at me, surprised.
“How did you know?”
“The knights were talking about it.”
I put a strawberry from the cake on his plate again—he’s a guest.
