“Count, I will do it.”
Callet approached, holding a handkerchief, ready to wipe Berry’s face.
Lassek, who had been pushed aside, finally took a breath.
‘Good grief.’
He had never intended to make his granddaughter cry.
His plan was simply to get the cheeky girl to confess that she had solved the Edward equation and secretly help her develop her talent.
“Apologies, Count. I was unable to find a matching handwriting sample.”
Even his highly capable assistant had failed. This meant the suspect was someone no one could have imagined—someone as unlikely as a mischievous seven-year-old child.
‘A child who can read and understand newspapers wouldn’t be incapable of writing.’
Berry’s assignment was written with effort, but the handwriting looked like squiggly worms. It indicated that the fine motor skills required to write were not yet fully developed.
That meant she was probably using her non-dominant hand, which would also explain the different handwriting.
‘But could she really have solved the Edward equation?’
Logically, a seven-year-old solving a problem of that level was impossible.
His reason told him no.
But his instincts said otherwise.
It had to be his granddaughter.
There happened to be a perfect excuse—an upcoming monthly evaluation. Lassek wanted to confirm his suspicions.
‘What if I set the passing score just above her ability level? She’s afraid of getting scolded, so I’ll have to give her a little scare.’
“Miss Berry scored… 61 in Language Arts and 63 in History…”
But now that he knew about her genius, those scores seemed almost too deliberate, making him laugh.
Just like Reytan when he was younger.
That troublesome son had intentionally flooded his academy report card with C’s.
Lassek fell into deep thought.
In Travel, extraordinary talent was a double-edged sword. A potential successor to the family head would attract opposition and scrutiny.
He had already lost one son to such conflicts.
“Father, I have one last question. Do you truly believe that Brother Brown’s death was an accident?”
Seven years ago, Reytan had asked him with bloodshot eyes.
Was his son’s death an accident or not?
Lassek had been unable to answer.
After that, Reytan wandered aimlessly for months. Then, one day, he suddenly returned home with a daughter and left again.
And now, in an attempt to protect his daughter, he was forcing her to follow the same path he once took.
‘Coward. Just because you fear opposition, you’re suppressing that extraordinary talent?’
If it were an average talent, he would have let it be.
But this wasn’t something that could be hidden.
“…Sniff.”
At that moment, his granddaughter’s crying finally subsided.
This time, it seemed she had really stopped.
“Callet, leave us.”
“……..…”
“I said, leave.”
“…Yes.”
At Lassek’s urging, Callet finally stood up. He bowed slightly, preparing to leave, but it was obvious he was reluctant.
Before the door closed, Lassek caught the displeased look in his aide’s eyes.
‘That guy.’
He used to always say, ‘Are you talking about Miss Berry (again)?’ and now he’s completely into her.
Honestly. What was so special about that tiny thing?
‘What else? She’s my youngest granddaughter.’
Lassek looked down at Berry, who was sitting on the sofa.
She sniffled, keeping her head lowered. From this angle, she looked even rounder than usual.
“Are you going to cry more?”
She shook her head slowly.
Her small, dejected head turned from side to side—it looked like it would fit perfectly in his hand.
His fingers twitched with the urge.
Unable to resist, Lassek took a seat beside his granddaughter on the sofa.
Then, without hesitation, he lightly placed his left hand on top of her head.
“Ah!”
“I’m not going to eat you.”
Pat, pat.
‘What should I do? I can’t leave her like I did with that brat, Reytan.’
With crying children, it was best to comfort them first. Then, once they calmed down, he could slowly convince them that their grandpa wasn’t scary at all.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t notice.”
Berry flinched at his words, her small shoulders tensing before she hesitantly relaxed again.
She seemed to be thinking deeply for a moment before slowly lifting her head toward him.
As Lassek removed his hand from her head, her face was revealed.
Her bright green eyes met his, still glistening from tears. Her reddened eyes and nose were a stark contrast to their usual brilliance—it almost made him laugh.
“Grandfather.”
“Yes.”
Her voice, still thick with sniffles, carried a calculated tone.
“Is this a sworn oath from the Count of Travel?”
“…Hah.”
Well, look at that.
Lassek let out a chuckle.
***
The oath of the head of the Travel family was never taken lightly.
It was an unbreakable vow.
Grandfather hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
“As the head of the Travel family, I swear—I will keep your intelligence a secret.”
And he even added that if I ever had concerns I couldn’t share with my dad, I could always come to him.
Unbelievable.
I had just been granted unrestricted private meetings with the Count of Travel.
I thought I was about to be scolded, but instead, I gained something incredible.
‘I don’t know how he figured out that I was the one who solved the Edward equation…’
It felt a little unsettling, but it was best to leave it alone.
Pressing the Count of Travel for answers could lead to trouble.
Everything was going well—until…
“Grandfather.”
“Yes.”
“How long are you planning to keep this up?”
At this moment, I had become my grandfather’s personal armrest.
He was still patting my head.
“Shall I give you an allowance in exchange?”
“Well… I suppose I have no choice. You may touch as much as you want.”
How much would the Count of Travel’s allowance be?
In my mind, golden coins floated around. Ten thousand konas? A hundred thousand? No way… could it be a million?!
“How did you solve the equation? Have you learned it before?”
Gasp.
Caught off guard by the sudden question, my eyes darted around.
Because… it wasn’t knowledge I had actually learned.
“Well, I… found a math book at the town library…”
“You taught yourself?”
My grandfather’s voice grew louder as he cut me off.
His hand, which had been gently patting my head, suddenly stopped.
“You’re saying you taught yourself?”
“…Yes.”
His hand trembled.
Seeing his reaction, I started to panic.
A seven-year-old, self-studying academy-level mathematics in a town library?
Even I knew how ridiculous that sounded.
Maybe he was shaking because he was angry.
Did he think I was making a fool out of the Count of Travel…?
“G-Grandfather—”
“A genius has been born in Travel.”
He let out a scoffing laugh, as if in disbelief.
It didn’t seem like I was going to get scolded. Realizing that, I quickly changed my approach.
“But you have to keep it a secret. If I seem too smart, Dad will worry.”
“Hmph. That coward. He should be proud of his daughter’s talent, not trying to hide it.”
“My dad isn’t a coward, Grandfather.”
“You never let me have the last word, do you? And stop calling that man ‘Grandfather.’”
His annoyed tone shifted from talking about my dad to talking about the Grand Priest.
‘Huh? How did he know?’
Now that I thought about it, while I was away on my field trip, the twins had bragged about watching the Grand Priest bless the champion’s statue.
Did he find out then? I tilted my head in thought.
“Why not?”
“You shouldn’t call someone ‘Grandfather’ when they’re not even blood-related.”
“But the Grand Priest said it was okay.”
“Those are the people you need to be wary of. The ones who act overly friendly despite having no real connection. Those are the ones who stab you in the back.”
His last words sent a chill down my spine.
‘I forgot…!’
I had been so focused on my math exam worries that I momentarily overlooked something important.
This was my grandfather’s study.
‘The place where I died at twenty-four!’
The day Grandfather’s will was announced.
In my past life, I had searched Grandfather’s study, trying to find clues about the person who killed my dad.
And that’s when—
— I found it. A letter from the accomplice to the killer.
— You shouldn’t read other people’s letters without permission, Berry Quartz.
“Ahhh!”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
Unlike before, the voice that flashed through my memory was clearer this time.
The eerie voice of the person who had stabbed my past self in the back with a sword.
Even now, my throat clenched at the thought of it.
***
As I stepped out of Grandfather’s study and walked down the stairs, I realized that the twins and Calypso, who had been spying from the hallway earlier, were no longer there.
“Berry.”
I had been watching my steps carefully while descending the stairs, but when I heard someone call my name, I lifted my head.
It was my dad. He was coming up with Mr. Callet.
“Huh? Dad?”
“I heard you got scolded by Grandfather.”
He didn’t even pause as he spoke, sounding impatient.
Stopping in front of me, he looked at my face and asked,
“Did you cry?”
“Nope.”
“She cried a lot.”
Wait, what?
Mr. Callet, whom I thought was on my side, immediately tattled to Dad.
