103
Theon held his breath. He'd already been a bit startled by how cramped it was behind the trolley when they first came in, but he managed not to show it.
But now...
"It's gotten too dangerous to keep it here anymore. Damn it, where should I hide this next?"
Clench.
Every time the man's muttering grew closer, Berry's arms tightened slightly, wrapping more firmly around Theon's head.
Holding hands wasn't a big deal. That was just something they had to do to keep Berry from tripping.
But this… What was this? Berry's arms were encircling his head.
Theon cautiously tried to move his forearm, but his elbow hit the trolley, it wouldn't bend at all.
'Teacher would…'
Reytan's face came to mind. Except for the rule he'd set on the first day, that they weren't allowed to enter each other's rooms in the afternoon, Reytan hadn't really interfered with the distance between Theon and Berry.
But Theon knew instinctively, if he got any closer to Berry than this, he wouldn't be able to look his teacher in the eye again.
Step. Step.
Just then, they heard the man's footsteps moving out of the storage room. Theon squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his head.
His hunched back brushed lightly against the trolley, making the wheels squeak faintly, but the sound wasn't loud enough to reach outside the room.
Only then did Berry glance down at her own arms.
The back of Theon's head was nestled against her chest, just slightly escaping her embrace. She was used to always looking up at Theon, so seeing him from this angle felt strangely new.
"……"
Uncle Edgar was probably still in the greenhouse. It was too risky to make a sound, so Berry simply moved her hand a little.
Now she understood why adults liked patting kids on the head. His head… it just made you want to pat it.
'Wow… his hair's so soft.'
But after a couple of pats, she stopped, because each time she patted him, Theon's head kept dipping lower.
Just about then, they heard Edgar's footsteps leaving the greenhouse.
Feeling a bit guilty, Berry whispered softly.
"Sorry, Theon. I hugged you too tightly earlier, didn't I?"
"……Yeah."
"Ah, really? I'll be more careful next time!"
Theon nodded, then pushed against the trolley with his back to make some space. Berry stepped out from behind the shelf first, and Theon followed after her.
"Ugh…"
Berry crouched down in front of the shelf where the box had been, her face falling. The box that should've been behind the flowerpot, Julia's box, was gone.
"Uncle Edgar took it."
"Should we go look for it?"
"No… there's nothing we can do. It's not mine anyway."
Berry shook her head at Theon and stood up. She was pretending not to be attached to it, forcing herself to let go.
Julia's box wasn't hers to begin with. Clinging to something that wasn't hers would make her no better than a thief.
But still.
'It's not Uncle Edgar's either, is it?'
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of Berry's lips as she turned toward the warehouse entrance.
Edgar's behavior had been suspicious, he looked like someone who really didn't want to get caught with that box.
'Grandma Julia was Dad's biological mother. If Uncle Edgar is hiding Grandma's belongings, there must be a reason, and I'm going to find out why.'
Berry wasn't too worried about the box's whereabouts. Aqum, who was far more eager and energetic than she was, had already gone off to follow Edgar closely.
[Marian's husband took Julia's box! I'll track him down!]
***
Aqum returned the next morning.
It said it'd slipped into the Sapphire House and kept watch over Uncle Edgar the entire night.
[I was keeping an eye on him in case he tried to move the box somewhere else! He hid it deep inside the wardrobe!]
Sitting on the bed, Aqum smacked the blanket with its tail, clearly furious that Uncle Edgar had taken the box.
[I hate Priscilla's children! They were so mean to Julia! And now Marian's husband has her box too!]
Hearing that, my lips jutted out in a pout. If they had been cruel to Grandma Julia, that meant they'd been cruel to my dad too. After all, Dad had lived in that house until he became an adult.
[Little Quartz, I'm going to take Julia's box back from that house.]
"Oho."
[Will you help me?]
"Of course. If Aqum wants to do it, then I'll help. We're partners, after all!"
There were about two things they needed to find out next.
The reasons why Uncle Edgar had the box and whether anyone else knew about its existence. Because when there's an accomplice, you always have to be careful.
"Has Uncle Edgar ever talked to anyone else about the box? What about Aunt Marian?"
[No. Marian didn't seem to know anything. When Edgar was hiding it in the wardrobe, she came into the room and he jumped like he'd been caught!]
Aqum tilted its head.
'So even Aunt Marian doesn't know?'
That made things even stranger.
In my memories, Uncle Edgar was always the quiet, passive type, someone who just trailed after Aunt Marian and did whatever she said.
'No, that's not right.'
I quickly shook off that thought. Jumping to conclusions too early was dangerous.
'Just like with Ciel, there might be a side to Uncle Edgar I didn't know about.'
Then Aqum seemed to remember something.
[Oh, right, Little Quartz. Marian was talking about Baron Oldman.]
"Huh? What did she say?"
[She said she'd only feel better after getting revenge. That she's planning to do something soon.]
"Oh…"
So Aunt Marian was preparing to make a move, it sounded like she was about to throw down a challenge.
***
Reports about Baron Oldman regularly reached Count Travel.
They didn't include the fine details. That was one of the conditions Berry had set when she officially appointed a proxy.
"So you mean I'm only allowed to hear the results?"
"Well, it'd be embarrassing if Grandpa knew everything."
"Embarrassing? Hah. You just don't want me watching so you can do things your own way."
Lassek had agreed to her request. He had no intention of keeping his granddaughter under watch.
Berry wasn't a child to be caged in a birdhouse. Lassek, with his golden eyes, wanted to see just how far she could fly, not every flap of her wings.
But now…
"Hah…"
Lassek found himself growing restless. He wanted to know the process, after all.
Seven years old, that was her age now. Was this what true genius looked like? The so-called prodigies he'd seen before now looked like common pebbles scattered on the beach in comparison.
No matter how hard he racked his brain, no matter how much experience or instinct he drew upon, he couldn't figure it out.
"She… hired dwarves as laborers?"
Every recent report about Baron Oldman was filled with things that were simply unbelievable.
That stubborn blacksmith, Chief Baltar, was now working as the manager of the Crest Mine? And all the laborers in the mine were dwarves?
On top of that.
"...They're opening up a new vein in the Crest Mine?"
Iron production there had been steadily declining, barely enough to pay the workers' wages. They'd tried digging deeper to find new ore, but it was like trying to dig a well in the desert.
The Count of Travel's family had practically given up on that iron mine.
And yet, after appointing Baltar as the new overseer, they'd discovered a brand-new vein.
Lassek's jaw had dropped at the unbelievable results, but rather than being merely impressed, he was desperate to know how it had been done. And that, he could not find out.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you what instructions Baron Oldman gave us."
Jena Chaser remained true to the contract. As long as the confidentiality clause stood, Lassek wouldn't get any information out of her, or out of Jackjack.
"I want the iron mine!"
Come to think of it, that child had wanted the iron mine from the very beginning, even when he'd offered her a diamond mine instead.
His lifelong dream had been to trade with the dwarves. At the time, he'd been so pleased by his excitement that he hadn't stopped to think how strange it was.
'If she simply liked iron, she would've asked for a mine with higher production.'
He couldn't even tell whether that choice had been foresight or instinct. To think that his granddaughter, Lassek Iron Travel's granddaughter, could make his head ache this much.
Every time he looked at her, his heart softened despite himself. Truly, she was a bold and precocious little thing.
That small, round head of hers, always busy thinking, planning, and acting. What adult could look at such a sight and not find it endearing?
Knock, knock.
There was a soft knock on the study door. Lassek turned the handle. He'd been standing right beside it.
"Oh?"
The little girl blinked up at him in surprise, her round green eyes even wider than usual, apparently startled that the door had opened so quickly.
Lassek made a silent vow to himself. He wouldn't let that small, innocent-looking head catch him off guard again.
He steeled his heart. Firmly. Absolutely.
"Grandpa."
"What shall I do for you?"
"...Huh?"
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 Comments