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"Are you asking if there's anything else that belonged to Julia?"
I'd asked Grandpa for a private meeting through Jackjack to get information about Grandma Julia's box. I wanted to know why Uncle was hiding it.
If I wanted to hear the truth, the best person to ask was someone who'd been around back then!
I sat next to Grandpa and asked brightly.
"Yes! Something like that stone you gave me last time!"
"A stone, huh…"
Grandpa seemed to ponder my words for a moment before letting out a soft huff through his nose.
"There isn't."
"Huh?"
"What are you going to do with another stone-like thing? Be honest with me. What are you plotting this time?"
My heart skipped a beat. It felt like Grandpa could see right through me.
Now that I thought about it, he hadn't patted my head today… I glanced toward his hand, both of them were gripping tightly onto the carved wooden armrest of the sofa. It had a rounded shape made from polished wood.
"I'm not plotting anything…"
"Don't play dumb with me. I know exactly what's going on in that little head of yours."
"Gasp… You do?"
"Oh yes. You were planning to appoint Chief Baltar to a Crest management position from the very start, weren't you? Since the Dwarves are excellent at finding minerals, you thought you'd use that to discover a new mine… No, wait, that's too far-fetched."
Grandpa finally gave in and patted my head.
Ah, so I had made things complicated for him again!
Knowing he believed head-patting improved thinking, I obediently lowered my head to let him continue.
He grumbled in a tone that almost sounded like a complaint.
"Do you even realize how much of a headache you've been giving me lately? How in the world did you manage to win over the Dwarves?"
"…Should I tell you?"
"Forget it. It's written in the contract anyway. Hearing it straight from you would be cheating."
I already knew from Jackjack that Grandpa was curious about Chief Baltar and the Crest mine work. He'd told Ms. Jena to report back to him in detail, but apparently she said she couldn't answer.
Hmm… this is tricky.
Starting from the stone story and leading up to Grandma Julia's box, that was my plan. But the problem was, it would take time… and right now, Grandpa wasn't being cooperative.
I glanced at him again. His face was partly hidden by his hand still resting on my head, but from what little could see, he didn't look to be in a good mood.
'Plan change. There's no way I can get Grandpa to talk about the box just by pestering him.'
He wasn't the type of person who'd give in to a granddaughter's whining.
So then.
'Negotiation is the faster route.'
A sly grin formed on my face. Rather than trying to charm him with seven-year-old cuteness, this was something I was far more confident in.
Luckily, Grandpa seemed deep in thought about the dwarves, staying quiet, which gave me enough time to think things through.
What was it that Grandpa wanted right now?
'Even though Baron Oldman's involvement helped finalize the trade with the dwarves, Grandpa must've been a bit disappointed. It didn't happen through his own efforts.'
Grandpa was the one who had brought the Travel family to its greatest prosperity. Because of that, everyone had come to believe that "There's nothing the Count of Travel can't achieve if he sets his mind to it."
For decades, Grandpa had tried to extend an olive branch to the dwarves, only to be rejected again and again.
And then.
'I was the one who finally pulled it off! I even hired Chief Baltar to work at the Crest Mine. So of course Grandpa must be dying to know how I managed to strike a deal with the dwarves.'
And the reason he hadn't asked me directly was obvious.
He'd already been turned down once by Ms. Jena, who told him that asking me would violate a clause in the contract.
'As the Count of Travel, he'd never do something against the contract! Adults have to set an example for kids, after all!'
The Crest Mine contract had technically started as a hiring agreement, all because Chief Baltar had been caught trespassing. But we couldn't exactly reveal that part.
So that left me with only one option.
"Grandpa."
I took both of his hands in mine, gently pulling them away, and tilted my head up to meet his gaze.
"How about making a deal? With Baron Oldman."
His golden eyes looked down at me.
Most people might mistake that expression for displeasure, but I could tell. Grandpa's face looked a lot like Dad's when he was sulking.
He was definitely pouting.
"…What kind of deal are you talking about, with Baron Oldman?"
Grandpa asked quietly, and I grinned.
"An exchange of information!"
***
"I'll tell you how to get close to the dwarves! In exchange, I want to know about Grandma Julia's box."
A few hours earlier, Lassek felt as if he'd been struck on the back of the head.
His granddaughter had seen straight through him. And to make matters worse, the thing she pointed out was the very same issue that had been quietly bothering him, one he hadn't been able to figure out himself.
How to get along with the dwarves, she said. The moment he heard those words, Lassek couldn't help but feel a strange sense of relief wash over him.
'So this is what they mean when they say getting old is scary. I can't believe I was feeling unsettled over something so childish.'
Business was all about results.
Baron Oldman gaining the dwarves' favor was simply part of the process toward achieving that result. Yet he, Lassek Travel, had actually felt disappointed, even jealous, that he hadn't won their favor himself. And to make matters worse, he'd let that petty feeling show in front of his granddaughter.
"How pathetic."
"…Pardon, my lord?"
"It's nothing."
Lassek waved his hand, signaling to Callet, his aide, not to mind.
Callet closed his mouth and turned his eyes back to the documents he'd been reviewing. From behind his desk, Lassek quietly studied the young man's profile.
That one's showing signs too.
He'd seemed oddly listless lately. Perhaps it was because of overwork.
The man had even started coming in to the main estate on weekends, pulling all-nighters as if they were routine. Even if it was voluntary, he was still human, rest was a necessity.
"Callet."
"Yes, my lord?"
"From now on, don't come in on weekends. And don't stay past nine at night."
Thunk.
But instead of looking relieved, his aide turned to him with an expression like the world had just ended. Lassek was baffled.
"I'm telling you to rest, why do you look like that?"
"…I just…"
"A man needs rest. If you keep working like this, you'll get sick."
"…But I have to come in on weekends. There's still work that needs-"
"If there's that much work, shall I hire you an assistant?"
"……"
Callet pressed his lips tightly together.
Apparently, he didn't like that idea. What kind of young man enjoyed working this much?
From what Lassek could tell, his aide was the kind of person who'd neither get married nor even manage a romance.
Lassek clicked his tongue and neatly folded the letter in half once the ink had dried.
"Compliment them like crazy!"
That was the secret to winning the dwarves' favor. To show genuine respect for their race and to praise their skill and craftsmanship.
It was such a simple idea, so pure that no adult would have ever thought of it. He had to admit it.
With a mind weighed down by years of worldly experience, he never would've come up with such a straightforward approach himself.
'Well, what now?'
Regardless of their "information exchange" deal, he'd clearly been outplayed by his granddaughter. And since he'd lost, he'd have to pay up.
"Julia's box?"
"Yes! A box about this big! Sis Sherry said Grandma used to keep her jewels inside it."
"Julia's jewelry box, huh… Yes, I remember something like that. Why? Do you want it?"
"The stone you gave me before, it belonged to Grandma Julia, right? So I was wondering if she might've kept it in that jewelry box. I'm curious about what it looks like too…"
He didn't know what sort of scheme she was cooking up this time, but one thing was clear, his granddaughter definitely had her eye on something.
Lassek slipped the folded letter into an envelope, dripped melted wax over the flap, and pressed the family seal into it.
On the front, he wrote, "To the honorable and highly skilled craftsman, Chief Baltar."
"Callet."
"Yes, my lord. And no, I don't need any assistant staff."
"That's your problem to solve. After you send this to the dwarven village, you'll need to retrieve something for me."
"…What should I bring back?"
At his aide's question, Lassek replied.
"Julia's jewelry box."
"Yes, my lord. I'll check the room where her keepsakes are stored."
Curious about the real thing, was she?
So she wants it for herself, Lassek thought, smiling faintly at how transparent his granddaughter's intentions were.
***
Marian frowned.
"…What are you doing?"
"Ah, honey."
Edgar was pacing nervously in front of her, like a dog desperate to go outside.
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