Chapter 16

Thisbe’s conversation that day left a great shock to Almas.

It wasn’t just the shock due to Thisbe’s thoughts.

It also made him to look back on himself.

Did I really have an interest in the child?

He was evading responsibility for taking care of the child by vaguely saying that the child would hate him.

Has he ever felt guilty about speaking words sweetly to his granddaughter, because he couldn’t treat even his own son affectionately?

Almas already knew the answers to all those questions.

Then he became vaguely afraid of his granddaughter, whom he had turned away from. To be precise, the day when his granddaughter will leave some day.

His wife died a long time ago of due to an illness. Even his only son and his wife lost their lives in an accident.

He was already used to loss.

But what if his only remaining granddaughter leaves him?

“…What is the use of a family that can’t protect anything, and a grandfather who can’t protect his one and only granddaughter, Count?”

What the hell is a life that you struggle so much for?

From that day on, Almas did not treat Thisbe with kindness. There were two reasons.

If he suddenly showed interest to Thisbe, Thisbe would feel uncomfortable because of her personality.

Still, it’s also because he didn’t have the confidence to be a good grandfather.

Fortunately, Thisbe grew up well even without a good parent.

Even without her honor as the child of the oracle, Thisbe has grown so much that no one can ignore her, just as Almas had originally intended.

And Almas must be a good protector even though he didn’t have the confidence to be a good grandfather.

Now is the time, Almas thought.

He fiercely shook the hand of Count Gillette holding him.

“I’m not going to do anything that could threaten Thisbe’s position for the time being. So, you’ll have to go back.”

“…Lord.”

“Thisbe is the only granddaughter I have left. You are a father too. I can’t recommend it to the elders, but I believe you can understand where I’m coming from.”

Count Gillette, the loyal vassal of Callist, looked a little determined at Almas’ words. After all, he was also his father.

“If the Lord says it like that…”

I can’t help it.

It’s a heartwarming moment when the words were about to come out of Count Gillette’s mouth.

Bump!

The door to the mansion opened, and sunlight poured into the mansion.

Two women were standing in front of him.

The moment he saw the two of them, Almas spit out words he had never said before.

‘Oh God.’

How can you give me such an ordeal?

Whether or not she knew what Almas was doing, Thisbe walked into the mansion, holding the hand of the woman with pink hair, smiling broadly.

“I’m back, Grandpa.”

And with the guest too.

At Thisbe’s words, it was as if a bell was ringing in Almas’ head.

‘Why? At a time like this?’

I can’t believe she’s back at a time like this. I was just about to convince this tenacious vassal!

Almas did not dare to see Thisbe outside today.

There was a reason for that.

Count Gillette is one of the most influential of his vassals, and thanks to Estelle’s maternal aunt, he has a strong say in this matter – getting Estelle to join the Callist family.

However, unlike the elders who were blinded by honor and gain, he was able to appeal to some degree of affection.

So, Almas deliberately left Thisbe out of the mansion and tried to solve this problem by roasting and boiling Count Gillette.

But as soon as he was about to convince the count, Thisbe returned.

And she brought Estelle too!

In the eyes of Count Gillette, who was close to resigning, the letters of hope began to shine, as if Almas could count them step by step.

Count Gillette frowned and bowed down to Thisbe.

“Princess! Hello. How come you are coming back with Estelle?”

“Hello, Count Gillette. I was returning from a trip and there was a strange carriage. It seemed like there were people inside, so I intervened for a while. I wasn’t rude, was I?

‘hen Thisbe asked gracefully, Count Gillette hurriedly waved his hand.

“No, no. No way! Estelle also wanted to meet the princess a lot. Isn’t that right, Estelle?”

At Count Gillette’s question, Estelle slowly nodded her head. Of course, her answer was not a very important part of this conversation.

Thisbe deliberately clasped Estelle’s hands so that she could see her, and spoke her words in her unique cynical voice.

“I had already shared the story with Miss Estelle when she came. The reason for coming to this mansion today. So I was worried that the Count would be offended if I brought Miss Estelle, but I’m glad it wasn’t.”

“How can I be upset? However, I haven’t received permission from the lord to bring Estelle yet…”

Count Gillette turned to look back at Almas, blurring his words. Almas, who suddenly got the attention of everyone in the seat, coughed in vain, half mixed with embarrassment and anger.

“Hmm, hmm. The Count is right. I haven’t invited the young lady Iller as a guest yet.”

“So you’re saying you’re going to keep Miss Estelle in the carriage under that sun?”

At Thisbe’s rebuttal, Almas choked himself speechless. It was all for Thisbe’s sake, but when he was in a position to hear himself scolded by Thisbe, he became very humble.

“I’ve learned that the courtesy of Callist in welcoming guests is not so harsh, Grandpa.”

“You’re right, but in the current situation, you probably don’t know what it means to bring the young lady Iller into Callist.”

“You mean giving Miss Estelle the name of Callist.”

“Yeah. I have no intention of accepting it.”

So, I have no intention of bringing in Estelle. At Almas’ stern tone, Count Gillette’s momentum could be seen to recede, but Thisbe did not budge.

“I didn’t want to comment on this issue because I thought Grandpa would deal with it wisely, but it would be a bit disappointing if you end up treating Miss Estelle like this.”

“…What?”

“Anyway, isn’t it confirmed that Ms. Estelle should be protected under the name of Callist? It’s not that difficult to go to a banquet in the name of Callist.”

Thisbe did not force Estelle to join the family immediately as Count Gillette did.

She just said, ‘Let’s delay it a bit‘.

“I don’t have to attend, so if it’s something you have to do to protect her anyway, wouldn’t it be okay if I let Estelle go to the party in Callist’s name? More than anything else, I don’t want many people to suffer because of this. Ms. Estelle is a child of the oracle, and she should be treated accordingly.”

Her words were so convincing that it would be difficult for anyone not to accept.

Moreover, since it was Thisbe that is the cause of this problem, her influence was also considerable.

When Count Gillette asked him to enter Estelle, he can hit it like a vase and cut it off, but how can he cut off Thisbe that tells him to enter Estelle even if he know it will harm her?

At least Almas couldn’t.

Because he was the kind of person who wanted to give Thisbe whatever she wanted.

So, instead of refusing outright, he opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“Thisbe, you don’t know what the consequences of what you are saying now.”

“I know.”

“But, do you want that?”

Almas longed for an answer from Thisbe’s mouth would be no. That was the right way.

Although he did not become close with Thisbe, Almas was always watching Thisbe.

He saw how stubbornly Thisbe studied and worked hard. He knows how greedy she is, and how much more she wants to do. He knew it all.

His granddaughter, who has always worked hard to meet the expectations of others, even when he felt sorry to see her studying all night from an early age.

So what Thisbe is saying right now couldn’t have been sincere.

She insists that having Estelle enter the family is the right choice, so she’s probably saying this to live up to that expectation.

So he said.

“Thisbe, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”

You’ve lived your life carrying a name for others, now do what you want.

The words he couldn’t even spit out came stabbing the inside of his throat.

But despite Almas’ earnestness, Thisbe smiled brightly and said:

“I’m fine, so please make a reasonable decision, Grandpa.”

I’m going to exile!

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