chapter 20
“That’s… because I thought we’d need a lot of money to buy a nice house together, Dad…”
I murmured, carefully holding the colorful wolf in my arms.
Actually, I had a slightly more mischievous plan in mind, but I couldn’t exactly confess that.
Dad was silent for a moment after hearing me.
“Sigh…”
He rubbed his forehead.
“…I’m sorry. I just wanted to live with you, Dad, and have everyone know how amazing you are.”
“You wanted to live with me?”
“Yes… and I thought if I tried the lottery, I might become rich… so I gave it a shot.”
“You… used my wallet?”
I flinched.
I had planned to return the money. Slowly, I pulled out five gold coins from my pocket and offered them to him.
These were separate from the 500 gold I had saved to return to Dad.
“I’m sorry.”
“…Did I make you worried?”
“You don’t like living with Grandpa and the rest of the family, but you have to… and it’s because of me…”
Dad’s eyes widened.
He looked slightly taken aback, then silently stared at me before speaking.
“What made you think that? Did you think I was living there because of you?”
“Yes… you’re always doing research, and it’s hard to find a house that can fit all that equipment… You spend so much on research, I thought we were poor…”
The more I spoke, the wider Dad’s eyes grew, eventually parting his lips slightly.
Had I sounded too knowledgeable?
He rolled his eyes around, looking a bit embarrassed.
“As for why I stay in that house…”
Dad spoke with a serious expression.
“It’s because I don’t have to worry about appearances there.”
“Huh?”
“Well… the security and safety are perfect. It’s isolated, I can use the annex for free, and living there doesn’t really cost much. It’s far enough away that we don’t have to see anyone from the main house unless we want to.”
He continued unusually at length, serious in expression and gentle in tone—but the content didn’t match the gravitas.
“But if I lived somewhere else, there’d be more to worry about. Security, safety, and also finding a good, spacious place isn’t easy.”
Ah. So basically…
“You’re saying there’s no need to leave while I’m already in a sweet setup?”
“…Hmm.”
Dad paused at my blunt words, then nodded slightly.
“The gardens and such are tended regularly by the staff anyway.”
“Ah…”
“I just didn’t feel the need to go somewhere else with you.”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“So if you want, we can find another house.”
“What about money…”
“Money is something we can get. I’m not that incapable. Selling rare herbs will make some.”
Dad…
Selling herbs won’t make us rich…
Dad’s so caught up in research, he doesn’t understand the world at all.
I looked at him seriously for a moment, then forced a bright smile.
I didn’t want to disappoint him.
“That’s true! But actually, I have something to tell you.”
“What… ah, we’ve arrived. Let’s talk at home first.”
“Yes!”
I decided I’d tell him about the lottery later.
But how did Dad find me here?
Now that I think about it, he’s always been good at tracking me down…
Blinking once, I nestled into Dad’s arms as we entered the mansion.
Later that night, a maid washed me up.
Dad, watching something on the bed, placed some papers on the nightstand and tapped the bed.
“Lie down next to me.”
“Okaaay.”
He checked my wet hair, dried it a little more, and helped me lie down.
“So, what was it you wanted to say earlier?”
“The lottery… I actually won.”
“…What?”
“So I think we can move to a new house together.”
“You won the lottery? The one where you pick ten numbers?”
“Yes.”
I nodded vigorously.
Dad’s mouth dropped open as he suddenly sat up from his leaning position.
“So that’s why it took so long?”
“Yes. They couldn’t give it in cash, so I had to open a bank account and it was all so complicated.”
“Ah…”
“But Dad, I’m cold.”
“Sorry. I was too surprised.”
He lay back, pulling the blanket up to my neck. His pupils flickered with embarrassment.
“I see… I see.”
He blinked slowly.
“I don’t know the exact amount, but you can decide how to spend it when you’re older…”
He shook his head lightly.
“I’ll find a house for us.”
“But it’s so much money.”
“When you’re older, you’ll need large sums anyway.”
“But…”
It was really too much for me to handle alone.
“Two hundred thirty million… what was it exactly?”
“…What?”
“This time the prize was unusually high. No one had won for ages. And I bought two tickets, one for you and one for me. I accidentally picked the same numbers on both—and both won.”
“…Two hundred thirty million?”
Dad seemed stunned, staring at me in disbelief before nodding slowly.
“I see… I’ll double-check, of course. If the company president verified it, there should be no problem…”
“Am I amazing?”
“…You’re really lucky. Maybe you got it from your mom.”
Dad chuckled and hugged me.
“Mom was lucky?”
He spoke of Mom, and I immediately clung to his arm.
“Yes. Your mother was a very lucky person.”
“Really?”
“She’d pick up money on the street, get attacked but slip on something so she wasn’t hurt, always find food if she followed her path, and always find the exit in the end.”
“Wow…”
“So wherever she went, luck followed her.”
“…I see.”
“She could pick the one safe cup out of a hundred poisoned ones.”
It was the first time I’d heard about Mom’s abilities. Dad had never really told me much before.
I never got to hear much…
I didn’t know much about Mom.
“So Mom had powers… Was she a noble?”
“Secret.”
Dad whispered with a smile, then kissed my forehead.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”
“Ehh, I’m curious… what did Mom look like?”
“She looked just like our daughter.”
“No way. Don’t I look like Dad? Even my eyes…”
Dad stared at me quietly and spoke.
“Not at all. Your white hair, your cheeks when you smile—they’re all your mother’s. Only your eye color came from me.”
Pink eyes.
Other members of the Tigreto family had red eyes, but only Dad and I shared this color.
“Mom…”
Dad trailed off.
