NOVPUBGrandfather, unable to understand Ancient Tongue, remained expressionless.
Meanwhile, the two men continued speaking in it between themselves.
[With that temper of his, he won’t let Murloc off the hook, will he?]
[Of course not. Even if he’s the eldest son, he’ll never forgive him. That old bastard never goes easy on his own blood.]
[Besides, that geezer hates being lied to the most. His son lied to his face, so he’s bound to blow up.]
Ancient Tongue wasn’t publicly taught. However, low-ranking priests often taught it to nobles who visited the Temple.
As a result, Ancient Tongue conversation became a symbol of refinement among aristocrats.
Naturally, no one in the Noart family knew it. Grandfather, of course, was not the sort to go to the Temple asking to learn Ancient Tongue.
His children and grandchildren, bearing the Noart name, were no different.
And outside the Temple, teaching Ancient Tongue was illegal.
“I hear nobles sometimes speak Ancient Tongue right in front of me, and I have no clue what it means.”
“They speak Ancient Tongue in front of you, Grandfather?”
“It’s an intentional insult. But if I point that out, they say I’m not acting ‘noble’ enough. Ridiculous!”
What Grandfather had asked of me was simple, yet important.
“If you can understand Ancient Tongue, would you be able to interpret it for me in my office?”
After ten long years locked in the Temple, I’d heard enough Ancient Tongue to last a lifetime.
I hadn’t studied it formally, but I could understand a fair amount.
So after those men left, I calmly sat down, folded my hands properly, and tattled politely.
“They said the nasty old man didn’t fall for it, but it’s fine since he’s going to take a massive hit soon anyway.”
The butler, who was just pouring me cocoa, froze mid-motion.
“They said something about mithril deposits in Katia territory.”
Of course, I couldn’t give a perfect translation, so I summarized the intent as best I could.
“They also said all he has left is regret /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ and tears... that you're a stubborn old man who’ll go ballistic and beat Murloc to a pulp. Said your dumb eldest son even lied to you and you’d never let that slide.”
Grandfather slammed his desk with a roar.
“What?! Those worthless bastards dare say that about me?!”
He seethed with rage, then caught sight of my face.
Struggling to steady his voice, he turned to the butler and barked,
“Summon Murloc. No—I'll go myself!”
He rolled up his sleeves and stormed out of the reception room.
I stayed behind and quietly sipped my cocoa.
Grandfather asking me for this kind of help meant he trusted me completely.
Grandfather’s maids and subordinates whispered to each other as they watched me.
“This is the first time I’ve seen her up close. She’s so cute...”
“Oh my, she really does look like a fluffy white plushie, doesn’t she?”
“No wonder Young Master Julian kept her hidden all this time. Look at those chubby cheeks...”
“It’s been ages since a young lady like her lived at the estate...”
When I first left the Temple, I’d been scrawny and filthy.
So this was confirmation that Julian’s fourteen months of spending and love had paid off.
At the same time, it meant my status within the Noart estate had risen significantly.
For the next few days, I stayed attached to Grandfather and kept helping him with this sort of work.
[Looks like a flop. Let’s just gloss it over and get out.]
[Old raccoon’s got sharp instincts for his age. If we look more suspicious, it’ll get worse. Grab the sample cookies before he eats them.]
At least once every two days, someone would show up using Ancient Tongue.
Whether they came asking for money, proposing business deals, or delivering messages—one way or another.
If their pitch failed, they just had to throw in a few snide remarks in Ancient Tongue to preserve their pride.
“What did they say this time?”
After Grandfather ran them off, he would ask. I always answered politely and clearly.
“They said the ‘doddering old raccoon’ might have figured it out, so they should bolt. Also, to cut ties and make sure he doesn’t eat the sample cookies.”
Whenever I answered calmly like that, Grandfather wouldn’t fall into their traps—but he would explode.
“Those damn bastards! Track them down and beat them to a pulp!”
“Eek.”
Sometimes Grandfather would ask me about the “experiments.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
But all I could tell him was that I was trapped in a windowless room and that it hurt a lot.
Because that was all I actually remembered.
Grandfather would grit his teeth and rage again.
“But what infuriates me even more right now is that I’m already doing everything I can to screw over the Temple! There’s nothing left to overturn!”
After throwing a fit, he would usually try to vent in a very Grandfatherly way.
“You! Don’t you need anything? Huh?! I relieve my stress by spending money!”
“Uh... then maybe a new crayon set... with at least 24 colors...”
“Butler! Fetch a 240-color crayon set at once!”
“Eek, 240 colors seems a bit excessive...”
And it always ended the same way.
“We’re on the same side! Aren’t we?!”
He would rage as if he were about to breathe fire—but I wasn’t scared anymore. I was used to it.
“I can’t even do this much for someone on my side?! Rosie, don’t ever say something like ‘I don’t really need it’ again! Got it?!”
Whenever he said that, I would answer hastily,
“Yes, Grandfather, I’m sorry! From now on, I’ll stop acting like a frugal, budget-conscious child and devote myself to redistributing wealth!”
And so, time passed.
I spent so much time in Grandfather’s office that Julian started sulking.
But he was busy too.
All of a sudden, he was taking every lesson seriously and attending them with great enthusiasm.
Ever since that day, Julian never once asked me about the experiments again.
Instead, he seemed to have made some sort of resolve—he got up at dawn every day and went straight to the training grounds.
Even though his right leg was still wrapped in heavy bandages.
What’s this... Did he decide to go crazy over money, power, and strength again?
Even in the midst of his busyness, Julian insisted on eating meals with me.
So the three of us—Grandfather, Julian, and I—always had meals together.
“Rosie! Eat this!”
“Brat, sit next to me! I’m sick, I need you to take care of me!”
“Stop bothering the kid while she’s eating and just shove food in your mouth!”
According to Heidi, the old Grandfather and Julian didn’t talk much, but they had a quiet bond of trust...
“Grandfather! You’re making sure the brat’s taken care of properly, right? Don’t let her eat too many sweets! Her teeth will get all ouchie!”
“You’re the one sneaking into Rosie’s room at night! She needs to sleep early if she’s going to grow!”
Now, Grandfather and Julian just talked a lot—with no trust whatsoever.
“Damn it... I liked it better when she was my brat alone.”
Julian muttered anxiously, biting his nails.
“If Ethan shows up, even the seat next to her will be at risk.”
“Oppa.”
I corrected him firmly, for the sake of proper family dynamics.
“My seat belongs to Zahid. Just so you know.”
At that, Grandfather and Julian exchanged glances and simultaneously declared, “We’ll break off the engagement!”
It was the one moment their endless bickering turned into agreement.
Anyway, I continued doing my job diligently.
[So picky, he scrapped the whole thing. Dammit. Can’t I just stab him and run?]
[Hold it in. Seriously. You can’t lay a finger on that old man here. But gods, I’d love to shove him off the cliffs of Mount Orot.]
Translation work suited me surprisingly well.
“They said they want to stab the grumpy old man and bury him on Mount Orot.”
“Those goddamn bastards!”
After a few more days, people stopped speaking Ancient Tongue in front of Grandfather altogether.
Rumor had it that “for some reason, Count Noart seems to have started understanding Ancient Tongue.”
