TVBDS 17

Chapter: 17

And Emily did it.

She truly was an amazing person. I was certain that if it was Emily, she would probably create an air conditioner and an electric heating pad in the near future as well.

Fortunately, this place already had a primitive recording device.

Using it as a foundation, Emily finally succeeded in inventing the phonograph.

“It’s really amazing! As expected of you, Emily. I knew you would definitely succeed!”

“This was all thanks to you believing in me, Lady. If anything, I should be the one thanking you.”

Emily answered with dark circles under her eyes. She was completely exhausted, but the way she looked at her invention shone brightly and clearly, like a newly kindled flame.

“By the way, recording sound… This is a historic moment. What are you going to record?”

I silently smiled and gestured toward Antoine.

I had thought for a long time about what words should be recorded, but the answer had been decided from the beginning.

“Antoine. Come here too.”

“Me too?”

“Yes. You know Father will be leaving to work far away soon, right? Let’s give him a gift so he can listen to our voices whenever he misses us.”

“Wow.”

Antoine ran over to the phonograph and stood in front of the brass horn.

“Ah… Appa.”

The unique voice of a young child, filled with little breaths, began traveling through the horn and gathering at the tip of the needle.

“I love you. I… miss you. Please come back soon. Bring Antoine a present…”

The needle carved the voice of a child longing for his father onto the hard metal cylinder with trembling movements.

Next was my turn.

Now that I actually had to do it, I suddenly worried that I might bite my tongue.

After clearing my throat for no reason, I whispered my true feelings just like Antoine had done.

“Father. Please always stay healthy. I miss you so much. I love you too.”

It recorded properly… right?

To check, I turned the handle again, and the needle moved along the grooves it had engraved.

“W-wow!”

“It’s big sister’s voice!”

And then our voices filled the room.

The sound quality could not exactly be called clean or clear, and if you did not concentrate, even the pronunciation was difficult to understand.

But it was definitely my voice and my younger brother’s voice.

“Emily! You’re a genius!”

Overcome with joy, I suddenly pulled Emily into a hug.

Emily’s face was also flushed with happiness and excitement, and she jumped up and down in place together with me.

Now then…

It was time for the final price negotiation.

“Emily. Can’t you sell this to me?”

“Excuse me? What are you talking about?!”

Emily asked back in shock.

Ah, no. There was no need to look so serious about it…

“This is a gift for Lady Adelaide, who trusted me and entrusted me with this task. Please accept it as proof of my promise that I will continue to repay your trust in the future.”

What? What kind of nonsense was that?!

You could have just refused! You could have named an expensive price! You could have charged me a usage fee every time someone turned the handle!

But Emily was firm this time, as if she had no intention of backing down.

“Th-then… could you sell me a spare cylinder for 10 francs…?”

“No.”

Huh.

So that was how she was going to play it.

I had no choice.

“Then I’ll buy that spare cylinder for 10 francs. And as a bonus, give me the phonograph.”

Only then did Emily relax her expression and hold out her hand to me.

“Thank you for your purchase!”

“It was a profitable transaction.”

If you thought I had given up that easily, you were mistaken.

The price of the phonograph that I could not pay today would be paid by other people ten times over in the future.

So be prepared!

“I’m back! Mom, look at what I bought… huh?”

“Mom’s not here.”

“Yeah. Where did she go?”

As soon as we returned to the mansion, the first thing I did was look for Mother, but her room was empty.

“Oh my. Her Ladyship had a guest arrive a little while ago, so she went to the reception room.”

“A guest…?”

A maid who had been cleaning while the room was empty explained in a gentle voice.

But there had not been any carriage on the way here.

Unless it was someone strange like Uncle Guillaume, a noble who walked all the way to another noble’s mansion on foot…

“Would you like to play in the playroom until the guest leaves? I’ll bring you some snacks. The kitchen just finished baking a cake.”

“Cake!”

Antoine happily clapped his hands with an innocent expression.

But for some reason, I felt like she was trying to prevent us from leaving the guest room.

Why?

When I stared at her silently, the maid subtly avoided my gaze.

Oh?

This was getting more suspicious.

Just as I was about to question what kind of guest had arrived…

—Crash!

A loud noise came from somewhere, followed by the sound of something breaking.

It was coming from the direction of the reception room where the guest and my parents should be.

“…Father?”

I had a bad feeling.

Before the maid could stop me, I immediately ran down the hallway toward the reception room.

What was happening?

Why was my heart beating so anxiously?

Everything had been perfect.

What could a mere guest possibly do?

The debt collectors would not come for a long time yet!

The reason for my anxiety soon revealed itself.

“Get out of my sight right now! No matter how much money I have, I don’t have the money to pay off your gambling debts!”

“Damn it! Are you saying an older brother would abandon his younger brother? If Father knew, he would be heartbroken even in his grave!”

“Get out!”

Bang!

The reception room door opened so violently that it looked like it would fall off its hinges.

I froze in place as a man appeared before me.

“What?”

“Oh my goodness, Adelaide!”

Over the man’s shoulder, I could see Father with a flushed face, breathing heavily, and Mother with a pale expression.

“Oh, look who it is.”

Ah.

Damn it.

“It’s been so long that I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Of all times…

At this exact moment, when I had finally created something that could preserve our family’s happiness forever.

“Long time no see, niece.”

I met my uncle.

“…It’s been a long time, Uncle.”

I wonder what brings such an unworthy guest to such a precious place?

Philippe Noel de Charmeuse.

My father’s only sibling, and my uncle.

The man looked down at me with snake-like eyes.

In my previous life, Uncle’s gambling had not been a recent problem.

The reason he had originally been expelled from boarding school was because of illegal gambling, drinking, and a violent incident.

Rehabilitation was something you could only hope for with someone like Felix.

That man was a hopeless piece of trash beyond even redemption.

“Have you been well?”

I hid the urge to vomit and smiled brightly as if I knew nothing.

“Have I been well? Of course I have. Considering I’ve been doing extremely, incredibly, wonderfully well despite being on the verge of being removed from the family register.”

Why are you asking if I’ve been well?

I almost replied by asking whether any of his bones had broken yet.

I barely swallowed those words.

Thinking about what he had done to me and the people precious to me, I wanted to grab the vase and smash it against his head right away.

“Sigh… Adel. Adults have things to discuss, so go to the playroom.”

Father placed a hand on his temple and let out a deep sigh.

“No need. You think I’ll just sit here sucking my fingers and die because I don’t have my brother’s help? Hmph! I’ll do something when the time comes.”

“Then make that time now and do something! How long are you going to keep wasting the family’s money? Aren’t you ashamed in front of your nieces and nephews? Huh?”

I had never seen Father this angry before.

Seeing a side of him that he had never once shown in front of me made even me flinch.

“I was going to do it anyway!”

And Uncle raised his voice without backing down.

What a wonderful state this family was in.