"Excuse me?" that's all I could say to Michael's request.
"Grandfather!" Grace raises her voice for the first time.
In response, Michael calmly puts a hand up to her.
"I know it's shameless of me to ask since you just got back but my hands are tied and you're the only person I can rely on," he continues with a hint of desperation.
"Why should I take care of her? Did the old age make you delusional?" I reply. "I never married and never had kids man. Why don't you ask your relatives if you're that concerned of kicking the bucket?"
"Do you really think I could leave Grace to my shark of a family huh?!" it is now Michael's turn to raise his voice. "I swear, did 83 years of going missing give you dementia?"
"Tch!" I respond.
That's right. In proportion to the Von Frederick's glory is the shadow they keep. This family is more cutthroat than a good old medieval royal line.
"Grandfather! Please, I don't need a babysitter. I can take care of myself." Grace presses forward.
"I understand how you feel but you're still a child," Michael replies.
"I'm not a child," she retorts.
"You're 15. Legally, a child," he groans.
My ears perk.
"I've watched too many trashy dramas to know where this is going," I chuckle nervously.
"Haaaah, whatever you're imagining, I believe it's quite close," he agrees.
"So an inheritance battle then?" I facepalm.
Michael nods silently.
Damn it! Out of all the things he could ask me to get involved in.
"Where are her parents?" I ask.
"Dead because of a mission," he replies.
"Aunts and uncles?"
"You know better than I do that Fey and Human unions can only yield one child," he replies.
"Damn..." I mutter.
This is such a classic setup: an underage heir and a family head who's almost dead. I bet his other family members is smelling the blood in the water and that's why Michael sounds so desperate.
I glance at Grace who stands there quietly while wearing a worried expression. She's trying her hardest to be strong but I know that look. It's the look of determination but also of fear. I can't say I fully understand what she's going through but I too had that look. Many years ago...
"Ugh... am I your last resort?" I say as I down another glass.
Michael replies with a smile and says, "You're my only resort."
That's an unexpected statement.
"Pardon me?" I ask in surprise.
Michael reclines his chair even further and closes his weary eyes.
"Everyone I know has some stake or some agenda when they hear the Von Frederick name," he says tiredly. "Everyone except one son of a bitch who worked in a convenience store even though I offered to help him out many times."
I chuckle and reply, "I'll have you know, before I was trapped, I resolved to change my life and beg you for a job if I have to."
"See? Even when you finally decided to reach out, your ambition is still so low," he chuckles. "That's why I could trust you."
I couldn't help but smile slightly. That's right. We did things that each of us never understood and because of that, we actually grew to like each other. I recline on the sofa opposite to Adresin.
"So ever since Grace's parents died, you planned to have me take care of her just in case you're dead or at least close to it?" I ask.
"No one found your body," he replies. "And if anyone can survive this new world, it'll be you. So I had hope. I believed that one day, you'll come back. Eventually, that hope transferred to Grace's future. If I died before she turned 18, I hoped that you or at least your family will take care of her."
"That's some big faith you got there," I comment.
"Call it what you want. I just know you're too much of a damn gamer to die when the world has literally turned into a game," he replies. "And I was goddamn right."
....
I turn my eyes towards Grace.
"What do you want to do kid?" I ask her.
She slightly jumps from my question.
"G-grandfather's will is the law of the family," she replies automatically.
"Ugggghhh what's with you rich types and the sticks up your asses," I groan in frustration. "I didn't ask what your grandpa wants. I asked what YOU want missy."
She hesitates and glances at Michael before steeling herself to reply, "I want to succeed the Von Fredericks! I want to be treated as an adult!" she says as she grips her hands so tightly that it turns white. "If only I was an adult.... grandfather wouldn't have to go through this. Protecting me from the family, finding the right guardian.... He can't even rest easy as he nears his death."
At this point, tears begin to stream from her eyes.
"I've only been a burden. If only I grew up quickly like regular Fey did, these stupid age laws wouldn't apply to me," she says between sniffles.
"Grace..." Michael reaches out his hand. "Come here child."
Following her grandfather's soft invitation, she kneels beside his chair. Michael then gently strokes her luminous green hair.
"Never for a second did I nor your parents thought of you as a burden," he reassures her.
And with those words, she continues sobbing even more.
Adresin and I glance at each other knowingly. Both of us know that we are strangers in this beautiful scene. We were just having fun a few hours ago. Now, we're seeing the pure love between a grandfather and his grandchild communicated through sadness and tears.
Fuck, did he plan this? He always knew I was a sap!
"Michael I-"
*Thud*
"What's up bitches!!" the door swings open and reveals a young man.
Ruined. We were having such a great moment here. I was gonna finish this heartwarming scene by agreeing to his request but this dumbass decided to announce his scrawny ass.
"Raymond..." Michael sighs, visibly annoyed.
"Hey gramps! You kicked the bucket yet?" he asks with such a rude, light-hearted tone.
He struts about like he owns the place and takes an unopened bottle of alcohol from the cupboard without Michael's permission.
Look, I'm not one to advocate for beating up young people, but even after just seeing him for a few seconds, I already wanna punch him. He just has that punchable, douchey face you know. He's wearing the nicest suit sure and his blonde hair might be slicked back tightly, but the way he walks and speaks pisses me off. No, just his existence is making my veins bulge.
At this point, Grace has composed herself but it's still obvious that she's cried her heart out.
"Aww what's this Gracey? You crying?" he says as he approaches her. "You worried about your grandpa?"
She stays silent but glares at him defiantly. Meanwhile, Michael's too tired to even care anymore and just looks at me knowingly with a smirk.
"Geeze grandpa, stop worrying your granddaughter," his attention now turns to Michael. "Just give her to us and reeeeest easy. I'm sure she'll be a great first wife to me, the heir of the Von Sigmund family," he finishes while wearing the most disgusting grin.
Grace almost raises her hand to slap him but I beat her to the punch.
"Hey dipshit," I call out as I approach him.
"Huh? Who's this peasant that walked in?" he sneers. "I didn't even-"
*Thuck*
"Ack!"
*Crash*
There we go. One kick was enough to shut him up. Too bad about his suit though. It's ruined from the alcohol that spilled on him when he hit the cupboard.
"Sir Rorschach!" Adresin exclaims in horror.
"Oh don't worry," I reassure him. "You're an elf right? You should know by looking that it was just a normal kick."
He narrows his eyes and his face flashes with realization.
"You... removed the mana from your body?" he gasps.
"You bastard," the douche groans in pain as he struggles to get up from the mess that he made. "How dare you do this to me? Don't you know who I am?"
I shrug.
"Nah, I don't know and I don't care," I reply.
Then, I stand beside Grace and place my hand on her head.
"But here's the deal kiddo. From this day onwards, I'm her guardian. So you better trash the plans you had since I'll be shitting on them regardless," I announce while making sure to literally look down on him.