Dad Came Back from a Deserted Island Chapter 29

The jewelry set in this room was all that remained of Vivian’s mother, Rosalyn.

Rosalyn had brought far more belongings with her when she ran away from home, but Jean had sold most of them to raise capital for his business.

Of course, he had never wanted to sell them. There was no way he could willingly part with the things his beloved wife had left behind.

But her words—asking him to sell some jewelry and buy her at least one pretty dress—and the way she had wondered aloud what he would do if she wanted to make her debut at a ball had lingered in his mind.

To fulfill his wife’s final request, he had sold those belongings through his tears.

When he went back in time, he had already been stranded on the deserted island.

By then, the jewelry had long since left his hands.

“……”

This set was the only thing Rosalyn had treasured too dearly for Jean to part with.

He had never imagined Vivian would discover it. He had planned to give it to her when she was older, telling her that it had belonged to her mother.

Even now, the image of his wife wearing the jewelry was still vivid in his mind. Jean had to close his eyes for a moment and steady his emotions.

“Mommy’s…”

At the words that these belonged to her mother, Vivian looked at the jewelry wrapped around her body with fascination.

The ring is still too big even for my thumb. Which finger did Mommy wear it on?

How old do I have to be before I can wear it on the same finger as Mommy?

Curiosity blossomed in her mind.

“I was going to show them to you when you grew up. But you found them already.”

“Really? You were going to show them to me?”

“Of course. They belonged to your mother. How could Daddy not show them to you? Your mother would scold Daddy if I didn’t.”

“Hehehe…”

Seeing his daughter smile even though her tears had not yet dried, Jean couldn’t help smiling too.

“Daddy, Daddy. What did Mommy look like when she wore these? Was she pretty?”

“…Yes. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was so, so dazzling.”

Whenever Daddy talked about Mommy, his eyes always looked as though he were dreaming.

Vivian liked seeing him that way. It made her own heart feel as though it were floating happily in the air.

“What about me? Do they suit me, too? You always said I look like Mommy.”

From her lovely pale-pink hair and slightly upturned eyes to her delicate features, Vivian looked remarkably like his late wife. The only difference was that Vivian had Jean’s sky-blue eyes.

Rosalyn’s eyes had been a clear, pale green, just like the emeralds set in the jewelry.

Jean shortened the long necklace so that it fit around Vivian’s neck, his eyes growing moist.

His daughter, who looked so much like his wife, was wearing a necklace that seemed to hold the very color of his wife’s eyes.

His throat tightened.

“They suit you perfectly. You look beautiful, Princess.”

“Hehe… Kiki says these are really, really valuable! Right?”

[Indeed. Even compared to the jewels in the chest where I was sleeping, these appear to be exceptionally fine pieces.]

Jean’s hand, which had been fiddling with the necklace chain, suddenly stopped.

Even His Divine Beastship sees them that way?

Even to Jean, this jewelry was clearly not ordinary.

The gemstones were brilliantly colored yet remarkably transparent, and the craftsmanship was astonishingly delicate.

And it wasn’t just this set. Every piece of jewelry Rosalyn had brought with her had been precious.

Back then, Jean had thought he had sold them for a good price. Looking back now, he realized he had practically been swindled into selling them for a ridiculously low amount.

Once I have the mine, I’ll have to track those pieces down, too.

As he made that resolution, a curiosity he had buried long ago resurfaced.

What kind of family had my wife come from to possess things like these so casually?

Rosalyn’s pale-pink hair was not a common trait.

If he investigated, he might be able to discover which noble family had a daughter with such hair.

If I take Vivian into high society, could I meet her mother’s family?

And if they wanted to take Vivian, their own blood relative, away from him?

Would I be able to protect Vivian when I’m still nothing?

 

***

 

“Master, a letter has arrived.”

A letter was delivered to Jean while he was working in his study.

The moment he saw the bright-blue envelope, Jean shot up from his chair.

The blue envelope was a prearranged signal to indicate important news.

“Oh, heavens! Thank God!”

He hurriedly slit open the envelope with a letter opener.

The contents contained exactly the news he had been desperately waiting for.

Diamonds had been discovered in Dohajyu Mine.

The letter was filled with details about the excellent quality of the diamonds and the mine’s remarkably high profitability.

Unable to contain his overwhelming joy, Jean suddenly grabbed Butler Martin and hugged him.

Martin froze in surprise at his master’s intense reaction.

“M-Master?”

“Everything is going to work out now! The path I chose was not wrong!”

He had obtained the magnificent title of diamond mine owner.

Now Jean could truly accomplish everything he had planned.

Of course, to Martin, who had no idea that his master was a regressor who had returned from the future, it sounded as though Jean had suddenly started talking nonsense.

But the seasoned butler did not reveal a hint of what he was thinking.

“Congratulations. I’m sure everything will go well from here on.”

“Hahaha! Yes, it really will. Ah, Vivi! Where is Vivi? Is she learning her letters from Miss Anne?”

“Yes. My lady is in the study on the second floor.”

Jean could now easily afford to hire a private tutor, but after what had happened with Ron and Mary, he had become extremely cautious about bringing new people into the household and had no intention of hiring one yet.

Anne, her nanny, could teach Vivian to read and write, and Jean thought that was sufficient for now.

Noble children began their education at much younger ages, but Jean remained doubtful about whether such early education was truly necessary.

In any case, eager to share the good news with his beloved daughter, Jean practically flew up the stairs.

The brief moment he spent waiting after knocking on the study door seemed to stretch endlessly.

“Yes! You may come in!”

The moment he heard Anne’s answer, Jean opened the door.

Vivian, wearing her hair in adorable pigtails and dressed in a sky-blue dress, stared wide-eyed at her suddenly appearing father.

As always, a pitch-black baby monkey was perched atop her head.

“Daddy?”

“Vivi!”

Jean strode over and lifted Vivian into his arms.

Kiki, caught up in the embrace as well, squeaked irritably.

“Vivi. His Divine Beastship. They found diamonds.”

“Diamonds?”

[The transparent, sparkling jewels. The ones your father has been desperately searching for.]

“Oh! Diamonds! Are they good?”

“Yes. Now we can move into an even bigger and better house than this one, and I can buy you enough clothes that you could never possibly wear them all in your lifetime.”

Vivian tilted her head.

But we already live in a house as wonderful as the palace in my fairy-tale books, and Daddy already bought me tons of clothes at the atelier…

“Mmm, I like it here! And I already have lots of clothes.”

Jean smiled at her innocent response, still unaware of the value of diamonds, and rubbed his face against her chubby cheek.

“It just means, Princess, that Daddy can give our princess anything she wants now.”

“Really? You can give me anything?”

“Of course!”

“Then I want to eat five chocolates today!”

Such a wonderfully simple wish made the corners of Jean’s mouth rise toward the heavens.

“That won’t do.”

Yet even with that foolishly happy smile on his face, his answer was firm.

Vivian’s dental health was precious.

“Eeeeeh!”

Vivian’s face crumpled into a pout.