Ch.150Chapter 150. I Have Received Your Daughter (3)

“You should have children! I have no intention of leaving my fortune to a grandson who isn’t even blood-related!”

“Om nyom nyom.”

“Dad……”

Conrad grumbled with an irritated tone.

Each time he took a chocolate chip cookie from the basket, it disappeared into nothingness.

“Have a son, a son! Having a daughter is useless!”

“Om nyom nyom……”

“Dad. Stop feeding Cuss so many sweet things……”

“Sweet food makes them gain weight! What is this? Children need to get chubby first, then they grow taller!”

“Om nyom nyom nyom……”

Cuss, sitting next to Conrad, was devouring the cookies being offered at a frightening speed.

Conrad was busy taking out more cookies, completely unconcerned about the crumbs falling onto his thighs.

Watching this, Juliane realized her worries had been completely unfounded.

Despite his complaints, it seemed he had already taken a liking to Cuss.

“Wow. These cookies are really delicious. Mother-in-law’s cooking skills are truly the best.”

“The chef baked them, you know?”

“Then your eye for hiring the best chef is truly the best, Mother-in-law.”

“Hoho. Oh my……”

Watching his wife wave her hands dismissively at Jinsoo’s relentless compliments, Conrad snapped back to reality.

He had definitely planned to give his adopted daughter and son-in-law a proper scolding when they arrived home.

But somehow, the atmosphere had become warm and friendly.

“Ah……”

“……?”

When he turned his head, he saw a silver-haired girl with her mouth open, waiting for a cookie.

So it’s you.

The one who launched a mental attack and changed the atmosphere at will.

Conrad handed the entire cookie basket to Cuss and moved his seat slightly away.

Now he really needed to be stern.

“When are you planning to hold the wedding ceremony?”

“Pardon?”

“What?”

The couple responded simultaneously with dumbfounded voices.

Their reaction, as if they hadn’t given it any thought, made Conrad feel a headache coming on.

“Um…… Shouldn’t we clear Jinsoo’s name first before holding the ceremony?”

“I’d be happy to have it tomorrow if possible.”

“……Where are you thinking of having it?”

“I’d love Hawaii!”

“Just at a wedding hall near home……”

“Hey, you two!”

Conrad finally lost his patience and shouted.

There was clearly no agreement about the wedding ceremony.

These two were already legally married but still delaying the ceremony.

What should he do with these young ones……

“When you’ve registered your marriage, you should plan to hold the ceremony as soon as possible! How long are you going to keep postponing it?”

“But things are so hectic right now, so maybe when we have more time……”

“Do you think you’ll have more time later? Cuss will grow up quickly, and once you have children, you’ll be even busier! Now is the best time for a ceremony, you fools.”

“……”

Seeing the couple bow their heads in a suddenly reverent posture, Conrad clicked his tongue.

He really didn’t like this son-in-law.

At 34 years old and already having been married once before, he should be taking the lead in planning the wedding ceremony.

It was frustrating to see the couple acting like complete novices.

“Well, I suppose you’ll figure it out. Do as you please.”

“Yes……”

“But Hawaii is out of the question! Why make the guests suffer!”

“Yes……”

“And I refuse to see a ceremony with a heavily pregnant bride! Plan the timing properly!”

“Yes……”

“How can you say ‘do as you please’ while giving all these instructions? Hoho.”

“Shut up.”

This isn’t meddling, it’s just basic advice.

Annoyed by his wife’s constant chattering, Conrad frowned and glared at her.

I’m the only one here genuinely concerned about this inexperienced couple’s future.

Conrad felt like storming out of the house right then and there.

Why am I more worried than they are?

“Do you two just not think about anything?”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll figure it out when the time comes. I believe in leaving tomorrow’s problems to tomorrow’s me.”

“I just figure things will work out somehow if I follow Jinsoo.”

“……”

Conrad was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

Cuss and Conrad sat side by side, both staring at the foolishly optimistic couple in disbelief.

What could be done with such an endlessly positive pair?

He couldn’t even properly scold the man who had spent a year in the military and ten years in prison, having been through so much hardship, for being so clueless about reality.

Conrad finally decided to give up on pushing them.

They probably wouldn’t listen anyway.

“Sigh…… Let’s have the meeting then.”

“What meeting?”

“The meeting about how to open the Navy scandal.”

“……”

Only then did the couple’s expressions turn serious.

***

I couldn’t quite follow the flow of the conversation.

If I understood correctly, the first step in addressing the Navy scandal would be to raise public awareness through the media.

No matter how significant an issue might be, if the public remains unaware, there’s a high probability the case will be quietly buried and forgotten.

So we need to prepare an appetizing bait that will make the media salivate.

Once the issue gains traction, the Navy will push back, but according to my father-in-law, we absolutely must not respond to that.

The moment we get dragged into court proceedings, we’ll fail to prove innocence due to insufficient evidence……

Any evidence unfavorable to the Navy from the original trial would have already been destroyed.

Therefore, what’s important is to move the executive branch, not the judiciary.

We need to show how chaotically the military prosecutors and courts conducted the military trial and the possibility of evidence tampering, in order to establish a temporary agency like a special investigation committee that can inspect the military internally.

After gathering hidden evidence that couldn’t be destroyed, we proceed to trial and ultimately obtain a not guilty verdict for my rape and murder charges—that was the basic outline of the plan.

“I’ll propose the investigation committee to the legislature.”

“Yes. It should proceed within three days after the issue gains public attention. If it takes any longer, it might not pass through the legislature and could be scrapped……”

“The problem is what comes next. There are too many variables. As soon as the investigation committee is formed, everyone involved back then might suffer mysterious sudden deaths.”

“Come on…… Surely they wouldn’t go that far.”

“These people framed an innocent man as a mother-daughter rapist and murderer—what wouldn’t they do? You should always assume the worst. If possible, we should recruit people who have already retired from the military and guarantee their safety.”

“Will they willingly testify?”

“Once we start investigating from the top, no one will keep quiet. Who would nobly keep their mouth shut when they might end up taking all the blame?”

“The investigation itself seems to be the problem.”

“That’s right. They’ll thoroughly erase everything from CCTV records to everything else…… They’ll try to pass it off as a failure in records management and move on. But they’re human too, so they’ll make a mistake and miss something—we need to find that.”

As Juliane and my father-in-law discussed various matters, I understood about half and had to let the other half go.

They were using all these difficult legal terms……

It seems the saying that humanities majors handle big affairs is indeed true.

“Om nyom nyom……”

“Hey. Aren’t you full yet?”

“Nope. They just keep tasting good.”

“Should I get you more, Cuss?”

“Yes please, Grandma!”

“G-Grandma?!”

“……!”

My mother-in-law widened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand.

Damn it. Did I upset her?

Of course, it would be upsetting to be called “Grandma” by someone not even blood-related to her daughter.

Cuss hadn’t been fully accepted by these people yet……

“C-could you say that again?”

“Grandma!”

“Hwaaaa. I’m finally a grandmother……”

“Huh?!”

“C-can I take just one photo, Cuss? So I can brag to the other ladies about my granddaughter!”

“Mmm…… Do as you please.”

My mother-in-law hugged Cuss and immediately took out her phone to start taking pictures.

It seems my worries were unnecessary.

Perhaps there was some kind of competition among the ladies about who would become a grandmother first.

Somehow, I kept seeing Juliane in my mother-in-law.

“Hehehehe. I’ll tell them I’ve actually had a granddaughter for a while but kept her hidden for 15 years to surprise them.”

“Mother-in-law……?”

Even their pranks are on another level.

“……Let’s do that. Jinsoo?”

“Ah, yes?”

“I think it would be better if you went somewhere far away while we handle the scandal.”

“……”

Juliane took my hand and hesitantly spoke.

Go somewhere far away?

Where? Why?

“We’re clearing my name, but the person himself doesn’t need to be present?”

“Actually, you only need to be present for the final trial process. You don’t need to be around for the rest. Once the issue gains traction, the media will be incredibly annoying to you…… If you show even the slightest weakness, they’ll latch onto it and keep pressing, which could jeopardize our plan.”

“So you want me to leave the United States entirely to prevent me from saying something stupid.”

“Yes. That’s right…… There will still be people criticizing you, but that’s much better than having public opinion turn against us because of one mistake……”

Juliane kept fidgeting with my hand and hung her head as if feeling guilty.

Why would someone who’s sacrificing so much for me feel apologetic?

“I understand. I’ll do that.”

“Jinsoo……”

“I want to go with Jinsoo too.”

Cuss suddenly climbed onto my back.

This seemed unexpected, as Juliane’s eyebrows twitched before quickly returning to normal.

“That’s right. If Cuss stays behind, she might end up in the media spotlight instead of Jinsoo…… It would be better if you both went together. A father-daughter trip abroad would be nice.”

“……”

Juliane gave a slight smile.

That smile somehow looked sad.

I gently pressed my forehead against Juliane’s.

Our faces were close enough that I could feel her warm breath.

“What should I tell the school?”

“Well…… They might overlook an unauthorized absence. The school will be swarmed with reporters and it’ll be quite chaotic. They’ll probably understand. But it would be better to inform them in advance.”

“You’re right. Juliane. Thank you.”

“What?”

“Thank you so much. For helping me.”

“……”

Juliane’s lips began to pucker as she moved closer to me.

Is she thinking of kissing me right in front of her parents……

I smiled and gently pushed her back by the shoulders.

If we actually kissed, her father would probably hit me over the head with an ashtray.

“Thank you so much, Mother-in-law and Father-in-law. For doing all this for me……”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“There can’t be an ex-convict in our family. That’s why I’m helping. Understand?”

“Yes, Father-in-law.”

“……”

Despite the serious atmosphere, I must admit my mind was elsewhere.

I kept getting distracted by Cuss on my back.

Feeling her on my back after so long, I noticed her touch had changed slightly.

I hadn’t noticed it when touching her with my hands almost daily.

Had she grown again in such a short time?

The thought that the small, petite Cuss was disappearing made me feel like I might burst into tears.

“Jinsoo, are you crying?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Hehehe. You must be really touched.”

I wiped away my tears and sniffled.

I decided to go with that explanation for now, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere.