Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 110

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 110. The Emperor Is a Dictator. The Princess Is a Budding Dictator (2)
Father was truly punctual—he napped for exactly thirty minutes, then woke up and chased us out, insisting he had work to do.
Shirley and I stumbled out of the Emperor’s Office with our pillows in hand, half-asleep, and took a walk around the administrative and security palace grounds to shake off the drowsiness.
Most of the staff recognized my face and greeted me with smiles, but as I circled the garden and headed toward the Princess Palace, an official blocked my path.
“Your Highness, it might be best not to go toward the Ministry of Education.”
“Huh? Why not?”
It didn’t seem like he was trying to stop me out of disrespect. Had something gone wrong? Actually, my curiosity was piqued, so I told the official to lead the way and headed toward the Ministry of Education.
“If basic academics collapse! The nation collapses too!”
“It collapses! It collapses!”
“Restore the budget! The Ministry of Education, awaken!”
“Awaken! Awaken!”
Ah, there was a protest happening. I’d seen plenty of these before regression. That bastard of a father caused so much trouble that civic organizations would regularly storm into the Outer Palace and shout their demands. It made sense—the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, and other departments were all located in the Outer Palace.
“Oh! Hey, aren’t you Shirley?!”
Huh? Who was calling Shirley so warmly… Wait! She looks exactly like Shirley!
“Mother?”
“You had a mother?!”
Damn, I was so shocked that I blurted it out without any filter. I immediately clapped my hand over my mouth in surprise at my own words, and Shirley gave me a strange look.
“Well, since I’m human too, I naturally have a mother who gave birth to me, don’t I?”
“No, that’s not what I meant.”
You never mentioned your mother even once. When we met the Count’s House people, you only ever talked about Father and your older brothers. As I fumbled through an awkward explanation, Shirley’s blonde-haired, blue-eyed mother greeted me warmly.
“You must be the Princess, Your Highness. I should have visited much sooner—my apologies.”
“That’s the problem! You left your child in someone else’s care and never once came to visit!”
Embarrassed, I decided to scold Shirley’s mother instead. I scolded the indifferent woman in a stern voice, adopting the role of a parent. Shirley’s mother, who had the same dark complexion as her daughter, fluttered her white coat and explained her circumstances.
“Well, there were divorce proceedings to handle, and academic matters became quite urgent.”
“Your parents got divorced?!”
“Ah, yes. Didn’t I mention it?”
“You didn’t, damn it!”
You should have told me that from the start! Then I could have looked into your mother’s situation and provided support! As I shook Shirley’s shoulders while mentioning policies for supporting divorced women, Shirley laughed lightly and spoke casually about her family circumstances.
“Haha, what mother could endure in such a household?”
“Well, that’s… true, but still!”
Honestly, I’d thought she’d already packed up and run away during that pyramid power incident when I didn’t see the Countess. Since you never mentioned your mother either, I assumed she was dead or had fled. And here I was being considerate, you little brat!
“Well then, Sheryl Achilles, the young lady of the Achilles House, seems quite comfortable in the Princess Palace and gets along well. There are regular reports to the Count’s Mansion, but as for your mother… that is…”
“Haha, please speak freely. I stopped raising her long ago, so I have no intention of playing the mother now.”
“Indeed. I don’t have any particular attachment to my mother either, so please speak comfortably.”
Oh, what an emotionless pair of mother and daughter…
I sighed deeply and asked how Shirley’s mother had come all the way here.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly, Your Highness. I am Charlotte Maritch, Professor of Physics at Kisomalos Imperial University.”
Ah, so Shirley’s intelligence was inherited from her mother? Delighted, I boasted about how Shirley was very interested in mathematics and science, and had studied them quite deeply. But Shirley’s mother didn’t seem particularly interested in her child’s academic achievements.
“Hmm, is that so?”
She said only that, and our conversation came to an end.
A long sigh escaped me. So he really meant it when he said he’d stepped back from his children’s affairs. Prisoner must be at least thirty thousand times more interested in what Shirley learns and how she grows than Shirley’s mother is.
“Right, so you didn’t come to see Shirley. What’s this about then?”
“Ah. The Imperial State’s basic science research budget has been cut in half lately. We can’t continue our research, so I came out to protest.”
She becomes quite eloquent when discussing her field. How did someone like her survive in that countryside without going mad? Well, that’s probably why they ended up divorcing in the end.
“Research?”
“Yes. Our team is researching relativity theory.”
“Huh… what?”
What on earth was she talking about? I leaned over and whispered to Shirley, and after thinking it over, she shared her thoughts with me.
“Given the word ‘relativity’ attached to it, it seems like research on ‘inertial reference frames.'”
What was she even saying?
My vision began to blur. So I squeezed my eyes shut.
“In other words, it’s characterized by ‘uniform linear motion.'”
“No. Don’t explain. I don’t understand any of it. My head hurts.”
“That’s not it. Shirley made it sound complicated, but it’s actually simple, Your Highness. It’s saying that the laws of mechanics take the same form for observers moving at constant velocities relative to each other.”
“I said I don’t know! Stop talking!”
“This is even related to Maxwell, one of the Four Great Creator Deities!”
“If either of you say another word, I’ll beat you both!”
“…”
“…”
Finally, both Shirley and her mother fell silent. Beatings are fair to all.
Anyway, let me summarize: Shirley’s parents are divorced, right? Her mother is a university professor, right? She came out to protest because it’s related to basic science and the budget needs to be increased, right? That’s all I need to know. I don’t need information about relativity theory or anything like that.
“Military spending is high, so cuts to basic academic research are unavoidable. Why don’t you just make up a story saying your research is directed toward military applications or helping the people’s livelihood? Then you could continue your research, couldn’t you?”
“Oh, that’s a way to do it.”
As expected of someone who only studies—she didn’t know such tricks. I decided to slip away before hearing anything more troublesome. I was about to leave after telling her to visit the Princess Palace whenever she wanted to see Shirley, but Shirley seemed reluctant and gripped my hand tightly while speaking to her mother.
“Can’t I go watch Mom’s research?”
It might be a one-in-a-million possibility, but could Shirley want to spend time with her mother? It doesn’t seem likely at all, but if by any chance she wanted to live with her mother, I could always prepare a room for her mother in the Princess Palace.
I was about to suggest this, but the cold-hearted mother and daughter quickly wrapped up their conversation.
“I’m sorry, but I can only show it to undergraduate students at the minimum.”
“Oh, is that so?”
So you didn’t want to see your mother—you wanted to see relativity theory. Yes, that makes sense. That’s our Shirley.
“Pisha.”
“Hmm?”
“Can I go to university for a bit?”
“Sure…”
If you can pass, go whenever you want. I’ll cover tuition and living expenses. Go ahead. When I readily agreed, Charlotte said she’d send the application and exam guidelines. Neither her mother nor Shirley even entertained the thought that she might fail the entrance exam. Then again, I can’t imagine it either.
“Then I’ll see you next semester, Shirley!”
“Yes! Good luck with the protest!”
You two mother and daughter don’t plan to meet anywhere except school? How cold-hearted. I clicked my tongue as I crossed the Ministry of Education, and Shirley linked her arm through mine, tempting me with strange words.
“Pisha, don’t you want to go to university? Wouldn’t it be so romantic if we became co-authors of a paper together like us?”
“No.”
I was sick of studying. Physics could wait for someone else. I shouted that I wouldn’t study anymore and bolted toward the Princess Palace. I found Marshmallow and dumped Shirley’s university entrance exam preparation on him before making my escape.
“Phew.”
I had to make absolutely sure that news of Shirley taking the university entrance exam didn’t leak beyond the Princess Palace. If Father found out, he’d drag me into taking it too.
I couldn’t let my precious childhood be ruined by something as tedious as university studies. I called the Emilys over and swore them to secrecy, then asked where Mutton was.
Ever since I heard how Chiron selected his successor, I’d been curious about something.
Chiron was incredibly particular about choosing a successor—Achilles had even been marked as the heir from birth with a jewel embedded in his forehead. Did I have something special that made me the chosen one too? My adoptive father and I were only children, so we inherited the succession automatically, but Grandmother had siblings and still became the heir, didn’t she?
“Kisomalos!”
Baa?
I asked the golden sheep Kisomalos, who was bleating as usual, what special qualities determined the succession. After glancing around nervously, Kisomalos leaned close to my ear and revealed the top priority for selecting an heir.
“The prettiest one.”
I wish I hadn’t asked.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————