Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 123

—————

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

—————

Chapter 123. A Father with Black Hair Does Not Adopt
Princess Vishnabel had vanished.
At first, I was stunned. Then fury crashed over me like a tidal wave. Everything in sight—objects, furniture, people—I destroyed them all. Duke Alset, the catalyst for this catastrophe, reportedly suffered compound fractures across his entire body from my hands. Let the bastard rot. Damn it.
“Compose yourself, Your Highness. We will locate the Princess shortly.”
I had composed myself sufficiently. Far more composed than before, in fact. Cold, methodical. That’s why I was indulging in cigarettes I’d normally restrained myself from—compensation for all those I’d foregone. Even now, I had five cigarettes crammed between my lips at once, smoking them with sharp, deliberate drags.
Why had I been so careless? I’d been cautious from the start, yet I’d let my guard down when the Chamberlain showed an unusual demeanor. For the first time, I thought I’d glimpsed the true face of Lorowi Marquis. The Princess must have known this too. That’s why she rushed off to look after her aunt and grandmother.
She was too kind. And I was too foolish to stop her. I didn’t just leave the cursed Lorowi and the Little Ones behind.
Since Lorowi Grandmother and Princess Vishnabel disappeared simultaneously, it was confirmed that the Chamberlain had taken the Princess with her. Kazelnu Lorowi was a possible accomplice, so I’d thrown her in Prison for now, but the woman seemed genuinely ignorant of everything. She just kept repeating in her cell that “Mother has changed, this can’t be happening,” weeping continuously.
I’ll admit the Chamberlain had changed. But it’s now certain that woman is the culprit.
According to reports that came in earlier, the Lorowi Mansion burned down and the butler who’d worked there longest disappeared. What was that woman thinking, abandoning all of Lorowi’s history, wealth, power, and even her own children, just to steal away a single Princess?
I couldn’t fathom it. I couldn’t understand her at all. From the moment I first met her, she’d been nothing but incomprehensible.
It was strange from the start that Lorowi got involved in a mere succession dispute over a Duke’s House. My parents and siblings all died by my uncle’s hand. I could understand why they handed me over to the Imperial Palace to be executed as well—if even the legitimate heir died, it would incur Chiron’s wrath. But leaving only one of my eldest brother’s children alive after killing everyone else? Isn’t that odd? Apparently, Lorowi Marquis had insisted strongly on sparing that child’s life. Come to think of it, my nephew will soon come of age. His name was… Ru, I think. In any case, they said it was taken from my mother’s name.
“We’ve brought the Imperial Guard who was standing watch when Lorowi Grandmother left the Palace!”
About time. The guard on duty said he’d just confirmed the Chamberlain and immediately went off to have fun since it was his shift change. He’d been caught drinking, so he looked absolutely wretched. His face was flushed, but he was trembling with fear.
“If you saw the Princess and let her pass, you’ll be executed on the spot.”
“No, Your Highness! I swear, I swear by Kisomalos that I never saw the Princess!”
The man looked ready to cry. Now that I think about it, that bastard Kisomalos might have clues too. I’ll have to visit him later.
“Was there anything else unusual? Anything at all.”
“Well, the Marquis… she had an Attendant with her that she’d supposedly met at the ball. But it wasn’t the Princess, Your Highness! The appearance was completely different!”
Did she use that cursed alchemy again? It was remarkable. Audacious and brilliant. She held a ball to find a suitable husband for Kazelnu, and the Imperial Palace happened to be crowded with people. She seized that opportunity, planned this entire crime, and executed it flawlessly.
Perhaps she’d been plotting the Princess’s abduction for some time, waiting for the right moment. But I never imagined she’d pull it off so swiftly, abandon the entire Lorowi Family, and disappear.
I’d thought at most she’d take the Princess to Lorowi Territory and make a stand there. I never expected her to burn down the very seat of her power.
“Damn it!”
My fury surged again in an instant, and I smashed the desk to pieces. Staying here wouldn’t yield any answers. First, I needed to go to the Princess Palace and meet that cursed Kisomalos.
“Listen! Catch that golden sheep and hold it!”
I hurried to the Princess Palace, with Choco and the Chief Chamberlain following behind. The Princess Palace had the atmosphere of a funeral home, yet the Emilys there, tears streaming down their faces, efficiently captured the golden sheep and presented it before me. I took only those who needed to know and entered Vishnabel’s chambers.
“Is there no way to track the Princess? You’re her bloodline after all—you should know where she is.”
Baaaa?
“Annoy me any further and I’ll have you euthanized.”
“Wait, wait—don’t kill me!”
When the sheep spoke human words, the Chief Chamberlain and Choco widened their eyes in shock, asking what on earth was happening.
“Why is the sheep talking?!”
“Ende, how long have you known about this?”
“Since that bastard ate the hamburger steak.”
The Chief Chamberlain hit my back, saying I should have mentioned it earlier. But if she knew that creature’s divine status had diminished, there were gods who wouldn’t leave it alone. There was nothing I could do about it. I could only keep my mouth shut and guard the secret.
The reason I’d revealed it to Choco and the Chief Chamberlain was that their household deities had no connection whatsoever to Kisomalos. For that same reason, I could never reveal it to the Little One of Achilles or the Little One of Media.
“It’s just… I wanted to find her or descend myself, even if it meant exhausting all the divine power I’ve recovered so far.”
The sheep looked like it was about to cry. I probably shouldn’t listen to what comes next.
“My bloodline, my Pisha—no matter how hard I try to find her, I can’t!”
“No matter how hard we search for our rightful heir, our Pisha, we cannot find her!”
“Useless creature.”
I kicked the golden sheep and pulled out another cigarette. The Chief Chamberlain struck my back repeatedly, warning that I’d face divine punishment.
Let divine punishment come or not. If I could only recover Princess Vishnabel, I was prepared to accept any punishment, divine or otherwise.
“Why on earth has Kisomalos become a sheep?!”
I burned through all my divine power rewinding time. I gave her a brief explanation and left the room. I couldn’t very well smoke in the Princess’s chambers and let the smell linger.
“Sigh….”
That little one was amusing, desperately pretending not to remember the old days. How foolish. Whether she had memories from before the regression or had once been twenty years old, she remained my daughter. Of course, I wouldn’t let her drink alcohol until she came of age by her current years.
“Father! Father, Father!”
“Father! I hope you might add just one exception clause!”
My daughter’s little friends came running, and I quickly stubbed out my cigarette. As I waved my hand to disperse the smoke, the little ones spoke with considerable hope in their voices.
“Father! Please let us use a curse on Croa just once!”
“If we curse Pisha and cause a major disaster in the surrounding area, wouldn’t we be able to pinpoint the location?!”
That was quite an ingenious tracking method. I was about to agree when I thought of something to confirm, so I asked Croa.
“What’s the backlash?”
“Media said that for a while, I won’t be able to see!”
“How long exactly?”
“Ah… um….”
“How long?”
“Well… isn’t that not really the important thing right now….”
“If you end up unable to see for the rest of your life, the Princess won’t approve either.”
“It’s not for life, just… the duration is rather long.”
“Tell me.”
I wasn’t blaming her. I would listen and decide, so she should speak freely. As I encouraged Croa to speak honestly, the little one took a deep breath as if making a great resolution and held up one finger.
“About a year, she said it would be inconvenient.”
“If you’re comfortable with it, Croa, then I’d like to ask this of you.”
“Of course! Ah, we’ll need an elephant’s foot for the ritual!”
I could obtain it, but why specifically an elephant’s foot? I tried my best to understand Media’s strange tastes and asked if anything else was needed. At that, the little Croa spoke something unpleasant with a cheerful face.
“We need Pisha’s hair, but we already have that, so it’s fine!”
“That’s irritating.”
“Irritating fellow.”
Unconcerned even as I expressed my displeasure, the little one rolled up her sleeves and, saying she’d begin the ritual once the materials were ready, shut herself in the altar room set up beside her chamber.
Elephant feet were surprisingly easy to obtain due to ivory poaching. Just in case extras were needed, I purchased all four feet available from a single animal, but Croa said the quantity was sufficient and lit candles to prepare the ritual.
Everyone gathered in the altar room watched what Croa was doing. The little one picked up a hammer and drove stakes into the elephant’s feet with loud thuds while letting out strange cries, and before long, tears began streaming down her face.
“What’s wrong? Did something go awry?”
“Pisha, sob, the curse, Pisha.”
Still holding the hammer, the little one threw herself into my arms and wept bitterly.
“The curse, it’s not activating, Pisha, it’s like she doesn’t exist in this world.”
That couldn’t be. Clearly, Media’s curse wasn’t functioning properly. I spoke to myself, continuing to repeat the thought.
Thank you for reading “The Black-Haired Father Is Not to Be Taken” up to this point.
Starting next chapter, “The Red-Haired Friend Is Not to Be Taken” will begin serialization.

—————

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

—————