Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 163

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 163. A Chill Runs Through Me. A Dagger Flies Toward My Heart and Strikes (1)
Nanakda had just nearly been shot to death twice by Father’s gun. I barely managed to save him, but now where could I take him? No matter how close Nanakda and I were, I couldn’t bring him to the Inner Palace.
As for the rest of today’s schedule….
“Emily.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Let’s skip today’s lessons.”
“However, Your Majesty might….”
Emily trailed off, but I could roughly guess what she meant. No matter how much she was my direct attendant, she couldn’t openly speak disrespect toward the Emperor. It would be rude to Father and disloyal to me.
“Just listen to me.”
Still, he had come all this way as my guest—I couldn’t just throw him out. I had gone to the Empire countless times, but this was Nanakda’s first visit to Kisomalos. After all, great power always came with great responsibility.
“I’ll take full responsibility.”
“I shall inform Teacher Lee accordingly.”
Ah, is today’s only lesson Panclation? Then that’s fortunate. The teacher was flexible about these things, so he might even encourage me if I told him I was going out to play with a boy.
“Where should we go? Want to visit the Fighter Aircraft Landing Strip?”
“…Why there?”
“Because the one officially adopted two years ago was my own design! It’s equipped with a new heavy machine gun!”
I had gone on a month-long business trip to Panbolo just to install a heavy machine gun on it. I wanted to show off to Nanakda, and when I tried to tempt him into going to the landing strip, the boy flatly rejected me with a disgusted expression.
“I don’t want to.”
“Why not? You have no idea how much trouble I went through to mount that on the front. Oh, and it has torpedoes too?!”
“No, it’s not about the torpedoes.”
If it had been Shirley, she would have jumped at the mention of torpedoes, but Nanakda wasn’t so easily swayed. The boy seemed to have absolutely no interest in fighter aircraft, which made me feel a bit dejected. Fighter jets were really cool. How could someone who used to be a prince have so little interest in military weapons?
“Aside from that, hmm… Oh!”
Now that I thought about it, there was that place! I was certain Nanakda would show interest in this, so I eagerly mentioned where we could go.
“Want to go to Hisperon’s Residence? The public opening only extends to the Central Hall Exhibition, so we can play somewhere else.”
“Oh! The place that cost 800 billion to renovate!”
He even knew exactly how much it cost. What an annoying guy. Anyway, my second choice seemed to please him, as Nanakda’s face lit up with excitement. He was happy to see Hisperon’s birthplace once more, but he spoke words of gratitude first.
“Thank you, and…I’m sorry. This should have been my responsibility originally.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. You’re just Hisperon’s brother, but Hisperon and I loved each other!”
“Loved each other? I don’t think that’s quite right?”
What? Hisperon didn’t love me? When I stared at Nanakda with wide eyes, the boy’s eyes darted around as he searched for an excuse.
“No, uh, well, yes, Hisperon did like the Princess quite a lot. But was that…love?”
“Tsk tsk, love has many forms, you know.”
He was still young. I already knew this fact because Kisomalos had taught me, but the Chief Chamberlain wanting to bash my head in was also a form of love. There were many kinds of love in this world.
“Well, if you think about it broadly, you could call it love, right?”
“Right?”
Hisperon and I shared love. And thanks to that excuse, I was able to extort his house from the Astiages Empire.
When I told Nanakda about this diplomatic achievement, he laughed heartily and seemed delighted that I had dealt a blow to the Astiages Imperial Family.
“If they had kept it, those Imperial bastards would have used it for propaganda or something. The Princess did something great.”
This guy—even after stepping down as Prince, he still acts like a cult leader or something. Why does he keep treating me like a subordinate? I felt offended and pouted, but then I decided to take the first step toward having a conversation as equals.
“Hey, how much longer are you going to call me Princess?”
“Huh?”
“Call me by my name. My name.”
We were no longer at a stage where we’d use formal titles with each other. Since Nanakda wasn’t the Prince of Astiages anymore, he couldn’t keep calling me Princess forever. By protocol, I should be addressed as “Your Highness Vishnabel” or “Lady Vishnabel,” but since you’re my friend, I’ll allow you to speak to me informally.
“V-Vish…”
“That’s right. Good.”
“Ugh…”
Why did you stop when you were doing so well? Nanakda had only managed half my name before his face flushed crimson and his entire body twisted awkwardly. It must have felt incredibly strange to him.
“I can call you Nanakda just fine. Nanakda, Nanakda, Nanakda.”
“Wait! I’m just not mentally prepared yet!”
What kind of mental preparation does calling someone’s name require? I teased Nanakda for being ridiculous, then summoned the Imperial Palace’s private limousine and headed toward Hisperon’s Residence. As we drove toward the tourist attraction I had created, Nanakda continued practicing how to say my name.
“Wow…”
After parking at the rear entrance to avoid the crowds of citizens waiting in line, Nanakda’s jaw dropped at the sight of the garden, where every single topiary and landscaping element had been replicated with perfect precision.
Hmph, if I could just convert three-dimensional spaces properly, I’d never forget a landscape I’d seen once. I suspect that’s actually why I get lost so often—I remember routes by landmarks, like “turn left at the cosmos flower bed,” that sort of thing.
“You’re a pervert. A total pervert.”
“Hey! Why am I a pervert!”
“How is this even possible?! How did you replicate even the stone staircase decorations!”
Oh, those I actually brought over as-is. The landscaping uses Kisomalos plants, but I purchased all the garden ornaments and interior furnishings directly from the Astiages Imperial Family. That eight hundred billion didn’t go to waste.
“Wait, why is there even a mark on this tree where you measured my height!”
“That was… to preserve the realism…”
“Pervert!”
Ugh, stop saying pervert already. Can’t you appreciate my devotion and sincerity in preserving Hisperon’s birthplace? When I demanded he give me praise instead, Nanakda examined everything from the scratches on the bench to the exact positions of the street lamps, then pointed an accusing finger at me.
“You brought it all here for purely selfish reasons!”
“It was self-interest from the start! So what!”
“This is—”
This guy! He’s trying to pinch my cheeks again! But I’m not the same person who just took it passively anymore.
I grabbed Nanakda’s wrist with the muscles I’d built up through all those grueling sessions with Choco and Teacher Lee, and channeled the mysterious power of the hundred-year fleece flower root into a crushing grip.
“Aaaah! Aaaaah! It hurts! How is a kid this strong!”
“It’s the mystery of the Southern Region’s elixir!”
“What does that even mean!”
Seeing he looked like he might actually cry if I teased him further, I released Nanakda’s wrist. The man immediately started rubbing it and whimpering, “Whimper…”
“…Does it hurt a lot?”
“Whimper, you’re trying to dominate a delicate man with violence…”
“I’m not trying to dominate anyone.”
“I’ve never even lifted anything heavier than a fork and knife.”
Stop acting like a former prince. It’s not my fault you don’t train normally. Though considering the atmosphere of your imperial family, there’s a high probability they would have thrown a fit if you’d even tried to develop basic self-defense skills.
“Want me to share my training manual? Build up some muscle?”
“No. Exercise is exhausting.”
“You’ll die young if you keep that up.”
If you don’t exercise and just work every day, you’ll die early. This life was saved by Hisperon—I need to treasure it. I resolved to force Nanakda into training, and had Emily distribute my manual to his subordinates.
I’d seen earlier how much his subordinates were nagging him about it. Nanakda had helplessly covered his ears and fled. I had a feeling that once I left him in their hands, they’d peck away at him relentlessly.
“Ah, I decorated the Guest Room the way it was when I visited. Want to take a look?”
“Yes!”
I grasped Nanakda’s hand as he answered enthusiastically and was about to skip into the Estate when I heard a sharp screech from the back gate—the unmistakable sound of a car slamming on its brakes—followed by the rolling crunch of tires against gravel.
Had Croa returned already?
“Hey, hey, hey!”
I’d heard he was only going to observe state affairs as a trial run, so he’d be back soon. But I hadn’t expected him to return in less than a week. I thought he’d linger in his hometown, take his time. He could spend an entire day just gazing vacantly at the sea.
Croa approached rapidly, using the edge of his hand to sever the grip between Nanakda and me. Then, as if shielding me, he pulled me into his arms and cried out something strange.
“Pervert! Pisha, step back at once!”
“…Pervert?”
“Yes! That’s what we call pedophilia! You must be careful!”
Ah, I know that word. On the surface, it does look odd—a twenty-eight-year-old and a fourteen-year-old holding hands. The pedophilia accusation was a bit much, though.
“Calm down. That’s Nanakda. Haven’t you met him before?”
“I know! That’s exactly why it’s a problem!”
Hmm… I see. He already knows. In that case, I have no place to intervene. I decided to observe the situation unfold and pretended to be oblivious, chasing butterflies instead.

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