Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 164

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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 164. A Chill Runs Through Me. A Dagger Pierces My Heart (2)
“Butterfly! Yellow butterfly white butterfly!”
“Your Highness, you’ll naturally avoid it well, but there’s an expensive flower garden ahead.”
“What?! Why am I a pedophile!”
“Then why does it not sound like pedophilia when you’re holding Pisha’s hand with that creepy old face of yours!”
Right, this section of the garden was expensive because we’d imported plants that don’t grow in Kisomalos. I’d actually forgotten about it, but Emily did something remarkable today. I’ll have to give her a bonus when we return to the Palace.
“Butterfly! Yellow butterfly white butterfly!”
I was about to dash toward the flower garden when I changed direction. Instead, I went to a tree stump and looked at the beetles and stag beetles, calling out “butterfly, butterfly.” Hmm, doing this makes me look genuinely insane.
“Well, I’m fine. Anyway, I’m planning to just be friends with Little One until she comes of age.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“But you’re not fine at all! A man who’s practically an adult is looking at a fourteen-year-old with romantic feelings and warding off other men—that’s a mental illness! You’re the real pedophile!”
“Ugh!”
Croa has never won a logical argument against Nanakda, yet he keeps starting debate battles with such confidence.
“But, but I’ve liked Pisha since I was young, and now I’m in a growth phase so there’s an awkward age gap in appearance, but in about four years we’ll be well-matched, and Emily and the others…!”
“Hey! Liking one woman for ten years is also a sickness. That’s the kind of obsession stalkers have. Vishnabel probably thinks you’re mentally ill too!”
Huh? Why is this suddenly being directed at me? I was just planning to watch the long-horned beetles and stag beetles fight over territory, but Croa with that anguished face approached me and asked me to prove he wasn’t mentally ill.
“Pisha, I’m not mentally ill, right? Liking one person for ten years is normal, isn’t it?”
“Uh, um? Uh, well….”
Honestly, that’s not really normal, is it? But I do think there’s something beautiful about devoting yourself to one person for ten years. The problem is you take it too far. Sometimes it’s honestly creepy.
“Um, well, hmm?”
“See? Vishnabel doesn’t even know what to say to you, so she’s just dodging the question.”
“Sob!”
Oh no. I’ve been comforting Nanakda who’s been crying this whole time, and now I’m going to make Croa cry too. I still need to receive reports about what happened in Media today, and I have something to ask Croa, so I can’t let things get awkward between us.
“Well, honestly, Croa does creepy things sometimes. But looking steadfastly at one person is a good thing, right? People call that pure love.”
“…Sniff, pure love?”
“That’s right. How noble is that? If you faithfully look only at your wife, some religious institutions even erect monuments to chaste women for it.”
“That’s… true.”
Right? You’re doing something great and noble right now.
As I lifted Croa’s spirits, Little One straightened her shoulders and immediately counterattacked Nanakda.
“I’m upholding my integrity! Since Pisha permitted me to have feelings, I’m not a stalker!”
“Tch!”
Well, I don’t actually remember giving permission like that. I’m not sure what the difference is between what you normally do and stalking, but I’m glad you’re feeling better.
“By that logic, you’re mentally ill too! You’ve been pestering Pisha about marriage for nearly ten years!”
“Ah, but I courted her while maintaining work-life balance. That’s a much healthier way to love.”
“Tch tch!”
Croa, you really can’t win a single argument against Nanakda. You’re young and pitiful.
“Pisha, let’s go! You need to receive my report too!”
“Huh? I haven’t seen Nanakda in so long. Let’s play together a bit more.”
We don’t see each other that often. I wanted to reminisce about Hisperon together and get lost in memories. It’s been a while since we’ve met, and Nanakda is probably busier than I am, so who knows when we’ll meet next. When I insisted on playing longer, Croa let out a sharp cry.
“Pisha, between me and Nanakda, who is more precious to you!”
“Of course it’s Croa, silly.”
What are you saying? How could a fiancé and a male friend even be compared in the first place? You and I will share our future together, and we’ll be bound by a bilateral contract as well.
Since it wasn’t worth deliberating over, I answered immediately, and Croa’s face flushed red before he began repeating the same section like a broken record player.
“R-really? Is that so? I-is that what you mean?”
“Yeah. I’m going to marry you and live with you for the rest of my life.”
“…!”
This guy must have been raised alongside Shirley—he’s speaking in animal language. Though I couldn’t hear it, Croa was probably chittering away at frequencies beyond human hearing, his entire body writhing as he let out a disgusting, delighted laugh.
“Still, ahem, ehehe, being alone with that guy is, ehehe, dangerous, wouldn’t you say?”
“No, Choco came along too. Want to join us and play, Croa?”
“What? I don’t want to!”
Hmm, so Nanakda was the one refusing this time. The two of them glared at each other, engaging in what felt like a battle of wills, and continued with a conversation that somehow felt like déjà vu.
“Then let’s bet on her free time—a competition!”
“Agreed!”
Sigh, I’ve become a trophy again. Not that I mind since it’s entertaining. Come to think of it, wasn’t it a chess match before? That was terribly disadvantageous for Croa, so I’d prefer a poker game where luck plays a bigger role.
“Poker sounds good!”
“I’m confident in that too!”
For some reason, both of them seemed confident. I dragged Emily and my guards along to the Reception Room of Hisperon’s Residence. Since I visited occasionally, the electricity and water were already on, and tea and snacks were stocked. I asked Emily to prepare refreshments, then pulled out a card set and a blanket from the display cabinet and laid them out on the table.
“If I win, I return to Ljubljana immediately, correct?”
“Fine. If I win, you go back to the Imperial Palace and twiddle your thumbs.”
Croa pulled out the cards and began shuffling them with a flourish—whoosh, whoosh—and something about it felt like the touch of a professional. Was this guy a magician? How was he making the cards flutter through the air like that while shuffling? Did Father teach him that too?
“Dealing the cards.”
Croa shuffled the deck smoothly, then dealt seven cards to each of us. Just as I was about to flip my cards over, Nanakda grabbed Croa’s wrist and ground his teeth.
“Hey, weren’t your eyes moving strangely just now? Did you pull some trick?”
“D-do you have proof?!”
Croa, you’re surprisingly bad at lying. Just from the way you answered, I can tell you definitely pulled something. I’m not sure what exactly, but a fair match means no cheating.
I quietly scolded him and asked what he’d done, and Little One responded with a pitiful voice and a scary confession.
“Sniff, actually, I memorized all the cards while shuffling!”
“I knew it!”
What do you mean saying that like it’s obvious? Most people can’t do that kind of thing. These damn geniuses are impossible.
“This won’t do. I’ll just join in and shuffle the deck myself.”
“If it’s you, Pisha, we can trust it.”
“Yeah, you’re too stupid to pull off any tricks anyway.”
Nanakda always had to get one more jab in. I sat at the table and kicked Nanakda’s shin hard before shuffling the cards. Nanakda whined that his leg was broken.
“So, three cards, then four cards, deal them around, and then check?”
We went counterclockwise, taking cards and discarding the ones we didn’t need.
“Since it’s a single round, the highest hand wins unconditionally.”
“Okay. Deal.”
Nanakda and Croa confidently laid down their cards.
“Four of a kind!”
“Four of a kind!”
Surprisingly, they both laid down poker cards with the same four-digit number. These bastards definitely cheated somehow.
“Since Nanakda has 7 and I have 9, I win because my number is higher!”
“Dammit!”
Nanakda tore at his hair and cried out that he didn’t want to go home. Well, but here’s the thing—I managed to put together a losing hand too.
I flicked my card between Nanakda and Croa, then calmly announced the name of my combination.
“Hearts. Royal straight flush.”
“….”
“….”
Don’t look at me like that, will you? I didn’t use any tricks, I swear. I just had this hand from the start when I received my cards.
As I fluttered my sleeves to show I hadn’t employed any underhanded tactics, Croa and Nanakda, who had been staring blankly at me, let out gasps of admiration.
“Kisomalos, you’re truly remarkable.”
“Luck’s a cruel mistress.”
Right, now that I think about it, this game has such a strong luck element that maybe I just won because of that?
Well, since I won anyway, it’s only natural that the two of them follow my opinion.
“Let’s all play together until Nanakda has to leave.”
Since I’m a bit peckish, we might as well grab some snacks while we’re at it.
I called Choco over as well, and we ate delicious food while exchanging stories about the old days in Astiages. As nostalgia washed over me, I found myself thinking deeply of Hisperon, and my eyes began to glisten with tears.

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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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