Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 213

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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 213. If You Think Your Revenge Is Hollow, Then Your Method of Revenge Was Flawed (2)
And I hadn’t liked how Nanakda handled things earlier either. Since the opportunity to speak had presented itself, I decided to steer the conversation toward the matter of the pigs.
“That’s right! The pigs would’ve eaten everything without leaving a single bone! The Emperor should’ve hung the body on the city gate for all to see!”
That way it would serve as a warning, put pressure on foreign nations, and honor Hisperon’s spirit, wouldn’t it? As I pressed this point forcefully, a man who seemed to be the representative of Nanakda’s subordinates spoke with an alarmed expression.
“N-no, but he was still an emperor of a nation, and hanging him on the city gate would be, morally speaking, rather problematic…!”
“What do you know about it! I couldn’t even find Hisperon’s body!”
Do you understand the feelings of a fiancée who couldn’t receive the remains of the man she’d promised a future with?! As I appealed to emotion and spoke at length, that Kirpan fellow raised another objection. I’d memorized his name because he kept breaking the mood with his comments.
“Your Highness the Princess, you weren’t formally engaged to Hisperon, were you?”
“I formally proposed to Hisperon! That makes me his fiancée, doesn’t it!”
“But Hisperon never accepted your proposal, did he?”
“He didn’t refuse either! That’s practically acceptance!”
“No, it certainly isn’t!”
“Guards! Is anyone out there! Throw Kirpan into the underground prison!”
I’d expected as much, but since no one was outside, truly no one came in. Well, that made sense—the soldiers we’d brought were busy burning corpses in the city streets!
Since I had no one to command, I could only look toward Father.
“Father! Throw him in the underground prison!”
“Hahahaha. Hahahaha!”
This man was delighted to watch me after so long. Father laughed heartily, then put his arm around the shoulders of the man who seemed to be the leader among Nanakda’s subordinates.
“My daughter is quite amusing, isn’t she?”
“This doesn’t seem like a laughing matter, sir.”
“Isn’t it something to laugh about? It’s not something to cry about, is it?”
“The way you’re nitpicking words and making threats like this—I worry it might be having a negative influence on Her Highness the Princess….”
“These fellows are too eager to speak only righteous words. Let’s throw them in the underground prison too.”
Right! They all deserve the underground prison! I swung my fists at Nanakda and threatened him to guide them to the underground prison. Nanakda made an exasperated expression.
“The Astiages Imperial Palace doesn’t have an underground prison!”
“What kind of palace doesn’t have an underground prison!”
“Pisha’s right about that. As an ostracized prince, you probably just don’t know about the underground prison that exists there.”
“I was never ostracized!”
Huh? Wasn’t he ostracized? That’s why he was driven out of the palace and lived with Hisperon, wasn’t it? When I brought up the past, Nanakda denied it indignantly.
“That only happened because things went wrong after I met you, Princess! Before that, I lived harmoniously with my family!”
“Isn’t that just your own delusion?”
“Exactly. Before I met you, I didn’t even know you existed in Astiages.”
In fact, even before my regression, I’d never heard stories about Nanakda. I’d known there was a third prince among the Astiages Royal Family, but beyond that, information was almost nonexistent. Either he had an incredibly weak presence, or the family had decided to keep him hidden from the outside world out of shame. It had to be one or the other.
And if things had truly been harmonious, they wouldn’t try to uproot someone just because they were doing well. Besides, Mother and Father condoned the conflict between brothers. As I spoke blunt truths one after another, Nanakda’s eyes began to glisten with tears.
“Sniff!”
“The Princess is wrong this time.”
“Your Highness the Princess, in cases like this, a person can die simply from having the truth hurled at them.”
“Kirpan, whose side are you even on!”
Anyway, it was inconvenient that there was no underground prison. I’d wanted to lock Nanakda and his subordinates away and interrogate them about several things. I wanted to ask about the whereabouts of whoever was making warp stones, and I wanted to know why they’d followed me all the way to Astiages. Of course, I understood the desire to witness Astiages’s downfall firsthand, but something about it still felt off.
“For now, since we’ve occupied Avestha, let’s contact Kisomalos and tell them we’ll be drawing all the expedition costs from the national treasury.”
“I’m sending people to the Empress of Astiages and the Imperial Concubine’s maternal family home as well. Whoever arrives first gets the throne,” he said.
“And tell them that if they’re worried about what Nanakda might do, Kisomalos will personally guarantee his protection.”
“Might as well leave a garrison unit there too.”
Working alongside Father made progress fly by—it was wonderful. But what if all those cowardly Imperial Family members refused to volunteer for the throne? As I voiced another possibility, Father laid out a solution with casual efficiency.
“Just like we did in Media, we send a governor from Kisomalos. And those Imperial Family bastards need to be thoroughly hunted down and eliminated, just as the Cult Leader said.”
Nanakda would be better at hunting than I would. When I came here before with Choco, I heard there were five million Dharma Religion followers in the Capital of Astiages. Oh, that’s right—when Choco and I arrived in the Capital of Astiages, we actually received help from Dharma Religion members. Had they been brainwashed by the Heavenly Demon and volunteered willingly?
Worried, I mentioned this to Nanakda, and his female subordinates brightened considerably.
“Actually, we confirmed that while we were out feeding the pigs earlier.”
“Those who had already joined our Religious Order weren’t corrupted by the deity’s influence.”
“Oh.”
So brainwashing doesn’t work on someone already brainwashed? Thinking about it that way, maybe religion isn’t such a bad thing to have?
“If there are survivors, that is.”
“Yes?”
“Are there any who have experience serving the Imperial Family?”
“….”
“Well, it seems like we’ll be staying here for a while, and it would be inconvenient without enough hands.”
“…We’ll search for them.”
Phew, thank goodness. I almost had to do it myself again. The Chief Chamberlain and Croa scrub way too hard—it actually hurts.
The rest seemed like Father and Nanakda would handle it, so I said goodbye to everyone in the Audience Chamber and diligently set about organizing and cleaning.
My, is there another princess in the world as industrious and willing to do menial work as I am? I felt so proud of my virtuous heart and diligence.

✦ ✦ ✦
During our stay at the Astiages Imperial Palace, we squandered the nation’s treasury with reckless abandon. Everyone had worked hard disposing of corpses, so we distributed generous rewards, and we generously divided the ownerless vacant houses among the officers as villas.
And as expected—or however you’d put it—the former Crown Prince of Astiages arrived at the Imperial Palace first with the Second Princess, declaring he would succeed to the throne under Kisomalos’s protection.
Since the man was Nanakda’s full brother, he didn’t particularly fear revenge and acted extremely friendly. Nanakda was displeased, but since we needed to establish treaties, I asked him not to cause any incidents.
Through Father’s skillful maneuvering, the temporary Emperor of Astiages was forced to sign ninety-nine treaties with Kisomalos, and after some time passed, Nanakda’s half-brother, the Second Prince, gradually appeared and threw a tantrum demanding a position.
Naturally, Nanakda was furious. As a virtuous princess, I decided to follow the man around and help soothe his anger.
“Come on, you experienced all that and still don’t understand? That’s just how people live.”
It wasn’t just the Astiages Imperial Family. Ordinary people do whatever it takes for their own benefit. Hisperon’s persecution, Nanakda’s expulsion from the palace—it wasn’t that the Astiages Imperial Family possessed uniquely evil hearts. They had rejected him for survival, for profit. That was simply the result.
“So you’re saying you would’ve made the same choice as those bastards?”
“Well, I’ve never been in their position, so I can’t say for certain.”
But if it meant protecting me and those around me, wouldn’t I have done anything? Father, Choco, Croa, Shirley, the Chief Chamberlain… well, since I’ve known you for a while now, I’ll count you among my people too. When I laughed and said he didn’t need to thank me for my generosity, Nanakda suddenly gripped my hand tightly.
“Why are you suddenly holding my hand?”
“I’ve been thinking about this the whole time since I came on this expedition.”
Nanakda let out a long, heavy sigh, then clenched his teeth as if he’d made a decision.
“Princess Vishnabel, I think you should disappear for world peace.”
The man pulled a warp stone from his pocket with a flourish. But that thing—without even a calculator—suddenly began glowing brilliantly.
“Hmm….”
Am I being kidnapped again?

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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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