Black-Haired Dad Isn’t Something You Reap - Chapter 52
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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 52. The Prince’s Captivity Chronicles (3)
“Waaahhh! That blockhead! The Emperor’s Son! Wahhh! Thief! Scoundrel! Waaahhh!”
“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re saying.”
“You idiot! Wahhh! You idiot! How much! Wahhh! All alone! Waaahhh!”
“There, there. You’ve been through so much.”
“Waaahhh!”
As the Emperor patted Pisha in his arms, the Princess quickly calmed herself and sniffled. When the Emperor chided her for being dirty, Pisha deliberately wiped her nose on his shirt and opened her mouth.
“But, hic, I’ve been thinking about something.”
The Princess, who had been crying so pitifully that she’d even gotten the hiccups, pointed at the airship and uttered words that seemed entirely out of place with the situation.
“When Choco came to rescue me, she came in an airship, and, sniff.”
“Yes, yes. What about the airship?”
“If we transported supplies and soldiers by airship instead of by war chariot, wouldn’t it be faster?”
“….”
At Pisha’s words, the Emperor was left speechless. I was left speechless too. The Achilles Young Lady’s eyes lit up.
“You mean to organize airships into military units! An army that flies through the heavens! Pisha has grasped the concept of aerial supply lines!”
What? That? Was it really such a remarkable idea that the Achilles Young Lady would get so excited about it? Since I didn’t quite grasp the significance, I looked at Risto and Choco, and both were gazing at Pisha with expressions of admiration. I wasn’t sure myself, but it must have been a truly brilliant idea.
“You’re proposing to establish an air force! She’s truly my daughter!”
The Emperor was delighted.
The Emperor, who had grabbed every Imperial Guard nearby to boast that Pisha was definitely his daughter, tossed the Princess up and caught her repeatedly, then showered her cheeks with kisses, expressing his affection enthusiastically. This was the first time I’d seen the Emperor express himself so passionately.
“Ugh, I hate it! Gross! Your saliva is gross!”
“Objectively speaking, the Princess’s snot is more disgusting.”
“If it’s gross, don’t kiss me!”
“Subjectively speaking, it’s not gross, so it’s fine.”
“Ugh, I’m so sick of this!”
As Pisha expressed her disgust, the Emperor only kissed her more enthusiastically, until Chief Chamberlain Risto scolded him and he finally set her down.
“Your Majesty will come to dislike you.”
“No. My daughter loves me.”
When the Emperor spoke with such confidence, the Chief Chamberlain muttered curses in a voice too low for the Imperial Guards to hear. I couldn’t quite make it out either, but it sounded something like “Stop spouting nonsense.”
After the series of events concluded, I could finally smile with ease. The purge week had been grueling, and I’d been anxious about Pisha’s disappearance, but her safe return brought profound relief. I was grateful that Pisha was the Princess of Kisomalos. From ancient times, it was said that the legitimate line of Kisomalos was blessed with fortune that could be called miraculous.
Nominally, Pisha and her party had been on a diplomatic mission to the Empire, so we took time to report to the Emperor in the Audience Chamber. Seated there, we listened to Pisha’s tales of adventure at our leisure, then saw off Chief Chamberlain Risto as he retired, and moved to the Northern Tower.
The wind whistled sharply. Seeing Pisha shiver, she must have been cold. I rubbed my hands together to generate warmth and warmed her ears with my palms.
Pisha’s ears are quite soft. Perhaps because she’s still a child.
“But why did we come here? I have souvenirs from the trip to give out.”
“Well, we just came because the Emperor summoned us, so I’m not entirely sure.”
“Oh! Look over there, Pisha!”
As I looked up in the direction the Achilles Young Lady was pointing, at that same moment, Choco’s scream echoed throughout the entire Imperial Palace.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
Choco was dangling from the very top of the Northern Tower. Though Choco was prone to dramatics even on ordinary days, this was the first time I’d seen her hang there contemplatively and scream like this.
“Why is Choco acting like that? She won’t even die if she falls.”
“True. Given her physical abilities, I doubt she’d even be injured.”
“That’s because he has acrophobia.”
Eek! You startled me!
The Emperor had crept up from behind, startling not just me, but Pisha and the Achilles Young Lady as well. Watching us jump, the Emperor laughed with delight, then looked up at Choco and laughed even harder.
“I sent you to protect the Princess, yet you failed in your duty. This is only natural.”
The Emperor spoke meaningfully as he gripped both my shoulder and the Achilles Young Lady’s shoulder firmly. This was it, wasn’t it? We’d been assigned to protect the Princess, and if she so much as got a scratch later, we’d end up like that too, right?
“Aaahhh! Please save me, Pisha! Seriously! Anything but heights! Kyaaaah!”
“Oh….”
While we stood there in silent reproach, Pisha gazed at Choco with an overwhelmed expression. She seemed deeply moved, and with a bright smile, she bounced and leaped.
“Despite having acrophobia! You jumped from the airship for my sake and went boom and crash!”
Pisha’s way of expressing things is sometimes incomprehensible. What on earth does “boom and crash” even mean?
“He jumped from the airship?”
And how did the Emperor even understand that?
“That’s right! He jumped without a parachute and went crash! He quickly dispatched those bandit scoundrels!”
“He did make an effort, at least.”
The Emperor declared that in recognition of the effort, he would reduce the hanging sentence to one hour, instructed his attendants to lower him after an hour, and returned to the Main Palace.
We headed straight back to the Princess Palace to rest, and as we walked, I reported that I had revealed the Media Royal Palace’s secrets to reduce the Princess Palace’s debt. Pisha’s expression became indescribable.
“Well, that is, um, it’s certainly a good thing, but.”
Pisha looked up at the sky once, sighed once, looked at me once, sighed once more, then asked if it was really alright to reveal Media’s secrets so easily.
“I am your prisoner, Pisha, so I’m simply fulfilling my duties!”
“No, you’re not officially my prisoner—you’re a prisoner of the Kisomalos Empire.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“Well… since I’m the legitimate heir, I suppose that makes sense.”
Right, it makes sense. When I chuckled, Pisha asked what I wanted as a reward. I hadn’t done it hoping for anything in particular, but if I had to choose something.
“Would you visit my room this weekend? I’m already happy just being with you, Pisha.”
“That’s not difficult at all!”
Pisha readily agreed, and I could feel the Achilles Young Lady glaring at me intensely. I laughed and stuck my tongue out at Richelieu to tease her.
“Pisha! This wretch is disrespecting me!”
“What did I do?”
“You just stuck your tongue out and made that annoying face!”
“Ha ha. You must have seen wrong.”
When I played innocent, the Achilles Young Lady shrieked and stomped her feet furiously. Pisha didn’t take either side, merely wearing an exasperated expression.
“You two should get along better as friends.”
“I’m always doing my best, Pisha.”
“Pisha! Her personality is getting weirder!”
“Ha ha. That’s what I should be saying.”
“You brat!”
The Achilles Young Lady finally grabbed my hair. When she tried to scratch me like a cat and I called out to Pisha for rescue, the Princess quickly grabbed the Achilles Young Lady’s waist and pulled her away.
“Stop it! Stop this right now, you lunatics!”
After that, we bickered for about ten minutes, and once the fight ended, we were made to write a reflection under Pisha’s direction. Though I had nothing to reflect on, I hastily wrote something admitting fault and presented it to Pisha, who praised me and gave me a souvenir from the journey.
When I unwrapped it, inside was a hair ribbon with fluffy pom-poms attached.
“It’s mink fur. Since the fur was cut and crafted, not a single mink was harmed in the making of this product.”
“Thank you so much, Pisha! I’ll treasure it for the rest of my life!”
“No, throw it away when it gets old. Please.”
As I stroked the fluffy fur, it felt as soft as Pisha’s own skin. When I showed her how I’d tied my hair with the ribbon, Pisha said it suited me well and complimented how pretty I looked.
Perfect. I’m taking this to my grave.
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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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