Dad is Back From a Deserted Island - Chapter 45

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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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Father has returned from the Deserted Island
Chapter 45

The scene that arrived too late, after the chaos caused by the sudden appearance of a wolf in the Capital had been brought under control.
As Luca had suspected, the state of the scene was devastating.
The sight of human bodies torn and mangled by beast claws and fangs was so horrific it was nearly unbearable to witness.
Even Eduard, who in his younger days had traveled far and wide and seen his share of brutal sights, found himself holding his breath at the spectacle.
Yet Jean de Lamber moved about without so much as a flinch, personally verifying the life or death of each perpetrator.
‘Is that really the Viscount de Lamber?’
The way he moved through such a scene as casually as one might eat a meal was momentarily chilling.
Jean de Lamber, with no luxury of concern for how he appeared to others, methodically checked the pulse of each perpetrator.
Two were completely lifeless, and one…
Was faintly still breathing, clinging to life.
“This one is still alive.”
“Breathing in that condition?”
“Indeed.”
Sensing a presence, the perpetrator barely managed to open his eyes through sheer survival instinct.
The moment his eyes opened, they met Jean de Lamber’s cold, utterly devoid gaze.
“Ugh… uh…”
Confirming the perpetrator possessed enough consciousness to recoil at the sight of him, Jean de Lamber leaned down and asked something.
His voice was too low for Eduard, still standing at the entrance, to hear.
The perpetrator lacked the strength to answer properly, but the sparse words he managed to utter were enough for Jean de Lamber to infer the meaning.
After finishing his words, the perpetrator soon closed his eyes completely, his life extinguished.
Eduard, who had been watching the two intently, asked.
“…What did he say?”
“…”
Jean de Lamber did not answer. Rather, he could not answer.
Blood dripped from Jean de Lamber’s clenched fist, his nails drawing into his palm.
“Viscount de Lamber! You’re bleeding.”
“…Yes.”
“Pardon?”
“I asked why they took Vivian specifically. There were other wealthy customers at that Department Store, and there was no shortage of pretty children besides Vivian. I asked why it had to be my daughter.”
“…”
“He said she was the easiest target. The way she moved about without a single attendant made them think she came from an insignificant household.”
Eduard sighed heavily.
On the surface, Eduard might find such a story difficult to relate to, but he himself came from newly minted nobility—his grandfather had purchased his title with money.
Even Eduard, who among nobles born into privilege need never ask the Emperor for favors through mere wealth, occasionally felt a similar ache.
Of course, one could not compare depths when Jean had a daughter—his only child—thrust into danger itself.
“Still, you mustn’t harm yourself like this. Vivian will see your hands and worry, asking why Father looks this way.”
“….”
Only when Vivian’s name was spoken did the tension drain from Jean’s fists.
Yet the turbulent emotions could not be calmed, so he had to loosen the tie strangling his throat in frustration.
Eduard, watching this with sympathy, patted Jean’s shoulder and conveyed his comfort.
“Khh.”
At the consolation of the elder he had served for over a decade—though only he retained that memory—Jean finally crumbled.
Tears he could not shed when Vivian was kidnapped now seeped through the cracks.
“How could I—what should I have—”
What could I have done differently to prevent this from happening?
If I hadn’t gone to the Department Store?
Or if I hadn’t appeared so easy to target?
How could one avoid appearing easy to target?
Should I have been more ambitious?
Should I have traveled everywhere with servants and knights like those of high station?
After obtaining the Diamond Mine and reuniting with Eduard, even forging this bond, I thought there was no need to overextend myself further—was that the mistake?
Self-loathing rose within me for having traveled back through time only to place my daughter in peril.
“…Climb back up.”
Eduard gripped Jean’s shoulder and spoke.
“Claw your way upward relentlessly. So that no one can belittle you, and no one dares treat your daughter carelessly.”
Jean looked at Eduard, tears streaming down his face.
Eduard smiled at the young man, younger than his own son.
“I will help you.”
If it had been the merchant Eduard who once set his sights on Jean before,
it was the human Eduard who spoke now.
Even he could not precisely identify what about Jean had stirred his heart so deeply.
Was it that he was the father of Vivian, lovely as a granddaughter of his own blood?
The desperate look he had worn when Vivian was kidnapped?
Perhaps it was the face streaming with tears at his consolation that had moved his chest.
Or perhaps.
The memories Eduard had accumulated across time were now exerting their influence in this very moment.

* * *

“Please examine her once more. There’s nothing wrong with her, so why won’t she wake up?”
Vivian had collapsed into sleep the moment we returned to the Mansion with Luca, and now, on the fourth day, she still hadn’t awakened.
Jean couldn’t possibly be at ease in such circumstances. He summoned the Doctor constantly—not just daily, but every three hours to check on Vivian’s condition.
“No fever. Her pulse is normal. As I mentioned three hours ago, medically speaking, this is simply a state of sleep. Given the considerable shock she’s experienced, I’d say she’s fallen asleep as a natural reaction to it.”
“But surely it doesn’t make sense for her to sleep for four days straight?”
The same exchange had repeated for four days, yet the Doctor showed neither irritation nor anger.
‘The child won’t wake, so naturally the parent would worry like this. What a devoted father.’
With such devotion came substantial compensation—paid every three hours, no less—so he could afford to be generous.
Even after hearing the Doctor’s explanation, Jean’s expression showed no sign of relief.
It wasn’t just Vivian who slept; Kiki lay peacefully beside her as well. I worried whether some connection between them existed, whether the backlash from her transformation had manifested in both of them.
Yet I couldn’t explain such circumstances in detail to the Doctor, so all I could do was wait anxiously for Vivian and Kiki—or at least one of them—to awaken.
Had a father’s fervent prayers reached her?
Vivian’s eyelids began to flutter.
With all his attention focused on Vivian, Jean caught even that subtle movement and seized the Doctor’s arm as he turned to leave.
“Wait!”
“Then I’ll see you later—eh?”
“Her eyes, they moved. Ah, ah… they’re open! Vivian! My daughter!”
“Mmm…”
After four full days, Vivian’s condition upon waking was—
“Yawn, that was a good sleep… Dad?”
Excellent!
She stretched languidly, rising refreshed as always, but the moment her eyes opened, she was startled by Jean’s noticeably haggard face.
“Dad’s beard!!”
While Vivian slept, Jean naturally had no mind for shaving, and his face bore a considerable growth of stubble.
Not quite as much as when he’d first returned home, but regardless, Vivian recoiled at the sight.
“Why didn’t you shave!”
Vivian hated the beard that obscured her father’s face. When he’d first returned, she hadn’t even recognized him because of it.
Still, for her first words upon waking to be about his beard—
Jean’s eyes welled with tears as he burst into laughter.

* * *

I would learn the reason for Vivian’s prolonged sleep only later.
Not long after Vivian opened her eyes did Kiki awaken as well, and only after Jean—worried about the two of them having eaten nothing for three days—arranged for the Doctor to examine them—the Doctor, who had inexplicably found himself examining a monkey, was thoroughly flustered—and saw to their meals, did he finally ask what had transpired.
“So what you’re telling me is that Kiki borrowed the power needed to change form… from you, Vivian?”
“Mm-hmm. That’s what happened.”
A divine beast borrowing power from such a small child?
In that instant, Kiki thrashed about wildly at the look in Jean’s eyes as he regarded me.
[Remove that disrespectful gaze at once! This body has only recently been born into this world. I have not even seen the light of day for a full year! Once this body grows more accustomed to the world and Vivian matures, such a thing shall not occur again!]
“Dad. Kiki is still a baby, not even a year old. I’m seven, so I should help. It’s because I’m still young. When Kiki and I grow up, this won’t happen anymore!”
[A baby?! This body was born complete from the moment of creation!]
When Vivian mentioned that she was seven years old, she seemed quite proud of the fact, puffing out her belly just as Kiki did.
Jean’s irritation with Kiki faded quickly, and he bowed with great formality before the small monkey, offering his respects.
“…I am truly grateful, Kiki. Had it not been for you, I cannot fathom what would have become of my Vivian. I would not have been able to live with a sound mind. You have saved us both, father and daughter.”
At Jean’s formal apology, which suited the divine beast’s sensibilities, Kiki’s chittering quieted. Then, following Vivian beside her, Kiki too puffed out her belly.
[Ahem. Well. Now that you belatedly recognize the debt and show proper respect, I shall forgive you. See that you never cast such a disrespectful gaze upon this body again.]
“Got it.”
[Kyaaaak! Vivian, you’ve been cutting off this body’s words so carelessly lately!]
“Hehe.”
[That is not praise!]
“Hehe.”

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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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