Dad is Back From a Deserted Island - Chapter 59

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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 59

The mystical whisper of rustling leaves transformed in an instant into something eerie and unsettling.
Even the air itself seemed to tremble with unease.
Vivian hastily explained the situation.
“I apologize. I know you don’t favor humans. We’ve made terrible mistakes. But Ancient Tree, please—look after this child.”
Vivian opened the satchel she had been carrying against her chest.
When Kiki appeared, sleeping peacefully and unchanged, the endless rustling of leaves ceased abruptly.
[That one is—]
“Yes! That’s right. A Divine Beast. She hatched from an egg, and she said the Dragon created her. Ancient Tree, have you ever seen the Dragon?”
[Why does a human possess a Divine Beast? Why does the Dragon seek her?]
The sound of leaves rustling surged like waves. Vivian, standing beneath the towering ancient tree, appeared almost sacred in that moment.
Jean de Lamber watched, overwhelmed by an indescribable mixture of anxiety and wonder.
“I’m searching for a way to awaken the sleeping Divine Beast! A power too great for me to bear took root in my body, so the Divine Beast accepted it in my stead. But as the price, she cannot wake from this slumber.”
As Vivian continued speaking, she struggled to swallow the tears rising in her throat.
“I’m just an ordinary human. I don’t understand why this happened to me. The ability to speak with you and communicate with animals—Kiki gave me that. But I don’t even know how I managed to awaken Kiki in the first place. When I went to the Imperial Palace, this overwhelming power suddenly flooded into me.”
The more she spoke, the more unreal it all sounded. What connection could she possibly have with the Imperial Court? As Kiki had casually asked before, could Imperial blood run through her family line? Vivian had suspected it herself.
But when Jean de Lamber officially requested the family genealogy from the Imperial Household, no Imperial names appeared in the records.
The records only extended to before House of Lamber’s decline. Besides, a house in such circumstances could never have formed a connection with the Imperial Family.
The other possibility was that Jean de Lamber’s mother—the one whose origins he didn’t know—was of Imperial descent.
‘That can’t be it.’
But there was no one of the right age. If she possessed such extraordinary power, she would have to be a direct descendant. In the current Emperor’s generation, only male siblings existed.
It was maddening. She felt trapped in fog.
The leaves began rustling like waves again.
[A human chosen by a Divine Beast? Unbelievable. Yet I sense the same power in you that I feel from that one.]
“Then, could you perhaps help me—”
[No.]
Her heart plummeted as if she had received a death sentence.
Vivian tried to steel herself. She hadn’t even searched the other trees yet. But this tree was said to be the oldest near the Capital. Would she have to venture farther?
Perhaps there was no solution at all.
Vivian’s shoulders sagged under the weight of despair.
[I have never seen the Dragon or a Divine Beast myself. I have only heard stories passed down by animals passing through. Who was it—a raven, perhaps? That creature told me that merely approaching the Dragon’s vicinity brings an ominous presence, and to meet its gaze is like facing death itself.]
“Is that so?”
[Yes. It said it would never wish to draw near that one. And it said that being never initiates contact with anyone. Yet such a being has fallen in love with a mere human—truly, it is beyond belief.]
“Love? The Dragon?”
[Your human nations were founded by a child born between a Dragon and a human, after all.]
So it wasn’t just a nation founded by a Dragon?
Hearing this story for the first time, Vivian forgot her sorrow and blinked in surprise.
‘I didn’t even doze off during history lessons. Wait, that’s not what matters right now.’
[Come to think of it, I heard a similar story not long ago.]
“A similar story?”
[Children who flew down from the Northern Region seeking warmth. They said there was a strange human in the place where they lived. They didn’t even want to perch on the roof of the building where that human was. How amusing—a human giving off a feeling similar to a Dragon.]
“Excuse me, Ancient Tree. You wouldn’t happen to know exactly where that place is… would you?”
Kiki was a Divine Beast created by the Dragon. It was always wise to gather any information related to Dragons, whatever it might be.
[I don’t know the names humans call it. I only heard it’s a place cold even in summer. …That’s all I know. So now, disappear. Being in the same space as humans again is dreadful.]
“I-I’m so sorry! I’ll leave right away. I know you wouldn’t want to hear human courtesies, but I’m truly grateful.”
The leaves rustled as if urging me to vanish.
Dismissed like an unwelcome guest, Vivian carefully descended from the tree roots.
Jean de Lamber, sensing the conversation had ended, approached.
“Vivian. Did the Ancient Tree know something?”
Using honorifics when addressing a tree felt awkward, but Jean de Lamber, who had served a young monkey for over eight years, adapted quickly.
Vivian shrugged with an ambiguous expression.
“He said he doesn’t know how to wake Kiki.”
“I see….”
Jean de Lamber wondered how to comfort Vivian. Should he encourage her by mentioning there were still other trees to visit?
“But there’s also something else—I’m not sure if this is right, though—”
“Not sure?”
“There’s apparently a person who gives off a feeling similar to a Dragon.”
“…Similar to a Dragon?”
Vivian nodded. Jean de Lamber’s expression grew serious.
The Dragon was the ancestor of the Imperial Family. A human who gave off a similar feeling would surely be of Imperial blood. Should I return to the Imperial Palace and search for this person?
If it’s an aura only Vivian can sense? But Vivian herself cannot set foot in the Imperial Palace….
“The birds that flew down from the Northern Region told him. But Father, there’s only one place in the Empire that’s cold even in summer, isn’t there?”
Jean de Lamber slowly nodded.
“I’ll need to send a letter to the Mansion. I’ll tell them my absence will be longer than expected. As for the other trees… it should be fine if we don’t visit them, right?”
“Yes. Rather than the trees… finding this person seems like the right thing to do. No, it will be.”
Conviction filled Vivian’s voice as she answered.
If the Dragon was a being that other creatures were so reluctant to approach, then even an Ancient Tree that had lived for ages wouldn’t possess much information about it.
“The Northern Region is a place I’ve never visited. Let’s not depart immediately—we’ll stop at a major city first and properly prepare supplies.”
“Okay. …Father, is that really alright? If you’re away for this long—”
Vivian asked worriedly, remembering the Study Room where lights burned late into the night.
Jean de Lamber gently pinched Vivian’s cheek without hurting her.
“Of course it is! How could I send you alone to such a distant place?”
“Well, I couldn’t manage alone. Couldn’t we just hire some mercenaries?”
Jean de Lamber, who had once rolled through harsh circumstances under a Mercenary Company during his slave days, had no intention whatsoever of sending his precious daughter alone among mercenaries.
“Absolutely not. The Elder promised to help with the work, so it’s fine. So don’t worry. This isn’t a sacrifice. Vivian. The Divine Beast is my benefactor too. She’s saved you countless times.”
I had raised my voice at Father for a moment, which felt awkward, but hearing that he would accompany us anyway put my mind at ease.
Vivian made a deliberate effort to brighten her expression as she spoke.
“I should buy Kiki new clothes too. I didn’t know we’d be going somewhere cold, so I didn’t bring any winter clothes at all.”
“Yes, it would be nice if all three of us wore very warm fur-lined cloaks.”
“All three of us?”
Vivian giggled with laughter. The tense atmosphere that had lingered moments before seemed like a lie. Only then could Jean de Lamber manage a smile.

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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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