How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 169

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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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How to Replace Father
Chapter 169
* * *
The moment Emma heard the door open, she rushed to the doorway.
“What happened?”
Stella looked reluctant as Emma interrogated her with bloodshot eyes.
“…We lost. I gave Yustea eight hundred mana stones from Ipiram.”
“You think I didn’t know that? Everyone in the castle is talking about it! Do you think I’m deaf?”
Emma’s voice rose in a sharp cry.
As Stella flinched, Emma bit at her fingernails and muttered with irritation.
“You don’t even understand what’s important. How can you expect me to feel at ease when you’re like this….”
“Then what are you curious about?”
“Prince Terius! Whether it was really you and not Yustea who saved his life!”
“Mother, why do you always say things like that… Anyway, Yustea did save him from the assassin, but I saved him too when he was swept down the river.”
“The point is you’re not the only one who saved him.”
“What?”
“If Prince Terius decides to repay his debt to Yustea as well, what then? Our share will be reduced!”
“What?”
“And that girl, just when she turned ten or so… you did save Prince Terius then, didn’t you? Ah, once he finds out what am I supposed to do? Before he figures it out, I need to squeeze out more somehow….”
“Mother!”
Stella’s voice rang out sharply.
Emma frowned as she looked at her daughter.
“Why are you so angry? It’s not like I’m saying anything wrong….”
“I lost the tournament. That’s why I’m so upset. And I feel terrible toward the Ipiram delegation for their hard work. But is that what matters to you?”
“Is he going to cast you aside just because you lost? Stop helping you?”
“That’s not exactly….”
Terius instead wrapped his arms around her, saying failure was merely a step toward growth.
That there would be something to look forward to tomorrow.
It was a blessing, but it only made her feel worse for letting him down.
Yet Emma waved her hand dismissively.
“He’s not going to abandon you, so why worry about it?”
“But I’ve disappointed him….”
“That’s enough. More importantly, didn’t he give you something for your effort? How are we supposed to survive in the Imperial Palace without a single coin?”
“Mother, why do you always talk like that… No, more than that—didn’t the prince give you a brooch? So why do we have no money?”
“I already sold the brooch and spent it.”
“What?”
The brooch from Terius was astronomically valuable.
Even in those days when she was showered with affection in Andres, such a brooch could not be handled carelessly.
The prince closest to heir apparent had worn it when he came as an envoy—how magnificent a thing it must be.
“Just what did you spend such enormous sums of money on?”
“Your dress and mine—where do you think they came from for free? Your shoes? Accessories? All of those cost money to buy.”
“You spent that much money just on clothes?”
“You need that much to enter the Imperial Palace. Thanks to it, you weren’t looked down upon among the nobles, were you?”
Emma laughed softly as she spoke.
“I saw several in the diplomatic delegation dressed worse than you. How impressive a house that takes on an Ipiram delegation must be? Even such a house couldn’t obtain the clothes I did, and I….”
“Mother, please stop—!!”
“What is this girl making such a fuss about.”
Emma’s face showed no shame whatsoever.
She seemed not to understand her wrongdoing at all.
“Money—I can always get more from Prince Terius.”
“….”
“So you need to be sweeter to him. Since things fell through with the imperial family anyway, you should set your sights on Prince Terius.”
“….”
“If things work out between you and Prince Terius, I can naturally return to Andres. And this time, I’ll become a marquis’s wife….”
Stella shoved Emma toward the doorway.
“What are you doing, Stella!”
“I don’t want to hear it. I said I don’t!”
“This girl really…!”
Finally pushing Emma out of the room, Stella slammed the door with a bang.
From outside, Emma’s voice called out, “Stella!”
But Stella sat down in front of the door, covering her ears with both hands.
‘I’m sick of it. I’m sick to death of it.’
The endless talk of money, the thoughtless extravagance, the way everything always came down to her own advantage.
Every bit of Emma disgusted her.
‘If only I’d had a mother like Yustea’s.’
Dia taught Yustea to ride a horse rather than dress her in lavish gowns.
Even when the whole world pointed fingers, Dia alone had always treated Yustea as the most precious treasure in the world.
If I too had such a wise and dependable mother….
‘Then I could have lived like Yustea.’
Tears streamed down Stella’s cheeks.
* * *
When the door would not open, Emma clicked her tongue.
“That girl really….”
‘Was the tournament such a shock to her?’
Well, she did suffer terrible embarrassment in front of everyone. Shame was understandable.
But as long as Prince Terius didn’t abandon her, no one would dare treat Stella poorly.
Look.
Just now, the palace attendants bowed hastily the moment they saw her in the corridor.
‘Stella has no idea how remarkable this is.’
When she was a servant, she never even dreamed of such a thing.
And when she left Andres, the humiliation had been endless.
When a mere moneylender asked to borrow funds without collateral, he cast her aside at once.
‘That’s why I must hold onto Prince Terius.’
She had to make progress in his relationship with Stella, no matter what.
“You there.”
“…Yes.”
“We must prepare a late supper. It’s for Prince Terius, so you must do your best.”
Emma ordered the attendant and soon made her way to the guest suite where Prince Terius was staying.
She planned to wait and carry it in when the late supper arrived.
Fortunately, light spilled from Prince Terius’s room.
Conversation continued without pause—he was with someone else.
“The Saint seems to have participated in the Family Tournament because of the Spiral Crown.”
“The Spiral Crown?”
“It is an artifact that shows efficacy against any curse. The Saint seems to have interpreted her mother’s condition as a curse. It appears she wishes to restore her mother through the Spiral Crown.”
…What?
Emma’s face went rigid.
Her breath caught.
‘If Dia… if Dia awakens….’
Her hands trembled as she gripped her skirt.
No matter how bad things were between Dia and her husband, she never left the house.
Of course she didn’t.
Who would willingly give up the seat of Marchioness of Andres?
She only left after her daughter was cast out.
‘Andres wants to bring Yustea back. If he does, Dia can return to Andres too.’
If Dia became Marchioness of Andres again… then….
‘What about me?’
She had dreamed her whole life of becoming a marquis’s wife of Andres.
If Dia returned, she would never have that chance.
The conversation in the room continued.
“Is there anything I might do to help with her mother’s situation?”
“You could help by releasing the barrier applied to the Spiral Crown for its use. The barrier must be released before it can be employed.”
“Wouldn’t the Saint’s Purification be enough to release it?”
“Her spirit and body have grown separate. The barrier is powerful, and Purification was ineffective in her current state, it seems. That’s why the House of Esgaroth has been searching for a craftsman capable of releasing it.”
“Ah, if that’s the matter, I can be of help. We have a craftsman of considerable skill.”
“We will send a letter to Esgaroth.”
“No, let’s deploy our craftsman without their knowledge.”
“But….”
“If we help under Ipiram’s name, Esgaroth will incur a debt. I don’t want them to incur a debt.”
The speaker seemed displeased and let out a sigh, but the prince’s tone was firm.
“So where is the Spiral Crown currently?”
“It is awaiting examination by the House of Claren, which is famous for magical craftsmanship.”
Claren…!
The house of the boy who had participated in the tournament.
Emma’s eyes gleamed.
‘I must destroy the Spiral Crown.’
Dia must never wake up.
* * *
After the tournament, Yustea had to join the diplomatic delegation.
The House of Esgaroth was in an uproar preparing for Yustea’s entry into the palace.
“This coat is too thin! Don’t we have something thicker? What if our young lady catches a cold!”
“Should I go skin a bear or something?!”
That’s enough….
“The bag is too small! Is it really true we can only take three bags of luggage?! How are we supposed to fit these shoes?!”
“Our young lady looks so adorable in these shoes!”
She doesn’t look adorable….
“A doll! A doll!”
“Should we get the smiling one or the giggling one?!”
Why do they keep making those giggling sounds…?
Yustea’s face grew hollow as she looked at the chaotic courtyard.
Everyone in Esgaroth was kind and affectionate.
But for some reason, she found it more exhausting than Andres.
“Don’t pack any dolls. Clothes are provided for the delegation. The delegation returns in five days—there’s no need for twelve pairs of pajamas.”
“Oh, then at least this—!”
Everyone from Esgaroth simultaneously pulled dolls of various colors from their pockets.
“…No more dolls, please.”
At that, Guinevere from the Nevarro Ducal House quickly hid her doll behind her back.
So she had one too.
A strange doll with eyes that took up half its face.
‘Why did she even come?’
Yustea asked Guinevere, who was peeking at the bags.
“Weren’t you with the delegation at the Imperial Palace?”
“I was! I even watched the tournament!”
“…?”
This was the sort of indirect speech nobles typically used.
‘I was asking why she came.’
Guinevere coughed loudly and said,
“I came to pick you up.”
“I didn’t know Esgaroth had no carriages.”
This meant Esgaroth had a carriage—why would she come?
“Esgaroth does have a carriage. But I’m… your older sister!”
“…?”
Guinevere spoke with an embarrassed expression.
“Of course, technically we’re the same age. But now you can call me older sister if you like. We did before, after all.”
She looked at her with eyes full of hope.
Yustea thought to herself.
‘…Have their minds gone strange?’
Perhaps without her noticing, some plague had swept through and driven everyone in the Empire mad.
Maybe that’s why the people of Esgaroth and Guinevere had all become like this.
And….
“No matter how much you love me, I will always love you more than that.”
At the thought of Luciano, Yustea flinched and gripped her skirt tightly.
‘Let’s stop.’
Thinking about it only made her head spin.
She smoothed out the part of the dress she had gripped, worried about wrinkles, and said,
“I must pay my respects to the adults before I go.”
“The adults?”
“Marquis Esgaroth and my foster father.”
“They’re at the Imperial Palace, aren’t they?”
“Was there a meeting today? I didn’t hear….”
“They went to keep watch so those men don’t try anything funny with you.”
…The plague theory might actually be correct.
Yustea sighed.
Then she climbed into the carriage with Guinevere.
Of course, after the Irregular had pushed in the bulging bags of luggage with all his might.
Diplomatic work was familiar to her.
She was often included in delegations formed when minor envoys came from other nations.
As she was skillfully checking the schedule, Guinevere spoke to her.
“Hey, if you don’t like ‘older sister,’ ‘big brother’ is fine too. Of course you don’t need to call me that in front of others, but when we’re alone….”
Yustea looked at Guinevere with dull eyes.
Guinevere flinched.
‘Did I push too hard?’
As an only child, Guinevere had wanted siblings.
Especially around when Yustea was eleven, they attended the Academy together, and she had secretly admired her.
Though she couldn’t show it openly back then.
To the deflated Guinevere, Yustea said,
“The schedule seems irrational. Big brother.”
“Huh, huh?!”
Yustea at this age was remarkably efficiency-minded.
Just because she called her ‘big brother’ didn’t mean taxes would rise—she could do this much without issue.
And if Guinevere stopped pestering her and actually helped, there might even be some benefit in it.
“Um, um, where exactly is it irrational?! Um, should I take a look?!”
She handed the papers to the excitedly loud Guinevere.
“The delegation wants to observe the military training, not because they’re curious about training methods. They want to know if there’s an opening to get involved in defense contracts.”
“Oh, is that so….”
“If we cooperate with Ipiram, who has high-quality mana stones, it benefits us. Of course, we can’t propose it first—that would look like begging. So the route is… Are you paying attention, big brother?”
“Oh yes, you’re right. So the route should be… like this?”
“No, this way is better. Big brother.”
The route Guinevere suggested was under Nevarro control, but the route Yustea suggested was under Esgaroth control.
Without realizing she had been duped into missing her own house’s advantage, Guinevere laughed happily.
Yustea thought to herself,
‘A mark… No, having a big brother is actually quite useful.’
Satisfied, Yustea smiled as she successfully revised the delegation’s route to her liking, all thanks to her new ‘big brother.’
* * *
Yustea’s assignment with the delegation began with a meeting with Prince Terius of Ipiram.
“I am Yustea Cuaron Esgaroth.”
“Now I hear your name for the first time.”
What do you mean?
She had stated her name at last night’s dinner as well.
Though confused, she skillfully hid her thoughts—as befitted a child with the nickname “Iron Mask.”
Seeing such a Yustea, Terius chuckled softly.
“Would you help me take a walk?”
“Yes.”
Yustea was about to signal the delegation when it happened.
“The two of us.”
The delegation’s eyes widened.
He had never requested a private meeting before.
Moreover, no matter how young Yustea was, a private meeting between a male and female was hardly proper.
Guinevere’s face crumpled.
“That would be—!”
She was about to voice her objection.
Terius took Yustea’s hand by the fingertips.
“I’ll provide the escort.”
“….”
“Please.”
It was a sweet smile.
Yustea blinked and spoke.
“I….”
“May I join as well?”
It was Luciano.
The eyes of Terius and Luciano clashed fiercely.
‘Nearly beast-like instincts.’
‘Should I let him wag his tail?’

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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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