How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 187

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

How to Replace Father
187
“What are you talking about!”
The Head of the Welfare Department leaped to his feet, raising his voice.
“I admit that I failed to properly inspect the orphanage facilities. But this is an administrative oversight, not something I did for personal gain.”
……
“Sanmiguel and Valboa merged to become Cuaron just a year ago. How wretched was welfare under Sanmiguel? Expanding Sanmiguel’s facilities was urgent, so I simply failed to oversee this one facility.”
……
“That’s why the former Valboa vassals opposed the merger. Expansion that’s too rapid becomes unmanageable operationally.”
The unit members and administrators dragged in alongside the Head of the Welfare Department nodded their heads.
It was reasonable enough to accept.
The Head of the Welfare Department whimpered as if utterly wronged.
I stepped closer to him.
“The Citadel twisted you with such talk.”
“Pardon?”
“You figured that if you claimed administrative gaps from the Sanmiguel and Valboa merger, my mother and I would have no choice but to accept it.”
“No, no! Young lady, how could you slander me so…!”
The Head of the Welfare Department’s face twisted with the look of someone utterly wronged.
At his response, the unit members and administrators looked uncertain.
Perhaps it really was just a mistake.
But I was different from them.
I am the legitimate heir of House Andres, trained in administration from childhood.
And from Mother, I inherited eyes that see through people.
‘I can tell just from his voice.’
Whether he’s a foolish bear who made a mistake, or a greedy little rat.
And he was definitely the latter.
“First, the reason I haven’t overhauled Valboa’s existing administrative procedures is that I thought all that ceremony and formality would be useful for now.”
“…Yes?”
“Whatever you do, there’s all this red tape that has to be followed to the letter—and in a situation like this, that’s actually useful.”
I jabbed his chest.
“Evidence gets left everywhere, making it perfect for catching little rats like you.”
“What… what are you…”
“It’s possible to trace exactly at what point you ignored this orphanage’s support requests.”
“…!”
The Head of the Welfare Department flinched.
I raised my eyebrows and continued.
“Second, embezzlement is a chain reaction. If one person acts, those below him will too. If you ordered it, someone carried it out—there’s no way around that.”
“I, I never…!”
“I don’t expect the person who carried it out would risk his life protecting you. Dust, once you shake it, always falls.”
“Ah, Young lady…”
“And when I return to Cuaron Castle, I’m going to pick up a cudgel and shake out the entire Welfare Department.”
I jabbed his chest one more time.
“Last, third. The Javid Faction gave you money not to split Cuaron’s welfare budget with them.”
“…Yes?”
It’s a bitter truth, but in this world, welfare wasn’t exactly a priority.
Since rulers aren’t chosen by vote, the goodwill of the weak doesn’t matter.
The welfare budget is typically allocated far less than other departments.
If the Javid Faction had wanted money, they’d have approached the military department, which receives the largest budget.
But they approached welfare instead—for a reason.
“To make the common people rebel—!”
By throwing Cuaron into chaos, they’d make Father doubt his own abilities.
“…!”
“…?!!”
The administrators and unit members flinched in shock.
The Head of the Welfare Department froze.
I seized him by the collar.
“If that happened, Father would naturally punish the Welfare Department. Your head rolling off would be inevitable.”
“Then… then…”
“Yes, they planned to cut you off like a disposable tail from the start.”
The Head of the Welfare Department’s face went pale.
I threw him down by his collar.
He crumpled to the floor.
I spoke to the administrators, whose mouths hung open.
“You have two hours. Find somewhere to move these children. Then you can walk out of Cuaron Castle with your heads held high.”
“Y, yes, we accept the order.”
“Yes, Young lady…!”
The administrators trembled as they bowed.
After that, I turned to the unit members.
“Lock him in the underground prison. Not a drop of water until the interrogation begins.”
“Yes!”
“Sir!”
The unit members’ faces lit up as they answered loudly.
Charlie spoke to the wide-eyed unit members.
“See? I told you the Young lady was so cool!”
Cesar’s unit members nodded vigorously.
I paid them no mind and inspected the children.
My gaze, fixed on the shriveled-lipped children huddled together, turned cold in an instant.
‘So this is what they did.’
Let me show them that the mad dog’s daughter is also mad.
* * *
Days later, at the Esgaroth Citadel.
A vassal of the Javid Faction entered the conference hall, clicking his tongue.
“The Saint severed our connections, I hear.”
The vassals gathered in the conference room answered with displeasure.
“She completely overturned the department, they say.”
“The speed was beyond comprehension.”
Among them, Javid, the Marquise’s son, cried out sharply.
“Damn it all! How on earth did things go so wrong—!”
As his piercing shout rang out, Marquis Dennis soothed him gently.
“Do not concern yourself. Even if the fire was extinguished quickly, the people have already learned of its existence.”
Scatter but a small spark again, and they will shriek in alarm, voicing their discontent within Cuaron Castle.
“Moreover, they still haven’t noticed our other move.”
Other vassals joined in.
“Yes, the Saint is, after all, merely a child.”
“And Aslan is ignorant of the matter of manor administration.”
“Exactly. If ‘that matter’ comes to light, both his hands and feet will be tied.”
Only then did a smile return to Javid’s face.
“I will certainly bring Aslan to his knees. Taking his head will be my privilege.”
The Javid Faction’s eyes gleamed with malice.
Then it happened.
Bang—!
Someone kicked open the door and burst into the conference hall.
A few of the Javid Faction, startled, jumped to their feet.
“Who dares—!”
“…The Saint?”
Javid’s face contorted.
“Do you know where you are, barging in like this?”
“Is there anywhere in the Citadel that the direct heir of the Marquis cannot go? Uncle.”
Javid’s face flushed red and blue.
“Uncle?”
“Even if we’re half-siblings, you’re still Father’s brother—so calling you uncle is hardly strange, is it?”
“Brother? You’re saying a bastard should be treated the same as a legitimate child!”
Javid shot to his feet and roared.
But Yustea’s composure remained unflinching.
While he burned to seize her by the hair and force her to kneel, others flooded in behind her.
The Elite of the Irregulars and vassals of House Esgaroth’s main branch.
Among them was Marquis Sintus, one of the Three Elders and manager of the manor in place of Marquis Esgaroth, who resided in the Archipelago.
Javid barely contained his fury.
“You too have suffered hardship at the hands of your father’s bastard. Yet how can you—”
“Begging your pardon, but if you’re referring to Stella, there is a vast difference with my father’s situation.”
“What?”
“Stella is indeed a bastard, born of Count Andres’s infidelity after his marriage. But my father was born of the former Marquise—he cannot be called a bastard.”
At her confident declaration, people stirred.
The Irregular Elite widened their eyes.
Marquis Sintus suppressed a laugh.
‘So that’s why she gathered so many vassals.’
To make crystal clear to those who deny her father’s birth status:
That Aslan is Esgaroth’s true eldest son.
Javid’s face darkened with rage.
“Lies! Aslan’s mother was nothing but Father’s concubine—!”
A savage roar tore through the conference hall.
The faces of the Irregular Elite hardened.
But the enraged Javid strode toward Yustea, fixing her with eyes that might seize her by the collar.
“That woman entered the castle without proper procedures. She never received approval from the Family Council. Her name doesn’t appear in the Family Register. So she can never become Marquise!”
“The Family Council never approved because we were mindful of the Imperial Family’s position, were we not?”
“Yes. The previous Emperor did not permit this marriage.”
“Exactly. The previous Emperor, who is the father of the current Marquise.”
Yustea gazed at him coolly.
“The current Marquise coveted the Marquis.”
“What?”
“Thus did the current Marquise abduct the Marquis.”
“You dare…!”
Javid, enraged by the insult to his mother, raised his fist.
That was the moment.
Whoosh—!
Shwish—!
With the sound of cutting wind, the Irregular Elite moved to block him.
Their eyes were like those of predators.
Javid instinctively stepped back, seized by primal dread.
Yustea walked between the Elite and faced Javid directly.
“Does it upset you when parents are insulted, Uncle?”
“You…”
“Then how upset must I have been, bearing insults to my father all this time?”
Javid clenched his teeth.
“You…”
“Family Council approval is merely an Esgaroth custom.”
“Silence!”
“My grandmother was a Marquise recognized by law, and my father is not a bastard—I say this with certainty.”
“You!”
“And one more thing—!”
Yustea’s voice rang out sharply.
Javid flinched.
Yustea smiled and patted his shoulder twice.
“An express messenger from Cuaron Castle has departed for the Archipelago with a complaint letter.”
“…What?”
“It seems our Welfare Department Head received bribes from someone and embezzled the budget.”
“…!!”
Javid and his faction’s vassals turned to stone.
Yustea clasped her hands behind her back and rose on her toes.
Then she leaned near Javid’s ear and shouted loudly.
“We’re going to request the Imperial Palace investigate the Welfare Department Head and expose his connections—!”
At the loud cry, Javid leaped in shock.
“That… that’s something to be resolved within the manor. The Imperial Palace has no business in embezzlement within our jurisdiction!”
“You’re right. Others knowing would be quite shameful.”
“Then why do you act this way knowing it!”
“What choice do I have? The person suspected of embezzlement alongside him is the Marquise.”
“…What?”
Javid’s eyes widened.
‘What on earth is she talking about.’
His mother had nothing to do with this.
This scheme was orchestrated by Javid and his faction’s vassals.
Yustea smiled softly.
“The Welfare Department Head confessed under interrogation. …The Marquise’s name.”
“It can’t be! Mother has nothing to do with this…!”
“That’s why we should ask the Imperial Court to verify whether it’s true or not.”
Yustea’s smile turned cold.
Both the vassals and the Irregular Elite stared at Yustea in shock.
Yuise let out a hollow laugh.
‘Last night in the underground prison, I met with the Welfare Department Head.’
It seems she’d threatened to let him live if he spoke the Marquise’s name.
Marquis Sintus smiled silently.
‘Scheme against scheme?’
When the Javid Faction dragged in an innocent person, Yustea also dragged in the Marquise—who was blameless in this matter.
‘All of Javid’s authority stems from the Marquise.’
The Emperor’s beloved princess.
The Marquise’s sole legitimate heir.
Such things were what made certain vassals choose the incompetent Javid.
If the Marquise’s authority was damaged, Javid’s power would inevitably diminish.
One who relies on his mother’s strength becomes inseparable from his mother’s fate.
If one collapses, so does the other.
Javid’s face turned pale yellow.
Yustea patted his shoulder one more time.
“I don’t want innocent people to suffer. I prefer to be reasonable.”
“If, if we conduct another investigation at the Citadel…”
“If the real culprit compensates, I could drop the complaint.”
“Compensate…?”
“Return tenfold what was stolen, and silence the noisy mouth.”
Javid swallowed hard.
Yustea smiled broadly.
“I’ll let it pass quietly too. I cannot damage Esgaroth’s honor.”
……
“Of course, you should kneel before my father at least once.”
“…!”
Yustea stepped back from him slowly.
And she smiled sweetly.
“Until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow…?”
“It’s the last chance I’m giving you. Of course, to the real culprit.”
If you insist it wasn’t you, the Marquise becomes the culprit instead.
That was the look in her eyes.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————