How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 200

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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 200
I flinched and pressed my lips shut.
Mother swept her gaze around the room with lethal composure.
Everyone who’d pushed me aside, everyone who’d complained about wine staining their clothes—all of them stiffened.
But Mother’s eyes had locked on Father.
“Yustea is—”
As Father stepped forward, Mother brushed his hand away.
“If you can’t protect her even when she’s right in front of your eyes, there’s no point leaving her in your care.”
“…”
“Least of all if she gets hurt because of you.”
After that cutting warning, Mother turned and walked away.
The atmosphere in the Assembly Hall sank like a stone.
The Lounge.
I watched quietly as Mother applied the salve a Servant had given her to the top of my foot.
“It was such an important party…”
“Nothing is more important than you.”
Mother’s tone was still glacial.
Mother was endlessly soft toward me.
Foolishly kind, even—but every so often, there came this chill.
When I pushed myself too hard or got hurt.
When I insisted it was fine anyway.
“Really, I didn’t even notice it was painful.”
“Yustea—”
“It’s not Father’s fault.”
“Those people who targeted your father deliberately put you in harm’s way.”
I propped my elbow on my knee and rested my chin in my palm.
“When Mother ran the Trading Post, our business partners sent me gifts and letters constantly. That’s why the Marquise blamed me, saying merchants’ goods were being brought into the Andres Estate.”
“…”
“Of course, Mother made sure after that they never sent anything to the Andres Estate again.”
“…”
Mother glanced at me sidelong.
I smiled brightly.
“Everyone makes mistakes. Though I wouldn’t even call it a mistake.”
“I…”
Mother started to say something but sighed instead.
I pulled her hand and squeezed it tight.
“You’ve been upset since the Grand Duke left, haven’t you?”
Fleeing the scheming of the Marquise and Javid, I hadn’t slept properly.
I hadn’t eaten right either.
Watching my desperation, Mother’s heart must have been burning black.
But knowing that if she intervened I’d worry, she’d stayed silent.
Mother’s eyes narrowed.
“Do you love me, or do you love him?”
“…”
“Is it really just his face, daughter?”
Mother made an exaggeratedly wounded expression.
It was her way of reassuring me things were normal.
I laughed, delighted.
“Because I’m your daughter?”
“What do you mean.”
“Mother also chose Count Andres just for his face.”
“I considered the family too.”
Mother said this with such self-satisfaction that I burst out laughing again.
“I know you worry. And I know it’s all love. But please don’t be too harsh on Father.”
“Fine.”
Mother pulled me into her embrace with an air of resignation.
I patted her shoulder gently.
* * *
Blue moonlight seeped into the darkened corridor.
The Irregulars assigned to security paced the perimeter, scanning carefully.
“There was quite a commotion in the Party Hall, they say.”
“Women besotted with the Clan Leader pushed the Young Lady down.”
“Wow… and with a face like that, too. An eighty-year-old would hand over his entire fortune for such beauty.”
“Did you see the Vice Clan Leader’s expression when that old man waved his deed around?”
“He shut his eyes tight for a moment… well, even so, the Clan Leader’s human rights… but the Unit Members might starve at this rate… no, no, the Clan Leader’s human rights are still…!”
“Four days of going hungry? The Vice Clan Leader had no temptation quite so potent as that. Guffaw!”
Aragon walked apart from the Unit Members who were snickering.
His fellow team members glanced at him.
“Aragon.”
“…”
“Aragon!”
“…Oh.”
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
“Nothing much.”
“The relief team will be here soon. Hurry up.”
With that, the other Unit Members dispersed.
Left alone, Aragon stared quietly at the Brooch in his palm.
‘…Damn it.’
The Reconstruction Society man had kept his word.
When I went to the place he’d designated that afternoon, Oscar was there.
Oscar looked shocked.
“How did you…”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“…”
He said nothing.
After a long silence, he looked around, then shoved Aragon’s shoulder lightly.
“Go back.”
“So that really is all.”
“Aragon.”
“No apology, no excuse—so we meant nothing to you.”
“…”
“But we were so stupid… so idiotic…”
He’d hoped for at least some explanation.
Every member of the team had followed him blindly.
Oscar’s Unit—all of them had lived meager lives.
Those raised as orphans.
Those whose parents existed only as slaves.
Those ground into poverty so deep they’d been sold as test subjects to their own bloodline.
Aragon himself had survived the streets with nothing but petty theft, no parents to his name.
Oscar had been their first act of kindness.
He’d made rough, raw things into Irregulars.
Hands that had only stolen learned to draw a sword because of him.
He taught them not just how to fight but how to live.
He was parent and brother both, and a master.
“To you, none of it mattered…”
“…”
“But to us, those were memories. To you, they were just missions.”
“…”
“So you abandoned us like it was nothing…!”
“I didn’t abandon you.”
Oscar looked at him intently.
“I kept you out of the mire.”
“…What?”
“Because you were the most precious thing I had.”
Aragon, who’d been shouting, faltered.
Oscar grabbed him by the collar and spoke.
“So you treasure your own life too. Leave this place now. If you spot anyone suspicious on the way, don’t follow them.”
“…”
“Don’t walk into a trap, you fool.”
Oscar released his collar roughly and turned to leave immediately.
He seemed not to know that coming here was to meet Aragon.
He’d apparently expected some sort of mission.
That’s why he’d warned him to be careful not to encounter the Reconstruction Society and lose his life.
To protect him.
Just as he had when he was Aragon’s team leader.
‘He’s gotten thin.’
So much thinner than when he was with the Irregulars.
That word about the mire wasn’t a lie.
Aragon pressed his forehead against the hand clutching the Pendant.
The Reconstruction Society man had left it with Aragon, who’d remained rooted to the spot after Oscar departed.
The man had handed over the Pendant and spoken.
“The Grand Prince suffers greatly. Yet he can never leave the Reconstruction Society of his own accord.”
“…Why?”
“For the same reason as you. Because there’s someone in the Reconstruction Society who was the first to extend a hand into that world—a world so painful it made your teeth chatter. Our leader.”
“So…”
“We’re giving the Grand Prince a mission. To rejoin the Irregulars.”
“…”
“If you activate this Pendant within Esgaroth Castle.”
I began to understand why the Reconstruction Society had sent Oscar first.
I’d sworn never to do anything as vile as betrayal, but seeing Oscar, I wavered.
‘Right, the Irregulars have no reason to pick a fight with the Reconstruction Society.’
The Reconstruction Society’s only target is the Imperial Palace.
So it would be possible to reunite with my former leader again…
“Damn it…”
It was when Aragon twisted and leaned against the window frame.
A delicate voice emerged from the darkness.
“Still deliberating?”
A woman who appeared to be a party guest approached him.
Aragon turned sharply, startled.
The woman smiled brightly.
“Don’t be so guarded. I’m quite pleased to see you. We met at that pub, didn’t we?”
The woman wearing the hood was…
Aragon swallowed hard.
The woman stroked his cheek gently.
“I understand your heart.”
“What…”
“I also have something I desperately want. Coming to this party has only made me want it more. Your Clan Leader.”
The woman laughed softly, then turned her body in a graceful arc.
She walked lightly with her hands clasped behind her back, speaking as though dancing.
“I’ll seize happiness. Beside your beautiful Clan Leader, in a way the world could never offer. I’ll bear his child.”
“…”
“Once that happens, the Clan Leader will have no choice but to accept the Reconstruction Society, yes? Love supersedes all other values.”
“The Clan Leader is…”
“Isn’t this beneficial to you as well?”
The woman stopped and smiled sweetly.
“Then Oscar won’t have to leave.”
“What is this Pendant?”
“It’s a bit like seasoning.”
The woman picked up the Pendant from Aragon’s hand.
“To deepen the love between the Clan Leader and me.”
Aragon stiffened.
“You’re planning to brainwash the Clan Leader?”
“Well, something like that. To enchant him.”
“You can’t do that…!”
“Ah.”
The woman pressed a finger to Aragon’s lips and narrowed her eyes coquettishly.
“It’s only seasoning. Seasoning to bring out my charm.”
The woman whispered to his ear.
“After today ends, Oscar will leave the Empire.”
“…What?”
“He’s not listening to orders. The higher-ups seem to be planning to educate Oscar in a rather mischievous way.”
“You mean a dangerous mission?”
“Exactly. So for Oscar’s sake, you’d best decide quickly.”
“…”
“There’s a good opportunity, after all.”
The woman chuckled and turned away.
She lifted the wine-stained hem of her skirt slightly, her expression utterly delighted.
Aragon gritted his teeth, staring at the Pendant.
‘There’s no choice.’
This truly was unavoidable.
* * *
I watched the three women who’d changed their clothes and emerged.
“I apologize. Since there’s no separate dressing room prepared, I’ve shown you to my own quarters.”
Sophia, niece of Count Becker of the Seven Families, laughed softly.
“Think nothing of it. I consider it a privilege to see where the bloodline resides. More importantly…”
“Won’t Aslan be joining us?”
Julieta flicked her chin up sharply.
“Since the Young Lady’s mistake damaged her clothes, I’d at least like to hear an apology.”
At Julieta’s words, Sophia fell silent.
In the Party Hall she’d pretended to side with me, but here in private, she too wanted to see Father.
Only Ann seemed anxious about the dress I’d given her.
“I… is it really all right for me to accept something so fine…?”
“It’s fine, please take it.”
It belonged to the Marquise.
It didn’t fit me anyway, so I’d had trouble disposing of it—but if I could give it as a gift, that was for the best.
While I was conversing with Ann, Julieta and Sophia both grew impatient.
“We were asking whether Aslan would be coming.”
“Since the lady of the house is absent, it seems proper for him to apologize in person. By social protocol.”
Ann looked about uncertainly.
I raised both hands lightly.
“My father will be coming.”
Julieta and Sophia’s expressions brightened.
The two of them moved toward the Reception Room adjoining my chamber, speaking as they went.
“Will you prepare tea for us?”
“Kase tea would be lovely.”
They wanted to linger, sipping tea and conversing at length.
Kase tea was particularly time-consuming to brew.
“The dress damaged by the Noble Lady holds very special meaning. It was a gift from my grandmother, now deceased. Without a proper apology, it means nothing.”
“Well, it was a gift to me from my late grandmother too, after all…”
Even so, she’d maintain her dignity, offering excuses.
I stood before the three women, now seated on the sofa.
“Tea won’t be necessary, I think.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“…What do you mean?”
“…?”
Watching the three of them open their eyes wide, I hardened my expression.
“My father isn’t coming to apologize.”
“What are you saying?”
“He’s coming to conduct a final confirmation before punishing your base conduct.”
Julieta and Sophia looked utterly bewildered.
Even Ann’s eyes widened as she stared at me.
Then the door opened.
I extended my hand to the man who entered.
The man placed something in my palm.
I smiled brightly.
“For daring to bring forbidden objects into Esgaroth, and for threatening the direct unit of the Esgaroth successor.”
The two looked bewildered.
But one among the three had gone rigid, her face hardening like stone.
Well, it would.
“You dared to threaten my child?”
The man who’d handed over the object stiffened.
It was Aragon.
I spoke.
“From the start, I anticipated the Reconstruction Society would make their approach. And why wouldn’t they? Oscar was the most precious name to his former subordinates.”
Those who couldn’t accept a new leader because they hadn’t forgotten their former one.
I’d observed them carefully.
Through Yustea’s Unit.
“I waited, confident that Aragon would make the right choice.”
“How…”
The woman with the hardened face clenched her fists.
“Because Oscar would have taught him that.”
Aragon’s eyes met mine, startled.
His pupils were trembling.
I seized the woman who’d threatened Aragon by the collar.
“Clench your teeth. Your front teeth are falling out.”
* * *
[Because Oscar would have taught him that.]
Oscar, hearing the voice flow through the communication stone, shut his eyes tightly.
‘Why do you become so desperate for me?’

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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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