How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 202

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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
Episode 202
“…!”
“…?!”
The great hall of Esgaroth Castle fell into complete chaos.
“Wh-what?!”
“J-just now… Oh my!”
“This is absolutely outrageous…!”
Everyone wore expressions of utter bewilderment.
Astonishment wasn’t limited to them alone.
Grandfather’s eyes widened in shock, and even the Irregulars present in the great hall flinched.
But the most stunned of all was Father.
As Father’s eyes went wide, Mother tilted her head with a curious tilt.
“What do you think?”
A few onlookers whispered among themselves, watching the spectacle.
“Isn’t that Dia from the Baul Trading Company?”
“I heard she was cast out with nothing after divorcing Count Andres, and now it seems she’s angling for the succession of Esgaroth.”
Mother was a famous figure.
The wife of Count Andres, successor to the leader of the Baul Trading Company, and now mother to a Saint—she’d accumulated tremendous titles.
Her face appeared frequently enough in the papers that most people recognized her.
Which meant no one dared raise a fuss about impropriety so easily.
Because I was there.
Of course, their concern wasn’t limited to me alone.
Grandfather and Father—both known to dote on me greatly—garnered the most careful scrutiny.
‘What in the world is happening.’
I stared at Mother and Father with a bewildered expression.
Mother’s audacious behavior was shocking, but what truly unsettled me was Father.
I worried he might respond coldly to Mother.
Not because I feared Mother would be hurt.
Mother had a will of iron when it came to matters unrelated to me.
But more than that…
‘It doesn’t seem like she loves Father.’
Where was the affection in those gleaming eyes?
I, who received Mother’s deep love, knew well enough.
I knew how sweetly her eyes became when she looked upon someone she loved.
Yet that gaze fixed on Father resembled the one she wore when plotting sales strategies at the trading post.
Still, my worry over Father’s potential cold refusal stemmed from Father himself.
He already had a rough image because of his past as leader of the Irregulars, and I feared this incident would only add to that reputation.
I began threading through the crowd toward Father.
Or rather, I tried to.
Before I could, Father spoke first,
“Perhaps I shall.”
—and that was all.
‘…What?’
Everyone, myself included, froze in place.
The corners of Mother’s mouth lifted.
“I like your quick perception.”
“A fitting line for a proposal, I’d say.”
The crowd abandoned all pretense of composure and gaped openly.
I wore an expression of pure bewilderment.
…Who proposes with a look like that?
While everyone else stood stunned,
Grandfather alone slapped his knee and laughed heartily.
My head was throbbing.
* * *
Father’s study.
I seated Mother and Father side by side on the sofa and pressed my temples.
“I need an explanation of what’s happening.”
Grandfather, who had been chuckling from across, finally spoke.
“Everything has worked out well, that’s all.”
“….”
I lost all expression.
Yet Grandfather merely lifted his teacup and shrugged.
“Haven’t things been difficult in every way? There is no one better than Dia to care for you with love and become a steadfast supporter for Aslan.”
Even his manner of address had changed.
Until now, Grandfather had referred to Mother as the leader of the Baul Trading Company, or the lady of the Neroban estate.
Mother and Father nodded readily.
“It’s not that we’re getting married. We just want it to appear that way to others.”
“Exactly. A betrothal, more or less.”
I shot them both a withering glare.
Mother and Father shrank back, their expressions deflating.
Mother spoke.
“You’ve been bothered by so many people….”
“And that’s precisely the problem.”
Father spoke as well.
“Because there’s a possibility that whoever I marry might see you as a threat….”
“That kind of thinking is also a problem.”
As my frown deepened, both of them slouched further.
Their decision was made solely for my sake.
But that wasn’t what I wanted at all.
“If you enter a betrothal, you’ll truly never meet someone you genuinely love. I’d rather see you both find someone you love and be happy than have you sacrifice yourselves for me.”
I bit my lower lip hard.
“There’s nothing joyful about any of this.”
Mother and Father were taken aback.
They shifted anxiously, as though I might burst into tears at any moment.
It was just as Mother and Father half-rose, their hands opening and closing in agitation, that
“Does love exist only between the opposite sex?”
Grandfather spoke.
Setting his teacup on its saucer, he interlaced his fingers and looked at me.
“Is one unhappy for failing to obtain the love of the opposite sex?”
“…That’s not quite right.”
Grandfather smiled gently.
“Both of them have obtained a love so profound they’ll never know another like it in their lifetimes. Through you.”
“But if a member of the opposite sex, whom they love even more deeply, were to appear….”
“That’s a problem to be solved when the time comes. There’s no need to object to something that doesn’t yet exist.”
“….”
“Besides, there’s a high likelihood they’ll never find a partner at all. You know their nature well enough.”
“….”
I glanced sideways at Mother and Father.
I had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Grandfather added,
“It’s not a sacrifice—it’s an efficient decision.”
“Hmm….”
“Moreover, marriage is the act of choosing a life partner. With you as their center of gravity, they’ll make quite compatible partners.”
I sighed after a moment of deliberation.
“Are you truly certain about this?”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
Both answered readily.
I let my shoulders slump in resignation.
‘Then so be it.’
I hesitated before speaking.
“Please… get along well?”
The two exchanged glances.
The look they gave each other was anything but friendly.
Apparently, getting along well would be impossible.
“I suppose this was a bad idea after all….”
“I only look at men’s faces. We’ll make a fine partnership.”
“I only assess women’s abilities. I couldn’t agree more.”
The two quickly shook hands.
* * *
Night.
Marquis Sintus arrived at the Duke’s office and presented documents.
“I’ve obtained signatures from both Dia and Aslan.”
These were the documents for their betrothal.
Marquis Sintus shook his head in amusement as he watched the Duke apply his seal to the papers.
His face was filled with barely suppressed laughter.
“You seem quite pleased. I, however, suffered greatly while gathering their signatures.”
“What did they say?”
“Upon learning that the documents were prepared in advance, they both glared at me with considerable menace. How could they not? You allowed the flood of suitors to continue unimpeded, deliberately concealing your true intentions.”
“Sensitive, aren’t they.”
The Duke chuckled softly.
“It’s a perfect choice for both of them. Yustea is naive. Aristocratic marriage doesn’t depend solely on love, after all.”
“You would know better than most. Still, as a child, she probably wished for her parents’ happiness.”
“And that’s what makes her all the more endearing.”
Yustea was a child who understood the world far too well for her years.
In matters requiring action, she was ruthlessly calculating.
Yet toward those she loved, she could be the greatest fool imaginable.
“Be honest before me, at least. Wasn’t this to prevent Dia from marrying and giving your granddaughter a new father?”
“You talk too much.”
“Am I wrong?”
“Even if you’ve figured it out, pretend you haven’t, would you?”
The Duke let out a low laugh.
“I won’t have Dia marry and gain a new grandfather. After all, she’s my granddaughter.”
Marquis Sintus burst into quiet laughter.
“It does seem like a match made by heaven. Despite no blood relation, how remarkably alike they are. I speak, of course, of their methods in handling affairs.”
“Flattery, are we?”
“It was genuine.”
“Do you need a vacation?”
“The young lady and the Duke are fated. Grandfather and granddaughter could be nothing else.”
“Go take your vacation.”
“As you command!”
Marquis Sintus’s expression became rapturous.
The Duke added lightly,
“After your work is done.”
“Pardon?”
The Duke smiled.
“We’ll hold Aslan’s succession announcement and the betrothal ceremony on the same day.”
“….”
It seemed Marquis Sintus would take his vacation from a hospital bed.
Diagnosed with exhaustion, no doubt.
* * *
Time passed in this way.
Two months was an unhurried span of time.
There was hardly anything to do.
“Marquis of Cuaron already has his betrothal, so when do we return, Commander?”
“There was nothing to do anyway….”
[I was useful for swatting at the flies buzzing around Yustea.]
Ain and Romban Olvera discovered Luciano’s true purpose and clutched the back of their necks.
Mother and Father repeatedly interrupted my communications with Luciano,
[I can’t object to this betrothal?]
so Luciano had been grinding his teeth.
Yet despite all this, my heart wasn’t entirely at peace.
On the day of Father’s succession announcement and my betrothal ceremony,
I sat in a chair, dressed in formal attire for the occasion, my eyes narrowed in worry.
It was an expression wholly at odds with my appearance.
The Irregulars in formal dress looked at me.
Yuise asked,
“Why do you look like that on such a good day?”
“…The episode hasn’t ended.”
The episode “Raider’s Proposal”—
This one, in particular.
Even Abel, who had received the System, nodded in agreement.
I had assumed this episode was tied to Mother and Father’s betrothal.
It had earned that title because Father was “raided” from among all the prominent suitors.
But even after Mother and Father’s betrothal was settled, the episode showed no sign of concluding.
“Won’t it end once the betrothal ceremony is over?”
Antonio spoke.
I shook my head.
“The title is ‘Proposal,’ not ‘Betrothal.'”
It should have ended at the moment of the proposal.
This discrepancy had left me uneasy throughout.
“Is this episode not about Mother and Father?”
“Hmm….”
Yuise gazed into empty space and spoke.
“Now that I think about it, we haven’t gained any reward from this episode. Systemically speaking, their marriage brings no tangible benefit.”
That was right. There was no quantifiable reward.
“Perhaps there’s content that needs to progress differently….”
I was muttering to myself when
“Miss, it’s time to go.”
Miliano brought word.
I nodded and rose to my feet.
One hour before the ceremony would begin.
It was time for final preparations.
As I made my way toward the ceremony hall within the citadel,
vibrations emanated from my Communication Stone.
They were urgent vibrations.
‘An emergency signal!’
The elite of the Irregulars and I stiffened.
I immediately connected the communication.
[This is Ros!]
“What’s happened?”
[Abnormal readings from the Reconstruction Council’s Pendant!]
The Reconstruction Council’s Pendant—that was the one Aragon had been carrying.
I had given it to Ros as research material.
“Abnormal readings?”
[The Alchemy embedded in the Pendant has activated.]
“You mean the charm effect?”
[The problem is that it’s not only humans that are affected. A swarm of monsters is approaching!]
What?
The faces of the Irregulars and I turned rigid.
The castle has been opened for today’s ceremony.
An enormous number of people would be entering the castle.
Many had already arrived.
If all those people were attacked by a monster swarm, it would be catastrophic.
“Issue an emergency evacuation! We have to get them to safety!”
“Move the Pendant!”
“The monsters might follow while we’re moving it. We can’t let them reach the residential areas!”
Thud-boom—!
The castle shook violently.
The Barrier had been breached.
The fastest-moving aerial monsters were attacking the Barrier from above.
“Move!”
“Yes!”
“Yes—!”
The Irregulars began moving with urgency.
Holding up my skirts, I hurried toward Ros’s research lab within Esgaroth Castle.
To reach the lab, I had to cross a bridge.
Just as I reached the tower where the lab was located, after crossing the bridge,
Bang—!
The bridge collapsed with a thunderous crash.
The monsters that had destroyed the Barrier now attacked the bridge.
I lost my balance and fell.
A monster lunged toward me.
But before it could reach me, Unit Members from the Irregulars nearby rushed forward.
It was Abel’s Unit.
They succeeded in defending against the monster’s attack before it could strike me.
“Miss!”
Aragon from Abel’s Unit helped me to my feet.
“This is dangerous. You must retreat…!”
“I have to purify the Alchemy in the Pendant! Without doing so, we can’t stop the monsters!”
“…!”
Aragon’s expression hardened.
“We’ll escort you. Oscar’s Unit, all members protect the miss!”
Abel’s Unit members surrounded me and began moving forward.
Abel’s Unit fought desperately, but progress was slow.
The number of monsters trying to reach the Pendant continued to grow.
The tower collapsed, breaking even the stairs.
‘This won’t work….’
I had to reach the lab somehow….
In the midst of this chaos, the most dangerous among the flying monsters—giant Worms—swarmed toward us.
They were a species that spewed poison.
An enormous Worm opened its maw wide.
Purple smoke poured forth.
“Damn….”
Aragon and several Unit Members surrounded me and turned away.
* * *
They had prepared themselves for death.
Oscar never returned, but dying while protecting the miss wasn’t such a terrible end.
All members of Abel’s Unit clenched their eyes shut.
But something was strange.
No matter how much time passed, they felt no pain.
Aragon lifted his head.
What he saw was someone’s back.
“…Ah.”
One of the Unit Members murmured.
They recognized that back.
The man who had blocked the Worm swarm turned to face the Unit Members.
“…Father.”
From his back, the Worm’s claws protruded.
That man. To Abel,
without sufficient time to cast a proper spell, he had thrown himself forward and created a small Barrier to protect only the Unit Members and Yustea.
He had not even thought to protect his own body.
The eyes of the Unit Members trembled.
Aragon, whose mouth had been agape, cried out at the top of his lungs,
“Commander—!”

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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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