How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 222

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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 Dad
Chapter 222
* * *
I stood there with Yuise, Antonio, and Miliano, all lined up in a row.
Behind us, the unit members who had fought the GM at the Pashard Family Villa were arrayed in formation.
Yuise and Antonio kept their eyes half-closed and lips pressed thin.
They were being scolded, after all.
They’d brought back the enormous achievement of defeating a GM, yet here they were catching hell for it—utterly unfair.
The Clan Leader’s eyes flashed.
“You still don’t understand what you did wrong.”
Antonio’s mouth fell open as he spoke.
“But… how were we supposed to know there’d be a GM there? His body melted and he escaped, so he won’t be moving for a while. And we sent an emergency signal, but the communication wouldn’t go through….”
Yuise also glanced away, muttering.
“This time Antonio’s point seems valid. We didn’t go there to fight a GM in the first place. Our objective was to rescue Miliano….”
“Antonio, Yuise—!”
A sharp shout erupted.
I just blurted it out.
“No! I was wrong! Terribly! I’m reflecting deeply on it! Truly! I won’t do it again!”
As I spilled out a torrent of words, not only the unit members being scolded but even the unit members watching from the sidelines widened their eyes.
Even the Clan Leader’s eyes went slightly wider as he looked at me.
I quickly made eye contact with Antonio and Yuise.
“The Clan Leader isn’t scolding us for fighting the GM itself. He’s saying our response was wrong. We got lucky, but in terms of actual ability, the GM was the superior one, wasn’t it? Launching into battle in a situation where total annihilation was expected—that’s basically suicide. Yes, communication was blocked, but honestly, I could have sent a message. It’s just that the situation escalated so fast I didn’t have time. Even if I had sent one, if Miliano’s persuasion hadn’t worked, we probably would’ve been wiped out before the backup team arrived. Negotiating with the GM or withdrawing would’ve been the right call. That way we could’ve bought time and waited for reinforcements to arrive, which would’ve lowered our extinction probability. And the Clan Leader has every right to be angry. He’d be worried sick.”
I just kept talking and talking and talking.
An absolutely endless stream of words poured out.
“….”
“….”
Antonio and Yuise went silent.
After a moment, Yuise let out a hollow laugh.
“Let the Clan Leader say something.”
I turned back, and the Clan Leader was staring at me with an expression of disbelief.
But then he sighed.
“It’s fortunate you understand.”
“I’m truly reflecting on this….”
As I made a sheepish expression, he narrowed his brows.
“So you’re asking me not to scold the unit members?”
“It’s not quite that simple….”
Actually, it was true.
They barely survived, and if they get scolded on top of that, morale will plummet.
I let my eyes and shoulders droop dramatically.
The Clan Leader, who’d been glancing at me without malice, burst out laughing.
“Don’t forget what the young lady said.”
“…!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
The unit members’ faces brightened.
The Clan Leader spoke to his adjutant.
“Prepare supper again. …Bring out liquor and meat.”
Liquor and meat.
A feast.
“Woooooh—!”
The unit members threw their arms up in joy.
I smiled broadly.
But the scolding wasn’t over yet.
I got called to Father and Mother and was thoroughly chewed out.
Mother came at me with “Get over here—!” and a switch, so Grandfather, who’d come to check on my condition, hid me behind his back.
“Hit me instead!”
Without Grandfather’s desperate shielding, I would’ve gotten the switch at my age.
After that, more scolding came.
This time it was my boyfriend.
That is, Luciano.
[So.]
“I’m sorry….”
[I’m talking about you offering to go to the GM.]
Luciano spoke harshly.
‘I never told him that part. Who said something?’
I stared with wide, flickering eyes, determined to catch whoever’d snitched.
Luciano opened his mouth again.
[Yustea.]
I froze.
Luciano’s voice was heavily suppressed.
He was clearly holding back his anger.
“I’m sorry….”
[You always are.]
“Your Highness….”
[Don’t you think about how my heart is burning?]
This was serious.
It was nothing like the scolding from the Clan Leader, Mother, or Father.
I’d reflected and thought only about modifying our future response, but now I froze solid.
“I was just trying to save the unit members. I thought I could find a way to escape…. I didn’t think about how worried Your Highness would be.”
[But if the same situation happens again, you’ll try to sacrifice yourself once more, won’t you.]
“….”
A sigh flowed from the communication stone.
That was when it happened.
“Is that… Luciano…?”
A delicate voice rang out in the darkened corridor as night fell.
Calipso was staring at me.
“Oh, I heard Luciano’s voice. I’m sorry if I interrupted….”
[Is that Calipso?]
His voice flowed from the communication stone again.
Calipso’s face brightened.
“Yeah!”
[Your Proper Etiquette is still lacking, I see. I’ll send someone to pick you up in three days from the Imperial Palace. Practice it adequately before then.]
“Okay. Or, yes. Who’s coming? Are you coming, Luciano?”
Calipso came running over and thrust her face toward the communication stone.
[It’s not me.]
“I wish Luciano were coming…. Um, so you’re not coming at all?”
[I’m on my way back. I’ll be at the Imperial Palace around the time you arrive. Step aside once we’re done talking.]
“Oh, yes….”
Calipso shuffled awkwardly backward.
And she hastily bowed to me and withdrew.
Even though Luciano told her to step aside, her face was bright.
As if she was delighted to see him.
I rushed over and stared intently at the disappearing Calipso.
My feelings were complicated.
It seemed an ability I wasn’t yet accustomed to had activated.
A window appeared before my eyes.
[Calipso (Saint of the Old Empire)]
Constellation: None
Physical Attack: E
Special Attack: E+
Defense: F
Intelligence: S (Abnormal Status. Current Grade: D-)
.
.
[Current True Thoughts]
Luciano saved me. He’s someone I’m grateful for. I like Luciano.
More than her Intelligence being S with an Abnormal Status judgment of ‘D-‘, her true thoughts caught my eye.
‘Like…?’
What did that mean?
As a person?
Or… as a man?
Calipso had spent her entire life confined to a tower.
Perhaps she didn’t understand the emotion of love.
If so, the interpretation that she liked him as a person would be more likely, but….
For some reason, my chest stirred.
[Yustea.]
I suddenly came to my senses.
“Yes.”
[Let’s talk next time.]
“Your Highness….”
[When these feelings have subsided. I don’t want to hurt you under the guise of worry and anger.]
“…Yes.”
[Eat… take care of yourself.]
The communication ended with those words.
I gripped the communication stone tightly.
* * *
Three days later.
I was rolling the communication stone across the desk when Anne approached.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing much.”
“You’ve been staring at that communication stone every day. Are you waiting for the Prince to contact you?”
I laughed bitterly.
Anne has sharp instincts.
It seemed she sensed things intuitively, which was similar to Antonio in that way, but because her thoughts ran deeper than his, she knew how to strike at the heart of the matter.
That was the truth.
Even after three days, Luciano hadn’t contacted me.
He was finishing up business at the border and was returning to the Imperial Palace, so he was probably busy.
I understood that he likely didn’t have time to send a message.
But the last time we communicated, the mood wasn’t good, so it was weighing on my mind.
“It’s nothing. But why did you come?”
“Calipso’s leaving. Someone from the Imperial Palace came. I’m supposed to escort her.”
“I see.”
Since Calipso was a woman, Anne, who was also a woman and an incredibly skilled fighter, was fitting for the escort.
But Anne had a pouty expression.
“I’m fine with being far from Dolores, but I don’t like being away from you.”
I found Anne’s attitude so endearing that I laughed.
I took Anne’s hand and spoke.
“But we can meet again, right?”
“Yeah….”
“Get ready and come. I’ll see you off.”
Anne’s face brightened.
Anne had brought luggage that the female unit members of the Irregulars had prepared for her.
“These women here are nice. They like me!”
She said it proudly, and I chuckled.
“I like Anne too. We’re rivals then.”
“What’s a rival?”
“A competitor. We’re fighting over Anne’s love.”
When I said it playfully with narrowed eyes, Anne burst into delighted laughter.
We walked out to the courtyard hand in hand.
Calipso was standing with the knights who’d come from the Imperial Palace.
‘The Imperial Guard’s uniform.’
They were an elite force comparable to the Irregulars, or perhaps even stronger.
Such treatment.
I could see how the Empire intended to treat Calipso.
Surrounded by them, Calipso spotted me and came running over.
In that moment, the night from three days ago flashed through my mind, and my chest stirred again.
Then the character window appeared once more.
‘Oh no, I need to practice controlling this.’
I was trying to close the window when that happened.
[Calipso (Saint of the Old Empire)]
Constellation: None
Physical Attack: E
Special Attack: E+
Defense: F
Intelligence: S (Abnormal Status. Current Grade: D)
.
.
[Current True Thoughts]
Young Lady Yustea brought me here and taught me various things. She’s a good person. But why do I feel sad when the young lady is together with Luciano?
I froze.
Her Intelligence’s current grade had become D.
Since it was originally S, as her condition recovered, her stats were rising rapidly.
And….
‘She’s becoming aware of her feelings for Luciano.’
Calipso tried to bow deeply to me.
“Thank you so much for t, taking care of….”
The Imperial Guard knights hurriedly stopped her.
“A proper greeting using Proper Etiquette is sufficient.”
“Oh.”
Calipso awkwardly stood upright and laughed uncomfortably.
“I’m s, so sorry.”
She scratched her head.
I took her hand and lowered it, speaking.
“You simply haven’t learned it yet, so there’s no need to apologize.”
Calipso smiled shyly.
“Um, I admire you, young lady. You’re beautiful, you stand so straight, you know proper etiquette well, and you’re close with Luciano.”
The people flinched.
It was because Luciano was mentioned.
Even the Imperial Guard knights’ eyes widened briefly, just for a moment.
“I want to become beautiful like you, and to stand straight, and to learn proper etiquette well too. Because I want to become close with Luciano just like you, young lady.”
The unit members opened their mouths in shock.
Calipso doesn’t understand the ways of the world.
She doesn’t know that lovers share a special bond.
Calipso showed me the proper greeting etiquette.
“Then, take care of yourself.”
And so she left Esgaroth, escorted by the Imperial Guard, several Irregulars, and Anne.
After she left, I was quietly hugging a sofa cushion.
Charlie and Roslin from Antonio’s Unit came over hesitantly, each carrying a plate of snacks in both hands.
They’d guessed that my heart was in turmoil from Calipso’s declaration.
“Um, young lady. Calipso is pure-hearted, so she doesn’t really understand these things.”
“Right, so you don’t need to worry too much about it.”
Even so, when I didn’t take the snacks in hand, they stood at a loss.
“Yeah, pure-hearted. So innocent….”
Hugging the cushion, I blinked.
* * *
Luciano returned to the Imperial Palace.
He arrived two days later than Calipso.
Calipso, who’d been waiting impatiently for Luciano, threw herself into his arms.
“…!”
“…?!!”
Everyone present to greet Luciano’s arrival widened their eyes.
“What, what is this?”
“The Saint of the Reconstruction Council grew up without knowing the ways of the world her entire life, apparently.”
“Even so, this is a bit much….”
Luciano quickly separated Calipso from himself.
“Don’t do that.”
“What? Why? Is it something I shouldn’t do?”
“Yes.”
Calipso withdrew sadly and walked behind Luciano.
‘Didn’t you do this with Young Lady Yustea…?’
Young Lady Yustea is kind and good, but does that mean he’s treating me differently because of that?
Calipso’s face became complicated.
Prince Ain, glancing back at her, smiled wickedly.
“It seems you’ve acquired two Saints.”
“The Empire has only one Saint.”
“The Temple is discussing making her the new Saint.”
Luciano turned to look at him.
“What are you talking about?”
“Exactly as I said. By the way, it’s too bad your fiancée didn’t give you a welcome kiss. Though knowing Yustea, she probably wouldn’t give one anyway.”
Luciano didn’t respond to Ain’s remark and kept walking.
Five days had passed since that night’s communication.
There had been no word from Yustea.
Was she angry?
Had he been too aggressive using worry as an excuse?
The Irregulars were family to Yustea.
If her family was dying, she wouldn’t help but offer herself.
But….
Luciano’s pace slowed.
‘She won’t understand. You’re not as desperate as I am.’
He loved first, and he loved more.
There were moments when knowing this became unbearably lonely.
But in the end, it would be him who reached out first.
That was when it happened.
“You’ve arrived. A guest has been waiting for you.”
It was the voice of his mother, Empress Regina.
He lifted his head.
Before Empress Regina, the woman standing beside her with both hands clasped caught his eye first.
“Yus….”
Before he could even finish her name, Yustea approached him.
She grabbed him by his collar and pulled him close.
And then.
Yustea came crashing down on him.
A sweet fragrance rose from their joined lips.
When she pulled her lips back slightly, she spoke.
“Calipso, this man is mine. So don’t touch him.”
“…!”
Luciano’s eyes widened sharply.
Yustea looked at him.
“Once more?”
“…Once more.”
Luciano’s arms wrapped firmly around Yustea’s waist.
Yes, Yustea was this kind of woman.
Always my storm breaking through the abyss.
That’s why I love her, and that’s why I can only love her.

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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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