How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 224

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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 a Father
Chapter 224
* * *
Rumors about the Channel spread quietly through the empire.
What began among the nobility eventually reached common ears, and those who had dismissed it as absurd gossip were forced to acknowledge it the moment salvage operations on Traiarden commenced.
A Channel exists through which one can contact the Divine!
There was no other reason why the First Prince himself would involve himself in salvaging Traiarden.
The logic was this:
First, a Divine Artifact of Traiarden’s caliber cannot be wielded by human hands.
Second, for a useless weapon, the Empress’s own family, the House of Sanponce, was pouring in an astronomical sum.
Third, the First Prince was recklessly mobilizing the Imperial Army.
The First Prince was staking everything on this.
People spoke.
“If this salvage succeeds, will the succession change again?”
“Hardly. Prince Luciano has been in control. Can you overturn that in one stroke?”
“They say it’s a high-level Channel task. Only the new Saint, Calipso, can enter such a high-level Channel. If she’s used well….”
“But Prince Luciano was the one who brought Calipso here. So he could also defend himself through her.”
“Either way, Yustea’s fall seems inevitable.”
The consensus was clear.
Calipso rises as she who can access high-level Channels, while Yustea falls.
The prince who establishes a solid connection with Calipso will draw closer to the throne.
And Calipso, at the center of the storm, was now….
“….”
Standing stiffly, surrounded by people.
“Imperial Palace life isn’t tedious for you, I hope.”
“I have a daughter Calipso’s age. The two of them could form a wonderful friendship.”
“Our Manor garden is quite renowned. Would you consider visiting…?”
As Calipso floundered, Yohael wrapped an arm around her.
“She has a full schedule today.”
Having finally escaped the disappointed crowd, Calipso exhaled a long breath.
Yohael glanced at her sideways.
“How does it feel to be the center of attention?”
“It’s… uncomfortable… No, I mean….”
Calipso mumbled, her face turning pale.
The corner of Yohael’s mouth lifted.
‘Easy to handle.’
Unlike Yustea, who was clever and looked after her own interests sharply, or the unpredictable fool Stella, she was manageable.
She was fearful.
She had no sense of self; she’d do whatever she was told.
‘Useful for now….’
But one could never know what she might become once she grew accustomed to praise.
Which made the bait all the more important.
In the distance, he spotted Luciano walking with Yustea.
Calipso’s eyes widened noticeably.
Seeing her reaction, Yohael nodded with an “Ah.” A thick smile played at his lips.
Yohael gripped her shoulders from behind and spoke.
“Do you covet him?”
“Covet… Ah, no, I….”
She denied it, but her eyes wavered tellingly.
“It’s fine. Human hearts are beyond our control.”
“….”
Yohael leaned close and whispered.
“I can give you that.”
“…!”
Calipso flinched.
Luciano’s gentle smile as he looked at Yustea filled her vision.
That night when she’d fled desperately from the Restoration Council.
She’d despaired that she would be caught, until he appeared.
He was beautiful as a painting, more dependable than any hero….
“Calipso, this man is mine. So don’t touch him.”
Calipso flinched.
She quickly shook her head vehemently.
“No, I can’t… can’t touch….”
“Calipso, there’s an ancient truth repeated throughout this world.”
“A truth…?”
“The victor monopolizes everything. Honor, wealth, people. All of it.”
“….”
“If our Avalon Empire hadn’t toppled the Old Kingdom, history would have recorded us as foolish insects throwing themselves into fire.”
“….”
“So we must win. If you want to claim everything.”
Yohael’s lips curved into an unhurried smile.
“Take my hand.”
The moment Calipso hesitated, her lips trembling.
“My, aren’t you eager.”
Yustea approached.
It seemed she’d heard Yohael’s words; she let out a soft laugh.
Yohael lifted an eyebrow.
“When did you lose your manners, Yustea?”
“My apologies. You look so desperate that I find myself moved by pity—and my mouth simply runs away.”
Yustea tapped her lip and closed her eyes with amusement.
Yohael crumpled his face and laughed helplessly.
Yustea smirked inwardly.
‘This works far better on Yohael than formal banter.’
She looked at Calipso.
“Don’t mind him, Calipso. Prince Yohael is just spouting whatever comes to mind because he’s desperate to win you over.”
“Me?”
Yohael’s expression remained composed.
Yustea bent slightly forward.
“They say you’ve failed the salvage attempt three times?”
Only then did Yohael’s face harden.
Yustea, undeterred, addressed Calipso.
“You send soldiers into a sea teeming with monsters to fight. How do you defeat swarms of creatures with gills in the water?”
“….”
“Soldiers aren’t accustomed to violent currents, so their movements become clumsy underwater, unlike on land.”
“….”
“Three times, soldiers sent wholesale slaughtered. The carefully trained soldiers lost entirely, and the magical artifacts deployed to support them squandered as well.”
Yustea pointed at Yohael and giggled.
“You’ve completely drained the coffers of House Sanponce, your mother’s family.”
Stifled laughter.
Even Luciano, following behind, couldn’t contain himself and turned away.
Yohael’s expression was murderous.
The mask-like smile he always maintained had vanished entirely.
“You….”
“Why not give up before you’ve squandered your entire allocated budget? You can hardly go begging Prince Luciano for a loan, can you?”
A grinding sound escaped Yohael’s lips.
“I won’t forget this.”
“Oh, how frightening.”
“….”
Having glared at Yustea with killing intent, he abruptly turned on his heel.
Watching him leave, Yustea remarked.
“He’s seething.”
Luciano burst into open laughter.
“Go easy on him.”
“…It’s an old habit from my back-alley days.”
Luciano laughed and caressed Yustea’s cheek.
Calipso watched intently.
And she murmured softly.
“But… time is on your side.”
When Yustea’s gaze turned toward her, Calipso flinched.
“The monsters underwater are being eliminated, and even if not House Sanponce, other nobles are taking interest in the salvage. Support is gathering, so the salvage will ultimately succeed….”
“….”
Yustea stared at her intently.
Calipso shifted nervously, wringing her hands.
“I, I just think so… If I’ve overstepped, I’m so sorry….”
“You’re right. If time permits, the salvage will succeed.”
“Ah….”
“And so I’ll live to see it through.”
Calipso lifted her head with a start.
‘Her expression….’
She had expected Yustea to be upset.
If the salvage succeeded, Luciano would not only be weakened, but Yustea would lose her authority as a Saint.
And yet….
‘Why is she smiling?’
It made no sense.
She maintained an air of ease throughout.
Even into the second month after receiving the Divine Task to retrieve the Spear that Divides the Sea.
* * *
Two months later.
As year’s end drew near, the Avalon Empire held its Year-End Festival.
As always at year’s end, not only the Noble Families but some wealthy merchants were invited to the Imperial Palace.
The Empress, presiding over this year’s festival, and Empress Regina were busily exchanging greetings with the guests.
The Empress’s ladies whispered with suppressed giggles.
“Empress Regina’s guest list is rather sparse.”
“There’s nothing to see besides Esgaroth and Nevarro.”
The Empress concealed her mouth with a champagne glass and spoke.
“It’s a matter of respecting the Emperor’s consort.”
“That’s excessive modesty. It means the forces supporting Prince Yohael are multiplying in number.”
“They say the salvage will succeed soon?”
Everyone’s faces showed eagerness to hear about Traiarden.
One noblewoman spoke.
“If the salvage succeeds, won’t Prince Yohael ascend to Crown Prince?”
At that moment, Empress Regina’s gaze fell upon the Empress’s circle.
Empress Regina led her group toward the Empress.
“Is the position of Crown Prince decided by public opinion?”
Empress Regina asked.
The Empress handed her champagne glass to an attendant with ease.
“Why do you respond to a jest so sensitively?”
“Is the Crown Prince position something to be jested about?”
“There are many watchful eyes. At a time when attention is already focused on us, there’s no need to add you and me to the discussion.”
The Empress’s gaze fell on Dia, standing beside Empress Regina.
In that instant, all expression drained from her face.
Dia was wearing a cape marked with the Esgaroth insignia.
As though she were the lady of Esgaroth itself.
“Your invitation seems to lack standards.”
She made plain her displeasure at Dia’s invitation.
“She represents Esgaroth.”
“An outsider cannot represent Esgaroth.”
“She is the betrothed of the Young Count.”
“Which means they’re not married.”
The Empress, scanning Dia with disdain, spoke.
“Where is Aslan? I should speak with him.”
“Aslan….”
At the familiar name spoken so casually, Empress Regina let out a soft laugh.
“The Young Count didn’t attend.”
“And Yustea?”
“She also did not come.”
This time, laughter erupted from the Empress’s ladies.
Though they hid their mouths behind fans, the laughter was unmistakable.
As Empress Regina’s expression turned cold, the Empress raised her hand with an “Ah.”
“Don’t worry too much. It’s because Yustea is considered prudent, after all.”
The salvage was racing toward success.
The time of Yustea’s decline had arrived.
“At such a time, it’s wise to keep a low profile.”
The Empress wore a subtle smile.
Empress Regina’s expression twisted entirely.
“Your Maj—”
The Empress was raising her voice.
“News from the Western Sea!”
An attendant cried out to the Emperor, who had just entered the hall.
The Emperor, the Imperial Family, the High Nobles, and the merchants all turned their gazes at once.
The Empress’s mouth curved upward slightly.
Surely it was news of the salvage’s success.
Meanwhile, Empress Regina’s face had turned as pale as a corpse.
The Emperor commanded.
“The Scrying Mirror.”
A massive Scrying Mirror appeared in the hall.
Whoosh—the sound of a violent wind, and the black winter sea filled the mirror.
The faces of the Empress and her faction, those praying for the salvage’s success, glowed with joy.
If Traiarden’s salvage succeeded and the Divine Task were resolved, an unprecedented era of change would dawn.
And at the center of it would be those who had sponsored the salvage.
Among those watching the mirror with hopeful faces, one furrowed their brow.
No matter how much time passed, Yohael did not appear.
Then someone walked across the sand toward the sea.
The Empress recognized the figure first.
“Aslan….”
Remembering that the Emperor was present, she could not bring herself to speak further.
Yet that silhouette was unmistakably Aslan.
And what Aslan held was an enormous spear.
Aslan in the mirror swung the spear with great force.
The moment he did.
Crash—!!
“…?!”
“…!!!”
Those watching the mirror gasped.
“The sea….”
“The, the sea….”
Marquis Nevarro cried out.
“The sea is splitting—!!”
As though parting the Red Sea, it split with perfect precision.
Aslan walked calmly through the parted waters.
The moment he turned to face the mirror.
[Success!]
[Yesss—! Success!]
[The Spear that Divides the Sea—!!]
The cheers of the Irregulars erupted in celebration.
And Yustea rushed forward, pulling her father’s neck into the crook of one arm.
[We did it. We succeeded. …Tekari!!]
The old man dragged forward by her other arm cried out.
[At sixty-eight I became a Saint, and at seventy-two I’ve forged a Spear that Divides the Sea. Damn it…!]
A Saint at sixty-eight.
No—a legendary master smith at seventy-two sobbed loudly.
Those watching the mirror from the Outer Palace gaped in disbelief.
“This, this can’t be….”
“They, they didn’t salvage it—they made it?”
House Sanponce prepared for bankruptcy. In fact, they’d poured in every last stake, stripping everything bare.
Merchants, Noble Families, and emerging powers had all invested enormous sums.
They had pursued the salvage so desperately.
Yet Yustea had forged the Spear that Divides the Sea without spending a single coin, using only the labor available to her.
“How… how could such a person exist…!”
“Ah….”
“Their grasp of the situation is entirely different.”
“It’s absurd…!”
Amid gasps of shock, the Emperor clenched empty air and roared.
“Splendid, Yustea!”
Empress Regina squealed and clapped her hands.
“My daughter-in-law is the best~!”
Now it was the Empress who had gone ashen.
In that moment.
In each nation’s capital.
The powers of each nation, who had illegally pirated Avalon Empire’s broadcast signal to watch the Scrying Mirror, let out hollow laughs.
The Kingdom of Espontinaa.
“How could….”
The Nation of Gilose.
“Well….”
The Titan Tribal Alliance.
“….”
And Ilfarm.
“Bahahaha—!”
Terriars, the prince—no, now the crown prince of Ilfarm, burst into laughter, holding his belly.
A minister watching him laugh, tears streaming down his face, shook his head.
“It’s not such good news for Ilfarm, Your Highness.”
“It’s spectacular, though. Ah, truly. I’m dying of regret.”
Beneath his collarbone, a Twin Sword Insignia Pass gleamed.
He gazed into the void.
[The task of the <Enemy of Intelligence> has opened.]
[The <Enemy of Intelligence> wants the Spear that Divides the Sea.]
A task descended upon the common Channel.
And.
Master of the Eight Untalented: Participating! Participating!
“…I’d expected as much.”
That the <Enemy of Intelligence> would covet that spear desperately.

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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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