How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 231

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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 231
I shut my eyes tight.
‘Gaspard.’
He’d called me by the name I’d used when I was disguised as a Trainee Priest in the Empire.
Had he recognized me just from my build?
No—if he’d recognized me by build alone, he should have figured out I was Yustea before Maria.
‘At least he thinks I’m Maria. I’ll take it.’
Gellose’s Transmission Device was active here.
If Gaspard had called me Yustea, it would have been a complete disaster.
But being called Maria wasn’t exactly fortunate either.
If it got out that I wasn’t actually from Ilfarm—that I’d served as a Trainee Priest at the Jedo Temple of the Avalon Empire—someone would start digging into my true identity.
‘There’s no choice.’
I turned my head.
“…Yes?”
I looked at him with a convincingly blank expression.
When I’d been thrown out of Andres, I’d picked up some experience working odd jobs in a theater troupe. That came in handy now.
Gaspard hesitated.
He wasn’t sure.
Well, that made sense.
When I’d been Maria, I’d kept my face completely covered with a veil.
I’d even used a Magical Tool to distort my voice just in case he recognized it.
Gaspard was narrowing his eyes, trying to gauge whether I was Maria, when—
“Your Highness, we’ve confirmed it.”
“The target is definitely the Goddess Statue. Should we contact the Central Exhibition Hall?”
Two men spoke to Gaspard.
They appeared to be Administrative Officials from Sanponce.
‘So the other candidates’ families are already making their moves.’
The Transmission Device would be broadcasting this conversation too, but it didn’t matter much.
Everyone would expect the Gellose Concubine Selection Competition to operate on a family basis.
After all, the real content of the First Round Competition was how well each participant could complete the task using whatever resources they had.
Which meant I was at a severe disadvantage.
Gaspard’s gaze left me.
“Right.”
He’d decided I wasn’t Maria.
I pondered what to do.
‘What now?’
A famous figure from the Empire—practically a prince—had already taken notice of me.
That alone might make the Gellose Royal Palace suspicious.
And besides….
‘I could actually get help from this.’
“Um, are you heading to the Central Exhibition Hall?”
When I asked, Gaspard and the Sanponce Administrative Officials looked at me.
“Forgive me for intruding. I’m Yuri, a candidate in the Gellose Concubine Selection Competition, from Ilfarm.”
“….”
“I seem to resemble the person you’re looking for, and I was wondering if you might tell me more about her? Perhaps I could be of help.”
I made sure to sound desperate.
Like someone eager to seize any opportunity.
“I’d be so grateful if I could go to the Central Exhibition Hall with you.”
My eyes lit up as though I couldn’t help but reveal my true feelings.
Gaspard let out a dry laugh.
“There’s no way this could be Maria.”
His tone was certain about what Maria was to him, whoever she was.
But he narrowed his eyes and stared at me intently.
“Do you have sisters?”
“I have no sisters.”
“Cousins?”
“I do. But we don’t keep in touch, and I don’t know them well. They’re scattered across various countries.”
“Various countries….”
Ask. Just ask.
‘And then take me to the Central Exhibition Hall.’
After a brief moment of thought, he spoke.
“Get in.”
He meant for me to board the carriage.
The Sanponce Administrative Officials flinched.
They were taken aback that Gaspard would let a rival to Isis into his carriage.
“Your Highness…!”
They started to say something to him.
I smiled graciously and thought to myself.
‘Will you listen?’
Gaspard.
He was the mad dog of the Imperial Palace.
Watch—Gaspard was grinning like an idiot. As if he’d just made a bet on something.
The Administrative Officials swallowed hard.
It was only natural that I ended up in an excellent carriage heading straight to the Central Exhibition Hall.
* * *
Inside the carriage.
I spouted mechanical replies, my eyes half-glazed.
“…Maria always listened to what I said. Never once did she seem bothered.”
“Yes, well….”
He’d been talking about Maria for almost thirty minutes now.
The reason he didn’t see any sign of annoyance was because my face was hidden behind a veil.
Standing beside him, all I could think about was finding Benessa’s nun in the Chapel.
“She always prepared snacks for me. It must be difficult to make such carefully crafted treats.”
You told me to make them.
Do you have any idea how much of a nuisance it was to prepare them from morning?
“On days when the sun was strong, she’d hold a parasol for me. She was worried I’d be harmed by the sun’s rays.”
You wouldn’t have caused such tedious work if you hadn’t complained about the heat.
After listening for a while, I closed my eyes.
‘This bastard actually liked Maria.’
Damn it.
No wonder he kept finding reasons to show up.
It was unsettling.
‘What if he blabs about my identity in the Temple?’
I was worrying about that when he spoke.
“But I couldn’t protect her.”
“…Yes?”
“Because of a foolish misunderstanding. I thought she’d broken her promise.”
He gazed out the window with distant eyes.
Was it because I didn’t make the Meringue Cookies and wait?
At the time, he’d said,
“Tomorrow I’ll ask your name. Prepare those white, crumbly cookies we had yesterday.”
—That’s what he’d told me.
But on the day he was supposed to come, I was under restriction for what the Trainee Priests had done to me.
I couldn’t possibly meet with Gaspard.
“I thought she was mocking me. But I heard she’d been tormented by the Trainee Priests and had left the Temple because of it….”
That’s how the Jedo Temple must have covered it up.
Well, of course.
‘We can’t exactly say: “Actually, that Maria was Yustea, and the Trainee Priests released blessed water and nearly killed her! Ha ha, our administration is a mess!” ‘
—There was no way they could have said that.
Gaspard’s face twisted in pain.
“I failed to protect her.”
Really… it was damn annoying.
I watched him—a man who’d built an entire tragic narrative about his first love all by himself—with dull eyes.
“So I….”
“You must have suffered—”
“I crippled every Trainee Priest who tormented her.”
“…Yes?”
“Both of their legs, just like—”
His voice trailed off dreamily, and I stopped short.
So he’d done that to Yuri and all the Trainee Priests?
True, they deserved punishment.
They’d tried to kill me using blessed water.
According to my investigation afterward, they’d tormented their colleagues in such a way that they’d developed trauma and couldn’t leave their homes.
They deserved to be punished.
But all of them?
Really?
“…Everyone?”
“Of course. Why do you ask?”
He was still looking at me with that distant expression.
‘Wow.’
To say such a thing with that dreamy look….
Anyone watching would think him a tragic male protagonist crying all night instead of seeking revenge, unable to say a word.
Gaspard spoke.
“Now tell me. What are the odds that Maria is your cousin?”
“None whatsoever. Zero.”
I said it firmly.
If possible, I’d wanted to say something like “Maybe there’s a chance. If I contacted my relatives in the Empire…” to use in the First Round Competition, but I was too terrified to try.
Gaspard frowned.
“You’re useless.”
“I’m so sorry I cannot be of service to someone as noble, perfect, sublime, dignified, beyond reproach, incomparable, and utterly unique as Your Highness….”
I rattled off the adjectives Gaspard liked without taking a breath.
He turned his head, having been preoccupied with what to do about this situation.
Fortunately, the barrage of compliments seemed to have pleased him.
“Get out.”
“Yes, sir.”
He didn’t take me all the way to the Central Exhibition Hall, ordering me to get out immediately instead.
But honestly, I was relieved.
We were almost there anyway.
When I got out of the carriage, the Exhibition Hall building came into view.
Gaspard must have contacted them beforehand—he passed directly through the Exhibition Hall’s entrance.
But others weren’t as fortunate.
Several candidates in the competition were unable to enter the Exhibition Hall and were flustering about in front of it.
“We came by Portal….”
“Will they really not let us in?”
“Even if it’s a closed day, we’re candidates in the concubine selection.”
The candidates from minor families had gone pale with anxiety.
‘So they came by Portal.’
I was glad I’d managed to ride in Gaspard’s carriage.
Using a Portal requires identity verification.
If I’d had to come on foot, I wouldn’t have made it in time for the First Round Competition deadline.
While the candidates from lesser families fidgeted with growing panic, candidates from distinguished families passed through the entrance with ease.
The candidates from minor families looked ready to cry.
They checked the time.
Already three o’clock.
Less than two hours remained until the First Round Competition deadline.
“We went to such trouble to participate in this competition….”
“If we leave without entering the Inner Palace, I won’t be able to face my family….”
That’s when I spoke.
“I think there might be a way.”
Their eyes turned toward me.
No one thought it strange that I was talking to them, given that I’d been seen at the Gellose Palace.
Though they did have the expression of ‘Why would you help us when you can’t even get in yourself?’
I smiled brightly.
“If we work together.”
Let’s help each other, I meant.
* * *
Gellose Royal Palace.
Gellose’s nobles watched through the Magical Mirror.
“The one who entered the Exhibition Hall fastest is Miss Michiya.”
“She had the Portal shut down to prevent competitors from arriving before her. Clever.”
“Isis of the Avalon Empire is quite formidable as well.”
“She quickly grasped that the complex procedures for foreign nationals to use the Portal would prevent timely arrival, so she avoided using it.”
Those two were certainly showing their mettle.
The Young King of Gellose yawned, chin in hand.
It was boring—everything was unfolding exactly as expected.
This First Round Competition was essentially a structure designed to filter out the Noble Ladies from minor families.
Indeed, the Noble Ladies from lesser families were stuck at the Exhibition Hall entrance.
The Young King of Gellose got to his feet.
“No need to watch further.”
The nobles of Gellose were about to bow to the king when—
[What—What on earth is this?!]
A shout erupted from the Magical Mirror.
The Young King paused and turned back to the Mirror.
The Mirror was filled with the face of someone who’d been showing the candidates.
It was the Director of the Central Exhibition Hall.
[How dare the Military attempt to control the Exhibition Hall!]
‘Control the Exhibition Hall?’
Both the king and the nobles focused intently on the Mirror.
What the Mirror showed was a Captain of the Guard facing the Director.
[We received a report that a foreign spy entered the Exhibition Hall. Given such a report, we must control and investigate the premises as procedure dictates….]
The Captain of the Guard also wore a troubled expression.
He knew a competition was being held in this Exhibition Hall.
But procedures could not be ignored.
The Director shouted,
[Who in the world filed such an absurd report!]
At that moment, the Mirror showed several women.
They carefully raised their hands.
[It was us.]
[It was me.]
[I filed the report.]
“What—What…?”
The candidates had filed the report themselves?
The Director was breathless with rage.
[You filed a false report because you couldn’t enter the exhibition hall?! It’s a lie. This is a false report born of spite!]
“What on….”
“What is the meaning of this?”
The nobles erupted in confusion.
Meanwhile, the Mirror showed another person.
A woman reassuring others who hesitated with uncertain expressions.
Yuri of Ilfarm.
In other words, Yustea.
[You did well. Now the candidates inside won’t be able to leave until the investigation is complete.]
“Huh…!”
One of the Gellose nobles furrowed his brow in disbelief.
“How could anyone think of such a thing….”
“If they had no chance, they’d flip the board entirely, wouldn’t they?”
With this, the First Round Competition would be dead in the water.
No candidate would be able to arrive by the five o’clock deadline.
Yustea looked toward the Director.
[Since a report was filed by a native Gellose citizen about a foreign spy, no one in the Exhibition Hall can leave their post until the investigation is complete.]
[This is completely unreasonable—!]
[But there is a way out. If those who filed the reports admit it was a False Report, that should settle the matter. Wouldn’t you agree?]
The women who’d filed the reports nodded their heads.
Yustea smiled.
[So all you need do is allow us inside to witness their admission of False Report. Wouldn’t that work?]
[What—What are you—?]
Either let us in, or she’d make a scene.
The Director’s eyes trembled.
“This is… quite difficult.”
“If the competition fails as it stands, the nobility could blame you for it.”
The moment the Gellose nobles clicked their tongues—
Pffft—!
Laughter burst forth.
The Young King of Gellose was bending over, chuckling.
“She’s genuinely amusing.”
In the end, the Director raised both hands and both feet in surrender.
He let Yustea and the candidates from minor families enter.
The nobles who’d been scoring candidates while watching the Mirror had their jaws drop.
“How on earth are we supposed to score this… Heh.”
When an Elderly Nobleman shook his head and laughed, the Young King curved his lips upward.
“You speak foolishly.”
“Your Majesty?”
He spoke while looking at the Mirror.
She’d entered the Exhibition Hall without relying on her power, with perfect confidence.
Her wisdom was beyond measure.
A competition to select the most excellent person.
If that were truly the goal,
“Then there is only one candidate worthy of a perfect score.”
The Mirror showed Yustea, smiling brightly.

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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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