How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 235

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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 235
Suddenly you want me to come out?
[What do you mean?]
[A spy from Gilose approached the Esgaroth Estate. An Irregular captured them, and they confessed that they were trying to confirm whether the Saint was really at the Esgaroth Estate.]
‘…!’
I flinched.
The message window appeared again, swiftly.
[King Charles III has figured out that you’re the Saint.]
In that moment, the attendants of the Grand Palace surrounded me.
I tried to pull my body back in alarm, but it was futile.
Someone was holding me from behind.
“Welcome to Gilose. …Saint.”
Hearing his voice, I went rigid.
A voice I’d heard recently.
‘This is….’
When I turned my head, I saw a young man with red hair.
The same man who had approached me while I was digging for mugwort.
“I’m Charles III.”
The King of Gilose smiled, his hands gripping both my shoulders.
* * *
Underground Prison.
Screech—.
A chilling sound of sizzling flesh echoed through the space.
Griane, his wrists locked in chains, clenched his teeth.
A thin stream of blood traced down the corner of his mouth.
“How did it come to this.”
Griane released a metallic scrape, but his composure remained unshaken.
The King of Gilose, who was sitting beside me with his legs crossed, smiled broadly.
“You’re not the only one performing the Divine Task. To them, you were quite an irritating rival.”
In other words, someone had informed the King of Gilose about us.
I didn’t know who, but it seemed they possessed a characteristic that allowed them to recognize me and Griane even in disguise.
The King of Gilose’s voice was leisurely.
He patted my shoulder as he stood beside me and spoke.
“I’m grateful you brought me the Saint, at least.”
Griane laughed, but his eyes gleamed sharply.
His cold gaze had no effect on the King of Gilose.
The King of Gilose merely turned me to face him, a caustic smile playing at his lips.
“Shall we go eat something?”
“I didn’t have the appetite to eat after seeing this.”
When I replied coldly, the King of Gilose gripped my chin roughly.
“I thought you were clever, but I’m disappointed. You should at least calculate that the one caught could be you.”
Griane looked at me.
His expression said it was fine—just follow along.
But I calmly met the King of Gilose’s gaze.
“I’m calculating precisely. My own value.”
Hahahaha!
Delighted laughter burst from the prison.
The King of Gilose laughed and turned my face this way and that, examining it.
“Not clever after all—a fool with guts spilling out of your belly.”
His eyes gleamed.
The officials stationed around the room had nervous expressions.
Fearful he might damage the Saint.
He was a tyrant who, if something displeased him, would even stand up distinguished nobles as targets for his amusement.
Some gazed at me as foolish for recklessly taunting such a cruel tyrant.
The King of Gilose spoke.
“Do you think I’d be swayed by the likes of you?”
“Not by me personally. But before the name of the Empire, things would be different.”
“What?”
I tensed my jaw and looked up at the king.
“The Saint is being detained here in Gilose. The Imperial Family and the Temple of the Empire will never overlook this.”
“Do you have that much value?”
“Of course!”
I made my threat bluntly.
My experience working in the Extortion Gang came to light.
The Emperor of the Empire isn’t foolish enough to start a war to save one person.
With the Restoration Council already rampant, would he pull soldiers into war?
Especially when I walked here myself to participate in the Imperial Concubine Competition?
The new powers that seized control after the Seven Families would see this as their moment and pitch tents before the Imperial Palace for three months and ten days of protest.
The Emperor would collapse from stress-induced migraines and stomach pain before starting a war.
But the name Saint was enough for a threat.
The pupils of the nobles in the underground prison shook violently.
I decided to drive the wedge home.
“I saved the Imperial Family from Corrupted Holy Water, became a critical key to enduring the great famine, and brought vast quantities of Magical Stones to make the land rich in resources.”
“….”
“The Saint is a seed of glory. I have proven my worth sufficiently.”
“….”
The King of Gilose’s eyes narrowed.
‘Take the bait, take the bait.’
I didn’t avert my gaze from his eyes.
The King of Gilose chuckled.
“What do you want?”
“Release this person.”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“Not complete freedom. Just his life preserved and interrogation halted. That’s enough.”
Griane’s eyes widened dramatically.
He seemed shocked that I would threaten the King of Gilose just to save him.
His eyes trembled faintly.
But for me, it was natural.
‘If Griane dies, the task fails.’
After all this suffering, even with my identity exposed, I couldn’t return empty-handed.
That would be shameful to Terriars, the Crown Prince of Ilfarm, who created the identity of ‘Yu of Ilfarm,’ and to Luciano who sent me here.
The King of Gilose, who had been tapping his forearm with folded arms, glanced at Griane sideways.
And then.
“Release him.”
“…!”
“…?!”
The nobles of Gilose looked at the king in surprise.
That he—so cruel even to his own nobility—would listen to my words was shocking.
The king tilted my chin up and spoke.
“You’ll have to pay the price for granting my wish.”
His expression suggested he might twist my neck if things became boring.
I swallowed hard.
* * *
A private chamber of the Grand Palace.
I was sitting numbly in a chair, letting out a sigh.
My clothes had changed.
Instead of the somewhat plain dress I’d brought, I wore a luxurious tunic with a crowned veil upon my head.
Traditional attire of Gilose.
My body wafted with the scent of roses.
It was from an extravagant bath in a tub lavished with rose petals and oils.
‘Even soldiers lined up everywhere.’
Four at the door, countless more outside—I couldn’t even guess.
‘He has no intention of letting me go freely.’
At this rate, I really will end up settling in Gilose.
I groaned and pondered.
‘Is there no way out?’
A message window appeared at that moment.
[What happened?]
It was Luciano.
I hesitated briefly before composing a message.
And I finished the sentence, pressing down the worry of having caused him concern.
[Got caught lol♡]
No message came for a while.
As if in silence, time passed, and then a message came again.
[We’ll talk when you come back.]
…I could swear I heard the sound of teeth grinding.
I groaned.
‘I’m dead….’
Really, truly, incredibly in trouble.
No more messages came from Luciano after that.
It seemed he was moving to rescue me.
‘I should do something too.’
I was thinking this way.
A sound came from outside the door.
It wasn’t the footsteps of soldiers.
Soon the door opened and an unexpected person appeared.
“Yu…!”
I jumped up from my chair.
“Michiya?”
She, a candidate for the Imperial Concubine Competition, had come to find me.
I wondered how she had gotten in, but seeing the person following her, I understood the situation.
The serene woman with black hair who entered behind her smiled gently.
Her complexion was poor, and her lips were dry and cracked.
And on her tunic cloak was the emblem of the Gilose Royal Family.
I immediately bowed respectfully.
“I see Your Majesty the Queen.”
The Queen of Gilose, said to be ill, was unmistakably before me.
For some reason, Michiya had come to meet me with the Queen leading the way.
Michiya rushed over to me.
“What on earth happened? Why are you being held at the Grand Palace? What’s this about you being the Saint?”
Michiya pressed me.
“Has word gotten out?”
“Not exactly word. I heard it from my father.”
Michiya’s father was a nobleman of Gilose. Information apparently spread quickly in his circles.
“…Well, so it came to that.”
“Really? Good heavens….”
Michiya, forgetting her manners, let her mouth fall open.
“What happened to the Competition?”
“Time passed and the deadline came. I told Your Majesty—Isis Sanponce received the Symbol of the Cow from the Queen Dowager and entered the final two candidates. No one was able to find the Symbol of the Cow in the Grand Palace.”
Then the Queen laughed softly.
“I’m Sorbia, Queen of Gilose. Michiya is my cousin.”
“Ah….”
“Michiya asked me for a favor. She wanted to check on the condition of her benefactor. She said you had helped her?”
Then Michiya cleared her throat and turned her head away.
Giving her food and tea seemed to have been a great kindness to her.
I grabbed Michiya’s hand eagerly.
“Thank you.”
“Well…. A person of Gilose never forgets a grudge or a favor. H-hand, when will you let go of my hand….”
“Could I ask one more favor out of gratitude?”
“…What?”
At such unabashed audacity, Michiya faltered.
The Queen’s eyes widened.
But the Queen soon giggled.
“You’re as entertaining as I’ve heard.”
“I’m speechless….”
Michiya laughed despite herself, looking at me intently.
“You’re wringing considerable value out of a few bread pieces and two cups of tea.”
“There was Ricotta Cheese and Yuzu Jam as well. If we count by yesterday’s rates, they were quite expensive.”
“You don’t need to say all that—I was willing to help if possible anyway.”
Michiya continued, her face earnest.
“So what is it?”
“In the candidate lodging, there’s a necklace in my belongings. Please hang it on the castle wall. I want to let my home country know that I’m safe. My family… will be worried.”
At my sorrowful expression, Michiya and the Queen both sighed.
Michiya spoke.
“All right.”
“Thank you.”
Then it happened.
A guard quickly entered and spoke to the Queen.
“The maids of the Grand Palace are coming.”
“Oh dear. Michiya, we need to go.”
They must have snuck in.
Michiya nodded and took my hand.
“Don’t lose courage. I… think it wouldn’t be so bad to become a concubine alongside you. I think we could establish good cooperation.”
…Was that a curse?
That’s what I thought, but I couldn’t ask.
Because Michiya and the Queen quickly left the room.
After they had gone, the maids of the Grand Palace truly arrived.
It was the same maid who had pulled me here to the Grand Palace.
“Dinner is ready. This way to see His Majesty.”
I followed the maids quietly.
The king had guaranteed Griane’s life and even stopped the interrogation, so I couldn’t refuse.
The maids led me to a large door on the third floor.
A truly grand door with a cow and a beautiful woman riding upon it carved into it.
The maids only opened the door and didn’t enter.
‘Where is this?’
I tilted my head and stepped inside.
The interior was dark.
It was so dimly lit that even walking was difficult.
Then my leg caught on something and I stumbled.
As I reached out to steady myself, I froze.
‘This sensation….’
My eyes widened.
Looking down at my hand, I drew a sharp breath.
‘A bed. It’s a bed, this is….’
It was a bedchamber.
The moment I drew in a breath, lights turned on.
The King of Gilose, dressed in a robe, was looking at me as he flipped the light switch.
“The sun hasn’t set yet, and you’re already seeking the bed?”
His softly curved lips formed an objectively beautiful face, but it felt not at all appealing to me.
I swallowed hard.
My mind was flashing alarm bells like mad.
‘This bastard, surely not….’
The king gestured to the table set beneath the bed.
“Eat first. That will require stamina, after all.”
Hearing those words, I turned pale.
Did he really intend to spend the night with me?
He sat down, propping his chin in his hand as he spoke.
“If you wish, you could skip the meal.”
I snapped to my seat with surprising speed.
The dining table was better than the bed.
At the sight of me clutching fork and spoon like lifelines, the king burst out laughing.
He traced my chin with his fingertip.
When I flinched, my eyes fluttering, the king spoke.
“How much of a threat could such utensils be to me?”
The fork and spoon twisted in an instant.
They twisted, and I felt immense pressure; I dropped the fork and spoon with a clatter.
“Take your hands off me. I have a lover.”
“All the more amusing then.”
The king smiled broadly and cut into the meat on his plate.
Red juices flowed from within the meat.
“Plunder is my specialty.”
“….”
“Eat. The night will be long.”
The king held out a fork with the meat pierced on it, looking at me.
I quickly calculated my options.
With the Nullification Domain deployed, no attack would threaten me.
After that, if I found a weapon and fled somehow….
If I could just make it to where Griane was held, escape wouldn’t be impossible.
But then how would I handle the aftermath?
An attempted assassination of a foreign king was far too grand an incident to manage.
I was thinking such things.
“If you really hate it.”
The king rose from his seat and suddenly scooped me into his arms.
I thrashed against him.
“What are you doing…!”
“Temptation.”
The king’s face drew near.
“Shall I make you my queen?”
“There is already a queen.”
“That mere ornament? I’d twist her neck if you desired it.”
“….”
I was speechless.
“I’ll grant you anything you desire. As long as you remain amusing to me.”
“….”
“Become my woman. Yustea.”
I couldn’t hold back any longer and spilled the words I’d been holding onto.
“You crazy bastard….”
That moment.

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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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