How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 261

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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 261
Luciano’s gaze followed the trail of flame across the chamber.
And there, crouched low, was Yustea.
The woman with hair the color of autumn wheat, bound up in a single knot, held a box of matches in her hand.
Those very matches that had come from the incense set Luciano had given her days before.
Luciano pressed his fingers to his throbbing temples and ground out the words.
“…Yustea.”
Yustea lifted her head.
Beaming with a radiant smile.
Every eye in the chamber turned toward the arsonist, who grinned back brightly.
Ludovico’s face had gone slack with disbelief.
Gaspard wore much the same expression, his brow furrowed deep.
And from between Yohaël’s lips came a soft chuckle.
“Ha.”
The black dragon, which despised fire, burst forth in that very moment.
[What a clever thing to do.]
The black dragon erupted from the cave and took to the air.
Vast bat-like wings thrashed and beat the air.
Bone spurs jutting from the joints of the wings loomed like enormous prison bars.
The Imperial Soldiers who had accompanied the Princes immediately braced themselves for defense.
The Princes themselves drew their weapons and tensed, every muscle taut.
Gaspard and Ludovico clenched their teeth.
“A fine thing you’ve done.”
“Look what comes from such arrogant judgment, such reckless overconfidence.”
Luciano at once pulled Yustea behind him, shielding her.
“Drop the matches.”
There was no answer.
Luciano spoke again.
“I said drop the matches.”
If they discovered that Yustea had set the fire, she would become the focus of concentrated attack.
But Yustea did not respond.
“You’ve noted the Inverse Scale, haven’t you?”
“…What?”
Beneath the black dragon’s jaw, a scale grew in reverse—inverted.
Among the scales as black as pitch, only this one gleamed with a strange blue hue.
The Inverse Scale.
It was a scale that most of the Dragon Race possessed.
And simultaneously, it was their weakness.
To fell the Dragon Race, whose scales were harder than steel, one must target the Inverse Scale.
One must drive a blade through that softer point and tear open what lies within.
“Why would he reveal such a thing so easily?”
“…”
“Especially after bringing all these soldiers with him.”
“…”
“So from the start, what we should have done was…”
Yustea flattened herself against the ground in an exaggerated bow.
“Apologies for waking you, good sir~!”
Good sir.
Good sir.
Good siiiir.
Her voice dripped with affected servility, echoing through the chamber.
The Princes fell silent for a moment.
Following in the dragon’s wake, the Princes’ companions—only just having fled the cave—stared at Yustea in bewildered confusion.
Yustea waved her hand back and forth toward Luciano, urgent and insistent.
Luciano flinched.
He hesitated for a breath, but the moment he saw her eyes, he understood.
It was second nature between them.
Since the days when they had been mortal enemies—bearing the titles of Yohaël’s betrothed and Yohaël’s greatest rival respectively—they had always read each other’s minds with perfect clarity.
So the meaning in that glance was….
“I apologize for waking you.”
Clang—.
He threw down his weapon.
At that signal, Luciano’s soldiers who had been watching began laying down their arms one by one.
The dragon’s eyes narrowed.
[Doesn’t seem like you came to subjugate me.]
The princes flinched.
Their partners’ eyes went wide as well.
Among them, Yustea smiled faintly.
‘Would I have come out willingly with the Imperial Army surrounding the cave?’
Had she walked out obediently, she might well have been subjugated.
Yustea herself would have let him pretend to retreat, only to draw him deeper into the cave.
Once the Imperial Army was inside, she would have brought the cave down to weaken their forces.
So this dragon—no, Idel—wasn’t uninterested in conversation.
‘He was being cautious.’
Which meant they had to make clear that they were coming to negotiate while disarmed, even as their side held the advantage.
Lying flat on the ground, Yustea spoke.
“You don’t attack civilian settlements. You merely rest here in this cave, so why would you bear the cost of subjugation?”
[Of course. There are monsters enough in the world without me.]
“Yes. We came only to trade with you.”
[Trade….]
“Won’t you grant us the chance to speak? It cannot be a bad thing for you either.”
[Hmm.]
“We will disarm completely and leave our soldiers here. Only the two of us shall follow you.”
The dragon fell silent.
He was deliberating.
[The man can stay. Let’s talk with the ladies… about what that is.]
The princes’ eyes flew open.
Yustea bit her tongue silently.
‘Cunning thing.’
True to his days as Pope, he was shrewd.
He had immediately sensed that we weren’t the only ones seeking to trade, and seized the advantage.
He knew that the more parties wanting to negotiate, the more he could extract.
‘Well, it’ll do.’
At least we had secured the chance to talk.
And the dragon had singled her out.
This meant Luciano couldn’t send her back.
Luciano shot her a glare, his eyes blazing.
Yustea laughed nervously and quickly averted her gaze.
* * *
The dragon entered the cave first.
Outside the cave, the princes were instructing their partners on something.
Probably laying out conditions to offer the dragon.
But as for me….
“….”
“….”
I was being dragged along by Luciano, my head bowed.
His gaze was terrifyingly intense.
I was almost grateful that he was scolding me deep in the forest rather than in front of everyone.
He spoke harshly.
“I told you not to follow.”
“Yes….”
Luciano’s face was seething with anger.
He’d given me an Incense Set as a gift to keep me calm and in place, and here I’d taken the matches from inside it and set fire right in front of the dragon’s cave—it was ridiculous.
As he sighed and fixed me with his stare—
“Luciano….”
A muttering voice came from beside us.
It was Calypso.
She had apparently searched long for us, thick beads of sweat gathered on her forehead.
Calypso hesitated as she spoke.
“Can we talk first? Just the two of us? I snuck away, so I need to get back quickly.”
Luciano studied her.
“What’s this about?”
“Well, you see, I….”
Calypso fidgeted, glancing nervously between them, her fingers worrying at the air.
When she spoke again, her voice had dropped to barely a whisper.
“I wanted to help you.”
“You, of all people—you’re on Yohaël’s side.”
Luciano’s brow furrowed, and Calypso quickly waved her hands.
“I’m not entirely on his side! I mean, we’re in a temporary cooperative arrangement right now. That’s all.”
……
“Yohaël helps me live comfortably in the Imperial Palace. In exchange, I agreed to help him. But the one I truly care about is Luciano, so… if he wants my help, I can give it.”
“You think Yohaël will simply stand by and watch your betrayal?”
“Yohaël doesn’t trust me completely either. He attached one of these surveillance Magical Devices to me.”
Calypso touched her earring.
It appeared to be a transmitter—something that could relay voices.
I spoke up.
“You came here wearing a transmitter?”
As if announcing “I’m betraying you right now” to Yohaël.
Calypso waved her hands again, urgently.
“It’s fine! I’ve disabled the Magical Device using my ability!”
“You have an ability like that?”
“Yes. It prevents Magical Devices from functioning. More precisely, it creates errors in the enchantments inscribed on objects.”
I felt my eyes narrow sharply.
‘I’m envious…!’
Desperately envious.
To possess such an ability.
I would buy it if I could.
‘Does it affect sacred artifacts too?’
If so, I could activate it against the Restoration Council’s sacred artifacts and drastically weaken their combat strength.
Calypso wrung her fingers, speaking hesitantly.
“According to Yohaël… you—Yustea—have only done good things for us.”
Luciano listened to Calypso with his arms crossed.
Calypso continued, watching my reaction carefully.
“So… there’s someone unpredictable, someone… cunning, and the dragon knows it, so he’ll be on guard against you.”
There was embarrassment in her voice at calling me cunning.
Calypso glanced between Luciano and me.
I shrugged lightly.
It was hardly a blow.
Of course the dragon—or rather, Idel—would be wary of me.
Unlike my other allies, he would weigh my proposals twice, three times over.
Calypso cleared her throat.
“So… if I obtain the Inverse Scale, I’ll give it to Luciano.”
“What’s your price?”
“Price? What do you mean?”
Calypso’s eyes widened.
She clearly hadn’t thought to ask for anything in return.
‘Naive. And kind-hearted.’
If I were making such a proposal, I’d come prepared knowing exactly what I wanted to extract.
But Calypso moved purely on goodwill.
‘Completely different from me.’
And that….
I glanced at Luciano.
Luciano met my eyes in return.
The Dragon Race is called the Divine Race, distinct from other monsters.
Though they do attack humans, they sometimes bestow great gifts upon them as well.
That most legendary heroes were aided by dragons proves this truth.
‘It’s because they’re moved by those whose hearts are utterly untainted.’
Idel is a Chimeric Transformation of a dragon, but a dragon nonetheless.
If Calypso possessed such a pure and unsullied heart, he might find himself instinctively drawn to her.
‘Perhaps Calypso’s nature is why she didn’t attack when my partners entered the cave.’
Her temperament might prove a more formidable adversary than Yohaël’s schemes.
* * *
My partners and I entered the cave with Idel.
“What is this? There’s a room here?”
The Sixth Prince’s consort, Ujina, furrowed her brow.
Idel led the group into the chamber.
His size had diminished.
‘He looks almost like a mine.’
His head had taken on a reptilian shape, and scales covered his entire body, yet he stood on two legs and moved like a human.
He used his front limbs as hands.
When he draped a robe over himself inside the room, Ujina’s upper lip twitched.
“Do you think a monster is masquerading as human?”
Idel asked.
Ujina flinched.
“No, no. I didn’t mean….”
She laughed awkwardly, denying it vehemently.
‘She absolutely thought exactly that.’
But contrary to Ujina’s assumptions, the monster wasn’t masquerading as human.
The human was masquerading as a monster.
Moreover, Idel possessed a rather twisted—no, an extraordinarily twisted disposition.
His manner of speech was mild, but cross him and he was the sort who would slaughter heretics even if they bore the Pope’s own seal.
And he had sensed Ujina’s contempt.
Which meant….
“The people outside looked quite desperate, you know. It seemed they’d hand over the young ladies as offerings without a second thought. Hmm… shall I give it a try?”
A long, thin tongue flicked from Idel’s mouth, licking around his lips with a wet smack.
“What—what is this!”
“…!”
My partners turned ashen.
Ujina’s mouth fell open in shock.
“You think I’d accept such an outrageous demand! If I’m in danger, my husband will lead a punitive expedition here!”
Ujina screamed, trembling with fear.
‘Such bluster.’
What hung in the balance was nothing less than the Crown Prince Succession.
If he could obtain the Inverse Scale by surrendering a single partner, he’d gladly hand her over.
Especially if that partner was Ujina, given that Ludovico had reached a complete impasse with her.
“A punitive expedition. Ha….”
Idel’s eyes gleamed.
“If that happens, there’d be no need to return the young ladies at all. I could just gnaw on flesh and bone to vent my frustration.”
The room turned ice-cold.
Ujina stumbled backward, trembling.
The Female Priests, Gaspard’s partners, tensed completely.
That was when—
“Um… you, Ujina, you only said that out of fear. The expedition won’t come. We… we really do want to have a peaceful conversation.”
Calypso spoke haltingly.
She reached out as if to comfort Ujina.
“It’s all right. The Dragon was just joking a little… I mean….”
Of course, Ujina would not simply accept Calypso’s touch.
“Don’t you dare!”
Smack!
Ujina swatted her hand away forcefully.
Calypso had been born a bastard prince in an impoverished kingdom, imprisoned in a tower for her entire life.
Ujina—a woman of such fine character that she regarded it as an insult when someone of such lowly station as Calypso, treated worse than an ordinary girl, dared to lay a hand on her.
The Female Priests frowned at Ujina’s nature.
“Even so….”
“That’s too much.”
The Female Priests murmured among themselves.
Idel watched Calypso and Ujina with an expression of intrigue.
He seemed curious to see how riled up Calypso would become, and how far the conflict would escalate.
But then….
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Calypso lowered her hand at once.
Then she muttered, “It’s rude to touch without permission. Yes, rude.”
“….”
“….”
The atmosphere in the room shifted subtly.
The female priests blinked.
But their expressions soon softened.
Unshaken by rudeness, checking her own mistake with such goodness—
any reasonable person would find it difficult to dislike such unwavering kindness.
And for Idel, who had undergone Chimeric Transformation into a Dragon Race and cherished such unblemished clarity of spirit….
[What an interesting person.]
The regional accent vanished from his speech.
His voice turned gentle.

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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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