How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 271

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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 271
All sound fell away, leaving only the splash and slap of the waves against everything around us.
Everyone understood what I’d said.
That Mother was pregnant. Something like that.
The Irregulars’ eyes remained fixed on Father.
Eyes that had been wide open moments before now hung half-shut.
Mine wore the same expression.
Father stayed silent.
Only after several minutes did he speak.
“…I should go see Dia.”
Then he bolted into the barracks.
Antonio was the first to exhale — a rough, ragged gasp.
“Well, so the quiet cat does climb the hearth first.”
He even pulled out the proverb I’d taught back when I was the Irregulars’ Little Teacher.
And then.
“This is a lie…!”
Cesar’s cry tore through the air.
The deep-rooted devotee of the Clan Leader stood in disbelief, washing his face repeatedly with nothing.
The other Unit Members shook their heads in denial.
There was a reason the saying went that flowers bloom even on the battlefield.
Other Irregulars had their romances too, but Father had never been the subject of sweet gossip — or so they said.
“For the Clan Leader to…before even getting married….”
Even the Deputy Clan Leader clicked his tongue.
Of course.
“Please be quiet! It’s a misunderstanding!”
The deep-rooted devotee of the Clan Leader put up resistance.
But the sound drifting from inside the barracks made him seal his lips shut.
“So on that day of all days…!”
“You’re the one who climbed on first….”
Mother and Father, arguing carelessly, had raised their voices without thinking.
The Clan Leader devotee ran off to who-knows-where.
The Irregulars just rolled their eyes about.
I spoke.
“Everyone can hear you.”
A loud crash came from inside the barracks.
Mother laughed awkwardly and said something.
“H-horseback riding. Horseback riding, our daughter~.”
“Of course.”
Father and Mother fell silent again.
* * *
Inside the barracks, in the early morning.
An Irregular had rushed down to the city and returned with examination equipment.
Once the examination was complete, the doctor delivered a diagnosis that was beyond all doubt.
“You are pregnant.”
…..
…..
…..
Silence — I had lost count of how many times now — settled over the barracks.
The moment expression drained from my face again, the Irregulars began quietly slipping out of the barracks.
As they left, they collected the doctor and hurried him along.
Inside the barracks remained Father, myself, and a pregnant Mother.
“So, that is….”
When I opened my mouth, both of them flinched and drew their necks in.
Like turtles — or rather, like criminals.
I placed one hand on my hip and looked at them both.
“Y-Yustea~.”
Mother forced a laugh.
“Yes.”
“So what this is, you see….”
“I’m pregnant.”
“….”
Mother fell silent again.
Father cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Well… that would be surprising.”
“Yes. I never imagined the two of you—people of a certain age—would have a child before even getting married.”
“….”
Father too had lost his words.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Then, unable to hold back any longer, I burst out.
“What are you going to do about this!”
Even if the times had grown more open-minded, noble society did not look kindly upon premarital pregnancy.
And between these two, it was hardly an ordinary situation.
Everyone knew that Father and Mother had only become engaged because of me.
‘And now a child is on the way….’
Their marriage would now be seen as yet another thing forced upon them by circumstance.
I exhaled heavily.
“The doctor said it appears to be only three or four weeks along, so we should hurry the wedding. A quick ceremony will do. That way, we can pass it off as a honeymoon baby.”
“What?”
“A wedding?”
Mother and Father both startled.
I hesitated.
“Surely… if you did the sort of thing that leads to a child… you were already planning to marry…?”
I must have been looking at them like I was seeing the dregs of humanity in a mirror.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have leapt up and rushed toward me.
“Oh, no. Yes, we will!”
“Of course. The wedding.”
Only then did I let out a relieved breath.
“Thank goodness. I was nearly ready to disown you both.”
“Disown….”
“….”
Mother and Father had gone pale.
They turned to me with an awkward smile, then exchanged a glance.
For some reason, they glared at each other as though they might tear the other limb from limb.
“Mother? Father?”
“…You look especially attractive today.”
“…So do you.”
Mother and Father’s lips curved upward again.
Yet their expressions looked stiff for some reason.
“We’ll leave after breakfast tomorrow. Get some proper rest until then.”
Mother and Father nodded listlessly.
I laid out another bedding beside Mother’s.
Mother, who had been tense, at last smiled warmly as she normally did.
“Will you sleep with us? It’s been so long since I’ve slept beside my daughter.”
“Me? No. This is Father’s bed.”
“What?! I’m supposed to sleep with this woman…!”
When I straightened my posture and looked at them expressionlessly, Mother flinched.
“…Sleeping together would make me far too happy. Yes… that’s right.”
“….”
Father quietly sagged his shoulders.
He seemed dejected somehow.
* * *
The lamps that had lit the barracks were extinguished.
After the Irregulars had retired for the night, the barracks fell silent.
Dia and Aslan lay in their bedding, staring straight up at the ceiling.
“This is all your fault, Aslan.”
“You were the one who climbed on top of me first, as I recall.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t have been walking around half-naked.”
“It’s hardly abnormal for you to climb on someone simply because they removed their shirt after training.”
“Where do you get off speaking to your superior in such a tone.”
“Quite the talent, harping on just four years between us.”
Their legs kicked out from under the blanket and collided roughly.
Then.
“Aren’t you sleeping?”
Yustea’s voice drifted from a small cot some distance from where they lay.
Both of them quickly tucked their legs back beneath the covers.
“Oh, you’re still awake, our daughter. Your mother was just about to sleep.”
“Yes.”
Yustea fell silent again.
Before long, the sound of steady breathing came from her cot.
Dia rose from the blanket and made her way to the small bed.
She stroked her sleeping daughter’s face, then drew the covers higher and exhaled slowly.
“She’s lost more weight.”
As she murmured this, Aslan came to her side and examined Yustea’s features.
“She’s endured so much, one way or another.”
“Why does this child have to carry such a burden?”
Aslan lifted her hair back from her face, then stopped.
“What’s this.”
His face hardened at the sight of the scar near her eye.
Dia struck his hand away with a sharp tap, afraid their daughter might wake.
“A scar from falling when she was young. That damned grandmother always dressed her in those gaudy, impractical things.”
“Damn it.”
Aslan traced the scar beneath her eye and swore, his voice catching.
Dia glanced at him.
She fell silent for a moment, choosing her words with uncharacteristic care, then spoke.
“Will you cherish Yustea just as much if your own child is born?”
Aslan’s expression turned savage.
“What are you saying.”
“Blood calls to blood—you can’t help that. If the child in your womb and Yustea were both in danger at the same time… what then….”
Dia looked at Aslan.
Aslan swallowed hard.
“I don’t rank affection like that.”
“….”
“Even if my own child is born, Yustea will remain my breath. That won’t change.”
Dia smiled.
“Promise me.”
“I swear it on my soul.”
Yustea stirred in her sleep.
Dia and Aslan spent the time smoothing her hair and making sure her blankets hadn’t come undone.
Only then did they return to their own bed and drift into sleep.
After the two had fallen asleep, Yustea opened her eyes a crack.
‘They’re just like a married couple.’
In the tenderness between her parents—a sight she’d never witnessed at the Andres Estate—Yustea’s lips curved into a smile.
She slipped quietly from her cot and touched Dia’s belly, giggling softly.
“Welcome to our home. I’m Yustea, and I’ll be on your side for all my life.”
Neither Dia nor Aslan opened their eyes, but smiles played at the corners of their mouths.
* * *
Mother couldn’t manage breakfast and boarded the carriage on an empty stomach.
She said that if she ate before traveling, her stomach would churn.
By midday, we arrived at the inn.
Though it was called an inn, it was as luxurious as any hotel.
The Clan Leader and his unit must have roused themselves at dawn to secure such a fine place.
The food was magnificent.
Food in this world wasn’t nearly as advanced as in modern Earth, but this inn’s fare was remarkably delicious.
“Tastes like young lady’s food.”
“It does. This is a vacation spot, after all.”
The Irregulars devoured their plates with expressions of pure joy.
Even the Elite ate as if they were fighting a battle.
As I ate, I gazed out the window.
Beyond the large window, Mother lay resting in the shade near the beachside.
Miliano spoke.
“Dia, haven’t you eaten lunch?”
“No. I just can’t keep anything down….”
I rose from my seat.
Antonio, who’d been burying his nose in his plate, looked up. “You’re not eating more?”
“No. I’m fine—please, go ahead and eat.”
After saying that, I went to Mother.
I crouched before her and asked, “You really can’t eat anything?”
“That’s right….”
Mother, her face drawn, buried it in her arms.
Empty lemon juice glasses were scattered across the table.
‘If she drinks nothing but lemon juice, her stomach’s going to burn.’
“What if you tried some fruit?”
Mother shook her head.
Then she paused.
“An apple, though… I think I might be able to eat that.”
“An apple?!”
Hearing those words, I sprang to my feet.
Mother waved her hand down. “Never mind. It’s spring now—where would we even find an apple? Don’t trouble yourself. Just sit, will you?”
I shook my head firmly.
“Just wait a moment.”
“Yustea? Yustea!”
Mother called after me, but I stepped back inside the inn.
I made my way to Father, who’d just finished eating and was speaking with some of the Irregulars in the lobby.
“Father, get me an apple.”
“An apple? In this season?”
“Get one.”
The Clan Leader spoke up. “What of strawberries? We should still have some in stock.”
“It has to be an apple.”
“But apples are….”
“She wants one. …My sister.”
When I fixed them with a hard stare, the Irregulars flinched.
Father, in particular, swallowed dryly.
Father turned to the Irregulars. “An apple.”
“….”
“….”
Apples are not an easy fruit to store.
They’re not particularly popular, and the harvest season is autumn.
Finding an apple in spring was like plucking a star from the sky.
I kept my eyes fixed on them.
“An apple!”
At that, Father’s cloak whipped behind him as he bolted from the room.
When the commander rushed out in search of an apple, desperation written into every step, the Irregulars had no choice but to move.
Mother, who’d arrived to stop me, stared wide-eyed.
“What on earth did you do…?”
“If my sister wants something, it should be found.”
I fixed them with an unwavering stare.
I was not one to be stubborn over such things.
Mother swallowed hard, her surprise evident.
* * *
To be clear, Yustea was not one to be willful about what she wanted to eat or possess.
Her stubbornness was reserved for Esgaroth and the Irregulars alone.
She harbored no personal desires whatsoever.
So when Yustea made up her mind and began to wield Aslan, the world turned upside down.
Yuise arrived at the traders’ house with a ghostly pallor.

“Apples! Do you have any apples?!”
“There’s no way there’d be apples this time of year….”
Cesar burst through the doors of the apple orchard, his voice ringing out.
“Apples!”
“…Would there be any in this season, sir?”
“Damn it!”
Miliano and his unit members visited every shop in search of apples.
Abel’s unit scoured the skies, while Antonio’s unit ranged across the mountains—all hunting for apples.
Even the administrative officials of Esgaroth were mobilized in the apple search.
Word spread as far as the Archipelago.
“Apples?!”
“What do you mean, searching for apples!”
“Could this be some sort of divine task?”
“It’s certainly within the realm of possibility.”
The price of apples skyrocketed with manic intensity.
Nobles scrambled over one another, each offering gold ingots for every apple brought to them.
Even the Emperor got wind of it.
He turned to Count Urbano, who stood beside him.
“Apples, you say…. What’s your take on this?”
“I hear the Saint is insisting on it. Given her character, it must be a matter of considerable importance.”
“Hmm.”
The Emperor nodded thoughtfully.
Count Urbano’s eyes gleamed with purpose.
“There must be some urgent reason behind the apples. I shall look into it.”
“Find out if we can procure apples from abroad. If necessary, request that Matap begin cultivating them.”
“As you wish.”
And then….
Apples…?
“Please find them for me, Luciano.”
….
Luciano let out a bewildered gasp.
The full-fledged, chaotic apple hunt had begun.

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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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