How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 39

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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How to Replace Your Dad

Chapter 39

* * *

The Archipelago.

Andres Estate.

The carriage of Esmeralda, the wife of the previous Count Andres, had arrived.

Originally, she had been protecting the Count Andres territory in place of her son and grandson who stayed at the archipelago estate.

The employees greeting Esmeralda, who had come without notice, all wore extremely tense expressions.

“We greet the Grand Madam.”

“Where is Rohan (Count Andres)?”

“He is inside.”

Esmeralda strode into the manor.

The employees lined up along the walls all bowed in unison.

Through them appeared a middle-aged woman in a dress.

“You’ve come, Mother.”

It was Emma, Stella’s mother.

As she approached with an awkward expression, Esmeralda replied coldly.

“Your daughter caused quite a stir by meddling with the Matap. I was humiliated at the soirée because of the shame.”

Then Emma said in panic.

“She pitied the animals that were taken as test subjects…”

“So she snuck into the Matap, destroyed the cages, and released the animals!”

Just as Emma was at a loss, wringing her hands together.

“The matter with the Matap has been resolved, so please put aside your concerns.”

Count Andres appeared.

Seeing her smiling son, Esmeralda’s expression grew even more frozen.

“Do you think I don’t know how much you had to pour into the Matap’s coffers under the guise of sponsorship money to clean this up?”

“It was money we gave to the Matap every year to maintain our relationship. How could adding a bit more harm the family?”

“And yet you still couldn’t get Andres on the list of Matap relocation candidates?”

Emma shrank her shoulders.

There were various reasons why Andres was excluded from the relocation candidates, but one of them being Stella was an undeniable fact.

A place where the person who infiltrated the Matap and caused an incident was the lord’s daughter.

The Matap mages’ opinion was that security would be dangerous in such a place.

Count Andres still spoke with a sweet smile.

“A promising mage expected to be the next Matap leader has deep ties with Stella. The Matap relocation can wait until next time…”

“Yustea isn’t aiming for some Matap leader candidate position, but for the previous Matap leader.”

“Excuse me?”

“After exchanging a few words at the soirée, she made Esgaroth, which was far down the list, into a strong relocation candidate.”

“What do you mean?”

Only after Yustea’s name came up did the smile disappear from Count Andres’ lips.

Emma, who had been hiding behind the Count, also looked at Esmeralda with surprised eyes.

“Marquis Esgaroth brought her to the soirée.”

“…Why would the Marquis?”

“The soirée participants expect he will adopt that child as his son.”

“That can’t be possible.”

“I don’t know what he’s thinking. But what’s certain is that Stella falls far short compared to Yustea.”

Emma flinched.

She was originally a maid of the marquis family, whom Count Andres met after his first marriage failed.

The previous Count and his wife absolutely refused to accept a daughter-in-law from maid origins.

They even tried to make him marry Dia, Yustea’s mother, to force him to break up with Emma.

Having gone through such a process, Esmeralda was an object of terror for Emma.

However, she couldn’t stand by when it came to badmouthing her daughter.

Emma said with a pale face.

“Stella has many good friends, and the Count himself said her smile brightens the household…”

“Has she ever been of any real help!”

Emma flinched and grabbed the Count’s collar.

“No matter what great teacher we attach to her, her grades scrape the bottom, and her conduct is so poor we can’t even bring her to social events!”

“That’s… that’s because she’s not used to it yet…”

“It’s already been 4 years. It’s been 4 years since your daughter entered this household.”

“…”

“Yustea made her social debut at just eight years old and was constantly summoned to the Empress’s palace. Even during all that, her Academy grades were always at the top.”

“…”

“Yustea’s hand touched every matter, big and small, in the household. But what does your daughter do!”

“…”

Emma became speechless and shrank her head.

“That’s enough, Mother.”

The Count said quietly.

Esmeralda’s face contorted.

About to shout something, she soon closed her eyes tightly as if holding back her anger.

Esmeralda approached her son and lowered her voice.

“The warehouse that thing was managing. It was taken, wasn’t it.”

“It’s under investigation.”

“Even though Yustea is the only one from outside who knew the code, you can’t be certain that child is the culprit.”

“…”

“You can’t be sure whether that thing managed the code as well as Yustea did, can you?”

“…”

Esmeralda turned her head toward Emma, who was tensely on edge.

And she raised her voice again.

“Not just the daughter, but the mother is useless too.”

But Yustea was different.

There was never a time when taking her anywhere wasn’t satisfactory.

When given a task, even if she had to stay up all night for a month straight, she would master it to a perfect level.

Thinking such thoughts made her feel regretful.

Even as time passed, the anxious feeling wouldn’t improve.

That’s why she came to confirm.

That she wasn’t that precious after all.

That there was a replacement.

But now that she actually came to the manor, that child’s absence was felt even more keenly.

“Rohan, I’m having doubts. Whether we were too hasty.”

“That’s not the case.”

“I wonder. You might feel it too if you met that child again.”

Emma’s expression hardened even more.

* * *

After the Clan Leader, who promised to keep being handsome, left, I tilted my head.

Even if Marquis Esgaroth bought me more clothes than that, I have no intention of going.

The Marquis treats me well because I’m the Clan Leader’s adopted daughter, not because he treats me well as an individual.

The Clan Leader is amazing for accepting me into Sanmiguel even though I hadn’t proven anything.

‘So I need to keep sticking close.’

So that even when the Clan Leader enters Esgaroth, he’ll find me too valuable to abandon.

For that, what’s important is still the Valboa Territory.

I asked Yuise.

“Have you gathered any information about the Valboa Territory?”

“Yes. I found out the list of nobles involved in selecting the merger territory. It seems those nobles will gather at next month’s central meeting to decide the selection criteria.”

So the judges are decided first.

The judges will meet to decide the test topics.

“Good. Who will be judging?”

“That’s where it gets a bit troublesome…”

“Why?”

Yuise sighed and said.

“Marquis Sintus and Marquis Belmonte.”

They were the expected candidates.

In Esgaroth, there are three big shots called the Three Elders.

Marquis Valboa.

Marquis Sintus.

Marquis Belmonte.

‘Since Valboa has been expelled, Sintus and Belmonte remain.’

I knew those two would naturally be included as judges.

But what’s troublesome about that?

When I looked puzzled, Yuise continued with a displeased expression.

“…And Marquis Sol. Those three in total.”

“What?!”

As soon as I heard the last person mentioned, my eyes widened.

Though not one of the Three Elders, he was famous enough for me to know his name.

…For being crazy about bribes.

Yuise muttered with an annoyed face.

“It’s like they’re setting up the stage for taking bribes. I can’t understand their intentions at all.”

“Ten or twenty thousand gold wouldn’t be nearly enough, would it…?”

“Carriages loaded with gold are already pouring into Sol Domain like crazy, so there’s no way.”

Not a chance.

This is getting complicated.

I groaned.

* * *

For now, I decided to target Marquis Sintus.

Among the three judges, he was the one I had some connection with.

Using the excuse of visiting Asta, I headed to the Sintez Manor.

Asta welcomed me with a joyful face.

“Welcome, Yustea. What’s this?”

“The apples ripened deliciously, so I made some pie.”

“Father will love it. He even secretly eats Yustea’s candied fruit by himself.”

“Is the Marquis at the manor?”

“He’ll be here soon. Very urgently.”

I was blinking, wondering what that meant.

Thud thud thud! With tremendous footsteps, Marquis Sintus burst in.

“Sell my horse?! You’re not my child but my enemy…!”

Marquis Sintus, who came in with a red face, stopped when he saw me.

“Why is Yustea here…”

Then seeing Asta standing behind me with a bright smile, he seemed to remember something and scowled.

“Where is my cute little pretty?”

“The horse is in the stable, where else would it be?”

“…You didn’t sell it?”

“I asked if I should sell it. Mother wanted to sell the horse. Along with a father who can’t remember Mother’s birthday but remembers the horse’s birthday.”

Marquis Sintus cleared his throat awkwardly.

“You should have written the letter more clearly. I thought you were asking if this price was good for the horse, so I rushed…”

“I need to comfort Mother, so Father, please take care of our guest.”

Asta winked at me.

‘Ah, she knows I want to meet Marquis Sintus and arranged this opportunity.’

Grateful, I quickly bowed my head.

Asta smiled brightly and waved her hand lightly.

Then she went upstairs, but after a short while, she stopped and looked back at the Marquis.

“Oh. Mother says if you love the horse that much, you should sleep in the stable from now on.”

With those words, she went right up.

Marquis Sintus said with a sad face.

“I didn’t forget my wife’s birthday, I just mixed up the dates…”

“Did you tell the Marchioness that too?”

“I couldn’t bring myself to…”

“Why not?”

“My wife used to have a hobby of breaking thugs’ spines back in the day…”

Hmm. He was afraid his spine might break too if he talked to her.

* * *

I took the Marquis out to the marketplace.

Getting out of the carriage, the Marquis looked puzzled at the sign.

“A flower shop?”

“Yes. We’re going to buy a gift for the Marchioness here.”

“Wouldn’t a jewelry store be better?”

“Does she like jewelry?”

“Come to think of it, when I bought her diamonds, she cursed at me asking why I didn’t just buy jerky instead.”

I smiled kindly and led the Marquis into the flower shop.

Even after entering the flower shop, the Marquis looked anxious.

“My wife doesn’t really like flowers. She’ll hate it.”

Then the shop owner, a warm-looking middle-aged woman, said.

“Oh my, it seems the noble lord doesn’t know his wife’s heart well.”

“Hmm?”

“Flowers given with a husband’s sincere heart will make any wife happy. Isn’t that right, miss?”

The Marquis looked at me as if asking if it was true.

I smiled and nodded.

“The point is putting your heart into it. Not to appease her or to finish things cheaply.”

“Really…?”

“Are there any flowers with memories between you and the Marchioness?”

“…She liked cosmos. They were blooming prettily on the roadside, so I picked some saying I wanted to show them to her, and she smiled shyly.”

As he recalled the memory, a smile also appeared on the Marquis’s lips.

After choosing some prettily bloomed cosmos, the Marquis looked at other flowers too.

“She also liked gladiolus. When I said they seemed like her, she came with them in her hair next time.”

“I see.”

“Also daffodils… They’re strong flowers that resembled her, so I gave them as a gift on our first date.”

“Then, shall we add some daffodils too?”

The flowers the Marquis chose were all different in color and shape, so when put together, they weren’t very pretty.

The Marquis also looked disappointed seeing the completed bouquet.

“Will my wife really like this?”

“I think she’ll love it very much.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

The Marquis smiled awkwardly.

Then he generously gave the flower shop owner a silver coin to complete the payment.

And so we left the flower shop.

But then the Marquis paused when he saw the purple flowers placed in front of the flower shop.

“Marquis?”

“….”

Even when I called him, he just stared at the flowers, so the flower shop owner asked.

“Shall I give you that one too?”

“Can you wrap one separately?”

“Of course.”

Having received the silver coin, the owner quickly wrapped the purple flower and brought it over.

The Marquis who received it smiled sheepishly.

“Asta flowers…”

He paused because it was a flower with his daughter’s name.

“That child doesn’t really like flowers, but a father’s heart makes him buy one at a time when he sees them. Haha, Yustea must have received them often from her father too?”

“No.”

My biological father was someone who didn’t even know what month my birthday was.

Even when I wanted to have meals with Father and prepared for my birthday, he never came even once.

Would such a person have bought me flowers just because he thought of me while passing by like the Marquis?

The Marquis looked at me in confusion.

“Ah, I…”

Seeing his face that didn’t know how to handle the situation, I quickly waved my hand.

“It’s okay. Rather, shall we go somewhere else quickly?”

“We bought flowers though?”

“Flowers are good, but wouldn’t it be even better if we add a gift to the flowers?”

“Ah.”

He nodded with an expression of great realization.

“I heard the Marquis’s wife is very interested in archery? I know of a good weapon shop.”

The Marquis followed me with an entranced expression.

* * *

The gift was indeed very effective.

The Marquis’s wife, who received the bouquet of flowers filled with memories, said this.

“I was going to kill you, but you’ve cleverly found a way to survive.”

The Marquis said while breaking out in cold sweat.

“There’s also a bow from your favorite brand.”

“…Tekari?”

“The arrows are also Tekari-made!”

“What?! Asta, go tell the kitchen to prepare your father’s meal luxuriously!”

And so the cold war at the Sintez Manor was perfectly concluded.

Asta chuckled and looked at me.

“Thank you. I assigned you to receive help from Father, but instead we received help.”

“I’m glad if I was helpful.”

“You were a great help. So…”

Asta shouted to the Marquis.

“How about giving the Valboa Territory a little push?”

Marquis Sintus, who was having a passionate embrace with his wife, cleared his throat.

“Helping people goes against principles.”

“That damn…!”

Just as Asta was getting upset, the Marquis continued in a subtle voice.

“But that weapon shop seems to be a place that Marquis Sol also frequents.”

“Why are you bringing that up here?”

“I heard Marquis Sol is also crazy about weapons and spends all his saved money buying Tekari.”

“No, why suddenly…”

“Do you know about Tekari’s eleven treasures? Each of the Seven Families has one, and the Imperial Court has several… I heard Marquis Sol’s wish is to obtain those treasures.”

“Instead of such nonsense, something more substantial…!”

Just as Asta was speaking irritably, I grabbed her hand.

“That was substantial enough!”

“What?”

Marquis Sintus had just told us how to entice Marquis Sol.

‘Tekari’s treasures.’

Those things that Marquis Sol couldn’t get his hands on despite having lots of money due to lack of authority.

If we bring those, we can secure Marquis Sol’s vote.

“Thank you. I’ll be going now.”

I quickly bowed my head.

Asta and the Marquis’s wife said.

“It’s almost dinner time, so have a meal before you go.”

“That’s right, Yustea.”

Then Marquis Sintus chuckled.

“Let her go. The child has things to do.”

He was telling me to go quickly secure Tekari’s treasures.

I greeted the Sintez family once more and headed to Sanmiguel Castle.

Even after arriving at Sanmiguel Castle, my heart was urgent, so I almost ran to find the Clan Leader’s room.

When I arrived in front of the room, breathing heavily, the Clan Leader, Deputy Clan Leader, Antonio, and Yuise were walking from the opposite corridor.

“What’s so urgent, young lady?”

“I need to see the Clan Leader. That, Marquis Sol. If it’s Tekari’s treasures, I can persuade…”

That’s when I was saying that.

The Clan Leader suddenly held something out.

“…Huh?”

I looked at the Clan Leader in surprise.

Because what he handed me was a single daisy beautifully wrapped.

“This… why…”

“I saw a flower shop while inspecting the territory.”

“What?”

“When I saw this, I thought of you.”

“….”

I quietly stared at the daisy.

When I became silent, he said.

“If you don’t like it, never mind…”

I hastily grabbed the daisy.

“It’s mine.”

“….”

“I’ll take it. I’m going to take it…”

How does the Clan Leader always do exactly what I want most?

I was too embarrassed to say it.

Actually… I was envious of Asta.

I was so envious that she could receive flowers from her father like that…

My nose stung.

I held the daisy and rubbed my eyes with my remaining hand as I spoke.

“Thank you…”

“….”

The Clan Leader quietly watched me like that.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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