How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 41

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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 41

“What nonsense.”

The blacksmith pushed Antonio away.

He stood up from his seat and looked at us with a cold expression.

“If you have nothing more to say, please leave.”

Antonio said.

“I saw the note that the current Tecari supposedly left behind. It’s the old man’s handwriting.”

“What do you know about handwriting when you can’t even read.”

“I know now, don’t I? Right, miss?”

“Anyway, just leave. I’m not Tecari or whatever!”

While Antonio and the old man were shouting at each other, I looked around the blacksmith’s shop.

Although he had deceived other unit members when selling materials, these were certainly excellent weapons.

It wasn’t just the shield.

Swords, spears, crossbows….

None of them were the quality you’d see in a corner of the North.

“Give me a Tecari too, huh?”

“I said I’m not! Get lost!”

The old man pushed me and Antonio away as he spoke.

Antonio shouted “You old fool!” but I said calmly.

“Are you planning to leave once we’re gone?”

“…!”

The old man flinched.

Antonio frowned deeply and said.

“Leave?”

The old man looked at me.

I didn’t avoid the old man’s gaze.

“We didn’t come here to tell you to return to Tecari Company.”

The old man snorted dismissively.

He walked toward the furnace with big strides as if he wouldn’t deal with me.

Then he picked up the fallen lunch box and said.

“Please just leave.”

“I’m serious.”

“I’ve heard that story countless times in other places!”

“….”

“I might believe you. I’m not trying to disturb your peace. So tell me honestly. Do you know what those who said such things did afterward?”

“….”

“As soon as they got an answer from me, they tied me up. To hand me over to Tecari Company.”

“….”

“Do you think I would believe those words?”

So that’s why he deliberately didn’t make excellent weapons.

He thought that if his identity was revealed again, the same thing would repeat.

Antonio narrowed his brow.

“The miss is someone who keeps promises─”

I reached out my hand to stop Antonio’s words.

To someone who has been betrayed, there are no words as shallow as trust.

So….

“Wouldn’t that be too wasteful…?”

“What would be?”

“Handing you over to Tecari Company. They could just lock you up and make you create Tecari-level weapons, so why bother…?”

“What, what?”

“I understand the feelings of those who handed you over to Tecari Company. They must have been people who valued money more than weapons.”

“That’s….”

“But for us, if we had to choose, we’d pick weapons over money…? Right, Antonio?”

Then Antonio’s eyes lit up.

“Would that stuff just pop out if we locked you up?”

“I wouldn’t do it! Damn brat!”

The old man flinched and hugged the shield again.

I smiled brightly.

“There’s no point in handing you over to Tecari Company. Of course, we have no intention of locking you up either. That was just a hypothetical.”

This blacksmith’s shop is San Miguel’s only blacksmith.

He’s already making weapons of excellent quality.

Besides, judging by the old man’s stubbornness, even if we locked him up, he wouldn’t make Tecari-level weapons for us.

He’d bite his tongue first.

After I explained all this, the old man cleared his throat loudly.

“…Then why did you come?”

“You know about Tecari’s treasures, right? The one remaining treasure after the Imperial Household and the Seven Families got theirs.”

The old man cleared his throat and said.

“You mean the last treasure.”

So that was the last treasure.

Anyway, that wasn’t what was important.

“Do you know where it is?”

If he knew, I wouldn’t have to ask him to make it.

That would save a tremendous amount of time, which would be a huge benefit!

“If I tell you, will you quietly go back? And keep my identity secret?”

“Yes!”

The old man put down the shield.

Then he took a book that had been placed under a pot on the makeshift table.

He flipped through the pages and said.

“Let’s see. The person the first Tecari gave the treasure to was….”

“….”

“What?”

“…Is that book perhaps…?”

“It’s the first Tecari’s diary. Well, it’s also called a secret manual.”

I was shocked and grabbed the secret manual.

It had soot marks and food stains splattered on it.

No preservation magic whatsoever had been cast on it.

‘Wow.’

I was briefly silent at this bold storage method.

The old man searched through the secret manual again.

“Here it is. He gave it to Leondora Yopis. In return for saving his life.”

Antonio laughed heartily.

“That’s good. At least it’s not a great noble.”

“….”

“Miss?”

It wasn’t good at all.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Yopis.

The vassal of the Andres family who had tried to kidnap me, and who had been my teacher, bore that surname….

* * *

Count Sanmiguel’s Castle.

The Clan Leader sighed and said.

“We’ve completed our investigation. Leondora Yopis is indeed the founder of House of Yopis.”

The Clan Leader, Clan Leader, and Yuise heard the story from the blacksmith’s shop from me and Antonio.

‘First, that the Current Tecari is the Blacksmith.’

Here, the Clan Leader and Yuise were so shocked their eyes nearly popped out.

‘And also that the last treasure might be in House of Yopis.’

The Clan Leader ordered Yuise to immediately investigate the family tree of House of Yopis.

And it was truly confirmed that the treasure was in House of Yopis.

“Of all places, in the family of such a dangerous man…”

The Irregulars who knew he was the one who tried to kidnap me frowned.

I said.

“House of Yopis probably doesn’t know about the treasure’s existence either. The baronial family went through terribly poor times. If they knew about the treasure, they would have sold it then.”

“It’s highly likely buried together in their ancestor’s tomb.”

The Clan Leader nodded.

Then he soon furrowed his brow.

“Yopis Domain is in Andres Estate, so infiltrating the Seven Families’ manor is definitely confirmed.”

“That’s not the case.”

“Pardon?”

“The Yopis Family cemetery can’t be in Andres Estate. It was contaminated by ghosts. Due to the danger, they had to relocate it.”

“That’s fortunate.”

I nodded at the Clan Leader’s words.

“Right. But the problem is…”

“A problem?”

“Only Rafael Yopis knows where that tomb is.”

“….”

The Irregulars fell silent.

Antonio gripped his sword.

“Should I kidnap him?”

“He’s not someone who would confess under torture.”

“Then what do we do?”

“We have to meet him and ask.”

“But he’s the one who tried to kidnap you last time?!”

“Now I’m Count Sanmiguel’s daughter, so he can’t easily touch me. I’ll bring guards too, so don’t worry too much.”

Still, Antonio and Yuise looked worried.

“But…”

“Whether such a man would care about guards…”

That’s when it happened.

“I will accompany you.”

It was the Clan Leader.

I looked at him in surprise.

“You, Clan Leader?”

“Yes.”

Well, if it’s the Clan Leader, he’d be fine even if the Yopis Family knights rushed at him in droves…

“But you must be busy with work.”

“My role in Sanmiguel is Knight Commander. There’s no duty more important than protecting my master.”

The Clan Leader also silently supported him.

In the end, I had no choice but to nod.

That night, I wrote a letter to Marquis Yopis.

A few days later, Marquis Yopis sent a reply agreeing to meet.

* * *

The Herbalist’s Shelter on that mountain where Marquis Yopis tried to kidnap me.

I bowed my head to the Hunched Herbalist.

“Please forgive my rudeness in only now asking after your well-being, despite knowing you were in trouble.”

“How could that be the Noble Lady’s fault. Rather, I received help. I heard some time ago that you are Count Sanmiguel’s daughter.”

This herbalist had also been in danger because of the men Marquis Yopis brought.

But the Irregular who came to get me also rescued the herbalist, so he was safe.

I said with an embarrassed expression.

“Marquis Yopis must be an unpleasant memory for you too, yet thank you for arranging this meeting place.”

“What could be difficult for my life’s savior.”

The Old Man who spoke kindly even served tea before leaving the shelter.

I sat in the seat the Old Man had prepared.

The Clan Leader who came with me said.

“Did you bring your dagger?”

“Yes.”

“In an emergency?”

“Don’t think about stabbing with the point, slash with the blade to make them recognize pain first. Then people instinctively shrink back. And if there’s an opening, flee. Right?”

When I rattled off what I learned before coming, the Clan Leader smiled broadly.

“You’re an excellent student—”

That was the moment.

“Does rote memorization work?”

The door opened and a leisurely voice was heard.

It was Marquis Yopis.

He who had opened the door at some point smiled at me.

“As expected, was my embrace better than Sanmiguel’s?”

Saying that, he sat across from me.

I said while picking up my teacup.

“No.”

Marquis Yopis chuckled.

“I taught that realistic judgment comes before stubbornness, so why would you think that way. Isn’t there a difference in educational level from the start?”

“Educational level?”

“If it were me, I would have taught methods of persuading opponents rather than attacks with low probability of success.”

“….”

“In ways that could never be shaken off.”

Marquis Yopis glanced at the Clan Leader.

“Stupid people are like that. They think what we need will also be needed by others. But noble people have methods only for noble people.”

“So?”

“What could you accomplish in a place that can only provide such education. If you stay with stupid people, you’ll only decline together.”

The Clan Leader’s eyes turned cold.

Marquis Yopis’s smile deepened.

I put down my teacup and said.

Lorenzo is a better teacher than you, Marquis.”

The Clan Leader flinched and looked at me.

Marquis Yopis’s eyebrows twitched.

“Why did you make such a foolish judgment?”

“Because Lorenzo has sincerity. Unlike you, Marquis.”

“Oh my. It seems you’ve been tainted by bad water. I taught that things invisible to the eye are useless.”

I looked straight at Marquis Yopis and said.

“You might be better at teaching things like etiquette, eloquence, or management. Because you’re an excellent ‘instructor.'”

“…Pardon?”

“But what I need isn’t an instructor, but a master.”

“What is the difference?”

“Someone I can truly respect.”

The Clan Leader’s eyes looking at me trembled faintly.

Marquis Yopis let out a scoff.

“For something so trivial?”

“If you insult Lorenzo, I won’t forgive you.”

Her expression turned cold in an instant.

The smile disappeared from the marquis’s face.

* * *

Rafael Yopis clenched his fist.

She calls something like that her master?

Says she won’t forgive insults?

‘How absurd.’

But Yustea’s eyes were burning quietly.

Just like the moment she threw her glove at the archduke who insulted Marquis Yopis.

That day was when there was a party at the Andres Estate.

When the then-humble Marquis Yopis was assigned a central table at the party, the children of noble families showed their displeasure.

The hot-tempered archduke poured champagne on Marquis Yopis, raging that he didn’t know his place.

Yustea threw her glove without hesitation.

“Y-you would make an enemy of my family over a mere vassal?”

“He’s not just a mere vassal. He’s the person who taught me everything.”

She was severely scolded by her grandmother, the former Countess Andres, for that incident, but Yustea never apologized.

Even after being confined and not drinking a single drop of water for two days, she never did.

Marquis Yopis asked.

“Why won’t you apologize?”

“Because that would mean admitting I was wrong…”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t regret throwing my glove at the archduke. If anyone insults the marquis, I’ll do it again.”

That same Yustea was now holding the hand of a shabby knight.

And she frowned, saying “Hmm.”

I’m proud of you, so don’t even think of being discouraged.

Marquis Yopis’s gaze turned cold.

“Then what business did you call me for?”

Only then did Yustea, who had let go of the Clan Leader’s hand, look at the marquis.

“To make a deal.”

“Can you give me what I need?”

“I’ll exorcise the ghost of the Yopis Family.”

“…A ghost?”

“It’s quite an obstacle, isn’t it? What the ghost contaminated are your ancestors’ remains, and even after relocating them, people won’t gather in Yopis territory. The people fear the superstition that ghosts bring misfortune.”

“…”

“No matter how much you advance, a noble’s foundation is their territory. Don’t you want to revive your domain?”

“So what do you want from me?”

“Money. Sanmiguel needs a lot of money.”

The Clan Leader was inwardly impressed.

‘Remarkable.’

She’s not just finding out the location of the Yopis Family Cemetery, but extorting money too.

It was a business that only brought profit to Sanmiguel.

Marquis Yopis asked.

“How much?”

“50,000 gold.”

That was an amount he could prepare.

“Fine. How long will the exorcism preparations take?”

“No preparations needed?”

“…Pardon?”

“Let’s go right now.”

We’re the ones short on time.

The Valboa territory annexation matter will be discussed soon.

Yustea smiled brightly.

* * *

Success!

Marquis Yopis obediently guided us to his family’s cemetery.

As expected, it was near Andres in the eastern region.

In the carriage heading to the cemetery, the Clan Leader said.

“It’s dangerous, so please just pretend to get out of the carriage, Miss.”

“Why?”

“Well, you’re not actually going to exorcise the ghost, are you?”

“I am though?”

“Pardon?”

“I have to earn that 50,000 gold.”

“You know how to exorcise ghosts?”

I don’t.

Ghosts themselves can’t be physically exorcised.

The only way is to eliminate the objects contaminated by the ghost.

‘But I can do it.’

I’m an air purifier that works on all contamination.

The Purifier class is useful at times like this.

The Clan Leader looked puzzled, but I just smiled knowingly.

More time passed and the carriage stopped at its destination.

Getting out of the carriage, I looked at Marquis Yopis, who came in another carriage, with an incredulous expression.

“You made a cemetery 30 minutes away from the Andres Estate?”

“As long as it’s not within the estate grounds, isn’t that fine?”

“The other vassals would faint if they knew.”

“As long as they don’t know, it’s fine. Shall we go then?”

“Marquis, you stay here.”

“I need to confirm if the contamination has been completely removed.”

“Who said not to confirm? You can check after the ghost exorcism.”

“You won’t tell me the exorcism method?”

“That’s right. What fool would sell their secret technique?”

When I tilted my head up haughtily, Marquis Yopis shrugged his shoulders.

I entered the cemetery with the Clan Leader.

Holding a lantern, I carefully read the tombstones in front of the cemetery.

“Luis… Gemma… Alondos… Ah, here it is. Leondora!”

I took out a shovel from the bundle the Clan Leader carried on his back under the pretense of exorcism equipment.

Just as the Clan Leader was diligently digging the ground.

Whoosh─!

The flow of air became strange.

And something like a human figure surrounded by mist approached.

[Darling… darling, where are you…]

[I hate you…]

[In agony… come with us…]

A chilling voice echoes in my ears.

That’s a ghost.

A monster that cannot inflict physical harm on humans, but destroys their minds.

A swarm of ghosts came rushing fiercely.

“It’s ghosts. Please step back…!”

The Clan Leader wrapped me with one arm.

However, the ghost at the very front reached me.

Then…

[Honey, where are you…?]

The ghost that touched me disappeared as if burning up.

The ghosts hesitated and looked at me.

“Uh… hello?”

I slightly raised my hand.

At that moment, the ghosts began fleeing in complete panic.

[What the hell!]

[I don’t know, run!]

I looked at the Clan Leader.

“Aren’t ghosts supposed to be unable to leave their contaminated remains?”

“…I suppose they were that terrified.”

Still, isn’t that too much of a hasty retreat.

How embarrassing for a person.

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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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