How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 55

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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 55

 

* * *

 

“Are you safe, Your Majesty.”

 

Luciano’s voice echoed through the Holy Tower.

 

He had first sent me, Father, and the Irregulars’ elite into this Holy Tower, and now appeared leading the holy knights.

 

Luciano prostrated himself before the Emperor.

 

The Emperor looked at me without answering.

 

Well, the Emperor wasn’t the only one staring at me.

 

The Pope, senior priests, heads of the Seven Families, nobles, knights, soldiers….

 

They all stared at me with hardened faces.

 

‘I didn’t exactly plan to make such a flashy entrance….’

 

At first, I just wanted to watch the Saint verification ceremony end in failure.

 

To upset Emma.

 

But then news came that they were conducting the verification with a corrupted White Crane’s egg at the Imperial Palace.

 

‘So I had no choice but to step forward.’

 

Because that was an item from the game story.

 

The corrupted White Crane’s egg

 

A mysterious egg whose corruption even the first Pope couldn’t resolve at the empire’s founding.

 

The sleeping holy water awaits its master.

 

‘That master is Stella, the game’s protagonist.’

 

In the game story, Stella hatches the White Crane while still corrupted.

 

So it was obvious that chaos would break out this time too.

 

I immediately went to find Luciano, revealed that I was the Saint, and asked him to let me into the Holy Tower.

 

‘Thank goodness he believed me.’

 

Otherwise, disaster would have struck.

 

More important than the Emperor and Pope’s lives was that Marquis Esgaroth was present here.

 

If by any chance Marquis Esgaroth got hurt or died, the marquis title would pass entirely to the Marquise’s son Javid.

 

‘Moreover….’

 

I looked at Emma.

 

Emma had turned pale and was gaping her mouth.

 

“How, how…!”

 

She wasn’t the only one.

 

Count Andres and the Marquise were also frozen like nails had been driven into them.

 

Just then, the Pope approached me.

 

“The First Bell greets the daughter of God.”

 

It was then that sound returned to the quiet Holy Tower.

 

“What! What on earth happened!”

 

“Stella Andres wasn’t the Saint?!”

 

“So the real Saint is Yustea Andres… no, now she’s… what should we call her?”

 

“Good heavens, what in the world is going on….”

 

The Holy Tower became tumultuous as if it would burst.

 

Marquis Esgaroth approached me.

 

“Is it really true?”

 

It seemed he hadn’t heard from the Marquise that I claimed to be the Saint.

 

Well, if I really were the Saint, Father’s influence would rise dramatically.

 

He couldn’t have spoken carelessly.

 

I smiled awkwardly.

 

“That’s how it turned out.”

 

As soon as I finished speaking, the Marquis pulled me into an embrace.

 

“Where did such a treasure roll in from.”

 

“Urgh….”

 

“This adorable thing, this lovable thing!”

 

Father looked at Marquis Esgaroth with a cursing expression.

 

* * *

 

Andres Estate.

 

The employees welcomed the returning Count, Marquise, and Emma.

 

The employees lined up in the courtyard quickly bowed their heads, afraid to even make eye contact with their masters.

 

News of the Saint’s appearance had swept across the archipelago.

 

Along with the news that the Saint wasn’t Andres’s Stella, but Yustea.

 

The Marquise, who had been walking into the courtyard, leaned against a decorative stand.

 

And with trembling hands, she swept down a decorated ivory statue.

 

Crash─!

 

The sharp sound of shattering filled the courtyard, but no one could move.

 

Emma muttered with a pale face.

 

“Stella… Stella didn’t know about this. It was the priests who said Stella healed the child’s tuberculosis.”

 

It was also revealed that the healing had been Yustea’s power.

 

While Stella couldn’t do anything, Yustea had embraced the children and blocked the monstrous birds.

 

The priests spared no praise, saying she truly had the character befitting God’s daughter.

 

The Marquise forcibly turned her stiff head to look at her son.

 

“What a fine sight you are.”

 

“….”

 

“You drove out the Saint because of a fake. How does it feel.”

 

“….”

 

“How does it feel to have lost the Saint entirely to Esgaroth─!”

 

Her shout echoed through the courtyard.

 

Count Andres answered in a cold voice.

 

“It hasn’t been a year since the adoption yet. Under imperial law, if the child’s will is clear within a year, the adoption can be revoked.”

 

“…Would that be possible?”

 

“I’ll have to make it possible.”

 

The Marquise’s trembling eyes found stability.

 

It was a fact known to all imperial citizens that Yustea was deeply attached to her father.

 

She was a child who would smile even when covered in wounds from head to toe at a single word of praise from her father.

 

‘She may be quite resentful about being driven out now, but blood calls to blood.’

 

She wouldn’t feel secure at Esgaroth, where she shared not a drop of blood.

 

“I’ll go meet Yustea.”

 

Having said that, the Marquise left the courtyard.

 

Count Andres climbed the stairs.

 

Emma followed him with quick steps.

 

“Are you going to your office first? Stella is in the clock tower. Whenever she needs comfort, she always waits for you there, so you should hurry and go see….”

 

Even when small incidents occurred, mentioning Stella’s name always resolved things.

 

The Count cherished and loved Stella dearly.

 

‘So surely today’s matter will also….’

 

The Count turned to look at her.

 

Emma’s face brightened as she looked up at the Count.

 

The Count opened his mouth.

 

“Instead of babbling nonsense, you’d better think about how to win Yustea’s favor.”

 

“…What?”

 

“If you want to continue staying in this manor.”

 

Thud.

 

My heart felt like it was rolling on the floor.

 

‘If I don’t win Yustea’s favor, he’ll kick me out?’

 

Me, Stella’s birth mother?

 

The Marquis finished speaking and climbed the stairs again.

 

Emma, who had been frozen, screamed as if having a seizure.

 

“W-wait a moment…! Rohan! Rohan!”

 

However, the Marquis never looked back at her.

 

* * *

 

Imperial Palace.

 

I gazed into empty space with a benevolent smile.

 

“Where else would the daughter of God reside but in a temple?”

 

“She is the child of glory who will revive the Empire. She will receive special protection at the Imperial Palace.”

 

“She must recuperate in a sacred space…!”

 

“The Imperial Palace also has holy sites, so for recuperation, the Imperial Palace is more than sufficient…!”

 

The Pope and Emperor had been fighting for an hour now.

 

If possible, they looked ready to tear each other apart.

 

Then, the Duke quietly raised his hand.

 

“For a holy site, surely the Plateau of Beginnings is best. The Saint should stay at my manor where the Plateau of Beginnings is located…”

 

“Mind your own business!”

 

“Butt out!”

 

The Pope and Emperor glared simultaneously.

 

The Duke quietly lowered his hand.

 

Beside the Pope and Emperor, senior priests and imperial palace officials glared at each other with bulging eyes.

 

‘At this rate, we’ll be here all night…’

 

I was just smiling with dead eyes.

 

“What does Yustea think?”

 

Marquis Esgaroth asked.

 

Everyone’s gaze focused on me at once.

 

‘This is my chance.’

 

I don’t want the Imperial Palace or the temple.

 

Because…

 

‘I may be a Saint, but I’m a mana beggar.’

 

The reason they want the Saint is because the Saint is the ‘seed of glory’ mentioned in the oracle.

 

They’ll try to use me to make deals with other countries, or have me do things necessary for the Empire or temple.

 

But I’m a mana beggar.

 

‘To do such things, I’d have to risk my life.’

 

Even if I solve it by drawing mana from elsewhere, the next task will be waiting.

 

I couldn’t live that way.

 

There are two ways to overcome this situation.

 

1. Drastically increase my mana.

 

2. Make Father into a great power that even the Imperial Palace and temple must be wary of. So they can’t give me excessive tasks.

 

‘Option 2 is more realistic.’

 

If drastically increasing mana were possible, everyone would have done it.

 

But Father rises to great heights even in the game.

 

If I help him with my status as Saint, he could become an even greater power than in the game story.

 

“I’m grateful for Your Majesty’s and Your Holiness’s concern. However, I don’t think I can stay at either the Imperial Palace or the temple.”

 

“…What?”

 

“Why is that?”

 

The Emperor frowned, and the Pope looked flustered.

 

I drooped my eyebrows.

 

“This is embarrassing to say, but I have difficulty controlling my divine power.”

 

I rattled off my prepared excuse.

 

To summarize, it went like this:

 

I only recently awakened, didn’t I?

 

I’m not stable enough to cause divine fluctuations twice.

 

I’m scared I might cause an even bigger divine fluctuation if I recuperate at a holy site.

 

What if it reaches explosion levels?

 

How dangerous would it be to do such a thing at the archipelago, the center of the Empire?

 

I’m so scared.

 

I’m so anxious I feel like a divine explosion might occur!

 

“For this reason, until my divine power stabilizes, I wish to train at Esgaroth, which is like a home to my heart, so please grant your permission.”

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

The Emperor and Pope fell silent.

 

* * *

 

The Emperor thought.

 

‘We can’t let the archipelago explode.’

 

The Pope also thought.

 

‘Losing the holy sites would be troublesome.’

 

Yustea had collapsed the archipelago’s barrier with her last divine fluctuation.

 

The possibility of an explosion wasn’t entirely absent.

 

The Emperor asked the Pope.

 

“What are your thoughts?”

 

“How about setting a time limit for the Saint to train? I’ll contact the Northern Temple to help with her training.”

 

“Meanwhile, we should strengthen the holy sites’ barriers to prepare for bringing the Saint.”

 

When the two nodded, the heads of the Seven Families flinched.

 

‘Doesn’t this mean Esgaroth will monopolize the Saint’s divine power for the time being!’

 

Marquis Esgaroth was quietly raising only the corners of his mouth.

 

However, he couldn’t hide his eyes that found Yustea very precious.

 

The heads of the Seven Families looked very displeased.

 

‘Where on earth has Count Andres gone?’

 

‘If her birth father opposed this, he might be able to stop this damned situation.’

 

‘Damn it.’

 

Since the Emperor and Pope’s intentions aligned, it was difficult to oppose.

 

One wrong move could create a situation where the Imperial Palace, temple, and Esgaroth formed an alliance.

 

In the end, Yustea would spend three months at Esgaroth.

 

‘During these three months, I’ll make Father Esgaroth’s heir.’

 

Yustea’s eyes sparkled.

 

* * *

 

The next day, at Duke Esgaroth’s Second Residence.

 

I thought.

 

‘Rather than a divine explosion, won’t there be a communication device explosion?’

 

Communication devices rang frantically on the communication stone.

 

Outside the manor, crowds of people came to meet Father or me.

 

Antonio shouted from outside the door.

 

“So I’m telling you, the… the Marquis and Young Lady said they won’t meet with anyone!”

 

But these weren’t people who would listen.

 

If they were the type to back down from rejection, they wouldn’t have come without notice in the first place.

 

“I’m Alonso. I’m from the Baul Trading Company, and when the Young Lady was this little, I played peek-a-boo with her…!”

 

“I’m Gonji Gonji Jemjem!”

 

“Hey, have you ever given her piggyback rides?!”

 

“It feels like yesterday when the Young Lady plucked out all three remaining strands of hair from my crown and giggled!”

 

People rolled their eyes and clung to Antonio.

 

I watched the scene with dead eyes from the window.

 

Yuise approached me.

 

“Those who didn’t even spare a glance when you mother and daughter were driven out are now bringing up old connections.”

 

“Greed is stronger than sympathy, after all.”

 

When I shrugged my shoulders, Yuise shook her head.

 

Then she glanced at me sideways.

 

“Today’s outing is ruined, isn’t it?”

 

“I’m more worried about the trip to Esgaroth than the outing.”

 

What if we can’t go to Esgaroth because the manor is surrounded?

 

I looked at the crowd packed in front of the door with such concerns.

 

‘…Huh?’

 

Next to Antonio, who was squawking for them to please get lost, I saw a woman hesitating.

 

Her face wasn’t clearly visible from the distance, but I could definitely recognize her silhouette.

 

I focused on her and spoke to Yuise.

 

“Do you see that brown-haired woman?”

 

“The one in the blue dress?”

 

“Yes. Could you bring her to the reception room?”

 

“Just that woman? Why?”

 

“She’s the woman I saw before the monstrous bird incident.”

 

In other words, she’s a woman involved in the monstrous bird incident.

 

Yuise’s face immediately turned cold.

 

Her expression seemed to ask what kind of trouble she was planning to cause by coming here.

 

She immediately went outside.

 

I waited for her in the reception room.

 

Some time passed.

 

Along with a knock, I heard Yuise’s voice.

 

“Young Lady, it’s Yuise.”

 

“Come in.”

 

The door opened.

 

The brown-haired woman carefully entered the room.

 

Yuise positioned herself behind me.

 

I felt a sharp presence from behind my back.

 

She was being wary of alchemy.

 

The brown-haired woman greeted me.

 

“I’m called Roslin from Alcain Merchant. The Clan Leader is my older brother…”

 

I know.

 

I also know that the Clan Leader of Alcain Merchant is a tremendous alchemist.

 

Roslin couldn’t bring herself to look me in the eyes and only moved her lips.

 

“I’m Yustea of Quaron from Esgaloth Manor. Please sit.”

 

I pointed to the opposite seat with my palm facing up.

 

The woman took a seat across from me.

 

Then she spoke hesitantly.

 

“I don’t know how grateful I am for the honor of meeting the Saint. The reason I came here is…”

 

“Is it an apology for the monstrous bird incident?”

 

“…!”

 

Roslin looked at me with a start.

 

Her black eyes, which had been hidden by her bushy bangs, were revealed.

 

Her pupils trembled.

 

“On the day the monstrous bird incident happened at the marketplace, you came looking for me. The purpose was probably to complete a spell targeting me.”

 

“That… that is…”

 

“Does the Marquise know that you came to find me today? You must have done such things under the Marquise’s orders.”

 

Roslin’s hands trembled violently.

 

She looked like she didn’t know how to make excuses.

 

I quietly waited for her words.

 

After repeatedly opening and closing her lips, she squeezed her eyes shut.

 

“How can I receive forgiveness…”

 

Yuise let out a bitter laugh.

 

“The Young Lady could have lost her life. Do you think forgiveness is possible?”

 

“You don’t have to forgive me. If you wish, I’ll even offer my neck.”

 

Having said that, Roslin prostrated herself flat on the floor.

 

“I know I’m not qualified to say such things. But the only thing I can rely on is the Saint’s healing power. Please… please save that person…!”

 

Wondering what she was talking about, I turned my head to look at Yuise.

 

Yuise also shook her head with a puzzled expression.

 

‘Who exactly is this person she’s talking about?’

—————
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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