How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 59
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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 59
Aslan grabbed Javid by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up.
Then dragged him out into the corridor in that state.
“Mother…! Mother!”
As Javid desperately screamed, the Marquise ran over with a pale face.
“What are you doing? Let him go! What are you all doing!”
She shouted sharply, but the soldiers couldn’t step forward.
Because the Marquis who followed them out gave no orders.
The Marquise yelled at the Marquis.
“Are you just going to watch! Isn’t Javid your son!”
“Because Javid is my son, I’m staying still. He’s being threatened by Aslan.”
He frowned as if asking what she was talking about.
Just then, a man in butler’s clothes came running urgently.
“The investigation team for the monstrous birds incident has arrived.”
“…!”
The Marquise’s face turned white.
Javid was also startled and shouted.
“Why are they here…!”
It was Aslan who answered.
“What’s the use of giving seals and such to lure out alchemists.”
“What, what?”
Javid stammered.
The Marquise, sensing something suspicious, glanced at Javid with a start.
“A seal?”
“Well, that’s…”
Javid couldn’t answer and floundered.
He had told the Marquise that the monstrous birds incident was his doing and begged for help.
But he couldn’t bring himself to mention the seal.
It was obvious she would flip out and reproach him if she knew.
‘I was planning to deal with the alchemist anyway.’
He had actually ordered the disposal.
And sent assassins who surely completed the task.
‘The assassins reported it that way…’
“Those who make their living in the shadows find lying easy.”
It was Aslan’s words.
Javid’s eyes widened.
‘Could it be that they made a false report to buy time to escape…!’
The Marquise, sensing an ominous atmosphere from the exchange, grabbed Aslan.
Her arrogant gaze was nowhere to be found.
The Marquise, grasping Aslan’s arm with cold hands, said.
“Let him go… let him go and talk. Send the investigation team back. Please?”
Aslan glanced at the Marquise.
But that was all.
He didn’t stop walking.
Javid cried out desperately as he was dragged by Aslan’s hand.
“Mother! Mother, please help me!”
He had broken the archipelago’s barrier and lured monstrous birds into the marketplace.
And through an alchemist at that.
He had committed all the crimes the Imperial Palace and Temple were most wary of.
If Aslan had perfect evidence, he would surely rally public opinion.
Then the Imperial Palace and Temple would have no choice but to punish Javid for the sake of their organizations’ prestige.
Of course, it could be resolved if Marquis Esgaroth stepped in.
‘But he…’
Marquis Esgaroth showed no restraint toward Aslan who had brought the investigation team into the manor.
It was when they reached the stairs leading to the courtyard.
“I’ll give up the succession!”
The Marquise let out a scream-like shout.
Only then did Aslan’s steps stop.
“I’ll write a pledge with the Marquis as guarantor.”
“…”
“So send the investigation team back. Let Javid go… please.”
“…”
Javid looked at the Marquise with an expression of disbelief.
“Mother, what nonsense are you saying…!”
Aslan stared intently at the trembling Javid.
Then threw Javid down the stairs as he was.
Thud, thump, bang!
“Javid!”
Seeing Javid rolling down the stairs with dull sounds, the Marquise screamed and ran to him.
Aslan looked down at the mother and son and said.
“Write the pledge. If you want him to wake up in a hospital rather than die in prison.”
The Marquise buried her face in her trembling hands.
* * *
The elderly administrative official who had assisted the Marquis for decades held out the pledge the Marquise had written.
“It was like seeing the Marquis in his youth.”
He was referring to Aslan.
The Marquis said while checking the contents of the pledge.
“I wasn’t quite so rough. The assassins’ hideout was drenched in blood.”
Only two guys were left alive.
Of those two, one had lost his mind, and the other begged for his life as if he’d spill his guts.
One could tell how cruel the massacre had been.
“Yustea, that child won’t know. She just thinks of her father as a kind person.”
The Marquis who stamped his seal on the pledge furrowed his brow.
“Compared to that, aren’t I the kinder one.”
“What kind of frightening joke is that.”
“Does it look like a joke?”
“Those aren’t words for someone who abandoned his own son today.”
The elderly administrative official answered while receiving the documents.
If Javid had been dragged to prison today, he would have been crippled at minimum.
Javid wouldn’t have been able to endure torture and would have confessed to all sorts of crimes.
Even excluding the monstrous birds incident, there were plenty of crimes worthy of execution.
The Marquise had given up the succession to prevent that.
“I think Aslan deliberately made himself bait by wandering around outside.”
So that Javid would target him.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to the marketplace for unnecessary drinking sessions with the Merchant Guild.
“What good does it do to realize that now? You’ve gotten quite old too.”
“Still. You suspected it but did nothing for Javid?”
“Javid is too stupid. You shouldn’t give a sword to a stupid fellow. He stabs himself with the blade.”
The Marquis continued speaking while wiping the ink from his seal.
“Humans have a point where they cannot retreat. Like offspring to their parents.”
He had brought trouble upon himself.
His judgment of opponents and his methods of cornering them were foolish.
There was no way he could pass the succession to such a fool.
“Do you really think the Marquise will give up her claim to succession?”
“As if she would do such a thing.”
The oath was merely a declaration that they would no longer fight in the open.
All sorts of illegal activities would run rampant in the shadows.
To target each other’s lives.
And the shadows were the Irregulars’ domain.
‘Since Javid’s forces are superior in the open, she’s drawing them into her own territory.’
“…Quite useful.”
The Marquis’s lips curved up with satisfaction.
* * *
Night.
Duke Esgaroth’s Second Residence.
I paced around my room anxiously, glancing at the door.
‘It’s about time they arrived…’
At that moment, I heard a knock.
I quickly opened the door to see two people.
Father and Yuise.
“Yuise!”
The person I had been anxiously waiting for wasn’t Father, but Yuise.
As I rushed toward Yuise, Father’s eyebrows twitched.
I quickly extended my hand to Yuise.
“Do you have Prince Luciano’s letter?”
“I brought it.”
Then Father furrowed his brow.
“Prince Luciano?”
“Yes. I want to see Mother before going down to Cuaron. I asked Prince Luciano to look after Mother.”
I said with a bright face while reading the letter.
Only after I said that did Father’s expression soften.
“Right. You should go see her.”
“Is it okay if I go now?”
“Go with Yuise.”
“Yes.”
I smiled brightly and was about to walk down the corridor when I stopped.
Then I turned back to look at Father.
“Oh.”
Father looked at me as if asking what was wrong, so I bowed at the waist.
“Welcome back, Father.”
“….”
“I forgot to greet you.”
Father smiled with a gentle face and patted my head.
“Go on.”
“Yes.”
I answered and moved a little away from Father with Yuise.
“Father is really kind. He’s an incredibly good person, right?”
“That good person killed how many guys today…”
Thud.
Suddenly, a clock hanging on the wall fell.
‘Was that clock bent like that before?’
Having that thought, I looked at Yuise.
“What did you say?”
“…I didn’t say anything.”
“You did.”
“Let’s go quietly. Do you want to see me get bent too?”
“…?”
Yuise’s complexion looked a bit pale.
I tilted my head.
* * *
The meeting place with Luciano was a brewery.
A place that supplied alcohol to the Imperial Palace.
The attendant from the Imperial Palace hid us among the oak barrels and headed somewhere.
And the place we arrived at was…
‘The Imperial Palace?’
It was even the Holy Tower.
The building destroyed in the last Saint verification incident still hadn’t been properly repaired.
Yuise whispered to me.
“It seems they wanted to secretly bring us into the Imperial Palace.”
“It looks that way.”
We followed the attendant into the Holy Tower.
He felt around one of the stairs connecting the 3rd and 4th floors.
And when we went up to the rooftop…
“…!”
There was a door I’d never seen before.
Inside the door, paths were laid out in a strange formation.
There were an incredible number of rooms.
The place the attendant guided us to was the most secretive path among them.
We went deep inside and entered a certain room.
Yuise and I were amazed when we saw inside the room.
There was a huge tree, with a trunk so massive that even three grown men couldn’t wrap their arms around it.
Moreover, the leaves sparkled with a mysterious light.
Mother was lying on a bed placed under that tree.
Luciano, who had been looking at the tree, sensed our presence and turned to look at me.
I said to Luciano with a surprised face.
“This is the World Tree from the Temple.”
“It’s the Imperial Palace’s World Tree.”
“What…”
“The founding Emperor and the first Pope divided two seeds of the World Tree. And each planted them in their own domains.”
“But why wasn’t the Imperial Palace’s World Tree made public?”
“The Imperial Palace’s World Tree was diseased from the moment it sprouted.”
Luciano touched the tree’s leaves.
Then the leaves scattered as clusters of light.
“It couldn’t be made public since it would be seen as the Imperial Family abandoned by God.”
“Is this a secret passed down only to royalty?”
“His Majesty doesn’t know of this place’s existence either. I found this place when I was young.”
He picked up an old book.
It looked like a diary.
“The founding Emperor’s diary?”
“Yes. They were together in this space.”
I see.
It was surprising.
‘But it’s sick?’
To me, it seemed no less than the World Tree of the Temple.
Because ever since entering this space, I had been feeling continuously uplifted.
Like the Temple’s World Tree, there seemed to be something that amplified divinity.
I placed my hand on the trunk.
I intended to check if it was really sick.
The moment I drew up a little mana.
Bang.
The door closed.
“…!”
“…?!”
It wasn’t just the door to the space we were in.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
The sound of doors closing could be heard from outside as well.
Soon, with some operational sound like “Kugugugugung…”, my body staggered.
It wasn’t dizziness.
This space was rotating.
Luciano and Yuise looked around in surprise.
Yuise said.
“Take your hand off. Something’s wrong.”
“I want to, but… why won’t this…!”
My hand wouldn’t come off as if it were stuck.
Luciano grabbed my hand that was attached to the tree.
That was the moment.
Flash!
An intense light engulfed us.
The light soon became some kind of text and spread out.
…between Mother and me.
A strange voice burrowed into my ears.
Memories that weren’t in my head surfaced.
“I think I messed up, Yustea.”
“Did you evade taxes?”
“No.”
“Did you kick another bad middle-aged man in the groin?”
“That’s not a big deal.”
“Then what?”
“Our daughter happens to be a genius.”
As I tilted my head, Mother pressed her forehead against mine.
“So I’m sorry, baby.”
“Yes.”
“Do not reveal your divinity. Forget everything related to □□□. Do not remember this moment.”
Young me’s vision became blurry.
Watching me like that, Mother smiled bitterly.
And another memory.
It was the day we were kicked out of Andres.
Snow was swirling fiercely.
When I ran to Mother who came home completely soaked, Mother roughly grabbed me.
When I opened my eyes wide as if asking what was wrong, Mother grabbed my nape and pressed her forehead against mine.
“Mother, why…”
“Stay still, please!”
“…!”
“Do not reveal your divinity. Do not reveal your divinity. Do not reveal your divinity. Do not reveal your divinity…!”
No matter how much she shouted, my eyes didn’t blur like they did when I was young.
Mother collapsed just like that.
Sensing that the situation was serious, I held onto Mother.
“What’s wrong? What’s happening? Huh?”
“I can’t lose again. No. Not Yustea. Not my daughter.”
An expression and voice I’d never seen before.
Mother was completely broken down.
Mother, who had been clutching my collar with trembling hands, suddenly raised her head.
“That thing… Yes, if it’s that thing.”
“Mother?”
Mother looked at me.
And grabbed my face with both hands.
“Think of the game. Do not remember this moment. Do not guess the prohibition. Go to Aslan and receive protection. Live. Live and…”
My vision blurred again.
Mother, who embraced my limp body, whispered.
“…be happy.”
It was what happened the day Mother collapsed.
Suddenly, my body collapsed.
Luciano hurriedly caught me.
“Yustea.”
“…It was a prohibition.”
“What?”
The reason Mother collapsed.
Mother didn’t collapse because she was shocked, or because the world was too painful to want to open her eyes again.
It was the backlash from placing a prohibition on me.
‘Mother placed a prohibition on me… so that’s why…’
Even though I knew Mother was a strong person who would never give up on life, I had unconsciously dismissed the thought.
That too was because I had been under a prohibition.
I broke away from Luciano with trembling hands and approached Mother.
Mother was sleeping quietly.
‘She knew everything.’
The entire game.
Even my going to Father among countless game characters was Mother’s arrangement.
“What happened…?”
How tremendous must the backlash of the prohibition be that the Saint’s purification or healing was useless?
And how does she even know about the ‘game’?
* * *
Andres Estate.
The maids looked at the door with worried faces.
Stella hadn’t left her room for days.
Even when they brought meals, nothing was touched.
“Shouldn’t we somehow go in and persuade the Young Lady?”
“…Her feelings must be complicated. Let’s not make her worry about us too and go back.”
As the maids returned with completely dejected faces, light was seeping out from inside the room.
Stella muttered.
“Status window.”
Name: Stella Andres
Class: !error!
Traits: Status Window (Active), Chat Window (Active), Healing (Active)
MP:733/1000
.
.
“Strange. The healing was definitely in an active state, so why did the verification fail? …What do you think?”
GM: That’s why I told you to raise Luciano’s affection level first. If it weren’t for Luciano, Yustea wouldn’t have been able to enter the Holy Tower.
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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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