How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 61
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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 61
Father said to me.
“Her face was so disfigured that I couldn’t recognize your mother at first. I couldn’t see the face of the girl she was embracing either.”
Father said he had guessed it was us mother and daughter from the hair and silhouette.
“If what I saw was indeed you two, I thought your mother would have definitely needed all kinds of magic.”
“Then she would have contacted the Matap.”
“Right. I thought Enoch, being the son of the previous Matap master, would be able to find out if your mother had contacted the Matap.”
So that’s why Enoch came today after finishing his investigation.
Enoch handed me a parchment.
When I saw it, I collapsed.
* * *
I couldn’t sleep until dawn.
I sat quietly in my room, gazing out the window.
I heard footsteps behind me.
I could tell it was Father without turning around.
I quietly opened my mouth.
“Mother probably returned on the day she gave birth to me.”
“…Yes.”
“She ran to the Matap in a cold sweat, begging them to help her. Then her water broke and she was carried away.”
“…”
“Father, I… Mother…”
Father’s hand came to rest on my shoulder.
“Let’s wake her up.”
I looked up at Father.
I could see myself reflected in Father’s red eyes, tears welling up.
“She actually went looking for Father. She knew that Father was the son of Marquis Esgaroth.”
“The old man can be helpful sometimes.”
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“I’m scared.”
“…”
“Of the cuteness that prevents me from using my calculator.”
Father smiled broadly.
I buried my face in Father’s embrace.
‘I’ll wake up Mother and we’ll live in Esgaroth.’
I’ll obtain perfect peace.
That day, I told Father everything.
* * *
Morning.
We got into the carriage to return to Cuaron.
The siblings Ros and Roslin are also heading to Cuaron with us.
Antonio took charge of guarding the carriage from outside.
Since I had become a Saint, we needed to be more careful with security.
In other words, only people who knew I was a gamer were inside the carriage.
That would be Father and Yuise.
I raised my index finger.
“What we need is the Spiral Crown.”
Spiral Crown
It removes all status ailments.
With this, I could wake up Mother.
“According to the game story, it’s awarded at the Family Tournament hosted by the Imperial Palace.”
Family Tournament.
It was a national festival like the Olympics.
A place where heirs from each family gather to compete.
When I explained this, Yuise groaned.
“Esgaroth has never participated even once.”
“Yeah. To participate, you have to pay a huge donation…”
The only benefit gained from the Family Tournament is honor.
Of course, nobles live and die for honor, so they were desperate to participate even after paying that money.
But Esgaroth is a family that considers practical benefits.
They don’t do things like paying money to play the fool.
“We’ll have to start by persuading the Marquis.”
“Yeah!”
“Can the Clan Leader do it?”
“He can’t!”
I opened my eyes wide with determination.
Father became quiet.
I said.
“I’ll do the persuading.”
I clenched both hands into fists.
* * *
Esgaroth Castle.
Marquis Esgaroth entered the castle after finishing his trip to the archipelago.
As he entered his office, Marquis Sintez’s faction, who had been in charge of Esgaroth during his absence, followed him.
After the door closed, the Marquis asked.
“Were there any other problems?”
“How could there not be problems?”
Marquis Sintez shook his head.
While the Marquis was away at the archipelago, every day was like a storm.
The announcement that there was an illegitimate son.
That the illegitimate son was Marquis Cuaron.
That Yustea, adopted by Marquis Cuaron, was a Saint.
That Javid, the son born with the Marquise, had given up his right to succession!
Even the vassals of Marquis Sintez’s faction looked haggard.
Meeting after meeting after meeting, day after day.
Fighting and arguing had become routine.
‘I thought I was having a nightmare…’
The vassals sighed.
The Marquis smiled broadly.
“You must have had a hard time.”
“The hard times are just beginning.”
Marquis Sintez looked out the window with a weary expression.
Other vassals who had been waiting for the Marquis’s arrival were occupying one section and looking up at the window.
“Please withdraw Lord Javid’s succession renunciation oath!”
It was Marquis Dennis.
He was the one who had absorbed Marquis Valboa’s power after his expulsion.
Currently, the factions in the Marquis’s castle are as follows:
1. The pro-Javid faction centered around ‘Marquis Dennis.’
2. The neutral faction centered around ‘Marquis Sol.’
3. The pro-Marquis faction centered around ‘Marquis Sintez.’
Having divided factions didn’t mean they were balanced.
Since the Marquise had supported Esgaroth’s retainers from behind the scenes for many years, the pro-Javid faction was much larger in number.
Using their numbers as leverage, the petitioning began.
“We cannot allow the shame of a bastard ascending to the position of family head in Esgaroth’s history!”
Marquis Dennis, who had shouted, immediately prostrated himself.
His faction followed suit and prostrated themselves as well.
“Please give Lord Javid a chance!”
“Please give him a chance!”
Loud voices seeped through the window into the room.
The Marquis laughed heartily.
“Everyone’s quite energetic.”
“What will you do?”
“Could someone who can’t even resolve this much take my position?”
He was telling Aslan to handle it himself.
If he couldn’t resolve it, he would tacitly allow him to be pushed aside.
The Marquis sat down without another word.
“Let me hear the urgent reports first.”
“The heretical sect that started in the nearby manor has grown quite serious. It appears a large number of our estate residents have also joined them. They’ve even trained soldiers and are resisting our forces, so we must hurry to deal with…”
Marquis Sintus was in the middle of handing over a report to the Marquis.
Knock knock.
A knocking sound was heard.
“It’s Yustea. May I come in?”
Everyone looked surprised.
They had heard that the carriage carrying Yustea and Aslan had passed through the gates of Esgaloth Manor.
Moreover, since Aslan was recognized as direct lineage, there were no longer any restrictions on entering the citadel.
‘But why come to the citadel instead of going to Cuaron?’
Marquis Sintus looked at the Marquis with a puzzled expression.
The Marquis also seemed perplexed, as if he hadn’t received a separate report.
“Come in.”
Then the door opened and Yustea entered.
The Marquis asked.
“What brings you here?”
Yustea smiled brightly.
“I missed Grandfather.”
“…!”
“…?!”
The retainers were startled.
Was there anyone who could say such things to Marquis Esgaroth?
Since grandchildren hadn’t even existed before Yustea, this was naturally the first time.
What was even more surprising was…
“…What?”
Even the Marquis himself froze while holding his documents.
The Marquis was fond of Yustea, but Yustea had treated him merely as someone she needed to make a good impression on.
But why today…?
Yustea answered.
“Since I arrived at Esgaroth, it’s proper to pay my respects. Father had urgent business in Cuaron so he returned first, so I—”
“No.”
“Yes?”
“Missed… what?”
“Missed you?”
“…Again.”
“Grandfather?”
“…”
The Marquis fell silent for a moment.
And then…
“Hahahahaha!”
A loud burst of laughter erupted.
So loud that the retainers petitioning outside the window flinched.
* * *
“Yes, yes. You missed your grandfather. Hahaha!”
The retainers now looked at the Marquis with somewhat frightened expressions.
However, I raised the corners of my mouth.
‘Let’s work hard.’
When I think of Mother, embarrassment is nothing at all.
Come to think of it, the Marquis’s attitude toward me was similar to Mother’s.
“You adorable thing, you lovely thing. You precious little thing.”
And what Mother liked most was exactly this.
Being treated affectionately.
‘So I thought it might work on the Marquis too…’
It worked too well.
The Marquis said to Marquis Sintus with a pleased expression.
“How does your daughter treat you?”
“…”
“Has she ever come saying she missed you?”
“…”
“Hmm?”
“…As if she would.”
Marquis Sintus looked choked up.
His face said he hadn’t wanted the Marquis to be quite this happy.
The Marquis asked me.
“Well then. Since you’re here, why don’t you have a meal before you go.”
“You have work to do.”
The Marquis tossed the documents he was holding into the air.
“No, I don’t.”
“What? We need to hurry and drive out the heretical sect…!”
One of the retainers shouted while frantically catching the flying documents.
Outside the window, there was chaos from the petitioning.
“Please give Lord Javid a chance…!”
“Please give Lord Javid a chance…!”
The Marquis approached me with a beaming smile, regardless of the commotion.
“So, what kind of food does Yustea like best?”
‘No matter how I look at it, he seems busy.’
I was thinking that when…
A light suddenly flashed in my head.
‘If it’s a heretical sect that Esgaroth is concerned about at this time, it must be the Dawn Society.’
The Dawn Society was an infamous heretical sect that appeared in the game’s story as well.
Of course.
‘If I defeat the heretical sect and bring back the funds, I could participate in the family tournament?’
I could earn merit to get permission to participate in the family tournament and also obtain the funds to participate.
“I like meat.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“But the meal will have to wait.”
“…What?”
“The people are suffering from being deceived by the heretical sect, so I can’t just eat comfortably by myself.”
The vassals’ eyes lit up.
Marquis Sintus had a pleased expression.
“I’m truly envious of the Marquis.”
The vassals also nodded their heads.
“Yes. It’s been quite troublesome.”
“From human experiments to military training, it’s been nothing but difficult.”
The conversation was flowing in the direction I wanted.
I quickly said.
“Then shall I try to solve it?”
“You?”
“I am a Saint, after all.”
“That’s true, but….”
The vassals groaned “Ooh” while looking at me.
The Marquis said.
“Are you thinking of calling the holy knights? If you borrow the temple’s power, there will be something you’ll have to give in return.”
“My power and Cuaron’s power alone will be sufficient.”
Marquis Sintus laughed heartily.
“If that’s possible, you should give her a great reward.”
I looked at the Marquis with sparkling eyes.
The Marquis chuckled.
“Alright.”
Success.
I secretly flashed my eyes.
* * *
After finishing our conversation with a light tea time with the Marquis, I returned to Cuaron.
“Young Lady!”
“It’s the Young Lady!”
The clan members who were at Cuaron came running toward me.
I exchanged greetings with them.
“Have you been well?”
“Of course. Young Lady, I heard you’re an incredible person?”
“She’s a Saint. I’ve told you several times that I heard it through communication.”
“Ah. We’ve prepared quarters in the castle for the Ros and Roslin siblings you brought.”
Behind them, I saw a familiar face.
“I greet the Young Lady.”
“Lorenzo.”
The Clan Leader welcomed me with a smile.
Walking through the clan members, he said.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“You must have worked harder taking responsibility for Cuaron than I did, Lorenzo.”
“….”
The Clan Leader was silent for a moment.
Then he said with a bitter tone.
“…It was hard work. And there will be more ahead.”
What happened?
When I tilted my head, Antonio’s unit looked around nervously.
Come to think of it, I don’t see several people.
I asked Charlie from Antonio’s unit.
“Where are the others? Are they eating?”
“Well….”
“Hm?”
Charlie glanced at the Clan Leader with an awkward expression.
“Well… because of the heretical sect… they defected….”
What?
When my eyes widened, the Clan Leader squeezed his eyes shut.
“I apologize. I’ll send Yuise’s team to capture them immediately.”
“Uh… I’ll just go find them myself.”
“Pardon?”
I showed the appointment letter and identification badge that Esgaroth had given me.
[Inspector]
Those two characters were clearly stamped on it.
“I’ve received a mission to eliminate the heretical sect.”
The Clan Leader read the appointment letter with a bewildered expression.
But soon he nodded.
“I’ll assign clan members to you.”
“I’m planning to keep the personnel to a minimum. I have something in mind. I’ll just take Antonio.”
“…Antonio instead of Yuise?”
“Yes.”
“…?”
“It’s better if they’re not too smart.”
“Then that’s indeed an appropriate personnel choice.”
The Clan Leader nodded.
After that, we entered the castle interior.
All the vassals looking at me had wide-open eyes.
It must be because it was revealed that I’m a Saint.
“They must have been incredibly shocked to see Father too.”
Their hearts must have dropped when they learned I was the Marquis’s illegitimate child.
Since there were quite a few vassals who had rebelled against Father.
Then the Clan Leader chuckled.
“When the lord returned, all the vassals were kneeling in front of Cuaron Gate.”
Then I don’t need to worry about internal affairs in Cuaron anymore.
They must have thought they’d become a severed connection after expelling Marquis Valboa.
But the new lord turned out to be the eldest son of the Marquis, who was closest to the head of the family.
Once the fear passes, they’ll feel like they won the lottery.
Father was in his office.
Like the Marquis had done, he was checking if there were any problems while he was away.
‘The biggest problem would be Antonio’s unit’s defection.’
Yuise was by Father’s side, reading reports related to Antonio’s unit’s defection together.
The Clan Leader quietly closed his eyes.
“Do you know the way? You look energetic, so if you pray to your ancestors, your luck will turn around. …What part of this pitch is there to fall for?”
“….”
“What kind of pitch did they fall for exactly?”
“…It started with asking for directions.”
“Pardon?”
“Ask away, ask away. Where are you going? ─And they followed them all the way….”
“….”
Yuise set down the report with an expressionless face.
“If he comes looking, just tie him up. At that point, he’s basically just a dog.”
“….”
“….”
Both the Clan Leader and Father fell silent.
I smiled kindly.
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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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