How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 77
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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 77
The window visible before my eyes is different from what I’ve seen so far.
Not only is it hard to make out due to noise, but the screen flashed like sparks flying before disappearing.
And what appeared were new windows.
ErrorError!
Error!
Error!
ErrorErrorError!
[Connection Channel Error]
Connection channel error.
A conversation mentioning Stella.
I gripped my skirt tightly.
‘There’s been a connection error between Stella’s channel and my channel.’
That’s why I was able to access Stella’s channel.
I saw the conversation between Stella and GM.
Stella, just as GM said, hasn’t said a word since then and keeps avoiding eye contact.
Her hands holding the tray trembled finely.
Plus her shallow breathing.
The veins bulging at her temples.
‘She’s extremely tense.’
I had an instant realization.
Divine power is greatly influenced by emotions.
The reason I was allowed to go down to Esgaroth was also due to ‘concerns about divine explosion from unstable emotions,’ wasn’t it?
Stella must be in a very unstable state right now.
A situation where she’s been shunned by her family.
She even has to join the Ancien Empire Restoration Society, which is hostile to her own friends.
What if there’s a gap in her abilities due to Stella’s unstable emotions?
‘Let me check.’
“Did you come looking for the Ancien Empire Restoration Society?”
“…!”
Stella took a sharp intake of breath.
If either of us lingered around Onel’s friends, GM would immediately catch on to my intentions.
If I’m going to be caught anyway, it’s better to use it as a disrupting card.
Her complexion immediately turned pale.
At that moment, another window appeared with sparks flying.
GM: Calm down.
GM: Are you planning to let Yustea see through your intentions?
And it disappeared again with noise.
I was certain.
That’s divine instability.
‘From the message, it seems GM doesn’t know I’m seeing the window.’
Then thank you.
I can use this.
Just as I thought that, the reception room door opened.
Onel came out with his friends.
Seeing Stella and me facing each other, Onel furrowed his brow.
“What’s this?”
When he asked, Stella quickly changed her expression.
“I heard you were with friends, so I prepared some snacks.”
Onel now looked at me.
“You.”
“I came to see Lord Ignis.”
Rather than making excuses and arousing suspicion, it’s better to be bold.
Ignis glanced at me.
“Me… you say…?”
Whether his speech is naturally slow, it took a while just to hear those words.
“You’re His Holiness the Pope’s nephew, aren’t you? And a priest of the Central Temple.”
“That’s correct…”
“I’ll likely have many occasions to visit the temple in the future, so I wanted to ask various things in advance.”
“Ah…”
Ignis looked understanding.
The others seemed to find it reasonable too.
Benjamin and the man who’s supposedly a foreign prince nodded, saying “Ah.”
Stella looked at me with furrowed brows.
‘Why. What.’
Stella and I know each other’s purposes.
In other words, if we don’t want to be exposed, we need to keep each other’s secrets.
Benjamin said with a grin.
“We’re going to shoot arrows. Want to come along, you two?”
That was welcome news.
Stella’s face also brightened.
“Is that okay?”
“You’re good at archery, right?”
“Of course. I learned from my brother.”
Stella smiled brightly and looked at Onel.
Onel nodded, then called over a passing maid.
He was going to hand over the tray Stella was holding.
So we moved to Onel’s private training ground.
On the way, Onel asked.
“That guy.”
“Who?”
“Your annoying-looking guard.”
Yuise?
Yuise went to survey the interior of Andres Castle.
To locate surveillance devices, make contact with Oscar, things like that.
But I can’t say that.
“Is there a reason I should tell you?”
“Are you going to keep acting like this?”
Onel even stopped walking and frowned at me.
As the atmosphere grew tense, the others assessed the situation.
Benjamin stepped in.
“Why is the mood like this? Didn’t you two make up? You were together in the garden.”
“…”
“…”
Onel was frowning while looking away.
And I just blinked.
We weren’t the kind of relationship where reconciliation was possible.
Benjamin said.
“Oh my. You couldn’t make up? That’s why Yustea was acting like Onel.”
“…What?”
Onel flinched and looked at Benjamin.
Benjamin met Onel’s gaze with a puzzled expression.
“Why.”
“What did you just say?”
“That Yustea acts like you?”
“….”
Onel’s expression became strange.
He furrowed his brow and looked at me.
I tilted my head.
“Aren’t you going?”
“….”
“Everyone’s waiting.”
“…Let’s go.”
After staring at me for a while, Onel strode forward.
* * *
Onel’s Training Ground.
Looking at the distant targets, Stella’s eyes widened.
“I can barely see the targets.”
Benjamin, who was selecting a bow, answered with a smiling face.
“That’s why a soldier usually calls out the scores from near the targets.”
“That’s incredible. The longest distance I’ve shot an arrow was 30 meters. This is my first time seeing something so serious.”
“You need at least this distance to be useful in real combat, but our Young Lady would have struggled in actual battle.”
“But I’m really good at hunting. Right, brother?”
Stella turned to look at Onel with a bright smile.
But something was strange.
Onel was sitting quietly like someone lost in thought.
“Brother?”
“…Right. Did you put on your protector?”
It was a different response.
He clearly hadn’t been listening to the conversation.
“Yes. I did, but….”
“Well then, it’s my turn. We’re betting money, right?”
While Stella was speaking, Hui, the foreign prince, appeared holding a bow.
Benjamin chuckled, and Ignis, the Pope’s nephew, let out a sigh.
Benjamin said.
“If Ignis permits?”
Then Hui looked at Ignis.
“If you permit it, that would be good.”
“It’s not asking for permission… it’s an order….”
“Then make it an order. Grant permission.”
“…Do whatever you want.”
When Ignis answered with a sigh, Hui became excited, and Benjamin smirked.
Watching this scene, Stella approached Onel and giggled.
“Brother’s friends are really funny.”
“….”
“Brother. Is there something bothering you?”
“…Was I that heartless.”
“What?”
“To Yustea, I mean.”
I know I said harsh things when I was annoyed.
It was a bit excessive.
There were times I said it was disgusting to watch her beg for affection.
Yustea would open and close her mouth, then unable to speak, would lower her head.
Even after he passed by, she wouldn’t lift her head for a long time.
But had she always been like that?
Stella’s pupils trembled faintly as she looked at Onel.
Stella turned her gaze away.
She could see Yustea contemplating for a long time at the bow rack.
Stella pulled up the corners of her mouth and said.
“There must have been… a reason for it.”
“I don’t think there was.”
“Huh?”
“I think I was just angry all the time.”
“Why….”
Onel didn’t continue and just looked at Yustea.
Yustea was a child who looked exactly like her father.
Anyone who knew Marquis Andres couldn’t help but notice that child was his daughter.
Just like Onel himself.
The first and last time he went to his maternal family’s home, he heard what his maternal grandmother and mother said.
“Why did you bring him inside.”
“He’s not your son.”
“Looking at that child makes me nauseous.”
“…Caitlin.”
“He looks too much like my father, and seeing him reminds me of those miserable days when I begged for that man’s love.”
“….”
His mother never showed such feelings in front of Onel.
However, that day was the last time Onel visited his maternal family.
Father and Yustea’s mother didn’t have a particularly good relationship either.
Whenever they encountered each other in the manor, a cold wind would blow.
They would pass by each other without even greeting.
But that child’s mother….
“My cute little one. My precious little one.”
“Omma, bupponhae…. (Mama, uncomfortable….)”
She would kiss that face that looked exactly like the Marquis, and look at Yustea as if seeing the most precious thing in the world.
That’s why seeing Yustea made his blood boil.
“…So that’s why I was angry.”
Onel watched Yustea finally select a bow and stand at the shooting line.
‘When did she stop smiling in front of me.’
“Brother is the coolest person in the world, right? Right?”
When did she stop following him around like that.
It was probably before Stella came.
“Brother.”
Yes, she stopped calling him that around the same time….
Onel, who had been thinking, looked at Stella.
Stella was looking at him with drooping eyebrows.
Then she crouched down in front of Onel and placed her hands on his knees.
“Do you want to make up with Yustea?”
“…Not really….”
“Then shall I help you?”
“…What?”
“What’s good for brother is good for me too.”
Onel chuckled.
And placed his hand on top of Stella’s head.
“Even though Yustea makes you uncomfortable, you’re still helping.”
“….”
As he was patting Stella’s head, Benjamin’s voice calling out could be heard.
“It’s your turn. Stop showing off and come here.”
Onel got up from his seat and passed by Stella.
It was at that moment that Stella’s expression changed.
[Hint]
“I’ll work hard to restore the relationship between brother and Yustea. Brother’s peace of mind is what matters most to me.”
‘Was this really the only answer?’
GM: The key point of Onel’s affection is tolerance.
GM: It’s because of his mother who knows nothing about embracing others.
GM: I definitely felt Onel’s affection increase.
‘But I don’t want to help the relationship between Onel and Yustea.’
Yustea is too much.
It wasn’t something she couldn’t understand.
She was humiliated and kicked out of the manor.
But wouldn’t this have never happened if Yustea hadn’t tried to poison her first?
Yet acting like a victim was an outrageous attitude.
GM: I’m not telling you to help.
GM: You just need to show Onel that you’re a devoted sister who can endure sadness for his sake.
GM: More importantly, Yustea is approaching ‘him’.
Stella quickly turned her head.
Around Yustea, Benjamin, the Pope’s nephew Ignis, and Hui, a prince from another country, had gathered.
“You shoot the bow well!”
“Indeed, she does….”
“Archery requires strength, so it must be difficult with a girl’s body. Have you trained hard?”
Stella’s gaze changed.
She immediately stood up.
“Am I next?”
As she smiled brightly, people’s attention was drawn to her.
Archery was also a field Stella was confident in.
She had only shot targets from 30 meters away, but she had trained during hunts with friends.
There was no way she could lose.
* * *
Whoosh— thunk!
“8 points!”
Whoosh— thunk!
“7 points!”
Every time Yustea and Stella shot their arrows, the soldier called out high scores.
Before they knew it, the match had become between Yustea and Stella.
“I should place my bet on the young ladies.”
As Benjamin spoke while resting his chin on his hand, Hui said,
“I’m betting on that girl. The blonde one.”
“Well then… if it’s a bet….”
“So you’re not betting?”
“I’ll go with Lady Yustea….”
“Benjamin, what about you?”
“I’ll… cheer for Yustea since it’s been a while since I’ve seen her. Then Onel only has Stella left.”
It wasn’t just the four men watching the match.
The workers cleaning the training ground and those serving Andres’s direct family and guests were also focused.
Stella looked at Yustea with a raised corner of her mouth.
“You’re quite good.”
“I had a good teacher.”
“Oh, really?”
Swoosh— thunk!
“8 points!”
Stella’s arrow hit the target. With this, her score was 73 points.
Yustea had 55 points, making it a difficult number to overcome.
Next, Yustea hooked her fingers on the bowstring and looked at the target.
“The most important thing when shooting a bow is understanding the wind.”
“It’s especially important in winter, young… Miss!”
“Once you get used to it, you can gauge it without shooting arrows. But since it would still be difficult for you, Miss, figure it out with a few arrows.”
“Not in real combat, you fool. In real combat, the moment you shoot an arrow, your position is revealed.”
She had learned archery from the Irregulars’ elite.
People cheering for Stella erupted in celebration.
“See that? When have my eyes ever been wrong? The winner is Stella, I tell you.”
Prince Hui from another country grinned and extended his hand to Ignis.
He was asking for money.
Now there were four arrows left.
It was a difficult score to overcome.
It was the moment when Ignis sighed and took out his money pouch from his chest.
Swoosh—, thunk!
“10 points!”
Yustea’s arrow struck right in the center.
Everyone flinched and looked at Yustea.
Yustea was looking at the target.
‘Northeastern wind. When the wind becomes strong enough for hair to brush against the chin, aim for around the 3-point area and shoot.’
Now she had finished gauging the wind.
Yustea looked at Stella.
Stella let out a small laugh.
And nocked an arrow on the string.
Another group of people arrived outside the fence.
They were vassals.
Since the training ground’s wall was low, the passing vassals ended up watching the archery match.
Even Baron Yopis, Marquis Rochette, and Baron Namia stopped walking and looked at Yustea and Stella.
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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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