How to Replace Your Dad - Chapter 85

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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 85

That voice was like a blade sharpened to its limit, or like a blizzard sweeping across a snowy field.

In any case, it was menacing.

…It was Father.

Yuise must have quickly called Father over.

I wondered how he knew where I was, but above the rear garden, a crow was circling and gliding through the air.

He found my location through Oscar’s crow.

Father strode over and stood between Count Andres and me.

Count Andres, who had his hands clasped behind his back, smiled brightly.

“Can’t you see we’re in the middle of a conversation?”

“Proper conversations don’t start with threats.”

He was referring to how the Count had threatened me with Yuise to drag me here.

Count Andres laughed heartily.

“That’s the problem with vermin. Give them even a little power and they don’t know their place and go wild. Wouldn’t it be better to be careful?”

“Careful. Me?”

“Surely not me.”

“It could be you. Even if your belly is full of gold coins, you’ll still die if stabbed with a sword.”

I rolled my eyes left and right, looking between Father and Count Andres.

The atmosphere was murderous.

“Um, Fa—”

I was about to call Father.

Count Andres opened his mouth.

“I haven’t heard an answer yet. Yustea.”

“…”

“The Crown of Spirals. Don’t you need it?”

I gripped my skirt tightly.

I need it.

I want it so desperately.

“My beloved Yustea.”

Mother’s voice echoed in my ears.

The voice I’ve been aching to hear since Mother collapsed.

If I take that hand, I can hear it.

I grabbed my head with both hands. My hands were trembling.

“I…”

I squeezed out my voice and forced myself to speak.

Father looked at me.

A deep smile hung on Count Andres’ lips.

He seemed to anticipate what I would say.

I barely managed to catch my trembling breath and opened my mouth.

“I hate it too much.”

“…What?”

“I said I hate it. Too much.”

Mother is someone who traveled back in time for me.

And I wasn’t happy at all about Mother sacrificing her entire life for me.

So Mother would feel the same way.

She wouldn’t be happy to see me abandon Father and the clan members I cherished and go to Andres.

I don’t want to show the awakened Mother me suffering in hell.

‘Besides, I’ll have a chance to find the Crown of Spirals myself.’

“Let’s go, Father.”

I grabbed Father’s collar.

Father nodded.

Just as we were passing by Count Andres.

“…!”

Count Andres grabbed my wrist.

“Let go of this.”

“It’s the Crown of Spirals. It can wake your mother. Are you saying you’ll give up everything just to stay with that worthless vermin?”

“I said let go—”

“What exactly is that thing?”

Count Andres stared at me.

The smile had long disappeared from his face.

I twisted my wrist and frowned.

“Stop it…!”

“I’m asking you!”

That was the moment.

Thwack—!

“…!”

Father’s fist connected with Count Andres’ cheek.

The Count was pushed back, so I was freed from his grip, but I couldn’t move.

The Count wiped his mouth with his knuckles. Blood gleamed on his knuckles.

‘This is bad…!’

The moment I thought that.

Thud!

This time it was Count Andres who threw the punch.

Father quickly blocked his fist with his hand, but blood flowed from Father’s palm.

The lightning wrapped around the Count’s fist had torn Father’s palm skin like hooks.

Father glanced at his palm.

And then…

Thwack!

Thud!

…It was the beginning of a brawl.

“Stop…! I said stop it!”

* * *

Andres Castle interior, my room.

Marquis Esgaroth came after hearing the news.

The Marquis looked at Father, who was receiving treatment from me, with an incredulous expression.

“You threw a punch at Count Andres in Andres Castle?”

Father didn’t even look at the Marquis.

So I became even more conscious of the Marquis’ reaction.

“Well… this happened because the Count threatened me… if we file an official complaint, I can be a witness…”

“So did you lose?”

“…Huh?”

Father flexed his hand, which had been healed by my treatment, and said.

“I didn’t lose.”

“…Huh?”

He didn’t lose.

They exchanged about five blows each before people rushed in and it ended.

“Then that’s fine. A guy who’s lived his whole life brawling should at least do that much.”

“…”

Is that what’s important?

As I was blinking, Father examined my wrist and said.

“What is this lightning strike?”

“Lightning strike?”

“I couldn’t use magic. Not only that, but when I tried to use my left hand, my right leg gave out.”

“There’s a problem with the nervous system. If it’s lightning strike, it must be one of the powers the Seven Families received from the founding Emperor.”

The Seven Families possess special powers.

It’s a secret technique passed down only to the founding families, and Andres’s power is the offensive lightning strike.

When struck by lightning, it causes nervous system problems like what happened to Father.

‘He pressed the Marquis in that condition?’

Marquis Esgaroth frowned.

“You actually couldn’t win.”

“I didn’t lose.”

Father’s eyes turned sharp.

“Next time, I plan to beat him to death.”

“So, what is this Spiral Crown?”

The Marquis asked as he sat across from us.

I flinched.

Father also remained silent, only examining my wrist.

“Count Andres threatened Yustea with something called the Spiral Crown and fought with you.”

“How do you even know about the Spiral Crown, Marquis…?”

“Gathering that level of information is nothing to me.”

“…”

I glanced at Father.

Father nodded. It was okay to talk about it.

“If we have the Spiral Crown, we can wake up Mother. It’s an item that removes all status ailments… curses, that is.”

“So your mother’s sleep is indeed due to a curse?”

Technically, it’s the backlash from a taboo.

But broadly speaking, it’s a curse.

‘It’s not just any curse, it should be classified as disaster-level.’

A disaster-level curse, which is a higher tier than regular curses.

I nodded.

“You expected this.”

“If you, who awakened as a Saint, couldn’t heal her, it would naturally be a curse.”

Count Andres seemed to have figured out that Mother was afflicted with a status ailment through similar reasoning.

“Purification was also useless, I suppose.”

“Yes…”

“Is the wish you wanted in exchange for eliminating the heretical sect related to the Spiral Crown?”

“That’s right… The Imperial Court and Temple will offer the Spiral Crown as a prize for the Family Tournament.”

“Then I must participate.”

“…!”

I looked at the Marquis in surprise.

The Marquis said.

“You need to wake your mother with the Spiral Crown so you won’t be manipulated by Andres in the future. You’ll need to pay a sponsorship fee to participate. I’ll provide the funds.”

“No! I have money saved up from the heretical sect.”

“Use it as pocket money.”

“…”

“Why?”

“…Why would you do that for me? The amount won’t be small.”

Then the Marquis said as if it were nothing.

“Didn’t I tell you? I find you adorable.”

“…”

“Can’t I do this much for my granddaughter?”

“…”

I looked at him with trembling eyes.

The Marquis smiled warmly.

Father looked disgusted, but I didn’t dislike that smile.

The Marquis stood up.

“Let’s hurry and finish the Imperial Restoration Council business and return.”

As he was about to leave, I hurriedly said.

“Um…!”

“Hmm?”

The Marquis turned to look at me.

I said hesitantly.

“Can I… keep calling you Grandfather?”

“…”

“I mean, I did call you that before, but, well… even outside, not Marquis but… um…”

“Of course!”

The Marquis… no, Grandfather burst into laughter.

Grandfather reached out his hand to me saying ‘There, there,’ and Father swatted it away with a disgusted expression.

Father’s face contorted.

But seeing me smile shyly, he sighed.

As if he had no choice.

Yuise, who was standing at the doorway, also let out a silent chuckle.

It was the coldest day of the winter we’d experienced this year, but somehow I didn’t feel cold at all.

Wrapped in warmth, I didn’t know.

About the major incident that would happen the next day.

Benjamin died in Andres’s underground prison.

It was suicide.

* * *

The next day, at the Imperial Palace.

Bang!

The Emperor slammed the table roughly and shouted.

“A member of the Imperial Restoration Council committed suicide? What exactly has Count Andres done!”

At the sharp elderly voice, the palace officials immediately prostrated themselves.

The mere existence of the Imperial Restoration Council was enough to make the Emperor unable to contain his rage.

But the heir of Count Becker’s family, one of the Seven Families, was a member, and he had even committed suicide.

“Transport Count Becker immediately. Count Andres will also be held responsible for this matter.”

The Pope, who was seated beside the Emperor, let out a thin sigh.

“Assigning responsibility can wait until after we’ve eliminated the Imperial Restoration Council. National division is exactly what the Imperial Restoration Council would welcome most.”

“So you’re saying we should let this slide?”

“I’m saying investigation should come first. There are many questionable points in Count Andres’s report.”

First, they needed to find out the source of the White Dragon that allegedly attacked the heads of the Seven Families.

Count Andres’s report stated that Benjamin Becker had brought in the White Dragon.

However, it was strange that Benjamin could breach Andres Castle’s security system and bring a White Dragon all the way to the castle.

“A White Dragon existed within Andres Castle?”

“That’s highly likely.”

“…In any case, we’ll have to transport Count Andres along with Count Becker.”

The Emperor was muttering when.

A palace official spoke in a troubled voice.

“Well, the thing is…”

“What is it now.”

“Count Andres doesn’t seem to be in a condition to be transported…”

“What?”

“He has facial fractures and even broke his shoulder blade.”

“Was it from the White Dragon?”

“No. It’s not that… well…”

When the imperial palace official hesitated, the Emperor shouted.

“Speak!”

“He got into a fistfight with Marquis Esgaroth’s eldest son…”

“…What?”

“When people came after hearing the commotion, both men were covered in blood…”

The Pope’s eyes widened.

The Emperor also stared at the reporting imperial palace official with an incredulous expression.

The Emperor frowned and said.

“What nonsense… What did Marquis Esgaroth say? Why on earth…!”

“This is a letter from Marquis Esgaroth.”

The Emperor immediately unfolded the letter.

The contents of the letter were as follows.

I humbly report to His Majesty the Emperor, who is busy with state affairs.

The incident that occurred on such and such date in Andres is a private matter unrelated to the Ancien Empire Restoration Society, and I am embarrassed that news of it should reach Your Majesty…

The summary was this.

Yeah, we had a bit of a brawl and my son did beat up Count Andres.

It’s a private matter, so don’t worry about it.

Even if Andres files a complaint, please take our side.

Thinking of how troublesome this must be for Your Majesty makes my heart heavy, but I will gather my confused thoughts and nurture well the seeds of glory that Your Majesty has bestowed…

We have the Saint.

You know?

…Esgaroth plans to train 3 million soldiers to focus efforts on suppressing the Ancien Empire Restoration Society…

But if you touch our Saint, I won’t stand for it.

Marquis Esgaroth’s letter crumpled in the Emperor’s hand.

“This…!”

Bang!

The Emperor slammed the table with the letter.

And grabbing the back of his neck, he shouted.

“Damn it…!”

* * *

Afternoon.

I asked Yuise.

“Really? It really was Benjamin’s corpse?”

“They even did an autopsy.”

“…Benjamin wasn’t someone who would die that easily.”

“Wasn’t it Count Andres’ doing? It was strange that he let him die so easily in the first place.”

That does seem likely.

If his dealings with the Ancien Empire Restoration Society were exposed, it would truly mean ruin.

I hmm’d softly.

“I didn’t think Count Andres would easily let his weakness be transported to the Imperial Palace…”

“Anyway, this case seems like it will be wrapped up like this, but the problem is…”

“The problem is?”

Yuise glanced toward outside the room.

It was noisy outside the room.

“This side is urgent, I tell you.”

“You think our side isn’t urgent?”

“Come now, even cold water has its hierarchy!”

The adjutants of the Seven Families had gathered in droves.

“They’ve been like that for an hour, saying they need to meet you before you leave Andres.”

…There were many people who wanted to meet the Saint.

I was sighing when.

“Need help?”

I looked up in surprise at the voice coming from outside the window.

A man sitting on the windowsill waved his hand at me.

Oscar.

One of the Irregulars’ Elite, the man who had infiltrated as a mage of Andres.

Yuise frowned deeply and opened the window.

“Are you crazy? What if you get caught.”

“The mission’s over now anyway, so it doesn’t matter if I get caught.”

Oscar said as he climbed through the window.

“Hello?”

When I spoke, he chuckled.

“Hello, I guess.”

“Pardon?”

“Please speak casually. I’m Oscar, Young Lady.”

He said as he kissed the back of my hand.

“Okay. I’m Yustea.”

“So, need help?”

“How?”

“There are ways… oh, wait.”

Oscar, who had been looking into my eyes, frowned.

“You met Cesar, didn’t you?”

“Cesar?”

“He’s one of the Elite. He really hates you.”

Elite.

What does that mean?

‘I’ve never met Cesar.’

Was there someone named Cesar among the people I met?

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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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