I Don’t Need a Dad Like This! - Chapter 12

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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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【Chapter 12】

Even though he was a marquis, to refuse one thousand gold.

Casselik frowned and pondered deeply before asking again.

“Are there any problems in the Imperial Palace lately?”

“No. As far as I know, there aren’t any…”

The assistant trailed off and bowed his head while reading the mood.

But it was natural. If there had been problems, news would have reached his ears long ago.

‘If there are no problems in the Imperial Palace, the schedule should be relaxed. Why then?’

He considered going to find Philip directly, but soon shook his head.

“Well, never mind.”

His opponent was Emilia.

He could find another lawyer, and he would win easily enough without putting in that much effort.

A trial between a ducal house and a baronial house.

It was a fight where the outcome was already tilted before it even began.

“Then assign the work to Lawyer Preta, who was our second choice, and send over the necessary materials.”

“Yes, understood.”

And so, on the day of the trial.

Lawyer Preta, holding organized documents in his arms, bowed his head toward Casselik.

“Even though Lady Emilia has requested custody rights, Theodore House is far superior in both environment and financial aspects. If things proceed as prepared, Duke Casselik will obtain custody of Princess Rie.”

“What’s the possibility of Emilia winning?”

“Unless the Imperial Palace intervenes, there’s no chance of that happening, ah.”

Then the lawyer raised his head as if remembering something.

“More importantly, as I mentioned beforehand, in custody disputes, the child’s expression of will has powerful influence. So if by any chance Princess Rie…”

“I won’t bring the child to court. So there will be no expression of the child’s will.”

“Understood.”

“Good then. Now let’s go.”

As Casselik walked down the corridor with a confident expression, all the servants stopped their actions and bowed their heads.

Behind him followed the lawyer, assistant, and guard knights.

Just as he was about to board the carriage, a young voice cut through the air and something small popped out.

“Father!”

It was Rie.

“Princess! I told you not to run because it’s dangerous!”

“Father, you’re going to the courtroom, right? Rie wants to go too. It’s about deciding where Rie will live. Rie wants to see too!”

Her small shoulders rose and fell roughly as if she had run here in a hurry.

Somehow knowing that the trial was today, the child had even properly put on yellow socks and outdoor shoes.

“I apologize, Your Grace.”

Casselik’s eyebrow raised as he sighed, looking at the head maid who bowed with a troubled expression.

“Rie. Today’s trial has nothing to do with you. You just need to stay quietly in the castle.”

“B-but. This is the day that decides Rie’s life.”

“Your life isn’t decided by you, but by the Theodore Family, and by me.”

“Huh?”

The child would surely insist she wanted to live with Emilia.

She was still young and didn’t know much about the ways of the world.

“Don’t let the child leave the castle. Absolutely not.”

When Casselik glanced at the clock and frowned, the maids hurriedly took Rie away.

It had been a perfect start, and it couldn’t be flawed.

Casselik watched the small child trudging away, then turned his head sharply and got into the carriage.

* * *

The trial was flowing in his favor as expected.

To Emilia, who said she wanted custody because she was worried about the child’s emotional well-being as her mother, Casselik replied.

“Emotional support is possible through various methods. The best upbringing a guardian can provide for a noble child is to establish a strong position in high society.”

“But Rie is only four years old. She’s even said she wants to live with me.”

“How much did you say the Birdwell Baronet Family’s assets were?”

Flinch.

As expected, faced with the wall of reality, Emilia couldn’t resist at all and shrank back.

Why was she being so desperate about a game that was already lost?

Casselik now found the woman pathetic.

“The five thousand gold I gave as divorce settlement. Your parents bowed their heads to me in gratitude, saying they could pay off their debts with that money.”

“Y-Your Honor. The defendant is currently confusing the plaintiff with statements unrelated to the trial subject!”

Emilia’s flustered lawyer shouted, but Emilia herself couldn’t even respond and froze.

Of course.

No matter how foolish she was, she knew better than anyone that the poor Birdwell family couldn’t properly raise a child.

“By the way, five thousand gold is an amount the Theodore Family wouldn’t blink an eye at. Leaving such a family to be raised by the Birdwell Baronet Family – who could guarantee my bloodline would grow up properly?”

“…”

The conversation was overwhelmingly Casselik’s victory.

Watching her bite her innocent lips, he gestured toward the judge.

There was no reason to drag out a trial with such a clear outcome.

“Then the trial will conclude like this…”

“Why don’t you ask Rie?”

Just then, a childish voice that shouldn’t be heard pierced his ears.

‘Rie?’

That was impossible.

That child was locked away in the Duke’s Castle with its ironclad security.

‘I must be hearing things. I must be quite tired.’

Pressing his temples firmly, he tried to reach the conclusion that had been interrupted.

“Judge. The outcome is obvious, so let’s wrap up the trial…”

“Judge! I respect you, so please ask Rie who she wants to live with!”

But when another resounding voice echoed through the courtroom, Casselik, who had jumped to his feet, had no choice but to accept the unbelievable reality.

“What’s with that kid?”

“Only adults should be able to attend trial hearings.”

Murmur murmur.

Among the spectators who had become noisy.

Rie stood in the middle of the courtroom, glaring at Casselik.

* * *

Rie was able to come to the courtroom thanks to Philip.

A few days ago, at the city library.

Philip, who heard Rie’s whisper, asked back in confusion.

“Your mother is in danger of being divorced because she gave birth to you… and your father already brought in a new mother before the divorce?”

“Yes.”

“…And that new mother is making your life miserable?”

Making her life miserable was something that would happen in the future, but…

“Yes.”

Rie nodded for now.

There was a trendy phrase that the Maid Sisters used to say a lot when they were chatting.

‘Didn’t you know? The world originally revolves around people with loud voices.’

It was a legendary quote left by the villainess from the novel 【The Villainess Who Lived Roughly】.

It was a quote that came to mind when she suddenly thought of Aunt Serena.

This time, it was Rie’s turn to raise her voice.

“Aunt Serena doesn’t play with me even when I say I want to play. She locks me in the classroom all day and only makes me read books. Even when I say I want to meet my friends, she won’t let me meet them.”

Then the gentle smile that had been spreading across Philip’s face disappeared.

“…And she won’t let me meet Mother either. Rie wanted to see Mother! I want to live with Mother. I’m happy when I’m with Mother, and Rie loves Mother.”

After listening to the child’s words and stroking his chin for a while, he muttered and shook his head.

“Duke Theodore, he was a complete scumbag?”

“Not a scumbag.”

“Huh?”

Then he asked back in confusion at Rie’s firm words.

Rie rolled her eyes around and muttered while reading the room.

“He’s a poop carriage…”

“Huh? What? Hahahaha! That’s really hilarious!”

Philip burst into laughter again.

Rie also smiled shyly and blushed.

“Hehe.”

‘Everyone likes it when Rie calls Father a poop carriage.’

From now on, when someone asks who Father is, she should say he’s a poop carriage.

“Rie. If you want to live with Mother, there is one way, you know?”

It was then that Philip brought up his suggestion.

“Mm! What is it?”

“The world is cold and merciless, but at least in court, they judge crimes fairly. But for that to happen, Rie would have to attend the trial in person on the trial date. Can you do that?”

“Hmm?”

Attend in person? Go to the courtroom?

Rie immediately nodded her head.

If it meant she could live with Mother, she could do anything.

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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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