I Don’t Need a Dad Like This! - Chapter 57

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

【Chapter 57】

 

He glared at Serena who had interrupted his time with the child.

 

“Why did you come up? I’ll discuss today’s matters separately when we return to the Duke’s Castle, so go inside.”

 

“…Ah, but still…”

 

Normally she would have obediently gone down, but somehow Serena was hesitating and stalling for time.

 

Just then, a ghost-like noble who had been standing beside her suddenly appeared.

 

“Hello, Duke. Hello, Rie.”

 

She was a woman with skin so pale it felt unpleasantly disturbing.

 

“Who are you?”

 

“I am a person from Marquis Kon’s House. It’s nothing else, but I was so impressed by how clever Lady Rie was today.”

 

“Huh…! Rie, clever?”

 

The child who was still holding his hand tilted her head back.

 

“Yes. You were so admirable.”

 

The woman smiled faintly and extended her trembling hand.

 

Casselik found something strange about her appearance.

 

It wasn’t just that she found the child cute, but there was an odd atmosphere about her.

 

He’d heard there were crazy bastards among the nobility these days who liked young children, could this woman be one of them too?

 

“Don’t touch the child.”

 

Casselik, who had belatedly become suspicious, commanded, but the woman had already grabbed the child’s head.

 

In that moment, Casselik’s heart stopped.

 

“Kyaaaah!”

 

Starting with Serena’s scream, the hall became chaos.

 

“Th-the woman and Rie who were on the platform disappeared!”

 

“This is dark magic! There’s a dark mage here!”

 

The moment the woman touched Rie’s head, the two of them vanished instantly.

 

He had been watching without blinking an eye, yet he had lost the child.

 

‘…I knew dark mages would come looking, but to use dark magic so openly?’

 

And they weren’t targeting me, but Rie?

 

Everything had gone against his expectations.

 

The frustration and anger of losing the child right before his eyes.

 

Casselik’s eyes, which were always arrogant, began to waver for the first time.

 

“A d-dark mage! A dark mage approached me! And even Ri-Rie…!”

 

Casselik ignored Serena who was acting with all her might and stood up abruptly.

 

Just then, a young voice struck his ears.

 

“You lost a child who was right in front of you?! Do you have a brain or not!”

 

It was Jair who had come running at some point.

 

“…Dark magic. It’s dark magic.”

 

He muttered like someone who had lost his mind.

 

It felt unreal.

 

Crown Prince Jair shouting at him, and the unpleasant sound of crying echoing in his ears.

 

“I know too! I’ll go to the Tower of Time and track down whoever used dark magic, so quickly handle the situation here… Duke, are you listening to me…!”

 

Click.

 

Casselik pulled out his clock without hesitation and reversed time.

 

Serena, who had been sitting and crying, stood up, and the murmuring of people subsided.

 

Jair, once again trapped in reversing time, sighed.

 

“…Right. Go ahead and use your ability. Regretting, crying, and reversing time. That’s what you’re good at.”

 

The boy said people would be surprised if he suddenly appeared and disappeared into the corridor.

 

But Casselik couldn’t hear anything.

 

When the child who had disappeared reappeared, he quickly stopped time.

 

And now.

 

“Duke. The thing is…”

 

Rie standing before him moved her lips just like before.

 

His breath, which had stopped, finally began working normally.

 

He hastily pulled the child in front of him into his arms and stood up.

 

“Eek!”

 

The startled child let out a short scream, but regardless, he had to immediately prevent the situation where the dark mage would encounter the child.

 

Knowing that a dark mage would appear here, he absolutely couldn’t let this chance slip away.

 

However, before that, he wanted to hear what Rie was trying to say.

 

Warning him in case he played a prank?

 

Such things would be useless if the child disappeared.

 

“Right. What were you about to say just now?”

 

“Ah, that’s right!”

 

The child in his arms seemed to finally come to her senses and raised her eyebrows.

 

“There’s a dark mage here…!”

 

Really, completely useless.

 

“The dark mage is targeting you, Duke. You need to be careful.”

 

Listening to the child’s words.

 

Any other action would be completely useless.

 

Casselik’s face contorted mercilessly.

 

He lowered his head to hide his wretched expression and answered with difficulty.

 

“…I see. Thank you. Thanks to you telling me, I was able to notice in advance.”

 

Normally he would have asked how she knew that, but he didn’t press for details.

 

“Assistant. Quietly approach Serena and Marchioness Conn and tell them I have something to discuss about the fig trade, so come to the reception room.”

 

“Understood.”

 

All conversations would proceed after the child’s safety was secured.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Marquis Philip received a letter from one of the several orphanages he had been steadily donating to.

 

“…A child had an accident?”

 

Normally he would have simply been consumed by sadness, but he was continuously investigating Ella’s suspicious death and dark magic that began with the carriage incident.

 

There was a possibility that the child’s death was also connected to dark magic.

 

He immediately went to the orphanage.

 

And after mourning the child’s death, he looked around the building.

 

‘According to the director, the child complained of stomach pain and then collapsed the next day.’

 

It had been a healthy child. That couldn’t be right.

 

He was deep in thought wondering if there might be some clue, when not far away, a suspicious man was loitering around the back door of the orphanage.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Ah, you’re a noble. Did you come to adopt a child?”

 

“I asked what you were doing?”

 

Philip frowned with one eyebrow.

 

The suspicious man didn’t look like a noble judging by his attire, but he seemed accustomed to dealing with nobles.

 

The man took something out from his outer coat.

 

It was a business card.

 

“I’m a private detective. I was investigating because I sensed suspicious movements here.”

 

“A detective? Did you come because of the child’s death?”

 

“Yes. Would you take a close look at this doorstep? You can see traces of poison.”

 

“What?”

 

Frowning and looking closely, though it wasn’t clear, he could see traces of something wet.

 

“The child likely died from eating poison. Usually poison doesn’t leave traces, but the powerful ones won’t disappear no matter how much you wipe them. On doorsteps of back doors that no one pays attention to, you sometimes see clues like this.”

 

“Right. I can see you’re clever, but why are you investigating this?”

 

“I can’t tell you the details. I came because of a commission.”

 

“A commission?”

 

A commission.

 

It seemed like that client would give a crucial hint about the carriage accident and dark magic incident.

 

A strange intuition that even he couldn’t explain gripped Philip.

 

“You obviously can’t tell me the client’s identity.”

 

“You’re stating the obvious.”

 

“What if I give you double the commission fee?”

 

Then the detective who had been hesitating burst into hearty laughter.

 

“Oh my, this is a matter of my credibility, so money can’t…”

 

“How about four times?”

 

Philip leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

 

“You’re facing a rare opportunity right now. If you seize this opportunity, the time until your retirement could be shortened.”

 

“….”

 

“I’ll give you six times. If I were you, I’d take this much and leave the Chronos Empire to start private detective work again in another empire. Or I could buy a manor in the provinces and enjoy a leisurely retirement life.”

 

The detective who hadn’t answered had his Adam’s apple bobbing greatly.

 

After pondering with a serious expression, he eventually succumbed to the word ‘retirement.’

 

“…It should be ten times the amount.”

 

“What?”

 

“You’d need to pay ten times the commission fee for it to be enough money to either retire or emigrate and settle down.”

 

“Sure thing.”

 

The detective’s eyes trembled at the cool response.

 

Philip’s lips curved upward as he observed that reaction.

 

“You’re regretting not asking for twelve times the amount right now, aren’t you?”

 

“N-no…”

 

“Fine. I’ll give you twelve times the amount. So tell me right now. But if you lie, you’ll never be able to set foot in the Chronos Empire again. It’s a bit childish as threats go, but I’m His Majesty the Emperor’s younger brother.”

 

“Then, then… Marquis Philip! I apologize for not greeting you properly earlier!”

 

Only then did the private detective, who had turned pale, bow his head deeply.

 

“My, my client is Lord Cedric of the Marquis Mersilla House. I was investigating the poisoning incident of Lady Ella, who had been imprisoned in the Imperial Prison.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————