My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 100
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Father hides his strength
Chapter 100
Nicholas, who had been turning over Ramon’s words in his mind, let out a soft laugh.
It was an absurd lie.
“Since the Divine Revelation was made known, many nobles have been astonished and overjoyed. They are competing to donate funds to the Seraph Temple.”
“Yes, of course they are.”
In the Pavilion Empire, the word of God is absolute.
It is a nation where the very existence of those with Abilities proves the existence of God.
“Advisor, do you think this makes any sense?”
“I, I don’t believe it either. How shameless—invoking a Divine Revelation that vanished ages ago, of all things.”
“Predictable, isn’t it? Their circumstances are desperate, so they’re resorting to this transparent gambit just to put food on the table.”
Nicholas rose to his feet with a sneer.
God had vanished.
There was no doubt about it.
The next generation’s Premier had yet to emerge.
From this, Nicholas had dimly come to understand that God had finally abandoned even the imperial house.
So what Divine Revelation could there possibly be?
“Pathetic. It’s almost pitiful that hunger has driven them to such lies.”
Nicholas approached the window, his gaze turning sharp as he fixed it on the world beyond.
“But if those lies tarnish my authority, that will not do.”
“Your words are most just, Sire.”
In this world without God, he himself was the absolute.
The weak and useless masses must always crawl like vermin in the lowest places to keep the hierarchy firm.
That was his conception of justice.
“This is actually fortunate.”
Nicholas nodded.
“If they dared impersonate God with such a preposterous lie, then the price must be paid in full. I should use this chance to purge every last one of those Seraph Temple dogs.”
“Sire?”
Ramon flinched.
“But Sire, though they stand against your will, Lamisa, the High Priestess of the Old Faith Faction, and several other priests are all high-level users of Abilities….”
“Precisely. And that is why, until now.”
Nicholas turned, rotating his body with a smooth motion.
“They have managed to persist and crawl through life, branded as heretics and pelted with stones, have they not?”
And why would he not have wished to crush the Old Faith Faction of Jedo long ago?
Yet in an empire where those with Abilities were favored.
To kill high-level Ability users without just cause would crack the very authority of the throne.
So he had left these thorns in his side untouched….
‘But now comes the opportunity.’
This time, he could grind beneath his heel those very creatures who dared threaten his justice.
“Ah, a delicious thought has come to me.”
Nicholas’s eyes gleamed.
“Since they have dared to soil and deceive the name of God, should not my most faithful servants judge them directly?”
“The most faithful….”
Ramon murmured the words aloud, then asked.
“Do you mean the Paladin Order, Sire?”
“Yes. Gather the Paladins so they may interrogate these impudent heretics. And.”
Nicholas returned to his seat, smiling like a serpent as he continued.
“How fitting it would be if our Enoch took the role of chief interrogator.”
“Ah! A brilliant decision, Your Majesty!”
“In a fortnight.”
Nicholas’s eyes lifted to the moon, not yet full in the sky.
“The moment that Divine Revelation is confirmed to be a bold-faced lie, let those vermin who dared deceive God.”line>
A viscous smile crossed his lips.
“Be placed upon the Pyre by the hands of the Paladin Order Commander himself.”
* * *
<Divine Revelation descended after centuries!>
<Nobles compete to send donations and relief supplies to the Seraph Temple.>
<The bearer of the Revelation—a young priest of the Seraph Temple, Zadkiel Tarot.>
<On the night the full moon rises, will God truly show a Miracle?>
Jedo was abuzz with talk.
All eyes turned toward the Seraph Temple as the world awaited the “Miracle” that God had spoken of.
* * *
Seraph Temple.
Zadkiel Tarot, the young priest who held the Revelation, was tending to the sick as always when unexpected visitors arrived.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Seven Paladins entered the temple in perfect formation.
Armed in sanctity with blue cloaks and silver armor, their bearing carried an unmistakable edge.
‘Is it because of the Revelation?’
Zadkiel pressed down on his heart, which was hammering against his ribs.
At the center of the Paladins stood Enoch Rubinstein, his eyes sharp in a way they had never been before.
“You are the priest, Zadkiel Tarot?”
The orange-haired Paladin on Enoch’s left asked. Zadkiel nodded, trembling visibly.
“By order of His Imperial Majesty, we of the Paladin Order have come to investigate the matter of the Revelation you are said to have received.”
“Stop.”
Enoch raised his hand, cutting off the Paladin’s words.
“I’ll speak with him alone.”
The other Paladins exchanged bewildered glances.
Zadkiel realized that Enoch was showing him consideration, sparing him from further trembling before the others.
The two moved deeper into the temple.
“Is it true that you received a Revelation?”
Enoch asked directly.
There was none of the gentleness he had shown before. Zadkiel stiffened at the cold, steely gaze of the Paladin.
“…Yes. It is true.”
“Revelations vanished centuries ago. I am, I must confess, someone who believes God has abandoned us.”
Zadkiel swallowed hard.
“You sense it too, don’t you—dimly. And yet suddenly, a Revelation has descended, something only God could show us, a Miracle…”
………
“Do you truly believe that makes sense?”
Enoch did not believe it.
In truth, many shared Enoch’s skepticism about the Revelation.
Even Zadkiel himself, the very one who had sparked this commotion…
“If you orchestrated this to revive a declining Temple’s fortunes, I could understand that.”
Enoch spoke with a softer voice, as though trying to persuade him.
“A Revelation descended upon an abandoned Temple, so the faithful would surely return. I know the nobles are sending donations and aid by the dozen.”
………
“The doctrine you uphold may run counter to the will of the Emperor, the absolute sovereign of this realm. Yet now, without fear of his displeasure, many are coming to aid the Seraph Temple.”
………
“Do you know why?”
Enoch added in a low voice.
“If the Revelation is real, then it truly is God’s will to care for the lowly, and the Emperor himself cannot stand against it.”
………
“And even if it is a lie, those who believed bear no guilt.”
“I understand.”
“It is you, the priest, who must bear the full weight of this crisis. And your mother, Lamisa the High Priestess. And your brothers and sisters here in the Seraph Temple.”
Watching Zadkiel tremble, Enoch became certain of his falsehood.
It pained him.
He understood well why Zadkiel had felt compelled to spread such an absurd false Revelation.
“This is your last chance. If you speak the truth, I can help you.”
………
“I ask you once more.”
Zadkiel, who had been trembling, lifted his head and looked at Enoch.
“Did you truly receive a Revelation?”
Eyes that blazed like flames themselves…
Clear and unyielding.
Blue irises.
Looking upon them, Zadkiel was reminded of his daughter, of Lilis’s clear, blue eyes.
‘You promised. You chose to believe.’
Then his trembling lips parted.
“Yes, that is correct. I truly received a Divine Revelation from God.”
………
Zadkiel’s resolute gaze suggested he would give the same answer no matter how many times he was questioned.
“…Hell, damn it all.”
Enoch bit his lip.
* * *
Fifteen days had passed since the Divine Revelation descended upon the Seraph Temple.
Today was the night of the full moon.
The day when the Miracle spoken of by God would occur.
“Aah.”
“Aaaaah!”
“Eee.”
“Eeeeee!”
“There we go. You’re doing wonderfully, my princess.”
I studied my father’s half-ruined face with a twinge of guilt as he brushed my teeth for me.
‘Wow. I never imagined he’d turn Dad into a Heresy Inquisitor. The Emperor—how cruel.’
There was one thing I’d overlooked when I set this entire Revelation commotion in motion.
The Emperor’s true nature.
The Emperor apparently believed the Revelation was false.
And so, seizing this opportunity, he seemed to have devised a plan to stamp out the Seraph Temple—that thorn in his side—once and for all.
If the Miracle didn’t occur?
He’d brand every soul in the Seraph Temple as heretics and send them to the pyre.
And he’d chosen our father to carry out the sentence.
‘Vile man, truly….’
His intent was transparent: to break my father—who refused his orders and protected commoners—through shock therapy.
“Now, let’s get you to sleep.”
Father smiled and began carrying me toward the bed, then stopped dead in his tracks.
His gaze was fixed beyond the window.
Precisely on the full moon hanging heavy and luminous in the sky.
“Dad, what are you thinking about?”
“Hmm? Oh, nothing at all.”
“That’s a lie. You’re thinking about Father, aren’t you? Today’s the day all the sick people get better, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hehe. Do you think they really will all recover?”
“…We’ll know by tomorrow.”
“Yeah. But why do you look like that? Are you saying you think Father lied?”
Father gave a weary smile, lowering me onto the bed and drawing the blankets over me.
“What do you think, princess?”
“I believe in Father. He’s such a good person. He wouldn’t lie.”
“You’re right—he is good. But you said you didn’t believe in God.”
“If Father’s words prove true, then I have to believe now, don’t I?”
I giggled as I added my thought.
“And if all the sick people really do get better, then more people will think like me, won’t they? The temple where Father lives will be packed with people! They’ll donate so much!”
“I suppose they would…. Yes, that would be something nice….”
Father crawled into the blankets looking half-dead.
‘I’m sorry, Dad.’
I silently apologized to my father, who must have suffered greatly over these past fifteen days.
For Enoch Rubinstein, the protagonist tasked with gradually building up the Old Faith Faction’s power, this commotion was nothing short of catastrophe.
There was no point in cultivating influence when it looked like he’d vanish as a handful of ash atop the pyre.
‘But that’s not going to happen!’
I peeked my eyes over the edge of the blanket and fixed my gaze on the large grandfather clock in the corner of the room.
11:59.
The second hand racing toward midnight.
‘The countdown begins!’
* * *
At that same moment.
Zadkiel sat alone in a darkened room, clutching Lamisa’s hand as he prayed with desperate urgency.
‘Please, God….’
That day.
Had the young princess’s words been true?
Had he believed too hastily?
“Mother, I beg you.”
Zadkiel Tarot squeezed his eyes shut.
* * *
Ding—ding—ding—
The moment the clock struck midnight.
Unable to sleep, tossing and turning until the chime startled him, I watched my father’s back and discreetly checked the watch on my wrist.
15 min
Showtime!
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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