My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 102

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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 Conceals His Strength
102
Enoch walked straight in and took his place before Nicholas, then spoke.
“I have come to report on the investigation of the temple that Your Majesty commanded.”
……
“As the Divine Revelation granted by Primera has come to pass, the Paladin Order no longer has grounds to investigate the Seraph Temple as heresy.”
“…What?”
For a moment, Nicholas’s mind went blank.
He fell silent, his ears doubting what they had heard.
Then, without moving his head, his eyes drifted to Advisor Ramon standing behind Enoch.
The man was trembling.
That reaction alone told him everything he needed to know.
“The Divine Revelation… came to pass?”
Nicholas blinked, very slowly.
“Yes. According to the interpretation made by the Grand Temple, today at the Seraph Temple, all two hundred twenty-five patients in their care were healed, and even the High Priestess with a chronic illness rose from her bed.”
……
“My congratulations, Your Majesty.”
Congratulations? Nicholas’s mouth fell open slightly.
“For it has been proven that the Divine still endures.”
Enoch added with a smile.
“Surely this is the news that would bring the greatest joy to Your Majesty, master of this glorious empire.”
“Ha, ha ha… Yes, that’s right….”
Arrogant bastard.
He was mocking him behind that smile.
Nicholas forced his eyes wide open, trying to steady his whitening vision.
“So that’s what happened….”
He couldn’t believe it.
As reality slowly sank in, rage began to surge.
“…Well done. You may go now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Enoch bowed slightly and turned to leave—
Crash! Crash! Crash!
At the same moment, his uncontrolled fury shattered the glass windows.
“Your, Your Majesty. Please calm yourself.”
Advisor Ramon scrambled forward desperately.
“What—what is this? What in all the hells is this about?”
Nicholas’s eyes bulged wide, blood vessels rupturing across the whites. He still could not accept it.
The Divine Revelation had come to pass?
The Divine had not abandoned this place?
“Ugh… ugh… aah….”
His throat constricted. Nicholas’s hand gripped his collar tightly as his gaze fell upon the Divine Statue resting on his desk.
A beautiful woman’s form—the statue of the goddess Primera.
“Ha, ha ha… ha ha.”
Now he understood.
Primera, who had never appeared in the Imperial Household.
The Divine who had defiantly granted a miracle to the Old Doctrine temple.
The Divine still looked down upon this land—but had abandoned the Imperial Household.
“Damn… damn you….”
With trembling hands, Nicholas seized the Divine Statue.
Crack—!
Unable to contain his rage, he hurled it against the wall, and it shattered into fragments.
“Damn woman….”
Staring at the neck of the broken statue rolling at his feet, Nicholas muttered.
His justice had been denied by the Divine itself.
Now, one by one, he would begin to question the righteousness he had so steadfastly upheld.
It was a crushing blow.
* * *
A week had passed since the patients at the Seraph Temple had been healed.
Jedo was in an uproar.
Many rejoiced at the proof that the Divine still existed, and certain nobles, watching cautiously from the shadows, began to venture toward the Seraph Temple.
“Hehehehe.”
“Why are you grinning like that?”
“Oh, Master’s here!”
Oscar appeared in the study as he always did, settling into the seat beside me with a question.
“Did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Why are you playing dumb again?”
Ah. He was talking about the Divine Revelation commotion.
I hesitated, then nodded.
“Yes.”
“Clever girl.”
“Really? Did I do well?”
“You did.”
Oscar let out a short laugh and ruffled my hair.
“There’s no trick more elegant than this for deceiving an emperor. My heart swells with pride. Go around telling everyone you’re my student.”
“Wait. We’re deceiving His Majesty the Emperor?”
I asked, confused, and Oscar’s eyebrows shot up.
“What? That wasn’t your plan?”
“Plan?”
“The next Primera hasn’t appeared, has she? If the emperor has a brain in his head, he’ll suspect something. He’ll wonder if another Primera was born somewhere outside the Imperial Household.”
“Oh, right! Of course!”
For a Primera to emerge from anywhere other than the Imperial Household would be utterly inconceivable.
That’s why, fortunately, I’ve managed to avoid suspicion so far, but—
‘Right. He could suspect me at any moment. That’s why I’m so afraid.’
That’s also why I wish the Revolution would proceed faster than in the original story.
If the emperor disappears soon, I can finally live in peace.
“People are already muttering that the gods have abandoned the Imperial Household because no next Primera came. And then—perfectly timed—a Divine Revelation arrived that completely negates the Imperial Household’s teachings.”
Oscar chuckled as he continued.
“To anyone watching, it looks like the gods have turned away, doesn’t it? The emperor will likely think the gods have abandoned him. It won’t even occur to him that a Primera born elsewhere caused this chaos.”
“Ooh! So His Majesty the Emperor thinks the gods are angry and has completely taken away the Primera?”
“Exactly. But wait—you didn’t plan this from the start?”
“No, not really. I wasn’t aiming for that specifically—”
I just saw a chance to help sick people with only fifteen minutes of Life Force, and also accelerate the Revolution, so I did it.
“Then what?”
“Well…”
But I couldn’t tell him the truth.
“I just thought it would be good if sick people got better. But if they suddenly recovered, it would seem strange, so I lied to the priest about it—”
After I answered that way, Oscar stared at me intently.
Something about his expression was displeased.
“What?”
“You’re going to heal every sick person you see on the street and be in your grave by the day after tomorrow?”
“N-no. I just noticed it didn’t cost much to heal them. I only used fifteen minutes.”
“Does the amount matter right now? If you were careful not to show you were growing stronger, you’d use way more than that, wouldn’t you?”
“……”
“Don’t do this again.”
Oscar’s expression was terrifying when he said it.
But.
‘He’s… worried about me, isn’t he?’
For some time now, Oscar’s true feelings had been transparent to me.
“Open your book.”
I watched Oscar’s suddenly-soured expression and pondered.
‘Should I ask him to help?’
In the original story, Oscar never helped Father.
But if Oscar lends his strength unlike in the original, Father could launch the Revolution much faster.
“Aren’t you going to open it?”
“Oh, yes!”
I quickly opened the book and glanced up at Oscar timidly.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“Are you angry?”
“I am.”
“I used my Life Force to save people, didn’t I? But the thing is, I have to grow fast without getting caught, so I need to use my abilities little by little….”
“And then you get used to doing things like that.”
Oscar added in a low voice.
“…I don’t like it.”
“…….”
“I know how your father’s doing with your upbringing, so take it with a grain of salt.”
“…….”
“If you give your bread to someone who’s starving and your clothes to someone who’s freezing, what happens to you? You just starve to death and freeze to death.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
“Now really open that book.”
“Yes, Master…. Thank you for worrying about me….”
I twirled my pen while stealing another glance at Oscar.
He was, as always when I was working on problems, reading his book with an arrogant posture—legs crossed, gaze detached.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“Eek.”
Does he have eyes on the side of his head?
I jerked in surprise and carefully turned my gaze back to my book before asking softly.
“Master, perhaps… do you happen to like His Majesty the Emperor?”
“No.”
“Then you dislike him?”
“Yes.”
At that answer, I perked up and whipped my head around to look at Oscar.
“Then, then what about my father?”
“I dislike him more than the Emperor.”
“What?”
I’d hoped when he said he disliked the Emperor.
But at his answer that he disliked my father even more, I slumped.
“Why are you asking such things?”
“But why? My father is such a good person. Father is….”
“Yes. That’s precisely why I dislike him. He doesn’t suit me.”
Oscar was firm.
“Why are you asking such things?”
“Master.”
“What?”
“Then, maybe… if my father comes to you later and asks for something, you won’t grant it, will you?”
Oscar, whose eyes had been fixed on his book, let out a soft laugh.
“You won’t grant it, will you? Right?”
“No. Why would I grant it?”
“Sigh….”
“If you want to ask for something, you have to be the one to ask.”
……?
My slumped shoulders suddenly straightened.
“You’ll grant my requests?”
“Yes.”
“Wow! Anything I ask?”
“Yes.”
“M-Master! Then my request is… that you’ll grant it if my father asks you for something later!”
“Fine, understood.”
Really? I gawked as Oscar nodded without hesitation.
“Anything at all?”
“I said I understand.”
“Really? You’re promising?”
“I said I understand, didn’t I?”
Oscar gestured at his book with his chin, smiling at my unbridled excitement.
“Finish those problems quickly.”
“Yes! I’m going to solve all one hundred problems today!”
I’d actually won over Oscar himself—what were a hundred problems compared to that?
I pressed my mind hard and began working through the problems with renewed vigor.
Some time passed like that.
“Lilis.”
“Yes!”
At the sound of my name, I turned my head eagerly, and Oscar was staring at me with his chin propped in his hand.
He gave a soft laugh and murmured.
“…You’re answering now.”
“I’m sorry?”
What was that supposed to mean?
“I always answered well before, didn’t I?”
“Fair enough. Go ahead and finish the problem.”
Oscar turned his eyes back to his book without a second thought.
…….
But I couldn’t pick up my pen again.
‘Why is that…?’
That tender gaze he showed me sometimes—so ancient-seeming, so worn.
The astonishing, unconditional kindness he bore toward me.
Each time I met Oscar, I couldn’t ignore it—this affection he held for me, yet I understood nothing of its reason.
‘It’s frustrating.’
I could only speculate endlessly, never getting to the heart of it.
Because I didn’t know which question might touch a taboo that bound him.
‘I wonder what Oscar and I were to each other.’
If only I could know it through my ability.
‘What I was to Oscar, and what Oscar was to me. Please, I just want to know.’
I looked at the Bracelet and thought the thought I’d already had thousands of times.
—
But as always, the same response.
It lay beyond the reach of my power.
“Master.”
“Yes?”
“Whenever you call me, I can answer you. Always.”
Oscar looked at me.
“Always, always I’ll answer you….”
…….
“So please, call me often.”
…….
Oscar said nothing.
We stood there gazing at each other for a long moment.
Then he smiled and spoke.
“Very well.”
It was a smile tinged with sorrow.
* * *
I grew greatly through the use of my ability.
I’d grown noticeably during my time at the Training Institute.
After leaving, I’d been using my ability bit by bit to keep my growth pace matched with my peers, so no one would become suspicious.
To hide my true nature safely.
But an unforeseen problem had arisen.
‘Oh no, this is bad….’
I’d been peering into my mouth in the mirror when I heard the door open; I rushed to the bed.
“Sweetheart! Father’s home!”
“Mm-hmm.”
Father came in, freshly tidied, and waved a toothbrush.
“Come now, my dear—brush your teeth and off to bed!”
“No need! I already did it.”
“Eh?”
“Yes, I did it myself. Every corner, nice and clean….”
…….
Father stood frozen in place, blinking as he stared at me.
“I’m going to sleep now! I’m so tired.”
I swallowed hard and pulled the blanket up over my head.
Father was silent.
My chest tightened with anxiety.
‘Not today, please. I’m scared!’
Thump-thump, I heard Father’s approaching footsteps.
Father didn’t lie down on the bed—he seemed to be standing right beside me.
Since he kept silent, I cautiously peeked out from under the blanket.
“Eek!”
Father’s face was inches from mine.
“Why… why…?”
“My little princess.”
I prayed silently.
‘Please, Father! Just for today, don’t read the room!’
Father grinned wickedly and leaned in closer.
“You’re trembling, aren’t you?”
“Mm.”
…Please, someone take away the protagonist’s intuition.

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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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