My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 117

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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 hiding his strength
Chapter 117
The world went white before my eyes.
The Emperor’s suspicion had been correct all along.
‘Right, it’s because of the Sacred Water Incident. But how…. What do I do now…?’
Once the Rank appeared, the Emperor would immediately erase everyone’s memories.
Just as I’d done to Mother before.
Memory Erasure consumed less Life Force than Memory Manipulation.
And after that, he would….
‘I can’t see straight ahead.’
Both my vision and my mind reeled.
‘I never thought it would happen this fast….’
Then it came.
Ding—
The sound of the Rank measurement completing.
! Measurement Complete !
Mana Capacity: 124455
Rank: 4th Grade, Octava
In that moment, I held my breath.
What?
What?
When I lifted my eyes, I caught sight of the Emperor clicking his tongue—tsk—before his expression smoothed into a radiant smile.
As if he’d never shown his displeasure at all, he laughed brightly.
“My, how surprising. That Enoch’s daughter would be Octava.”
“…….”
“Ah! Don’t misunderstand, my dear. I’m simply disappointed. A gifted child who can recite A-Grade Magic Formulas so effortlessly at seven years old. Had your Mana Capacity only been a touch greater, you could have truly shown your brilliance.”
“I apologize….”
“No, no, now you make me feel terrible. There’s nothing to apologize for.”
The Emperor laughed and gave Father’s shoulder a friendly pat.
“Come now, let’s be on our way. Shall we?”
He then left the Mana Measurement Room with Franz, taking the lead.
I managed to stand, barely forcing strength into legs that trembled.
Father approached me.
‘What is that expression….’
His face was ashen.
Father couldn’t possibly understand what it felt like to fall into hell and crawl back out again in those few moments.
“Little one, my dear.”
“Yes, um.”
“…Come now. We should go.”
Father scooped me up as I emerged from the Mana Measurement Device.
‘Why….’
The arms holding me were shaking violently.
Seeing Father’s expression from so close, my heart plummeted.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
His face drained of color, sickly pale.
Father was trembling with terror for some reason.
‘Could it be….’
From his reaction, I found myself suspecting something extraordinary.
‘Does he know? Father knows?’
When the Emperor suddenly suggested coming to the Training Institute, Father had seemed flustered for some reason.
If my suspicion is correct….
During those brief moments while my Rank was being measured, Father must have thought through countless possibilities.
I grew confused.
Father left the Mana Measurement Room, forcing himself to look composed.
The Emperor was waiting.
“Since I’ve come after so long, I thought I’d take a proper tour of the Training Institute. Join us, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
Father answered with a smile, as if nothing were amiss.
But I still couldn’t stop my legs from shaking. I couldn’t compose myself as easily as he could.
“Father, I need to use the washroom….”
“Huh? Oh, would you like to go with Dad?”
The Emperor let out a hollow laugh.
“What? Do I really escort my grown daughter to the restroom? My, how a person can change. I’ve never seen anyone transform this much.”
“Dad, I can go alone.”
I whispered quietly, and Father set me down after a moment of consideration.
“All right. After you’re done, wait for me on the first floor.”
“Okay!”
I answered brightly and bolted out of the Research Building.
The moment I stepped outside,
“Hah!”
I clutched my chest and crumpled to the ground.
“Huff… huff…”
My head spun in circles.
I’d almost been caught.
I’d almost died.
But somehow, I’d survived.
How? How on earth?
‘Why? I couldn’t manipulate the Mana Measurement Room, so why did Octava appear?’
That was when the confusion hit.
“Oh. Young lady, are you all right? Does something hurt?”
Someone approached with a worried expression.
Navy hair and blue eyes.
A man in expensive noble attire, with the drooping gaze of someone who looked perpetually tired.
“Oh, no. I’m fine.”
“But you’re sweating so much…”
“Really, I’m all right. Thank you for your concern.”
“Darling!”
Then.
I turned at a familiar voice.
It was Mother.
‘…Darling?’
And I realized who this man was.
Luden Dorf, the Marquis.
Mother’s husband.
‘Ugh, today is absolutely the worst…’
Mother stopped short when she saw the Marquis and me together, then walked over.
“…Why are you here?”
“Ha ha! I wanted to see you, and I brought lunch from home. The food here really is terrible.”
The Marquis handed the lunch box to Mother.
“Oh, but… this child seems to be ill…”
“I’m fine! Thank you!”
I couldn’t bear to hear another word, so I turned and ran off blindly.
“Hey, wait!”
The Marquis’s concerned voice called after me, but I kept my ears shut and ran on.
Then I collided with someone.
“Ow! I’m so sorry—!”
“Who the—!”
I looked up and saw Oscar.
“…Master?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I…”
In that instant, all my composure shattered.
I sank to the ground right there and wept like a child.
“Waaahhh—!”
“What the—! Why are you crying! Hey!”
Oscar looked flustered and knelt down to examine me.
“Who did this! Who was it! Tell me now! Stop your crying!”
“Ugh. Hic. Waaah…”
“Are you going to stop or not?! Did someone hit you? Then I’ll hit them back for you, so what are you sniffling about like this!”
“No, no. It’s… hic! It’s not that.”
“Who on earth—!”
If I kept crying like this, I’d actually end up getting hit by Oscar.
I forced my mouth shut, swallowing my sobs in desperate little gasps, and tried to calm myself.
“Tell me who it is, right now—!”
“I didn’t get hit!”
The moment I cried out, Oscar—his face flushed crimson and breathing hard—spoke.
“Then what is it!”
“M-Master, why are you here?”
“We replaced the Mana Measurement Room with a new one. I need to keep checking that it’s functioning properly for a while.”
“Oh!”
Then it hit me.
Could it be…?
“Master, Master!”
“Tell me why you were crying first.”
“Y-yes! I understand! Today His Imperial Majesty came here to observe the 13th Prince’s Rank!”
“The 13th Prince? Why would he suddenly show up when the boy hasn’t even been to the Training Institute yet?”
“W-well, the 13th Prince, he… he was Primera.”
…….
He understood. Oscar fell silent for a moment, then let out a soft laugh.
“…Fool. The Emperor’s in quite a bind.”
There’s no subject, but the fool is the Emperor.
Oscar, who’d been chuckling, opened his eyes wide again.
“But why did you come!”
“H-His Imperial Majesty called both Father and me together. I… I had my Rank measured again. In front of His Imperial Majesty.”
“What?”
Oscar’s face went pale.
I leaned in close to his ear and whispered.
“He must have grown suspicious when he saw me use my ability during the Wurgen trip. So he prevented me from manipulating Magical Devices and measured my Rank.”
“Hell. What’s gotten into that old man’s head?”
“But, but!”
I hopped up and down eagerly.
Oscar broke into a grin.
“Did you hit Octava?”
“You did that, Master?”
“Ahem.”
Oscar looked thoroughly pleased with himself.
Tears welled up in my eyes again, and I threw myself into his arms.
“What now.”
“Master, thank you… truly, truly thank you…”
Afraid he’d scold me if I cried, I rubbed my face against his clothes and wiped away my tears.
Oscar gently patted my back.
“…But you could’ve warned me beforehand. I nearly died of a heart attack.”
“Fair point. Sorry.”
Huh? He’s not the type to apologize so readily.
I lifted my head in surprise.
Just as I tried to pull away from his embrace, Oscar pulled me back in tight.
“Mmph?”
“I didn’t expect you’d have your Rank measured again so soon.”
…….
“I’m sorry.”
“A-ah, no, it’s fine, really…”
Oscar released me and stood up.
“Anyway, you didn’t die of a heart attack, so that’s good. Now that I’ve properly stamped your Rank into that old man’s eyes, I can rest easy.”
“Yay! Me too!”
I happily followed Oscar as he walked slowly forward.
Then I stopped short.
Oscar stopped, and I did too.
‘Oh, that’s right. Am I stupid? Mother was here.’
Mother and the Duke were still standing in front of the Research Building, talking and smiling.
“What have those annoying vermin been eating? Do they think this is their own living room?”
Oscar, his jaw clenched, spun sharply in the opposite direction.
I quietly gauged his mood and followed him again.
‘Oscar really seems to hate Mother, doesn’t he?’
I called out to him carefully.
“Master.”
“What.”
“Our mother, you know…”
“Your mother? She’s the Marquess Luden Dorf’s wife.”
“Right, yes. The Marquess Luden Dorf’s wife, you know…”
“Yes.”
“Did you… know her before Father married her?”
“Apparently so.”
“I see.”
Mother remarried almost immediately after Father deserted, not even looking back, or so I’d been told.
It hadn’t been that long, and the fact that she’d remarried as if she’d been waiting for the moment had stung me a little.
But if she’d already loved someone before the marriage…
‘Ah. So Father forced her to marry him, and then she had me, and all that…’
I spoke with a sunken heart.
“I understand Mother now.”
“What?”
Oscar bristled. I quickly corrected myself.
“No, no! I mean, I understand the Marquess Luden Dorf’s wife now.”
……
“It’s pitiful, really. I have someone I like too, and if someone told me to marry someone else, I’d be hurt.”
I took Oscar’s hand.
“So please, Master, don’t look at her with such a scary expression every time. Getting angry will only give you a headache.”
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“I can grant you most requests, but not that one.”
“What?”
“Don’t ask me to understand that woman.”
Oscar’s expression turned fierce.
“My hatred for her has nothing to do with your father or her remarriage. That’s not my concern.”
……
“It’s because of what she did to you—”
His jaw trembled violently.
“Damn it.”
Oscar fell silent and only clenched his fists tighter.
I realized he was holding back words he wanted to say.
‘It’s because of the geis, isn’t it.’
I recalled every moment when Oscar had stopped speaking.
The geis was probably…
‘Something only Oscar should know. If he reveals it, the geis takes hold.’
In the original story, Mother probably didn’t realize I was Primera and revealed Father’s location to the Emperor.
But tragically, I was Primera…
And regardless of Mother’s intentions, I was imprisoned and my abilities exploited for the rest of my life.
‘Oscar knows that.’
Unlike the original story, it never happened, but Oscar clearly knows the original’s contents.
That’s why he despises her.
“Master, have you ever… gone into a book?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Okay. Since they say to tap even a stone bridge before crossing it, I figured I’d ask.
‘From his reaction, he definitely hasn’t experienced what I have.’
I studied Oscar.
‘Now I’m one hundred percent certain. Oscar regressed. He lived through the original story as it unfolded, once before.’
I wondered what he’d sacrificed for that regression.
Because Oscar knows all the tragedy that would unfold before me.
Thanks to Oscar’s help…
I’ve survived this far.
Alone, I never could have.
A cheat code called regression.
Of course, there had to be a price.
“Master….”
“What!”
“I want to survive until the very end. No—I will survive.”
…….
“I won’t die. I’ll live long and happily.”
I wrapped my arms around Oscar’s leg.
“You’ll be beside me then, won’t you?”
…….
“Even if you’re not, I’ll make sure you are.”
Oscar let out a soft laugh.
He pressed down on my head, speaking gently.
“…Yes. I’d like that.”

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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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