My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 175

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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 175
“What on earth was she doing in a place like that?”
Watching the Emperor regard the child with such tenderness, Oscar placed a hand quietly over his own chest.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
It felt as though his heart might burst from his ribs.
“You gave her quite a fright, it seems.”
The child could barely breathe, her small frame trembling with a sickly palsy.
“There now. You’re safe. Rest easy.”
…….
“Tsk. Has fear stolen your voice?”
“I’m s-sorry, s-sorry, I’m so s-sorry….”
“Sorry to me? There’s no need for that. If you wish to speak, let it be gratitude instead—for I brought you here precisely because I was afraid you might come to harm.”
“Y-yes, I understand….”
The child nodded frantically, over and over. Tears that had gathered spilled down her cheeks.
“Th-thank you….”
“Don’t cry.”
“Y-yes… I’m s-sorry for c-crying….”
As though compelled by the rule that she must obey the Emperor to survive, the child forced the corners of her mouth upward.
The expression—neither tears nor laughter—was pitiful to witness.
“I’m sorry for c-crying, I’m so s-sorry….”
Perhaps finding the sight amusing, the Emperor burst into laughter.
“Ahahaha!”
…….
“Poor child. You’ve had a terrible shock. From now on, stay far from such places. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, I understand….”
Lilis was being driven to the absolute edge of her terror, and Oscar alone perceived it.
He understood the feeling well enough—he shared it.
The nightmare that had tormented him until now had become flesh before his eyes.
“Chief Mage, do ease that expression. The girl is unharmed, after all.”
In the moment he felt it in his very bones—that no amount of struggle mattered, that a single gesture from the Emperor could end everything.
“Yes….”
Terror and an utter, suffocating helplessness enveloped him.
* * *
Chaos and pandemonium.
Sparks flew in all directions as piercing screams tore through the air.
Cough, cough.
Cheshire shielded a woman cradling an infant, wrapped a Shield around them both, and hurried down the stairs.
Though he’d evacuated a fair number of people, many remained trapped, and the flames continued to spread.
‘Damn it.’
Cheshire was gripped by the obsession that he must save everyone safely.
Was it justice that drove him? No.
He didn’t know what Lilis, trembling outside, might do if the situation grew worse.
‘I can’t let that happen. Faster….’
Dread gnawed at his mind.
“Half of you head that way! The rest—help me secure this building!”
As he emerged from the structure, Cheshire froze at the sight of a familiar face.
“Jem?”
Jemian Traha.
His former comrade, now serving as a capable captain of the Mercenary Guild.
Behind her stood roughly a dozen members—all of them Diez Rank ability users.
“Oh? Cheshire!”
Jemian spotted him and rushed over.
“I’ll help! Lilis came running to our guild all of a sudden!”
…….
She won’t stay put again….
Thinking of Lilis, unable to remain calm even when things were under control, his heart sank with a heavy thud.
He had to keep evacuating people, which meant he couldn’t stay by her side….
“Where is Lilis?”
“Huh? She came back here with us. She’s in a safe place, don’t worry.”
“All right.”
“Oh, and I’ve asked the other guilds to help too, but… I wouldn’t count on it. Every able-bodied member is a guild asset, and if something goes wrong, it’s a disaster.”
Even as she spoke, Jemian gestured directions to her unit members, then added with an embarrassed expression.
“Sorry I’m late. Truth is, I knew about the fire, but I had no intention of volunteering. If it wasn’t for Lilis, I wouldn’t have come.”
“Don’t worry. I understand. Just help out as much as you can without pushing yourself.”
“Right, and don’t you get hurt either!”
The support from the able-bodied mercenaries was welcome either way. Her heart felt considerably lighter.
“Lilis….”
Before heading to the next building, Cheshire looked for Lilis first.
“Commander of the Demon Slayers!”
Just then, one of his unit members spotted Cheshire first and came rushing over in a panic. It was the soldier he’d asked to watch over Lilis.
“The— the princess has disappeared, sir!”
“…What?”
In that instant, his vision went white.
With a breath that caught in his throat, he shouted.
“I told you to keep watch!”
“N-no, it’s not… I mean, that’s….”
“Get yourself together and speak clearly! Where did she go?”
“Sh-she didn’t go anywhere, sir! After coming back from the Mercenary Guild, she was sheltering in place again, but then… she just… there was a flash and she vanished right in front of me.”
“What?”
“I-I’m sorry, sir. I know this sounds like an impossible excuse, but she really did just vanish all of a sudden…. I don’t even know what happened….”
The soldier trembled as he stammered out his excuses, terrified of censure.
“…….”
More muffled words tumbled from his mouth, but Cheshire heard none of them.
His mind went blank.
Only a piercing ring filled his ears.
“Lilis….”
Lilis, vanished in an instant.
In the worst-case scenarios he’d imagined a thousand times over, this was not impossible.
There was only one person who could take Lilis like that.
‘Yes.’
His mind went cold, and Cheshire didn’t hesitate.
‘Perhaps it’s for the best.’
He was sick of this. Time to end it.
Without a second thought, he ran.
* * *
‘Damn it.’
For a moment, as his concentration faltered in protecting his airways, acrid smoke stung his lungs.
All Axion could do now was wait for reinforcements while ushering people out of the building.
‘Lilis….’
The child weighed on his mind, making him all the more anxious.
Every time Axion brought someone out, he checked to ensure the girl was safe, and he kept urging her to do nothing reckless.
“This way— cough! Ah, don’t breathe!”
Just then, he spotted someone wrapping a small child in blankets to carry them to safety.
A red-haired mercenary who looked like a man—Jemian.
She was a familiar face to Axion, as they often deployed together.
“Hey! Are you all right?”
“Ah, my lord! Cough, cough.”
“You look terrible. You should wait outside.”
Axion quickly cleared a passage as he spoke.
“I can’t do that, cough!”
“That’s an order!”
Jemian lacked the Mana reserves to maintain a Shield for long. Right now she was practically defenseless.
“You’ve already done more than enough. Reinforcements will arrive soon, so take the people I’ve brought out and evacuate them.”
“The reinforcements… cough, they won’t come quickly, my lord. Let me keep helping!”
As Jemian spoke while struggling down the stairs, Axion pressed his lips together.
Everyone knew the truth.
High-ranking reinforcements weren’t about to rush to a fire in a commoner’s district.
‘This is madness.’
Just as he emerged from the building with Jemian.
Axion was startled by how drastically the scene had changed from when he’d entered.
‘What in the…?’
The flames were half-contained.
Ability users in white coats were visible throughout the chamber.
Researchers from the Magic Tower.
“Wow, unbelievable!”
Jemian cried out in exultation.
“You’re truly incredible, my lord! Did you call all these people here? Wow, amazing! Simply amazing!”
From the timing alone, it was clear they’d come without the Emperor’s permission.
The relief was short-lived.
“Lilis! Where’s Lilis…?”
One of the team members who’d been waiting rushed forward.
“Your Grace!”
“Yes, good! Where is she?”
“S-she’s disappeared, sir.”
“What?”
Axion’s eyes widened.
“What on earth are you talking about? Disappeared?”
The team member stammered, clearly as bewildered as Axion felt.
“We don’t understand it either, sir. She just vanished right before our eyes, in a flash—”
“How could that—!”
Axion swallowed the protest rising to his lips.
Could it be…?
“Wait. Then Cheshire—where is Cheshire?”
“If you mean the Sword Master, he saw that the princess had vanished and left the scene at once. I don’t know where he went.”
“I see.”
Lilis, vanished before their eyes.
And Cheshire, having witnessed it—where had he gone?
“You… why are you fighting? Because Enoch told you to?”
“No.”
Memories stirred in his pale mind.
“I wanted you to have a reason for joining the rebellion. Not just because you’re the only one who can cut the Emperor’s throat, but something more.”
When they’d first begun preparing for the rebellion.
The first thing he’d learned was Cheshire’s secret.
No Fate Power—and therefore not subject to Primera’s dominion. The only ability user of his kind.
A sword that could stand against the Emperor.
“I wanted to save them.”
Save them?
Those who would die under the Emperor’s tyranny in the years to come?
At the time, those words had sounded like a commitment to take up the sword for a greater cause.
“How much stronger have I become?”
“Even if you and Father fail, am I strong enough now to kill the Emperor alone?”
Cheshire had asked the same question countless times over the years.
The day Axion noticed the twisted light in Cheshire’s eyes—that was when unease first took root in his heart.
“Father, now? Can I do it on my own?”
“If that’s the case, are you saying you’d go kill the Emperor by yourself?”
……
“Don’t talk nonsense. We’re doing this so we can all live together. If you charge in unprepared and end up on the scaffold with the rest of us, what then?”
Why was that?
How could someone so young have been so filled with the will to rebel, when he understood so little?
The reason for it…
Axion only now comprehended.
It was never about a greater cause or a sense of justice.
“I wanted to save them.”
Lilis.
“I have to kill her. No matter what.”
“If I don’t kill her, she’ll die.”
Even Enoch’s words from long ago, when he’d first spoken of the rebellion, made sense now.
If he didn’t kill her, she would surely perish.
As one bound by Primera…
Lilis.
“Could I do it alone?”
The only ability user capable of facing Primera single-handedly.
“No….”
Cheshire had gone to the Emperor.
The moment he grasped that fact.
“Please…!”
Axion ran like a madman, praying he wasn’t too late.

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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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