My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 179

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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 179
* * *
When Enoch returned to Jedo, he heard news of a fire that had broken out in the commoner’s district and immediately made for the scene.
Upon arrival.
He was startled by an unexpected sight. The fire had already been suppressed with support from two Mage Divisions and even the Magic Tower.
‘What in the world happened?’
The Magic Tower’s involvement was one thing, but it was remarkable that high-ranking ability users had mobilized so swiftly.
There was no way the Emperor would have simply granted permission for such support….
“Your Excellency.”
Just then, a robed man approached and greeted Enoch, discreetly passing him a note before departing.
[Obtained clue to terror organization’s leadership. Visit requested.]
Beneath the brief message was a drawing of a sparrow rendered in red ink.
It was a contact from Lico, the head of the intelligence guild Red Sparrow.
‘Terror? Damn it, what exactly is going on here….’
He was about to grab one of the support personnel and ask for a full account when.
Axion and Oscar arrived at the scene.
“Axion!”
“Ah, you’re here.”
Axion seemed somehow drained of all his energy. He brushed past Enoch with a light pat on the shoulder.
“The girl is at home with Cheshire. Don’t worry.”
“What? Why are you suddenly talking about—”
“Leave it alone, leave it.”
Oscar caught Enoch’s arm just as he was about to follow Axion.
“Master, what on earth is happening?”
Oscar scratched his forehead uncomfortably before speaking.
“The girl is safe.”
“Why do you keep mentioning the princess?”
Enoch’s face had gone pale with dread.
“Because she’s safe… Look, don’t get upset and listen to me.”
* * *
“Lilis!”
When Enoch returned home.
Lilis was sitting calmly at her desk, scribbling something.
“Father, you’re back?”
“Are you… all right?”
“Huh? Oh, yes! I don’t have a single scratch. His Majesty the Emperor saved me.”
He’d asked if she was hurt out of the panic of learning she’d been suddenly dragged before the Emperor.
The child seemed unbothered.
“…What about Cheshire?”
Enoch asked carefully, gauging her reaction, and Lilis turned to face him.
“Don’t say anything to Cheshire about this.”
“Huh? No, Father was just—”
“I went there because of me today. I didn’t know there’d be a fire, but I knew a lot of people would die there.”
…….
“…Did a lot of people die?”
Had she been pretending all along not to be affected?
Noticing the tremor in her voice, Enoch knelt down in front of Lilis.
“No, nobody died. The ability users arrived quickly enough, thankfully. There are injured people, but don’t worry. They’re all being treated at the Temple where Zadkiel serves as priest.”
“Oh, thank goodness….”
Lilis smiled, clutching her chest in relief.
“And Father. Can’t you stop hunting monsters and stay in Jedo? I was so scared and lonely without you.”
…….
Enoch fell silent.
The child was right. If he hadn’t left Jedo empty, things would never have escalated this far.
“I’m sorry.”
“Father.”
“Yes….”
“I…you know….”
Lilis leaned against him weakly.
“I know I should save people, but I don’t want to die in their place.”
“…….”
“Spending a little Life Force doesn’t bother me at all, but I hate it when Father or Uncle or Cheshire end up in danger because of it.”
“…Yes, of course.”
“I’m sorry…. I’m Father’s daughter, but I’m not brave like him, or strong like him either…. So I’m sorry. I don’t think I can save everyone….”
“No, Lilis. Father….”
Enoch couldn’t finish his sentence.
The child had grown up watching him her whole life.
Everyone is equal.
People who are suffering should be helped.
The poor should be shared with.
Father is strong, so he must fight instead for the weak.
Those teachings had become an obsession for the child without his noticing.
They had made her believe that someone like her — a noblewoman, a person of ability, a Primera — must do something.
“Father, I’m sorry….”
Enoch pulled Lilis into his arms with trembling strength.
The tension drained from the girl, and only then did she begin to weep bitterly against her father’s chest.
* * *
The next day.
Lilis Rubinstein, making a splendid return!
1. Prioritize the survival of our side above all else.
2. Prevent the rebels from grasping any leads.
3. …….
I reread the paper I’d written out, line after line, with my revised code of conduct carefully documented.
Why am I not worried about writing down words that would cause serious trouble if discovered?
Because I wrote them in Korean.
No one but me can read it.
“Mm, the juice is delicious.”
Sipping fruit juice from a fine glass, I waited for Oscar.
This was the Magic Tower’s Reception Hall.
Soon Oscar came bursting through the door hard enough to splinter it, and sat down across from me, breathing heavily.
“What is it?”
“Huh. You have plenty of time. You didn’t need to rush like this.”
“…I wasn’t rushing.”
A lie.
It was obvious he’d come running in a panic — this was the first time I’d ever sought him out at the Magic Tower on my own.
“First, Master of the Tower, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule. I came because I have a request.”
“……?”
Oscar blinked for a moment, apparently puzzled by the unfamiliar title, then let out a soft chuckle and crossed his legs.
“You want me to listen seriously?”
“Yes.”
“But you look good — I thought you’d be laid up for days.”
“I’m not sick or anything. Besides, there’s no time to be bedridden.”
I’m not a child. I need to pull myself together and deal with this crisis.
“Master, the thing is!”
I placed my hands on my thighs and bowed with deliberate courtesy.
“I need to meet with His Majesty the Emperor. Please arrange an audience for me!”
“…….”
Oscar blinked quietly, then scratched his right ear.
“I must be getting old — my ears have been playing tricks on me lately. Say that again.”
“Yes. I need to meet with His Majesty the Emperor….”
“What am I going to do with you.”
Oscar cut me off, his expression turning sympathetic.
“Your mind has gone. But I understand.”
“…….”
“There was fire right in front of you, you were dragged suddenly before the Emperor, and on top of that Cheshire came looking to dance with his sword — your courage must have shriveled up. It’s no wonder your mind broke.”
“My mind hasn’t broken. I’m perfectly fine.”
“That so? Then I already know what my answer will be?”
“Master, I realized something this time. Why should I be afraid of meeting His Majesty the Emperor? It’s not like I have ‘Primera’ written on my forehead?”
“Your nerve didn’t just grow — it burst?”
“I’m serious about this. There’s a real reason I have to go see His Majesty with my mentor. Please help me.”
“Fine. I won’t help you anyway, but let’s hear what nonsense you’re spouting.”
Oscar folded his arms across his chest with an air of total refusal, then crossed one leg over the other with a decisive gesture.
I pulled out the paper I’d prepared.
“The reason I need to meet His Majesty, first: I want to show him that I’m the kind of child who can be easily swayed with the right words.”
“What?”
“Honestly, even if I’m a Primera, I’d lose in a fight against His Majesty whether I wear a rank insignia or not. That’s just how it is.”
“…and?”
“So it’s better for me to become a child who listens well to His Majesty. That way he’ll think, ‘I don’t need to waste my power controlling her directly.'”
“…….”
“You might think I’m crazy, but I’m honestly not afraid of meeting His Majesty anymore.”
“Yeah, I get it. And that confirms you’re insane.”
“When I think about it, I’ve actually gained a lot from this whole situation. His Majesty will never be able to easily doubt my identity now.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“You saw yesterday, right? When His Majesty brought me here, he didn’t notice anything strange at all?”
There was information I’d always wondered about but could never have discovered on my own.
Specifically: how much Life Force it costs a Primera to control another Primera.
“When he used his power on me, he thought I was an Octava, right? If it had cost more Life Force than expected, he would’ve sensed something was off. But there was no sign of that, was there?”
“…….”
“That means controlling a Primera doesn’t take much Life Force at all. It’s as easy as controlling an Octava.”
It’s a bleak truth, but I’d suspected it to some degree.
An empire where rebellion has never once been written into history.
How had that been possible?
Even if there’s a power hierarchy between two Primeras… if the previous generation found it difficult to control the next generation, wouldn’t there have been at least one chance to resist?
―That’s what I’d thought.
‘But resistance was never even an option. They didn’t even dare try.’
This incident made it crystal clear to me.
A Primera was all-powerful against any other ability user, but utterly helpless against another Primera.
“Since he used his power directly on me, in a way I’m grateful? Because it didn’t cost much Life Force, he’s basically confirmed I’m an Octava, hasn’t he?”
“Ha, you’re shamelessly optimistic about this. I’m not sure you should call that a blessing, but… anyway, fine. But.”
Oscar furrowed his brow and leaned forward.
“Why don’t you just stay put? Why are you jumping into the Emperor’s mouth first, assuming he’s going to control you?”
“Ah, that’s…”
“You mean how he brought you when the fire broke out? He had the justification of saving you. The Emperor won’t kidnap you without reason, so don’t worry.”
“No, it’s not that I’m worried about that. It’s because I have a very strong premonition that I’ve become His Majesty’s target now.”
Until now, I’d stayed off the Emperor’s radar.
Because my rank was Octava, he couldn’t easily use me to control my father.
‘But not anymore. That Killing Intent from Cheshire back then—the Emperor couldn’t have missed it.’
I’d guess the Emperor figured out why Cheshire was so angry.
And perhaps…
He’d even reached the conclusion that the reason was me.
“Until now, I was pretty useless to His Majesty, right? But now he’s thinking, wait—my teacher cares about this child quite a lot, and also…”
“Right.”
Oscar sighed.
“That Cheshire too. If the Emperor isn’t an idiot, he felt that something was off about him this time.”
That’s exactly it.
The powerful figures the Emperor covets are all tangled up with me, one after another.
If I were the Emperor, what would I do?
‘Obviously, I’d seduce this child and use her.’
This whole incident might be,
Turning Calamity into Blessing.
The Emperor will think he can only move me, Oscar, Cheshire, and my father if he has me.
And doesn’t that mean, ironically, I hold the leash over the Emperor who’s trying to use me?
At this negotiation table, I am not the weaker party.
“The reason I need to meet His Majesty, second!”
I clasped my hands together earnestly.
“It’s because of Axion.”
* * *
“Hmm.”
The Emperor, his expression lukewarm, slowly traced his finger across the map spread out on the table.
At even that casual gesture, several of the able-bodied individuals gathered in the conference chamber trembled like aspen leaves, their tension palpable.
“Here.”
The Emperor’s finger came to rest upon a location on the map.
[Moarte Archipelago]
Silence descended upon the conference hall.
Then—click.
Someone, startled, let a pen slip from their grip.
“Axion?”
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What if we swept away all the demon beasts that have taken root there and planted our imperial flag for good measure?”
……
The Emperor let out a soft chuckle at Axion’s silence.
“You’ll take command as Supreme Commander. I’ll have the able-bodied of the third army organized under your command. And…”
The Emperor gestured toward those seated in a circle around him.
Ten individuals of Dos Rank ability.
Perhaps… the Emperor had selected only those whose loss would not trouble him.
“Choose two or so from among these to accompany you. You’ll pick them yourself.”
Someone held their breath.
All of them trembled, drained of color, wondering if they would be the one named.
‘Cruel.’
Axion laughed silently to himself.
This was no different from granting him the privilege of choosing those who would be buried alongside him.
“That won’t be necessary.”
Axion rose to his feet.
“I will see it through alone.”

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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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