My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 208

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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
Episode 208
* * *
Magic Tower, Oscar’s office.
I stood before the full-length mirror.
The mirror, the princess-style sofa, the cot, the desk with brushes arranged by type—
It was supposed to be a workspace, but somewhere along the way, Oscar had customized it piece by piece just for me.
“Phew.”
I took a deep breath.
Then, imagining the form, I activated the ability.
10 minutes per second.
“Wow.”
Instantly, a transformed version of me appeared in the mirror.
A beguiling beauty mark beneath crimson lips.
A slender, stunning woman standing 170 centimeters tall, with hair as red as her lips, full and lustrous.
‘What if I made the chest a bit larger?’
The beauty’s chest swelled a little further. Somewhere between a C and D cup, perhaps?
“Oh my, oh my.”
I smiled with satisfaction, cupping my hands beneath my chest to admire the effect.
“…?”
Just then, beyond the mirror—
Oscar appeared behind me.
“Eek.”
I spun around in shock, and there he was, scowling at my appearance with an expression of pure exasperation, rushing toward me.
“What on earth—!”
Oscar’s hand, reaching to flick my forehead, passed right through without making contact.
“What is this. Illusion Magic?”
“Yes. I found that using Illusion Magic to deceive the eye is much more cost-effective than actually changing my appearance.”
“How much does it cost?”
“…Ten minutes per second.”
Oscar’s eyes widened suddenly, and he let out a squeak.
“Hurry up and dispel it?!!!”
When I released the spell, the mirror reflected my true form once more—short stature and silver hair.
And of course, an A cup.
“Ouch!”
Oscar seized the moment and flicked my forehead with his usual force.
“Why are you hitting me?”
“Because you’re misbehaving!”
“What misbehavior? You’re the one who told me to change my appearance!”
“Did I? Really? When? I certainly never told you to paint your lips bright red and puff yourself up like some watermelon-chested woman!”
“If I’m going to do it anyway, I’ll do it my way!”
“Sigh.”
Oscar closed his eyes tightly, swallowing his anger, then turned sharply away.
I scurried after him like a child.
“Didn’t my appearance just now look like a single rose? That’s why I’m thinking of calling myself Rosalind. With the surname Versace. Rosalind~ Versace~”
“Absolutely ridiculous.”
Oscar sank into his chair, glaring at me.
“You’re really going? For real?”
“Of course I’m going. How could I leave Leon to die when I know it’s coming?”
A Large-Scale Monster Subjugation Battle.
Leon’s death from the Original Story volume two was drawing inexorably closer—just one month away.
Oscar folded his hands and began muttering in a grave tone.
“Ten minutes per second for maintaining Illusion Magic? That’s ten hours per minute. Four days and four hours for ten minutes. And twenty-five days for one hour…”
“Wow. Your calculation speed is something.”
My mind couldn’t possibly keep pace with the genius Tower Master’s rapid mental arithmetic.
“Is this right? Even just maintaining that appearance for a single day—twenty-four hours—would cost you over a year and a half of your lifespan!”
“Please, do I look stupid? I’m not planning to maintain the Illusion constantly. I’ll only take that form to help Leon when he’s in real danger, and then I’ll pull back immediately.”
“…”
“Come on, Teacher. You already gave me permission anyway~”
“Why not just let him die in peace?”
“…You’re serious?”
“Sigh.”
Oscar exhaled another long breath and glared at me.
“If anything happens, call me immediately.”
“Nothing’s going to happen. I already submitted a ten-page report on the ‘Leon’s Flawless Rescue Plan,’ didn’t I?”
“Why do you have to be so cheeky lately? Can’t you just answer obediently? I said: if anything happens, call me. Did you understand?”
“Yes.”
……
Oscar’s expression, which had been fixed in displeasure as he stared at me, shifted subtly in a way I couldn’t quite place.
“…What?”
“Come here. Your face. Close.”
As I brought my face toward Oscar’s beckoning hand, he gently rubbed my lips.
The pink lipstick I’d applied transferred onto his fingers.
“You’re wearing makeup?”
Oscar narrowed his eyes and spoke with a suspicious tone.
“Well, I can do that too, can’t I…?”
I swallowed hard.
……
……
Oscar held my gaze quietly for a moment, then let out a snort and chuckled softly.
“I’m all grown up now!”
I turned my head away hastily, feigning composure.
* * *
Libre Manor.
Leon Antrace had come to the private residence of his direct superior, Cheshire Libre, commander of the Magic Swordmaster Order, in response to a summons.
They were to discuss a large-scale Demon Beast Subjugation planned for a month hence.
“Quite bare, isn’t it.”
A spacious table. Two sofas.
A bed that looked unused for a long time.
The sparse room held no warmth of habitation.
A year ago, Cheshire had been granted a separate palace by the Emperor himself, so he rarely stayed at his own residence anymore.
“Did I arrive too early?”
Leon dropped onto the sofa in the empty room, turning his thoughts to Cheshire.
His younger brother, whom he’d raised like a sibling, had become the Emperor’s closest confidant and now stood at the very center of imperial power in this realm.
Yet he was only nineteen this year.
Leon, who prided himself on his intellect, now understood many things he hadn’t before.
For instance, what his uncle Enoch harbored in his heart.
And what role Cheshire played in fulfilling his uncle’s ambitions—such things.
‘Not much time left.’
Jedo, in its current state, seemed tense enough that war could erupt at any moment.
He absolutely despised headaches.
“Yawn… I’m so tired.”
Leon yawned and stretched out on the sofa, thinking he’d rest his eyes while waiting for Cheshire.
* * *
Returning to his residence after a long absence.
Cheshire stepped through the door.
“Cheshire.”
Lilis, who’d followed him in, closed the door behind them and asked.
“Are you angry?”
……
“You’re angry.”
“No, I’m not.”
Cheshire shook his head, then paused and let out a sigh.
The sight of himself radiating anger through every inch of his being while denying it struck him as absurd.
“Don’t be mad…”
“Did Aaron’s gift please you?”
At his question, Lilis’s mouth fell open.
“What? Have you lost it?”
“Then why did you accept it?”
Cheshire glanced pointedly at the Rose Bouquet in Lilis’s hand.
“I… this is…”
Lilis hurled the bouquet to the floor with a sharp flick of her wrist.
“I mean… well…”
“Think it over seriously.”
The trouble had started two hours ago.
Cheshire had come to fetch Lilis along with Jem and Rom, intending to have dinner with friends after so long, when he witnessed it:
“Your Highness, I speak from my heart. Please accept my feelings.”
Aaron, a sixteen-year-old Holy Knight who had received his knighthood that very year, had come all the way to the Magic Tower, dropped to one knee, and confessed his love to Lilis.
Of course, the confession itself wasn’t particularly surprising. Plenty of men in the Magic Swordmaster Order harbored feelings for Lilis.
………
Cheshire studied her face carefully and understood their longing well enough.
Lilis was beautiful.
Not merely beautiful, but
strikingly, breathtakingly beautiful.
Beautiful enough that even hardened men would risk Enoch’s wrath for a chance to court her.
“Sir Aaron, then I’ll think about it seriously. Once I’ve made up my mind, I’ll contact you first, so please wait.”
The confession itself had been no shock, but her answer was.
From that moment on, Cheshire had been furious.
His anger was justified.
Why?
Because Lilis should have simply refused him.
“If you say you’ll think it over… he won’t come looking for me until I reach out first.”
“…? You could just turn him down flat. Why leave the door open?”
Cheshire didn’t back down from her excuses, throwing the words back at her.
“I’ve already turned him down three times. That was his fourth confession.”
“What?”
Cheshire’s eyes widened.
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“If I told you, you’d go scold him for confessing to me, wouldn’t you? Then people would start suspecting us. Besides, would the commander of the Magic Swordmaster Order really be running around dealing with that kind of nonsense?”
Cheshire let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
“Then… you told your father?”
“Yes. When I was confessed to the second time. Dad handled it well and sent him away, but he came back the very next day. I turned him down again.”
“Is the man insane?”
Lilis flinched at Cheshire’s uncharacteristic vehemence.
“He was so persistent I didn’t know what to do. So to keep him from coming back, I gave him an answer I’d prepared in advance. If I say I’m thinking it over, I figured he’d stay away for a while.”
………
“But I didn’t think you’d see it. I’m sorry.”
Cheshire closed his eyes tightly, swallowing his anger, then turned away.
“Fine. Don’t worry about it anymore. I’ll make sure he understands clearly.”
“Mm.”
Lilis tugged at Cheshire’s hand timidly.
“Stop being angry.”
“…I’m not angry.”
“Liar.”
“Okay, fine. I’m angry—just not at you.”
Why was he this upset anyway?
“Look at me.”
………
This man had never won an argument with Lilis. Eventually, at her request to see his face, Cheshire turned back around.
“You’re too tall.”
………
Lilis gestured with a flutter of her hands, as if asking him to bend down to her height.
Cheshire lowered his head slightly.
As their faces drew near, Lilis hesitated for a moment, then
—peck—
she grasped his cheek and pressed her lips to his.
………
………
Cheshire’s eyes widened in surprise.
Lilis, her cheeks flushed, let out a soft, deliberately casual cough.
“W-what’s wrong? Don’t you like it…?”
Lilis withdrew in embarrassment, watching Cheshire freeze mid-bow.
“I-I’m going to play with Axion for a bit and then head home!”
“Lilis.”
Cheshire caught her arm as she moved toward the door and turned her back to face him.
“…Why?”
After a brief hesitation, Cheshire carefully pulled her into an embrace. Lilis laughed shyly and wrapped her arms around his waist in return.
Thump-thump.
Neither could tell whose racing heartbeat it was.
After holding each other for a long moment, they finally parted.
“Hehe.”
……
All trace of anger had melted from Cheshire’s expression.
“I’m going now.”
“…Yeah.”
Lilis left, and the door closed behind her.
Cheshire’s lips tingled.
His chest still pounded wildly.
“Sigh.”
He exhaled once, barely managing to cover his rising smile with his hand as he turned around.
“…?”
What on earth?
He’d thought the room was empty, but someone had been there.
“Oh…”
……
From behind the wide table, on the sofa that had been hidden from view, a figure was just rising.
“B-brother…”
It was Leon.
From his expression, he’d witnessed everything.
“Y-you two… Wow, you two…”
“Brother. It’s just… that is…”
“…You’re dating? Since when, exactly…?”
……
Leon’s jaw hung open as far as it would go.
“I never would’ve imagined this…”

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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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