My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 214

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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 214
“You….”
“…….”
“…Are you an idiot, by any chance?”
Why was Oscar showing up here of all moments?
“I’m not an idiot.”
Cheshire’s immediate retort came wrapped in what looked like wounded pride.
“The Magic Tower master, he….”
“Master? What do you mean?”
“…Never mind. Forget it.”
He bit his lip and shook his head, whatever he’d been about to say evaporating.
‘What’s gotten into Oscar?’
I was about to press him again when Cheshire rose and leaned toward me.
‘Mom! This is… pretty close, isn’t it?’
In the narrow carriage, his half-bent posture looked awkward, but he kept his gaze fixed on mine.
“Lilis.”
His eyes burned with sudden seriousness.
The air between us tightened.
“I didn’t hold you because you asked me to.”
“Huh?”
“The truth is, I know your training isn’t hard on you at all. You don’t use Mana the way I do.”
What! He knew it wasn’t hard?
“But even knowing that, I kept asking if it was difficult… I did it on purpose. Because I wanted to hold you. It was selfish of me, so I’m sorry. I apologize.”
“…? It’s, it’s fine…. My intentions weren’t pure either….”
“And. The sunlight, the birdsong, the stream. A son who looks half like me and half like my wife, calling out dada, dada.”
“……?”
“Back then, I was actually imagining… becoming a family with you.”
I stared at Cheshire in bewilderment before understanding dawned.
That time, long ago, when Cheshire lived with us at home.
The Original Story had no romance in it, so I’d been terrified.
Unable to leave the protagonist to live as a bachelor forever, I’d worked hard to awaken Cheshire’s romantic feelings.
“Come on, close your eyes! Just imagine it!”
“Brilliant sunlight. Chirping birds. A babbling stream…. A son nestled in your arms, calling out dada, dada…. And your wife, charmed by the scent of flowers, turns to look at you.”
Of course, I didn’t know back then!
That the wife smelling those flowers could end up being me!
“It wasn’t quite like this then… but I think I always knew it might become this someday.”
“…….”
“I’m certain that eventually, whenever that comes to be, I’ll… come to love you very much.”
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
I pressed my runaway heart firmly against my ribs and swallowed hard.
“That’s why. When the Duke offered to register me into his house, I refused. Because I could never become your sister.”
“You… What exactly are you….”
The world spun before my eyes. My brain had overloaded from hearing too much at once.
“Why didn’t you say this sooner? Why did you have to save it all up and dump it on me at once like this…?”
Usually so restrained, once Cheshire broke his silence, he became like an eight-ton truck with failed brakes…….
“I’m sorry. Better late than never, but I’m telling you now.”
Cheshire placed his hand carefully against the carriage wall behind me, caging me in as he closed the distance.
“Eek.”
In an instant, we were even closer.
Heat burned in Cheshire’s eyes.
“I love you. In the way you’re probably thinking right now.”
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
‘I’m losing it!’
My heart had begun racing in triple-time rhythm.
“You say it too.”
“…….”
“…Is it me that you love?”
I clutched my wildly pounding chest.
“I, I….”
I was speaking fine just a moment ago, and now this….
The moment Cheshire set the mood like that, I felt my face flush.
“Give me… an answer.”
The distance between us had narrowed until our breath mingled.
Those crimson eyes piercing through me, burning with unmistakable heat.
“I… that is… well….”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
* * *
“Bwahahaha!!!”
Oscar sat up, tears streaming down his face as he clutched his belly in laughter.
The funny part?
Obviously Cheshire’s misunderstanding….
“That guy’s usually so sharp, but then he goes and acts like an idiot about this. How could he get it so wrong?”
The fact that Cheshire had somehow convinced himself I harbored feelings for Oscar still baffled me.
“A-ba-ba~~”
A-ba-ba?
Oscar grinned wickedly, as if savoring some private joke.
“I’ve had the Tower Master’s….”
In that instant, I remembered what Cheshire had been about to say that day.
“Wait, Master. Could it be….”
“Exactly. I noticed that bastard’s eyes getting increasingly suspicious a few years back, so every time we met, I’d drop little hints on purpose. He’s probably been grinding his teeth alone this whole time, absolutely sick with it~~”
“What?! Why would you do that?”
Oscar grabbed my cheek and stretched it.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
“If I hadn’t run interference, you two would’ve figured it out and started courting ages ago, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s not— that’s not fair at all!”
“If you’d been idle enough to start dating back then, wouldn’t you have bungled the whole operation?”
I rubbed my cheek where he’d released it and glared at him.
“That’s completely unfair! I hate you, Master!”
“Hmm?”
Oscar crossed his legs and fixed me with a challenging look.
“But, Master.”
“What.”
“You can’t tell Father about this, okay?”
“Why not?”
“I never intended for you to find out in the first place….”
“No, seriously, why?”
“It just feels wrong, you know? The reason you protected Cheshire, and everyone else working so hard on the expedition preparations… if I’m off courting while they’re busy, I feel guilty. It makes me uncomfortable….”
Oscar fell silent.
“Master? Please?”
Oscar sighed, then pressed his palm down firmly on my head.
“Fine.”
“Really? You mean it? You promise?”
“Yeah, I promise.”
Master really is the best!
“So then, after that guy confidently planted his hand on the carriage backrest and boxed you in, what happened next? Keep going.”
…….
We were back to the main event.
I swallowed hard and clamped my mouth shut.
My eyes darted about frantically, unsure where to look, when I happened to glance out the window.
“Oh!”
There—a carriage had finally appeared. Father must have arrived.
Perfect timing, James Brown!
“Father’s here!”
I bolted upright.
“…? What’s wrong with you. Keep talking! This is suspicious—why are you dodging the story?”
“If I tell you everything at once, it won’t be fun. I’ll tell you the rest another time!”
I dodged Oscar’s reaching arm and sprinted out of the room.
“Hey, you little brat! You’re not getting away with this!!!”
* * *
The moment work ended, Enoch came rushing over in worry—and stopped short.
“Dad! You worked hard today too~!”
“Mm, little princess….”
The moment they met, Lilis wrapped her arms around his waist and rubbed her cheek against his.
His daughter’s mood looked better than he’d expected. Thinking back to how she’d overheard his conversation with Selena and fled straight back to the Magic Tower in shock….
He’d naturally assumed she’d be in a terrible state.
“Master, it’s been a while since you’ve seen him—go say hello! I’ll head on ahead!”
“Ah, sure.”
Lilis greeted Oscar, who stood behind them, then dashed off toward the carriage first.
Oscar must have soothed the girl. Enoch approached with an apologetic smile.
“Tower Master. Long time.”
“Long time nothing. You’ve got no conscience, do you? What is this, an orphanage? You leave a child here and go off shirking your duties somewhere, then waltz back without a care? And after everything that’s happened, no less. Just look at the state of you!”
“Wow, you haven’t changed one bit. I actually missed this sharp tongue of yours.”
Enoch, whose face had grown haggard in just one day, gave Oscar’s shoulder a light tap.
“Sorry for being late. I spent the whole day handling the aftermath of today’s business.”
“Aftermath? And you’re calling that an excuse? If the physician saw how you went out on your own and collapsed, then everything’s been handled—you should’ve dropped everything and run to your daughter first, consequences be damned.”
“Goodness, it’s not that you haven’t changed—you’ve only gotten more aggressive. It’s just… it was bigger than I expected. The head of that household came in person, so I had to explain the situation and all that.”
Oscar fell silent.
The head of that household…?
In other words, Luden Dorf, Selena’s husband?
“Yikes.”
A meeting between her former husband and her current one.
Could anything be more dreadful?
Oscar, imagining it, brushed his arms with a shudder and asked:
“Did you hit him?”
“Hit who?”
“A man becomes head of a household and can’t even manage his own family, spreading chaos in all directions—he deserves punishment. Just like this—grab him by the hair.”
Oscar mimed clenching his fist in midair.
“Give him a good shaking.”
Oscar’s fist cut sharply through the air in a shaking motion.
“And to finish it off, throw him to the ground.”
Enoch stared at the mimed throw, his mouth falling open.
“You didn’t?”
“…You’ve really become violent. Did something happen while I was away?”
“Nah. I was always this hot-tempered, wasn’t I? Anyway, did you do it or not? What’s the use of having strength if you don’t put it to good use? This is exactly what it’s for.”
“Actually… I didn’t….”
Oscar’s face twisted in instant anger.
“Wait! Listen.”
Enoch quickly spoke up, seeing Oscar about to erupt.
“He came looking for me and apologized so deeply his forehead nearly touched the ground. How could I scold him after that?”
“That’s rich. Would you forgive someone even if they killed a person, as long as they apologized like that?”
“He didn’t kill anyone, though. In any case, his circumstances are… truly difficult….”
Watching Oscar’s face darken with disapproval, Enoch quietly closed his mouth.
And he corrected himself.
“You’re right, I’m sorry. It was my mistake not to grab him by the hair.”
“So the conclusion is: a woman came to your workplace and caused problems, you spent all day dealing with the mess, her husband showed up to apologize, and you let him go without a word. Is that right?”
“You’re not wrong, but when you put it like that, I sound like such an idiot.”
“Because you are one.”
“Fine, let’s say my heart went soft. I’m willing to admit that. The man was crying like a child, asking if there was any way he could go on the expedition instead of his son. Yet he’s never even held a blade himself.”
“Wait—he’s never held a blade? Duke Luden Dorf? Could military evasion be a family tradition?”
“No? It’s not evasion exactly. It’s just… ugh, it’s common knowledge. I suppose the Tower Master really has no interest in anyone’s affairs except our little princess.”
Enoch sighed and added:
“So to explain, the Duke….”
“Never mind, never mind.”
Oscar waved his hand dismissively as if bored.
“I don’t need to hear about some man who has nothing to do with me and never will. Besides.”
With his words cut short, Enoch stuck out his lip and shot Oscar a sideways glare.
“You really do only say what you want to say and only listen to what you want to hear, don’t you….”
Whether Enoch grumbled or not.
Oscar was gazing out the carriage window at Lilis, who had poked her face outside.
‘That tiny thing of a child, when did she grow up like this and start dating?’
Oscar had always suspected this day would come, but now that it was here, his heart felt restless and unsettled.
He had no desire to meddle in her private affairs, to suffocate her with constant interference.
He wasn’t even her father, and he knew he had no right to such authority.
And yet.
When your child, now dating, came home one day and said, “I’m spending the night at a friend’s place,” any parent would—
Want to know who that friend was!
Want to know if they were really just sleeping, nothing more!
How could you not worry?
Besides, she wasn’t even an adult yet. Some measure of oversight was necessary—or so Oscar had decided.
‘The Magic Tower: eight in the morning to half past six in the evening. Even one day off a week.’
Outside those hours at the Magic Tower, Oscar had no way of knowing where Lilis was or what she was doing.
“Master of the Tower? Wasn’t there something you wanted to tell me?”
Oscar looked at Enoch.
Only her biological father, living under the same roof, could truly ensure her safe return home.
But Oscar had made a promise to Lilis.
“I can’t tell Father?”
“Promise? Really? Cross your heart?”
Yes, no matter what, he’d given his word.
He’d linked their pinkies and promised, hadn’t he?
The child would trust that promise completely.
Yes.
A promise made is……
“Your daughter has a boyfriend.”
……meant to be broken!
What good was a promise if not to break it when the moment called?

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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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