My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 221

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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 221
In his life, Leon had never seen a woman so beautiful.
He could say it with absolute certainty.
“…pardon? Sir Leon?”
The woman waved her hand in front of his eyes, and only then did Leon snap back to awareness.
“Oh!”
“Are you alright? Is there anywhere else that’s bothering you?”
Worry pooled in her expression. Leon quickly shook his head.
“…No.”
* * *
Where else does it hurt?
I was concerned about Leon, standing there pale and stammering stupidly.
But even as I maintained the Illusion Magic, my life was burning away by the second.
I couldn’t waste time—I got up quickly—
“Wait!”
Leon grabbed me and we both shot to our feet together.
Hmm, he looks fine.
“You’re going to explain what’s happening here, right?”
“Oh, yes. Of course.”
Here it comes.
I’d never planned to run from this anyway.
Leon and Kyle, who saw Leon get hurt. Both of them Ability Users.
It was more advantageous for me to seduce Leon with a few words than to manipulate the memories of two Ability Users.
“So what happened is…”
“No, wait. First things first—introductions.”
Leon faltered before speaking.
“Thank you. I’m alive because of you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“But I’m pretty sure I was in a Mortal Wound state? Where Healing Magic wouldn’t work?”
“You were.”
“You were, is not an explanation!”
Annoyingly sharp, this one.
“Explain yourself! You’re a mercenary, aren’t you? How did you heal me?”
“Yes! That’s the thing…”
“That’s not magic just anyone can use. Who saves someone from a Mortal Wound? Only the Magic Tower Master could do that, right?”
“Yes, yes! That’s exactly—”
“And where did you even come from? If you’re a mercenary, you should be rear support, not front-line, right? You were part of the mercenary forces at the 5th Battlefield before the retreat, weren’t you? But how did you get here? This quickly?”
“Sir, could you perhaps give me a moment to speak?”
Leon stopped short.
“Sorry. You’re right. Go ahead.”
Here we go.
The touching coming-of-age narrative of Rosalind Versace, who had anticipated just such a situation and prepared meticulously!
I cleared my throat and began.
“I was born as an illegitimate child of some nobleman in the Empire and was abandoned on the streets. I lived like a beggar…”
“…suddenly?”
I dabbed at my eyes with my sleeve as if choked up.
“Then I was randomly identified as an Ability User and entered the Training Institute ten years ago, but I ran away before receiving my Rank.”
“What?”
“Once I started using magic, I became certain my Rank was higher than I’d expected.”
“But then why did you—”
“Forgive me for saying this to you, Sir Leon, who sacrifices yourself for your country, but I fled because I didn’t want to become a soldier. And I illegally defected to the Isolem Kingdom.”
“…”
“But I grew homesick for my homeland and, unable to bear it, returned after three years. Then I sought out a place where I could use my abilities—somewhere other than the battlefield. That was the Magic Tower.”
“Ah?”
“The Magic Tower Master is now like a father to me. He taught me so much. The magic I used to heal you just now—I learned it from him.”
“Ah-ha! I knew you had to be connected to the Magic Tower Master!”
Stupid Leon swallowed it whole.
“Right now I have no official status. If I establish one, my illegal defection would be exposed. So, by the great grace of the Magic Tower Master, I’ve been hiding in the Magic Tower.”
“Is that so…?”
“I atone for my past cowardice—for shirking an Ability User’s duty and fleeing. That’s why I take on work as a mercenary from time to time. So, Leon.”
I pressed my palms together in supplication.
“If you could see fit to overlook what happened today—and my identity—I would be forever grateful.”
“…….”
Leon blinked slowly, as if dazed.
“Please….”
And yet I’d saved his life.
Good-hearted Leon wouldn’t betray my circumstances.
He wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
‘Just cooperate with me! Or I’ll have to use Memory Manipulation!’
I’d worried, but fortunately, Leon nodded.
“All right. You saved my life—I can’t refuse that.”
“Oh, thank you! I’d heard rumors of your kindness, but your compassion truly is as boundless as the ocean!”
“Ah, so that’s what people are saying about me?”
Leon’s face reddened slightly, and he brushed his nose with the back of his hand.
“Wait—then you…!”
He let out a sudden exclamation.
“That’s why! I expected at least a hundred Gleptor clinging to us, but there were far fewer than I thought! You took them all down, didn’t you?”
What?
What was he talking about?
‘Didn’t Leon kill them?’
In truth, I’d been startled when I arrived—there were hardly any demon beast corpses, and even those few were already dead.
‘Something feels… off.’
Before arriving, I’d steeled myself, thinking there would be far more than Leon could handle, so I’d need to deal with them myself….
I’d even planned to arrange the bodies afterward to make it look like Leon had killed them….
“What? You didn’t kill them?”
I shook my head vigorously.
“No, it wasn’t me.”
* * *
Cheshire’s vision swam.
He rode at full gallop, pursuing from behind, but he already knew the truth.
He would not catch them.
The demon beasts drew farther away with each passing moment.
The speed of the excited Gleptor defied imagination.
‘How did it come to this?’
Someone in the rear must have provoked the Gleptor.
The Vanguard Battlefield had held back as many as possible, but roughly a hundred Gleptor had still slipped through.
Who were they targeting now?
Leon?
Lilis?
He didn’t know.
But one thing was certain: whoever the target, it would be Lilis who would face that horde of a hundred demon beasts.
Because this was precisely the harbinger of the ‘death’ that hung over Leon….
Of that, he was certain.
‘My brother can’t handle all those demon beasts alone.’
Neither Leon nor anyone else on the battlefield could manage it.
‘And so, no matter how Lilis deals with the demon beasts, there’s no way suspicion won’t arise.’
To keep her identity hidden, Lilis had no choice.
She would have to run.
But… would Lilis?
Would she abandon Leon to protect her secret?
“Even if you can’t save Leon, if the moment comes when you’re in danger, flee. Don’t do anything else.”
“I will.”
Cheshire laughed weakly.
He knew Lilis better than anyone.
And because of that, he knew that promise would never be kept.
‘Then… what do I do?’
On horseback, Cheshire reached for his belt. His trembling hand gripped the hilt of his sword.
‘Your Grace.’
He conjured Enoch’s face in his mind.
A benefactor. A teacher.
For Cheshire, Enoch held a significance every bit as profound as Lilis.
He had resolved to live for Lilis, and with that resolution came the willingness to take the Emperor’s life.
Yet that path was also the very justice Enoch had always sought.
A conclusion where Enoch’s noble purpose—to establish justice in this land—aligned perfectly with his own goal: protecting Lilis.
And so Cheshire, despite having grown strong enough years ago to claim the Emperor’s life, had instead….
honored everyone’s wishes and bided his time, holding his breath as he ran.
“Congratulations. At last, you’ve glimpsed the end of the sword.”
Enoch, who had already attained the Pinnacle of the Sword.
And two years prior.
Cheshire, who had received all his teachings and perfected the final swordcraft.
“This is the most powerful swordcraft I’ve awakened to. With Sword Aura moving at transcendent speed, I can breach the absolute limits of attack range.”
High Elevado.
“This very technique is why the Emperor coveted me, and it is the key to piercing the iron wall of Isolem Kingdom’s defense.”
A truly devastating force,
and the pinnacle of swordcraft.
“Since I must face you at the final moment, I had no choice but to teach you this technique. But….”
“No matter what happens, the Emperor must not discover that you’ve reached this pinnacle.”
“If he does, then… the Emperor will have no reason to wait any longer.”
A power that must never be revealed until the very end.
Devastating swordcraft that, wielded by a single person, could match hundreds—no, thousands—of Ability Users.
If the Emperor learned of this awakening….
As Enoch said, the Emperor—who had been waiting for Cheshire’s growth, training his armies, and slowly preparing invasion—would wait no more.
‘Only six more months. Just six more months and we would have been fine.’
Cheshire surveyed his surroundings.
From the four Vanguard Battlefields, more than fifty soldiers had been sent as pursuit teams to chase the fleeing Demon Beasts.
“Damn it! Is rear assault impossible?”
“It is, sir! The range far exceeds our casting distance!”
“We can’t intercept from behind! We can only continue the pursuit!”
All of them would soon see.
What consequences his next action would bring.
He didn’t know.
Only one thing was certain: the Emperor could order an invasion tomorrow itself.
‘Forgive me, Enoch.’
Cheshire drew his sword.
‘I wanted to become like you…. But I suppose I’m not capable of that.’
War.
Soon to be born from his fingertips—the countless lives of many….
Blood.
Death.
Sacrifice.
All of that weight…….
In that moment when he admitted that, for him, all of it weighed lighter than a single life—Lilis’s life.
Whissshhh—!
In that instant, Cheshire felt….
a bitter, unbearable anguish.
A black Sword Aura, tearing through the parched emptiness, shot forth in an instant.
Before anyone could react, the vast distance between him and his enemies proved meaningless—the sharp attack never ceased, never slowed.
“…….”
The Demon Beasts halted their advance in unison.
Instant death.
Roughly two hundred Gleptors, moving at a speed beyond imagination, stood upright even as their bodies lay dead. Then, slowly….
“Ah… ahh….”
“What…?”
They erupted like fountains, their heads severed from their bodies, crumpling in a grotesque heap.
“…….”
“…….”
Hyiiiiing—!
Everyone froze in shock. Those nearby stared in horror as they turned toward Cheshire.
Shock.
Silence.
Stunned by the unbelievable sight, those gathered fell mute—some barely managing to keep their gaping mouths shut with trembling hands.
“…….”
Their eyes remained fixed on the Supreme Commander, who had just revealed such devastating power.
Clatter.
The sword that had hung in Cheshire’s grip slipped free, clattering uselessly to the ground.

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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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