My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 228

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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 conceals his strength
Chapter 228
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The long-awaited day of the Salon tour.
The south, Argonia.
Everywhere I looked, vast paddy fields stretched out, and the smell of cattle dung drifted through the air.
This was the countryside itself, but…
‘It feels like I’m home!’
Having spent seven years in rural Jenon as a child, I felt a wave of nostalgia and found myself genuinely enjoying the day.
It was now three in the afternoon, having departed at nine in the morning from Pavil Temple in Jedo via Warp Gate and finishing the tour.
Three o’clock, Argonia Temple.
Even my friends, who’d never ventured beyond Jedo, were delighted and satisfied with the day.
Though.
“Lilis, isn’t Cheshire coming?”
“I wasn’t going to come because I’m not feeling well today, but you said you’d introduce me to Cheshire, so I dragged myself out here!”
“Why did I get up so early…?”
“You’re sure he’s really training here?”
I had become a criminal of epic proportions.
‘Who could have predicted this?’
Contrary to my plans, I hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Cheshire, let alone met him.
And it made sense—the lord of Argonia had shown us around the territory while conveniently excluding the military training grounds.
“I’m sorry, you guys…”
I muttered timidly.
My Salon friends, who’d been anticipating finally seeing the empire’s most popular man up close, were all disappointed.
‘Ugh, I wish I hadn’t bragged like that.’
I wanted to smack my past self for boasting that I’d show them Cheshire’s face a hundred times over, strutting around with such confidence.
“Hey, you guys. Don’t be like that to Lilis. Cheshire’s a busy man, after all. You can’t just see him whenever you want, right? There’ll be other chances…”
Clara Jullet, my closest friend from the Salon, maturely soothed the grumbling girls.
Meanwhile, I had no face to show my friends and kept repeating “I’m sorry” timidly—
“…Huh?!”
—when Clara, eyes suddenly wide, gasped as she looked past me.
All the gathered friends’ eyes turned toward my back. At the same moment, they all jumped in surprise, feet shuffling with excitement.
Could it be?
In an instant of hope, I spun around.
It was!
“Cheshire!”
Cheshire, dressed in training clothes, wiped the sweat beading at his chin and stepped into the temple.
He’d apparently rushed to make it in time, still catching his breath even as he reached me.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. What do I do!”
“Aaaah! I don’t know!”
My friends shrieked, flustered by Cheshire’s sudden appearance.
Of course, I was screaming internally too, but I kept my composure, tucking my hair behind my ear and speaking casually.
“You made it?”
“…Sorry, Lilis. I thought the inspection route would overlap with our training grounds, but it didn’t.”
“Is this guy crazy? Did you hear? He’s apologizing!”
“The world! So you two really are that close!”
My friends whispered loudly from behind, ostensibly trying to be discreet.
Narrowly saved from being a complete fraud, I felt my shoulders rise with pride again as I gestured toward my friends.
“Introduce yourself, Cheshire. These are my friends from the Salon.”
“Hello.”
“Kyaaah!”
“Mom, mom. What do I do!”
I watched warmly as Cheshire greeted each of my friends.
Whew, I almost became a master of bluffing and lies.
“Lilis.”
After greeting everyone, Cheshire turned back to me, who’d been waiting further back, and asked.
“But why are you leaving already? Doesn’t Salon always end at seven?”
“Yeah. It does end at seven, but we don’t stay here the whole time. We go back to Jedo, have dinner, and disband at seven.”
“…I see.”
Cheshire let out a sigh.
I found myself sighing as well.
I’d gone to such trouble to arrange this meeting, only to see her face for ten minutes before having to part.
“Sigh.”
I watched the noblewomen checking the roster near the Warp Gate in the distance, my mood deflating.
Then, suddenly—
“Oh, Cheshire! Wait, lend me your ear for a moment.”
“Hmm?”
A good idea had struck me.
I whispered my plan to Cheshire, then approached the noblewomen.
The mothers escorting the Salon tour on the way back.
Today’s head escort was Clara’s mother, the Countess Jullet.
“Excuse me, ma’am!”
“Hmm? Yes, Lilis?”
“I was wondering—could I look around this estate a little longer, and perhaps return separately? I’ll make sure to get back in time for when the Salon ends, so I won’t be late.”
“Oh, that’s quite impossible. Everyone must leave together. You can’t wander about alone without a guardian or an escort….”
I quickly grabbed Cheshire’s arm as he approached with perfect timing.
“But I have a friend here. We were already planning to meet today, actually. We’ve grown up together like siblings since childhood—and I’m sure he’d be more than adequate as both my guardian and escort.”
The eyes of Countess Jullet and all the noblewomen widened simultaneously.
The heir to the Libre Ducal House.
The Commander of the Imperial Elite Sword Unit.
Cheshire—whose credentials were beyond reproach no matter where you looked.
Most crucially, he was every noblewoman with a daughter of marriageable age’s ideal prospect.
“My goodness, my goodness. My girl was going on about how she might see you today since this morning, and now…!”
“Heavens. What brings you to this remote estate?”
“Just look at him! I can see the Duke’s face so clearly in him!”
“By any chance, are you acquainted with a young lady?”
As expected, the noblewomen immediately fawned over Cheshire and began chattering away.
‘Just as planned….’
I bit back a silent laugh.
* * *
The plan had been flawless.
I waited for Cheshire until his training ended at five, had dinner with him in the busy district, and even received a rose as a parting gift from the florist before we left.
Current time: 6:45 PM.
The Argonia Temple, where Cheshire and I had just returned.
All I had to do was board the Warp Gate here and be back in Jedo by seven o’clock—and everything would be perfect.
Yes, perfect….
It certainly should have been perfect….
“Oof, my back….”
“Head Priest, aren’t you hungry?”
The temple was silent.
Two elderly priests were crouching in front of the Warp Gate.
“Will it take much longer?”
When Cheshire asked anxiously, the Head Priest glared at him sharply.
“Now, now, young man—you’re useless! Why are you rushing an old man like this?”
“That’s not what I meant….”
Cheshire glanced back at me before continuing.
“My friend is a young woman. Her family will worry if she returns home too late.”
“Well, if you were so worried about that, you should’ve gotten on with your other friends when the Warp Gate opened earlier!”
“…My apologies.”
I shot a secret glare at the Head Priest for scolding Cheshire.
The two priests’ faces looked familiar.
Why was that?
‘They’re the grandfathers who lent their identities to Father and Oscar!’
It was three years ago, when I embarked on my Holy Pilgrimage.
Father and Oscar, who’d disguised themselves as old men and secretly followed me.
They must have had connections to these temple priests, which is why they’d borrowed their faces and identities.
“Oh dear. Our Head Priest here—back when he was young, his Holy Power was abundant, you see… he could charge a Warp Gate in just a second….”
“Hehehehe! Yes, yes, that he could….”
Yes, the Warp Gate was a charging-type device.
The priests had to pre-charge it with Holy Power for it to function.
But the Warp Gate had discharged right when I was trying to leave.
“I’m sorry. A lot of people used the gate today, so it must’ve drained. Usually hardly anyone comes here….”
Cheshire apologized to me.
“Don’t be. That’s not your fault.”
Just as he said, this remote village usually saw few visitors—but today had been crowded.
Cheshire and his large private forces, plus the Salon members on top of that.
‘Still, though!’
I’d never seen a Warp Gate drain just from a few people coming and going.
‘At least fully charge it, for heaven’s sake!’
And as for the gate being discharged—
I’d never seen the priests struggle for over thirty minutes with the recharging either.
‘This is driving me mad!’
I couldn’t use Teleportation Magic. Everyone knew I’d stayed in Argonia, so I had to return to Jedo through the gate.
“How much longer do you think it’ll take?”
I asked, my patience wearing thin.
“Hmm, let’s see…. If we go without stopping… tomorrow morning? Or maybe around lunchtime?”
“……?”
I couldn’t believe my ears at what the Assistant Priest said.
Cheshire, equally shocked, quickly interjected.
“That won’t do. Couldn’t you possibly go a bit faster?”
“What do you want me to do? Rushing won’t make it any quicker…. And here I am getting old and worn out… Oh, that’s right!”
The Head Priest, who’d been grumbling, suddenly exclaimed.
Was there some way?
“Assistant Priest, why don’t we go grab some food and give it another try after?”
“Heh heh. That might be the thing….”
What?
The two elderly priests stood up, their spindly legs quivering, apparently serious about going to eat.
“Wait, please!”
I grabbed them, my voice wavering.
Holy Power could be channeled in by anyone with a decent reserve.
‘Let’s see—Cheshire doesn’t have Holy Power, so that’s out….’
I could use my ability.
5 seconds.
And it was efficient.
“I’m terribly sorry, but I really need to get home quickly. If I could help with the charging….”
“SHRIEK!!!”
“You scared me!”
The Head Priest, who’d seemed frail moments before, suddenly bellowed at me with unexpected force.
“That’s sacrilege! You’d defile it!”
“…I’m sorry?”
“Managing this Warp Gate in our temple… it’s like the last sacred duty left to us! We can’t have outsiders, eh? Touching it carelessly and such!”
“Quite right, quite right. Young friends, we do appreciate your understanding…. It’s a long-standing custom of our temple….”
“What do you mean?”
This was absurd.
‘These old men who illegally transfer identities are lecturing me about temple customs?’
Flabbergasted as I was, having been taught to respect my elders, I suppressed my urge to argue and instead clasped my hands together with a pitiful expression.
“I really do need to get home. My father will be worried since I can’t contact him.”
“Well, why didn’t you just go with your friends earlier?”
“Oh, Head Priest…. She must’ve wanted to stay a bit longer. Please don’t be too hard on the young girl….”
The Assistant Priest, more reasonable, smiled warmly and added.
“Don’t worry, we have plenty of rooms!”
“Rooms?”
“Since this place is so remote… all the young folk move away to Jedo or the bigger estates… and we haven’t had a single new priest volunteer apply in years, I’d say…. So the lodgings are all empty. Plenty of rooms!”
That’s not the point right now…?
As I stood there stammering in disbelief, the Head Priest clicked his tongue and pulled out the Cross-Shaped Key, locking the Mana Charging port.
Apparently, he suspected I might sneak over and tamper with the gate.
“Let’s go eat!”
“Yes yes, what would you like to have?”
Watching the two of them drift away, Cheshire let out a bewildered sigh. “Ha.”
‘What is this right now?’
My mind went completely blank.
‘Am I really stuck here for the night because the last carriage left?’
Hand on my chest, I swear to you I never intended to stay behind in this situation.
But the circumstances…
The circumstances were genuinely peculiar.
“These priests here — you know the Duke, don’t you?”
Cheshire asked.
“When you went on that Holy Pilgrimage before, it seemed like the Duke and the Tower Master were people who borrowed false identities.”
There was something suspicious in Cheshire’s tone, and I practically jumped.
“I-I-I don’t know anything about this!”
……
“Father must know them! I really don’t know! It’s genuinely a coincidence! I didn’t intend for this to happen!”
Cheshire gazed at me as I made my excuses, then spoke.
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“Really, I swear!”
What is even happening?
‘So what do I do? Am I stuck here until those grandfathers finish charging the Warp Gate? Do I have to sleep here tonight? Alone? Cheshire will head back to the barracks, won’t he?’
As I was shifting my weight from foot to foot, Cheshire spoke.
“There’s no helping it. We’ll have to stay here. You don’t have an escort, so I’ll stay with you.”
……
I swallowed hard.
Suddenly embarrassed to meet his eyes, my head turned away of its own accord.
“S-s-stop it!”
I fanned myself frantically, but the heat in my face refused to subside.
“W-w-what is this! Really! Ugh!”
I really just want to go home~
This is ridiculous~
Why is it turning out like 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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