My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 242

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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 242
* * *
The Day of Reckoning
Imperial Palace, Military War Room
Cheshire Libre, the Supreme Commander, opened the door and strode in.
All the Ability Users gathered there held their breath at the sight of him moving with such purpose, his gaze fixed squarely on the Emperor seated at the head of the table.
“Your Majesty, your servant Cheshire Libre has returned.”
“Good, you’ve worked hard.”
Cheshire raised his head, and his eyes swept impassively across the war room table.
Half the seats were empty.
“Is this the full complement of commanders deployed for the expedition?”
“Ah, no.”
Emperor Nicholas chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
“The Paladin Order Commander refused the deployment order, as expected, but the rest have all agreed to participate in this glorious undertaking. However, I sent four armies ahead yesterday evening—including the Mage Corps Commander, who serves as deputy commander.”
……
The expedition plan had been altered without consultation.
But Cheshire was not flustered. Only surprised.
“It’s possible that not all forces will be assembled by the expedition’s start date.”
This matched the strategist Joseph’s prediction exactly.
“Moving so many high-level troops as dozens of thousands all at once is an immense burden in itself. The Emperor must weigh countless variables, so there’s a high probability he’ll split roughly half the army for staggered deployment.”
“So do not be alarmed if the forces are divided. We will make preparations on our end beforehand.”
Cheshire bowed again.
The Emperor approached him with a smile and patted his shoulder encouragingly.
“Go now.”
* * *
Rubinstein Manor
A quiet morning, at odds with the day of great bloodshed to come. Warm spring sunlight streamed through the windows.
Enoch Rubinstein turned to gaze at himself in the mirror.
Silver Armor and Blue Cloak.
There was a paradox in staging a rebellion dressed as a soldier of the Imperial Army, a Paladin of the Empire.
A man who had drawn his sword a hundred times as an Ability User of the Empire, a soldier, a servant of Primera.
But today.
At last, his blade would touch the throat of the tyrant stained with obscenity.
“Are you ready?”
Enoch’s head turned.
It was his father, Nordic Rubinstein.
His father, whose vigor had not yet faded, stood before him dressed as a knight from the battlefields of old.
“Yes.”
Enoch lifted the sword he had set in the corner of the room. The unblooded blade gleamed with keen, sharp light.
“Even if it costs us our lives, you must not fail.”
At his father’s words, Enoch gave a firm nod.
“Yes.”
The blue eyes of the man parched with long yearning blazed with terrible brightness.
“I will succeed without fail.”
* * *
Jedo, Seraph Temple
A terrible war would soon begin—one that would bring much bloodshed and innocent lives lost.
‘Oh God, I beseech you.’
Priest Zadkiel Terot, sleepless from worry, offered a small prayer through tear-dampened eyes.
‘Please watch over this land so that it is not stained by the blood of the innocent.’
* * *
Libre Manor
Axion Libre, after a long retirement, took up his sword once more, armed and ready.
“Hey there, old man! Wait, wait! You’re seriously misunderstanding something here!”
Suddenly, a memory surfaced—that first meeting with little Lilis from years past—and Axion smiled.
His past choice to bring his comrade Enoch and his daughter Lilis to that place had left him with a deep sense of guilt.
Because, in the end, the very conflict and long waiting that had tormented them all had finally begun.
“Let’s end this.”
He was unmoved by questions of life and death. He was ready to surrender everything so that he might finally ease even a fraction of the debt of gratitude that weighed on his heart.
* * *
The headquarters of the Red Sparrow, an information guild.
Lico, who had summoned the operatives to support the assault, stood bare-faced, her mask removed.
“Today is the day.”
All those years of sharpening and polishing her blade to topple the castle of a grotesque tyrant.
“When it’s all finished, we’ll be the ones standing over the corpses of demons.”
At last, the end of that agonizing wait had come,
the moment to claim the sweet fruit of victory.
* * *
Lilis’s Strays, a mercenary guild.
Armed mercenaries lined up on both sides, and at the head of their formation stood Jemien, the guild master.
“No matter what happens, do not retreat. We have a duty to see that not a single innocent falls to slaughter.”
“Yes, sir!”
“We’ll fight to the death!”
Jemien smiled with satisfaction, adjusting his gauntlets as the face of someone from long ago surfaced in his memory.
“That bastard isn’t even human.”
“How could a commoner ever be considered human?”
Bruce.
“If it wasn’t for our princess, I would’ve been brainwashed by that asinine indoctrination of yours.”
The bitter feud that had begun back at the Training Institute continued through the countless battles in which Bruce marched with the Imperial Elite Force and Jemien with the mercenaries.
“Today, let’s finish this.”
With blood boiling in excitement, Jemien laughed.
* * *
Jedo.
Imperial soldiers, armed for the departure ceremony, formed ranks in the open air.
“All units, fall in line!”
At the Emperor’s herald’s command, the assembled troops dropped to the ground in unison.
Cheshire slowly lifted his head.
Behind the Emperor who stood before him, the whole panorama of Jedo carved itself into his vision piece by piece.
The majestic Imperial Palace.
The Central Temple.
And far beyond, the Magic Tower itself.
Unlike the customs of old, this departure ceremony held in the open heart of Jedo was the Emperor’s performance.
An invasion war that was nothing but loathsome…
Wrapped up as a great undertaking, as the rightful duty of Ability Users, as the will of the Lord Primera.
“My faithful subjects, who will accomplish this great work and bring glory to this empire at last.”
Beside the declaring Emperor, the High Priest bowed his head and held forth the Sacred Object.
The Sword of Judgment.
The Emperor took the sword from the High Priest and bestowed it upon the kneeling Cheshire.
Cheshire remained bowed, a small smile twisting his lips.
A Sacred Object prepared by the Lord Primera.
A blade sent down to strip away the power of an absolute being twisted into depravity.
The key to narrow the gap between himself and Enoch, and ultimately the weapon to cut down the throat of the master who had granted it.
“May Primera’s blessing be upon my faithful servant, who bears the imperial fortune upon his shoulders.”
Cheshire rose as he accepted the sword.
“Bring me victory.”
A satisfied smile spread across the Emperor’s face.
“I shall offer a brilliant victory to the glorious Primera.”
“A brilliant victory!”
Following the Supreme Commander, a roaring cheer from the Imperial Forces echoed across Jedo.
Imperial Calendar, Year 1786, the 18th of May.
Thus began the war.
* * *
The Magic Tower, Oscar’s office.
I pressed my face to the window and watched the entire departure ceremony unfold, right up to the moment the Imperial Forces marched away.
‘My vision’s going white.’
Cold sweat rolled down my skin. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst from my chest.
‘What do I do…’
It was the day I’d been counting down to with such anticipation.
Yet now that it had arrived, worry flooded in rather than hope.
If only time could stop right here.
“Hah… phew.”
My vision blurred, so I lifted a hand and rubbed my eyes, smudging away sweat that had gathered there without my noticing.
“Hm?”
Just then, someone from behind hooked me around the waist and lifted me.
“…Master?”
It was Oscar. Bewildered, I twisted in his arms to look back at him.
“Lilis Rubinstein.”
“Yes?”
“From this moment on, I’m kidnapping you.”
“…….”
“You’re not going anywhere!”
“Oh, oh my.”
I feigned shock.
“Kidnapping? How terrifying. What should I do? I’m so very frightened.”
At my dry delivery, Oscar raised one eyebrow in disbelief.
“You know, you should at least *look* frightened when you say that.”
“Don’t I look scared? I’m absolutely petrified. What should I do? If I’m kidnapped by the brilliant head of the Magic Tower, there’s no escape. Even Father won’t be able to rescue me.”
“Hell, some threat.”
Oscar chuckled despite himself.
I was about to be confined in the Magic Tower from now on.
Apparently the Emperor himself had come to Oscar and ordered him to take me hostage.
“Hey.”
Leaning close to my ear, Oscar spoke in a low voice.
“Don’t be afraid.”
“…….”
“Your father will do well. And your lover, too. You’ve trained him right.”
“…….”
“So don’t worry.”
Oscar smiled gently, as if to reassure me. Only then did my heart, racing wildly with anxiety, gradually settle into calm.
“Yes!”
That’s right. Now it’s all over.
The world will know peace, and I will know freedom.
I’ll be able to dream of happiness without a care in the world.
“Master, Master. You promised me, didn’t you? After this business is done, we’ll look for a place together, won’t we?”
“Your obsession with finding a place…”
“Hehe.”
After laughing for a while, I grasped the arm wrapped tightly around my waist and asked, “Master, doesn’t this hurt? Having to hold me like this in such an awkward position and hoist me up and down?”
“No. It doesn’t hurt at all. You know my muscles, don’t you?”
Ah. Yet as he said it, beads of sweat were trickling down his forehead.
“But.”
He set me down quickly, as if relieved to be done with the question.
“You’ve been eating well, and somehow you’ve gotten terribly heavy. I think you need to lose some weight.”
“What? That’s not fair! Why are you blaming my weight for your weak muscles?”
“What? Me? Don’t you hear the roar of these rippling muscles that this flimsy shirt can barely contain?”
“I don’t hear anything at all.”
Oscar bristled, narrowing his eyes as he glared at me, then turned away and taunted me in an irritating voice.
“No, it’s not~ You’re a pig~”
Not to be outdone, I followed right on his heels and shot back.
“No you’re not~ You’re a weakling~”
“No I’m not~”
“No I’m not either~”
“Shut up, you clever little brat!”
“Ack!”
* * *
The Emperor Nicholas’s chambers.
The Emperor stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out the window.
The Imperial Army had departed after the Departure Ceremony, and Jedo was quiet.
Absurdly warm spring weather.

A land of peace.
My nation…….
Awaiting the joyful news of Continental Unification that would soon arrive, the Emperor had left himself with one final task.
“What a fine day it is.”
My fortress, to be built steadfast and strong.
‘Today at last, I can sever this stubborn thread binding me to you, Enoch.’
Eliminating the existence that threatened him was his last remaining task.
“Do not delay—begin burning the vermin that infest my castle.”
Soon, the order fell.
Imperial Calendar year 1786, the 18th day of May.
In Jedo, the slaughter of the common people had begun.

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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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