My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 244

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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 244
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Supreme Commander Cheshire’s Imperial Army, led through the sea route, was scheduled to sail for the Isolem Kingdom.
The road from Jedo to the harbor.
The great Imperial Army.
Or rather,
an ugly invasion force.
Garion, captain of the Paladin Order, exhaled silently.
Soon dozens, hundreds of innocent lives would stain the tips of his arrows.
He knew the Imperial Order was absolute. He knew it well, and yet….
How could any human being not suffer under such weight?
“All units, halt.”
Then.
The Supreme Commander at the vanguard reined in his horse and raised his right hand.
An army was approaching from the opposite direction.
‘What is this? Lord Gillian? Lord Julian?’
Garion was bewildered.
It was the army of the mage unit captains who had departed as the vanguard under the Imperial Order.
‘They should have boarded the ship yesterday. Why are they here now?’
The leading mage unit captain, Gillian, rode forward and brought his horse to a stop.
“Supreme Commander.”
He spoke calmly.
“Forgive me, but I cannot bring myself to invade another’s home. I cannot bear the shame before my own children.”
……!
Imperial Order Disobedience?
At this shocking declaration, breath caught throughout the ranks.
Judging by his resolute expression, Gillian meant every word.
This was no light crime.
Kingdom conquest. Continental Unification.
How long had the Emperor yearned for and prepared this?
Gillian was defying the Imperial Order with the resolve to lay down his life.
‘This… this far….’
Shame flooded Garion; he turned his head away rather than meet Gillian’s gaze.
Yes, if one were human.
A hundred times the right choice.
Yet he lacked the courage to surrender his own life. The anguish of betraying a long-time comrade’s conviction tore at him.
“I see.”
After a long silence, Cheshire finally spoke. His frozen voice fell like an executioner announcing death.
Slash—
As expected, the Supreme Commander drew his blade on the spot.
Everyone held their breath.
Yet.
‘What…?’
Rather than execute a subordinate for defying orders, Cheshire moved the hand holding the reins, turning his horse’s head around.
Garion’s eyes widened as he faced Cheshire.
“Then we shall withdraw in full to Jedo.”
* * *
[Imperial Calendar 1786, Fifth Month, Eighteenth Day.
Supreme Commander Cheshire betrayed the Imperial Order and withdrew from Central Bedel. This ‘Bedel Withdrawal’ became the very first spark of great revolution.]
* * *
At that same moment.
Defense Chief Willow and Roger Onyx, Cheshire’s biological father, who commanded the second defense unit, were also setting out with their private soldiers.
“Hmm, where do you suppose Enoch will go to make a stand?”
“Naturally toward the first unit.”
Watching the thoroughly frightened Willow’s face, Roger smirked inwardly.
“Wouldn’t you agree?”
The Emperor’s strategy to divide Enoch’s forces was flawless.
Jedo could not be damaged too severely, so the third unit—composed of martial artists who would inflict minimal casualties in combat—was sent to swiftly eliminate only the commoners.
Meanwhile, the nearby fiefs warranted large-scale warfare, so the first and second units, each composed of mages and swordmasters, were dispatched separately.
To prevent this, Enoch would divide his private soldiers and send them out.
And Enoch himself….
“The First Division has Somerset the Count and the Duchess Luden Dorf—two Dos members—so naturally I’ll head there to block them. Haha! What a foolish question that was!”
He himself commanded the Second Division, while his son Bruce led the Third. He would have no reason to face that monster Enoch Rubinstein.
Willow, reassured, gestured with his chin toward the private soldiers following behind him.
“You’ve heard the rumors of my mercenary corps, haven’t you, Roger? They’re said to rival the Rubinstein Mercenary Corps!”
Willow had thrown himself into recruiting private soldiers some time ago and had assembled enough capable force to catch the Emperor’s eye.
It was for this reason that the Emperor had entrusted him with the position of Defense Commander on this occasion.
“This fellow! Our mercenary corps commander!”
Willow gazed approvingly at the young man riding beside him.
“Joseph found him for us—a real treasure. I’ve no idea where he dug up someone like this.”
“Is he skilled?”
“Skilled barely begins to cover it. I’ve no talent for military administration, so I’ve left the mercenary corps entirely in his capable hands.”
Willow’s face had grown round and full with complacency.
Roger muttered inwardly.
‘The fool’s luck is simply extraordinary. Talented men flock to him without him lifting a finger.’
When Joseph Lütman—that very Joseph—had vanished and then returned to take Willow’s hand.
How it had stung.
Every nobleman in Jedo who knew Joseph’s illustrious past had envied Willow.
‘What could that brilliant man possibly see in this idiot to take his side?’
It seemed Joseph had foreseen a day like this. He’d procured a skilled mercenary corps commander, rebuilt the army from the ground up, earned the Emperor’s favor….
Once this was over, Willow Chamber would shoot to the very pinnacle of power in one bound.
‘And I, by contrast….’
Without the title of Cheshire’s biological father, he would never have grasped the Emperor’s hand at all.
Had he known then, he wouldn’t have cast out the illegitimate child—he would have raised him from infancy with every treasure and care….
The memory of losing that precious bloodline before his very eyes was almost unbearable.
‘Yet Cheshire has already forgiven the grudges of the past, calling me his true father.’
The problem was Axion Libre.
‘If only that man didn’t exist!’
Cheshire bore a debt of gratitude toward his foster father Axion and treated him with deference.
Roger had even ventured to hint to the Emperor that perhaps Axion should be removed as well on this occasion.
“Cheshire Libre has stronger bonds with his foster father than I expected. That’s why I’ve left Axion alone until now.”
The Emperor, who needed to manage Cheshire carefully, had taken the position that Axion was not to be touched.
What good would it do Roger Onyx to be the biological father of that celebrated Magic Swordmaster Commander?
So long as Axion lived, he would struggle to fully savor the pride of his successful son.
“Whoa, whoa!”
Then.
Willow narrowed his eyes and slowed his horse’s pace.
“Who is that?”
Someone stood ahead, trailing the Blue Cloak that symbolized the Dos Paladin Order.
“…Duke Libre?”
It was Axion.
“Where are you all off to in such haste?”
He stood as if he had known the defense force would come this way and had been waiting.
“My lord Duke, what brings you here? We depart under Imperial Order. There will be a great battle, so I trust you will preserve yourself in safety at your residence.”
Willow spoke respectfully.
Even the Emperor had warned him away with a pointed look—how could he do otherwise but show deference?
“A great battle? What battle?”
Shing—
“Eek!”
Axion drew his sword abruptly from his belt, and Willow lurched on his horse in shock.
“If you go that way, is it Romwell? Did you receive an Imperial Order to meddle with Romwell and disperse Enoch’s forces?”
Yes, that was it. The eyes of both Willow and Roger widened.
“There are commands to obey and commands to refuse. You both wear the Quarto Badge—why would you deploy such fine Abilities toward human slaughter?”
“S-sir? It is an Imperial Order! Surely you don’t mean to bar our passage?”
“…? Of course I do.”
Axion added as if the answer were obvious.
“What else would I be doing here? Did you think I came out for a pleasant jaunt with you lot? You’ve let your body grow soft and pudgy, and your wits haven’t developed one whit.”
“Do you now… raise your hand against His Majesty the Emperor?”
Willow, shocked, seemed not even to hear the mocking words he was being addressed with.
“Treason, you say?!!!”
“Oh, so that’s how it is?”
“Of course!”
Roger’s heart hammered against his ribs as he watched the two exchange words.
‘Axion is going to help Enoch Rubinstein!’
No doubt about it.
If Axion openly sided with Enoch and stood against them, what then?
Imperial Order Disobedience.
Perfect grounds for elimination.
‘I have to kill him here.’
Roger’s eyes blazed with fervor. This was a gift from heaven itself.
“However formidable you may be, how can one man possibly hold back an entire army?!”
As Willow had observed, Axion stood alone with nothing but a single sword.
“Between my soldiers and those of the Onyx Marquess, we number many! All of them Octava rank!”
Willow gestured to the forces behind him, his voice sharp with disbelief.
“Easy, Willow. Compose yourself. The Libre Duke must have his reasons for such confidence.”
Roger dismounted, his hand drifting toward the hilt at his waist.
‘Even granting he’s Dos rank, he can’t contend with this many Octava soldiers and two Quartossoldiers. What does he think he is—Enoch Rubinstein himself….’
Axion had no chance of victory.
He’d come prepared to die, willing to sacrifice himself just to buy Enoch time.
‘How touching. This friendship of theirs.’
Roger smiled with contempt as he spoke.
“Since you refuse the Imperial Order, you are hereby declared a traitor. Military law will be applied accordingly.”
“Ah, so the Marquess is pleased by all this? I know you’ve been itching to kill me for some time now.”
Axion chuckled, adding softly,
“To lose your son right under your nose—what a wound that must be. Your precious boy, and you can only watch from the sidelines. I imagine you’ve shed some bitter tears.”
The mockery made Roger’s jaw clench.
“This works out well for us both. Let’s settle our differences here and now, and accept whatever comes.”
“Stop wasting time with—”
“Ahhhhh!”
Willow’s scream pierced the air.
What?
Roger spun around in shock. The commander of the Chamber Family soldiers—was he holding a blade to his own master’s throat?
“What are you—what in—”
Before he could even process what was happening, the army split in two and turned on itself.
The Chamber Family soldiers began attacking those of the Onyx Family.
“Willow! What is the meaning of this?!”
“I—I have no idea!”
Willow stumbled frantically toward Roger, seeking shelter.
A sudden betrayal by the Chamber Family’s commander.
Roger’s mind went blank, white as fresh snow.
‘Ah!’
Then, in the next instant, he understood.
“Our Joseph found this treasure somewhere. I haven’t the faintest idea where he dug up such a man.”
Joseph Rütman….
Could it be—
“Hahahaha!”
At the sound of laughter, Roger whipped around to face Axion.
His expression was serene, unmoved—exactly as one who has already anticipated this moment.
So that was it. There had always been a reason for him to stand against an entire army alone.
“Well then, it seems the soldiers have been taken care of.”
Axion’s sword point flicked deliberately toward Willow and Roger.
“All I need to do now is deal with two Quarto ranks.”
“C-commander! Right n-now, th-this is, wh-what is—!”
Willow stammered through his panic, but Axion paid him no attention. His eyes fixed only on Roger.
“Roger Onyx.”
……
“Give me the chance to take back Cheshire’s ‘father’ title from you. That rank you’re so fond of.”
Axion’s hand moved to his shoulder, drawing the chain of his cloak taut.
“Remove it.”
The Blue Cloak that symbolized Dos fluttered away,
Whoosh.
and drifted to the ground.
“I’ll permit you to come at me.”
He stepped forward and smiled with easy confidence.
“Let’s settle who the real father is—custody of our son on the line.”
The tip of his blade gleamed.
“Come on. Let’s do this like men.”

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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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