My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 40

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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
Episode 40
The door opened and Chesshire stepped inside, then came to an abrupt halt when he saw me.
His mouth hung open slightly, as if he’d forgotten how to speak.
‘What is that reaction? What—! Am I really so beautiful it leaves him speechless?’
I cleared my throat awkwardly and fidgeted with the tips of my toes.
“…Why?”
“……”
“Chesshire?”
At my call, he snapped back to attention and spoke.
“Ah. Just wanted to check if you’re all right.”
“You were worried? I’m fine. I didn’t even get hurt yesterday, really.”
“…That’s good then. I’ll be going.”
“Wait, hold on!”
Chesshire, who had already taken hold of the door handle to leave, turned back around.
“You’re just… going?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you have anything to say?”
“…What would I say?”
“Don’t I look a bit different today than usual?”
“……”
“Oh, maybe not.”
“No, you do look different.”
“Hmm. Different how?”
Chesshire hesitated.
At his bashful reaction, my heart soared. I had to fight to keep my mouth from curling up into a grin.
Then.
Just as Chesshire was about to say something, the door suddenly burst open.
“Lirlis! Are you ready?”
It was Theo.
The moment Theo entered, he saw me and his jaw dropped too.
“Oh my…”
“Did you come, brother?”
“Little one!”
I heard Léon’s voice behind him.
Léon shoved Theo aside as he came in, saw me, and stopped short—
“…Pfft!”
He puffed out his cheeks and clapped a hand over his mouth as laughter burst out.
What is he doing?
Léon soon clutched his belly and started cackling, his entire body doubling over as he rolled on the floor in mockery.
“Bahaha! Ahahaha, the Octopus Witch!”
The… the Octopus Witch?
For reference, the Octopus Witch was a hideous villain from “Princess Lara’s Adventure.”
Pale face, coal-black eyes, and thick, crimson sausage lips!
“Léon, stop laughing.”
Theo tried to quiet Léon, but ended up losing his own composure and broke into laughter.
I slowly turned to look at the mirror behind me.
‘I… I’m not sure what’s wrong with me…’
It seemed my first attempt at makeup in my entire life had spectacularly failed.
“Oh my goodness! Miss! What on earth!”
“This can’t be! Emergency, emergency!”
Jetti and June, who arrived afterward, were equally horrified.
* * *
After my sisters caught me and washed away the Octopus Witch makeup, I stepped outside with my twin and Chesshire.
The Garden, blossoming with flowers, was beautiful, and the spring breeze was warm, but my heart felt heavy.
“…You look lovely.”
Chesshire, glancing at my downcast expression, spoke reluctantly.
“I don’t believe you.”
“I mean it.”
“All right. Thank you.”
“Earlier too….”
Chesshire closed his eyes tightly.
“…it wasn’t bad.”
I watched him with his eyes shut, then open again, and felt like crying.
「Chesshire Rubinstein was a person who couldn’t tell lies. Whenever he absolutely had to, he’d squeeze his eyes shut, so it was always obvious.」
Why did this habit of Chesshire’s from the original work suddenly become so vivid in my mind….
The damned original work hadn’t even included an episode related to this, so why on earth had it bothered to include such useless information….
I wanted to crawl into a mouse hole if one existed.
“Octopus, octopus.”
“Ah, I told you not to call me that!”
The moment I bristled, Léon burst into giggles.
“All right, Léon, stop it. Lirlis, you look absolutely beautiful today. Like a princess.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Theo kept glancing at me every minute after removing my makeup, constantly telling me how beautiful I was.
I was beginning to think I needed to rearrange my mental ranking of older brothers. Irritating Léon.
“But Léon, aren’t you really going to see the other kids? If that’s the case, why did you even come?”
At Theo’s question, Léon—who had been walking with his fingers interlaced behind his head—tilted his chin toward me.
“The maidservants were going on and on about how pretty the little one is, so I stopped by for a quick look. Why would I want to see Erica’s ballet face on a beautiful day like this?”
“Erica is coming today too?”
When I asked, Theo nodded and began counting off on his fingers one by one.
“Erica, Daimon Martini, Jean Bever, Bruno Pensler, Charlotte Mayer….”
I perked up my ears to see if there were any names I recognized.
From what I could tell, they all sounded like extras, but one name in particular caught my attention.
‘Daimon Martini—I think that name appeared in the original work, but who was he? My memory’s hazy, so he probably wasn’t a major character….’
I was in the middle of thinking when—
“Everyone!”
A familiar voice rang out from far away at the entrance to the Garden, and I saw it was Erica.
There was also a boy I’d never met before beside her.
“What, what?! Why did she get here so fast?”
“No escape now.”
Léon jumped up in alarm, and Theo laughed as if this was exactly what he’d expected.
“Ah, geez! Wow! Ugh!”
He really hated it, apparently. Léon flailed about helplessly before suddenly grabbing and dragging Theo along.
“Hey, hey! Let’s swap earrings!”
“Are you insane? I won’t!”
“Hurry! Switch them now!”
Léon snatched the Sapphire Earring from Theo’s left ear as if plundering it, then forced his Ruby Earring onto him instead.
Theo put on Léon’s earring reluctantly, tears welling up.
I suddenly understood what he was doing.
“Léon!”
Erica came running up, waving her hands excitedly, and pulled the person she thought was Léon into a tight embrace.
‘Ah, so swapping the earrings lets her mistake one for the other.’
I burst out laughing at the sight.
“Sigh….”
Theo, who suddenly found himself playing Léon’s part, pushed Erica away with a long exhale.
Erica, dressed in a brilliant navy gown, looked as beautiful as a child model today.
At twelve, she did seem rather grown-up.
“She’s really beautiful, isn’t she?”
I asked Chesshire, who was standing beside me, my mood deflating, and he looked at me quietly, then shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“She’s also much taller than me.”
…….
“Well then. I’m just an Octopus Witch, aren’t I.”
“…I never called you that.”
“Sigh, when will I ever grow….”
As I muttered, Chesshire, who had been staring, turned his head away and spoke quietly.
“Even now….”
“Huh?”
“…never mind.”
“What are you saying, little one.”
Léon, who’d been listening the whole time, suddenly leaned in close and whispered in my ear.
“You’re a hundred times cuter and prettier. She just squawks and chatters all day long anyway.”
“What are you talking about? You called me an octopus before.”
“That was a joke. You’re the most beautiful in the world.”
Just then, Erica—who’d been pestering Theo for who knows how long—stepped into my line of sight.
“Hi, Lirlis! It’s been forever! How have you been?”
“Good, Erica! You look like a princess today too!”
“Oh my? Ha ha, you’re making me blush. You still look like an angel, sweetie. Did you dress up especially today? Everyone’s going to fall for you.”
Erica giggled and tilted her head toward Chesshire.
“But who’s this? I don’t think I’ve seen him before. Is he an Attendant?”
Theo approached.
“Oh, this is Chesshire. Our uncle decided to take him under his wing recently, so he’s staying with us now.”
“I see. But Léon…”
Erica blinked her pretty eyes and poked Theo’s shoulder playfully.
“Why are you being so nice to me today? Explaining everything so kindly…”
“Huh?”
At that moment, Léon stretched out his foot and kicked Theo’s shin hard.
“Ow!”
Ouch—that had to hurt. Theo grabbed his knee and gritted his teeth, shouting in a voice not quite his own.
“W-What do you mean nice?! You annoying brat!”
One would think Erica might be frightened by Theo’s outburst, but she only smiled knowingly.
“There’s the real Léon.”
I nodded, watching Erica remain as unchanged as ever.
‘Sure enough—she likes bad boys. Pine tree tastes.’
I was amusing myself watching Erica cling to Theo with folded arms when suddenly I noticed a boy standing silently beside me, like air itself.
He’d been hesitating, timing his moment to join in, but the instant our eyes met, he approached quickly.
“Nice to mee—”
“Why did you come? There’s no one here to welcome you.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rubinstein. I’m Daimon of House Martini.”
Daimon, deliberately ignoring Léon’s rudeness, offered me his hand.
From the way Léon clicked his tongue in disgust, it was clear the two weren’t on good terms.
‘So this is Daimon Martini. The name does sound familiar…. Remember, Lirlis! Remember!’
Daimon, with his deep auburn hair and eyes, had a refined face, though his expression felt oddly vague.
‘Martini…. Daimon Martini….’
As I shook his hand and searched my memory, a light suddenly flickered on in my mind.
‘R-Right! I remember! He was a typical villainous extra—the kind who always picked the most obnoxious things to say!’
Daimon Martini.
A character who constantly brought up Chesshire’s background and droned on about how House Rubinstein had lost its luster, spouting nothing but tasteless lines.
No wonder something felt off….
I glanced nervously at Chesshire standing beside me.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Martini. I’m Lirlis Rubinstein.”
“Oh, quite refined with etiquette, aren’t you? I’d heard you were raised among commoners, so I was worried we might not be able to converse properly.”
“Man, this guy’s mouth is just naturally obnoxious,” Léon muttered quietly.
At Léon’s murmur, Daimon looked up in confusion.
It probably didn’t sound like Theo’s usual way of speaking, so that made sense.
Soon Daimon seemed to realize the twins were switching roles, and he laughed. “Ah, I see.”
Then he spoke.
“Well, there are quite a few people even among born aristocrats like the Earl of Antras who are ignorant of proper etiquette.”
“Yeah, well, you worry about yourself.”
Léon shot back, but Daimon only smiled with familiarity.
“But hearing that the Duke is taking him under his wing, I must be out of the loop. What house are you from?”
…Of course. True to form for a villainous extra with “provoke the protagonist” programmed into him, Daimon’s interest quickly shifted to Chesshire.
I swallowed hard and quietly took Chesshire’s hand.
“A commoner. Stop being interested.”
“What? Is that really true?”
When Léon answered in my stead, Daimon’s eyes widened and his hand flew to his mouth.
“Why on earth would the Duke…? Ah!”
Daimon looked at my hand clinging to Chesshire’s, then nodded as if he understood.
“A playmate, then. You’re lucky. Getting an education from such a prestigious house because you caught the Princess’s eye. Since this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, don’t disappoint the Duke who’s sponsoring you. Understood?”
To hear him talk, you’d think he was the one acting as guardian….
Daimon gave Chesshire’s shoulder an encouraging pat.
“Yes, thank you for the advice.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Say, why don’t you all come have some tea with us and get better acquainted?”
“Oh my, you’re already finished with introductions? Wonderful! Come along, Léon!”
Erica, who had been absorbed in watching Theo from afar, linked her arm through his and swept away in a flutter of silk.
“Wait a moment.”
I was about to follow when Daimon blinked and fixed me with a stare.
“Surely you’re not planning to come as well? There’s a proper distinction between nobility and commoners—sharing a table would hardly be appropriate, would it?”

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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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