My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 46

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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 46
* * *
The next day.
I was reading Lico’s reply that Zetti had delivered.
[The friend who needed the antidote is doing much better now.
When I mentioned the young lady, he said he’d love to see her face at least once.
Thank you.]
“Heh heh.”
I’d asked about my sister’s wellbeing, but I never expected him to actually reply….
Maybe Lico was kinder than I’d thought?
[As for Joseph Lütman, whom the young lady asked about, he’s currently in the Valterak Territory in the central region.
Two years ago he lost his entire family and disappeared from Zenon, and now he’s living half-mad.
You’ll find him at the gambling dens in Valterak City. He spends every hour there.
Since he’s become such a recluse, you’ll need to cultivate some connections to get him to take your bait.]
What surprised me was that Lico had freely revealed Joseph Lütman’s whereabouts.
Wasn’t it supposed to be Information is Give and Take?
[Though payment in advance is the principle, the young lady is a special guest, so I’m extending credit.]
I was genuinely moved. Nearly teared up.
[If you plan to relay this information to your father, please ask Zetti.
And I wish you good results in the equestrian competition.
Happy early birthday as well.]
After finishing the reply, I asked Zetti to cut out everything from “good results in the equestrian competition” to “happy birthday as well.”
I’d need to burn the paper to destroy evidence, but I wanted to keep that part. I’d set it aside separately.
“What should I write to the Duke, young lady?”
Zetti burned Lico’s reply and then unfolded a fresh sheet of parchment.
I began dictating to Zetti, who was ready to write.
“Hear me, Duke Enoch Rubinstein!”
“…Eh?”
Zetti faltered, then laughed with a wheeze.
“Isn’t that a bit too bold?”
“It’s fine.”
“Well, okay then.”
Zetti picked up her pen again.
The Red Hawk guild members all had their own talents, and Zetti’s skill with multiple handwriting styles proved quite useful.
“Wow! It’s perfect!”
The letter was completed with all the affected flair of a revolutionary manifesto, and I smiled with satisfaction.
“Hmm….”
Zetti studied the letter for a long while, then folded it into an envelope before fixing me with a steady gaze.
“Um… young lady, would it be all right if I asked you just one thing?”
Her expression was brimming with curiosity, and I hesitated.
‘Right. She saw the letter’s contents, so it makes sense she’d have questions.’
She looked both eager and excited.
“Young lady, what exactly are you? You’ve definitely lived a second life, right? There’s no way this is possible without some kind of magic like that. Or rather—is this letter what I think it is? Does that mean you’re….”
“Zetti.”
“Yes, young lady.”
Since she seemed delighted with the letter’s contents, her eyes gleamed with the devotion of a loyal servant as she waited for my answer.
I spoke in a grave tone.
“Red Hawk, Iron Rule 1.”
Zetti’s mouth fell open in shock, then she sagged with a soft laugh.
“If you want information, you must provide information of equal worth. Right… I have no information worth hearing about your identity anyway. I understand. I won’t be curious.”
“Heh heh heh.”
* * *
Rubinstein Duchy, Training Grounds.
Enoch stood listlessly watching the soldiers training, his mind troubled.
“I just need Father.”
“Let’s just be happy, the two of us.”
Lilith was sharp-witted and mature for her age. She’d surely said those words to ease her worried father’s mind.
Until now, he’d believed that as her father, if he simply did his best, it would be enough even without her mother….
‘But as a father, there must be things I can’t provide. Things that will come up as she grows. Especially since she’s a girl.’
A daughter was a different matter from a son. Meeting Selena had brought home to Enoch just how acutely he felt the absence of a mother.
“Sigh.”
Enoch, who’d dropped down carelessly and exhaled a long breath, paused and glanced sideways.
Cheshire was there, taking a rest.
…….
Cheshire’s expression was uncomfortable for some reason. His tongue kept worrying the inside of his mouth, making his cheeks puff in and out.
“What’s wrong? Does something hurt?”
“No, sir.”
Cheshire answered briefly, then suddenly shoved his hand into his mouth. He seemed to be gripping around his left canine—
“Hey, wait! What are you—!”
—and pulled hard.
Enoch’s eyes went wide.
Cheshire worked his jaw a few times, then spat—blood and a tooth hit the floor.
…….
Then, casually, he brought the cloth he’d been holding to his mouth. He was trying to stop the bleeding.
Enoch stared at him in shock, mouth hanging open, before it finally clicked.
“Ah.”
…….
“You still haven’t finished losing your baby teeth.”
It looked like the tooth had been loose and he’d simply extracted it.
He’d done it himself, without any hesitation at all.
‘Wait, hold on. My little princess too….’
Just then, single father Enoch Rubinstein recalled that moving moment when his daughter’s two bottom baby teeth had come in so adorably.
He’d been so astonished and moved he’d nearly wept….
The neighbors, Susan and Joseph’s wife, had laughed at the young father for being so sentimental, joking that he’d probably collect all his daughter’s baby teeth as they fell out.
‘My little princess will lose hers soon too!’
“You, you—Cheshire. Have you been pulling your teeth out like this all on your own until now?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Doesn’t it scare you?”
“…Why would that be scary?”
“The boy’s brave. But more importantly—”
Enoch hurriedly tilted Cheshire’s chin up and peered into his mouth.
“When did your first tooth fall out? How many have fallen out so far?”
…….
Cheshire thought for a moment before answering.
“My front bottom teeth came out first when I was six. By now, I think almost all of them are gone except for a few at the very back.”
“Y-you don’t say.”
Six years old? Enoch rubbed his dazed head.
* * *
Flip, flip, flip.
The pages turned rapidly.
Back in his office, Enoch’s desk was buried under a mountain of parenting books.
!Childcare Basics!
~When Baby Teeth Fall Out~
-Typically, permanent teeth emerge as baby teeth begin falling out around ages six to seven.
-By around age twelve, it is normal for all baby teeth to have fallen out.
Every single one of more than ten parenting books said the same thing. Enoch despaired.
Since coming to Zenon, Enoch had made a habit of brushing his daughter’s teeth himself whenever his schedule allowed, so he knew her dental condition better than anyone.
Lilith showed no signs of losing any teeth, and some of her baby teeth hadn’t even come in yet….
‘My daughter’s already seven….’
She had always been worryingly slow to develop. Her speech had come in late as well.
Still, from a certain point onward she’d boasted vocabulary richer than her peers and clearer pronunciation, which had reassured him….
“Slow.”
He had to admit it. Even accounting for individual differences between children, Lilith’s development was clearly not progressing well.
What could be the reason?
There were several things that nagged at him.
She’d never been able to nurse, and he hadn’t introduced weaning food until she was well past five months old….
And that wasn’t all.
Though he’d made an effort to provide a reasonably varied diet, her nutrition during their time in Zenon had certainly been far less adequate than it was now.
Bang.
A wave of self-reproach crashed over him, and he buried his face in his hands on the desk.
“Stupid.”
He was already anxious about the future, haunted by all the things he couldn’t give Lilith because of her mother’s absence.
The fact that he hadn’t managed well even until now — Enoch could only feel sorry.
“Weaning food came too late after all.”
He released a long, bitter sigh and lifted his buried head.
“Ah, you startled me.”
The butler, Rem, was standing right before him.
“Rem, can’t you announce yourself before sneaking around?”
“About ten times or so? I knocked until the door nearly broke, my young lord.”
Rem added with an easy smile.
“And I was wondering — if I’d been skulking about in silence, shouldn’t you, of all people, have sensed me? Yet where exactly were your senses wandering off to?”
Still smiling, Rem picked up the childcare manual Enoch had been reading and waved it.

“My young lord, I know this may seem presumptuous of a mere butler to say….”
“Then don’t.”
“But you no longer need to concern yourself with childcare, my young lord. This household is overflowing with maids trained in the art, and they are attending to the young lady with utmost devotion.”
…
“You must attend to your own duties as the young lord.”
Bang.
Rem set down the documents and mail he’d brought on one corner of the desk.
“Even you, with all your abilities, would find twenty-four hours a day insufficient to work through all of this.”
“Ah, Rem.”
Enoch ran his hand through his hair.
“You’re a father too. Can’t you understand? How could I ever feel at ease entrusting my child to someone else’s hands?”
“Before being a father, you are the head of a house. Leave the young lady to us and attend to your work. Work.”
“It’s not as if I’m not working—”
“All of this must be processed by the end of today. And do review all the accumulated correspondence. I shall take my leave.”
Rem spoke coldly, gathered all the childcare books, and swept out with great efficiency.
Left alone, Enoch stared at the mountain of tasks before him and rubbed his cheek wearily.
“I don’t even have time to look after the child, and here I am doing this….”
As he sighed and flipped through several documents, Enoch paused.
A single envelope poked out from the cascade of papers that had tumbled down.
The red wax seal imprinted with the initial L looked familiar.
‘This is….’
L — the one who had come to Enoch with word of Cheshire’s whereabouts when he was searching for him.
That person.
Enoch hastily opened the letter.

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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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