My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 50

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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 50
“The first competitor has just crossed the finish line! Champion: Lilis Rubinstein, the young lady!”
The judge announced my victory at the top of his voice, and the awards ceremony grounds stirred with the arrival of an unexpected champion.
I pulled the reins and brought Zephyr to a halt, my mind oddly blank.
Chesire came in right after me.
‘Surely he didn’t… deliberately stop before the finish line to let me win first?’
Impossible. Controlling a horse with such powerful instincts to charge would be far more difficult than that.
You’d need almost perfect unity with the horse itself to pull it off….
I clicked my tongue. So he was the protagonist after all.
“Congratulations on your victory. I’ll remove your Anti-Fall Magic for you.”
An official approached to help me down from the horse.
And then he froze.
“Eh?”
The magic had already been dispelled, and now that he could see me up close….
It must have been a sight.
My cheeks burned, and every inch of my body throbbed as though covered in bruises.
I swung my feet, which I’d already pulled from the stirrups, back and forth. The crowd that had been watching fell into murmurs.
“What’s this? Why is she so badly hurt?”
“She must have… fallen off?”
“Are they insane? Wasn’t the Anti-Fall Magic properly activated?”
“That can’t be! We checked it thoroughly before the start!”
The race officials rushed out in a flood, their faces pale and trembling.
They were all terrified.
Understandably. I wasn’t just any ordinary competitor, after all….
The youngest first-time rider.
And more than that.
“Lilis!”
The daughter of Duke Rubinstein himself.
As the officials parted like the Red Sea, Father rushed toward me with startled eyes.
Grandfather was right behind him.
“What in the….”
“Father….”
I stretched out my arms. Father gathered me up and checked me over without a word, his mouth hanging open.
“Why, why are you hurt so badly? Did you fall? Why was the magic dispelled?”
Before I could answer, Father spun around with fury blazing across his face. Grandfather was already livid from head to toe.
At their combined presence, the officials all shrank back at once, shoulders hunched.
“No, Father. The magic was working fine. It was dispelled midway through the race.”
“Then how did…!”
At that moment, Daemon crossed the finish line.
Understanding the tense atmosphere, his face turned ashen.
‘So now he’s worried? How pathetic.’
I sighed and stepped down from Father’s embrace.
The awards ceremony grounds fell silent, as if doused with cold water.
Everyone’s eyes were on me.
Even among them, I could see journalists gleaming with pens at the ready.
“On Course C, I was racing alongside Daemon, and he suddenly dispelled the magic that was bound to my saddle.”
“Impossible! He wouldn’t….”
“Goodness gracious!”
“Then that’s… cheating, isn’t it?”
“He must have known it was cheating. Acted on impulse when he realized he was losing!”
Murmurs rippled through the gathered journalists.
Daemon, dismounted now, stood frozen in place, trembling so badly he was almost pitiful to behold.
“Without the magic, my equestrian skill is still poor…. I fell once. That’s when I got hurt.”
Father glared at Daemon with undisguised rage.
Upon learning that their son had caused an incident, Count and Countess Martini came rushing over in panic, at a loss for what to do.
“This is shameful. I’m afraid we cannot simply overlook this matter.”
Grandfather turned his steps toward the Count and Countess Martini and Daemon.
“Wait, please!”
I hurried after Grandfather and caught him by the sleeve.
He raised his voice so that the reporters could write a good story.
“I’m all right, Grandfather.”
“What?”
“It hurts a bit, but I wasn’t badly injured. And I can understand Daemon’s feelings. Everyone was only looking at him, so he must have wanted to win so badly.”
“My goodness.”
“What? You’re forgiving him for this?”
The reporters’ pens moved rapidly across their notepads.
“Grandfather, please don’t scold him. He did it without meaning to. I’m asking you.”
Grandfather gazed down at me quietly.
“Well, this is worthy of Rubinstein indeed.”
“That is Noble Virtue, after all…”
“But can that really be forgiven?”
“Remarkable. For one so young.”
I stifled a smile as I listened to the murmur of the reporters’ voices.
With Chesire’s help, having already secured the championship, I would extract everything I could from this moment.
The Championship Trophy.
The family’s honor.
Even the image of a magnanimous and generous noble…!
‘Even I have to admit, that was a bit weak.’
But that’s how life works.
Though my legs were fine, I limped toward Daemon, moving slowly and carefully.
With each pitiful step I took, sighs of sympathy echoed around me.
“That was a good match, Daemon.”
As I extended my hand for a handshake, Daemon trembled visibly, irritated by my acting.
“Look at him—he won’t even shake her hand.”
“No, how can he act like this when the princess went this far?”
“He must be frustrated about losing the Championship Trophy.”
At the murmuring around him, Daemon’s head swiveled uncertainly before he reluctantly accepted the handshake.
“Next time we meet, let’s compete fairly, all right?”
“…Y-yes, P-princess. I’m s-sorry.”
Since everyone was watching, an apology was necessary, and Daemon ground out the words through gritted teeth, clearly reluctant.
I smiled brightly and opened my arms wide as if to embrace him.
“You’re truly remarkable. Your skill is impressive, and your bearing is extraordinary.”
“As the Successor of Rubinstein, I should be doing this much!”
As I drew the crouching Daemon into an embrace, exclamations of praise erupted from the crowd around us.
Ah…! This dazzling spotlight!
I smiled and whispered very, very softly into Daemon’s ear,
“Frustrating, isn’t it~? You must be seething~?”
I murmured to him.
* * *
The May spring festival ended gloriously.
The most talked-about event of the festival was unquestionably the equestrian competition.
Newspaper articles poured out relentlessly.
<Youngest Equestrian Competition Champion Born!>
<Rubinstein’s Cherished Daughter Seizes the Equestrian Championship Trophy!>
<Rubinstein Princess: “I Only Practiced for Five Hours the Day Before the Competition.”>
<Rubinstein Duke Appears at First Official Event Since His Return>
<Second Place Also Rubinstein? Who Is the Boy Under the Duke’s Patronage?>
<Daemon Blinded by Victory—Foul Play Scandal>
<Rubinstein Princess: “I Understand Daemon’s Heart,” Displays Noble Virtue>
<Imperial Equestrian Association Permanently Revokes Daemon’s Right to Compete>
<Daemon, Last Year’s Partner Famous Steed Zephyr Abandonment Controversy>
<Rubinstein Princess Adopts Injured Steed Zephyr—a Tale of Compassion That Keeps Unfolding>
The well-crafted headlines in the papers were quite satisfying.
“Zephyr, smile! This will last forever!”
There was more good news.
I stroked Zephyr and waved toward Chesire and Walter, who were approaching from a distance.
“Chesire, come quickly!”
We posed side by side against the backdrop of the beautiful ducal manor garden.
Then a middle-aged man with a butterfly-shaped mustache, who had arranged an easel, brushes, and palette before him, twitched his whiskers.
“Hold the reins with your right hand, and yes—keep your left hand light and relaxed.”
“Like this?”
“Perfect. That posture is exactly right.”
He was the Court Painter.
When the Emperor heard of my victory, he had personally ordered him to come paint a commemorative portrait of me.
It was unprecedented for a Court Painter of such high standing to visit a noble house directly and create a portrait.
“Chesire, shall we hold hands?”
“…….”
Chesire gazed down at me for a long moment before reaching out and taking my hand first.
“Hehe.”
A warm spring day.
The weather was beautiful, and my heart thrummed with excitement.
I smiled broadly.
* * *
A boy and girl in riding clothes, hands clasped affectionately.
A beautiful white horse and black horse standing beside them.
The Court Painter’s portrait, preserved as though time itself had been captured and frozen, hung in the center of the drawing room.
Chesire gazed at it for a long while.
“Wow, that’s incredible. I’m jealous. I won the hunting tournament too—why didn’t they paint me?”
“Lilis was the youngest champion ever. That’s extraordinary. You can’t compare the two.”
The twins had approached and were admiring the portrait.
When Chesire turned around, they were each holding a box.
“…What are those?”
“Oh, this?”
Leon grinned and whispered quietly into Chesire’s ear.
“The Princess Lara Dress.”
“And this is the Princess Lara Tiara.”
Theo spoke with a smile.
Ah, birthday gifts. Chesire understood.
The manor had been bustling with activity because Lilis’s birthday was only four days away.
“They finished the work this morning, so we went and picked it up the moment we woke up.”
Leon boasted and opened the box slightly to show inside.
A crimson silk dress was adorned with jeweled decorations so brilliant they hurt the eyes.
“The original Princess Lara Dress doesn’t have jewels on it, so we placed a special order with the seamstresses to add tons of them.”
“We had the tiara made separately too. When we tried to buy one off the shelf, they were all fake stones. So we had a new one commissioned instead—two hundred diamonds and five rubies set into it.”
“…I see.”
The tightly clustered small brilliances were diamonds, and the red stone set at the center was a ruby crafted to the highest standard.
“We should keep it hidden until her birthday. Should we lie and say we haven’t prepared anything?”
“Then Lilis will get upset.”
“Haha. Just hide it for now.”
Leon and Theo, still chattering excitedly, picked up the boxes and disappeared.
Chesire remained behind, watching their retreating figures quietly before returning to his room.
‘Her birthday….’
He opened the drawer of the small table beside his bed, and there sat a single small bundle.
He flipped the bundle over and shook it into his palm, letting four Silver Coins tumble out.

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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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