My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 55

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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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Dad Hides His Strength
Chapter 55
* * *
“Oh no, what if Joseph doesn’t come?”
The moment we arrived in Jedo, I nestled into Dad’s arms, worrying.
Given Joseph’s stubborn response, it didn’t seem like it would be easy.
“Then there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Unlike me, who worried over everything, Dad remained perfectly unbothered.
He even hummed a little tune as he walked, as if whether Joseph came or not made no difference whatsoever….
“Dad, why are you being so relaxed about this? You went all that way to bring your friend back and didn’t even manage it!”
“Lilis!”
Dad stopped abruptly mid-stride, his footsteps light as a feather, and fixed me with a steady gaze.
“I’m curious—why does our princess worry so much?”
“Huh?”
“You talk like it’s the end of the world if Joseph doesn’t show up. Do you know why Dad wanted to befriend him in the first place?”
I flinched with surprise.
Dad’s expression was as gentle as always, his head tilted with what seemed like genuine curiosity.
But I could read it.
Those eyes—sharp, piercing, with suspicion lurking beneath the surface….
The eyes of the ‘protagonist’!
‘Oh dear, I let my guard down too much in front of someone this perceptive.’
I quickly scrambled for an excuse.
“Am I stupid? I know all about it. Joseph even told me roughly. What, Dad needs Joseph’s help with work, right?”
Dad stopped and studied my eyes carefully.
Silence hung between us.
Gulp.
In my nervousness, I swallowed without meaning to.
“That’s right.”
Dad smiled softly and resumed walking.
“Dad wants to do a bit of business so that our princess can eat delicious food, wear pretty clothes, and live happily!”
“Ah, I see.”
Business: the act of engaging in some work with a definite purpose and plan, conducting it coherently and continuously; or that work itself.
Well, whatever. If that’s what Dad says.
Even a rebellion counts as business, if you think about it that way.
I nodded with unfocused eyes.
“I’d like it if the princess didn’t worry.”
“Mm?”
“It’s fine if Joseph doesn’t come here. If he doesn’t, Dad will just have to think of another way.”
Smack—Dad kissed my cheek.
“So our princess doesn’t need to worry, okay? Dad’s the best. There’s nothing Dad can’t do, right?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
I nodded and thought to myself.
True, even if the original story changed a bit, this is still a world inside a novel, and Dad is a protagonist loaded with every buff imaginable.
It would’ve been harder if he were a stupid villain or a hidden mastermind….
‘Sigh, Dad’s right. I’ve done what I needed to do. Now I just have to keep my identity hidden and quietly help Dad find the easier path when I can.’
With a much lighter heart, I hung from Dad’s neck.
“That’s it!”
But Dad couldn’t take another few steps before stopping again, eyes wide.
“Oh my! What’s wrong?”
“Your birthday present, princess!”
“No, really, it’s okay. I don’t need a gift. I’ll have a birthday next year too, right?”
“How can you say that? This is the first birthday Dad gets to celebrate with you since we came to Jedo. I’m sorry, princess. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s really fine.”
“We have to go get your birthday present ready right now~!”
“Stop it. I have dresses and shoes thiiiis many already. My closet’s about to burst.”
“Mmm-mm.”
Dad wagged his index finger back and forth.
“Not those kinds of things. I’m going to give our princess something she’s really, truly wanted~?”
“Huh? What is it?”
Dad laughed—a grin that looked oddly sinister.
* * *
The Duke of Rubinstein’s only daughter.
The sole heir to the family line.
When Lilis Rubinstein arrived on Jedo for her first birthday celebration, the Duke’s household was in uproar.
Nordic and Ordia, mother and daughter, had stepped into the gardens while inspecting the lavishly appointed mansion.
“Don’t you think Father’s gift might be a bit much?”
“Not at all. She’s taken to riding, so there’s no gift more fitting. Your present, on the other hand—all show and no substance.”
“Oh, Father!”
Ordia objected.
“A birthday celebration for the Duke’s daughter? If word spreads that we’re hosting a quiet family gathering at the townhouse, we’ll be the laughingstock of every salon. The gift alone needs to ensure Lilis doesn’t lose face.”
Among the nobility, galas were instruments for displaying power and standing.
This was Lilis’s first birthday since arriving on Jedo.
Nordic and Ordia had naturally intended to host a lavish banquet at their country estate and invite the aristocracy—until….
“But she hates all that nonsense.”
Lilis had refused outright, insisting she wanted to spend the day with family alone, and the grand plans had been abandoned.
“Which is precisely why the gift had to be substantial. The girl hasn’t fully grasped what it means to be nobility—her wardrobe doesn’t even have fifty dresses, yet she complains she has nothing to wear.”
Ordia stopped mid-sentence, something catching her eye.
Nordic turned to look and went pale.
“What on earth is he doing?”
Piled like a mountain in one corner of the garden were thick lengths of timber.
Thwack, thwack—!
The midday sun beat down mercilessly on the bare-chested man swinging the hammer.
Ordia squeezed her eyes shut.
“Good heavens. Enoch. He’s lost his mind.”
Yes, it was Enoch.
He was wiping the sweat from his brow at intervals, his expression joyful as he—
“He’s—oh—”
—hammered away!
“Mother! Father! What is the meaning of this!”
Supporting the staggering Nordic by his collar, Ordia glared daggers at the distant figure of Enoch.
Rem, who had been hovering helplessly beside him, spotted them and rushed over, face ashen.
“M-Master Nordic. Lady Ordia.”
“Steward! What in the world is that display?”
“Well, you see… the young Master is currently crafting a birthday gift for Miss Lilis.”
“Crafting? Why didn’t you simply hire carpenters!”
“Do you think I didn’t try to suggest that, sir…?”
Rem helped support Nordic, his face wretched.
“The young lady apparently wanted it desperately when she was in the south. He insisted it absolutely had to be made by his own hands….”
“Good lord.”
“Father!”
“Master!”
Nordic staggered again as his blood pressure climbed anew.
Surely this was beyond the pale!
Could the Duke truly be shirtless, swinging a hammer in the garden like a common laborer…?
Watching the servants hurrying past stop in shock at Enoch’s display only made his pressure spike further.
“Enooooch!!!”
Nordic’s roar rang out across the entire grounds.
* * *
“Cheshire! Stand right there—!”
“Don’t follow me!”
Lilis, now dressed in the Princess Lala Full Set gifted by the twins, was chasing Cheshire through the halls.
‘I’ll give him the gift and the flower this evening.’
Looking at the single Aristata Flower he’d bought a short while ago, Cheshire swallowed a sigh.
He’d been hiding well enough, but stopping to purchase the flower had left their paths dangerously close to crossing.
‘A birthday party… I don’t belong there.’
They’d planned a quiet family gathering with cake and candles, but for Cheshire, there was nothing quiet about it at all.
Enoch and Ordia, the twins—those would be one thing….
Nordic.
The patriarch of the household, Lilis’s grandfather himself, would be present as well.
“His name is Cheshire. He’s sharp as a whip and quite handsome, wouldn’t you say?”
It was Cheshire’s second day in the house when Enoch led him by the hand to greet Nordic.
“…Once I have taken you in, you remain part of this family until you walk out on your own legs. Apply yourself to your studies with all your strength.”
The conversation ended there.
After that, Cheshire had never spoken with Nordic again.
Likely Nordic’s refusal to spare him a glance stemmed from quiet disapproval.
It was only natural he’d be displeased—a half-born bastard of unknown origins thrust into the family.
But Lilis would not have grasped even that discomfort Nordic felt when looking at Cheshire.…
‘I’m sorry.’
Cheshire bolted toward the stable behind the brick wall. Empty feed boxes were stacked there like a staircase.
He scrambled up them quickly and vaulted over the wall in one fluid motion.
“Aaaagh! You idiot!”
There’s no way she could follow. Lilis’s anguished cry reached him.
“…Sorry. I’ll come to your room tonight.”
“Ugh.”
“……?”
The sound of a groan from beyond the wall made Cheshire freeze.
Don’t tell me she’s trying to climb over.
“Have you lost your mind?”
His fear came true. That tiny frame straining and gasping, Lilis clambered onto the boxes and now perched precariously atop the wall itself.
“It’s dangerous!”
“Why, why… eek!”
“Hey!”
Lilis cried out from her precarious seat on the narrow wall.
“Why are you running away? Don’t you want to celebrate my birthday? Let’s eat cake together!”
“Fine, fine. Just stay right there. Hold on tight—don’t let go. I’m going back inside.”
In that instant.
“Oh no…?”
Lilis’s small frame tilted, wavered. Cheshire gasped and rushed forward, opening his arms.
“I’m falling… aaaagh!”
“Lilis!”
Whoosh—
Fortunately, Lilis landed safely in Cheshire’s embrace.
It was truly… a mercy.
“……?”
“……!”
Save for one thing: their lips had met by the merest chance.
* * *
…What is this?
Climbing the wall and brushing lips with the male lead….
What on earth…?
Could it be that the original work had no romance because the author had some outdated sensibility about it?
Had they known that a clumsy, half-hearted romance would end up this childish?
Stunned, I entertained these ridiculous thoughts for a brief moment, then slowly drew my lips away.
Gulp—
I swallowed.
Cheshire’s face had gone rigid, utterly blank.

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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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