My Daddy Hides His Power - Chapter 87

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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 87
Silence.
Father waited, as though he had all the time in the world for me to speak.
And then—
‘Oh no. What do I do?’
My panicked mind spun without ceasing.
I’d let my guard down!
Desperate to make sure Joseph hadn’t grabbed onto someone other than Father, I’d gone and—
‘This is bad. Father already seemed suspicious of me before.’
Hadn’t I sworn to myself back then?
Not to act out foolishly and get caught by this protagonist who was both clever and perceptive, but simply to stay one step behind.
‘But if I can’t bring the strategist into my camp, the whole game is lost from the start!’
I couldn’t just sit idle.
So there was no helping it.
“Hmm.”
I tilted my head, trying to stay as composed as possible.
“What do you mean by that?”
Playing dumb for now was the way.
……
Father simply gazed into my eyes again.
I felt utterly exposed.
“Ahaha!”
Then Father laughed and flopped back onto the bed.
“It’s nothing. I must have been confused.”
“Really?”
I hesitantly lay down beside him and pulled the blanket over us.
We lay side by side in silence for a long while.
‘I’m caught. One hundred percent, this is it.’
I squeezed my eyes shut.
In truth, I could never have evaded the keen protagonist’s pursuit forever.
“My princess.”
“Mm?”
Father turned toward me, resting his chin on his hand as he spoke.
“A few days after you enrolled, your uncle Joseph came to visit me.”
“Oh, did he?”
“He asked to be friends with me.”
“Wow, that’s wonderful.”
“Yes. But the friendship between me and your uncle Joseph must not become known to others.”
Only then did I understand.
‘It was an undercover operation.’
Joseph was already a figure of renown from his past.
Many nobles wanting a taste of power kept him close at their side.
If Joseph were to stand openly beside Father like that?
It would signal to everyone that Enoch Rubinstein harbored grand ambitions.
Even the Emperor would become wary of Father.
“So your uncle Joseph and I agreed to pretend to be friends with other men instead.”
“I see.”
And the reason Father was telling me all of this now was…
‘I’m really caught. He knows. He completely knows.’
Duke Enoch Rubinstein, hear me!
—He was certain that I was the author of the letter that began this way, the one that had stirred Father’s revolution.
“Yawn. I’m getting sleepy. Aren’t you tired, my princess?”
“I’m tired too.”
“Then let’s get some rest.”
Father pulled me into his embrace and planted a goodnight kiss on my cheek before drifting off to sleep almost instantly.
Of course, I didn’t sleep a wink.
I spent the night trying to fathom the intentions of a protagonist who had noticed his suspicious daughter yet asked nothing.
* * *
I was certain that Father would dig into my past.
So… about a week?
I lived like any ordinary seven-year-old noble child.
Eating, sleeping, using the privy, playing.
I’d even suspended contact with Lico through Jetti and June.
Then came this rare outing.
And alone, no less―!
“Tee-hee.”
―Which of course wasn’t happening.
I smiled brightly at the imposing guards visible through the pastry shop window and waved at them.
All those kindly guard uncles who doted on me.
They puffed out their chests and waved back.
‘Why did Lico want me to come here? If I get caught doing anything suspicious, it’ll be a disaster.’
I was thinking that when―
“Miss, here are the chocolate macarons and hot chocolate you ordered.”
“Oh! Thank you so much… Monsieur!”
The pastry shop attendant in the pretty pink apron who brought out the desserts was a familiar face.
It was Lico!
Flanking her were two other female staff members with bright smiles.
“The guards outside, right? If you could manage your expressions and grab me like I’m keeping you entertained, along with these coworkers? Don’t worry—we’re all Guild members.”
“Oh, I see. Yes.”
Lico really was clever.
I naturally had her sit down, then glanced out the window.
Good, that looked natural.
To anyone watching, it would appear I’d seated Lico and the two other women as companions for a bored young noblewoman.
“First, congratulations on graduating from the academy.”
“Thank you very much.”
“That rank was unexpected, though.”
“Yes. That’s how it turned out.”
“Do try the macarons. I made them myself.”
“Oh?”
Curious, I took a bite right away—they tasted wonderful.
Lico, so versatile….
“Things have gotten complicated.”
“What kind of things?”
I spoke hesitantly, and Lico sighed.
“Joseph Rütman. It seems he’s been cultivating another connection. He made contact with Marquis Alonge Chamber about a month ago.”
“Ah.”
I wiped the chocolate cream from my lips and shook my head.
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
“Why not? Were you not thinking of bringing Joseph Rütman into the fold?”
As Lico asked, she said, “You’ve still got some here,” and gently wiped the corner of my mouth with a tissue.
“If I’m always hanging around Father, it’ll cause rumors. That Marquis Chamber is good at deception.”
“I see.”
Lico exhaled with relief and exclaimed softly.
“I see. So Joseph is quite the meticulous one. Already taking such precautions.”
Of course. Joseph Rütman was the sharpest mind in the story.
“Lico, Lico! Do you like candy?”
“Candy? You mean…?”
I pulled out a bundle of candies from the Rabbit Bag I’d brought.
I fed each of them one candy from the bundle—Lico and the two Guild member women.
“This is delicious! What flavor is it?”
“Strawberry.”
“Hehe. Let’s eat the rest.”
And then I handed the remaining bundle to Lico.
“Oh.”
Lico peeked into the bundle and smiled.
In truth, hidden beneath a few candies as a clever disguise, the bundle contained Salvation.
“You’re quite thorough yourself, Miss.”
“It’s only proper. But Lico, do you work here?”
“Yes. It’s my official cover. I’m actually a well-known pâtissier.”
“Wow. How thorough you are….”
“It’s the basics.”
I chuckled at Lico echoing my own words back to me.
“Is this meeting because of Joseph?”
“That’s part of it. But there’s also something you need to know.”
“What is it?”
“Onyx’s illegitimate child is Dos, isn’t he?”
“Oh, you mean Cheshire. Yes.”
“The Marquis is preparing to reclaim the boy.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, be careful. Is it still hot?”
I was blowing on my cocoa when I jumped in surprise and spilled it down my chin.
“What do you mean by that…?”
Lico dabbed away the cocoa dripping below my chin as she spoke.
“Just what I said. Dos are rare, you see. When one appears, it’s a blessing for the family.”
“B-but it’s fine even if people find out he’s illegitimate?”
“Of course. If the Marquis brings the child back, what he gains far outweighs what he loses.”
Lico continued speaking, rolling a sweet around in her mouth.
“These days he’s been quarreling with the Marchioness every day. Instead of having a legitimate heir, he’s thinking of bringing that boy here and passing the title to him.”
“…? But Cheshire never even said he wanted to go—why is he just deciding on his own…!”
What kind of madness is this?
Where did he sell his conscience, truly?
I could only blink, utterly baffled.
“Since the child is still a minor and has no legal guardian, the Marquis only needs to prove his paternity to gain guardianship rights over him.”
“No….”
“He’s already searching for the child’s birth mother, and he’s demanding testimony from the servants who knew of the boy’s existence, preparing documents as we speak.”
This was like a bolt from the blue.
This never happened in the original story.
‘Ah.’
As I sat thinking seriously, something clicked into place.
Unlike the original, the reason the shameless Marquis is trying to reclaim Cheshire….
“A g-guardian. There’s no guardian, is there?”
“Yes, that’s correct. Though your father is his legal guardian, if the biological father claims guardianship, the boy must be handed over.”
“If Cheshire had a stepfather. If he had a stepfather, then that wouldn’t matter, right?”
“Precisely. If he’s already been enrolled in another family, there would be no way to take him back even if paternity is proven.”
Father brought Cheshire home and enrolled him without delay in the original.
That’s why, even when Cheshire’s rank was later revealed, the Marquis had no choice but to keep quiet.
But unlike the original, Father is now merely Cheshire’s guardian.
‘Oh, I need to get him adopted soon. Cheshire, quickly….’
My mind seemed to go blank for a moment.
* * *
At that very moment.
Enoch sat face to face with the Marquis.
“What brings you all the way here?”
Even as he asked, Enoch felt no real curiosity about the Marquis’s purpose.
It was obvious.
“I’ve come to reclaim the child.”
The moment the Marquis spoke, Enoch nodded and murmured,
“So. I thought you’d sent your humanity to the next world, but apparently your conscience went there first.”

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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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