One Day, My Dad Disappeared - Chapter 14

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 14
Aidan was briefing his father, Duke Winslow, on the situation thus far.
“Yes. I haven’t found any other leads yet. All I can say is that there are consistent blade marks……. Yes, yes. Oh, and I met with Aclo.”
At the mention of Aclo, the Duke’s voice through the receiver grew grave.
“Nothing unusual happened?”
Unusual, yes—there had been. A carriage had burned to the ground, and the driver and horse who had served since childhood were dead.
But there was no need to worry him with such details.
“Yes, but those Aclo people said something strange. They claimed that if all five Cores were gathered, a Gate could be opened.”
“A Gate opened? But when all five Hedron Nuclei were collected at the research facility for processing, nothing of the sort occurred.”
“Yes. I checked the records myself, and there was nothing unusual documented……. In any case, Aclo seems to believe we removed the Cores to prevent them from doing so.”
“Aclo bears watching, then.”
“Yes, I’ll leave that to you. And please look into whether there’s any other information regarding the Cores. We need to verify whether opening a Gate is actually possible.”
“Understood. I’ll relay this to His Majesty.”
The call ended there. Aidan rolled his tense shoulders lightly. His father would investigate Aclo; he just needed to pursue the Cores.
A glance at the clock showed it was well past midnight. He stared at the Report he’d been working on earlier, dry-eyed and pressing the bridge of his nose absently.
Of course, it wasn’t a report about Cores or Aclo. After all, traveling the Empire under the name of the Special Audit Department meant paperwork was necessary.
“I’ll wrap this up and get some sleep.”
Just as he was tidying his desk to retire, a knock came at the door.
Aidan glanced at the clock again.
A knock at this hour?
“I know I said not to disturb me.”
Aidan opened the door with a furrowed brow.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Violet eyes blinked rapidly. A familiar scent—from the bath salts he used—pricked at his nose. She must have washed with them.
Her hair wasn’t fully dry either. Cynthia tucked the damp ends behind her ear with an awkward smile.
“I thought of something and felt like I had to tell you right away, so I came in a hurry. But I suppose it is quite late, isn’t it?”
“Oh, it’s you?”
She was in her indoor clothes and barefoot, clearly having rushed over in haste.
There had been an occasion like this before. During a campus-wide assignment at the Academy, a professor had offered an A+ to whoever solved a graduate-level problem first, regardless of exam scores. When everyone else grew exhausted and gave up, Aidan had seen Cynthia alone in the Library, studying through book after book, investigating everything she could find. Even though she would likely have earned an A+ on the regular exam, Aidan couldn’t understand why she clung so desperately to that assignment.
Wouldn’t it be more efficient to spend that time studying other subjects? The professor probably hadn’t even meant for anyone to solve it.
And yet Cynthia had obsessed over it for days.
Exactly a week later, Cynthia had come tearing out of the Dormitory one early morning, her uniform unbuttoned and askew. No ribbon, mismatched shoes, her hair half-tied and in complete disarray—Cynthia looked elated as she began writing out the solution beneath the bulletin board.
She’d looked such a mess that day. The Academy students passing by had done nothing but whisper about her.
Of course she was commoner stock with no sense of decorum. How could she walk around looking like that? This is why noble names alone mean nothing. True nobility comes from bearing. And so on and so forth.
Aidan, too, had harbored such thoughts whenever he saw Cynthia—her ungainly gait, her table manners, her dancing at the Academy galas.
But those bright eyes solving the problem she’d been given—weren’t those rather fine?
He’d had that thought once. Though only for a moment.
‘Those eyes, just like then.’
The disheveled hair, the haphazard clothes.
“Come in and sit. Let’s talk.”
“C-Come inside? At this hour?”
“You’re the one knocking on my door at this hour. What if I’d been asleep?”
“Ah, your light was still on. I can see your room from my window.”
Cynthia pointed toward the window as she spoke.
“I have this tendency—when something catches my interest, I charge forward without thinking.”
“I’m well aware.”
Aidan sighed and handed her an outer robe.
“In any case, if you’ve rushed over like this, it must be about the Cores. This isn’t something to discuss in the hallway.”
“R-Right.”
“I didn’t ask you into my bedroom. Come on—the reception room.”
“Oh, the reception room. Yes.”
Cynthia wrapped the offered robe around herself and stepped forward.
Gulp.
Aidan swallowed.
The reception room was an open space, and there was a trusted, tight-lipped butler in the back, but—
“I’ve been thinking about something.”
Why did his throat suddenly feel so dry?
“The Cores. Aclo couldn’t find where they are, but they disappeared because of my father in the first place.”
Was it the same scent?

Or perhaps it was because she was wearing my coat.
Or else it was that silver hair, gleaming almost snow-white as it caught the moonlight.
“The fact that nobody remembers my father might actually work in our favor!”
Or was it simply that her excited, eager voice was rather endearing?
“What do you mean? Nobody remembering him is exactly why the investigation isn’t moving forward.”
Aidan shook his head, deciding his last thought was probably not the real reason, and replied.
“That’s the point. We use it.”
But Cynthia’s eyes continued to sparkle.
“In this entire world, I’m the only one who remembers my father!”
Her voice seemed to carry an unmistakable note of exhilaration.
“I don’t know what Father did with the Core, but everyone’s forgotten everything connected to him. So the people who have the Cores—they’ll think those jewel-like things just appeared one day, don’t you see?”
“……You’re right. It would be strange for such an object to suddenly exist.”
“Exactly! There will be precious treasures—things like jewels that people can’t remember receiving, objects whose origin and purpose they don’t know! If we approach it that way, we can find the Cores easily!”
Aidan stroked his chin. It was an approach he hadn’t considered, but it was certainly sound.
“Something that appeared somewhere out of nowhere, looks like a jewel, but! Isn’t actually a jewel.”
The composition of each Core in Central Neodymium was, strictly speaking, similar to precious gems.
“True. A Core has a structure similar to gemstones, but it’s not a gemstone.”
“But since it’s a substance found nowhere else, it would certainly have value.”
The Core of the East is blue; the South’s is red; the West’s is white; the North’s Core is black; and finally, the Capital’s is yellow.
Aidan nodded. Seeing the Cores that had suddenly appeared, those who found them would likely have taken them to jewelers for appraisal.
Since they had no memory of the objects, they might have wanted to find their rightful owners.
“So you’re saying that if we search for mysterious, unidentified minerals, there’s a good chance we’ll find a Core.”
“That’s right!”
Cynthia smiled brightly.
“I think searching among jewelers would be the best approach.”
Aidan found himself admiring the girl before him once more. She was the type to give her absolute best to whatever was placed before her—once she focused, her gaze narrowed to that alone, indifferent to what anyone around her might say.
That unwavering gaze.
Yes, he was certain his throat had gone dry because of that steady, resolute light in her eyes.
Whenever he looked at that determination, it had always been this way—since their Academy days. His throat would tighten and his chest would feel constricted.
There was no high collar buttoned all the way up, no tightly knotted cravat, yet he couldn’t understand why he felt so stifled.
“I’ll investigate, so get some rest tonight.”
Aidan touched awkwardly at his bare neck and, as if fleeing, nudged Cynthia gently toward the door.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————