One Day, My Dad Disappeared - Chapter 38

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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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Episode 38
“It’s a Core, then. Thank goodness.”
He murmured to himself about how the effort—even with his shoulder damaged—had been worth it. Finding the Core for his father was certainly something to celebrate, and yet his mood remained oddly hollow.
“Hey, are you listening?”
“…Yes?”
“We’ve identified it as a Core. Why do you look like that?”
“I…”
She fidgeted with her fingers for no reason.
This was good news. She knew it was.
This was the second Core. Only three more remained for her father.
“Is it because of Star?”
She heard him sigh. Aidan clearly disapproved of how she’d grown attached to the horse—she could feel it.
So she shook her head and denied it, though of course he wouldn’t believe her.
“That horse has no value as a racer anymore.”
“…I know.”
“It might struggle to walk, let alone run.”
Aidan crossed his long legs as he spoke.
“A racing horse that can’t run is like a man who can’t breathe. The creature is worthless now.”
He continued with clinical precision.
“If Star had at least been docile, someone might have purchased it. But you know as well as I do—the temperament was always difficult.”
“That’s true…”
“If it were at least white, some ignorant noblewoman might buy it thinking it pretty. But that’s about the only chance.”
With each successive word about how Star had lost all value as a horse, her fists clenched tighter.
Did Aidan have no heart at all?
They’d obtained the Core largely because of Star, and yet he could only speak of it this way—how could he?
Was he truly unable to see worth in anything without utility? Was this what noble thinking looked like?
“Yet you’re still so sad?”
“…”
She wiped her eyes in silence.
“How can you be so tenderhearted?”
“Don’t worry. I have no affection to spare for you, my lord.”
“What? Are you saying I’m worse than a horse?”
She simply closed her eyes.
Deep down, she understood it was unavoidable.
Aidan couldn’t heal Star’s legs, and it wasn’t his fault either.
Yet still she wanted to blame him. Even though there was nothing she could do herself.

Feigning sleep with her eyes shut, she drifted off without meaning to.
When she stirred awake, twilight had already fallen, and the carriage was rolling through familiar streets.
“Hey, we’re here.”
“…”
The carriage door opened at Aidan’s words. Cynthia stepped out without offering him a single farewell and headed straight into the house.
“Really childish, Cynthia.”
Why was she being so petty?
“Besides, I can’t do anything for Star anyway.”
A single horse cost an astronomical sum. And she was already drowning under the mortgage payments on this house…
“But Star can’t race anymore, so maybe the price would be lower?”
How much had she managed to save?
She rushed to her drawer and opened it.
“My salary is this much, and the extra income from the Special Audit Department adds up to that…”
The loan was for twenty years, but her income had increased. Surely something could be arranged?
She hurriedly dialed Meliot’s number.
“Hello? Meliot? It’s Cynthia.”
—”Oh my? What’s the matter?”
“I was wondering about something. How much do racing horses typically cost?”
—”A racing horse? They’re terribly expensive.”
When Meliot quoted the price, Cynthia’s mouth fell open in shock.
“Even a horse that can’t walk anymore would still cost that much?”
—”Don’t tell me you’re thinking of buying Star?”
“Yes… I have about 100 Gold saved up right now. Would that be enough?”
“It’s true Star was once a valuable horse, but with that amount of Gold, there’d be plenty left over even after buying him! This worked out wonderfully. I’ve been so worried about Star myself.”
“Actually, I have a favor to ask. If I bring Star to you, could you raise him instead?”
“Me?”
Meliot’s surprised voice crackled through the receiver.
“My house doesn’t have space for a horse. We don’t have a stable, and we don’t even have a yard.”
“I see.”
“And the Capital is so different from the environment Star grew up in.”
The thought of those vast plains in the Western Region, of Star pining for them his entire life—I couldn’t bring myself to take him away from there.
“Star will be happier staying in the Western Region.”
“If Cynthia trusts me with him…”
Meliot fell silent for a moment, then spoke with quiet resolve.
“I’d be happier than I can say. I’ll care for him with all the affection he deserves.”
“Understood. I’m going back to Turtley tomorrow anyway.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes, so Meliot—could you go to the association right now and ask them not to put Star down? Tell them I’ll come buy him tomorrow.”
“Of course! Just trust me.”
Meliot hung up, saying she’d go at once.
Surely they hadn’t put him down already?
I waited anxiously for her to call back.
“Cynthia! It’s Meliot!”
Her voice was urgent. My heart lurched.
“What happened?”
Before my vision could blur with panic, Meliot’s voice came through.
“Star’s already been sold!”
“Sold? To whom?”
At least he wasn’t dead—but who buys a horse that can barely walk? What if it’s someone cruel? What if someone like Drodans bought him to torment him?
“Well, that’s the thing…”
Meliot sounded bewildered.
“The Young Prince Winslow purchased him.”
“…What?”
I asked her to repeat herself, certain I’d misheard.
“Who bought him? Winslow?”
“Yes. I didn’t believe it either and asked again, but apparently Aidan Winslow himself bought him. And he paid two hundred Gold for it.”
“Two hundred?”
Aidan, known for his rational judgment, had paid two hundred Gold for a horse that might never walk properly again?
“That’s what they said. The association even suggested he buy a different horse instead, but he refused. You didn’t know about this?”
I had no idea. I said I’d look into it and ended the call.
“Aidan really bought Star?”
Yet on the ride back, he hadn’t shown the slightest sign of it.
More than that—he seemed utterly indifferent to Star’s fate.
“Meliot must have misheard the name.”
There was no other explanation.
I muttered to myself and tried to sleep.

The next day.
After his long mission and finding the Core, Aidan would surely report to the Emperor first thing in the morning.
“Sigh.”
I’d stayed up nearly all night. The face staring back at me from the mirror was haggard and drawn.
I couldn’t possibly focus on work looking like this.
I threw on clothes and arrived at the Special Audit Department Office much earlier than usual, bursting through the door—only to find Aidan already there, calmly writing documents as if he’d been expecting me.
“…Your Highness.”
At the sound of my ragged breathing, he looked up slowly. His eyebrows rose slightly as he took in my hollow eyes and disheveled appearance.
“Were you that exhausted from the equestrian tournament? You look dreadful. There was no need for you to come in so early.”
“Star.”
I had no patience for pleasantries. I strode to his desk and slammed both palms down with a sharp bang.
“You bought Star, didn’t you?”
His pen, which had been moving without hesitation, stuttered to a halt. But then, as if nothing were amiss, he resumed writing on the blank paper and murmured quietly.
“I did.”
He nodded so matter-of-factly that I stood there, dumbfounded, my mouth falling open.
“Why on earth?”
Aidan glanced at me sideways. His green eyes remained serene, yet something in them seemed to glow with warmth.
“If you died, you’d make me sad, wouldn’t you?”
And from Aidan’s lips came words that caught me completely off guard.

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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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