HRMF 27

Chapter 27

How to Replace a Father

Did saving my life make him pleased?

Danju seemed displeased with the situation.

He was glaring at the duke with a dissatisfied look.

The duke spoke.

“If what you want is the world’s recognition, then follow the proper procedures and formalities. I will introduce you at the Year-End Ceremony.”

The Year-End Ceremony was perfect timing.

An event where the emperor and the great nobles gathered — a chance to nail things down completely.

“You’ll have to prepare thoroughly if you don’t want to be pushed aside.”

He meant I’d have to prepare against the duchess and her son after Aslan’s status was restored.

Right. Of course.

Becoming Danju’s son was not everything.

The ultimate goal was the dukedom.

While I was thinking that, the duke came up to me.

“Why don’t you have my pup stay in this castle with us?”

“Me?”

“It’s dangerous to follow your adoptive father straight into the thick of political conflict.”

“That’s….”

It would be nice to stay in the castle. Andres wouldn’t be able to touch me.

But I was worried about the future — I should probably help Danju.

I was pondering when Danju pulled my shoulder.

Startled, I looked and saw he was displeased.

“I can’t leave you where that woman is.”

He must be referring to the duchess.

After all, he lost his mother to the duchess.

The duke sneered.

“That’s not your choice.”

“I took you in as my daughter, so protecting you is my responsibility.”

“By that logic, I’m the old man.”

“Have you gone senile?”

“What do you think, my pup? Isn’t Esqarotte Castle better than shabby San Miguel?”

Both of them looked at me at once.

I rolled my eyes.

“I… um….”

“Well, the pup is—?”

“You?”

After thinking, I grabbed an arm.

Danju’s arm.

“I’ll go with Danju.”

I must not lose the dukedom for even a second.

Only if he becomes duke can we live a peaceful life.

It would be best to stay by Danju’s side and help him prepare to become Aslan Esqarotte.

Danju smiled faintly.

The duke clicked his tongue.

I looked at Danju brightly.

“So are we leaving for San Miguel now?”

“Yes.”

His voice was gentle.

That pleasant evening ended on a warm note.

…But I still hadn’t departed for San Miguel.

The first reason was that I was called as a witness for the fire incident and the body discovery investigation.

“So I found the body while doing the ignition work. Since I already knew about the body, I realized the situation was serious. So I used the excuse that Camellia was damaged to meet the duke.”

To the investigator I mixed about eighty percent truth with twenty percent lies.

I couldn’t say I had played the game, knew about the body, and decoded it to get Danju and the duke to meet.

“How did you know about the body?”

“Because he’s from Andres and knows a lot of secrets. There was also intel that the Balboa viscount’s house had developed a special poison.”

“And how did you decode the body?”

“Because he’s from Andres.”

“You’re saying you know of a rare poison called ‘Canary’?”

“Yes. In Andres….”

I kept blaming Andres whenever I got stuck.

At times like this, it’s convenient that Esqarotte and Andres are enemies.

Both sides guard their information tightly, so it’s hard to extract details from either.

Anyway, the interrogation ended like that.

The second reason I was delayed was….

“So what you brought wasn’t the body but the death notice?”

Because Luciano had grabbed me.

I smiled awkwardly.

“Well, things went a bit wrong…. Anyway, thank you so much for saving me.”

“Is that so. Then where’s the body?”

“Ah, that….”

“Don’t tell me you saved its life and couldn’t bring it?”

Luciano’s eyes narrowed.

I glanced anxiously toward the doorway.

‘Not yet?’

Just then there was a knock.

At that moment my face brightened and I darted to the door.

When I opened it, a man as handsome as Luciano — someone the island girls said was the most beautiful in the empire — stood there.

It was Danju!

Luciano looked at him, wondering who he was.

‘Ah, in the barracks Danju had his hood up, so he didn’t see his face.’

“H-he’s my one and only father.”

I quickly introduced him instead of saying “Danju.”

Luciano rose from his seat.

“Is he the Viscount of San Miguel?”

“Yes. May I invite him in?”

“Go ahead.”

Danju strode inside, holding a box engraved with an odd pattern in one hand.

‘That must be the box with the body.’

Once it was just the two of them, Danju asked for help.

He talked about a deal with a prince and asked Luciano to fetch a body the Balboa viscount hadn’t used yet.

‘I stole many in-game, so I know where they are kept.’

Thus, the irregular elite team had swiftly taken out the body.

I quickly handed the box to Luciano.

“You must have been waiting. This is the body… but why do you look at my father like that…?”

Luciano and Danju stared at each other steadily.

Danju didn’t take his eyes off Luciano as he said,

“If the deal is done, let’s go.”

“Ah, yes.”

I hurriedly greeted Luciano.

He turned his gaze to me.

“He’s your father, right?”

“Yes? Yes, he is.”

“Then fine.”

That was the end of it.

So I left the room with Danju.

Walking down the corridor with just the two of us, I asked,

“You still don’t like the prince?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t have a good feeling. I feel like something will be stolen.”

Danju’s intuition is incredible.

In the game, he’s the kind of man described to have the instincts of a beast.

For him to say he has a bad feeling?

“But the prince isn’t in a position to steal anything.”

“Maybe not.”

“And he’s kinder than expected. He saved me many times. Even though I made many mistakes in the past, he forgave me. He also protected me from Prince Gaspar.”

If you want to get near the throne, I recommend this prince.

While I smiled like that, Danju paused.

“Gaspar?”

“Yes. He’s vicious — it would be troubling to meet him. He once slapped me when I was the eldest daughter of Andres.”

One cannot overlook the faces of the first prince and the empress.

My father didn’t get that angry.

He only took what he could from the empress and finished things.

“Prince Gaspar not noticing me might not be only because they’re searching for a saint. Prince Luciano probably intervened. From the barracks onward.”

“…Right.”

“Shall we leave, then?”

We could go immediately since I didn’t have to finish the ignition work.

It had been decided I’d step down because of the fire incident.

I had already greeted the duke before meeting Luciano.

I walked along humming.

That night.

Northwest of the Esqarotte estate.

Fifth Prince Gaspar shouted.

“You still haven’t found her?”

Gaspar’s soldiers bowed with pale faces.

They had frantically combed the northwest where a holy wave had been detected, but found no clue of the saint.

Gaspar’s attendant spoke with difficulty.

“I’ve mobilized all the shadow priests, so there should be progress.”

“You expect progress now when I have to leave Esqarotte tomorrow?”

Because of the damned fire, the duke had decided to send the princes away.

Luciano — that son of a bitch — had agreed with the duke, so they were leaving tomorrow.

Gaspar kicked his attendant in the gut roughly.

Even after the man fell wheezing, Gaspar trampled him violently.

“P-Prince… Prince, ugh!”

“Damn. Damn. Damn it!”

Gaspar, covered in blood, threw off his jacket.

“Search as if you’re grabbing dirt. Find the saint today!”

The soldiers left with grim faces.

Gaspar remained with two guards.

‘Nothing’s going right.’

He ran a nervous hand through his hair.

Clack! Crack!

A strange thudding came from the direction of his guards.

Gaspar looked up to see what was happening.

The guards were down.

‘What the—?’

Something quickly surged toward Gaspar.

It moved like a beast.

Only when it was right in front of him did he realize it was two hooded men.

The hooded men said,

“This is them, right, Deputy—”

“Shut up.”

“Gah.”

They were tall, and the small part of their faces visible beneath the hoods hinted at handsome features.

One of the sturdier men grabbed Gaspar by the neck.

“Gah…! Do you know who I am….”

“You’re a bastard who uses his hands carelessly.”

“I can’t… let you go…!”

As Gaspar struggled, another man approached.

And then—

Smack—!

Gaspar’s cheek was turned inside out.

With burning pain.

“Clench your teeth. You’ll lose a tooth.”

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack—!

It was a thorough beating.

Aslan boarded the carriage to San Miguel first.

Ten minutes later, Yustea came in carrying bundles in both hands.

“Sorry. Asta kept handing me things so I had to take them.”

“It’s fine.”

“Asta said the castle’s noisy again. Prince Gaspar has called for help at the castle.”

“….”

“They said a stranger appeared, beat him up, and tied him to a tree.”

“….”

“They say Prince Gaspar is raging that it must have been an assassin sent by another prince.”

“….”

Danju quietly turned his head away.

We finally arrived in San Miguel.

Even though it was the same Esqarotte estate, the air felt different.

I ran to the members who had come to the carriage and greeted them cheerfully.

“You went through a lot.”

“We were so worried hearing you’d been in the death cells.”

“You even got involved in that fire incident.”

They fussed over me excitedly.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Danju and Antonio pushed through the members.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“Are all your fingers there? Ten of them?!”

“Really, are you okay?”

Only then did the two of them sigh with relief.

“Good. Don’t take on such crowds again. Everyone was worried.”

“Yes. By the way, where did you go?”

I was wearing the irregular’s hood.

At that, Vice-Danju and Antonio flinched.

Antonio mumbled, staring into the air.

“Well… a walk…?”

“With the irregular’s hood on?”

Vice-Danju kicked Antonio’s calf and pushed him aside.

“We also had some matters to handle outside the castle.”

“I see. Ah, did everyone do well?”

I asked with a smile.

But it was strange.

At that question, everyone suddenly shut up.

Vice-Danju and his team glared fiercely at Antonio’s squad.

Antonio’s team was sweating coldly.

“…You’ve worked hard coming back, and I’m sorry to say this, but you’ll need to move rooms for a few days.”

“Move rooms? Why?”

Another silence.

I headed to my room with a nervous face.

Antonio’s squad trailed me with guilty looks while Vice-Danju’s team scowled at them.

And then I saw it.

The wall that had gone with my room… had flown away.

“How… did this… happen?”

Charly of Antonio’s team wailed and fell to his knees.

“Miss, I’m sorry. We were deceived—!”

…What?

So here’s what happened.

“You bought weapons and magic tools from a merchant, and they were all fakes…?”

“Yes. The swords and spears would break after one swing. And the magic tools….”

“The magic tools?”

“They said they amplify mana so everyone bought one. But when we activated them in the castle….”

They exploded and became like this.

Antonio’s team looked thoroughly dejected.

It seemed Vice-Danju’s team had already caught them before I arrived.

When I hummed thoughtfully, Antonio’s team latched onto me.

“We’re sorry we made the room like this.”

“We’ll buy Miss new things!”

“Really. We already pooled all our wages…!”

Ah, that’s why they looked so scared.

Because the room flew off and took my belongings with it.

“It’s okay.”

When I said that, the faces of Antonio’s team brightened.

“Really?”

But then Vice-Danju’s team narrowed their eyes.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Miss had a watch worth over a thousand gold.”

“And jewels.”

Ah — that’s why everyone had been tiptoeing around me.

The things Luciano had given me in the barracks were extremely expensive.

For ordinary people, it was an amount that could let them laze around for ten years.

“I really am fine.”

Vice-Danju’s team sighed.

“With someone so kind….”

“If you want us to be angry, be angry. You lost a lot of money.”

Since they didn’t believe me, I decided to show them why I was okay.

I took out the watch and jewels from the bag slung at my side and showed them.

“…!”

“…?!”

Their expressions said: why are those there?

I smiled benignly.

“I thought Antonio’s team would cause trouble someday.”

Then—

“Waaah!”

“Waaah!”

Antonio’s team’s faces lit up in an instant.

“We’re so glad Miss distrusts us!”

“Thank you for doubting us!”

They cheered and hugged me tightly.

Antonio rejoiced too.

I nodded with a saintly face.

Vice-Danju and his team looked at us incredulously.

I sniffled and patted Charly, who had curled into me, on the head.

“Did you catch the swindlers?”

“The merchant? Well….”

“Why?”

“We couldn’t detain them.”

“You didn’t write a contract? I told you to always write one when you buy something.”

I had warned them before because the old blacksmith kept conning them.

Antonio’s team drooped.

“We did write one. We checked the clauses carefully. But….”

Vice-Danju spoke up.

“The contract was crafted so slyly there was no way to punish them.”

A member of Vice-Danju’s team handed over the contract.

I checked — it was indeed a cunning contract.

It compensated for defective goods, but considering merchants transport goods across long distances, it stipulated they could not compensate with the same item.

“So what did you get as compensation?”

Vice-Danju glared at Antonio.

Antonio pointed sadly to a box in the hallway.

Potatoes.

A building in San Miguel.

The place merchants briefly lease to display goods for sale was bustling.

Merchants greeted customers with polite faces.

“Oh, sir, you have excellent taste. That’s a teacup from the Eastern Continent — rare in the Avalon Empire.”

“Welcome. Looking for perfume? We have fine items.”

The building was crowded.

The merchants’ staff smirked at the sound of coins piling up.

“As expected of the guildmaster.”

“Yes. I thought you were simply stopping by this shabby place for a holiday.”

Much farther north from the center.

In the countryside.

The country folks couldn’t tell cheap goods bought in bulk and purchased them thoughtlessly.

After realizing they’d been cheated, they came back, but the guildmaster’s flashy talk cowed them and they left.

The guildmaster smirked.

“They won’t come again, will they?”

“Not likely. If they do, they’ll only wreak havoc.”

“If they cause a fuss, all the better. We’ll use that as an excuse to pick their socks and take the one copper hidden in them.”

The merchants laughed boisterously.

Just then, as the saying goes, speak of the devil — the soldiers who had gone off with potatoes and matted hair entered the guild hall.

The guildmaster grinned and whispered to his merchants.

“Prepare to take their socks too.”

“Yes.”

He rubbed his hands and ran to them.

“Welcome, nobles. What would you like today?”

“We didn’t come to buy anything.”

A girl stepped out from among the soldiers.

“Hello.”

“Pleased to meet you. May I ask who you are—?”

“I am Yustea, daughter of the Lord of San Miguel.”

The soldiers straightened their chins.

And Yustea said,

“You stole from my people.”