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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Man Named Enoch Rubinstein
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“L-Let me go!”
It was better than being held by the scruff of my neck, but being carried by my waist like a sack of luggage wasn't much better.
I flailed my arms and legs with all my might and shouted.
“Let me gooo!”
“Where is Enoch Rubinstein?”
“Who’s that—!”
I was so dizzy from being jostled around that I couldn't think straight, but I was shocked when I finally processed the name.
‘Why is that name coming up now?’
Enoch Rubinstein (Protagonist)
1. Captain of the ‘Dos Holy Knights,’ the most powerful military force in the novel *The Dos Rebellion*.
2. A ‘Dos,’ the highest rank among ability users.
3. Holy Knight, Swordmaster, and Duke.
4. The adoptive father of the other male lead, ‘Chessier Rubinstein.’
5. The strongest character in the world, according to the lore.
6. In his youth, he lost his young daughter at the hands of the Imperial family and has been sharpening his blade for revenge ever since.
In other words, he was one of the two main protagonists—a man who, after losing his daughter and vowing revenge, somehow ends up taking in and raising the other male lead, Chessier.
The novel was titled *The Dos Rebellion* because he, a ‘Dos,’ along with his adopted son Chessier, challenges the Imperial family and ultimately achieves victory.
‘Seeing as they’re looking for Enoch Rubinstein and his daughter, this must be before the original story started. Back when his daughter was still alive.’
But what did that have to do with me?
Nothing at all.
“Hey, mister! Wait, wait! You’re making a huuuuge mistake!”
“What?”
The Captain of the Knights raised an eyebrow and looked down at me.
“B-But first… all the blood is, it’s rushing to my head… C-Could you please sit me up straight…?”
“……”
After a moment of silence, the Captain sat me on the horse so that I was facing him.
As I met the Captain’s peculiar violet eyes, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
‘Black hair and purple eyes. I think there was a character who looked like this, but who was it?’
Oh, right. I had bigger problems to worry about.
I shook my head and quickly asked.
“You’re talking about Duke Enoch Rubinstein, the Holy Knight and Swordmaster, right? Silver hair and blue eyes?”
“Yes.”
“You must have gotten the wrong idea because I have silver hair and blue eyes, but my dad’s name is James Brown, not Enoch whatever-his-name-is. He said my hair and eye color are from my mom, who left a long time ago.”
“……”
The Captain blinked slowly, staring at me before letting out a snort.
“He’s certainly raised a clever child.”
“Huh?”
“Lilis!”
Just then, a familiar voice reached my ears.
I whipped my head around to see Dad standing there, holding a fire poker.
“Daaaaad!”
“What do you think you’re doing? If you don’t want to die, put my daughter down now.”
……?
I was stunned.
‘H-Has Dad lost his mind? Does he not know who these people are?’
The Holy Knights, led by those of the highest rank, ‘Dos,’ were all high-ranking nobles.
In this world, only ability users could hold noble titles, while non-ability users weren't even treated as human.
Therefore, my dad, a non-ability user at the bottom of the food chain, could be executed on the spot just for speaking to them so informally.
But he took it a step further…
Threatening them with a mere fire poker, asking if they wanted to die?
‘Oh my god. Dad’s gone crazy.’
A chill ran down my spine, and I immediately bowed my head and groveled.
“S-Sir. My dad can’t live without me, so I think he’s lost his mind for a moment. If you could please be generous, I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life!”
To make the most of my cute appearance, I gave him a sweet, smiling-eyed look and clung tightly to his waist.
Then, I pointed at my dad with my tiny hand.
“Now, look! The man who just appeared is him! My father! The symbol of every common man out there—brown hair and brown eyes!”
“……”
The Captain just stared at me with an indifferent expression.
Beads of cold sweat trickled down my back.
I swallowed hard.
“L-Look at him from any angle, he’s just another Imperial citizen. He’s a 27-year-old single dad who struggles to make a living chopping wood with his young daughter in a mountain village.”
“……”
“…Um, sir? Hello? Waaah!”
The Captain tossed me to a subordinate beside him and leaped off his horse, approaching my dad.
“N-No! Don’t do that to my dad!”
I flailed my hands helplessly while being held by the waist.
The Captain glanced at the box of macarons lying next to my dad and scoffed.
“You’re a sorry sight.”
“Why are you here?”
Informal again? What is wrong with Dad?
One swipe of the Captain’s sword, and Dad’s head would be gone.
But he seemed completely oblivious to my frantic worries.
With a terrifying expression I had never seen before, Dad aimed the fire poker at the Captain.
“Give me my daughter.”
“Enoch Rubinstein. It is the order of His Majesty the Emperor that you return to the Holy Knights immediately and fulfill your duty.”
“N-No, I’m telling you, my dad isn’t Enoch whatever-his-name-is!”
I shouted through my tears, and my eyes met Dad’s from a distance.
Seeing me held captive so pitifully must have enraged him, because his clenched jaw was trembling.
“It has been seven years. Is it not time you concluded your little outing?”
“……”
“As you know best, according to Pavilion military law, deserters are subject to immediate execution. If they flee, they are considered wanted fugitives until their status—dead or alive—is confirmed, and are treated as Class-A criminals.”
No…
“However, our benevolent Emperor has taken your past devotion and abilities into high consideration. Despite your clear violation of military law, he did not issue a warrant for your arrest, nor did he confiscate your title and property.”
Hey…
Why was this Captain of the Knights wasting his breath talking about things I couldn't understand to a random extra from a mountain village?
“We have turned a blind eye and waited, forgiving all your illegal acts until now. It is time for you to return. Disobeying an order means death. I will convey His Majesty the Emperor’s words once more.”
The Captain lowered his voice and glared at the wrong man as he added.
“Enoch Rubinstein. As of today, you are to return to the Holy Knights and fulfill your duty.”
“Heh.”
Dad scoffed. A shiver went down my spine.
“His Majesty’s mouth is as glib as ever, I see.”
My mouth slowly fell open, and I clamped it shut.
W-Whose mouth?
Surely you don’t mean the mouth of His Majesty the Emperor, the absolute ruler and apex predator of this world?
‘Dad has really lost his mind…’
Insulting a noble, now blaspheming royalty—my dad had gone too far.
“Isn’t it time you were a little more honest? He’s simply left the doghouse empty for the dog that’s bound to return someday, hasn’t he?”
After the comment about the mouth, my mind went blank, and I couldn't quite hear what Dad was saying.
All I could think was that I had to shut that recklessly flapping mouth and run.
I bit down hard on the hand of the knight holding me.
“Ugh!”
The knight’s grip loosened for a moment, and I tumbled off the horse.
“Lilis!”
My butt throbbed from the hard landing, but that was the least of my worries.
I sprinted toward my dad on my short legs—!
“Daaaa—oof!”
—and was caught.
Grabbed by the scruff of my neck by the Captain, I dangled in the air, choking.
My dad, his face pale, shouted.
“Damn it! Let her go!”
“*Gasp*… wait… Dad, qui-quiet.”
Fortunately, the Captain seemed to have some mercy for a child and gently adjusted his hold on me.
“*Cough, cough*. Excuse me.”
I pressed my hands together and begged like my life depended on it.
“Sir… I’m sorry.”
“……”
“I-I’m really sorry. Please spare my dad. It’s because of my hair color… Yes. I understand why you’re mistaken. I’ll go with you. I’ll go, and, right? I’ll cooperate with the investigation. Then you’ll see it’s not him. And…”
A wave of sorrow washed over me. And I started to hate the protagonist.
Why did that bastard Enoch Rubinstein have to look so much like me?
“*Sniffle*… A-Actually, I know that Enoch whatever-his-name-is guy very well. I’ll spill everything. I think I know where he’s hiding, so I’ll help you find him. So please, just let my dad go this once, and I’ll, I’ll go with you…”
I felt like a traitor selling out resistance fighters under torture, but I had no choice.
Right now, the most important thing wasn't the protagonist's well-being, but my dad's life.
“Ple-please…”
At that moment.
The Captain flinched and drew his sword.
His gaze wasn't on me, but on my dad behind me.
I instinctively turned to look.
‘…Dad?’
He wore a frightening expression I had never seen before.
A blue aura flickered over the old fire poker he held like a sword.
I rubbed my eyes and looked again.
‘W-What is that?’
A strange current flowed around Dad.
Though not a single breeze blew, his hair and the hem of his clothes began to flutter.
And in the next moment.
My dad’s brown hair and brown eyes, the very symbol of a background extra…
Slowly began to change.
“Whoa.”
They transformed into the dazzling silver hair and piercing blue eyes that screamed, “I’m the protagonist!”
My tears dried up instantly.
It was a mortifying moment for me, who had just been crying my eyes out, insisting they had the wrong person.
‘H-Hey? The 27-year-old single dad raising his young daughter alone in a mountain village…’
…Mr. James? Is this right?
