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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: A Father's Fury
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Dad, who had reverted to his true form at some point, wore a blank expression.
“What? Dad?”
“Heh heh. Must be that big, bad daddy the little brat was talking about, eh?”
Creg mocked.
Neither of them recognized my dad, whose face was not yet known in the capital.
“W-What? You here to save your daughter? What’s with the confidence? You think we’re just gonna say, ‘Yes, sir, here she is,’ and hand her over? Should’ve kept a better eye on your pretty little girl, then, shouldn’t you?”
The fat man, snickering, was secretly pulling a dagger from his back pocket.
“D-Daaaad! Watch out!”
His arm, belying his sluggish body, swung with considerable speed.
*Smack.*
But my worries were for naught. Dad caught his wrist with one hand.
“W-What… Ugh!”
He then yanked him forward and dragged him out the door.
“Aaargh!”
Grabbing the back of the fat man’s neck as his arm was twisted, Dad shoved him sideways, toppling him over.
*Thud.* I heard something shatter.
‘Ugh.’
Thankfully, I couldn’t see the gruesome scene unfolding outside the door.
“…”
As Dad strode into the room, Creg dropped me like a sack and grabbed his sword.
“You’ve got some moves, huh?”
“…”
“Too bad for you. That oaf might be one thing, but I’ll be a lot tougher. You see, I’ve lived my whole life by the sword.”
With a look of utter confidence, Creg gripped a sword in each hand and lunged at Dad as if taking flight.
*Crack, crack!*
“Uh…”
But before the blades could even touch my dad, Creg screamed.
“Aaaaargh!”
Struck precisely on both wrists, his bones instantly shattered, and he collapsed to the floor.
“Hah, ugh, ah… What… what is this.”
Dad grabbed the agonized Creg by the neck, slammed him to the floor, and mounted him.
“Gack!”
It was then.
When I saw my dad’s eyes, my tears instantly stopped.
‘Dad is scary.’
Killing intent…
Even when he’d faced the Holy Knights in Zenon, Dad hadn’t had that look in his eyes.
He must have subconsciously known the knights wouldn’t truly harm me.
But this was different.
If Dad had been even a moment later, there was no telling what would have happened to me.
“…”
Dad’s clenched fist rose high into the air, as if to smash into Creg’s face.
I covered my eyes with both hands.
But the terrifying sound never came.
When I cautiously lowered my hands, Dad was frozen in place, taking deep breaths.
His body trembled for a long moment as if trying to swallow his rage, then he pressed his palm against Creg’s forehead.
*Sizzle.*
With the sound, Creg’s body convulsed before he passed out.
“D-Dad…”
Dad stood up and slowly approached me.
His steps were a little unsteady. The hand that reached out to open the cage door was trembling.
*Clang.*
It was locked.
“Hoo.”
Dad squeezed his eyes shut.
The sight of him trying to contain his anger was more frightening than the anger itself.
“Daaad…”
“I’m sorry, Princess.”
*Crack!* He channeled a bit of power into it, and the lock shattered with a deafening noise.
With a creak, the cage door opened, and Dad reached his arms inside.
“Come here.”
***
“Dad, I’m sorry… It’s my fault for wanting to come out and see the festival…”
The moment I was in his arms, my daughter, who had been sobbing as if the world were ending, uttered those words before passing out as if in a dead faint.
It felt like my world was collapsing.
Why was this little child saying she was sorry?
The ones who should be sorry were himself and the other adults, who could only provide such a wretched place for her to live.
“No, Princess. I’m the one who’s sorry. I am…”
Though he had already caused a huge commotion, making it pointless, Enoch concealed his true form again and stepped outside.
An unexpected face was there.
Axion.
And next to him, Chessier.
‘The boy, how reckless. Did he go looking for Axion?’
When the announcer had blurted out the criminals’ hideout, Chessier had run off somewhere without a second glance.
Enoch had been worried about him, but time was short, so he had gone to Lilis first.
“How many are inside?”
“Two.”
When Axion asked, Enoch answered curtly before looking down at Chessier.
“You had me worried. What were you thinking, running around alone in a dangerous place like this? And I’m sorry. I was in a rush to save Lilis…”
Chessier’s expression turned peculiar.
Was he apologizing for not being able to look after him when he had run off on his own?
He was, as always, a strange man.
“No. I’m the one who’s sorry. For not being able to do anything.”
“…? What are you talking about now? Hah, I don’t know why the children in my house make me feel like such a useless adult.”
“As long as you know.”
Axion chided the sighing Enoch.
“Axion. By the way, these guys were part of that organization. The rest of them…”
“Don’t worry. Some guy had already taken care of them. Over there.”
Axion jutted his chin.
Enoch looked over and was surprised.
He saw Billy dusting off his hands in front of the remaining gang members, who had been beaten to a pulp and knocked unconscious.
“Sir, you haven’t gone home yet?”
Billy greeted him warmly as he approached.
“Oh, young man. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you? I came back because of the commotion. Hey, they said these guys deserved to be strung up upside down and beaten for ten days and nights, so I showed off my skills for the first time in a while.”
“Wow, I knew those muscles weren’t just for show.”
“Gahaha!! Is the little princess alright?”
Billy looked at Lilis in his arms with concern.
“Yes. She seems to have fallen asleep from exhaustion.”
“Oh, my.”
Billy clicked his tongue and scratched his head.
“The world’s really gone to the dogs… When will our kids be able to roam around without a care?”
“…I know.”
“Oh, right! This!”
What Billy held out was…
Princess Lala’s shoes.
“Why are you giving me this?”
“Haha, it wasn’t a fair competition, was it? I can just work and buy one for my Emily.”
“Haha…”
“You went through a lot today, young man. You have to stop by my pub sometime! We’ll have a beer together!”
Enoch smiled and nodded.
***
Early that morning.
The disturbance in the capital was immediately reported to the Emperor.
“What did you say?”
The Emperor ground his teeth as the aide finished his report.
“How dare those insects… Do they have any idea what they were messing with?”
Enoch’s daughter was a leash he had spent seven long years carefully crafting.
What would have happened if things had gone even slightly wrong?
“So.”
“Axion Libre was already investigating them personally, Your Majesty. All involved have been captured, and it seems he will punish them under his authority.”
“Ah, let’s not do that.”
The Emperor waved his hand dismissively.
“We’ll handle it through the Imperial Palace.”
“Pardon?”
“By my command. Execute the insects in the most extreme manner possible. So that no one would even dream of attempting such a thing again. And…”
The Emperor stroked his chin and added.
“Axion’s authority won’t extend to the nobility. Find the nobles involved and punish them all at once.”
The aide’s eyes widened.
“But the nobles are innocent in this matter, Your Majesty.”
Weren’t the commoners just stray dogs roaming the streets?
In this incident, the nobles had merely paid to purchase a few pretty little strays.
“Why would you risk incurring the nobles’ displeasure in your own name?”
The aide was bewildered.
To the Emperor, non-ability users and commoners were not citizens of the Empire.
It was strange enough that he would issue an imperial decree to punish commoners in his own name…
But ordering the arrest of nobles as well was even more incomprehensible.
“Our righteous, old-fashioned Sir Enoch likes this sort of thing. He must be quite angry…”
“…”
“As her master, I should at least show this much sincerity.”
The Emperor smiled like a serpent.
***
*Blink, blink.*
I opened my eyes to the sunlight streaming through the window. It was morning.
‘Huh.’
Why is it morning? Come to think of it, I had no memory of what happened after I was in Dad’s arms.
I must have fallen asleep right away, my tension finally released.
“My ladyyyy!”
“You’re awake? Are you alright? Oh, my lady, what are we to do? Are you hurt anywhere?”
The moment I sat up, Jun and Jeti rushed over like a lightning bolt.
“Where’s Dad…? Where are Dad and Chessier? Is Chessier hurt?”
“The Duke was here until just a moment ago, but he left after we arrived. He probably went to deal with what happened yesterday.”
“Chessier is safe, too. That poor boy didn’t sleep a wink, staying by your side… We practically had to push him out the door to get some rest.”
“Oh, I see.”
I was relieved.
But that relief was short-lived.
I was flustered by their reactions, which suggested they knew all about yesterday’s incident.
“Uh, you two. Do you know everything that happened to me yesterday? Don’t tell me Grandpa knows too?”
It would be a disaster if my grandfather found out.
If he learned that I not only snuck out to the festival but also got into trouble, my dad would probably get an earful from him.
No, he might have already gotten it…
“Uh, well.”
“Ah, about that.”
For some reason, Jeti and Jun exchanged glances.
Then Jeti spoke quietly.
“Don’t worry. The master of the house doesn’t know anything yet. In fact, no one in this house knows you snuck out yesterday.”
“That’s right. We found out you were in an accident because, umm… the boss? Yes, the boss told us.”
“The boss? Ahh!”
She must mean Rico. I nonchalantly scratched my cheek and feigned ignorance.
Although I know their true identities, we tend not to speak of it openly.
A sort of unspoken agreement, you could say.
“My lady, shall we get you washed up?”
“Okay.”
As Jeti washed my face with warm water, I asked.
“By the way, how did Rico—I mean, the boss—find out?”
“The boss was very worried about you going out to play yesterday. There have been a lot of child disappearances in the capital lately.”
“Aha, I see. But I only told you two about my plan to sneak out yesterday.”
Jeti flinched, then smiled.
“Ahem. I apologize. Please understand. It’s our duty to report on the every move of the ducal family members.”
“Ahaha! Yes, I understand.”
“Anyway, that’s why the boss assigned about ten undercover guards to you. The Duke was with you, but you never know what might happen.”
“Whaaaat?”
Seriously, was all that necessary? Seeing my surprise, Jun chuckled.
“It’s not that the Duke couldn’t have saved you, but even if something unexpected had happened, you would have been safe.”
“You didn’t have to go that far, I feel bad… Besides, my dad would notice if you put people on me like that.”
“Oh, not at all. We, the …”
“Hey, Jun!”
Jeti shot Jun a look, and Jun laughed it off, correcting herself.
“…I mean, our colleagues? Yes, our colleagues are all trained veterans.”
“But my dad’s a Sword Master. Like, like… he can sense if someone’s tailing him.”
Jun grinned.
“Tailing is for amateurs. Even the Duke wouldn’t have known. I heard one of our colleagues even shook hands and introduced himself to the Duke yesterday.”
“…What?”
What was she talking about? I blinked a few times, then gasped in shock.
Could it be?
“B-B-Billy?”
Jeti and Jun burst into laughter.
