How to Replace Dad 18
Luciarno let out a laugh that seemed incredulous, then narrowed his eyes.
“Three years ago, Ain’s madness began. His mother had been in and out of the hospital countless times due to stress. If what you say is true, he’s been hiding it from his mother and servants for three years.”
“Yes.”
“How did you notice that?”
I suspected from the beginning.
In the game, there was no mention of the prince going mad, which bothered me.
But I couldn’t say that, so I only told the process that led to certainty.
“Just because I only eat your food.”
“…What?”
“Um, to explain, when I first started cooking for Prince Ain, the chefs came to bother me.”
I thought it was because I was afraid of losing the chance to impress the prince.
But thinking about it, it was strange.
“There’s no reason for the mad prince to notice me, right?”
“So?”
“I was given a mission by Prince Gaspar. To put poison in Prince Ain’s food.”
Just to be sure, I secretly followed the head chef and saw that he was indeed coming in and out of Prince Gaspar’s barracks.
He must have been busy moving around early in the morning.
Thanks to that, I’m still sleep-deprived.
I also secretly took the medicine Prince Gaspar gave the head chef and examined it.
It wasn’t a dangerous medicine.
It seemed designed to gradually weaken and bring him down.
If Prince Ain fell, it would be easy to take over his barracks or body.
That’s why Prince Ain used the excuse of madness to not eat food.
“Other chefs sent dishes with a bit of poison, but you saw through it perfectly and insisted on eating only my food.”
“Did you know beforehand which dishes had been tampered with?”
“Yes. If someone like that isn’t mad.”
Luciarno had a satisfied expression.
“Impressive.”
“Yes. I’m surprised you’ve been acting for so many years.”
“No. It’s you.”
In the quiet warehouse, he looked at me with strange eyes.
For a long time, quietly.
Uncomfortable with that steady gaze, I turned my eyes away.
Then, Luciarno smiled and spoke again.
“Brother, do you know?”
“…What?”
“That it’s a waste of a good thing.”
“…?”
Confused, I blinked, and he tossed something at me.
What I caught was a small pouch.
What is this?
When I opened it, my eyes widened.
Jewels.
There were pearls in the jade, even diamonds.
“Th-this…”
I stammered in surprise, and he said.
“Instead of the imperial jade that Ain gave.”
Yesterday, I gave up the imperial jade and fed food to Prince Ain.
I thought it was a bit of a waste, but how did you know?
I bowed deeply.
“I’ll work hard!”
Even as a slave, being a servant in a great house is good, and with a prince like Luciarno, the connections are huge.
In one night, I earned enough to pay my mother’s nursing care for a year, and I smiled brightly.
***
But I have to pay back the debt.
To fulfill the promise of nursing care, I moved busily.
I observed Prince Ain closely to learn what he usually did.
Of course, I didn’t forget to spy on his surroundings.
And I communicated busily with Luciarno.
Luciarno temporarily stopped his northern expedition to give me time to observe Prince Ain.
It was good support.
And on the third night since arriving at the military camp.
I was now trying to seduce the servants.
“Is this made for us?”
“Yes. It’s hotteok and misugaru. Eat before the meal.”
“Ooh…!”
The servants were excited and ate the hotteok.
When they complained about burning their mouths from eating too fast, I offered the misugaru with ice cubes.
The hotteok, baked like a mountain, was soon gone.
Now, this means…
“Ah, I’m sleepy.”
“Yeah, me too…”
The sugar spike was bringing on drowsiness.
Especially on nights like this.
On a night when energy was already drained, how could I not fall asleep?
I hated working with all my might.
“I have to clean the snake cage.”
“I studied so hard to pass the difficult exam and became a palace servant, but I have to take care of a snake…”
“Is it just a snake? I almost died cleaning the cage…”
The servants muttered with half-closed eyes.
I was pretending to clean the bowls and listening to their stories, then my eyes widened.
Good, opportunity.
“If it’s cleaning, can I do it?”
“Really?”
The servants looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“Yes, I worked in the breeding ground and cleaned animal pens a lot.”
“It would be good, but…”
One servant looked at me suspiciously.
“Why are you being so nice to us?”
I knew this question would come.
Normally, if someone is too nice, you get suspicious.
I gave the prepared excuse.
“I was assigned here for a short time thanks to the consideration of Colonel Rani. If I can build a connection with the palace servants, I…”
When I trailed off, the servants laughed and said “Aha.”
“You need a job.”
“If so, we can help.”
“We’ve received help from you several times.”
I smiled and bowed to the servants.
“Thank you. Please leave the cage cleaning to me.”
“Yes. When you come to the capital, come find me. I’ll arrange a good place.”
The servants laughed heartily.
Then, after saying good luck, they yawned and left.
I quickly entered Prince Ain’s barracks.
The prince’s barracks was empty.
No problem.
First, I need to check Yeppi.
I looked around and quickly approached the Death Servant Yeppi.
Yeppi, who was curling up in the cage, made a shick sound.
“Hello, Yeppi. Are you hungry?”
And I pushed a small piece of raw chicken I cut into the cage.
Yeppi just made the shick sound and didn’t eat the chicken.
“After all, you’re you. …Tracking Orb.”
That’s right.
Tracking Orb isn’t an item. It’s an animal.
More precisely, making an animal into a Tracking Orb.
The process is like this.
1. Feed a special item to the animal you want to make into a Tracking Orb.
2. When the item melts in the animal’s body, it’s complete.
3. Feed it steadily for more than two weeks with something related to the target you want to track.
Then, to not mistake the tracking target, the Tracking Orb doesn’t eat other food.
Just like Yeppi not eating the chicken.
I found the answer and laughed.
I thought Yeppi was a trap and there might be other animals, but animals are hard to hide secretly.
But there was something strange.
Why make a Death Servant into a Tracking Orb?
I couldn’t understand no matter how I thought.
“It’s too big for a Death Servant…”
Just as I was muttering.
“I didn’t know it would grow this big. I chose it thinking it was just a normal snake.”
“…!”
At the voice from behind, I froze.
It was Prince Ain’s voice.
Even though the owner of the barracks had arrived, I couldn’t turn around.
Because the content of what he said was significant.
My words could be interpreted as wondering why he was raising a Death Servant.
But Prince Ain accurately guessed my inner thought that I didn’t know why he chose a Death Servant as a Tracking Orb.
His footsteps approached.
“Death Servant babies are easy to mistake for snakes, right?”
He came in front of me squatting in front of the cage and matched his gaze with me.
Prince Ain said.
“The reason I chose a Death Servant as a Tracking Orb is that.”
“….”
“Why no answer. I have to cut you off here.”
“How did you notice?”
I quietly looked into Prince Ain’s eyes.
“Um. I didn’t expect you to be honest so soon. Why did you choose that side?”
“I thought you’d say you don’t know what I’m talking about. Then you were going to cut off my head, right?”
“That’s too cruel. I was going to spare you by tearing your mouth. Because your stew was delicious, as a reward.”
Prince Ain stood up.
And he sat on the edge of the bed and crossed his legs.
I also stood up and approached him.
I stopped at a certain distance and looked at him.
Prince Ain was looking at me with an interesting expression.
“Are you not running away because you think your back is protected by me, Brother Luciarno?”
“….”
“Did you think I didn’t know? You underestimated me too much.”
“….”
“Gaspar is easy to deal with, but Brother Luciarno isn’t, right? So I thought I had to pretend to be dealt with.”
That’s why he let me into the barracks and ate my food.
To lower Luciarno’s guard by having a spy nearby.
I stared at him.
“Why did you reveal your inner thoughts without pretending to be dealt with?”
“You know how to check Tracking Orbs, so it’s natural to handle it.”
He gestured towards the raw chicken in front of Yeppi and continued.
“I won’t kill you, so don’t worry.”
He knocked on the table next to the bed.
From outside the barracks, sturdy men entered.
It seemed they were the ones Prince Ain secretly kept.
“It’s just to go very far by boat and do the work from the military camp. The name will be different, but, say, slave number 34?”
I flinched, and he waved his hand with a sweet expression.
“Then, go well.”
The sturdy men started approaching me.
I looked at the curtain instead of the door with a stiff face.
Prince Ain groaned.
“Running away? It’ll be hard. They are seasoned assassins.”
“You hired assassins too? You could have used mercenaries.”
“You’re naive, being the daughter of a great family. Look for an opportunity to deal with Brother or Prince Gaspar.”
“I was waiting for that.”
“What?”
Prince Ain looked at me as if I was talking nonsense.
At that moment.
The curtain was cut in half and fell to the floor with a thud.
And the face revealed was….
“Unfortunately, Ain.”
…Luciarno.
***
Prince Ain’s face hardened instantly.
Prince Ain, who was looking at Luciarno with disbelief, turned his gaze to me.
How….
Then he shouted at me standing silently.
“Answer!”
“If I thought it was impossible to steal a Tracking Orb because it’s too big, then…”
“So?”
The next answer wasn’t mine.
Luciarno strode into the barracks and said.
“He said he’d get it another way.”
I thought if I noticed the Tracking Orb, Prince Ain would try to eliminate me.
The method would naturally be illegal.
He was aiming for that moment to catch a weakness.
It was very grateful that he brought assassins.
“The Emperor has strictly forbidden contact with illegal organizations. If it’s known, you’ll be in great trouble.”
Prince Ain laughed.
“Would His Majesty believe Brother Luciarno’s words?”
“If I add my testimony…”
With that word, another person appeared.
Colonel Rani and soldiers.
Of course, I had called them with Luciarno in advance.
More witnesses are better.
Prince Ain’s face became even harder.
He glared at me and stood up.
“I won’t let you go!”
At that moment, Luciarno twisted Prince Ain’s wrist and suppressed him.
Luciarno said with a cold gaze.
“Don’t touch my potato.”
“What?”
Soon Colonel Rani said to Prince Ain.
“Don’t make the situation more complicated.”
It meant that if you commit a crime, I will immediately tell the Emperor what you did.
Prince Ain gritted his teeth.
But then he sat on the bed.
***
“This is a Tracking Orb.”
Luciarno looked at Yeppi in the cage and said.
I nodded.
“If you release it, it will start tracking on its own.”
“If a monster roams the civilian areas, there will be chaos.”
“What if I tell the lord in advance? Death Servants are monsters that have the skill to find water veins.”
“To find water veins, I’ll release it, so calm the people?”
“That’s right.”
“Not a bad idea.”
As we were talking in front of the cage, a frustrated shout came from behind.
“How long are you going to sit here and die!”
It was Prince Ain’s voice.
That’s right.
We were still in Prince Ain’s barracks with Yeppi, talking inside.
Of course, everyone else was left outside.
The only ones in the barracks were me, Luciarno, and Prince Ain.
I was squatting in front of the cage and only turning my head to look at Prince Ain.
“Until the prince makes a choice.”
“Whether to handle the incident of handing over the Tracking Orb and hiring assassins, or to be caught red-handed and lose the Tracking Orb?”
Does that sound like a choice?
Prince Ain glared at me.
I said firmly.
“No.”
“Or?”
“Whether to hand over the Tracking Orb to Prince Luciarno and become an ally, or to be robbed of the Tracking Orb and become an enemy.”
“…Ally?”
Prince Ain’s voice became strange.
It was now or never, so I pointed at Luciarno with both thumbs.
“This person is the son of the Empress and the First Imperial Consort who is hard to compare in status, and his maternal grandfather was a minister among the seven great houses, and I am the prince most trusted by the Emperor.”
“…”
“…”
Suddenly appealing so hard to Luciarno, the two princes looked at me with incredulous expressions.
Nevertheless, I continued speaking earnestly.
“However, in the power struggle between the First Prince with the maternal grandfather from the seven great houses, due to being the younger brother, he is in a slightly disadvantaged position…”
“My position is unfortunate because you handed over my achievement to the First Prince.”
“…Anyway.”
I avoided Luciarno’s gaze and looked at Prince Ain.
“If you board now, it’s a jackpot with guaranteed high returns.”
“Jackpot?”
“It’s a star with an enormous jackpot expected. That’s right.”
Prince Ain let out a hollow laugh.
“Anyway, with my humble family power, I can’t become emperor, so give up and follow Brother Luciarno?”
He said it sarcastically, but I replied in a calm tone.
“It’s to aim for the future.”
“What?”
“While pretending to be mad, you were aiming for an opportunity, so aim for another opportunity next to Prince Luciarno.”
“…”
“Until Prince Luciarno gets rid of all the princes with great in-laws.”
Luciarno laughed.
“You’re not supposed to say that in front of me.”
“Will you accept it?”
“There’s no way.”
This time, I looked at Prince Ain.
“Will you not be able to seize the opportunity next to Prince Luciarno?”
“…There’s no way.”
The gazes of Prince Ain and Luciarno fiercely collided in the air.
Prince Ain said.
“If it’s a temporary alliance, it’s not bad.”
“Exchange the information you know.”
“Understood. …And one more thing.”
Prince Ain and Luciarno approached each other.
Prince Ain said.
“I want to use this potato.”
“No. That potato is not allowed.”
Why are they like that.
This potato belongs to the Irregular.