How to Replace Dad
Two hours ago, time rewound.
The meeting flowed smoothly.
I introduced the histories of the vassals and guided them on the missions they were assigned.
Up to that point, it was the flow I had expected.
‘When the issue of my vassal appointments comes up, that’s when the real problems will start.’
Fortunately, he was a noble.
He had been stripped of his title due to some political mishap, and all his family except him had died.
So, the minimum conditions for becoming a vassal were met.
But the vassals in the area around the Three Yuan Luo jurisdiction all hold titles.
The question was whether they would accept being vassals without a title.
But then....
“If it is the lord's will, how could we possibly oppose?”
The chairman of the council answered readily.
‘This easily?’
The vice lord glanced at the lord.
The lord stared silently at the chairman of the council.
“I don’t like beating around the bush. What do you want?”
“Haha, how embarrassing. But communication will be smooth.”
With those words, the chairman of the council looked around at the vassals.
The conversation was already over.
The chairman said,
“The lord is the adopted son of the San Miguel family.”
That’s right. To become lord, he had taken the entire San Miguel viscountcy from the previous viscount.
From there, things were starting to feel uneasy.
The vice lord frowned.
“What are you talking about, including the lord’s origin?”
“The lord, along with his daughter, Lady Yustea, is also an adopted child.”
“So?”
“Arguably, there is a lack of legitimacy.”
The chairman looked at the lord.
“That is what I am saying, but please utilize my family.”
“Utilize?”
“Our Paletta family has been with Balboa from the beginning. If you take us, there will be no one to question the lord’s legitimacy.”
The vice lord frowned.
His intentions were clear.
‘He’s going to propose a marriage.’
The lord was unmarried.
He planned to marry his child and divide the lord’s power.
Thinking that far, the vice lord paused.
‘But that guy has only one son….’
At that moment.
“Marry Lady Yustea to my son.”
What?
Not the lord, but the young lady?
The vice lord froze.
The vassals from Balboa exchanged glances with chuckles.
‘A new lord who marries and has a child that grows up will take at least 20 years.’
‘There’s no way I can serve a lord like that for 20 years.’
Even though he was adopted, Yustea was Aslan’s only child, as proven by documents.
The plan was to marry Yustea first, then exile Aslan.
By making Yustea a substitute, they would seize the lordship.
Since Yustea had no backing, she couldn’t fight back, and the vassals could install the lord they wanted.
The lord opened his mouth.
“You’re in your sixties, yet you had children late?”
At that, the vice lord whispered.
“No.”
“Then.”
“The youngest is 36…”
At the moment the vice lord said that.
The lord, with a blank expression, quietly opened his mouth.
“Fucking bastard.”
The table flipped.
“Aaaah!”
The meeting room instantly became chaos.
* * *
“…That is how it came to be.”
Having heard the vice lord’s explanation, I clutched my forehead.
However, the reactions of the surrounding people were different.
“Even though the lord has become the lord, he hasn’t lost much of his personality. Should I go tear his mouth open?”
“Shooting him as a target? What about my bow? Where did it go…”
“Eh, that kind of guy is weak to a club beating.”
The squad members nodded.
I looked at the squad members with a blank face.
“Don’t tear him. Don’t shoot. Don’t beat him.”
With that, I told the squad members and crossed my arms.
I couldn’t punish them blatantly like a suggestion.
But it wasn’t good to just let it go.
I knew why they wanted to marry me.
‘After exiling the lord, they plan to use me as a substitute.’
While I was pondering, I said to the vice lord.
“Where is the lord?”
“He should be in front of the castle wall.”
…He really intends to hang himself.
I nodded, and headed to the north castle wall where the lord was.
The vassals were densely packed in front of the castle wall.
“You cannot do this!”
“You must not ignore procedures and rules!”
“If it’s like this, the only option is to seek help from the main house…!”
It was pandemonium.
The lord stood straight, watching the chairman of the council who was hanging from the castle wall.
I whispered to the lord.
“Please release him. If you do this, problems will arise in the future.
The lord looked at me.
“Do you think I am someone you need to protect?”
“Eh?”
“You’re wrong. I am the one who needs to be protected.”
“…”
I widened my eyes and looked at the lord.
The lord said.
“I have adopted you as my child. Therefore, you are the person I must protect first.”
“…”
“A person who cannot even protect their own child, how can they protect anyone?”
“…”
I couldn’t say anything.
I had never heard such words from my biological father.
‘He said he would protect me.’
To me, who had to protect even my mother, that word felt unfamiliar.
The lord said.
“So, not as the lord, but as father.”
“…”
“The title is surprisingly the best billboard.”
My words were getting stuck.
Father.
I had never thought I could call anyone father again.
My throat itched, and I couldn’t say the word father.
When I hesitated, the lord glanced at me.
‘Did he think I was displeased?’
It wasn’t that.
When I was hesitating to open my mouth, the lord said again.
“If you prefer ‘app’ (dad), then do so.”
“…”
He probably thought I was hesitating over the title.
* * *
Aslan’s room was very pretty.
The room in San Miguel Castle was good too, but it was relatively better than when I lived in the basement.
But objectively, Aslan’s room in Cuaron Castle was so good that everyone would envy it.
The walls were wainscoted with beautiful patterns carved in relief, and the wallpaper was a very light almond color.
The furniture was luxurious in white tones, and the chandelier looked like a cluster of small flowers.
The carpet was as fluffy as clouds, and the bedding was delicately embroidered.
The most liked thing was the arched large window.
There was a small terrace outside, and the maze garden made with a living hedge was visible at a glance.
And in that room, I was…
“Save me! Save me, Lord!”
“Aaaah!”
…listening to the screams.
It had been several days already.
I came out to the corridor.
The castle was like a frozen lake.
The arrogance of the Balboa-origin vassals had been greatly diminished.
To the extent that…
“Hello, Baron Delso.”
“Ah, ah, ah, hello, m-m-may I?”
They fled like the wind.
Thanks to that, the San Miguel-origin ones were excited.
“The Balboa bastards must have misjudged the person.”
“Yeah, how ruthless the lord is! I almost got my taxes stolen, and I was locked in the well for three days and nights!”
“Hahaha!”
That was it.
The vassals passing by in the corridor, Yuis whispered while watching them trembling.
“They will die of stress.”
“Isn’t it too harsh? What if they write a suicide note and report to the main house?”
“Did Andres handle it immediately when they wrote suicide notes?”
“That’s not it. There are too many other things.”
“How long did it take?”
“At least three months from starting the investigation to concluding?”
At that, Yuis smiled slyly.
“So?”
“Eh?”
“The lord said that. He said two months will engrave fear into the bones.”
“Eh, then….”
“The stone that rolled in without legitimacy. If it starts swinging, there’s no end. He said it needs to be cleaned up in one go.”
I was startled.
‘He thought that.’
I hadn’t thought that the one who inherited the title of Duke Andres was the daughter of the Duke who owned Andres Castle.
Because the biological father sat on the golden seat from birth, commanding the world.
The foreign invader who rolled in had no choice but to fight and seize it.
And the lord had thought about that point before me.
Yuis said.
“Actually, the lord’s thoughts are working.”
“Working?”
“The Balboa vassals who followed the chairman of the council seem to be preparing to attach themselves to the lord little by little.”
“Good.”
Yuis and I walked while talking about such things.
There was small talk too.
“So, when are you going to call me father?”
“…”
I walked quietly.
Several days had passed, but the title of father still didn’t come out of my mouth.
“It’s not such a difficult word. A guy who speaks fluently in plain, honorific, and ancient Korean and foreign languages.”
“…”
“I will.”
“Next year?”
“…”
“Soon.”
“Since you’ve decided, why don’t you try it now?”
Yuis lightly pushed me in front of the corner.
As a result, I was pushed out of the corner…
Bump.
I bumped my forehead on someone’s forearm.
“Ah, sorry…”
I was frozen while rubbing my forehead and speaking.
Because the person I bumped into was the lord.
The lord looked at me silently.
I flinched and looked up at him.
“…Yuis pushed me.”
“I know.”
“How…?”
“I heard your conversations.”
“Ah…”
“So?”
“Eh?”
When I looked at him as if asking what I was saying, the lord turned his head and walked away.
“Soon, right?”
—While saying that.
I just stared with wide eyes, and Yuis poked me.
“You’re trying to do it next year, right?”
“…”
“I’ll counterattack.”
“Yeah? A person who can’t even do father?”
Yuis giggled.
I turned my head.
And.
“Lord Lorenzo! Lord Lorenzo!”
“…”
I called the vice lord enthusiastically.
Yuis was dragged to the training ground.
* * *
In Aslan’s office.
Yuis, who had finished a hellish training for nearly two hours, sat on the sofa with a grin.
“Betraying the vice lord like this?”
At that, the vice lord, who was carrying documents to the lord, grabbed his head and slammed it.
“Ugh,” Yuis moaned and rubbed his head.
“It wasn’t that hard. I only joked a few times that I couldn’t call you father.”
“Making the other party uncomfortable is not a joke.”
“There’s no way I’d make you uncomfortable. I just got excited. That guy really likes me.”
“No, me.”
At that, the lord’s hand that was processing documents stopped abruptly.
The vice lord, who had placed the documents on the lord’s desk, asked.
“Why are you doing that?”
“It’s me.”
“…”
“Eh?”
The lord put down the seal and said.
“It’s the person that guy likes the most.”
“…”
“…”
The two, Yuis and the vice lord, fell silent at the unexpected words.
I don’t know why he suddenly got hooked on that, but since it was the lord’s words, I decided to answer.
“Of course, it’s me.”
“No, that’s not it.”
“No, it’s me.”
The three fell silent again.
The first to speak was Yuis.
“I can’t give exact details, but Yustea and I share each other’s secrets.”
At that, the vice lord responded.
“He said he was happy to learn life from me. He also said he wouldn’t forgive me if I insulted him.”
The last was the lord.
“I am the most handsome, right?”
“…”
“…”
“He said he likes handsome people.”
Bringing up looks there was unfair.
Yuis and the vice lord frowned with irritation.
* * *
That afternoon.
I looked at Yuis with a puzzled expression.
“What?”
“So, we share the biggest secret, right? That’s huge.”
“…”
“But?”
“So, you are the one I like the most….”
Yuis, who was shouting like that, soon turned his head with a snap.
“Enough.”
With that, he strode away.
I tilted my head.
He suddenly blocked the road and what was he saying.
The elite squad seemed a bit off today.
It was the same when I met the vice lord earlier.
“Respect is not such a great word, is it?”
“That’s right?”
“It’s not something anyone can respect, after all.”
“Yes.”
“So, the person you can clearly say you respect the most is….”
“…”
“…”
“No.”
With that, he left.
While I was thinking that.
“Good night. Young lady.”
“I greet you, young lady.”
I faced the squad led by Yuis.
When I nodded, the squad said.
“I heard Yuis went to see you, but didn’t you see him?”
They were looking for Yuis.
I said.
“He left just now.”
“Ugh. I had something urgent to tell you.”
“What’s going on?”
“The chairman of the council’s condition is suspicious.”
“Condition?”
“He was tied to the castle wall yesterday, but wasn’t he released not long ago?”
“Yeah. And he said he wouldn’t come out of the mansion?”
“No.”
I was startled and looked at the squad.
“What are you talking about?”
“The infiltrator into the chairman’s mansion said that from this morning, no food has been brought into the chairman’s bedroom. And the young man is not visible either.”
“Then?”
“There were footprints of the chairman and the young man’s in the back door. They have left the mansion.”
The chairman and the young man secretly left.
Why?
They would have sent the suicide note to the main house.
‘If there was something else to move secretly… trying to harm the lord?’
But the lord is in the castle protected by the military.
‘I can’t harm such a lord… no way.’
I opened my eyes wide.
“Where is the lord?”
“I heard he has been in the office the whole time.”
“Bring the soldiers and doctors to the office!”
I rushed hurriedly.
It’s not just swords that kill people.
This is Balboa.
A place where extreme poison like Ingu is produced.
It wouldn’t be strange if there was some unknown extreme poison in this area.
‘The chairman’s family said they started with Balboa.’
It wouldn’t be strange if they knew the secret passage to Balboa Castle.
If they poisoned the lord…?
If no food has been brought since morning, it wouldn’t be strange if they had entered the castle by now.
‘No… no…!’
I ran in a daze until my foot got tangled and I fell.
The startled servants tried to support me, but I got up in a hurry and ran.
“You said it’s difficult to answer when asked.”
That was what he said.
“It’s only natural to save the guy who went for my sake when he’s in danger.”
He came to get me.
“I have adopted you as my child. Therefore, you are the person I must protect first.”
He said he would protect me.
My whole body felt as if it was freezing.
I didn’t know if I was moving properly because my body was trembling.
Scared.
Too scared….
The time to head to Aslan’s office felt like an eternity.
Nothing around me was visible.
I could only see the door of the office.
I kicked the door open and shouted.
“Dad─!”
With all my strength, the balance broke after kicking.
I sat on the floor, panting, and looked ahead.
But…
“…”
I muttered blankly.
The lord was standing fine.
And in front of him, two people kneeling: the chairman of the council and the young man.
Around the lord, Yuis, Antonio, and the vice lord appeared.
The lord was staring at me blankly.
“…Dad?”
—While saying that.