How to Replace Dad
A hellish silence flowed through the study.
It was thicker than before.
After a while, one of the elites opened their mouth.
[Did something happen to your ears?]
[If it's about childcare, it seems you heard it correctly. Haha....]
Even Uis and the vice-commander furrowed their brows.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Yes, please explain in detail.”
Aslan said in a cold tone.
“Word for word.”
“...Eh?”
“Eh?!”
[Did... did she get pregnant?]
When they reached the conclusion that she got pregnant, the vice-commander and Uis swallowed dry saliva.
“It is a cause for celebration, but... in this busy time, a child... Considering the dangers ahead, one squad should be assigned for escort... No, we don't have enough members to pull out squad by squad...”
The vice-commander was the first to suffer.
“Damn it. Really...”
At the moment the elites in the magic realm were suffering, Antonio stared at the commander.
“Then the young lady becomes the new commander?”
Uis said with a tone mixed with irritation.
“This idiot, why is he spouting nonsense. Where did Yustea come from.”
“If the commander raises the young lady, she becomes the successor. The successor of the commander is our new commander.”
“What are you talking about...”
Antonio frowned.
“Are you all idiots? The commander is a hermaphrodite? You haven't even met a woman, how can you make a child.”
The elites were startled.
Uis swallowed dry saliva.
“Who is it... No, really, are they going to adopt Yustea as their child?”
The elites looked at the commander simultaneously.
The commander answered casually.
“Yeah.”
“...!”
“...!!”
The elites in the magic realm froze.
“Just not banishing them right now is shocking enough, adopting as a real daughter?”
The elites were in an uproar, but the commander had a nonchalant face.
“So, investigate properly. Childcare.”
It was not at a level that could be persuaded.
The elites in the magic realm clutched their heads.
The butterfly that mixed into the Irregulars was eventually bringing a storm.
***
The next morning.
Even though the sun had risen for a while, I couldn't get out of bed.
Gripping the blanket, I stared into space.
“Yustea, I don't know about parental love.”
“...”
“I can't guarantee that I can properly learn it from now on.”
“...”
“But if it's okay, even this inadequate guy is okay.”
“...”
“I really want to be your father.”
“Wow...”
It was the fourth time I had dug into memories, but every single word was remembered.
It wasn't a dream.
It was clearly reality.
“Wow...”
It was the fourth time I let out a sigh.
At that moment, a knock on the door sounded.
“Young lady, breakfast is ready in the dining room.”
It was Chary's voice.
Only then did I hurriedly get up from bed.
“Yeah, I'll be out soon.”
I hurriedly prepared and left the room.
On the way to the dining room, Chary said in a bright voice.
“Today's menu is paella. Young lady, you like it, right?”
“Uh...”
“The chairman of the board of directors and the rich man from yesterday's medical association attacked the commander, right? They were caught and sent to the underground prison.”
“Yeah...”
“An emergency meeting was held at night, it was chaos. They said it's treason and death penalty. The vassals have become so obedient, how much they've calmed down...”
“I see...”
“Young lady?”
When I answered vaguely, Chary tilted her head and looked at me.
“Huh?”
“Why?”
“Well... no.”
“Are you not feeling well?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it's good... Ah, it's the commander.”
Chary smiled brightly and looked at the men walking ahead.
“They're going to eat, if we eat breakfast together... young lady?”
Chary called me again.
It was because I quickly hid behind a pillar.
I stuck to the pillar and said.
“Chary, let's eat in the barracks.”
“I have to escort the young lady...?”
“I'm fine. I don't feel hungry.”
“...?”
I quickly turned around.
I felt Chary looking at me strangely, but I couldn't answer.
There was no special reason.
I just don't know how to act when I'm happy...
***
At that time, in the commander's study.
The vice-commander and Uis looked at each other.
“What do you think?”
“...Well, I didn't wish for Yustea to be banished either. Vice-commander, you too?”
“Yeah.”
“But why are you uneasy?”
“It must be because of that.”
The two men's gazes turned to the commander and Antonio.
The commander was looking at the books Antonio brought from the library.
The titles were like this.
<The Baby is Raised by Parents>
<Beginner's Dad's Reason Diet Challenge>
<Childcare Bible Starting from Developmental Characteristics>
<Please Teach Me, Teacher~ How to Become a Loving Dad Even in Adolescence~>
“...”
“...”
It's a bit much.
No, a lot...
Antonio held up and said.
“Do we need this?”
The commander nodded with a serious face.
“You have to hug.”
“Yeah, that's true.”
“Next.”
“Then <If you want to be called Sweetie by your adult daughter, read this book>?”
“Not bad.”
I want to die.
The vice-commander and Uis shook their heads simultaneously.
No matter how you look at it, the commander was trying.
Even in the busy time, he read the youth education books (thanks to Uis's protest that the childcare period was already over) seriously.
The vice-commander was exhausted.
It was because the elites scattered across the places made the vice-commander's communication device ring like it was on fire.
[Are you going to do this? The path to becoming a duke is already dangerous, and it's the daughter of Andres? Do you think it's possible?]
[This time, Cesar's opinion is correct. If you need a child, it's not necessary to be that child.]
[It's because I asked Cesar to contact. Haha... But I agree with the word difficult situation.]
The vice-commander became depleted in just half a day.
Uis was suffering too.
“Next, this book would be better.”
“... Fifteen years old, what are you going to do by learning developmental characteristics from the beginning. They're already fully developed.”
“Then bring the book that says how to cover the blanket.”
“Covering the blanket is easy, just cover it... If you cover it all the way to the head, you won't die.”
“Babies die if you press only the head.”
“That's for the story of a newborn who didn't close the great door...”
“Don't they look fragile like babies?”
“Yustea carries a backpack that is only half her body size. She is healthier than normal girls!”
I received all kinds of questions.
Because the elites were the most familiar with women.
Answering questions was tiring, and the commander even frowned at the answers.
“You often fall over. You're not healthy.”
“Even adult men would fall if they jump off a carriage or get involved in a fire accident.”
“You're smaller than your peers. Look, the book says that if it's that age, the average is 165 cm.”
“That's because it's still growing, so you have to wait until they grow... I'm going crazy, really.”
The commander was serious about raising a child.
Seriously...
In the end, Antonio, Uis, and the vice-commander had to stick to the commander all day for two days because of the crime of being in Cuaron Castle.
Well, Antonio seemed to be enjoying it with Uis and the vice-commander.
“Having a 15-year birthday party?”
“...It might not be bad.”
The vice-commander and Uis shouted.
“Even with one ribbon, there are 2,200 potatoes, so it's burdensome.”
“Moreover, it's 14 years. The 15th birthday hasn't come yet.”
“Are you serious?”
“...Whoops.”
The vice-commander and Uis sighed as if the ground had disappeared.
Uis looked up at the sun high in the sky and said.
“But Yustea...”
The commander glanced at him.
Uis cleared his throat and changed the subject.
“Young lady hasn't woken up yet?”
The commander's expression changed.
Even if she slept until the next day after crying yesterday, she wouldn't show her face all day today.
She's a quick riser.
Antonio said.
“Is your body not feeling well?”
Yustea was sensitive to others' business but very careless about her own.
Since she often hid her pain, it was worrying.
“Shall I check?”
The vice-commander asked, and the commander got up.
“I'll go.”
The commander and the elites left the room.
While walking the corridor.
“Should the guard log be written in code? Official documents should be written in code, but for guard logs, plain language is fine.”
Yustea's voice came from afar.
Antonio had a happy expression.
“It seems like she's not sick.”
With that, Antonio raised his arm.
“Young la─.”
But at that moment.
Shick.
Yustea disappeared like lightning.
“...?”
“...??”
The elites had bewildered expressions.
Thinking they didn't hear, they searched for Yustea again.
But...
“Young lady.”
Shick.
Disappeared again.
Next time too.
“Young lady!”
Shick.
Again and next...
It was clear.
Yustea was avoiding them.
Uis looked at the commander.
“Yustea... What did you talk about with the young lady last time?”
“I said I want to be a father.”
“So what did she say?”
“She said 'yes' while crying.”
Then Antonio said “Ah.”
“She must have hated it a lot...”
Then the commander furrowed his brows.
“What?”
“She hated it a lot, but since there's nowhere else to go, she couldn't disobey the commander's words?”
“...”
“Originally, becoming a sugar daughter was also because of the mission. From the young lady's perspective, the commander is her superior.”
“...”
“If a superior suddenly says they're adopting you as a real daughter... wow, no.”
“...”
The commander looked at the vice-commander and Uis.
The vice-commander and Uis quickly turned their gazes away.
There was no reason to avoid it otherwise.
***
I arrived in front of the gazebo in the garden and breathed heavily.
Every time I faced the commander, I ran away madly, it was killing me.
Chary looked at me with a strange expression.
“Did the commander say he would kill you if he sees you?”
“No!”
I was startled and shouted.
“The commander is not like that. He's a really good person.”
“But why are you running away like that?”
“...It's a habit.”
I let out a deep sigh.
I was used to suppressing bad feelings, but not good feelings or happiness.
My face gets hot, my lips become sloppy, and I don't want to show my ugly face.
The Andres people hated my such expression as lacking manners.
So, I became used to hiding.
“I have to fix it.”
Even though I think that every time, my feet move on their own.
What if the commander dislikes me.
So, if I cancel the words about adopting as a daughter....
Then....
I hit my head with both hands.
Chary jumped up with “Ouch!”
“Why are you hitting? Hit Antonio-nim instead!”
“During dinner, I'll go to the commander.”
“Shall I tell him to have dinner together?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
Chary left at a brisk pace to convey the news.
I sat on the gazebo bench and sighed.
“Put strength in my legs, lift the corners of my mouth. And say that the commander's words yesterday were happy.”
Recalling the sequence like learning a greeting and calming my mind.
At that moment, Chary came back.
“Young lady, the commander said breakfast is ready.”
I sat up startled.
“Was he in a bad mood?”
Of course.
Who would like someone who runs away the moment they give such a good opportunity.
I clenched my fists.
“I have to apologize. After apologizing...”
Swallowing dry saliva, Chary continued.
“He said not to see him before eating.”
“...Eh?”
“Here.”
Chary gestured towards the back of the gazebo.
When I looked back, I saw the familiar collar.
“...”
I couldn't say anything and just stared at where the collar was.
A low voice echoed in the quiet gazebo.
“Even if it's hated, it can't be undone.”
“...”
“I won't do something like banishment.”
“...”
“Since I already decided to adopt as a child, try to change your mind.”
“...”
“I am learning childcare... education methods too. I will be a better father than the Andres marquis. So...”
He hesitated.
It was because I grabbed his collar.
The commander looked at me startled.
“...From the beginning, you were a good father better than the Andres marquis.”
“Not hating?”
“I wasn't running away because I hated it.”
“Then.”
I hesitated for a long time and said.
“...I like it.”
“...”
“Too much...”
How can I not like such a father.
A father who doesn't abandon me even if I make a mistake.
A father who chases me immediately even if I run away.
“May I really consider you as my father, commander?”
The man who looked at me slowly placed his hand on top of my head.
The one who messed up my hair smiled.
“Yeah.”
I thought back to that day after a very long time.
That day was the day this place became my home.
A real home with a real father.
“Will the title be father?”
“Shall I call you father?”
“...”
“...”
He turned his head sharply and said.
“...I like 'appa'. It looks closer.”
I smiled brightly.
That day, I replaced my dad.
Time passed.
Arriving at the estate, I jumped out of the carriage and said.
“Dad, it's snowing!”
Antonio and Uis quickly followed behind me.
“Young lady, coat! Coat!”
“The ground is frozen. Fall, young lady.”
Then the dad who got out of the carriage said.
“Be careful, Yusi.”
It was the day before the 4-day birthday celebration.
***
The Esgard duke said he would announce the existence of the dad on the birthday celebration.
For that day, our family, Antonio, and Uis came to the estate.
The lodging was the second residence of Esgard.
While unpacking the luggage in the lodging, there was a knock on the door.
It was dad and Antonio.
“If it's roughly organized, let's go.”
“Where?”
“To your mother.”
“...”
I was startled and looked at dad.
Then Antonio smiled.
“Actually, as soon as we arrived in the estate, I wanted to see her.”
Of course.
I didn't have time to come to the estate because I was busy with the territory affairs.
The Irregulars hadn't ruled a large territory like Cuaron, so I needed my help.
“Really, can I go?”
“Yeah.”
“Dad too?”
“I have to greet.”
I smiled brightly and hugged dad's waist.
Dad stroked my head.
With dad, Antonio, and I, we immediately headed to the place where mom was entrusted.
We rode a carriage, but we were blocked in front of the boundary of the second residence.
Antonio poked his face out the carriage window.
“It's being controlled. What is it?”
The second residence was in the upper class area of the estate.
Controlling such a place?
While wondering what was happening, someone who looked like the imperial army knocked on the carriage.
“We are investigating the attempted assassination of the Tabira prince in the grand salon. Come out. There will be a checkpoint.”
The attempted assassination of the Tabira prince is happening now.
Tabira was one of the five fingers of the continent.
Even the heads of the 7 families had to undergo checkpoints.
Dad, Antonio, and I soon got out of the carriage.
Outside was bustling with people.
It seemed that even the great nobles moving from the grand salon were undergoing checkpoints.
I waited in line for the checkpoint and looked at dad.
“Dad, aren't you cold?”
It was the moment I was buttoning up dad's coat.
“Yustea? Is it Yustea!”
I turned my head towards the voice.
A group of middle-aged nobles were gathered.
I stopped breathing when I saw one of them.
Rohan Andres.
My biological father.