How to Replace Dad 61
Aslan said to me.
“Even though my face was distorted, I couldn't recognize my mother at first. The face of the girl I was hugging wasn't visible.”
Aslan guessed our mother and daughter by their hair and silhouette.
“If what I saw was you and your mother, my mother would have needed all sorts of magic, I thought.”
“So she must have contacted the Magic Tower.”
“Yes. If it was Enoch, the son of the previous Magic Tower Master, he could find out if my mother contacted the Magic Tower.”
That's how today Enoch finished his investigation.
Enoch handed me a parchment.
When I saw it, I collapsed.
***
I couldn't sleep until dawn.
I was quietly staring out the window in the room.
Footsteps sounded behind me.
Without turning, I knew it was Dad.
I quietly opened my mouth.
“Mom returning must have been on the day I was born.”
“…Yeah.”
“While sweating cold sweat, I ran to the Magic Tower begging for help. Then my water broke and I was carried away.”
“….”
“Dad, me. I want to wake up Mom…”
Dad's hand came on my shoulder.
“Let's wake her up.”
I looked up at Dad.
In Dad's crimson eyes, I reflected a me with tears.
“Actually, I went to find Dad. Because I knew Dad was the son of the Esgard Duke.”
“Even the old man helps sometimes.”
“Are you not afraid of me?”
“Scared.”
“….”
“Cute that you can't hit the calculator.”
Dad smiled faintly.
I buried my face in Dad's arms.
‘I’ll wake Mom up and live in Esgard.’
I’ll get perfect peace.
That day, I told Dad everything.
***
Morning.
We boarded the carriage to return to Cuaron Castle.
Ross and Roslyn siblings also head to Cuaron.
Antonio is on the outside guarding the carriage.
Since I'm the saint now, I have to be careful with the boundary.
That is, only people who know I'm the gamer are inside the carriage.
Dad and Yuis.
I raised my index finger.
“What we need is the Crown of Spiral.”
The Crown of Spiral or releasing all status conditions.
This can wake up Mom.
“In the game story, it's awarded at the family tournament hosted by the imperial palace.”
Family tournament.
It was like a national festival, the Olympics.
A place where successors of each family gather to fight for dominance.
When I explained that, Yuis sighed.
“Esgard has never participated.”
“Yeah. To participate, you have to pay a huge donation…”
The benefit from the family tournament is only honor.
Of course, nobles die and live for honor, so they pay money but still can't participate.
But Esgard is a family that values practicality.
They don't do the farce of paying money to play the clown.
“I have to persuade the Duke first.”
“Yeah!”
“Can the head do it?”
“Can’t he!”
I glared firmly.
Dad became quiet.
I said.
“I’ll persuade him.”
I clenched both hands.
***
Esgard Castle.
After the ceremony, the Esgard Duke entered the castle.
When he entered the office, the faction that had been managing Esgard in his absence followed him.
After the door closed, the Duke asked.
“No problems?”
“No problems.”
Sintes the Viscount shook his head.
While the Duke was at the ceremony, it was stormy every day.
The announcement that he has a bastard son doesn't come out.
That bastard son is the Viscount of Cuaron.
The Yustea adopted by the Viscount of Cuaron is the saint.
The son of the Duke's wife, Javid, gave up the succession!
Even the vassals of Sintes' faction looked pale.
Daily meetings, meetings, meetings.
Fighting and clashing was daily life.
‘I thought they were dreaming nightmares…’
The vassals sighed.
The Duke smiled faintly.
“You must have suffered.”
“It's just starting.”
Sintes the Viscount looked out the window with a tired face.
Other vassals who were waiting for the Duke to arrive occupied a section and looked up at the window.
“Give up the oath of renunciation of Javid's succession!”
It was Denis the Viscount.
It was he who expelled Balboa the Viscount and absorbed his forces.
Currently, the forces in the Duke's castle are like this.
1. The Javid faction centered on ‘Denis the Viscount’.
2. The neutral faction centered on ‘Sol the Viscount’.
3. The pro-Duke faction centered on ‘Sintes the Viscount’.
It wasn't balanced just because the forces were divided.
Because the Duke's wife had supported the vassals of Esgard from the bottom for a long time, the number of Javid faction was much larger.
With numbers in front, the apology started.
“It is not something that should be recorded in the history of Esgard that a bastard son ascends to the position of lord!”
Denis the Viscount, who shouted, immediately prostrated himself.
His faction also prostrated.
“Give Javid-nim a chance!”
“Give a chance!”
Loud voices seeped into the window too.
The Duke laughed haha.
“All of you are in good spirits.”
“What do you want to do.”
“If you can't solve even this much, can you take my position?”
It was Aslan's words to solve it himself.
If you can't solve it, you'll tolerate being pushed out.
The Duke sat in his seat without saying anything else.
“Report urgent matters first.”
“The cult of heretics that started from nearby manors is severe. Our vassals also seem to have defected en masse. They are even training soldiers to resist our army, so we must deal with it quickly…”
Sintes the Viscount was handing the report to the Duke.
Knock knock.
A knock sounded.
“Yustea. Can I come in?”
Everyone's faces were surprised.
I had heard that the carriage with Yustea and Aslan passed through the gate of Esgard Manor.
Moreover, since Aslan was recognized as direct lineage, there was no longer any restriction on entering the main castle.
‘Why not go to Cuaron?’
Sintes the Viscount looked at the Duke with a bewildered expression.
The Duke also had a puzzled expression as he didn't receive a separate report.
“Come in.”
Then the door opened and Yustea came in.
The Duke asked.
“What’s the matter.”
Yustea smiled brightly.
“I missed Grandpa.”
“…!”
“…?!”
The vassals flinched.
Who could say such a thing to the Esgard Duke.
Before Yustea, there were no grandchildren, so it was the first time.
The more surprising thing was...
“…What?”
Even the Duke himself froze with the document in hand.
The Duke liked Yustea, but Yustea treated him as just a person to show off.
But today, why...?
Yustea answered.
“Since I arrived at Esgard, it was only right to greet. Dad had to return to Cuaron because the matters were urgent, so I—”
“No.”
“Eh?”
“Report… what?”
“I missed you?”
“…Again.”
“Grandpa?”
“….”
The Duke was silent for a moment.
And...
“Hahahaha!”
A big laugh burst out.
The vassals who were prostrating outside the window flinched.
***
“Yeah, yeah. I missed my daughter. Hahaha!”
The vassals now looked at the Duke with a fearful expression.
But I lifted the corner of my mouth.
‘Let’s work hard.’
Thinking of Mom, it's nothing compared to being embarrassed.
Upon thinking, the Duke's treatment of me was similar to Mom's.
“Cute things, lovely things. Yoyo, adorable things.”
And what Mom liked most was this.
Treating gently.
‘So I thought it wouldn't work on Grandpa…’
It worked too well.
The Duke said to Sintes the Viscount with a pleased face.
“How do you treat your daughter?”
“….”
“Have you ever come saying you missed her?”
“….”
“Eh?”
“…I guess so.”
Sintes the Viscount had a teary expression.
He didn't want me to look that happy.
The Duke asked me.
“Yeah. Since you came, how about having a meal?”
“I have things to do.”
The Duke threw the documents he was holding into the air.
“None.”
“Eh? We have to drive out the heretics quickly…!”
One of the vassals caught the flying documents in a hurry and shouted.
Outside the window, it was a mess of prostrations.
“Give Javid-nim a chance…!”
“Give Javid-nim a chance…!”
The Duke, whether or not, smiled brightly and approached me.
“Yeah, what food does Yustea like the most.”
‘I think he's busy though.’
That was when I thought that.
A light bulb went off in my head.
‘At this time of year, the heretics to worry about in Esgard are the Dawn Cult.’
The Dawn Cult is a notorious heretic group that appears in the game story.
Albusagi.
‘If I defeat the heretics and use the funds to participate in the family tournament?’
I can get permission to participate in the family tournament by counting the points, and get the participation funds.
“I like meat.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“But the meal is next.”
“…What?”
“The people are suffering because they're being deceived by the heretics, so I can't just eat comfortably.”
The vassals' eyes widened.
Sintes the Viscount had a surprised expression.
“The Duke is truly envious.”
The vassals nodded.
“Yeah. It was really a headache.”
“It's not easy to do human experiments, train soldiers, etc.”
The conversation was flowing in the desired direction.
I said boldly.
“Then, can I solve it?”
“You?”
“I'm the saint, after all.”
“That may be true….”
The vassals made “Oh ho.” sounds and looked at me.
The Duke said.
“Are you thinking of calling the holy knights. If you use the power of the temple, there will be something to give.”
“With just my and Cuaron's power, it's enough.”
Sintes the Viscount laughed haha.
“If that's the case, I should give a great reward.”
I looked at the Duke with sparkling eyes.
The Duke smiled faintly.
“Yeah.”
Success.
I secretly winked.
***
After finishing a light tea time with the Duke, I returned to Cuaron.
“Aigoo!”
“Yustea!”
The members who were at Cuaron Castle rushed to me.
I greeted them.
“How have you been?”
“Of course. Yustea, they say you're an amazing person.”
“Because I'm the saint. I told you several times that I heard it through communication.”
“Ah. I prepared accommodations in the castle for Ross and Roslyn whom I brought.”
A happy face appeared behind them.
“I greet Yustea.”
“Lord Lorenzo.”
The vice-captain greeted me with a smile.
He walked among the members and said.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“You’ve worked harder than me, Lord Lorenzo, who was responsible for Cuaron.”
“….”
The vice-captain was silent for a moment.
And said as if chewing.
“…You’ve worked hard. It’ll be even harder from now on.”
What happened?
I tilted my head, and Antonio's squad gave me a signal.
Upon thinking, some were missing.
I asked Antonio's squad leader.
“Others? Are they eating?”
“That is…”
“Eh?”
The squad leader glanced at the vice-captain and made an awkward expression.
“Th-that… because of the heretics… defection…”
What?
When I opened my eyes wide, the vice-captain closed his eyes tightly.
“I’m sorry. I’ll send Yuis’ squad to arrest them immediately.”
“Eh… I’ll just go find them.”
“Eh?”
I showed the appointment letter and ID card given from Esgard.
[Surveillance]
The two characters were firmly stamped.
“I’ve been given the task of eradicating the heretics.”
The vice-captain read the appointment letter with a bewildered expression.
But soon nodded.
“I’ll assign the members.”
“I want the minimum number. I have something in mind. I’ll take only Antonio.”
“…Not Yuis, but Antonio?”
“Yeah.”
“…?”
“You can’t be too smart.”
“Then it’s a proper selection.”
The vice-captain nodded.
After that, we entered the castle.
The vassals looking at me all had wide eyes.
It was because the saint was revealed.
“You must have been shocked when you saw Dad.”
Knowing that he was the Duke's bastard son, his heart must have dropped.
The vassals who had opposed Dad must have been many.
Then the vice-captain smiled faintly.
“When the lord returned, all the vassals were kneeling in front of the Cuaron Castle gate.”
Then, I didn't have to worry about what happened inside Cuaron.
I thought it was the broken string after expelling Balboa the Viscount.
But the new lord was the son of the Duke, the closest to the lord position.
After the fear, it would feel like winning the lottery.
Dad was in the office.
Just like the Duke, he was checking if there was a problem when he left the seat.
‘The biggest problem is Antonio's squad's defection.’
Yuis was reading the report related to Antonio's squad defection with Dad.
The vice-captain quietly closed his eyes.
“Do you know the way? Since you look energetic, if you pray to the ancestors, the luck will open. …Where is the hook point for this line?”
“….”
“What kind of line did you get hooked on.”
“…I’ll ask for directions.”
“Eh?”
“Ask. Ask. Where are you going? ─and followed to the end…”
“….”
Yuis placed the report on the table with a blank face.
“If you come back, tie them up. That's enough, just like a dog.”
“….”
“….”
Both the vice-captain and Dad became quiet.
I smiled gently.