Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Is Dad Really a Pushover?
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Matthias strolled over leisurely before picking up the paternity test kit.
“Explain exactly how this paternity test kit works, both of you.”
If the priest had verified it, the kit would have been established as a flawless, perfect “paternity test kit” without a single blemish. But thanks to Matthias’s interference, the priest they had so painstakingly brought in had failed to prove the kit’s validity.
Count Yoter, who knew nothing about it, bit his lip hard.
“T-That is...”
“Count Yoter, didn’t you boast about personally participating in the production process?”
That was right. It had been part of a promotional campaign to sell more kits.
This trial, too, had been staged to earn the Sharaf Merchant Company the reputation of having identified the Mirmod family’s “fake daughter.”
But he...
“I, well...”
Count Yoter’s face turned ghastly white in an instant.
The jurors clicked their tongues and began murmuring upon seeing it. It was essentially over. Matthias drove the nail in like a wedge.
“Even the so-called creator of the kit doesn’t know its true nature.”
“T-That’s, well...”
Soon after, he lifted the paternity test kit with a sneer.
“Then, what about the others who claimed to be the ‘real’ creators?”
The people from the Sharaf Merchant Company quickly explained the kit’s production principles. They fervently detailed how long they had been making the kits and what the principles were.
The crown prince pressed his temple as if his head ached at their earnest, impassioned voices.
“So, you’re saying they stole the rights from you, Count Yoter?”
“Yes. They acted like we were collaborating at first, then snatched the technology...”
“Fortunately, it was an incomplete technology, though.”
The crown prince’s lips pressed into a thin line. Seeing his expression turn icy, Count Yoter flinched.
And...
The crown prince turned a chilling gaze toward Count Yoter. The count began trembling convulsively, as if he’d just received a death sentence.
‘He’s planning to cut off the tail.’
Whether he did or not, it didn’t matter.
There was still work left to do.
Ignoring the exchange of glances between the crown prince and Count Yoter, Matthias beckoned to the Sharaf people.
“I’d like to test that technology right here.”
As if they’d been waiting for those words, they replied.
“Yes, we can perform a paternity test for Lady Sien and Lord Matthias right away. Just place your hands here for a moment!”
Sien scampered over to Matthias as if she’d been waiting too. Not a single guard stopped her movements.
Matthias looked at Sien and smiled gently, then took her hand and said.
“Hand over the kit.”
Their demeanor toward Sien was worlds apart, leaving them momentarily flustered.
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The merchant hurriedly offered the kit. At the same time, Sien and Matthias’s hands moved toward the paternity test kit.
“It reads each person’s aura. One line means they’re related by blood.”
Sien let out a small giggle.
“As expected of my dad!”
But the jurors’ expressions were puzzled.
And understandably so—where was the guarantee that this kit from them was telling the truth?
Of course, Matthias knew an effective way to prove the paternity test kit was genuine.
It was simply...
“Priest Eduar, verify the kit’s authenticity.”
He set Sien down briefly, then tossed the kit toward the trembling Priest Eduar.
Priest Eduar rolled his eyes as if gauging the situation, then shook his head.
‘He still thinks I’m a joke, huh.’
Well, he had acted quite gentlemanly for Sien’s sake up until now.
It had been ages since he’d shed his past behavior like an unchained dog, so it was natural they’d forgotten it all.
Matthias confirmed Sien was standing a good distance away, then whispered softly into Priest Eduar’s ear, just loud enough for him to hear.
“Do you think this is the only sacred relic our family has that can kill people?”
“H-Hic!”
Priest Eduar let out a strangled gasp of fright, but Matthias simply stared at him impassively.
“Swear it.”
The corner of his mouth curled in a mocking smile. In a very low voice, he whispered.
“If you don’t want to die.”
Priest Eduar made a tearful face and nodded ever so slightly. Matthias smiled in satisfaction and held the swan carving up to his eyes.
“I s-swear to use the discernment ability granted by the gods appropriately.”
“What?”
The crown prince drummed his desk in disbelief, but he couldn’t silence Priest Eduar.
The crown prince roughly ran a hand through his hair under the jurors’ piercing stares. Even as the empire’s crown prince, without the emperor’s full trust, he couldn’t forcibly silence public opinion.
At that moment, Matthias shook the swan carving and whispered briefly.
“...It’s begun.”
As soon as his words ended, a pure white light flowed from the swan carving. The light began to bathe the entire courtroom in a serene glow, calming everyone’s hearts.
A power bringing peace to all who had been tense from the conflict between the crown prince and the Mirmod family—it was undoubtedly the power of the gods.
The jurors murmured in admiration upon seeing it.
“T-This kit...”
Priest Eduar’s lips trembled as he clutched the kit.
“It’s real. It possesses the true ability to discern blood relations... a magical artifact.”
Had he decided everything was finally over?
Count Yoter let out a shout and collapsed to the floor.
The girl who had claimed to be “Lord Matthias’s daughter” bit her lip anxiously over and over.
But no one paid them any attention.
Instead, Sien dashed toward Matthias, who stood near Eduar, as if leaping into his arms, and shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Matthias Mirmod is my dad!”
Her voice rang out so affectionately, as if for everyone to hear, and her smile was so warm... it made them want to do anything to protect that little girl.
Even if it meant staining their own hands with blood.
He pulled the approaching Sien tightly into his embrace and whispered.
“Yeah, I’m Sien Mirmod’s dad.”
“Ung!”
He withdrew his tender gaze from Sien and turned cold eyes forward, whispering.
“Then, for the details...”
Matthias’s gaze shifted to the crown prince, who was wiping cold sweat by the side of the courtroom. Without giving him a chance to speak, he continued.
“...we’ll discuss with His Imperial Majesty the Emperor.”
***
I left the courtroom hugged tightly in Dad’s arms.
“Dad, you were totally like a villain uncle today!”
“Was I?”
“Ung!”
“...What I mean is, kiddo.”
“Ung?”
Dad made a pouty face and continued.
“I was so scared my guts shrank to the size of a pea. You saved Dad’s life by protecting me.”
I examined Dad’s face closely and tilted my head.
Unlike his usual pushover self, he’d looked like a total villain. He seemed to have a real knack for it...
“...Doesn’t seem like it.”
Dad flinched noticeably and quietly set me down on the palace floor.
“Sien, you’re not doubting Dad right now, are you?”
“Ung.”
I thought to myself.
‘Yeah, I am.’
At my words, Dad let his shoulders slump like coat hangers and muttered.
“...Fine, Sien. Stay in the drawing room with the maids. If you wander off alone this time, Dad’s gonna get mad.”
“Dad’s gonna get mad?”
“Yeah.”
“Ung, got it...”
He probably thought his curious daughter had sneaked off to explore the palace and gotten caught by some weirdo. Knowing his feelings, I nodded vigorously.
“Got it, Dad! Bye!”
I waved cheerily as I saw Dad off, then plopped down on the drawing room sofa. There were snacks and cute dolls, so I could kill some time here.
Unlike what Dad expected, I had no intention of leaving this fancy drawing room in the palace.
I already knew someone was scheduled to visit me in this small drawing room beyond where Dad had exited.
And the one coming to see me wasn’t the crown prince, who must be panicking right now, nor the priest exposed for stealing the paternity test kit...
“Lady Mirmod, actually, I... I have no face, but I wish to apologize.”
It was Ambassador Heinrich, as I knew full well.
I beckoned to the ambassador while looking at him calmly.
“Have a seat here. We’ve got a lot to talk about!”
***
“Do you know what a patent is, Ambassador?”
The word “patent” was quite unfamiliar to Heinrich.
“What’s a patent?”
“It means granting special permission! It’s like a law made to protect people with specific technologies.”
This world didn’t have patents yet.
So even if you developed advanced technology, it was easily stolen by nobles or foreigners.
For now, our family’s power had managed to fend it off, but who knew if those from the duchy might have their tech stolen again in the future.
All we needed was to create a legal system that could become the standard across the empire.
“...Pardon? How does someone so young know about such a concept...”
I flashed my little front teeth in a small smile. Then I grabbed Ambassador Heinrich’s hand tightly and said.
“Sien’s smart, so she knows everything!”
It was a bluff, but let’s gloss over it. After wrapping up the moment with a cute, playful grin, I pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper from my pocket and unfolded it.
“Here’s a paper explaining the concept of patents!”
I’d written it yesterday in my messy handwriting. It should be understandable enough even in this world without intellectual property rights.
I handed over the more-than-twelve-page document with a beaming smile.
“If we use this method, maybe fewer people will be wronged in the future!”
Of course, it would only apply to the duchy for now, but if Ambassador Heinrich and the grand duke worked hard, wouldn’t the concept of patents spread across the continent?
Then I could run a merchant company diligently and apply for patents too!
I winked at Ambassador Heinrich and leaned back.
And right then, he grabbed my sleeve urgently and said.
“...Is this really just pure help?”
I grinned mischievously at him.
“Nope!”
Then I whispered to him.
“I’m helping because of the Michel Mine!”
‘Wait, was that too honest?’