Chapter 30
Chapter 30
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: My Daddy is the Best!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
We re-entered the banquet hall.
Shouldn't Kaide be back by now?
After parting ways with Sage, I started heading back to my original seat when an enraged voice erupted right beside me.
"Flaunting his family's success. What's so difficult about opening a single road! He demanded a toll of fifty gold coins!"
"Calm down, Mr. Letra. Opening a border route is a sensitive matter. Nothing good will come from acting on emotion."
"That's right. Why not bring it up again later?"
Letra. That was the man who had come to speak with Kaide earlier.
I glanced at him as I passed. Letra's face was beet red as he fumed.
"Isn't fifty gold coins a fair price? I heard he offered the Black Mamba clan's protection as a condition for using the passage."
"Isn't that an easy task for them? It's a scheme to make money off of weaker families like ours."
The atmosphere was tense, so I walked as cautiously as I could.
I don't like this. It's scary.
On the verge of tears, I hurried to return to Kaide, but my eyes met Letra's.
He looked surprised, not having realized I was listening, and then a smirk spread across his face.
"Well, what can you do? The Black Mambas are inherently cruel and greedy creatures, aren't they? And since the Astrofel Gaju is their leader, it's pretty obvious what he's like."
At his words, my mind went completely blank.
Letra wore an expression that suggested he expected me to get scared or run away crying.
The others, belatedly noticing my presence due to his harsh words, jumped in surprise.
"Ah, why is a child here...?"
That's not true.
"...s'not true."
Kaide and the people here aren't bad.
"It's not true!!"
I shouted at the top of my lungs. The banquet hall fell silent. I could feel everyone around me freeze and stare.
Letra, who hadn't expected me to scream, looked utterly bewildered.
"Wh-where does a child think she is, raising her voice like that?"
"Kaide is nice! Kaide is always, always cool! You don't know anything about him!"
Rosaria always takes care of me, and everyone else always smiles whenever they see me!
Arban pretends not to, but he listens to what I have to say. ...I haven't gotten close to Set yet, but he doesn't seem that bad!
I mustered all my remaining strength.
"He's my daddy!!! Aileen knows him best!"
The murmuring of the crowd grew louder. Letra flinched and reached out a hand to cover my mouth.
As the large hand approached, I squeezed my eyes shut.
"That's enough."
"...!"
"Do not lay a hand on the young lady."
A man with deep blue hair tied back in a long ponytail stepped in front of me. I stared at him in surprise.
As I gazed blankly at the broad back shielding me, a familiar, mellow voice came from behind.
"I heard you loud and clear, Aileen."
"...Daddy..."
"Come here."
"Waaaah."
The tears I'd been holding back burst forth as if they'd been waiting.
I threw myself into his arms, and Kaide held me, gently patting my back.
"Even I have never made my daughter cry."
The atmosphere turned frigid at his single sentence.
"Who made my daughter, whom I've raised so preciously, cry?"
As Kaide's gaze landed on each person, they averted their eyes.
Set, who had followed him, spoke up.
"Aileen, stop crying. You don't have to say anything. We can just wipe them all out. One of them has to be the culprit."
Then Arban, with an uncharacteristically cold face, replied nonchalantly.
"No. This one has a weak stomach. It's better to deal with it from the shadows."
I sniffled and wiped away my tears.
No. That's not what I wanted.
Sensing that this could blow up into something huge, I quickly decided to name the culprit.
"That mister did it."
Three pairs of red eyes turned toward Letra.
"Ah, you mean that little rat?"
Kaide's lips twisted into a smile.
"I was planning to crush you eventually, but I appreciate you setting the stage yourself, Letra."
I realized that this Letra was the one from 'These guys are making a fuss, demanding help for nothing. I should just crush them.'
As the situation grew serious, Letra jumped.
"No, sir. Don't children that age cry easily? I didn't make her cry."
But Kaide seemed to have no intention of listening.
"You've wounded my daughter's heart, so you must pay the price."
Letra's face turned white as a sheet. Kaide looked absolutely furious.
Did this get bigger than I thought?
I was worried for a moment, but recalling what Letra had said just before, my anger flared up again.
I whispered in Kaide's ear.
"That mister said Daddy was a bad person. Aileen heard everything."
"And that hurt your feelings?"
"Uh-huh. So Aileen got upset."
He's my daddy.
My lower lip jutted out on its own. *Hmph.* Feeling wronged all over again, I buried my face in his shoulder, and Kaide asked soothingly.
"How should I punish him?"
His voice was tinged with an unmistakable hint of enjoyment. I fell into thought at Kaide's sudden question.
How to punish him?
I hadn't thought that far. I shook my head, not knowing.
"Daddy can. Aileen doesn't know."
"I see."
Kaide chuckled softly. Soon, a chilling voice was directed at Letra.
"The matter of forming an alliance with our clan is now off the table, Letra."
"What does that... ! How can you unilaterally break an alliance like this? This is not something to be decided over a child's words! Won't you even hear my side of the story?"
"I doubt that will be necessary."
"Children that age are prone to lying. Of course, you should listen to what I have to...!"
"Letra."
Kaide cut off the agitated man. I clenched my fists in frustration.
I'm not a liar...
"You didn't really think I wouldn't know what you've been spouting in my territory, did you?"
"Th-that is..."
"I let it slide until now, but you just had to cause trouble. Why did you do it?"
His tone was gentle, as if he were reasoning with him, but it sent a strange shiver down my spine.
"You should have known how to act. If you knew your place, none of this would have happened. Right?"
"Gaju-nim! No matter what, this is too much."
What happens if the alliance is broken?
Judging by the expressions of the people gathered around, it seemed to be a rather shocking declaration.
Letra was desperately trying to salvage the situation, while the onlookers were watching with great interest.
Kaide calmly announced the end of their relationship.
"From now on, I'd rather not see any of the Letra clan on my land."
"Our family has had a long-standing exchange with the South. We've maintained good relations with previous Astrofel Gaju!"
"A pity. As the current Gaju, I have no such intention."
It seemed Letra had no idea just how much Kaide cared for me.
To be honest, I was also very surprised by this outcome. I never dreamed Kaide would react this way.
I thought he just found me a little cute.
The feeling of being truly cherished was ticklish and awkward.
I fidgeted with my fingers for no reason.
Kaide called to Baon, who was standing beside him.
"Baon."
"Yes, Gaju-nim."
"Inform everyone that from this moment on, any member of the Letra clan spotted in my lands is to be hunted down."
"It will be done."
It was a complete dissolution of the alliance. The crowd's murmuring grew louder again. The Letra clan would be wiped from the South.
Kaide would not allow them to remain.
Everyone held their breath at Kaide's command.
"If I had my way, I'd have that neck of yours on display."
His vivid red gaze briefly touched Letra's neck before moving away.
"But that would be bad for the child's education, so I'll let it slide."
Kaide smiled sweetly.
Letra couldn't say a word, his mouth just hung open. Overnight, he had been barred from ever setting foot in the South again.
That meant a great many things.
"N-no. Gaju-nim, please wait...!"
"Ahem. We will have to reconsider our planned exchange with the Letra family."
"We will also give it some thought."
The families that valued their relationship with the South would turn their backs on Letra.
Amidst the serious atmosphere, I looked up at Kaide.
He was clearly angry, but he also seemed to have been in high spirits for a while now.
"Daddy, are you happy?"
"No."
"Then why are you smiling?"
I looked at Set, Arban, and Baon, who were standing in a line next to him.
They all had blank expressions, but it seemed they were also subtly enjoying the situation.
Why?
I was a little confused.
"Karma."
"Yes."
Kaide called out to the man with the deep blue hair.
"You will write a letter of apology."
"I apologize."
"The same goes for the others."
"Yes, sir."
I stared in wonder at Karma, who had appeared out of thin air.
How long had he been watching?
Given his mention of 'the others', it seemed there were probably several more people hiding nearby.