Chapter 48
“Are you saying it’s safe to conduct the exploration?”
Chervan suddenly shoved his rugged face forward.
Whoa, that startled me.
“Chervan, are you intimidating my daughter right now?”
“Huh? When did I do that?”
“Just now.”
What a doting father.
I shot my dad a glare, but he simply grabbed Chervan’s shoulder and gave him a shove backward.
Chervan’s mountain-like build swayed heavily, and he took a couple of steps back.
“Don’t get close to my daughter without my permission. You guys already look rough and scary as it is.”
“…Excuse me?”
“If you’re going to shove your face close to someone, you at least need to look as good as I do.”
Poor Chervan, who had done nothing wrong, stood there with a dumbfounded expression, mouth agape.
I glanced at Dad and then back at Chervan.
Handsome face.
Intimidating face.
Yeah… appearance does matter.
Chervan opened and closed his mouth a few times before letting out a long sigh.
“Then I’ll organize the exploration team right away.”
“No need to organize anything. Just gather all currently enlisted soldiers… no, tell them it’s a deployment. I’ll command directly.”
At Dad’s words, Chervan bowed his head without any argument.
To be honest, since I only read about it in the novel and hadn’t seen my dad in action, I didn’t really feel the fact that he was this overpowered ‘munchkin’-type character.
But clearly, the people who’d fought alongside him thought differently.
“Should we claim ownership of that building with abundant resources? I was thinking of telling the guys to do that.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure… The pretty lady said it’s fine either way…”
“Huh?”
I shot a glance at Dad.
Noticing my gaze, Dad casually looked back at me and opened his mouth.
“I think it would be better to carry out the territorial war along with this.”
“…Huh? A territorial war isn’t like going to the local corner store to buy groceries. Are you suggesting it that easily?”
“It’s not like a territorial war is some huge, complicated thing. You grab a flag, invade… no, infiltrate the territory, capture the leader, detain the bloodline members, take over the fortress, and strip them of their ruling rights. That’s it.”
Dad… normally, that’s not an easy job.
Chervan, like me, seemed to have a lot of things he wanted to say but held back.
“Also, given our territory’s current situation, we can’t afford a prolonged war. We have to wrap this up quickly and decisively.”
“Agreed.”
“That’s why, right now, when we have a legitimate reason, this deployment is the best timing to mobilize the army.”
As expected of a protagonist… quick on the uptake.
“The strategy is simple. We’ll send in a few fast and strong guys first to seize all communication facilities and key personnel in the castle. The goal is to minimize bloodshed as much as possible.”
And of course, Dad was an expert when it came to battles. He knew exactly how to take over a territory efficiently.
“We’ll force them to surrender and make them write a statement agreeing to transfer the territory to Altard.”
Chervan nodded seriously at Dad’s words.
“Regarding that, we should gather the relevant people and discuss it once more by tomorrow before making the final decision. Also… it’s probably better to send a reply to those… people like that guy after that.”
“You handle that. I already know what I’m best at.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chervan bowed and left.
After he left, Dad lowered his gaze toward me.
“But… my daughter doesn’t like this, does she?”
“What?”
“This clean and bloodless occupation.”
His words made my eyes widen.
I felt like he had seen straight into something buried deep inside me that I hadn’t spoken aloud.
“…N-no.”
“You actually want to kill them, don’t you? It’s okay to be honest with Dad.”
I shut my mouth tightly.
“You were talking about the territorial war from the very beginning when you brought me here.”
I did emphasize the territorial war a lot, didn’t I?
‘One of the big reasons I dragged Dad into this was for that very thing…’
“So it’s okay. Just be honest.”
His voice was gentle.
It welled up inside me.
Feeling something stir deeply within, I clenched my small fists tightly.
“…Yeah.”
I want to kill them.
The vile Count Rüden, who drove my uncle to such a pathetic death when he could have lived so much longer, was terrifyingly disgusting.
Count Rüden? Or ex-Count Rüden?
“How should I kill him, my daughter?”
Dad sat me down at the desk across from him.
His voice remained tender, the softest it had ever been, and his hand stroking my cheek was gentle.
“I’ll kill him exactly the way you want.”
But the low murmur in his voice felt more like that of a devil than a protagonist.
“I don’t want him to die.”
“Hm?”
“…I want him to live. For a long, long time. Just like Grandpa endured and struggled and lived on, even in misery… I want him to live like that… for his whole life…”
Just like my once-brilliant uncle had desperately clung to that pathetic lie, struggling to survive no matter how miserable it was.
Drip.
Tears fell, soaking into the cracks of the wooden floor.
“I want him to live like that forever.”
I clung tightly to Dad’s clothes.
Honestly, if I were in my original body, I would’ve stormed in and beaten him with my own fists.
I would’ve used every means possible to drag him to the lowest, most miserable depths and make him live a life worse than a beast.
But the me now… I had no strength at all.
“Is that so?”
“…Yeah. Does that make me a bad person?”
“No.”
When I lifted my head at his firm answer, Dad was tilting his head with a lopsided, satisfied smile.
“I always knew my daughter was smart and capable, but seeing how clear you are about your beliefs makes me proud. I don’t think you’ll be easily swindled in the future.”
He patted my head.
“I’ll do as you ask. Believe it or not, your dad has never failed a job he’s been hired for. I’m a legendary mercenary.”
“…Okay.”
I clung to his clothes again.
“Having you as my dad… is really great.”
Until now, even though I had a dad, I never really felt like I had one.
Dad scratched his nose, as if embarrassed, then squished both of my cheeks.
Ack! My cute, round face is getting squished!
“Yep, I’m your dad.”
“I know!”
“So rely on me. Don’t try to do everything by yourself. You’re still just a kid. No matter what those retainers say, just let it go in one ear and out the other, or dump it on me.”
“…!”
“Maybe it’s time I considered making my position here official too.”
“That’s a bit much.”
Dad burst out laughing loudly, but thankfully, there was no unpleasantness in that laughter. It surprised me a little.
“Not easy, huh. My capable little daughter.”
“…”
We’re not even really blood-related family… so why is he being this good to me?
‘I didn’t even wish for something like this…’
Feeling all tingly and itchy inside, I rubbed my cheeks with both hands and jumped down from the chair.
“I’m going to my room!”
“Want me to escort you? My daughter.”
“I’m not a baby!”
I yelled and grabbed the slightly open door to fling it open—
“Uwahhh!”
Crash!
As soon as I opened the door, a couple of large figures tumbled onto the floor and scrambled backward.
“Ahem!”
“Khuhm!”
“Ah-hm-hm.”
It was the retainers.
All of them, burly to the point they could hardly be called administrators, were either staring off into the distant mountains, pressing handkerchiefs against their eyes, or craning their necks toward the sky.
“…?”
What…? Why are they all doing this in unison?
Seeing Chervan among them, it looked like they had come to set a meeting or discuss something important…
Maybe they rushed over because the sudden announcement about the territorial war shocked them?
“Did something happen…?”
“N-no, snff, nothing happened at all! We will absolutely! Make the Count of Rüden kneel beneath our feet!”
Suddenly?
“We’ll bring him down!”
“Wait for us, Little Duke! Lady Evelyn!”
“Lady Evelyn, our guardian goddess! We will absolutely right this injustice for you!”
“We will also become retainers who never fail! Little Duke!”
With the endless shouts, my mind went completely blank for a moment.
“Ah…”
These guys… they eavesdropped on my conversation with Dad!
From where… did they start listening?
