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There was no good human being who could explain this situation to a shocked child.
“Don’t let the child get hurt. Step back and wait.”
The Knight Commander said so and quickly handed me over to the subordinate behind him.
It was the person whose hand I bit before. On the right hand, there were drops of blood over a clear mark of teeth.
“Uhm…”
I looked up at him blankly.
He was looking at me, too, with a slightly angry look.
‘He was just carrying out his duties faithfully.’
I was embarrassed and apologized.
“I’m sorry. I just found out—”
It was then.
I felt a huge wind pressure all of a sudden and looked up.
Whoosh—!
“Ugh.”
…? What’s going on?
My Dad just swung poker in the air once.
The blue energy of the sword flew toward the Knight Commander, and he was pushed back about 1 meter, barely able to defend himself with a sword.
After that, it was a series of merciless attacks.
The poker constantly cut through the air, and the Knight Commander seemed too daunted to block the flying sword.
“Does not following orders only lead to death?”
“Ugh.”
“It must have been funny to say.”
“D, damn it—”
“How are you going to beat me?”
My dad was relaxed as he talked and flew swords at the same time.
Contrary to how confident the Knights Commander was fluttering his mouth, he couldn’t even do anything.
“Besides.”
“Ugh–”
“How dare you, to my daughter?”
As expected, it was me who made my Dad’s anger explode.
My father blew a sword every second, and the Knights Commander was only focused on blocking it.
Well, well—It looks like it would be hard to defend, so how is he going to attack and beat him?
I can now understand my Dad, who laughed at the Knight Commander.
“Stop! Enoch Rubinstein!”
The knight who was holding me shouted as if they couldn’t win, even if they pretended to.
At the same time, his eyes lit up.
The knight had a sword around my neck.
“Hiik!”
“Lilith!”
My dad approached me with a contemplative expression once he had stopped the attack.
“Give up and come with us. Then I will guarantee the life of your daughter.”
“You’re threatening with a child. The title of the Paladin is ridiculous.”
My dad grunted and gritted his teeth, and I cautiously agreed with him.
“We are only following the Imperial order. His Majesty the Emperor said to do whatever we can to bring Enoch Rubinstein.”
The Knight Commander talked again after he came to his senses.
My Dad, who was silent for a moment, answered.
“…I already abandoned that name.”
Ha, so, as expected, he meant there was a time when that name was there, right?
I laughed at the situation where even the slightest possibility was blown away.
James (27) was actually Enoch Rubinstein, the main character who hid his powers.
“I have no intention of living in obedience to the imperial family anymore. Tell that to your Lord.”
“I’m not telling you to choose.”
For some reason, the Knight Commander pointed the sword at my dad and added.
“It’s an order.”
“….”
Another strange feeling surrounded my angry dad.
This time—it felt like something bigger was going to come out.
The knight who was holding me again raised his sword and made another threat.
“Enoch Rubinstein! If you want your daughter to be safe you should stop!”
“Ugh! W, wait! Wait!”
My heart was pounding with fear.
To summarize the situation, the identity of my daddy, who I thought was an extra, was the protagonist who hid his power, Enoch Rubinstein.
So I’m— in his 6th setting. I mean—.
As a young man, he sharpened the blade of revenge after losing his young daughter to the Imperial Family
—I’ll take over the underlined ‘young daughter’.
‘Is this real? Give me back my amazing extra life.’
When these facts became clear, I had only one option, knowing all the original contents.
I slightly pushed the knight’s arm with the sword, then smiled softly and said.
“Of course. If it’s the Imperial order, he should follow it! My father will return to the Knight Templar today~!”
Clap, clap, clap.
Everyone, including my dad, looked at me with a dazed look on their faces.
*****
“You said I looked like my mom! You said I look like my mom!”
My Dad, who was lying on the floor and knelt like a criminal next to me, waving his arms and legs, apologized.
“I’m sorry, princess.”
“Why didn’t you tell me! Why! Why!”
“I’m so sorry. I have nothing to say, even if Dad have ten mouths—”
My dad’s silver hair and blue eyes, which were finally revealed, looked just like mine.
He said I look like my mother.
Dad is a liar!
“But my daughter.”
My dad, who was poking at the corners of his mouth, grabbed me as I was struggling and kissed me on the cheek.
“But really, who do you look like to think you’re this smart? Huh? To be good with words in that situation?”
My Dad glanced at the six knights waiting outside the house and laughed.
When I said, “We’re going to go back as of today,” my dad nodded as if I couldn’t do it and said he’d come out after organizing the place.
It was such a time.
“Tsk…. Those idiots. Do they believe this and release the hostages just like that? As long as our princess is safe, I have nothing to fear. Now, let’s pack our bags and run away.”
I looked out the window and looked pitifully at my giggling dad.
No, is this really right?
That Enoch Rubinstein, who was blunt and cold-blooded with no change in his expression, and exuded a forceful ‘~gun’ at the end of every word?
No matter how you look at it, he just looks like a village’s fool older brother.
‘Well, I guess he must have changed since I died.’
I nodded my head, trying to understand what my Dad looked like now since his embarrassing behavior was something he did every day.
“Dad, I have something to say.”
“Hmm, what is it?”
Dad, who was quickly packing up our belongings, answered roughly.
“Don’t run away, let’s go back to the capital. Return to the Knights Templar.”
“Hmm?”
My Dad opened his eyes and looked back at me, then smiled.
“Hey, don’t worry. Dad couldn’t do anything until our princess was held hostage, but not now. With them outside? We won everything even at poker.”
“Ung, I know about poker because I saw it earlier. I know… I just want my dad to come back.”
Dad, who had stopped, put down his things and turned around to look at me. Now his expression became a little more serious.
“Why?”
“Well, I’m going to go to the capital with my dad. Go, enter the training center for people with power, and I will receive a powerful person badge. Because I’m also people with power.”
My Dad’s eyes widened.
“What do you mean? How do you know about a training center or something?”
“Uhm, Uncle Joe told me.”
“What?”
Dad frowned.
“How the hell did Hyung-nim know that? No, even if he did know, why would he tell you about it—”
Actually, Uncle Joe probably doesn’t know anything, but I tried selling him for now.
“If we run away, you’ll be kicked out for the rest of your life—some scary men might come again, and I might die if we do something wrong—”
“No, Lilith. It’s not like that. I’m sorry. Dad was caught off guard this time. From now on, our princess will never be in danger. I won’t make this happen.”
“That’s not the problem. I mean, I don’t want to run away and live. I want to live a decent life.”
Dad’s eyes widened at my words.
“Lilith.”
Even after my name was called, Dad hesitated for a few minutes without saying a word.
“Listen to your Dad.”
Then, as soon as he made up his mind, he grabbed my shoulder tightly.
“In fact, Daddy is… I mean, there could be a day like today when those scary guys come to see you… I’ve always been thinking about that.”
“Ung.”
“Nevertheless, knowing everything, he ran away. Because you… I didn’t want to raise you as a people with power.”
He doesn’t want to raise his precious children to be powerful people.
Knowing this world better than anyone else, I could understand my Dad’s feelings.
I was glad to find out that I was part of a “powerless people” because the lives of “powerful people” were never beautiful.
“It might seem like a good way to live as a powerful people and a noble. But what you see is not everything.”
People with power get the best treatment in this Pavilion Empire.
They get the title of nobility based on their rank and major, have a lot of territory and gold coins, and everyone obeys and stays loyal to them.
However, with those benefits comes obligations.
To become the Emperor’s sword, shield, and staff, and to live as a member of the “Imperial Elite Army” for the rest of their life.
In this empire, where there are wars of conquest and beast subjugation 365 days a year, the elite troops who are often sent out to fight are nothing more than combat slaves.
“A people with power is not only a noble but also a soldier. As a warrior, as a wizard— they have to spend most of their life on the battlefield.”
“….”
“And the battlefield… It’s a very, very terrible place.”
Dad paused for a moment. And it was hard for him to talk again.
“Yesterday, the friend I greeted yesterday, today— he dies and it keep come to my mind. I think of him as I bury him in the ground. Who else will die tomorrow? How long can I survive—”
Dad looked at me with a deep look in his eyes.
In those eyes, there was still a terrible memory that had been gone for seven years and had not faded at all.
The sound of binge drinking, screaming, death—.
“Dad is—”
Dad’s gaze stayed in the air as if thinking of something for a moment.
Maybe he’s imagining it.
My future where I have to live as a powerful person.
“…Scared.”
After a while, Dad said with a distorted expression as if crying.
“I don’t want you to live like me.”
“Dad…”
“Lilith. Seven years ago, the day I first saw you born.”
Dad struggled to speak and then hugged me. And he said.
“On that day you became my everything.”
He sounded like he was crying with his voice.
“I…I don’t want to lose you like that…”