Rather Than The Son, I’ll Take The Father

Translator and Editor: Effe and Lili

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Chapter 63

I believed in him, too.

To share a little bit about how this world will flow in the future, I have to be very good at explaining how I knew.

Uh…yeah, and that’s definitely a separate matter from me having a previous life.

But should I really explain it separately?

Why don’t I just say that I had prophetic powers but that they disappeared?

…Who would believe that.

“Hoo. It’s so hard to reveal everything….”

As I sighed and murmured, a nearby knight spoke.

“What?”

It was Procyon, who was currently stretching while walking.

He stopped in front of me.

He asked because there was no way he could infer what I was talking about just from a few grumbles.

“It’s my secret.”

“Heuk!”

Procyon took a short breath and looked around.

After confirming that no one was close enough to hear our conversation, he whispered.

“Are you trying to explain the rumors that Your Grace has six secret vaults and that each is full of some type of unknown black money?”

What kind of weird rumor is that?

* * *

I could see it.

A castle with a black roof and black walls, just like a demon’s den.

“I never imagined I would become so fond of looking at this castle.”

As I gazed out of the window, with my chin resting on the sill, a little boy with silver hair and red eyes came into view.

Regen had come out of the castle and was waiting for us.

“Father! Your Grace!”

He was as bright as ever.

Regen welcomed us first, as promised.

Coming out of the carriage and into the cold world was painful, but I put a smile on my lips for Regen’s sake.

“How have you been, my lord?”

“Good! Count Elliot stayed in the castle and took care of me often.”

Regen spoke about the Count in a much friendlier way than before I left.

It seems he has gained a lot of favor during this time. I can’t fall behind.

I grabbed Regen’s hand.

“Well I, I missed the Lord a lot while I was away. I’m so happy that the Lord was the first to welcome me.”

“Me…Me too.”

Regen’s face turned red like a tomato.

He looked terrified, but at the same time, he seemed like he didn’t want to avoid it either. It was a very satisfying change.

Yes, revealing all the secrets I know is worth it if it means that Regen won’t have to go through all those hardships.

After Aedis hears them…well he’s not the type to stand still.

….Anyway, this was still a novel.

As I laughed along with Regen, Tolyman Elliott, who kept snooping while standing next to him, finally spoke.

“Is it my turn now? There are so many things I have to tell you-”

But it was up to me whether I’d listen or not.

“I’m tired, so let’s go in quickly.”

“Your Grace! Wait a minute! I’ll summarize in less than a minute, no, in 30 seconds!”

“Think about what you want to buy for the other estates and then come back.”

“Impossible!”

Why don’t you at least pretend to think about it?

Aedis was also away, saying he had a job to do about the wolf.

Regen walked me to the door of my room, and it was so cute that I started laughing again.

“I’m going back now…?”

Regen trailed off in a questioning manner and waited for my answer.

Regen’s sparkling red eyes were full of expectations, so I couldn’t turn him away.

“I have to change my dress, so if you don’t mind, could you wait in your room for a moment? I’m sorry to separate from the Lord like this. It would be nice to talk over tea together.’’

“Yes! I’ll wait!”

Regen replied quickly, just in case I would change my mind.

But even after I changed my clothes and came out, Regen was still at the door.

“Oh, you didn’t go first?”

“Because I want to go with Your Grace.”

This type of treatment felt unusual. At this point, I was more worried than happy.

Do you have any concerns?

A child has never been so good to me, whether older or younger than eight years old.

With slight anxiety, I went down with Regen to my private room.

The maid brought out both what I liked and what Regen liked.

“I think the Count has become very close to my brother.”

Regen’s feet dangled from the chair.

Aha….

Is he feeling good because Gilbert made a new friend and that’s why he’s giving me such good favor?

“So that’s why you looked so happy.”

It felt a bit bittersweet, but I finally understood. Then Regen told me how close he became to Raven while I was away.

He said that the cats hate Raven, so he’s a little upset.

Suddenly, Regen tilted his head with a look that said he saw something really strange.

“Huh?”

Grabbing the scone that slipped from Regen’s hand, I asked.

“What’s wrong?”

Regen had a very confused look on his face.

“It, it seems like the stone statue has moved a little.”

Stone statue? Was there something like a stone statue in my room….Oh.

What Regen pointed to was the gargoyle statue in which Paimon was sealed.

It was carved quite delicately, but it was not in perfect condition.

Come to think of it, it was about time for him to wake up.

Regen narrowed his eyes and glared at the statue for a few seconds, then changed back to looking casual.

“I guess I was wrong. I’m just a little sleepy. ”

Regen replied while rubbing his eyes.

He drank some warm milk, so maybe that’s why he’s feeling so drowsy.

Suddenly, a story that the butler had belatedly revealed came to mind.

It was the day I arrived at Cyclamen Castle after a long journey from the capital.

That day, Regen was said to have been waiting for us to arrive since early in the morning.

The butler recalled being incredibly worried and afraid that Regen would collapse.

He might have wanted to wait in front of the gate all day today just like he did on the day I first came here.

“My lord, how long have you been waiting for us?”

“Uh, it hasn’t been long!”

Regen denied eagerly, but his nervous eyes were filled with fatigue.

Were you waiting for Aedis to come back soon?

What should I do about this?

I pushed the teacup aside and laid my hands down. Regen noticed my actions and placed his hand on the table as well.

“My lord, Aedis might come back late tonight. I’m sorry that I couldn’t let you two spend time together even though you’ve been waiting for such a long time. But I’ll talk to him so we can have breakfast together tomorrow, would you like that?”

I carefully comforted Regen, but Regen tilted his head.

“I’m not upset at all.’’

‘’…..”

“I’m not lying! I wanted to see Your Grace!”

“.…Really? ”

Hah. The suspicion in my voice was so plainly revealed.

Luckily, Regen was too pure to notice the thoughts inside my dark heart.

“You were so worried about me before you left, so I wanted to quickly let you know that I was doing well.”

His big eyes gleamed.

It’s cute….You’re the first kid to treat me so kindly….

As expected, he acted just like a male protagonist.

I was impressed, and I grabbed Regen’s hand without even realizing it.

“Lord.”

“Your, Your Grace…?”

“I’ll definitely beat the beasts in the forest.”

“Uh, what?”

“I can tell all of my secrets for the sake of the Lord’s bright future.”

“Oh uh….”

“So don’t worry about anything, and just go to sleep. Your only job is to eat delicious food with Aedis and have fun with me.”

“Ah, yes!”

He didn’t really understand what I was saying, but maybe because the last thing I talked about was having fun tomorrow, Regen nodded his head.

I sent Regen back and stared at the gargoyle statue.

It had wings left on one side only, sharp fangs, and a long vertical crack. Even though the claws on its feet looked weird, they also looked devilish.

It was like a demon in the form of a beast.

“Spirit…Aedis hates you. Anyway, can you hear me? Are you awake?”

I waved my hand. There was no answer in return.

No, maybe I just couldn’t hear it.

Previously, Aedis had an expression that seemed to say he was going to leave because Paimon talked too much.

“I can’t hear your voice. If you’re awake, can you move the statue a little?”

I wonder if Paimon was talking by himself just now because when I asked him to move, it seemed like he paused, and then the statue moved a little.

It turned its posture toward me, and its eyes met mine.

It was a strange sight. And even a little scary…?

Feeling the urge to keep the door open, I continued talking to Paimon.

“I’ll say hello again. I’m Maevia. You can just call me Eve. Anyway, Aedis said he could break your seal. The problem is that he used his ability purely because of my wishes, so I can’t guarantee your safety afterward…”

The stone statue trembled.

Well, you’re scared of Aedis.

Suddenly, I am very relieved.

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