NOVEL NEXT My Daddy Hides His Power
Chapter 261 - Side story Part 1 Chapter 1
March 1769, Pavilion Empire.
In the dark dawn when even the moon had hidden itself, Pavil, the imperial capital. “Search as quietly as possible. Capture and bring him in immediately upon discovery.” “Yes, Commander!” The knights quickly dispersed at the order of their superiors. Soon, Enoch, the commander of the Paladin, who was left alone in a dark alley, frowned in absurdity. ‘How bold of you to impersonate Dos. They must know it means certain death if caught—so why on earth?’ Enoch Rubinstein, 17 years old. Only one year after wearing the Dos Commander’s badge, he had to deal with an unprecedentedly absurd incident. An unidentified man had recklessly impersonated ‘Dos’ right in the heart of the capital. “It seemed like a man and a woman were traveling together. They looked like a couple… I only got a glimpse of the woman’s face, but as for the man, I only saw his eyes. They were red.” According to the witness, the impersonator was a man with red eyes and a woman with silver hair next to him. It was an absurdly insufficient amount of information, but somehow the criminal had to be caught. He couldn’t leave a precedent of someone committing a serious crime and getting away with it. “Ugh.” At that moment, a faint sound echoed through the quiet alley. Enoch’s eyes turned sharply to the wall next to him. The head covered with the robe rose up and began to climb over the wall with difficulty. “Oh, it’s hard.” “Lili… No, Anna. Isn’t this dangerous? If you sit on top, I’ll go first and catch you.” “No, honey. The wall isn’t that high. I’m enough on my own.” The woman climbing over the wall and the man who seemed to have helped her up first exchanged words on the other side. They had no idea that Enoch was standing there, holding on tightly. “Be careful.” “Mhm, I’m being careful.” The woman, whose vision was blocked by the robe hood pulled down as if to hide her face, hung on the wall and then lightly tapped her feet on the ground. “Success!” The woman, who had been looking down, was startled. It was because she finally saw Enoch’s feet, which had come up right behind her. “….” “H, H, Honey.” The woman trembled and called out to the man who had not yet come over. “Why?” “Don’t come over!” “What did you say?” “Don’t come over! Just stay there!” Looking at the woman trembling like an aspen tree, Enoch was certain with his keen instincts. ‘As expected, they are the impostors I was chasing.’ He was lucky. There was no need to search the streets noisily; she appeared right in front of him on her own. Enoch glanced at the wall that the man had not yet climbed over and grabbed the woman’s arm. “Ack!” Enoch swiftly removed the robe hood that was covering the woman’s face before he could even hear the man’s response. “The woman had silver hair…” As he had heard, the woman’s silver hair fluttered, glowing as if it emitted light even in the dark night. And then, The moment the woman slowly raised her head that had been bowed. “….?” “….?” Enoch’s eyes widened. The woman was equally surprised. ‘What is it?’ Looking into the woman’s blue eyes, Enoch couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of discomfort and familiarity. Discomfort, and familiarity. The reason for being captivated by those two seemingly incompatible feelings was undoubtedly… ‘…We look alike?’ The woman’s appearance was surprisingly similar to his own face, which he saw in the mirror every day. The two looked at each other for a moment in silence, as if searching. Soon, the woman’s lips twitched as if holding back laughter. ‘Are you laughing?’ Enoch was embarrassed. He couldn’t understand the strange joy in the woman’s eyes. “Duke Rubinstein!” “….?” “…No, I mean, right now, um, Young Master Rubinstein…?” The woman continued to speak slyly, as if she recognized Enoch. “You must be working hard even at dawn. I am a good citizen of the empire, and I was just taking a night walk. Can I continue on my way?” “A good citizen of the empire, taking a night walk while climbing over a wall? Anyone can see that it is suspicious, but do you think I am an idiot now? I will question you on the serious crime of impersonating Dos. Tell the man on the other side to come over too.” The woman kept her mouth shut at Enoch’s firm answer. Soon, her eyes began to sparkle as if trying to stimulate sympathy. “Well, here’s how it happened… No, some guy suddenly grabbed me in the middle of the palace and started a fight with me, telling me to bow?” “….” “Oh, of course. I know. He was a nobleman, so I know it’s right to greet him like that. I know that, but….” “….” “My boyfriend couldn’t stand seeing that, so, well, I wasn’t trying to impersonate a Dos… it’s just that…” The woman approached quietly and whispered. “You know, the cloak, right? The one that Dos instructors wear. I didn’t wear it, I just slightly pulled it out and showed it while saying, ‘Let’s quietly pass through.’ I never expected things to escalate like this.” “Do you think that’s a reasonable excuse for impersonation? More importantly, how did people who were not registered in the noble registry get their hands on the Dos uniforms provided by the imperial family? You better confess everything to the security forces.” “Ugh.” The woman stamped her feet. Then she quietly grumbled to herself. “The cold-hearted James, you’re really so stubborn and narrow-minded…” “What did you say?” “N, no!” At that moment. With a slight movement, thud. The man on the other side came over. “….” “….” The man was surprised to see Enoch but soon regained his composure. Seeing the red eyes revealed beneath the robe and the undeniable aura, Enoch briefly furrowed his brow. ‘Is the man the capable one?’ He instinctively felt that he was not an ordinary person. “Commander of the Paladins, I apologize for causing a disturbance. I will never impersonate a Dos again, so please let us go quietly.” “You must know that this is an unreasonable request. If you have an explanation, go to the security force and explain. I will listen and decide if there is any room for leniency.” “I apologize, but we are not in a position to cause any more disturbance. That hand…” The man added, looking at Enoch’s hand holding the woman’s arm. “Let it go.” “You don’t seem to want to follow along.” Enoch muttered with a tired expression as he drew his sword from his waist. Swish—. At the chilling sound, “Heuk, Young Master!” Slap! The startled woman slapped Enoch’s shoulder in a friendly manner as if scolding him. “….?” Enoch looked back, dumbfounded. “Why are you suddenly drawing a sword? That’s scary! Let’s just talk, talk!” “….” Seriously, what is this woman? It’s absurd. But what’s even more absurd is that this familiarity doesn’t feel awkward to him for some reason. Enoch shook his head vigorously, snapped himself out of the ridiculous situation he had inadvertently gotten tangled in, and gripped his sword firmly. “Hey, man. I don’t want to see blood for no reason, so just follow me.” Then, the man let out a long sigh and placed his hand on his waist inside the robe. ‘He must be a swordsman.’ Enoch was on guard. However, the next moment. What the man pulled out from his waistband was… “….” “….” Tiing. ‘…A poker?’ No, really, what are they? * * * The incident goes back to two weeks ago. * * * December 1789. Primera Duchy, Magic Tower. The atmosphere in the conference room, where only the Lord of the Wizard Tower and senior researchers were gathered, was tense. “There has been an internal report about issues with the magic formula manual. Upon review, the whistleblower’s report was sufficiently convincing. Let’s scrap everything we’ve done so far and rewrite it from scratch.” The Lord of the Wizard Tower, Hans Weaver’s firm words made all the researchers think. “Lord of the Wizard Tower! You can’t!” Karen, a researcher who was on the verge of retirement, was the most desperate. “What can’t I do?” “You promised to accept my resignation when a new recruit joins, right? But since the publication of the manual is just around the corner, I decided to work a bit longer until then. So, my retirement still stands, correct?” “What are you talking about? You have to work until the textbook is published safely.” “….” “Everyone, start working overtime today.” Hans, who had declared coldly, suddenly left the conference room, and Karen sat down helplessly. The researchers’ reactions were varied. A look of pity for Karen, a look of despair at the boss’s overtime demands… And then, after spending a whole year painstakingly writing the magical manual, she went through it piece by piece, identified the parts that needed correction, and even created a report to inform the Lord of the Wizard Tower… The atmosphere was filled with anger at the ‘whistleblower’ who had done something so reckless! “….” Among them, only Lilith Rubinstein was sweating profusely. Everyone’s eyes were focused on her one by one. Why? Could it be that she was the whistleblower? “Princess.” Karen looked back at Lilith as if resenting her. “James Gray, right?” Yes, the whistleblower that everyone here was guessing was none other than James Gray. Four months ago, he had joined the Wizard Tower as a new researcher with impressive results. And as the direct superior of that new recruit, Lilith had to endure the resentful gazes of her colleagues as the price. “W, well. I don’t know about that either….” “Who else would do something like that! Aaaah….” When Karen finally started to cry, everyone ran over to comfort her. The traitor, the inexperienced newcomer, James Gray—who pulled such a ridiculous stunt just one day before the textbook approval! ‘Is Master really out of his mind?’ —Not Master, but the former Lord of the Wizard Tower, Oscar Manuel, who is hiding his identity. Whether there is actually a problem with the textbook or not is beside the point, but to directly report the issue to the highest superior from behind the scenes? Zero flexibility! Zero manners! The type of person you absolutely don’t want to meet as a colleague! It was as if he had never experienced social life before, so even Lilith couldn’t find any way to shield him this time. Knowing better than anyone how much her colleagues have struggled until now, she had nothing to say. Just… “I… will have a serious talk with him…” Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and
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