My Daddy Hides His Power – Chapter 297 – Side story Part 1 Chapter 37

Author: rolypoly

* * *

The year changed.

One day in January of 1790.

‘Hoho. Today’s finally the day we go look at wedding dresses!’

I had already requested leave for Oscar and was waiting in the lab.

After giving his blessing for the marriage, he had been very generous in approving early leave for wedding preparations.

Knock, knock.

‘Oh, who is it?’

A sudden knock.

Thinking it might be Oscar, I went to open the door myself—

“Heuk! Brother? What brings you to such a shabby place?”

“What? Hahaha!”

It was Erich!

I laughed whenever I saw Erich these days because I remembered the first time I met him.

It was because the story of how he became my ‘brother’ was so funny.

That was when I was 11 years old.

It was back when I first joined the gifted class at the Wizard Tower—Erich was the teacher.

“This is Erich Lehmann, a researcher at the Wizard Tower. He’ll be teaching you the basics of magic formula construction, Lilith.”

The moment Erich was first introduced to me by Robel, who was in charge of the gifted class.

I was at a loss for words for about three seconds because of his good looks.

Of course, there were many handsome men around me.

But if there’s one thing they all have in common, it’s that they’re all “cold-hearted handsome men”!

A dad who has a bright smile but looks cold when he’s expressionless, Cheshire who naturally has no expression, and Oscar, who is always irritable…

Axion, with his military-like posture, and Uncle who confuses people by looking like he’s angry when he’s not smiling…

Maybe it’s because they resemble Uncle, but setting aside their personalities, even the twin brothers have that high-nosed, aristocratic prince-like image…

Anyway, having only been accustomed to men like that, ‘the warm-hearted’ Erich was a fresh shock to me.

“Yes, yes… Brother Erich…”

“…? Lilith, you should call me ‘Teacher,’ not ‘Brother.'”

“Ah! I, I’m sorry!”

I was so mesmerized by his beauty that, without realizing it, I ended up calling him “Brother.”

Erich said that at that moment, I was so cute and funny.

Later, when I became an official researcher at the Wizard Tower, I couldn’t keep calling him “teacher,” so we agreed to refer to him as “Brother.”

“Hehehe.”

It was something I had already realized during my time travel, but Erich was as gentle and kind-hearted as he was handsome.

Lately, he’s been taking on almost all of my work due to the busy wedding preparations…

An angel! A VIP!

“Brother, it’s shabby, but please sit over here.”

I politely extended my arm and guided Erich to the sofa.

“Hahaha! No, no, Lilith. I just stopped by for a moment. I heard you requested the afternoon off from the Lord of the Wizard Tower. Oscar told me to let you know.”

“Huh? Why would you come all the way here to tell me something like that, Brother?”

“Um, actually, I have something to ask you.”

Erich looked around the empty lab nervously, then whispered secretly in my ear.

“Your wedding date is set for May, right? You haven’t told Oscar about it yet, have you?”

“….”

I rolled my eyes quietly. Erich and I met with regretful eyes.

“…Mhm.”

“When are you going to tell him?”

Even though I had permission, Oscar still didn’t know that my wedding was in four months.

If he finds out, it will be a problem.

“I was going to tell him, but I’m too scared.”

“That makes sense.”

Erich sighed.

“I asked him if he was sad about you getting married, you know?”

“Hmm.”

“But that’s what Oscar said.”

Erich raised his eyebrows haughtily, trying to mimic Oscar’s expression.

“I’m not really thinking about it yet since the wedding is still far off. It’s not like everything will be ready overnight, probably in a year or two, right?”

“….”

“…That’s what he said.”

“W, what should I do… What should I do…”

“I’m scared too. Do you know what he said when he approved your early leave today?”

“What did he say?”

“He said, ‘By the time the wedding happens, trends will have completely changed, so why are you going to pick out a wedding dress so soon?’”

“Hiik!”

“Lilith, wouldn’t it be better to tell him yourself rather than having Oscar find out through suspicion first?”

“W, when? How should I say it?”

“Well…”

Erich thought for a while and then said,

“Actually, when Oscar is in a really, really good mood, he’s surprisingly lenient. Of course, it has to be a genuine, really good mood, but when that happens, his threshold for anger goes way up, and he lets a lot of things slide with a smile.”

“But it’s hard to imagine Master being that happy…”

“That’s true, it’s rare.”

Erich and I both let out a deep sigh.

“Ah!”

Then suddenly Erich clapped his hands.

“How about we aim for our birthday?”

“Birthday?”

“Mhm. It’s not that far away.”

Birthday…

I looked at the date marked with a red heart on the calendar on my desk.

February 18th.

It was Oscar’s birthday.

* * *

That afternoon.

This is the most famous and well-known bridal boutique in the capital!

“Oh my…”

A dazzling white bell-line wedding dress intricately adorned with sparkling jewels.

I first wore the dress I liked the most and stood before my dad and Cheshire to show them.

“This can’t be.”

Dad stared blankly at me.

“Really, it’s unbelievably beautiful.”

He grabbed his head and was shocked.

“This can’t be. My beautiful… my princess…”

He covered his mouth, overcome with emotion.

“You’re truly an angel sent from heaven…”

Tears even started to well up.

“I, it’s not that much. Stop it, Dad. I’m embarrassed.”

Embarrassed by Dad’s dramatic reaction, I glanced back at Cheshire, hoping for some support.

But his impression was.

“Pretty.”

That was all.

“….”

We were all speechless at Cheshire’s overly flat response, including me, Dad, and the dress shop’s madam.

What is it?

“Honey, is it not that good?”

“No. It’s pretty.”

It doesn’t seem pretty at all?

I blinked in disbelief, and in the middle of the awkward silence, Dad, looking flustered, forced an awkward smile.

“Ahahahaha! You’re frozen because it’s so pretty, right? Right, Cheshire?”

“Yes.”

Everyone fell silent at the stiff response.

“Haha, hahahaha! Sometimes, the groom is so overwhelmed by how beautiful the bride is that he can’t even speak properly~!”

The madam also tried to somehow manage the awkward atmosphere, babbling while sweating profusely.

“U-um, here’s a catalog. Would you like to take a look to see if there’s any design you prefer?”

Madam Sister put the catalog in Cheshire’s hand.

“And Father, would you like to go upstairs and try on the tuxedo you had fitted last time to see if it fits?”

She hurriedly left the dress fitting room with Dad.

The moment when we were alone.

I stared at Cheshire, feeling embarrassed.

But he didn’t even look at me and sat down on the sofa in the fitting room and started flipping through the catalog.

“Honey.”

I grabbed the dress with difficulty and quickly sat down next to Cheshire.

“Mhm.”

“I’m not that good?”

“No. I said it’s pretty.”

“It’s pretty, but you’re not responding well. If you don’t like the dress, tell me. We’ll try it on again in something we both like.”

“I told you it’s pretty.”

“….”

Cheshire’s reaction, who only said I was pretty and didn’t even look at me, was shocking.

This wasn’t what I imagined…

Cheshire was admiring me as I came out in my wedding dress.

If he keep staring without being able to look away, I was about to cling to Cheshire and say, “Aww, it’s embarrassing~ stop staring~” while playfully hitting his chest.

Am I overdoing it?

Isn’t this every woman’s dream?

“Hey.”

I called out in an angry voice.

“Yeah.”

This time too, a short answer without even looking at him.

“Wow….”

I was so upset that I was getting angry. I was so hot that I fanned myself.

‘That’s too much, seriously. Could it be that after dating for so long, he’s not impressed by how I look?’

I turned my head and took a deep breath to control my anger.

“Lilith.”

Cheshire called.

“Lilith…”

He kept calling me, so I pouted my lips and glared at him.

“….?”

What is it? His expression was amazing.

His eyes barely opened with effort. His cheeks were flushed bright red, as if heated.

He looked at me with a face that looked like he was out of breath because of pain.

“…What’s wrong with you?”

“Really. I’m serious.”

“….”

“You’re really beautiful. Truly beautiful. That’s why… I can’t look at you properly…”

Cheshire barely managed to continue speaking, breathing hard.

“How… how should I put this into words, well….”

I blinked in surprise, and Cheshire’s face came closer.

“I… don’t know….”

And then we lightly kissed.

His face, so handsome that it could make your heart drop, and the way he looked, almost like a wounded person, just a breath away from his lips, was truly…

It’s too much…

“Believe me…”

“….”

One more time, a kiss.

“Please…”

One more time.

More intense than the previous kiss, which was plain.

His lower lip was gently bitten.

“It’s just that I, I’m not good at expressing it…”

His voice, barely able to come out as if he was struggling, was dangerously lewd.

Until I forget how to breathe.

“You are the most beautiful in the world…”