My Daddy Hides His Power – Chapter 298 – Side story Part 1 Chapter 38

Author: rolypoly

I couldn’t bear to look at Cheshire in pain and turned my head away.

“When are we going to kiss!”

I recalled the sharp memories of our first kiss during time travel.

I got annoyed and stomped my feet, frustrated with Cheshire who kept avoiding the kiss when all I wanted was for him to just kiss me once…

Honestly, it was a kiss I had to throw a tantrum for to get.

And that day, after the kiss, I realized while seeing him looking so pained.

“I told you I wouldn’t do it… It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just… I feel so embarrassed, that’s why… It’s just that I can’t handle it.”

The shameful rumor of being impotent.

As expected, it was just a baseless rumor…

“Honeeey, are you okay?”

“No…”

When I turned around, I saw Cheshire clutching a cushion tightly. His hand, veins bulging, had gone pale and was trembling.

“What should I do…”

Cheshire was clearly struggling, but for some reason, I couldn’t help but laugh.

But I have a conscience, so I can’t laugh openly, so I grabbed both cheeks with one hand and pulled them down with all my might.

At that moment,

Dad opened the door and came in.

“Princess, Dad just tried on the suit. It fits perfectly…”

For some reason, Dad stopped talking.

Then he blinked and looked at us both in turn.

‘What’s that reaction? Don’t tell me we got caught doing something naughty?!’

I quickly glanced at Cheshire, but—nothing. Not at all.

True to his title as the master of poker face, he was already sitting there with a perfectly calm expression.

“Hmm, my daughter…”

“….”

“My cheeks are about to pierce the sky…”

Damn it! Was I the culprit all along?!

Dad let out a small chuckle and said as he opened the door again.

“Dad will step out for a bit. Call me when you pick the next dress.”

As soon as Dad stepped out, Cheshire quickly turned to face me.

“Pft. No, honey. I, I’m sorry, pft… It’s not… not what it looks like…”

What should I do when I can’t stop laughing?

I opened my mouth wide, pretending to yawn to hide the corners of my lips twitching up—but it was hard to hide the smile creeping in.

“Haa, really…”

In the end, he gave in and laughed along, cupping my cheek as he leaned in, resting his weight on my shoulder like he was about to collapse.

“It’s your fault we got caught….”

“Pft. I’m sorry…”

* * *

The warm southern region, where early February already feels like spring.

The place where I have precious childhood memories with James Brown, Zenon.

It was my hometown that I had come to after a long time.

“Wow! Dad, Dad! Over there is Mr. Grape’s general store! Wow! The windmill mill on the hill is still there!”

The carriage slowly moved through the bustling town center, crowded with people at work.

I stuck my head out of the window and absentmindedly watched the familiar scenery.

“Hey! What are you doing, that’s dangerous? Aren’t you going to put your head back in?”

“Oh my, it’s really the same! I wonder if Mr. Bain at the general store is doing well?”

Hearing Oscar’s scolding, Dad, who was by the window, grabbed my waist and sat me down next to him.

Although I was disappointed, I just sat there, continuing to peek out the window.

“While we’re at it, should we go show off our princess and her beautiful look to the villagers~?”

“Hehehe~~”

Dad couldn’t take his eyes off me in my wedding dress and kept admiring me.

“Isn’t everyone going to be so amazed that the princess has truly become a princess that they’ll faint~?”

“Ey~~”

“Ha. You’re really messing around.”

The mood was nice, but Oscar clicked his tongue from the side. I shot him a sharp glare.

“What are you looking at!”

“Since you’re looking the best today, I’ll let you off just this once.”

Both Oscar and Dad were dressed in stylish tuxedos they would wear for the ceremony.

Dad’s good looks weren’t anything special to me, since I’ve been seeing them for almost 18 years of my life.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you dressed like this all the time?”

Oscar, all dressed up from head to toe, looked so handsome that I couldn’t stop admiring him the whole way here.

“I’ll never do this annoying and crazy thing again.”

“You’ll have to do it on the wedding day too, you know?”

“That’s still a long way off anyway. You said it takes a while to find a venue.”

“Oh, right…”

I still hadn’t told Oscar that I managed to book the wedding venue for May.

I’m planning to tell him on his birthday…

“Phew. The smell of cow dung is driving me crazy.”

Oscar, a cold city man, couldn’t get used to this lovely smell and asked me while holding his nose.

“When are we going to get there?”

“Just a little further.”

Today’s destination was the studio of the famous wedding painter, Maller Palette, whose services are so in demand that even with a fortune, booking him is nearly impossible.

We were on our way to have the first of the four reserved wedding portraits painted.

A portrait with the bride’s family!

I had already thought about the composition.

I was planning to ask for it to be painted with me linking arms with Dad and Oscar, just like we would when walking down the aisle—but the problem is…

‘Why is this so ominous?’

The carriage, at least, was leaving the bustling town center and heading into the outskirts, where the strong smell of cow dung filled the air.

There’s a studio in a place like this?

“There’s a studio in a place like this?”

Oscar asked, as if he was dumbfounded.

I was startled. I thought he had read my mind.

“How can a painter living in this far-off southern countryside become the most famous in the capital?”

“J, just wait! A true artisan usually lives in a countryside like this, working in seclusion to create amazing art!”

I took out the reservation form.

I had already read it several times, but it was a reservation form with questionable content every time I read it.

*Maller Palette Ceremonial Portrait*

-Location: Zenon, Milo 34

-Working fee: To be decided after mutual agreement

-Notes

Only four works are accepted for reservations per half year.

For reservations past the deadline, cancellations and refunds of the deposit are not allowed.

The studio is small.

Please refrain from bringing in helpers or servants hired by individuals.

Thank you for always coming.

“Wow, do you think just writing ‘thank you’ at the end will hide that rude attitude?”

Perhaps having peeked over, Oscar clicked his tongue. I quickly flipped the reservation form over.

“True artisans always have high standards, you know!”

“The paintings are all the same, you could just go ask anyone to paint for you. Why go through all this trouble and come all the way here?”

But it’s a once-in-a-lifetime wedding!

A wedding portrait to preserve that memory for a lifetime, like a treasured relic!

I didn’t want to entrust it to just anyone.

“He’s truly an incredible person. Even Master said he’s heard of Mr. Maller Palette’s name!”

“Yeah, Master. Is there any other painter as famous as him? He’s from the Kingdom of Carta and has been in exile for just three years, but if he’s made a name for himself in the capital in just three years, his skills must be extraordinary.”

“That’s right, that’s right!”

Dad and I started defending Mr. Maller with all our might, even though we had never met him.

However, Oscar’s dissatisfaction remained.

“How many wedding painters have such a spacious and well-equipped studio? If we went there, they’d even help us change clothes, do our makeup, and we could bring servants along to attend to us while we rested. We could have painted in comfort and peace.”

“….”

“From home, dragging this fancy dress, taking the warp gate, stuck in some corner, unable to even set the coordinates of the movement magic, getting a carriage and going on a country road that smells like cow dung….”

“Princess, I think we’ve arrived!”

The carriage stopped.

My ears almost bled, but it was a relief.

Dad helped me put on my dress and carefully got me out of the carriage.

And…

“As expected, we shouldn’t have come, right? Just watching the way that princess handles things is so frustrating, it’s enough to make my insides burst, isn’t it?”

Oscar, who was the last to get off, mocked the place when he saw the studio’s address, 34 Milo Street.

An old, narrow two-story cottage.

Surrounded by rice fields.

We were all speechless.

“….”

Still, I thought that maybe this was the right place.

“Ugh.”

Just then, a hunched old man came out of the cottage holding a watering can, his skinny legs trembling as he watered the flowerpots in the front yard—and with that, all my expectations vanished.

“Let’s at least try asking that Grandpa…”

I lifted the hem of my dress and walked over to the Grandpa.

“Hello? Excuse me, may I ask you something? By any chance, is the studio of the painter Maller Palette around here?”

The Grandpa, who somehow looked a bit grumpy, glanced at me and said.

“I’m Maller Palette. Are you the one who made a reservation for today?”

Embarrassed.

“Wow, you’re really something. A frail old man with no strength to even hold a paintbrush, just obsessed with money—hmph!”

“Oho!”

Dad urgently covered Oscar’s mouth.

“Yes! I made a reservation today!”

I quickly stepped in front of Mr. Maller, hoping he hadn’t heard Oscar’s rude remark, and greeted him hastily.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Maller!”

“….”

Mr. Maller slowly scanned me and the two men standing behind me. His expression looked rather intimidating.

“A young woman with such a bright face doesn’t even know shame. No matter how much the world has changed, how dare you bring two men into the same bridal chamber?”

“….?”

I was dazed for a moment. Then I looked back at Dad and Oscar.

It seemed like he mistook the two of them in tuxedos for the groom.

‘This is ridiculous. I’ve decided to accept that strangers might misunderstand us, but even so, this kind of mistake? Two grooms?’

How can people be so free of prejudice?

“That’s not it…”

“Tsk tsk. This is the end of the world, the end of the world. That loach-like guy living up there pretended to reform the country, but he ended up in this mess.”

“….”

That loach is the man right behind me.

“In my day~ it was the rule for there to be one groom and one bride, entering the bridal chamber properly and modestly! Tch, tsk! The state of the country is completely falling apart!”

“Excuse me, that’s not it…”

“Stop messing around. You spent your whole life lounging comfortably in the kingdom, and now that the duchy is finally starting to thrive, you come crawling back in your old age and start running your mouth—ugh!”

Dad covered Oscar’s mouth again as he muttered quietly behind him.

“Ahaha! Sir, there seems to be a misunderstanding. The duchy’s marriage law also requires monogamy.”

“That’s right, Mr. Maller. The groom will be here for the next reservation. Today, we’re here to have a portrait of the bride’s family done. I’m the bride and the daughter, and these gentlemen are…”

I stepped aside and pointed at Dad and Oscar.

“They are my fathers!”

After saying the prepared words, I became nervous.

If I were to paint a ceremonial portrait of two men, any artist would have asked questions.

‘Which one is your father?’

‘Is that one your brother?’

And so on.

I had already run through dozens of simulations in my mind on how to block such questions.

‘Mr. Maller will probably ask why there are two fathers, right? Then I’ll respond with the very heartfelt words I’ve prepared. My teacher might even be moved to tears. Heh heh…’

Alright, Mr. Maller! Please come in!

“….”

However, Mr. Maller, who had been alternating between looking at the two men, instead of asking a question…

“Oh.”

He shook his head in shock and shuddered.

“Even though times have changed, this is really the end of days. Who would have thought that I would see men acting like a married couple before I go to the grave….”

“…?!”

Oh my.

N, no, that’s not it…

I quickly turned around to see my dad and Oscar standing there, stunned, doubting their ears.

I hurriedly chased after Mr. Maller, who was walking away with his hands behind his back.

“T, Teacher~ That’s not it~”

“No! I don’t know about the secret affairs of strange men! I don’t want to hear it!”

Mr. Maller covered his ears and quickly went into the cottage, slamming the door shut behind him.

I froze in shock.

‘Wow, this is definitely going to be a mess.’

I covered my ears.

Soon, as expected.