One Day, My Dad Showed Up

Chapter 5

Astariol of judgment, the one born as a judge of heaven. Through him, God would ensure that the justice and laws that He had provided were fulfilled on earth as in heaven.

In my mind, I thought of an old priest reading a passage from .

Astariol, as the public knew, was basically a being mentioned in the section of the Bible that priests preached every Sunday.

Regarding Astariol, I also only knew the contents of the Bible and general knowledge about it in the empire.

To paraphrase what was written in the Bible, Astariol was a demi-god who was sent down to the human world by God tearing himself into several pieces in order to save humans from falling into ruin.

I heard that each of them was born with the power of God, and that even now that the world was at peace, they remained on earth, proving God’s mercy and holiness.

‘Now that I see an Astariol which is actually alive and active, it feels different from how it appears in the Bible.’

While recalling those memories, the butler who had placed all the desserts and cutlery on the table finally placed the teapot and teacups.

Mom came in at that time. She had a calm expression on her face.

Strangely enough, I felt a little excited looking at my mother’s calm face. I felt like I could finally learn a lot of things I didn’t know before.

I guess I wasn’t normal after all.

“Please feel free to talk.”

The butler slightly bowed his head in greeting and walked backwards. Once the door was completely closed, my mother called to me in a soft tone.

“Claire.”

“Yes.”

“Why aren’t you eating anything?”

“Mom once told me not to eat sweets late at night.”

The man looked at my mother with an unexpected expression.

Mom probably ate a lot of sweets late at night when she lived with that man.

Mom moaned a little before saying, “Then... you can eat a few today as long as you promise to brush your teeth well.”

“It’s okay. I can eat them with Eciel tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“I promised to give something similar to this to Eciel earlier.”

The man appropriately intervened and explained. My mother nodded her head quietly, reminded of Eciel like me.

My mother, who had previously wet her lips with a teacup, closed her eyes, as if she was hesitating for what she was going to say.

“First of all, I must say this, Claire. You ... you’re not weird.”

I quietly looked at my mother.

Mom’s face was clouded as if she was crying. Her face was similar to the one Eciel had when she cried.

However, unlike Eciel, Mom rarely made this kind of expression.

“You and Eciel are different, but that’s not what makes you strange. It’s because you are different from the moment you were born. Eciel is just a normal child, while you ...”

Mom couldn’t bear to speak.

I asked, almost certain.

“Am I an Astariol?”

There were too many clues.

My biological father was an Astariol, and I looked just like him. I also wield a power different from magic or divine power.

The reasoning was succinct, and the conclusion was clear.

My mother had a truly helpless look on her face, something that was rare to see. She nodded her head hesitantly.@@@@

As if this was some sort of fatal stigma in my life.

The man who was watching continued, speaking softly.

“Charlotte, why didn’t you tell her about Tara when you knew your daughter might be an Astariol?”

Although it was a very soft voice, it was a clear reprimand.

Mom bit her lip slightly.

Even though she couldn’t refute it as if it was an obvious thing, she didn’t look good.

With that response alone, the man seemed to have missed it and walked around the table to my mother.

The man who knelt at my mother’s feet without hesitation touched her lips and cheeks and spoke soothing words.

“I didn’t mean to blame you.”

Mom looked at the hand for a moment, then waved it to tell him to go back to his seat.

I felt like I’d seen so much in a very short amount of time.

I blinked and then asked.

“... ... What exactly is Tara?”

Mom took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

“Tara, who appears in the Bible, is the first demon who succeeded in seducing and corrupting the Astariol, reducing him into a human.”

If it was Eciel, she would probably have asked about temptation and corruption at this point. But I listened in silence.

Duke Chelsiers, who returned to his seat, grinned.

Even though he had a cold face, when he smiled like that, he looked mischievous, like a boy going through a rebellious phase.

I thought about it again in my mind.

‘Let’s not forget that that person is at least thirty years old.’

Mom must have had a hard time ignoring that smile, so she glanced over to me and continued speaking.

“The first Astariol’s name was Astariol, and the name Tara originated from Astariol. It said that Tara was a demon created solely to tempt Astariol.”

“And?”

“And Tara really succeeded in seducing Astariol. After that, Astariol was trapped in a human body with only one of his many divine powers left, and was never able to return to heaven again.”

“And what does Mom think about it?”

Mom closed her mouth. Slowly, her face turned red. She wasn’t particularly angry, more like she was embarrassed.

‘... But what on earth is there to be ashamed of?’

As soon as I thought about that, the man who had been looking at me with great amusement from a while ago said something humorous.

“Charlotte, please speak with your own mouth. You are a Tara, after all.”

I blinked once, looked at my mom, and then let out a dry exclamation.

“... Oh.”

Perhaps even more embarrassed by her daughter’s reaction, my mother buried her face in her hands. Her slightly exposed cheeks were as bright red as a midsummer rose.

‘I didn’t really mean to make fun of you.’

I was sorry, but my mother was no longer in a state where she could have a normal conversation.

The man looked at my mother with a smile, as if he had expected that to happen.

What should I say about that gaze?

Gentle affection, fiery passion, and completely uncorrupted affection. There was a feeling that it was too deep for one person to accept.

It was almost laughable that I once worried that this person was out to kill us.

The man noticed my gaze and turned his head to me. He smiled at me too. It was a very friendly smile.

I felt dizzy with realization, then almost panicked for a moment.

So, ‘that’ was Tara like.