noveldrama
Chapter 153
Chapter 153
As Yu-jin headed to the room where the girls were staying, he was seething with anger.
Recalling his mentor’s red-rimmed eyes, the choked-up voice, and the look of helplessness on her face as she leaned against him, spilling out her grievances—it was impossible not to be furious.
It’s only natural to feel outraged as a family man. Yes, absolutely. So I had every intention of giving them a good talking to…
Of course, punishment wasn’t part of my plan. They were my daughters, dear enough to be precious even if I had to endure pain, and they’d been traumatized as children. I couldn’t bear to put them through anything similar.
‘Well, if I’m not going to hit them, I’ll just have to scare them a bit with my expression.’
*Glare*
“Kneel down. Right now.”
I looked at Haru with a deliberately cold gaze. I wanted her to understand that any disrespect toward my mentor would make her father furious.
However…
“D-daddy…”
*Drip*
“...!!!?”
‘Oh no, this is a disaster!’
In the end, it was the worst thing I could have done. Haru had wet herself in fright.
Now that I think about it, unlike Winter, I hadn’t refreshed her hypnosis in a while. When did I last do it? The first day of school?
I barely managed to hypnotize her then, swaying a coin in front of her eyes and using my role as her “dad” to slip past her defenses. But that was a shoddy hypnosis, bound to unravel at the slightest contradiction.
Even so, I thought this level of fear wouldn’t be a problem…
‘She’s in a more fragile state than I realized.’
Just a momentary cold stare, and she fell apart. How could I not have noticed until now? I felt a pang of self-loathing.
*Shiver*
“D-daddy…”
But, of course, once a mess is made, there’s no way to undo it. Haru’s mental state was already teetering on the edge, her mind like a broken record, repeating “Daddy, Daddy…”
I used hypnosis to force her mind to pause, so it wouldn’t get any worse, but if I left things as they were, her delicate mind would likely shatter completely.
There was no way I could let that happen. I immediately sprang into action.
‘Haru, I’m sorry!’
*Whip, tap*
‘Take a little nap!’
I quickly moved behind Haru and lightly tapped the back of her neck. At the moment I felt her go limp, I used hypnosis, essentially telling her mind, “Shut down for a while. Go to sleep.”
*Softly*
“D-daddy…”
Despite her serious state, Haru mumbled for me even as she lost consciousness.
“Alright, my Haru, have sweet dreams. Lovely dreams, happy dreams—those suit you best.”
With an added layer of hypnosis, she was finally able to relax into a peaceful sleep, a faint smile playing at her lips.
I’d bought myself some time.
‘Well, she’s still a ticking time bomb for when she wakes up.’
With Haru safely in my arms, I glanced around the room. I needed to get everything cleaned up before she woke.
First, the mess on the floor. And then, my youngest daughter, who’d wet herself.
Lastly…
“Hey, Winter. Wake up.”
“...”
“Haru’s in trouble; stop pretending to faint and… wait, could it be?”
*Grab, shake-shake*
‘She’s really out cold.’
Sure enough, Winter had fainted in the meantime.
A flicker of panic crossed my face. I had to prepare to handle the aftermath before Haru woke, but here was my eldest daughter, completely passed out, eyes rolled back and drooling.
‘She fainted just from one smack? Come on, that’s too fragile, sweetheart.’
*Sigh*
‘I need you to help bathe her, and here you are, passed out…’
It was a frustrating situation. Winter would have been perfect for helping Haru, but with her unconscious…
…Who’s going to wash Haru?
‘I can’t call for staff; I’d be mistaken for some pervert father putting weird underwear on his daughters.’
‘Winter would be ideal, but she’s out cold and won’t wake no matter how much I shake her.’
‘Maybe I should call my mentor…’
*Glance around*
‘…Absolutely not. If she saw this, she’d have a fit.’
Getting help from Winter or my mentor was out of the question.
There was only one option left.
*Resolute*
I took a deep breath, braced myself, and got ready to act. I had to face the reality that, right now, I was the only one able to do anything.
‘For the next ten minutes, Haru will look like a mannequin to me!’
I cast a quick hypnotic suggestion. No matter what, even if she’s my daughter, she’s a young lady. Even as her father, there are things I should never look at.
In my eyes, Haru became a mannequin—a lifeless figure. It was a trick of the mind, of course, but no one else would see, and it would do for now.
“Daddy’s going to help you get nice and clean~.”
*Slide, thump*
I quickly removed her soiled underwear. The wet fabric dropped with a thud to the floor, and Haru’s lower half, or rather the mannequin’s lower half, was free.
I carried her to the bathroom.
‘The hypnosis is working perfectly—it really feels like I’m washing a mannequin.’
Using warm water and body wash, I carefully cleaned her up. I didn’t have time to dry her hair, so I focused on her lower half, scrubbing with a soft sponge to ensure everything was spotless.
In no time, my soaked mannequin turned into a sparkling, clean one.
‘Now, for underwear… let’s see, do we have any spares?’
*Rummaging*
‘Got it! Winter, you’re the best!’
I found a spare pair in Winter’s bag, meant for both herself and Haru.
The care and foresight my eldest daughter had shown brought a smile to my face.
‘Now then, what’s this? Could it be… a condom?’
*Ding*
[Skill “Complete Hypnosis” has…]
‘...Looks like vitamins. Better not mess with that.’
I found some other items in the bag but left them alone out of respect for her privacy.
Anyway, I dressed the mannequin’s lower half in fresh underwear, so Haru wouldn’t wake up feeling uncomfortable. For now, I’d managed to prevent the worst.
‘Still, it’s not over. I need to clean up the scene, too.’
With the mannequin, or rather, Haru, safely tucked into bed, I wrapped tissues around my hands to tackle the mess on the floor.
It was a rather undignified task for someone ranked seventh in the S-Class, but…
Since I was responsible for all this, I considered it an act of penance.
*Wipe-wipe*
‘Parenting is tough work…’
I scrubbed away, hypnotically altering my sense of smell to think it was sweet lemonade. It was tempting enough to make me almost want to taste it, though of course, I didn’t.
‘Not that anyone would drink something like this…’
*Sparkle*
‘Finally, all done!’
As I mindlessly worked, I eventually finished cleaning.
The scene of the accident was cleared. My little rice-cake duo lay asleep on the bed, and the floor was spotless. Even if Haru woke now, everything was in order.
“Mm…”
*Stir*
‘Oh, she’s waking… Or maybe I woke her with all the rustling.’
It seemed like Haru was coming to, stirring and murmuring as she hovered on the edge of waking.
I moved quickly. This was why I’d cleaned everything in the first place—to be ready to help Haru.
*Swift, embrace*
“Did my Haru sleep well~?”
“Mm… huh?”
Held snugly, her eyes slowly blinked open, meeting mine. Her red eyes looked dull and clouded.
…It seems her mental state is still shaky. I’ll need to help her as quickly as possible.
“D-daddy… do you hate me?”
*Shiver*
As expected, Haru immediately began to tremble, her whole body quaking like a phone on vibrate mode. She must have remembered what happened just before she fell asleep.
Usually, treating this kind of trauma would be extremely difficult, but…
*Hug, nuzzle*
“Why would Daddy hate you, Haru~? Did you have a nightmare?”
“…A nightmare?”
“You were sound asleep with your sister just now.”
I confidently spun a tale, using my hypnotic trick to make her believe that everything had been a dream. The illusion of Daddy hating her—a contradiction to her hypnosis—would vanish once she believed it was all a dream.
The effect was immediate.
“I… I wet myself…?”
“Wet yourself? But your undies are clean and dry.”
“They… oh, they really are! That’s nice.”
“See? Just a dream, sweetheart. It was all just a dream.”
“It… was a dream!”
*Smile*
The light slowly returned to her eyes, regaining the clarity of her hypnosis.
‘This’ll work for now, but…’
At some point, it’ll happen again. This is just a temporary solution; the underlying issue remains.
So I couldn’t just leave it at that.
“What kind of dream was it?”
“Well, it was scary… Daddy was scolding me and made me sit,
and he looked at me with such a scary face.”
“That must have been really frightening for you.”
*Hug*
I gently reassured her, pulling her closer. With my hand on her thigh and my arm around her waist, our faces drew closer together.
“Maybe in the dream, Daddy wanted to scold you because you did something wrong.”
“Uh-huh… I made her cry…”
“But you know? Even in the dream, Daddy didn’t scold you because he hated you.”
In her clear red eyes, I could see myself, my gaze shining gold as I spoke.
“Still, Daddy… you were so scary…”
“Think about it. Grandma has scolded you before, right? That was scary, wasn’t it?”
“Yes…”
“But does Grandma hate you?”
“…No. Grandma loves me. She gives me pink sausages and makes me eggs for dinner.”
Haru’s eyes grew hazy as she entered a trance. It was my cue to slip deeper into her consciousness.
“Right? Daddy’s the same.”
“Daddy, too?”
“Of course~ Daddy might scold you if you do something wrong, but it’s only because I love you.”
“L-love!?”
“Yes. If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t care if you grew up to be a bad adult. But I want you to grow up to be amazing.”
I carefully chose my words, hoping to lessen her intense dependency on me.
She still needed me, her “Daddy,” but I wanted to prevent her from spiraling into panic at the mere thought of being disliked.
‘Now, to wrap it up…’
“So just remember one thing. Even if Daddy scolds you or looks scary, it’s only for a moment. I’ll never truly hate you.”
I leaned closer, so my face filled her vision.
*Gasp*
“D-daddy?!”
Haru let out a startled gasp, but I didn’t stop.
“To Daddy… Haru is…”
“The most loved daughter in the world.”
“No matter what happens, I won’t hate you.”
“No matter what, even if the world ends…”
“Daddy will always love you, Haru.”
Without pausing for breath, I planted the hypnosis firmly.
And then…
“I love you, Haru.”
*Kiss*
…Something about a kiss seems to make hypnosis work better, as I’d noticed with Winter. So for Haru’s mental health, a kiss was well worth it.
“……?”
*Snuggle*
‘So grow up strong, Haru, until the day you can stand on your own, independent of me.’
*Ding*
[Skill “Complete Hypnosis” has…]
With a soft kiss, I ended the hypnosis session and then moved to leave the room.
“From now on, don’t say bad things about the mentor, okay?”
“Mmm…? I understand…?”
“Good. Then Daddy will be on his way! It’s late, so go back to sleep with your sister!”
Hurrying off
‘The mentor must be waiting!!’
I quickly headed back to my own room.
As I left, a pair of red eyes trailed after me, watching my retreating figure, her face as red as her eyes.
[Daddy loves Haru…]
Thump-thump
‘My heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest!!’
The moment replayed in her mind over and over.
It might not have been the romantic confession or the kiss she’d imagined from her sister’s stories, nor did she get to do any of the smooching practice she’d prepared, but…
Thump-thump-thump
‘If this feels any better, my heart might actually explode….’
For Haru, it was more than enough. Just her dad’s heartfelt declaration of love made her heart pound wildly.
[When I grow up, I’ll marry Daddy. And smooch him a lot.]
[When I’m a bit more grown-up… I understand now what Daddy meant. I’ll wait until I’m mature enough for the big kisses! Otherwise, my heart will just go boom!]
Thanks to her father’s words, Haru took a new step forward.
She’d held on to her childlike self all this time, instinctively, just to keep receiving her dad’s love, but now…
Since Yu-jin had promised to love her no matter what, she decided she’d grow up as he wanted. She’d be able to recite multiplication tables like her sister, eat her meals properly, and not pick out the peppers.
Ding
[Status Effect “Brainwashing” has been permanently deactivated.]
[Status Effect “Hypnosis” has…]
[… …]
[… …]
[The subject’s intentions align with yours. “Hypnosis” has smoothly integrated into the subject’s psyche.]
[“Hypnosis” has been removed.]
‘I’ll grow up soon, and when I’m ready, I’ll marry Daddy and give him lots of kisses!’
Haru made up her mind to become an adult.
Meanwhile, in another room:
“Hey, disciple, what’s that in your pocket~? Underwear~?”
“…!!? Aika. It’s not…”
“If you want to see some, you can just look at mine!!!”
Flings clothing
“W-wait, what are you doing?”
“If you don’t, I’ll blow this hotel to bits!”
“Mentor, are you drunk?!”
Had Haru seen this scene, she might have thought, ‘Is this what being an adult is like? Maybe I’ll rethink this...’