How to Protect My Sub Male Lead Dad

‘I wanted to sacrifice myself to save Brantley, but I hurt my dad and grandfather in the process.’

I should have figured out a way to escape together somehow.

‘I was a fool.. because of my short-sightedness..’

“Dad, Grandfather…”

Grandfather turned to me trying to appear unaffected but his eyes were red.

My heart ached to see him cry and made me feel sorry.

“Dad, I’m sorry I made you worry. And Grandpa, I won’t do it again!”

Dad choked up at my words and bit his lip. Grandpa also seemed to be suppressing something as he frowned.

“Hanelope, you don’t need to apologize. It’s Dad’s fault for not protecting you.”
“As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters to Grandfather.”

He hugged me tighter.
Finally, the tears Grandfather had been holding back rolled down on his cheeks as he smiled in relief.

I must have lost consciousness during my fight with Prache.

‘That’s what Uncle Rabbit and Mis- No! Butterfly said.’

I was in a coma for a week until the chaos settled down. Fortunately, the physicians informed me that my health was better. Hearing this, Dad and Grandfather were instantly relieved.

“See! I’m so strong!” I said proudly.
“My daughter went through such a big ordeal yet she’s so sensible.”
“No, Hanelope is strong because she took after her grandfather.”

Dad and Grandfather who were having a nervous breakdown, finally seemed to be back to normal.

After that, I could hear everything from Maxim.

Dad and Grandfather omitted many details when they told me about it. They were probably afraid that I would be shocked.

“A ‘new Saint’ with black hair and black eyes appeared and took down Asta. A beast appeared from her goblet.”

A ‘new Saint’ with black hair and black eyes… Maxim was referring to Yenna.

“The aura was directed towards the boat and Asta and the priests were killed. Thankfully Your Highness and Young Master were unharmed. The bodies of Asta and the priests were so gruesome, especially since the beast had mauled Asta so badly…”

Maxim’s words were unfiltered.

‘I remembered the scene I wished to forget.’

It was the miserable final words of a villainess.

Afterward, Grandpa made an announcement throughout the empire.

Asta Appel was not only an imposter pretending to be a Saint but also a criminal and a traitor to the empire. Her body became crow’s food, and Appel was completely destroyed.

“Why did I do such bad things, knowing it would end like this?”

Those were the last words Asta spoke.

What happened to Prache? I saw him torn to shreds before my eyes, but it wasn’t his actual body.

Prache has taken damage, and I’m sure he won’t be around for a while. Along with Prache, the ‘Saint’ Yenna had also vanished.

‘She was caught lying about me turning to ash and dying.’

The temple insisted that Yenna did not mean to lie, she was just shocked.

“The Countess of Appel died, and she mistook her for the Princess! Of course, the Princess is small compared to a Countess, but when she saw Asta reducing the Countess to ashes, she was heavily shocked,” that’s what they said.

The temple sent Yenna to the monastery to recuperate with high-ranking priests as guards.

‘They were there to protect her.’

The temple couldn’t act careless with the real Saint. However, did Asta really turn the Countess into ashes?

 

* * *

 

“Are you fine now? I would get sick if I slept only this much.”
“If you don’t get better soon, I’ll sever ties with you!”

Katherine and Fritzka shouted, clinging to my bed.

The Spigent twins had come to visit me. They came running as soon as they heard I was awake.

The problem was that they came every day, asking, “Are you better today?” “Can we go to the academy together now?” with eager faces.

I smiled embarrassedly and nodded, “Y-Yes. I’ll eat a lot, sleep a lot, and get well soon.”
“You’re not lying, right? You have to get well soon!”
“We won’t let you leave us! You’ll play with us even when you’re a grandma!”

The two children clung to me with a strange desperation.

As I was nodding my head, I felt a sudden chill from somewhere.

“…Katherine, Fritzka.”

It was Marquis Spigent.

He came to pick up the children. The gravelly voice turned Katherine and Fritzka to ice. They were stiff, like puppets under control.

“We’ll take our leave.”
“Hope to see you in better health next time!”
“What are you waiting for? Come quickly so that Princess Hanelope can get a good night’s rest!”
“Yes, father!”
“Yes, father!”

Marquis bowed to Dad, then disappeared with the twins.

Dad clicked his tongue, “How can parents act like that?” He muttered something like that and went to see them off.

“Wasn’t Dad like that when I first met him?”

I was really scared at first.

‘Now I can’t live a moment without him!’

It’s really amazing! I thought as I waited for Dad to come back.

‘When Dad comes back, let’s visit Brantley.’

According to Maxim, Brantley woke up not long after. But he said he was badly injured and is still recovering.

It was strange. The Brantley I had seen before I passed out didn’t have a scratch. I wondered, ‘Did he have internal injuries?’
Worry took over me.

‘On top of that, I had a nightmare.’

In my dream, Brantley had jumped off a cliff.

‘Why did I have such a bad dream?’

I couldn’t wait to see Brantley’s face and be reassured. But no matter how long I waited, Dad never returned.

“Is he running late?”

I stepped out of the room and glanced down the stairs. I saw Dad talking to the butler.

“Dad!”

I rushed down the stairs to talk to him.

“When is the funeral?”

“In two days. It would be done quietly, only with the family’s presence.”

“Isn’t that too simple for a Young Master’s funeral?”

I winced as I took the last step.

“Young Master’s funeral?”

Anxiety gripped me.

“People are talking a lot about it.”

“Of course. What parent would put the blame on their son?”

“Yes. This may sound strange, but it sounded like they wanted their son to die.”

“I’m worried that Hanelope will be devastated if she finds out about this.”

“I’ll keep the servants on a tight leash for now, but Master has to tell her at some point.”

“I know.”

Dad sighed heavily.

“That Brantley is dead.”

For a moment, my vision went black. And in front of my blurry vision, the scene of Brantley jumping off a cliff reappeared.

‘No! It’s a lie!’

My breath was caught in my throat. I couldn’t even scream. I staggered back up the stairs. As soon as I made it back to my room, my legs gave out and I collapsed.

‘How can Brantley die? Asta is dead, Prache won’t show up for a while, and Brantley should live happily as the next Duke!’

I couldn’t believe it.

I couldn’t understand.

But to my horror, once I realized that Brantley was dead, all the things I had been puzzling over came together.

‘Dad and grandfather, and even the maids, strangely stopped talking about Brantley.’
The Pritzka twins’ strange behavior also made sense.

“You’re not lying, right? You have to get well soon!”
“We won’t let you leave us! You’ll play with us even when you’re a grandma!”

‘They clung to me so desperately because they saw Brantley die.’

Realizing that fact, my whole body felt like it was collapsing.

Tears fell heavily onto the carpet.

I bit my lip.

“Come out….”

The room was quiet. I shouted louder in anger.

“Come out! You already know everything! I know you’re here!”

Then the air in the room changed.

– Hanelope.

I heard Uncle Rabbit’s voice. I could also feel the energy Butterfly beside me. They had been silent the entire time, when they could communicate with me without the linker. There were many things I wanted to ask, but now was not the time.

“What happened to Brantley?”
– I …
“He’s not dead, right?”
– …….

These chatterbox Gods fell silent. I knew without hearing what their answer was.
I couldn’t help crying.

I managed to open my mouth and asked, “Who did that to Brantley?”
– Prache was fatally injured because of you.
– He’ll be chugging along for a while to recover.
“Then who did it? Was my nightmare true?”
– Shall I show you? What happened to Brantley while you were asleep.

I nodded.

Then my vision changed in an instant.

 

* * *

 

Brantley was running, desperately.

His breathing was ragged, and his legs were trembling. He was being chased.

He was framed for something he never did.

“I helped Asta break out of the prison? Don’t be ridiculous.”

Brantley recalled the time he faced the monster to save Hanelope. I had seen the monster brutally massacre Asta and the priests, but he wasn’t afraid.

“If I can save Hanelope, I don’t care if I die.”

Eventually, Brantley was hit by the monster’s tail and passed out.

When he woke up again, the monster was gone.

“Hanelope is lying there.”

I wanted to be by her side.

“It’s that boy! He’s the one who broke Asta out of prison!”

The guards guarding Asta’s prison cell had identified Brantley as the person who had helped her escape.

“He has the same features! The same hair colour, the same stature! He must be the one who put the guards to sleep with his magic that day!”

As if on cue, the ‘new Saint’ was given an oracle.

‘The oracle stated me as a partner in Asta’s crime.’

Duke Eisen was casual even though his son was falsely accused.

Even the Duchess didn’t hide her joy.

‘If he is condemned and stripped of his status, Jacob will become the new heir!’