How to Protect My Sub Male Lead Dad

“I wanted to take care of her during your absence.”
“I sent her with that in mind, Your Majesty.”
“D*mn you!”

Grandfather reluctantly let me go, despite his objections.

I knew the real reason Dad had sent me to Barbetz Academy. The Barbetz Higher Academy is the most prestigious institution in the Empire. It was founded by Barbetz Stauffen, a strategist and scholar who was the first Emperor’s right-hand man.

Barbetz was known for his eccentric personality. When the first emperor founded the Berg Empire, he secluded himself in the mountains, disregarding high positions, and taught his disciples.

‘Of course… they all ran away, tired of the rigorous education, except one.’

That disciple carried on Barbetz’s will and founded the academy. Dad had a clear motive for sending me there.

‘Because it has produced the most emperors.’

What more does he want to give me? Was he trying to make me his successor when he became the emperor?

‘Is that possible? I’ve grown up to be quite a troublemaker, unlike my childhood.’

Did he read my mind? As we walked out of the hall, Dad said, “Hanelope, when we get back to the academy, you should…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll behave myself.”

Dad chuckled at my forced words.

“You can be a troublemaker.” Then he said something unexpected, “Just don’t get caught. Like now.”
“Huh!”

I gasped in surprise.

“How did you know?”
“I thought you were up to something funny with Maxim again,” Dad said, narrowing his eyes.

Once again, I was in the palm of his hand.

‘Maxim had a loose tongue around Dad.’

Maxim was great at keeping secrets, but he yapped only around Dad. It was amazing how he kept our secret for several months when I was young.

Dad gently stroked my matted hair.

“You can play with Maxim all you want. You can get into trouble, and if you get caught, Dad will take care of it.”

The words were like a ray of light to me.

“R-Really?”
“Just don’t do anything dangerous. Your safety is the most important thing to me.”
He glared at me sternly.
I nodded obediently.

“Okay. Now get in the carriage.”
“Yes!”

I climbed into the carriage, leaving my father tearfully behind. I didn’t know when we would meet again…

I leaned my face out of the window and waved my hand desperately.

“Dad! I’ll miss you!”

“We’re not parting forever,” Dad responded to my excessive display of affection with a slight furrow. But he didn’t seem to dislike it.

“Hehe.”

As I laughed, I felt a strange gaze and flinched. Someone from afar was staring intently at Dad.
It was truly an unexpected person.

‘Yenna?’

Moreover, though it was uncertain from a distance, the expression on the person looking at Dad seemed as if…

‘As if she is smitten?’

I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand and looked again. But when I opened my eyes again, no one was there.

 

***

 

The class was finally over!

The next day back at Barbetz I was walking down the corridor, but I stopped in the corridor at the sound of murmuring.

There was a newspaper taped to the public notice board. It was a newspaper with a full-length portrait of a man on the front. All the students passing by stopped walking and stared at the portrait.

A handsome face, delicately drawn by god, and a body sculpted in perfect proportions. The man gazing with a calm, rational gaze – who could he be?

‘That’s my dad!’

Next to the full-length portrait, in large letters, was written: ‘Prince Hart, Cracking Down the Cultists Again!’
It seemed like the work of someone who admired Dad.

‘It’s understandable. Since Dad went to the border area, we hear reports of victories every day.’

Thanks to him, the northern border area where Dad is stationed has been greatly stabilized.

‘They’re even asking to send Dad to the southwest.’

Maybe that’s why, ‘When is Prince Hart’s crowning as the Crown Prince?’ was scribbled below.

‘My Dad is too cool.’

I clasped my hands together and gazed at the portrait with delight. Just then, I heard the voices of students nearby.

“Shouldn’t His Highness also help capture the cultists around here?”

“Right? Haven’t you heard there are cultists here?”

Cultists?

‘I haven’t heard about that!’

My ears perked up like a rabbit.

“His Highness Prince Patrick should step up as well.”

“We can hope! His Highness Prince Patrick is keeping a low profile these days.”

“Don’t be naive. My father is a sponsor of this newspaper, and the informant there said so. Prince Patrick is aiming for the throne these days.”

The more I listened, the more surprising the stories became.

I approached the student whose dad was a sponsor and asked naturally.

“Really? Did His Highness Prince Patrick say that?”
“That’s right. Personally, I think Prince Patrick has the upper hand.”
“Why? Prince Hart is more handsome and dignified.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. If you’re going to be emperor, you need to have the support of your wife’s side, and foolish Prince Hart has made a woman with no roots a duchess. She’s not even alive.”
“Why? If he loves her, it could happen. You’re being too harsh.”

“Too harsh? Think about it. Even that illegitimate daughter…”
“Yeah, that’s me. So what?”

The student froze on the spot.

I smiled brightly and walked up to the student.

“Y-You since when…”
“I’ve been here all along.”

The student’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. He never imagined that I was the one he was talking to. It was my talent that I seamlessly joined the conversation.

“And I think your father needs to get some real information, not just gossip from an informant.”
“What?”
“My mum’s a duchess now, do you think I’m still an illegitimate daughter?”
“!”

The boy turned red with embarrassment, unable to utter a word.

Since I had no further business with him, I left immediately. But the boy who was talking to him followed me.

“Hanelope! Wait!”

He was running towards me so desperately that his skinny arms and legs swung like a scarecrow.

‘Why is he acting like this?’

I stopped in surprise.

“What’s wrong?”
“I came to tell you not to be too upset. I disagree with that guy!”

He wore round glasses and a crisp, tucked shirt and looked like a model schoolboy.

“I have a great deal of respect and admiration for His Highness, Prince Hart.”
“My Dad?!”

I exclaimed, my eyes twinkling.

He grinned broadly and nodded.

‘Did I sound too pleased?’

But I can’t help it. He was still my favorite!

“I think Prince Hart should be Emperor, even less so than Prince Patrick. Look at the progress he’s made in recent years. He’s very talented, and…”

He rambled on and on.

I felt as if he was appealing to me.

“Just forget whatever that guy said.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
“Why would Prince Hart need to marry a noble lady? If you marry into a good family, they’ll have his back.”
“…….”
“For the record, my family has been running the Purple Estate for three generations, so we’re not short of money. It’s a bit of a blemish that the family patriarch was a stable keeper, but that can be fixed when you and I get married, right?”

This guy had other plans.

‘How could he be so brazen as to say such a thing?’

We didn’t talk much before. He started talking more after my mum became the duchess. The children of the aristocrats were amazing…

The older I got, the harder it was to find a friend as pure and straightforward as ‘that child’ I knew.

“So… Are you talking about me getting married?”
“Yeah. You’re sixteen, you should marry me.”

He said it like it was a given. I was dumbfounded.

‘Am I already at that age?’

It feels like I was just a baby yesterday.

‘No, I haven’t even had my coming-of-age ceremony yet?’

Moreover, this boy seems like a huge opportunist.

‘I can imagine what would happen if I married him.’

But I have no intention of doing so. But he mistook my smile for approval.

“Do you like…!”
“But you know what? I like strong men.”
“S-Strong?” He blinked.
“I’ve been thinking about it since I was a kid. I’ll marry the man who brings me the core of a flame-tailed lizard from the Merrill Mountains to the north.”
“A flame-tailed lizard? That ferocious creature?”
“It’s only a little bit bigger than others..”

The boy was startled. Seeing his reaction, I chuckled.

“Are you scared of such a small and cute creature…?”
“W-Well, I…”

The boy shook like a leaf and asked, “H-How about a ring with a fist-sized diamond?”

“It’s too plain. We have plenty of those at home.”
“T-Then, how about gifting a mansion as big as the palace?”
“Why would I need a mansion as big as the imperial palace when I can just go to the palace? It’s a waste of resources.”

The boy suddenly frowned when things didn’t go as he wanted. It seemed like he was throwing a tantrum because things weren’t going his way.

“W-What kind of girl are you…!”
“Who said you could make noise in the hallway?”

Behind the boy, a tall young man with sharp eyes and red hair appeared.

The startled boy turned around to look. He was a young man with a noble appearance, perfectly complemented by freckles.

“F-Fritzka Spigent…”
“I must have told you. Don’t make noise in the hallway.”
“I-I…”
“It’s a school rule, and I’m the student council president who enforces it.”