How to Protect My Sub Male Lead Dad

It was then that I saw Hart evacuating Asta.

Despite the numerous people around, his back stood out, unusually large and sturdy.

“Asta, I think you should go first. I’ll cover you from the back and make sure they don’t follow you. We don’t want to give away your identity.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t believe I’m in your debt again… As expected, you’re the only one I have.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. It’s the last time I’m going to do this.”

Asta’s expression faltered.

Maxim was puzzled, too.

‘Did His Highness really say that to the Saint?’ he thought.

It was as unnatural as the sun rising in the west.

When I heard His Highness say, ‘It’s just for today’, I thought he was just trying to placate Hanelope.

It was then, someone brush passed confused Maxim’s shoulder-

“What the, who is..… that?”

The man was heading straight for Hart.

Instinctively, Maxim felt a sense of foreboding, and blocked the man’s path.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“…….”

“Turn yourself in to the guards nicely and I’ll let you go. I’m not in the mood for a fight right now.”

Before Maxim could finish his sentence, the man swung the thick needle he was holding.

‘He was a dangerous man, indeed.’

Dodging with ease, Maxim drew his sword and lunged at the man.

The man was soon covered in slashes and blood.

‘If I hadn’t been in such a difficult situation, I would have killed him with a single blow. Ugh!’

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through his forearm, and soon he was numb and unable to move it.

The man grinned as he held up the needle that had grazed Maxim’s forearm.

“Damn it! Was that needle poisoned?”

As Maxim’s movements grew slower and slower, the man attacked him relentlessly.

‘I don’t care if I get hurt, but now I’m……!’

The man was about to plunge the needle into Maxim’s enormous chest.

Suddenly, Maxim’s large sized chest which had been bothering him all along, jiggled.

The man was dumbfounded.

‘I know you’re all muscle, but what kind of chest sways like..?’

Even with the cloak covering, Maxim’s chest was eye-catching.

The attacker shrugged it off and was about to attack again when Maxim’s massive chest moved once more.

‘I can’t concentrate!’

Just then, something popped out of Maxim’s cloak.

It was a small, round head.

At first glance, it looked cute, but its fierce expression did not seem ordinary.

‘No, in the first place, it’s not normal for a head to stick out there.’

‘Why is a child’s head there?’

Suddenly, a dangerous memory flashed through the man’s mind.

‘There’s a rumour that Prince Hart carries around a two-headed monster… could it be true……?’

But the second head was too cute to be a demon’s part…

The man stared at the distant target, bewildered.

He hadn’t been able to tell with the mask on, but now he could see that the unusually tall and muscular figure in the crowd resembled the ‘handsome trash’ Prince Hart.

‘In that case, the king sized chest in front of me, nay, the monster is….!’

The unfounded rumour terrorized him.

“Argh!”

The excited man pointed his needles at Maxim in a hurry.

The monster’s second head flung a small bottle at the man. The bottle shattered against the man, spilling a clear liquid.

As the liquid seeped into the man’s wounds, excruciating pain spread through his body.

“Aack!”

The man flopped to the ground like a harpooned fish.

He lost his strength to fight.

Maxim handed the man over to the guards and sighed.

“I told you to stay put and hide.”

Maxim patted the small head. But the tiny head let out a sigh.

“But Maxim kept losing the whole time. How can you protect my dad if you’re so weak?”

It was a rebuke that stabbed Maxim’s heart.

Maxim dropped his head.

Hanelope rubbed something onto his forearm.

“What are you doing?”

“You’re injured. I’m putting medicine on it so it doesn’t hurt.”

Maxim felt a sting.

The poison had a dulling effect on the body.

But that was only the initial effect.

If you let your guard down and let it be, you’ll lose your life in a few hours.

‘In the original, Hart was injured.’

But he survived miraculously on the verge of death.

‘Though he suffered from the after-effects.’

This time, Maxim was stabbed instead. Hanelope felt sorry for him.

‘So I have to make sure he doesn’t have any side-effects.’

Fortunately, if the drug is applied in the early stages of poisoning, detoxification is possible.

Hanelope applied it and blew her breath on Maxim’s blistered forearm.

“It doesn’t hurt now, does it?”

“You’re good at making others feel tingly. Is that why the Master also likes you?”

Hanelope was perplexed at Maxim’s words.

“Are you tingly? Where does it itch? Do you want me to scratch you?”

“No, I’m fine. Anyway, what was that liquid you sprayed?”

“Oh, that’s disinfectant!”

“Disinfectant?”

The liquid Hanelope used was a disinfectant made from dandelion roots.

‘She must have maximized the sterilizing effect! It would be excruciatingly painful if it touches a wound.’

That’s why the grown man with the poisoned needle was writhing on the floor like a newborn calf.

‘Was it too cruel?’

But I had to protect my dad.

Besides, it’s a good antiseptic, so the wound will heal quickly.

“Miss, please hide back inside. I have to go to His Highness.”

As Maxim said, Hanelope disappeared back inside his cloak.

Hart was pacing anxiously.

‘The Saint must have taken refuge alone.’

Maxim’s mouth turned bitter.

Everyone liked Asta, but not Maxim.

Anyone who truly cared about Hart could never like Asta.

“Your Highness!”

Hart’s face lit up with relief as he spotted Maxim running towards him.

“You’re safe, but why aren’t you wearing a mask? What if they find out who you are?”

“It’s okay.”

“Is it fine? How come?”

Immediately, the captain of the Capital Guard ran up to Hart and Maxim.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

Hart panicked when he saw the captain recognize him. He would get in trouble if his identity was revealed.

But the captain said something unexpected.

“Thanks to His Highness, we’ve cleared out the illegal auction house. It was a real headache, thank you.”

“His Highness has been hunting down these scoundrels in secret. As he’s been keeping all these missions secret, His Highness was misunderstood for long.”

“Ah, is that true?”

What kind of bullshit is this?

Hart alternately looked at the brazen Maxim and the stunned captain of the guard.

He couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on.

Then something poked him on the side.

He rolled his eyes and looked down to see a small, slender finger poking at him furiously.

And the hand was sticking out of Maxim’s cloak.

It was only a small, doll-like hand, but Hart knew immediately whose it was.

‘Hanelope?!’

Henelope poked him even more.

‘Just say yes!’

It was almost as if she was urging him.

Hart nodded hesitantly.

This was the moment when Hart went from ‘handsome trash Prince’ to ‘dark knight taking on dangerous missions entangled in misunderstandings’.

 

***

 

“Explain what happened.”

Hart demanded as soon as they left the illegal auction house and got into the carriage.

Looking at his servant with his arms crossed, Hart looked as cold and impassive as the Grim Reaper.

The hulking Maxim could barely lift his head.

I peeked nervously, my face still hidden by Maxim’s cloak.

‘He seems scarier than usual.’

Was he angry?

“It wasn’t until we arrived at the auction house that I realized that the Young Lady was in the carriage. And since I couldn’t bring her in with me, I thought I’d ask the nearby Capital Guard for a moment.”

“The capital guard?”

“Yes. I happened to know the captain of the guard in this district.”

“But why did the Capital Guard barge in here? And why does the captain know that I’m sneaking in to wipe up the illegal auction house?”

“That, that….”

“Hanelope told them!”

I exclaimed, raising an arm.

Hart’s frosty eyes turned to me.

I flinched.

‘That’s the first time I’ve seen him so scary.’

My tongue felt like it was frozen from the cold.

“I, I…. saw dad go into that weird house…..”

“So?”

“M-My dad went into the scary house to catch bad guys, right?”

Can my dad do anything wrong?

I looked at Hart with the innocent face of a normal kid who thinks of her dad as a “hero.”

But Hart was still as cold as ice.