How to Protect My Sub Male Lead Dad

The silence was deafening.

Amidst it, a pair of burning red eyes stared at me.

The owner of those eyes was a ruthless person who would even discard his own son when necessary. Even if I was his seven-year-old granddaughter, it wouldn’t make a difference.

So, I decided to make use of what the Emperor before he could take it away from me.

“I’m willing to bet my life that my words are true.”

“Life? Do you even know what that is?”

The Emperor asked, sounding sarcastic.

“If I lose my life, I’ll never see my father again, and I don’t want that.”

I was as sincere as a child could be.

The Emperor stared at me. It was like he was digging into my bones.

“That’s what you said.”

The Emperor looked at Jacob this time.

In the Duke of Eisen’s arms, Jacob was terrified and began to hiccup.

“Hart’s daughter says that you have tormented her, Jacob.”

“Your Majesty, my son’s words are true. In my opinion…”

“I asked Jacob, not the Duke.”

“…….”

“Jacob, answer me.”

Jacob trembled and barely opened his mouth.

“T-That bastard is lying, doing… I-I’ve been bullied…”

“You, like Hanelope, must live by your own words.”

“!”

“If you dare to tell a lie, I will slice your throat.”

Terrified, Jacob broke out in a cold sweat. The boy’s clothes quickly became damp. You could almost feel sorry for him. But the Emperor had no mercy.

“Answer truthfully. Do you intend to keep the Emperor waiting?”

“I-I don’t… he, uh…”

Eventually, Jacob fainted in the Duke of Eisen’s arms.

Fear had overcome him.

“Jacob! Jacob! Wake up! Jacob… W-What’s this hot liquid?”

Water was dripping from the Duke of Eisen’s trousers.

Jacob was incontinent.

Duke Eisen was bewildered by his son’s condition and shifted his feet uncomfortably.

The Emperor, who sneered at him, then turned his gaze to Brantley.

Brantley, understanding his intention before the Emperor even asked, replied, “What the Princess says is true. Jacob led and tormented the Young Lady, who is innocent. I am willing to stake my life on this statement.”

“I see.”

The Emperor turned his gaze to the boys, who were huddled in the corner, shaking.

“W-We were wrong, Your Majesty!”

“We w-won’t do it again!”

“Master J-Jacob made us do it. Please don’t punish us!”

Disloyal brats!

‘Jacob may have been the instigator, but I saw all of you laughing and eagerly joining in, thinking about hitting me.’

Although I felt the urge to scold them, I didn’t want to make the crying children even more miserable.

Coincidentally, the parents of the children returned, panting. Perhaps they had heard the commotion in the waiting room belatedly, and they fell into contemplation.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, my foolish son acted like this in the Palace.”

“He dared to do such a rude thing! Please have mercy on this young one, for I will discipline him severely.”

The parents bowed to the Emperor from the waist down and begged for forgiveness.

The Emperor only nodded, as if he didn’t want to respond.

It was a signal for them to get lost.

Parents dragged their guilty children away.

“Your Majesty, I, too…”, Duke Eisen, who was holding Jacob, said in a fumbling manner.

“The Duke is…”

The Emperor frowned.

The smell of Jacob and the Duke of Eisen was terrible.

“I’ll call you… later. Take your son and get out of here.”

It was a dispersing order.

The Duke of Eisen hurried out, carrying only Jacob.

“Is not the boy recognized by the Emperor, your son?”

Finally realizing the Emperor’s intention, Duke Eisen also took Brantley into consideration. Brantley, with a reluctant look in his eyes, glanced at me and disappeared.

“I can’t stay here any longer. Let’s go to the audience room.”

The Emperor frowned.

“You were going to make an audience with Hanelope, Your Majesty.”

Duchess Moltke immediately agreed.

Then Asta’s eyes narrowed.

“Your Majesty, I’m sure Hanelope was very surprised by what happened earlier.”

Her voice, unlike her eyes, was full of affection.

An overwhelmingly smug expression was a bonus.

“Hanelope is a small child, and I’m afraid she won’t be able to properly greet you today, which is a shame, because I’m sure she’s been very prepared.”

“…….”

“So why don’t you postpone the formal ceremony until Hanelope is prepared again?”

The Emperor was right in front, and she wanted to postpone the ceremony? It was ridiculous.

Of course, there is a difference between simply meeting the Emperor and having a formal audience with him.

It was an official proclamation.

‘By attending, my presence would be formally recognised.’

Asta wanted to stop it.

But the Emperor did not answer.

Instead, it was Prince Patrick who spoke up.

“You are so thoughtful, Asta. Who else here would put themselves in the child’s shoes?”

He was supporting her.

‘What has Asta been doing to Patrick all this time?’

He wasn’t this crazy in the original.

‘It was actually Hart who was crazy.’

As it turns out, Hart doesn’t really react to all of Asta’s shenanigans.

He merely watched Asta and the Emperor warily.

‘He was like a cautious beast.’

It didn’t seem like he was on a hunt. Rather, it was more like he was trying to protect his territory. A beast that can hide its claws but can bare them at any moment to protect what belongs to it.

“It would be foolish to put off Hanelope’s audience.”

At that moment, Duchess Moltke spoke up.

“I’ve taught her, I know what she’s like, and Hanelope is not the kind of girl to be cowed by something like that.”

Asta opened her mouth in disbelief.

“Duchess Moltke must think so, because she tends to push children. I’ve always disagreed with your methods of education.”

“I don’t care how the Saint evaluates my educational method.”

“But the child cares. Even if she wants to stop and hide, she can’t say it because she knows the Duchess is watching. Suppressed children may seem fine, but there is sadness in their eyes.”

“I see you have mastery in the art of reading minds”, Duchess Moltke sneered.

‘Woah! This is the battle of words I’ve only read about!’

In the original, when Asta and Duchess Moltke were together, they couldn’t stop bickering, no matter who was next to them. The Emperor and the two Princes- the most powerful beings in the empire, remained tight-lipped in front of their squabble.

As Asta and Duchess Moltke locked horns, Asta spoke first.

“Even if you attack me, Duchess, I won’t back down, because the most important thing is that the child’s heart isn’t being hurt.”

“Huh, that’s ridiculous.”

Duchess Moltke shook her head as her words couldn’t get through.

Asta, on the other hand, misinterpreting it as a victory, looked at the Emperor with a twinkle in her eye.

The Emperor turned to his son, his face expressionless, “Hart. What do you think?”

He wasn’t really asking for an opinion, but rather a test.

“I’m going to go along with Hanelope’s wishes.”

But Hart didn’t want to get caught in the Emperor’s trap.

He spoke as a father.

“I will follow my daughter’s will.

I was stunned.

‘There’s no way Hart couldn’t read the Emperor’s mind. He deliberately answered like that.’

Was this a rebellion against his father? Or…

“Hanelope will not be able to speak frankly, as long as Duchess Moltke is present.”

I was about to reply, trying to read Hart’s expression, when Asta interrupted. Duchess Moltke was infuriated.

“What?”

Asta vs. Duchess Moltke. A second round was about to break out.

I couldn’t let this happen.

I burst out laughing.

“Your Grace, your heart seems as big as a cloud! You’re so considerate!”

All the adults in the waiting room turned to me.

I looked up at Asta with love in my eyes. A small child squealing with delight at the sight of a Saint. This should have been a familiar sight to Asta. Still, she was taken aback. This was not the reaction she expected.

‘You shouldn’t panic already Asta.’

This is just the beginning.

“Earlier, the Saint came to the waiting room and introduced me to get along with the children!”

“Introduced?”

Hart’s brow narrows, hearing the new information.

I nodded.

Then Patrick started laughing, “Asta, when did you do that? You’re so caring.”

“Oh, well, it was…”

Patrick was about to spout more cheesy praises of love.

I smirked and looked at the Emperor.

She looked so innocent, it was almost pitiful.

“Yes, the Saint told the kids, I’m the one my dad brought in from the outside, so they have to be nicer to me.”

“…….”

“The other kids are different from me, but she asked them to treat me nicely!”

The room fell silent.

“The Saint said such nice words, but when she left, they gathered to beat me!”

Hart’s red eyes turned cold.

As his razor-sharp gaze returned to Asta, I grabbed Hart’s hand.

Hart, surprised, looked down at his daughter, who could barely hold a few of her father’s fingers.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Moltke took up his anger.

“Is this all true, that you insulted Hanelope?”

“Well, there must have been some misunderstanding.”

Patrick hastily defended his favourite.

Asta, on the other hand, looked frighteningly normal.

“No, I didn’t say or do anything like that.”

Then, without batting an eye, she lied. “All I said was that Hanelope was new to the Palace and that they should help her get used to it. The child has a vivid imagination, so she added colour to what I said. Maybe she’s just surprised”

A Saint revered by the people and the seven-year-old illegitimate son of a Prince.

If you have to believe the words of one of the two, it’s obviously the Saint.

Asta was well aware of that fact.

That’s why she could be so shameless.

“But that’s not true.”

However, I won’t just stand there and take it.

“The Saint really said those words.”

 

Notes:

• ‘Jacob was incontinent‘- unable to control the excretion of urine. In short, he wet himself in fear.
• ‘He wasn’t really asking for an opinion, but rather a test‘- my interpretation is that the arguments were always horrible between Asta and Duchess Sofi. To stop them, the Emperor wanted to use Hart’s reply. But Hart decided not play along and gave priority to Hanelope’s opinion.