How to Protect My Sub Male Lead Dad

“Unbelievable! Who does this luxurious carriage belong to? His Majesty is bound to be furious.”

“I think it’s a fake. Who in their right mind would squander gold to make a carriage?”

At that moment, an elderly nobleman, searching his memory, spoke up.

“As far as I know, His Majesty did own a golden carriage. However, it was only used once… Why would His Majesty bring it out again?”

“Could it be that he regrets banning the Saint and sent the golden carriage as an apology?”

“Whoever they are, they must be very important guests for His Majesty to pay such special attention.”

Soon, the nobles’ attention shifted from the carriage to the people inside.

They were expecting someone exceptional.

As if to answer their curiosity, the carriage door opened.

Stepping out of the carriage were Prince Hart von Reinhardt and his illegitimate daughter.

“!”

The chattering nobles turned into stones, as if they had seen a ghost.

Never in their wildest dreams did they imagined that Prince Hart and his daughter would be riding in that gorgeous carriage.

“Could we be mistaken? Wasn’t the Prince out of favour? Besides, the Prince’s daughter is illegitimate, so how could such a child…”

“Get out of the way.”

Just then, a strong, arrogant voice came from behind the nobles.

It was the white-haired chamberlain of the imperial palace. As a high-ranking nobleman who held the position of imperial chamberlain, he had a reputation for being very strict and demanding.

When he appeared, the babbling nobles made way for him.

“Watch your mouths!”

With that warning, the chamberlain passed the crowd.

His destination was in front of the golden carriage, where Prince Hart and his daughter were.

 

***

 

The imperial chamberlain, a man with an imposing air, greeted them with a smile.

“Was you journey peaceful, Your Highness? Allow me to escort you.”

I thought he was going to be a cranky old man, but he’s surprisingly friendly.

While I was thinking that, my father, who was familiar with the chamberlain, exchanged greetings and asked, “Did His Majesty send you?”

“Yes. His Majesty has instructed us to treat both of you with special care.”

We followed him to the imperial dining room.

“!”

I had to cover my mouth with my fist. If I had stretched my hand out, there would have been a loud gasp.

The banquet hall in front of me was magnificent as the carriage. It was decorated from floor to ceiling with all sorts of precious jewels.

‘From a gold carriage to such a dining room… It’s so dazzling that it hurts my eyes.’

In the center of the vast hall was a huge dining table. But it wasn’t the opulence of the table that was truly shocking. It was the size of the table.

‘We literally have to shout to converse.’

How can you use such a big table if you’re going to dine together?

I mean, even though the table was big, couldn’t the seating arrangement have been closer?

‘All three seats are as far apart as islands!’

What’s even more surprising is that dad and the Emperor are seated in their islands as if it were natural.

This is only going to drive them further apart.

‘I can’t let it happen.’

I rushed over to the Emperor.

“Grandfather, I don’t like this.”

“Why? Is the food not to your liking?”

“That’s not it. I want to sit close to you, Grandfather. We’re too far apart to even talk.”

“The conversation will be relayed by the servants.”

Now that I think about it, there was one courtier standing by each seat.

‘Well.. That’s a creative way to communicate…’

But how will they reconcile if we keep acting like this?

Moreover, Dad was staring at me and the Emperor with narrowed eyes. He had to strained his ears to hear what we were saying.

‘This is so ridiculous.’

I let out a sigh.

“So, even if there’s something delicious, I won’t be able to feed grandfather.”

“It might be inconvenient, but that’s the rule.”

“If so, I can’t feed grandfather at the academy as well?”

“No, you can do it then.”

The Emperor was flustered at my response.

I shook my head in denial.

“It’s the rule.”

“There’s no one watching in the Chancellor’s office, so it’s okay.”

“It’s just our family here and aren’t Imperial servants are good at keeping secrets?”

The Emperor hesitated strangely at the mention of ‘family.’

“Ayo~ From now on, I won’t be able to feed grandfather. I’ll have to eat all the goodies myself.”

I drooped my shoulders sullenly and returned to my seat pouting.

The Emperor jumped up from his chair.

“Change the seating arrangement right now!”

Finally, the three of us were seated closer to each other.

My father, who had never been in such a situation before, looked extremely embarrassed.

“Why are you doing this?”

“You wouldn’t understand because you’re always with Hanelope. Do you know how special that short time in the Chancellor’s office is to me?”

“What?”

My father furrowed his brows as if to ask what he meant. The Emperor didn’t answer, just stared at me, expectantly.

I quickly held out a spoonful of pudding.

“Grandfather, say ah-.”

“Such a stubborn fellow.”

The Emperor took pudding with a satisfied look on his face.

Dad’s expression grew even stranger.

“Your Majesty, didn’t you hate pudding….?”

“You are the one who despises pudding! I decided to love it from now on.”

“Is that so? I think I’ve learned to like pudding from now on, too.”

Dad kept looking at me. It was a gaze conveying his clear intention.

‘D-Dad too….?’

I held out a spoonful of pudding to him.

After chewing the pudding with satisfaction, he looked at the Emperor cheerfully.

Their gazes met in the air.

A stifling nervousness filled the room, and the humor evaporated.

‘Do I have to stop them again?’

I sighed inwardly again.

“Don’t keep staring at me. Try the salmon canapés in front of you. It’s your favorite, isn’t it?”

It was the Emperor who broke the silence first.

Dad was surprised.

Of the many appetizers on the table, the salmon canapés were placed unusually close to him.

“I thought you didn’t know my tastes.”

“That’s funny, I even remember the temperature of your favorite aperitif.”

The Emperor said with a grunt.

Dad’s expression turned subtle. It was similar to the one he had when he saw the golden carriage that had picked us up today.

‘Was the newfound fondness making dad act like this?’

I felt strange, too.

The Emperor, who had always turned a blind eye to my father, had actually remembered my father’s minor preferences. Was he sincere, or was it a ruse?

“What does his Majesty want?”

Dad must have wondered, too. But his tone lacked its usual bitterness.

The Emperor chuckled softly and said, “It’s because the Day of Blessings is just a week away. As you know, starting this year, I excluded it from a national holiday.”

Day of Blessing.

A day to give thanks for the blessings bestowed upon humans by the god Prache.

‘The blessing was given so that humans would not become affected by the God’s divine power.’

Like the mana that pervades the world, divinity permeated the Earth where humans live and breathe.

But it was so powerful that it was like poison to humans.

If it weren’t for the blessing of the God Prache, humans would have been poisoned by it and died prematurely.

‘Of course, it’s just a legend.’

Whether it was believed or not, many people celebrated the “Day of Blessings.” And it became an old tradition.

But the Emperor had removed the day as a national holiday. To erase the influence of the temple.

“The High Priest is planning to organize a large scale celebration against me.”

“They will use the day as an opportunity to expand their influence.”

“Indeed, they’re even assigning an unwarranted significance to it, calling it the ‘Millennial Day of Blessings’ or something. It’s all just a legend anyway, so how would we know if it’s the 1000^th or the 1500^th.”

The Emperor was obviously bothered by the Temple’s “Blessing Day” ceremony.

Naturally, it was the day when the power struggle between the imperial family and the temple’s influence came to the surface.

“During the Blessing Day, the Great Hall will try to incite the people to believe that the Emperor has angered the Gods by removing the Blessing Day from the national holiday.”

The Emperor chuckled.

“But I will not stand idly by and prepare a suitable countermeasure. I plan to catch Temple in the act, and show that the Blessing Day is nothing more than a cover for the cult. I’ve called you here to be especially careful how you conduct yourself as a royalty, and not to give them away. And….”

The Emperor’s gaze turned to me.

“We’ll keep up the facade of civility to avoid getting caught. I will send an emissary to celebrate the occasion, along with a simple patronage.”

“I heard the envoys will be made up of excellent mages, and among them will be students from the Academy.”

Dad said.

Excellent students from the Academy?!

My eyes widened. The Emperor looked at me and said sternly.

“Are you afraid that your magic won’t be as good as divine power?”

I shook my head.

“If the Temple wants to take reign, all we have to do is show that our mana is better than divine power.”

“Exactly. You understood the purpose.”

The Emperor patted my head.

“But currently, divine power is superior.”

“It doesn’t depend on brute strength, but on how you wield it. People prefer magic that is helpful to them. So, in the academy, we even teach how to grow crops easily.”

The Emperor smiled contentedly.

“You should understand very well why I structured the academy curriculum that way.”

The Emperor had a reason behind sending an envoy to the Temple. It was to deliberately showcase ‘mana’ on a day like the ‘Day of Blessings’ and intimidate the Temple.