How to Protect My Sub Male Lead Dad

“…why is she still not waking up…!”

“…you must do whatever it takes to cure…!”

Desperate voices kept ringing in my ear.

‘Dad? Grandfather? Why are you so upset?’

I should be comforting them… I grunted and opened my eyes.

“Judging by the way the Princess’s lips turned green, it’s ‘Divine Poisoning’.”

“What?”

“Fortunately, the lip color has returned to normal. The Lady will naturally awaken with time. However…”

“We’ll have to make sure she doesn’t find out about this”, Grandfather said meaningfully.

Dad lowered his head with a worried expression.

It was then that my eyes met his.

“…Hanelope?”

Dad stared at me blankly.

My grandfather’s jaw dropped when he saw my eyes blink. Then, unable to contain his joy, he approached, “Hanelope, when did you wake up?”

“Do you feel hurt anywhere? Are you okay?”

Their faces were full of concern and affection. I grinned and groggily pushed myself up.

Then I turned to Dad and grandfather, who had the exact expressions like twins.

“Have you made up?”

 

***

 

Nom.. Nom… Nom

I sat on the Emperor’s bed, dipped soft bread into sweet soup, and took a bite.

“Mmm, yum!”

I smiled happily, and Dad and Grandfather followed suit, like puppets only reacting to me.

Dad was holding the tray for me as I sat on the bed, and Grandfather was holding a cup of water ready to feed me at any moment. Despite the room being full of servants.

Bringing a fainted me to the palace in the first place was an unconventional move. He wanted the imperial physicians to attend to me, but it didn’t have to be on the emperor’s bed chambers specifically.

“I’m glad to see you have an appetite.”

“Considering you said you were hungry as soon as you woke up, you’re in good shape.”

“Is there anything else you want to eat? I’ll get you something.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t want to eat, but I’m curious about something.”

“What is it?”

“You didn’t answer. Are you getting along, Dad and Grandfather?”

I stared at Dad and grandfather with persistent eyes. Seeing the glint in my pink eyes, the two flinched.

“Haha. Of course, we’re getting along. You saw it earlier. Dad and Grandfather were hugging.”

“I apologized to your dad for my foolish behaviour. Don’t worry.”

They tried desperately to explain. But I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

“Then show me.”

“?”

“Hold hands!”

Dad and grandfather exchanged blank looks.

“To hold each other’s…”

“Do we have to?”

“You guys don’t want to? So you didn’t properly reconcile!”

“N-No!”

“Look, we’re holding hands!”

Dad and grandfather hurriedly clasped each other’s hands as I insisted.

Not satisfied, I crossed my arms and shook my head.

“Why are your fingers loose?”

“……!”

“You have to!”

“That’s… Sure. If Hanelope want’s it.”

They both adjusted their fingers, as if holding back something. Then looked at me with an expression like begging, wanting to unclasp their hands as soon as possible.

I smiled broadly and said, “Now hug each other!”

“…….”

“…….”

Dad and grandfather awkwardly hugged each other with dejected faces.

“His Majesty and Dad are on such good terms.”

“As you finally believed it, can we…”

Unmoved by their pleas, I dipped the bread into the soup and held it out to Grandfather.

“As an apology, Grandfather, please feed this to Dad.”

“…….”

“Hurry up!”

I urged firmly. Their pleading look went up another notch.

“No matter what, this is too…”

“His Majesty is right. Dad can’t either…”

“You have to do this to properly make up.”

I pursed my lips and glared at them both. Dad and grandfather finally gave in and ordered the servants.

“Everyone… stay out.”

“Anyone caught peeping will be executed on the spot.”

The servants left the room with a disdainful expression conveying ‘We don’t want to see any of that either’.

Only then did the old man take the bread from me with trembling hands.

I squealed and looked at them expectantly.

Dad squeezed his eyes shut in frustration and opened his mouth and Grandfather gritted his teeth and fed him the bread. Dad swallowed the bread like he was taking poison.

I clapped and said, “Good job! No more fighting!”

“Of course not, what else is left…”

“Not again. I’m never going to fight with him in my life.”

Dad and grandfather shuddered.

I smirked.

“You promise? If you fight, you have to feed each other again.”

Dad and grandfather’s faces turned pale.

 

***

 

In the deepest recesses of the palace, the Emperor’s bedchamber.

In the middle of it all, on the Emperor’s bed, which is only allowed to one person, a small child was rolling around.

It was me.

“Did you get rid of the bad pamphlets that were bothering Dad?”

Grandfather nodded at my question.

“I’ve ordered the commander to collect the papers, and he’s already collected them and burned the remaining. The witnesses were left to Munich. We’ll catch the culprit soon.”

“Good! Find the bad guy and punish him!”

“Sure, sure.”

Grandfather looked at me with a beaming expression. Dad, on the other hand, was less cheerful.

“Are you concerned about the articles?”

I asked, and Dad patted my head.

“I’m not worried about it. Just don’t get sick in the future.”

He wasn’t thinking about himself. He was anxious about me. The mere thought made my heart feel warm.

“So I’m all better now?”

In response to my question, Dad and Grandfather nodded.

“You fainted briefly due to the shock from the building collapsing.”

Dad said softly, placing his hand on my forehead.

“It all happened in that ominous Temple. You mustn’t go there in the future. Do you understand?”, grandfather advised.

I nodded my head.

‘But I heard the physician say I got Divine Poisoning’.

I had heard about that illness when I was much younger. Witches with green lips appeared in the slums, and a disease that turned their lips green was called ‘Divine Poisoning.’

With the blessing of Prache, humanity became impervious to divinity. But because the witches had betrayed God, they were not blessed. They were affected by divinity.

Hence the disease was named Divine Poisoning.

The first symptom was that the lips turned green. Mum was intrigued by this unheard-of disease and went to investigate. But she came back quickly.

I asked her with my childish pronunciation, “Mum, why did you come bawk soon?”

Mum said firmly, “The disease called ‘Divine Poisoning’ is fake. Those people were not witches.”

Instead, the temple captured and killed all the ‘witches’.

If they were fake, why did they kill them? Why did their lips turn green? Why is Dad and grandfather keeping all of this from me?

‘Do they really think I’m a witch? Or maybe they fear I’ll be accused and treated unfairly?’

But I believed my mum.

A disease like this doesn’t exist.

‘I wish I could tell them.’

I looked at the mirror on the wall. The doctor had said my lips had turned green, but now they were a nice pink.

It seemed I wouldn’t be falsely accused of being a witch anytime soon.

‘Now, I should ask Dad and grandfather things they can answer.’

“What happened to Brantley?”, I asked.

Grandfather smiled and said, “Are you worried about your friend? Don’t worry. He received a big reward. Saving my life, he won’t be treated lightly by Duke Eisen either.”

Dad sighed, “It’s a good thing he was there, or His Majesty might have died.”

“Still, I think it was better, as I didn’t go in with the knights. If I had rushed in with the knights, some of them would have been killed.”

Grandfather poked my pudgy cheek and laughed.

“It was just the two of us, you don’t have to lie. You were afraid an angry Hanelope would hide further if we rushed in.”

Dad, who had been watching the scene, burst out, “What’s good about this recklessness? If you died, who would look after your subjects?”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I died, you and Hanelope would still be there! But why worry about such things.”

Grandfather blurted out.

My eyes and Dad’s widened at the same time.

“Your Majesty, you mean…”

“You’re the oldest, so it’s only natural that you’d be the one to follow in my footsteps.”

“……!”

“That is, of course, it’s when you’ve earned my trust as the heir. If you ever become greedy, I’ll throw you away. The throne is not a position to be gained through greed.”

Grandfather added sternly.

But just by saying it, the implications were huge.

“Grandfather was thinking of Dad as his successor!

Maybe, just maybe Dad would become the heir and, ultimately, the Emperor.

I looked at him with excitement and trepidation.