I’Ll Protect My Tyrant Dad! [EN]: Chapter 135

The Tyrant Father I’ll Protect! 135. Extra Story 2: Finding Dad’s True Happiness (8)

135. Extra Story 2: Finding Dad’s True Happiness (8)

2024.03.15.

“You said that being with me would bring joy to your life.”

“Uhh, y-yes, I did.”

“And that there were about ten thousand conditions.”

“…Y-you heard about that too?”

My face instantly turned bright red.

Normally, Acid would have been flustered, noticing my flushed face, but he ignored my expression and calmly continued.

“And one more thing, lastly.”

“There was more…?”

Acid nodded at my awkward question.

“Yes, there was. You also said you couldn’t allow a son-in-law because I wasn’t close to you.”

At this point, I was beyond being dumbfounded.

‘He heard all of Dad’s rambling.’

Just as my face started to burn, Acid opened his mouth towards me.

“Are there really only ten thousand conditions?”

“Huh?”

I expected him to be upset, but instead, he asked a serious question.

“I’m asking if there are really only ten thousand conditions for marrying Sien.”

Even Dad seemed speechless at this question.

Dad ran a hand over his face and said,

“There are ten thousand. You might be able to marr… no, do that in ten thousand years.”

“Dad, not ‘marr… no, do that,’ but marry.”

“…It’s the same thing.”

Acid, who had been watching Dad and me bicker, said firmly,

“Tell me the ten thousand conditions. I will do anything.”

“…Huh?”

Unlike my bewildered self, Dad, with a composed expression, spoke as if displeased.

“If you fulfill ten thousand conditions, you can only marry in ten thousand years.”

“I don’t mind marrying in ten thousand years.”

I stared at Acid, my mouth agape.

It wasn’t like Acid ever joked, but now it seemed even less like a joke.

He seemed genuinely, incredibly, serious.

‘That’s… just a slave?’

I tossed the thought out and retorted to Acid,

“Why are you like this, Acid? You look like a sl-slave.”

“It’s alright. I was originally a slave.”

…Acid seemed completely out of his mind.

I gestured briefly towards Dad, who seemed to be the most sane.

“Dad, stop Acid.”

Hearing my words, Dad glanced at the video orb and said,

“Come here.”

“Yes?”

“If you want to compete with me that much.”

“No, Dad. Acid didn’t say he wanted to compete?”

“Let’s really have a showdown.”

Flames were already blazing in Dad’s eyes.

I stared, mouth wide open, alternating between Acid in the video orb and Dad next to me.

Somehow, I seemed to have unintentionally provoked both of them.

‘Is this really okay?’

I ran a hand over my face and thought of Mom.

‘Mom, is this really okay?’

At that moment, Acid whispered solemnly,

“I understand. What should I do first?”

To Acid’s serious question of ‘What should I do first?’, Matthias calmly replied,

“Do you believe you can make Sien happy?”

“Of course.”

“Then come here. First of all, I will treat you like my own child.”

Like my own child…?

At Dad’s sudden change of attitude, question marks appeared in both Acid’s and my heads simultaneously.

***

And so, Dad and I immediately returned to the Mirmord mansion from the desert the next day.

After giving a light greeting to Mom’s traces in the desert [referring to a memorial or place significant to her memory].

‘He said he’d treat him like his own child, but he’s been completely angry the whole way home!’

I shook my head, watching Dad grind his teeth with a blazing gaze.

However, I didn’t stop Dad.

‘Maybe this could be Dad’s new reason for living?’

Yes, that was the reason.

While Dad was wary of Acid, and while becoming friends with Acid, he might be able to build new relationships with someone other than me.

‘It seems like Acid has gained new emotions, though unintentionally.’

I thought I would be happy to see my lover, Acid, and Dad become friends.

‘Will they end up fighting in the process? What if Acid gets hurt?’

That was why I didn’t bother to stop Dad’s anger while riding the carriage back to the mansion from the desert.

Actually, there was a slightly worrying part.

Our dad was actually a villain hiding a dark secret…

Still, I trusted Dad.

‘There’s no way Dad would bully Acid.’

In fact, Dad had a surprisingly soft side when it came to things related to me, even if he didn’t in other areas. That much wasn’t an act.

So, I rationalized that his relationship with Acid would go reasonably well and headed home.

As I looked at the Mirmord mansion’s gate, which was already close, I let out a short exclamation.

“Dad, isn’t that Acid over there?”

I widened my eyes as I saw Acid standing in front of the mansion gate.

Dad, who glanced at the carriage window, muttered grumpily,

“So it is. I wonder why he’s there.”

“Yeah! Acid must have known we’d be back this quickly!”

I was overjoyed, thinking that none of the Mirmord mansion’s people would have come out to greet us because of our unannounced early return.

I made a happy expression and fidgeted.

At that moment, Dad muttered with an uncomfortable expression,

“…Well, yeah. I guess he expected us to come. Looks like he’s been waiting quite a while.”

“Nah, no way. It must have been good timing! He didn’t wait there all the time after getting our call yesterday… right?”

But we even stayed overnight in the desert…

Dad, seeing my slightly worried expression, said with a prickly look,

“Who knows, maybe he did wait.”

Dad’s expression softened slightly and then returned to normal.

‘Dad, is he developing a liking for Acid?’

Thinking that, my heart seemed to pound.

‘Maybe Acid can capture Dad’s heart sooner than I thought. Maybe he can become friends with Dad, who only knows me!’

If that happened, it seemed like I could definitely create a new ‘joy in life’ for Dad.

Just as my heart was pounding with the discovery of a new possibility, the carriage stopped and the door opened.

I opened the carriage door and got out, shouting towards Acid, who was standing a little far away.

“Acid! I’m back!”

Acid, who had been fixing his gaze on the carriage, greeted me politely with a very happy expression.

“I see Lady Sien. …I also see the Lord of Mirmord.”

I tried to run into his arms, but I held back with all my might because I thought Acid would be beaten to death by Dad behind me if I went that far.

“It’s been a while! Acid!”

Instead, I ran to Acid in one go.

He was also looking at me with a bright smile.

Just as I was about to smile brightly back at him, I noticed something a little strange.

There was something that looked like morning dew on the uniform hanging on Acid’s shoulder.

I quickly hardened my expression and asked,

“…Um, Acid, did you wait long?”

“I didn’t wait long.”

Acid hardly ever lies to me, but when he does, he doesn’t look at my expression properly.

I looked at Acid and said stiffly,

“Liar.”

At that moment, Dad approached me and whispered roughly,

“Even if he waited a long time, shouldn’t he have to wait this much if he’s waiting for you, Sien?”

“Of course.”

“How can you fulfill the ten thousand conditions for marriage if you don’t even have this much patience?”

“Of course, I am fully prepared to fulfill the ten thousand conditions.”

Strangely, Acid was calm, and Dad was grinding his teeth.

Dad whispered coldly like the wind,

“Okay. Come into the office right now.”

It was a strangely fierce battle of wills.

But even so, the two were clearly having a good conversation, going back and forth.

‘Um… is this really okay?’

The heart that had been rationalizing all the way here, saying, ‘The two will somehow become friends, and Acid will find new joy for Dad and become Dad’s precious person,’ seemed to shatter.

I shook my head inwardly as I walked towards the gate of the mansion, watching the two men.

But it wasn’t something I should interfere with.

Only Acid could satisfy as many as ten thousand conditions and get Dad’s permission for marriage.

‘It would be nice if he could get closer to Dad in the process.’

I smiled and looked at Dad’s back.

“Dad! Let’s go in together!”

I grabbed the dress in both hands and ran off in one go.

Still, my steps into the mansion were lighter than before.

It was because I had a strange belief that Dad and Acid could become friends.

***

Finally, the great operation to make Acid and Dad become friends began.

I spent lazy days, watching Dad and Acid do something in the mansion.

Acid cleaned the hallways and silently did somewhat comical things, such as holding candlesticks at night.

‘Hmm, what’s going on?’

In fact, I didn’t know exactly how the two were becoming friends.

‘For now, let’s not ask about how the situation is going and trust Acid.’

I was just watching Acid, who was getting thinner day by day, and guessing exactly how this situation was progressing.

But two days passed, three days passed…

As time passed and it became four days, curiosity eventually overcame faith.

***

It was a time when Dad had gone to the imperial palace for business, and Acid and I were enjoying lunch alone.

I sighed as I looked at Acid, whose face had become rough.

“Acid. Are you tired?”

“I’m alright.”

“You know, can you really become friends with Dad? If it’s hard now…”

Acid rarely interrupted me.

“I can become friends, and I can get permission to marry. I will never give up.”

It wasn’t the usual soft Acid.

His current appearance contained the image of him enduring years to save me.

“For Lady Sien, I will never give up.”

I held my breath as I looked into his eyes.

The determination in his eyes was so strong that I was suffocating.

“…Okay. Let’s definitely get married.”

At my words, Acid smiled brightly and nodded.

And as he said, Acid silently carried out the conditions Dad had set for marriage, even after a week and a month had passed.

‘A hundred conditions cleared in just one month.’

In fact, the conditions Dad set were somewhat funny, but it was still a pretty great achievement.

And when Acid didn’t fall off even with his tyranny, Dad had no choice but to take special measures.