I’Ll Protect My Tyrant Dad! [EN]: Chapter 26

Let’s Go Together!

2023.02.28.

The thought, ‘Could this child be the one I’ve been looking for?’ flashed through my mind, but it was fleeting.

I might not remember the face of Ted’s younger sibling as described in the original story, but one thing was clear.

‘The reunion scene between Ted and his sibling was touching. Ted’s sibling had been waiting for his brother all along. That means he knows he has a brother.’

Ted, a poor young boy, lost his entire family and was left with his younger sibling. He briefly left his sibling on the street to find food.

It was his mistake.

Ted’s sibling got lost and disappeared into the crowd.

‘Still, blue eyes are not common…’

While I was thinking, the child stopped walking. I paused briefly at the rubble of stones scattered in front of me.

“We’re here, this is it.”

I looked up and gazed at the orphanage before me. It was by far the most hideous and cramped ruin on this street.

“…It’s a scary place.”

As the maids said, the orphanage was terrifying just to look at, making my legs tremble.

The half-collapsed large stone building was closer to rubble, barely able to provide shelter from the rain.

I opened my mouth with difficulty and asked.

“Are there… are there still children living in this orphanage?”

“…It’s closed down. The children have scattered.”

“Ah…”

“It seems like you’re looking for a child.”

“Yeah! A baby!”

Now everything is back to square one.

The boy, who was looking at me, gripped the basket tightly and whispered.

“…I see.”

Seeing the boy looking somewhat lonely, I felt sorry for him.

I know it well because I’ve had a similar experience, but in times like these, it’s best to replenish their sugar instead of offering premature comfort.

“Do you want to eat this?”

I took out a few candies from my pocket and offered them. The boy widened his eyes and smiled brightly, as if releasing his wariness.

“T, thank you.”

The child, who was diligently crunching on the candy with particularly white teeth in his dark face, looked happy for the first time today. As the atmosphere quieted down, the child carefully spoke to the maids, as if he had to say something.

“That… when you were yelling at those gangsters earlier, it was really cool.”

“It’s nothing.”

I looked once at the maids, who had their shoulders raised a bit even while saying it was nothing, and once at the boy.

For some reason, my heart ached.

A child who was abandoned by his family and lives alone in this ruin.

Anyone who sees a child like this would want to lend a helping hand.

So, I should help a little more.

After all, it’s not like I’m losing anything by helping.

“Sister.”

“Yes, Cien-nim.”

I narrowed my eyes and said.

“Can’t we take this child with us?”

Perhaps, it might help in finding the paladin’s sibling who lived in the orphanage.

“Pardon?”

The boy’s eyes widened.

I smiled slightly, looking at him like a puppy.

“Aren’t you lonely alone?”

“…Yes?”

At the word loneliness, the boy’s eyes trembled like a ship caught in a storm.

I stared intently into his eyes, thinking that this boy had probably been fighting loneliness for a long time.

Playfully folding my eyes and smiling, I blurted out the next words.

“Um, well, I mean, weren’t you bored?”

“Th, that’s… I, I was okay.”

“Let’s go with me!”

This child who lived in the orphanage might provide a clue about his sibling to the paladin.

‘If this child wants, I could get him a job as a young servant in the Mirmod family.’

I smiled, looking at the child.

A nameless little child who had been left alone in the orphanage.

“Yes. If, if I can be of help, even just a little.”

He put his hands behind his back and blinked. The corners of his lips were vaguely raised, as if he was a little happy.

But there was a slight contradiction in his words. I shook my head firmly at him.

“It’s okay even if you’re not helpful!”

“…Yes? But…”

“Children should always be happy!”

“Happy…”

The child lowered his head and nodded, as if he was awkward at smiling.

And he carefully stepped forward to me.

As he moved, the basket made a thudding sound as it hit his leg.

“I’ll give you lots of delicious things!”

With those words, I saw the boy’s healthy-toothed smile.

And so, we happily headed towards Pelroad Street. Thanks to the maids having taken care of the gangsters, we were able to get out of the street comfortably.

‘It’s almost time for the appointment with the paladin.’

Before the hunting competition ended, he and I had made an appointment to meet ‘in front of Pelroad Street at three o’clock tomorrow.’

And now it’s two fifty PM.

The maid, who was looking at the distant view of the street, narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth.

“Could that person on the horse be the paladin?”

“Paladin…”

The boy muttered in a trembling voice. I looked up at him and carefully asked.

“Why? Do you know him?”

“Yes. They’re amazing people. I also… wanted to become a paladin.”

The dreams of children in slums are mostly about escaping the slums.

It was an unusual dream for the boy, but without questioning it, I nodded.

“I hope you do.”

With my words, Ted’s horse stopped right in front of the street.

He threw off his helmet and approached me. Strangely, he looked urgent.

It was a little disappointing that I couldn’t find his sibling for him right away, but it couldn’t be helped.

I raised my head high and asked him cheerfully.

“Sorry, I haven’t found him yet. Let’s go find him quickly!”

“…Cien Mirmod-nim.”

“Huh?”

I glanced at him absentmindedly and was startled.

His eyes were bloodshot.

“…I think I’ve found my sibling.”

And the beautiful paladin’s gaze was fixed, as if nailed, on the boy next to me.

“…Who are you?”

The boy stared at him with an icily cold face before stopping next to me.

“I don’t have a family.”

I didn’t know what was going on.

In an atmosphere as precarious as standing on a knife, I was constantly rolling my eyes, trying to figure out the situation.

***

Although it was a reunion between siblings after a long time, we couldn’t possibly fight in front of Pelroad Street.

We left Pelroad Street and headed to the block right next to it.

I hastily used ten of my spare bib handkerchiefs that the maids were carrying to wipe the child’s face and body.

I don’t really mind.

Because that’s not what’s important!

Right now, Ted and Ted’s sibling were arguing, raising their voices instead of having a touching sibling reunion.

“I’m sorry, please listen. I didn’t abandon you.”

“…No, you did abandon me. That person abandoned me.”

The boy’s face was filled with anger and hatred.

“I kept… kept looking for you.”

“Lies. I remember everything, you leaving me on the dirty street.”

Ted’s gaze, filled with pain, turned to the boy’s shrunken left hand.

He ran a hand over his face and let out a long sigh. The boy, looking at him, asked in a voice mixed with hatred.

“But you… you became a paladin.”

“I was too poor back then… I couldn’t find you. I’m sorry, Acid.”

The boy’s hateful gaze looked at Ted in front of him.

“Don’t call me Acid. I don’t have that name.”

There seemed to be a misunderstanding between the siblings, but since the novel didn’t have detailed information about the extras’ family affairs, I was newly embarrassed.

‘I thought if I brought them together, they would immediately hit it off and get along well.’

I rubbed my forehead, watching their conversation revolving around me.

I, not the holy heroine, Saintess Melodia, had no talent to bridge the deepened emotional gap between the two siblings.

“What do I do?”

Looking at the small boy who kept trying to hide behind me, I sighed deeply and rummaged through my pocket. A sweet chocolate came out of my pocket.

“Here, chocolate.”

“Th, thank you.”

Like a young puppy recognizing a stranger as its mother, the boy kept leaning towards me.

Ted, watching the boy who seemed to be clearly wary of him, distorted his face as if he was crying.

He looked so painful that I cautiously asked.

“…Ted, did you abandon your sibling?”

“Absolutely not. I was, always, looking for him. On purpose… to find you, I kept… I was here. I couldn’t go anywhere else.”

Looking at his desperate eyes, I nodded.

Having read the novel, I could tell. How much Ted cherished and loved his sibling.

But the boy didn’t seem to know.

It was definitely a scene that wasn’t in the original story. In the original story, Ted’s sibling found his family thanks to the Saintess and was happy. I think he was always happy, saying it was happiness that the Saintess had found for him….

‘There’s a misunderstanding right now.’

At this moment, the boy was trembling.

If he was left in Ted’s hands, this boy would be scared and wary all the time.

It was possible that he would be hurt even more than when he was in the orphanage.

Although I usually don’t interfere in family matters, considering the differences in their personalities, they needed time.

I took a deep breath and said.

“Listen carefully, both of you. I’ll give you an alternative.”

At my words, their confused gazes were fixed on me.

I sighed deeply and thought.

“Baby, do you want to live with me? Just for a while.”

“What kind of-”

“Ted, don’t you think it would be good to give Ash, no, your sibling, time to think?”

Even while saying that, I wasn’t very confident.

Would this child choose me, whom he met for the first time today, or would he choose the only family he had lost?

“I…”

Acid swallowed hard once.

I, also nervous, licked my lips once.

His gaze looked at Ted and me once each.

I held the boy’s hand tightly and got into the carriage.

The events that had just happened flashed through my mind like a short panorama.

The boy chose me over Ted.

And he yelled at Ted not to call his name.

The child, hurt by his family, had closed his heart so tightly that he would follow a stranger rather than his own brother.

Ted surprisingly gave up on regaining his sibling easily.

He looked at me with eyes that were half subtle and half full of trust, and only said, ‘Please take care of him.’

Rather, I, who had become impatient, asked him.

‘Ted.’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you really not going to regret it?’

At my question, Ted said seriously.

‘…Please take good care of my sibling. If you do, I am yours.’

I nodded and replied.

‘I’ll cherish your sibling a lot. This isn’t because I want to make Ted my ally.’

But I couldn’t wait long.

I didn’t have much time. There was a clear deadline of one month. Unless there was a way to delay Axel’s arrival.

‘Still, Ted, come to me within 2 weeks.’

At my words, he gave a subtle smile and lowered his head deeply.

‘…I’ll think about it and keep it in mind. One thing I can promise-.’

‘Yeah.’

‘I will never forget what happened today for the rest of my life.’