I’Ll Protect My Tyrant Dad! [EN]: Chapter 57

57. Became Ten Years Old

Five years passed.

Sienne turned ten, but her daily life hadn’t changed much.

If there were any changes…

It was that the merchant guild Sienne had fostered had grown into a leading one.

And the most important thing.

‘The reincarnation penalty applied to my body has almost disappeared!’

The five-year-old with a lisp and a relatively small physique was gone.

The current Sienne looked like a well-grown ten-year-old.

***

Inside the cozy two-story building used as the Sienne Mirmord Merchant Guild branch.

‘I turned the Mirmord Merchant Guild into a leading one in five years, that’s right!’

The child me sat in the center of the interviewer’s table with my legs crossed.

Of course, I was only ten years old, so I couldn’t cross my chubby legs properly because of my baby fat.

I diligently checked the resumes.

‘So many resumes came in that it’s hard to review them!’

Since the problems of the past Sienne-Mirmord Merchant Guild were resolved!

I had been screaming with happiness at the endless love calls from wizards, like summer rain.

The same is true even after five years!

The ‘Sienne Merchant Guild,’ which had grown splendidly without anyone’s interference, was steadily growing as a cash cow for our dad, who would dominate the villainous family.

‘Hehe, I feel a bit like a boss!’

Fortunately, noble ladies who had become my guardians were sitting on either side of me.

Likewise, the resumes of each wizard were placed on the table.

What’s more? Newspaper articles full of stories about me were also being collected.

——————————————————————

[Breaking News] Who is Sienne Mirmord, the founder of the last children’s merchant guild, ‘Sienne Mirmord Merchant Guild’?

[Front Page] ‘Sienne Mirmord Merchant Guild’ already has 10 guardians… Will it dominate the continent?

[Breaking News] Who is Sienne Mirmord? Matthias Mirmord’s daughter

——————————————————————

It seemed the noble ladies had sent the article data.

‘Those foolish temple people.’

Now people will remember the ‘victorious’ me better than the me of the past.

It’s the same principle as remembering a come-from-behind victory better than a game you predicted you would win.

I brought my hand to my mouth and tried to hold back a laugh.

Of course, there were rival merchant guilds.

It was the Yoter Merchant Guild, founded by Count Yoter, the Crown Prince’s closest aide.

Recently, they had been selling items that strangely overlapped with my merchant guild’s items, which bothered me quite a bit.

“Baby, there’s about an hour left until the interview time, aren’t you going to review the resumes?”

“I’ve already done it! And I’m not a baby anymore.”

“Yes, Baby Boss.”

I was annoyed by the term Baby Boss, but I’ll let it slide because they look at me quite fondly!

“Sigh…….”

“Ah, and I heard that Count Yoter is making something amazing this time. Have you heard about it?”

“Really? I’m definitely curious.”

Count Yoter, who is vastly older than me but is essentially my rival.

I was curious about what he was up to, and I had to find out.

But I yawned, haaaam.

I’ve been using my brain too much lately, so I’ve been dozing off every day.

I got up to rest.

“I’m going for a little walk!”

***

On the way for a walk.

Even if it’s a walk, a small child can’t walk for long. So I was walking around the small garden in front of the building a few times.

I was about to fall asleep from the warm sunlight…

At that moment, I couldn’t help but stop because I saw someone entering the building’s main gate.

“Dad!”

It was my dad.

The thought that Dad had finally returned made me jump up and smile brightly.

But……!

“My daughter.”

Dad’s expression seems a bit scary……?!

“I told you to stop working for the merchant guild, how are you working so hard like this.”

I shook my head at Dad.

I was about to puff out my chest to show off my cool boss persona, but Dad grabbed my collar, and I floundered for a moment.

‘I can’t show off my boss-like persona because of Dad!’

I glared at Dad with squinted eyes and emphasized.

“What’s so hard about it! I’ve been doing it for five years!”

Then Dad let out a soft sigh.

“I guess you really are a genius, my daughter.”

“Of course!”

He seemed a little doubtful, but it seemed like Dad was going to believe me and move on.

Dad had to.

Because what Dad always emphasizes to me is the relationship of trust between a daughter and her father.

“Okay. Let’s eat lobster today. Dad will cook it himself. Because it’s a special day. My daughter has become a boss, and so much time has already passed… Dad is so happy that tears are coming out.”

Tears of happiness. Dad was soft-hearted as always.

I nodded solemnly, looking at Dad’s flushed eyes.

“Hehe! Okay! I like lobster!”

I nodded vigorously.

‘I can definitely trust and eat Dad’s cooking!’

But it was at that moment.

A man in the imperial knight’s uniform quickly entered the building.

“Matthias-nim [esteemed name/title].”

“……What’s going on?”

“The Princess Consort has come to see you.”

The princess… was the woman who would become Axel Mirmord’s wife in the future.

The Crown Prince’s younger sister, and in 『Melodia’s Life』, she was also a friend of the saintess Melodia.

‘It’s been quiet for a while, why is someone from the imperial palace suddenly appearing in Mirmord?’

Even ‘that’ Axel Mirmord was rumored to be in a sluggish civil war near the Demon Realm for as long as 5 years.

The villains threatening Mirmord had been forgotten in the back of my mind.

But suddenly the princess appearing here meant that an unexpected incident was happening again.

The imperial palace and the temple were on the same side, and they were hostile to Mirmord.

Nevertheless, they hadn’t shown their faces to the Mirmord family for the past five years.

Except for small fries like Count Yoter, the Crown Prince’s aide, they hadn’t particularly bothered me, so I had been able to grow the merchant guild splendidly thanks to that.

I tilted my head in confusion, and Dad raised one corner of his mouth and asked.

“So?”

“……The Princess Consort has come…… She says there’s something she absolutely must see Matthias-nim about.”

I tilted my head, looking at Dad and the person presumed to be Dad’s aide.

I had a bad feeling.

“……Dad?”

I quickly realized the reason.

Come to think of it, Dad was showing a strange way of speaking.

It was a way of speaking that didn’t seem like our dad. It was like he had become an evil and cold villain!

‘Dad is using villainous speech……!’

For the past 5 years, I had been watching Dad’s suspicious behavior with my eyes wide open.

Dad was becoming more and more assimilated into this villainous family, and he seemed to be getting a taste for villainous speech little by little.

‘As expected, the past 5 years haven’t been completely without results! Very desirable!’

How long had I suffered while receiving etiquette training from Dad during the past period! The moment I realized that with a satisfied look, Dad’s expression froze like the ice that Alaskan penguins ride on.

“No, no. No…….”

I tilted my head.

Then Dad opened his mouth. His lips seemed to be trembling slightly.

“So, please tell her that I will see her soon. I haven’t eaten yet and I’m hungry, so I’ll eat quickly and see her. Let’s go, Sienne.”

I could see that the aide’s expression had become dismayed.

But it was hard for me to worry about the aide with my brain overloaded from reading so many resumes.

I blinked and tried to sort out the situation.

“……Is that okay?”

“Of course, she’s a kind person, so she’ll wait.”

‘I don’t think she’s a kind person…….’

While tilting my head, I stayed still because Dad was holding my hand tightly and pulling me along. Because right now, he was speaking in the polite and innocent pushover Dad’s tone, no matter how many times I listened.

But the worries about Dad’s strange way of speaking were only temporary.

The princess had come to see Dad.

That was a little strange. Because the princess was the woman who was scheduled to have a political marriage with Axel Mirmord.

“Why did that person come to see Dad?”

“Well. Maybe she’s coming to do something good.”

Dad was carefree again.

‘But unlike Dad, I can’t be carefree.’

I looked up at Dad and held onto his collar tightly.

“Dad.”

“Huh?”

“I want to see the princess!”

Dad asked me quietly.

“……Huh?”

I smiled innocently, pretending to be a harmless child. My pure white cheeks were plump.

Of course, I had a very dark heart of ‘I have to reveal the princess’s scheme,’ but I must look incredibly cute on the outside, right?

“No.”

……Dad was very firm.

I looked at Dad and drooped my shoulders. I was curious about why the princess suddenly came to our dad and what she was trying to do! I needed to do that to prevent any possible storms!

“Really not allowed……?”

When I drooped my shoulders as if I was upset, Dad said sternly.

“Sienne, are you curious?”

“Ung [yes]!”

After saying that much, I tried to think of something else to say.

I sincerely wanted to persuade Dad. I wanted to tell him to go meet the princess with me.

But…….

The princess was close friends with Melodia.

Melodia hated the Mirmord family very much.

But it would look suspicious to anyone that a mere ten-year-old child knew about the power struggles of the empire. So, I couldn’t openly say to Dad that I was worried that the princess would do something bad to Dad.

Dad pinched my restless cheek slightly, as if grabbing a pinch of sugar, and whispered sweetly.

“Don’t worry. Dad will definitely explain to you later what happened.”

Of course, Dad was an adult, so he would have his own business.

I knew very well that he couldn’t just take me along to the meeting with the princess.

Even though I’m in my second life, I know very well that adults are adults and children are children.

What would it have been like if it were another dad? Wouldn’t he have scolded me for trying to follow what adults do?

But our soft-hearted dad seemed to be bothered by my silence, so he coaxed me kindly again.

“My daughter, Dad will be back soon, and I’ll buy you cotton candy and tell you.”

“……Ung, okay!”

Because there were other ways to find out.

I said, holding Dad’s hand, which was still pinching my cheek, tightly with my soft and small hand.

“Have a good trip!”