I’Ll Protect My Tyrant Dad! [EN]: Chapter 69

69. We Need to Get Rid of Sienna Mirmode

The Crown Prince, who had been observing the conversation between Ambassador Heinrich and Sienna, cleared his throat a couple of times.

He saw an opportunity to dismiss the audacious child, especially with Matthias Mirmode, who had been doting on his daughter, suddenly absent.

“Young Lady Mirmode, I must point out that commenting on other people’s physical characteristics is inappropriate.”

At that moment, the Princess, who had been biting her lip, chimed in primly.

“She’s just a child who doesn’t understand etiquette.”

“Princess Sherina Anessa,” the Crown Prince warned sternly, and the Princess’s face tightened.

“I apologize, Brother, but—!”

“Young Lady Mirmode, please return to your seat. You should be grateful for the leniency shown to an uninvited guest.”

The Crown Prince’s tone was cold, but Sienna didn’t seem intimidated. Instead, her eyes widened, making her look even more adorable, which softened Ambassador Heinrich’s expression.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I was so surprised! I saw them earlier in front of the Imperial Palace! People with the same ears as the Ambassador!”

Ambassador Heinrich tilted his head, looking puzzled.

“Yes? We occasionally have technical exchanges with the Duchy. Perhaps you saw someone involved in those.”

“But!”

The Crown Prince cut Sienna off.

“Ambassador, if you indulge a child’s every word, she will develop bad habits.”

“Haha…”

Ambassador Heinrich, caught in the middle, let out an awkward laugh. Sienna then playfully dropped another comment.

“But those people with pointy ears were protesting in front of the Imperial Palace with big signs!”

If Heinrich had been completely unaware, he might have dismissed Sienna’s words as a child’s fantasy. However, he *had* seen something while riding in his carriage.

‘Could those people I saw earlier be…? No, impossible. Why would people from the Duchy protest in the Imperial City?’

Even as he tried to reason it away, a sense of unease lingered. Sienna seemed to be watching Heinrich’s expression closely, then smiled mischievously.

“Well, maybe I’m wrong! I might have been mistaken!”

Heinrich, who had been quietly observing Sienna, nodded slowly.

“Could be, young lady. What reason would people from the Duchy have to come to the Imperial City and protest?”

Then Sienna smiled slightly and said, “I don’t know, but the signs said someone stole their idea!”

For the people of the Duchy, who had elven blood, theft or plagiarism was an unforgivable crime.

“Theft, by someone… I don’t know who. It seems they were victimized by unscrupulous people.”

Ambassador Heinrich frowned, and the Crown Prince’s face momentarily tightened, as if he had a guilty conscience.

The Crown Prince glanced around. Noticing that Matthias was still absent, he curtly rebuked Sienna.

“That’s nonsense. How could an Imperial citizen steal an idea from a Duchy merchant group?”

Sienna widened her eyes, as if she had been waiting for those words.

“I never said that an Imperial citizen stole an idea from a Duchy merchant group, though?”

At her words, the Crown Prince’s face turned cold. Ambassador Heinrich also sensed something amiss and his expression hardened.

Only Sienna was smiling happily as she looked at them.

However, the Crown Prince wasn’t about to be tripped up by mere wordplay. In a few seconds, he regained his composure and stroked Sienna’s hair, coaxing her kindly.

“I must have jumped to conclusions based on the context, young Mirmode lady.”

Sienna smiled brightly and replied, “Ah, I guess that must be it, right?”

At Sienna’s words, the Crown Prince answered emphatically, “Yes, that’s right. Now, wouldn’t you like to return to your seat?”

The Crown Prince pointedly gestured towards the door, a clear signal for the uninvited guest to leave.

Ambassador Heinrich, who had been quietly observing the entire situation, crossed his arms and muttered, “I see.”

However, Ambassador Heinrich’s expression suggested a bitter taste in his mouth.

***

After the celebration, a small dinner was prepared for the Emperor, Ambassador Heinrich, the Crown Prince, the Princess, and Count Yoter.

The Emperor had designated the Crown Prince as his successor, but he wasn’t entirely confident in him.

The Crown Prince had made mistakes in various areas, such as failing in conquest wars and alienating his close aides. The Emperor often felt that his son was too insignificant to rule the Empire and wield the Emperor’s scepter.

Amidst all this, the Crown Prince had directly requested to prove himself in the field of diplomacy.

The Emperor was paying close attention to whether his son could successfully negotiate the Mikel Mine’s magic stone agreement.

“Ambassador Heinrich, welcome.”

“I greet the Emperor, the sun of the Empire.”

After a brief exchange of greetings, the Emperor casually inquired, “Count Yoter here is developing a paternity test kit, Your Majesty.”

“Ah, and not just paternity tests, right, Brother?”

The atmosphere between them was quite amicable, except for Ambassador Heinrich, who seemed lost in thought.

The Emperor, who had been quietly watching Ambassador Heinrich, asked, “Ambassador?”

“…….”

“Ambassador Heinrich?”

“Ah, yes, Your Majesty!”

The Emperor tilted his head, looking at Ambassador Heinrich, and said, “Is something the matter? Is there something bothering you?”

Ambassador Heinrich muttered with an awkward expression, “Well, that’s… It’s nothing.”

The Crown Prince, who had been watching Ambassador Heinrich’s expression, said lightly, “Well, then let’s finalize the contract for the Mikel Mine right now.”

Ambassador Heinrich was silent for a moment, as if deep in thought. The Princess, watching him, poured sherry into her glass with a charming gesture.

“The Mikel Mine will become a bridge symbolizing the union of the Empire and the Duchy, isn’t that right?”

Ambassador Heinrich bit his lip as he looked at the wine swirling in his glass.

“First of all, I need time to report to His Highness the Grand Duke.”

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

The Crown Prince looked at Ambassador Heinrich with a stiff face and asked, “Is there a problem?”

***

A problem? There was no problem.

Ambassador Heinrich entered the Imperial Palace’s annex and ruffled his hair wildly.

‘His Highness the Grand Duke also told me to sell the magic stone of the Mikel Mine to the Empire if possible.’

If that happened, it would invigorate diplomacy between the Empire and the Duchy.

But why had he returned to his room without properly responding to the Crown Prince’s words? What was holding him back?

‘…Frustrating. Surely it can’t be because that little lady’s words are bothering me.’

Ambassador Heinrich decided to take a walk to clear his head.

He intended it as a walk, but before he knew it, his steps had led him outside the Imperial Palace and to the place where the protesters had been earlier.

But…

‘What is that?’

The two-person protest group he had seen earlier was still there.

The protesters were being led away by the guards.

Ambassador Heinrich watched the scene, his hands growing sweaty.

The two protesters had pointy ears and blue eyes, just as Sienna had described. They were typical elf half-bloods, and it seemed highly likely that they were citizens of the Duchy.

Ambassador Heinrich rushed forward, abandoning all pretense of dignity, and shouted, “What are you doing?”

The guards, who gave Ambassador Heinrich a cursory glance, replied nonchalantly, “It’s nothing. We’re arresting them for violating the Gypsy Law [a law against vagrancy and public disturbance].”

“Th-that’s… I believe they are citizens of our Duchy.”

At that moment, one of the protesters, who was resisting, shouted, grumbling, “Yes, we are Duchy citizens! Imperial people stole our ideas! That’s why we were protesting here!”

“Does that make sense?”

Ambassador Heinrich’s face contorted.

“If someone stole something, they should report it directly to the Duchy. I can’t understand why they would bother coming all the way to the Empire to protest!”

His words were perfectly logical. The Duchy was passionate about protecting its engineers and artists.

But, as if his assumptions were wrong, the protester roughly shook off the guard’s hand and muttered, “Ha. Report to the Duchy, you say? We’ve reported countless times! But the higher-ups don’t even listen to us.”

“…What do you mean?”

“I mean, no one helped us. The administrators who took bribes from the Empire just pretended not to know!”

Neither Ambassador Heinrich nor the Grand Duke were aware that the civil affairs administrators in charge of the Duchy’s grievance system were so corrupt. How else could the interests between the Emperor, high-ranking nobles, and lower-ranking merchant groups be maintained?

Ambassador Heinrich’s face was shocked. He hurriedly rummaged through his pocket and took out a card.

It was his diplomatic immunity card.

The guards tilted their heads, looking uncomfortable.

“You two, stop protesting and come here. I have something to say.”

***

“Sienna Mirmode, you say.”

The Crown Prince’s brow furrowed. Princess Anessa stared at the Crown Prince and clenched her fists.

“Yes, Brother. Sienna Mirmode!”

“She was quite… calculating.”

“Right? She wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.”

“So, even if she’s young, she’s still a Mirmode… But Anessa, haven’t you considered something?”

A question flickered in Anessa’s eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

The Crown Prince’s lips curved into a mocking smile.

“The possibility that Matthias Mirmode is manipulating all of this.”

“…Excuse me? What do you mean by that?”

The Crown Prince smiled leisurely and tapped the table.

“What are the odds that a child from the countryside has the ability to orchestrate such a situation and set up a game like this?”

Logically, it was practically impossible.

Anessa’s face hardened as she grasped the true meaning of the Crown Prince’s words.

“…Then, what does that imply?”

“It means that Matthias Mirmode is controlling everything from behind. That child’s merchant group, everything. All of it.”

“Matthias Mirmode…”

“It means he’s hostile to us, Anessa.”

Princess Anessa’s expression twisted. The Crown Prince leaned back with a relaxed expression and smiled.

“Sienna Mirmode is just bait. Anessa, do you understand?”