I’Ll Protect My Tyrant Dad! [EN]: Chapter 71

71. Challenge, Reverse Trial! (1)

August 4, 2023

Sienne smiled and replied to Count Yoter’s words.

“Can I return those words right back to you?”

“What?”

“Just kidding. Let’s go then!”

Her attitude was unsettling, as if she knew everything to a bizarre extent.

Count Yoter frowned and glared at Sienne.

However, Sienne simply maintained a beaming smile.

***

The scheme to force me into a trial was elaborately planned from the start.

First of all, the charge was ‘impersonating a noble.’ I don’t know how many maids they bribed, but testimonies poured in claiming I was a fake daughter.

The core of the trial was that daring to impersonate a noble and disrupt the order of the empire would be directly judged by the imperial palace.

As if today was the end of my arrogance, the trial proceeded hastily and quickly.

I was dragged into the courtroom. Without any courtesy for a noble family’s daughter, my pink hair was all tangled.

Dumped in the defendant’s seat, I looked around the entire courtroom.

And I looked at the judge, and the crown prince sitting arrogantly next to him.

‘That person is the male protagonist from [the novel I transmigrated into].’

When I first met him, I thought his blonde hair and blue eyes were truly knightly. But now, he just looked vile.

‘So, these people think they can touch me and get away with it?’

I didn’t expect them to be this stupid, but it seemed the crown prince was truly incredibly foolish.

‘None of my family members are here. They said they would punish the fake.’

But it didn’t matter.

I looked around at the people in the courtroom again. I looked at Count Yoter sitting in the witness stand and deliberately gave him a softer smile.

“Excuse me, but may I say a word?”

Count Yoter, who opened his mouth, had a brazen expression, as if he held all the cards.

I tilted my head, looking at Count Yoter. He had an expression as if he had something great planned. What could it be?

“The Sienne Mirmode here is a fake.”

“I’m a fake?”

“Yes.”

Under Count Yoter’s heated gaze, I crossed my arms in front of my chest with a nonchalant expression. After this, he would surely say, ‘Our Yoter Merchant Group can prove it,’ right?

“Our Yoter Merchant Group can prove it.”

I can’t believe it. I should have laid out a mat. [TN: Korean idiom for predicting something accurately; implying she should have prepared for this obvious statement.]

At that moment, I heard the sound of a door clicking open behind me. And I heard someone walking in from the doorway. It was a small movement like a bird, but everyone was on edge.

“This child is the ‘real’ Mirmode!”

It was the little girl who had been treated poorly everywhere. I looked at her and quietly bit my lip.

‘It’s really cliché.’

But unlike me, who was extremely indifferent, everyone was firmly silent. In this situation and atmosphere, only two people were relaxed.

The crown prince and me, who was pointed out as the fake daughter.

I leaned back in the wooden chair, took a breath, and thought. Now, the crown prince or his aides would start stirring things up.

“Is there anything more to see? The Yoter Merchant Group’s technology is the best in the empire.”

As expected, an uncle who looked like a sycophant standing next to the crown prince gestured.

Now that it’s come to this, what can I do?

I spoke like a cornered criminal making a final roar.

“B, but you know… C, can His Highness the Crown Prince really guarantee the Yoter Merchant Group? Count Yoter might be lying.”

When I said that, Count Yoter suddenly started to get angry.

“What? What nonsense are you talking about? Are you upset because you’ve been exposed as a fake?”

Seeing their attitude, I realized something.

‘Seeing them act so unpleasant, it seems like they have some definite evidence?’

It was as if he had a trump card prepared. Soon, he smiled and whispered to me.

“Because I invested in it. Of course, that doesn’t mean I guarantee everything about the Yoter Merchant Group.”

“…….”

“But the affairs of the Yoter Merchant Group have been guaranteed by the imperial palace administrators for generations.”

I stared intently at the crown prince and thought. I hated everything about that person, from the blush on his face to his pleasant tone. But what I felt the worst about was…

‘That jerk, he’s trying to sneak away slyly? He’s not going to get caught by leading questions, is he?’

It was a snake-like tone, as if he would never be caught in leading questions.

Hearing that unlucky remark that he was trying to slip away by saying that the imperial palace administrators had guaranteed it, I felt very annoyed.

I parted my lips to add another word.

“Then isn’t it natural to hear Mirmode’s position first?”

The crown prince gestured, as if he had no intention of responding to my words anymore.

“Is there any need to involve Mirmode? Just drag out that fake right now and notify Mirmode.”

I read impatience in his words and was momentarily puzzled.

‘Why is he pushing this so much? What am I?’

I, Sienne Mirmode, may have the Mirmode family name, but I’m just a child.

Although my merchant group is threatening Count Yoter’s merchant group, whether I’m fake or not isn’t that big of a deal to the crown prince.

Rather, touching me could definitely be seen as touching Mirmode’s pride.

‘But why is he trying to get rid of me so urgently? What am I?’

As I bit my lip and glared at him, the crown prince’s lips slowly turned upwards.

“Take care of it immediately.”

As soon as the crown prince finished speaking, soldiers began to approach to grab my arm. I glared at them and bit my lip.

‘If I’m dragged away like this…’

Maybe I’ll be imprisoned, or they might cast a spell on me.

I thought of Dad’s innocent face.

“Okay, let’s go now.”

But even as the menacing soldiers approached, even when one of the soldiers finally roughly pulled me up, my savior, Dad, was not appearing.

I glared at the soldier who grabbed my arm and retorted,

“I’m a Mirmode. Don’t touch me!”

At the mention of Mirmode, one of the soldiers flinched and stepped back. As if stating the obvious, the Crown Prince spoke up.

“What are you all doing? Isn’t that child just a fake?”

As he said that, in this place, I was nothing more than a ‘fake.’ A soldier, carefully watching the Crown Prince’s uncomfortable expression, cautiously reached out to me.

“Let’s go.”

His demeanor was slightly less menacing than before. This alone was enough to give me hope.

‘Dad will come to save me. I’m sure of it.’

I stuck my body to the chair, determined to buy as much time as possible.

“…Get up!”

Just as the soldier’s breathing became rough and his hand reached for me.

Finally…

With a click, the door burst open. The Crown Prince and Count Yoter, along with all the noble jurors, froze as the door was kicked open with such force that it seemed like it would break.

“…Duke Mirmode?”

The atmosphere turned icy.

Except for me, who remained still.

I curved my eyes gently and looked behind me.

Round eyes, an expression trying to look cold, and an approachable mouth—it was my familiar father.

In the end, as I expected, my dad had arrived to save me.

Dad frowned, diligently acting out a fearsome expression.

Then, the Crown Prince stood up, huffing.

“What is the meaning of this? This is a trial in progress.”

“Rather, Your Highness, what are *you* doing? Imprisoning my daughter in a courtroom.”

“That’s-”

“So, you are prepared to confront Mirmode head-on.”

The chilly atmosphere turned even colder.

I cheered for Dad in my heart.

‘My dad is pretty good, isn’t he?’

The pushover-like appearance was gone, and he looked like a cold villain. It seems my efforts to educate him to be a villain have paid off!

A noble daring to be rude to royalty was a clear overstep.

However, Dad was Mirmode. Moreover, the Crown Prince was guilty of subjecting Mirmode’s daughter to a hasty trial.

‘How will the Crown Prince get out of this situation?’

Bringing the daughter of the Mirmode family to the courtroom through intimidation could be seen as overstepping into family matters.

I looked around with an interested gaze. Then, Dad spoke fiercely to the guards surrounding me.

“Everyone, get lost.”

I flinched at Dad’s cold voice.

‘Dad, he’s so villainous!’

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as the soldiers who were about to grab my arm began to flinch.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Dad with suspicion.

However, Dad, meeting my gaze, looked at me with a very nervous expression and then opened his mouth again.

“I, I mean… What are you doing to my daughter?”

‘What leaks inside, leaks outside!’ [A Korean proverb meaning that one’s true nature will eventually be revealed.]

Dad slightly slipped up!

Dad’s weak side was slightly highlighted, so I looked around nervously. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be flinching. I tried to hide the smile on my lips and looked back at Dad.

But…

‘Dad’s face has turned cold again.’

I was a little puzzled.

Right now, Dad seemed to be stuttering on purpose to look like a pushover.

‘I must be mistaken. There’s no way, right?’

I clenched my fists and looked back inside the courtroom. Still, except for stuttering a little, Dad had perfectly completed his mission, so now it was my turn.

‘Let’s deal with the Crown Prince first.’

I took my eyes off Dad and looked at the judge’s seat.

The Crown Prince’s expression in the judge’s seat was a sight to behold. His face was distorted, and he was grinding his teeth, looking like someone whose plan had been ruined.

But soon, the Crown Prince’s face changed to a bright one.

‘There must be another scheme hidden.’

I stared at him intently and gazed at the girl who was trembling. Then, the girl ran quickly towards Dad and said.

“D, Dad! I, I was so scared!”

But Dad…

“You are not my daughter.”

“…I’m the real one.”

Dad frowned coldly, as if he had no empathy, and repeated.

“No. You are not my daughter. You are just a fraud who dared to bring tears to the eyes of my daughter, Sienne.”

He emphasized it twice. I raised the corners of my lips and barely managed to hold back a giggle.

However, the girl, trembling, widened her eyes as if there was nowhere else to retreat and shouted fiercely.

“What are you saying? I am Matthias’s real daughter. Matthias is being deceived by a fake right now!”

‘She’s strangely confident. What if Dad gets caught up in that confidence?’

Dad was soft-hearted. I looked at Dad and sent him a sign of encouragement, clenching both fists.

After meeting my expression, Dad seemed to calm his mind, which was about to weaken like a pushover, and made a cold expression. Then, he once again spoke coldly.

“Can you prove that?”

“Of course. The paternity test kit directly funded by the Yoter Merchant Group proves it!”

“Just the Yoter Merchant Group dares to tarnish Mirmode’s daughter as a fake?”

As soon as I heard Dad’s cold voice, I sensed something strange.

‘Dad looks too villainous!’

Even the Crown Prince couldn’t refute and was grinding his teeth.

‘Why is the Crown Prince yielding to our Dad?’