I’m The Male Lead’s Biological Daughter, But I Want To Live With The Second Male Lead! - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10
The next morning.
“Miss~”
Ella entered Mabel’s room and spoke as she drew back the curtains.
“What a glorious day it is~ The sun is shining so brightly~”
At the sound of her voice, Mabel opened her eyes and blinked slowly at the brightened ceiling.
Her second morning at the Grand Duke’s Castle.
Surrounded by a plush bed and soft, fragrant bedding, Mabel struggled to shake off the fog of sleep.
Yesterday morning she’d managed to spring up readily enough.
‘Perhaps my mind is finally at ease…….’
As memories of yesterday drifted through her drowsy mind, Mabel found herself grinning.
‘I’m an assistant to a Sub Male Lead!’
What an extraordinary rise in station — from a kidnapped street child!
And since she’d been properly hired, she’d actually be paid for it.
“Hehe…….”
No need to seek out the villain and sell information about Ashilonia.
Though if she was honest, having a reason to stay at the Grand Duke’s Castle felt, well — just a tiny bit better than mere necessity.
“Still sleeping~ Oh, today’s sun wants to see our dear miss too~”
“I’m awake! I’m up!”
Mabel, lost in her own thoughts, finally answered.
And she tried to leap from bed—
‘Wait. What?’
Thrash, thrash.
No matter how hard she flailed her limbs, she couldn’t escape the bedding’s grasp.
“My, my~ you’re awake~ Sun~ look here~ our miss is up~”
“Please, please, untangle me from this…….”
“Oh, how adorable~!”
Ella squealed with delight at the sight of Mabel thrashing about, coccooned in quilt.
“I want to get up! I need to get up, so please unwrap me……!”
“Of course, of course~ let me help~ here we go~”
Only after Ella carefully unwound the tightly wound bedding could Mabel finally rise.
She had no idea how she’d managed to wrap herself so thoroughly during the night.
Mabel’s face flushed crimson as she became aware of her own sleeping habits — something she’d never noticed in the cramped attic.
“Did you sleep well, miss~?”
Ella smoothed back her tangled violet hair and asked cheerfully.
“Yes! I slept wonderfully!”
“Mm~? Our miss seems particularly energetic today~”
Ella smiled warmly, relieved.
“You seemed so exhausted yesterday~ I was worried~”
And indeed, Mabel had been utterly drained yesterday.
First came Dain’s luxurious tour of the Grand Duke’s Castle Treasure Chamber, then an unexpected problem-solving session, followed by treatment as a saint of Alchemy itself, and finally — the crowning glory — becoming Zigmund’s assistant!
For a girl whose life had consisted of nothing but starving in a cramped cellar and fainting in murderous heat and cold, it had been an exhaustingly full day.
“I was tired! That’s why I — I don’t normally sleep so wildly!”
Mabel’s nose flushed as red as her cheeks as she scrambled to explain herself.
Yes, people tossed and turned in their sleep sometimes, but that didn’t make it any less embarrassing.
“I see~, I understand~”
“Yes, yes! I really do!”
At Mabel’s earnest insistence, Ella simply smiled knowingly.
In truth, was rough sleeping really an issue now?
Every time Ella had checked on her in the early morning hours, Mabel had been lying in a different spot.
The young miss who’d seemed so composed during the day revealed herself in sleep to be wonderfully uninhibited — and utterly charming.
Ella had barely resisted the urge to summon a portrait painter during those dawn inspections.
‘She really is endearing.’
Ella gazed at the child with affection.
Her delicate features hadn’t been hidden even when she was covered in grime; now that she was clean, she was even lovelier.
And knowing she was Zigmund’s own daughter — a man who seemed to show no interest in romance or marriage and who’d been plagued by succession concerns — made her all the more precious!
An illegitimate child born of another family’s married woman? What did it matter?
After all, Mabel’s very existence had allowed Zigmund to dispel the nasty rumors of impotence that had quietly spread, and had solved the thorny succession issue once and for all.
‘If anything, he brought her far too late.’
Some might call him negligent, but at least Ella saw it that way.
Likely the other servants would have felt no differently.
But beyond everything else, what delighted her most was that a girl had appeared in the Grand Duke’s Castle.
With her master always locked away in the Laboratory studying, and his pupils being his spitting image, the castle had always felt barren.
But now, surely, it would come alive.
There was no need to speculate about the distant future.
After all, just yesterday had been different from any other day—filled with commotion.
Ella was certain that thanks to this small young lady, the Grand Duke’s Castle would become a place where people actually lived, not merely existed.
“Come now, would you show me your hands~?”
“Yes.”
At Ella’s request, Mabel obediently held out both her hands.
“Mm~ wonderful~! They’re definitely improving~!”
When Mabel had first arrived at the Grand Duke’s Castle, Ella had nearly fainted on the spot while helping her wash—seeing the state of the child’s hands.
How could a baby’s hands be more cracked and weathered than those of an old man who had labored his entire life?
They were raw enough that water alone drew blood, yet Mabel bore it without complaint—which only broke Ella’s heart further.
That such a small, young child had grown accustomed to pain, made numb by it.
Fortunately, her skin seemed to heal well; with just a bit of salve, her hands were already becoming soft again.
“It’s remarkable how much better they get with just a little care……”
Ella murmured darkly, barely audible.
It was beginning to seem that Mabel hadn’t merely been neglected in Ashilonia—it was far worse than that.
Not only had they failed to raise her properly; they’d abused her.
Acknowledging her as illegitimate would have been infinitely better than the fate she’d endured—a thousand times over, better that she be brought here to the Grand Duke’s Castle.
“Ella… sister……?”
When Ella fell silent, gazing only at her hands, Mabel called to her softly.
At the word ‘sister,’ Ella’s heart was pierced again—struck deep as an arrowhead, suddenly aching.
“Oh my~ you mustn’t be so formal~”
“B-but… I find this easier.”
Mabel, who had been scorned her whole life, could not suddenly address adults so casually in a single day.
But wasn’t that all right?
Wouldn’t that be proper etiquette?
Hesitating, Mabel tilted her head and looked up at Ella.
“Is it… not all right if I call you sister……?”
Oh my.
A head-tilt attack! An upward gaze attack!
Ella found Mabel so adorable that heat rushed even to her nostrils.
“……There’s nothing at all that isn’t all right for our young lady~! Not a single thing~!”
Ella answered, snorting hot breath through her nose.
It seemed as though she might punch through any obstacle standing in this girl’s way.
Then Ella brought over a washbasin filled with lukewarm water.
“Now, let’s give you a nice thorough wash and then fix your pretty hair~!”
Truth be told, the washing could be half-hearted.
She was adorable anyway.
The important part was doing her hair.
“How shall I style it today~?”
A high ponytail? A low ponytail? Or something cute like twin tails? She could even wind her hair into buns like dumplings—it would be precious either way.
With such thick hair, braids would suit her wonderfully!
Ella watched Mabel splash through her washing with pride, letting her imagination run wild with delight.
And yet.
“Um…… however you’d like……?”
Ella’s smiling face went rigid as stone.
Sadly, her young lady seemed unaware of just how adorable she was.
Otherwise, there was no way she’d respond so matter-of-factly!
But if anything, that only delighted Ella more.
“……That settles it, brace yourself~! I’m going to make you keenly aware of just how cute you are~!”
“Y-yes……?”
Mabel, dabbing her face with a fluffy towel, flinched.
Keenly aware? To that extent……?
Mabel tried belatedly to stop Ella from igniting her competitive fire, but it was useless.
“Ufufu, ufufufu~”
With various combs and hair ribbons threaded between all ten of her fingers, Ella laughed with sinister glee—a look that suggested even Zigmund himself couldn’t stop her now.
* * *
Mabel had spent the morning in a whirlwind of activity and couldn’t reach the Dining Hall until quite some time had passed.
And Ella’s efforts to transform her had borne fruit.
“Kyaa~ You look absolutely adorable today, miss!”
“Oh! You’re so beautiful and charming today, miss!”
“That hairstyle suits you perfectly! You look like a doll!”
Every servant Mabel passed lavished praise upon her.
And for good reason—with her abundant hair divided in half and tied into two pigtails, curled into perfect loops near her small ears, she couldn’t have looked anything but endearing.
Her side-swept bangs framed her face with playful curls, while the remaining length had been brushed soft and smooth.
When a face already naturally sweet was deliberately styled with such care, it was only natural that it became even more precious.
But unused to such compliments, Mabel felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
‘Please, just let me reach the Dining Hall.’
She was practically itching to escape.
“Ahem.”
A figure appeared before her.
It was none other than Rundwell, the steward of the Grand Duke’s Castle.
“Oh…”
His expression was noticeably cooler than the others’, and Mabel tensed slightly.
But what Rundwell extended toward her was entirely unexpected.
“This is…”
Mabel’s mouth fell open slightly as she beheld what he held in his hands.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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