I’m The Male Lead’s Biological Daughter, But I Want To Live With The Second Male Lead! - Chapter 11

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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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Episode 11
“A flower……?”
Mabel’s wide red eyes blinked in confusion as Lundwell explained in his measured tone.
“Yes. A crocus. I happened upon it during my walk in the Garden this morning and thought it bore a resemblance to you, so I brought it along.”
The delicate Purple Crocus truly looked just like the shy Mabel.
But why was he giving it to her……?
Mabel simply blinked, unable to fathom his intention.
Ella, standing beside her, crouched down and whispered softly.
“I think he’s giving it to you~”
Mabel’s eyes went round at Ella’s words.
Seeing her from the side like that—like a startled rabbit—Ella’s mouth curved into a wide smile.
Mabel glanced back and forth between the flower and Lundwell before asking hesitantly.
“Can I… can I really accept this……?”
“Yes. While it is not as lovely as you, I would be delighted if you would take it.”
Lundwell offered her a gentle smile, making clear this was a gift for Mabel.
‘A flower…… a gift…….’
Mabel stared at the Purple Crocus, dazed.
This was the first time she had ever received a flower.
A flower—unnecessary for survival or daily life, merely something to lift one’s spirits.
And she was being given one now.
It struck her anew that she had truly left House Ashilonia, and a fragile hope began to bloom within her.
Hope that perhaps she might now live like an ordinary person.
Mabel reached out with trembling fingers and accepted the flower.
The stem was moist and soft, fresh to the touch.
“Thank you……!”
Her eyes glistened with tears as she broke into a radiant smile.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the Dining Hall…….
“Come on, serve the meal already.”
“I cannot. Miss has not yet arrived.”
“Mabel will be here soon. What does Mabel coming or not coming have to do with whether you serve my food?”
“Everything to do with it. I, Zack van Murger, absolutely cannot allow Miss to dine alone.”
Zigmund and Zack were locked in earnest debate.
“Have you ever seen me let the children eat by themselves?”
“Many times. How many times have I watched you leap from the table toward the research lab whenever a brilliant thought strikes, regardless of whether the other young masters are still dining? More than once or twice, I assure you.”
Zack’s narrowed eyes rendered Zigmund speechless.
“Blast it all…….”
Zigmund, having nothing more to say, leaned back deeply into his chair and settled in to wait for Mabel.
A moment later.
“Good afternoon!”
Mabel appeared at last.
In one hand she held Ella’s, and in the other, she carried a Purple Crocus that bore a striking resemblance to her own delicate self.
What flower is that?
Before Zigmund could ask, Zack gasped theatrically.
“No! Could it be? The very Miss Mabel I was waiting for has vanished—in her place, a flower fairy has graced our Dining Hall!”
“Huh……?”
A flower fairy?
“What are you saying! That’s me! Me!”
“Wait—could it truly be?! Our Miss is actually a flower fairy?! Did Your Highness know of this fact?!”
When Zack’s question suddenly turned toward him, Zigmund flinched.
But then he laughed softly and played along.
“No, I only learned today that Mabel was a flower fairy.”
“The Grand Duke himself……?!”
Mabel’s face, which had cooled for a moment, immediately flushed bright red.
She found the laughing Zigmund utterly exasperating.
“Honestly! This flower was just a gift from Lundwell! That’s all!”
Releasing Ella’s hand as if to end the matter, Mabel strode briskly toward the table.
But unlike Zigmund, Zack showed no sign of stopping.
“Ah, a Purple Crocus, no less! How perfectly does this flower fairy suit our dear Miss Mabel!”
He sounded almost like an actor delivering a soliloquy on stage.
Mabel’s face flushed crimson all the way to her ears, and she pretended not to hear Zack’s words.
“Do you know, fairy of flowers, what the language of the purple crocus is—the very bloom that bears such resemblance to our young lady? It means a new beginning.”
“A new beginning…?”
But Zack’s next words proved far too intriguing to ignore, and she found herself responding despite her best efforts.
As if he’d caught his prey, Zack laughed softly and pulled out her chair. “You see, the crocus is a flower of remarkable resilience—so hardy it blooms even beneath the snow. That’s why it’s long been called the flower of new beginnings and regeneration.”
“New beginnings and regeneration…”
Mabel echoed the words softly as she settled into her seat, and Zack pushed the chair in for her.
“Doesn’t that suit our young lady perfectly—someone who will now know only happiness and joy each passing day?”
‘In this estate,’ he’d nearly added, but he swallowed the words instead.
Zigmund had shot him a look that suggested the sentiment was premature.
Zack cleared his throat with a soft cough and extended his hand toward Mabel with practiced elegance.
“Well then, fairy of flowers? Might this Zack van Mugger take charge of tending your precious bloom, so you can return to being our dear Mabel and manage your spoon and fork?”
“Yes, I’d much prefer to see Mabel munching away at her food rather than playing fairy,” Zigmund added, speaking up from where he’d been sitting quietly.
“Indeed!”
Mabel burst into genuine, unguarded laughter.
Watching her, Zigmund’s own smile returned.
Even Zack, who had just finished placing the flowers in the vase that Ella had brought, let a smile cross his lips.
It was embarrassing, perhaps, but truly a good way to begin the morning.
* * *
“Then, shall we proceed?”
They had moved to Zigmund’s Study.
Mabel sat across from Zigmund with a slightly nervous expression on her face.
“I’ll read it aloud. Listen carefully.”
“Yes, understood!”
Mabel nodded, and Zigmund began to speak.
“Employment Contract. Zigmund Esclerid, hereinafter referred to as the Employer. Mabel Ashilonia, hereinafter referred to as the Employee. The two parties hereby enter into an Employment Contract as follows.”
The formal language made Mabel’s head spin, but she forced herself to stay focused.
“Here, we’ll replace ‘Employer’ with ‘Master’ and ‘Employee’ with ‘Assistant,'” Dain interjected from beside her, quickly clarifying.
“And once you’ve heard the full explanation, you’ll sign here,” he continued, gesturing to a space on the document. “We haven’t presumed to write anything on your behalf, understanding as we do that you cannot read.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Furthermore, should there be any clause that proves disadvantageous to you, we’ve included an additional provision stating that the Grand Duke’s Estate will be transferred to your ownership,” Dain explained.
“What? The Grand Duke’s Estate will be transferred?”
Mabel’s eyes widened in surprise as she turned to Dain.
Dain adjusted his spectacles and adopted what he clearly intended as a reassuring expression.
“Yes, so you may sign with confidence. What does it matter if there’s a disadvantageous clause? After all, you’ll be becoming the lady of the Grand Duke’s Estate anyway.”
Wait—was that truly a reassuring expression?
Or was it the face of a con artist?
Mabel regarded Dain with suspicion before turning her gaze back to Zigmund.
“Are you serious? Even so, transferring the Grand Duke’s Estate feels a bit…”
“It shows I’m serious about ensuring you suffer no disadvantage.”
Of course, there was more to it than that.
There was his quiet hope that Mabel might truly become his successor.
He’d briefly considered adding a disadvantageous clause just to see how she’d react, but decided that building trust came first.
“I understand… if you say so much, then I’ll trust you.”
Mabel nodded, and Zigmund continued reading through the Employment Contract.
It was a standard contract widely used throughout the Greenhurst Empire.
The one distinctive feature was the substantial monthly sum allotted to Mabel.
Of course, Mabel had no way of knowing this.
“Then I’ll sign!”
Dain quickly handed her a pen.
The moment she held the pen, Mabel felt a flutter of nervousness.
‘Once I sign here, I truly become Master’s assistant.’
Perhaps this was the moment she was fixing a major branch of her own life path.
Yet with each step forward, she was also drawing closer to preventing the protagonists’ tragic end and saving the Grand Duke’s Estate from ruin.
That thought alone was enough to make her sign willingly.
“…Here.”

“……Oh.”
Of course, Mabel still couldn’t read, so all she could manage was crooked scrawls that looked more like drawings.
“Hehe…….”
Watching Mabel laugh sheepishly, Zigmund gathered up the Employment Contract and spoke.
“We’ve covered Alchemy for now, so let’s start with letters.”
“Yes.”

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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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