I’m The Male Lead’s Biological Daughter, But I Want To Live With The Second Male Lead! - Chapter 5

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

Episode 5
This is ridiculous.
‘I was only going to ask for a little rest before sending her back…’
She’d slept so deeply that she felt refreshed—reborn, almost.
Mabel blinked slowly once more.
As sleep retreated and her eyes came into focus, the room swam into sharp clarity.
The spacious chamber—large enough to run and play in—overflowed with toys any child would adore.
The staff of the Grand Duke’s Household had gifted them all in a single day.
Some of them had even rushed down to the Village to purchase more.
Yet despite such lavish attention, they asked nothing of Mabel in return.
If anything, they seemed frustrated they couldn’t give her more.
How was that even possible? It baffled her.
‘People do say birds of a feather flock together—maybe good people are simply drawn to other good people.’
It was becoming difficult.
“I went in expecting to keep my wits about me, to survive by staying sharp…”
But what if the tiger’s den turned out to be comfortable?
She’d stumbled upon an unforeseen problem.
“Hmm…”
As she pressed her cheek into the soft quilt, mulling it over, Dain’s words suddenly surfaced in her mind.
— You may think you’ve successfully infiltrated the Grand Duke’s Castle, but that’s as far as it goes. I’ll uncover everything soon enough.
“That threat didn’t amount to much, did it, Advisor?”
She’d thought he might confine her somewhere, yet he’d brought her here so carefully.
— Then rest. Today will be your last day of leisure, after all.
And with that, he’d simply left.
Only Mabel, who’d braced herself inwardly, ended up looking foolish.
And it stayed that way afterward.
While she was bathing with the maids, he’d appeared abruptly, and she’d thought he meant to send them away.
— So this is it—you’re trying to appeal through frugality by refusing even one toy? Wrong!
He’d given her a small Duck Toy that bobbed on the water and a tiny Boat Toy that moved by windup mechanism.
When she’d started nodding off as the maids dried her hair, it was the same story.
— Pretending to collapse from thirst after bathing to extend your stay? I’ve already seen through your little scheme.
He’d suddenly appeared and handed her cool water with lime and cucumber, along with a small Cookie, before departing.
According to Ella, who had become Mabel’s dedicated maid, Dain had baked the Cookie himself.
It was rather tasty, too.
Even during Mabel’s examination with the physician, he’d intruded spectacularly.
— Check every last trivial ailment without missing a thing. If word gets out that she caught something here, that’ll be troublesome! And isn’t it standard practice to give candy after an injection? She might even sue for not getting candy—fetch me some candy at once!
“What was he, exactly…”
Dain hadn’t had much presence in the novel, so she couldn’t quite get a read on him.
“Hmm…”
“Miss~ Our darling Miss, are you pinching your nose~?”
Ella’s voice came from beyond the door.
Mabel sprang upright and called back.
“I’m awake!”
At that, Ella cracked open the door and poked her head in.
Her characteristically narrow, slitted eyes and melodious manner of speech were quite charming.
“Shall we have breakfast now~?”
And yet she treated Mabel like a baby above all else.
Now it wasn’t even “meal”—it was “num-nums.”
At eight years old, wasn’t that a bit much?
And besides—she was a Reincarnator who’d learned this world was a Novel!
“Yes, I’d love to! Let’s go have breakfast!”
Mabel deliberately emphasized “breakfast,” but it was no use.
“Yesss~ Time for num-num nomnom~”
Ella was a formidable opponent.
“The Head Chef has prepared something delicious for our Miss, so shall we hurry along~?”
The third defeat tasted both mortifying and strangely stirring.
* * *
Holding Ella’s hand, they arrived at the Dining Hall to find Siegmund already seated.
Upon spotting Mabel, he broke into a grin.
“Every time you wake up, your face swells like a pufferfish. What’s that about?”
“Can you even open your eyes?” someone teased, and Mabel’s eyes snapped wide open.
“They’re open! Very much open!”
The onlookers burst into laughter.
Realizing she’d been had, Mabel’s face flushed crimson in an instant.
Embarrassed, she hurried into her seat and changed the subject.
“Do you… eat with the gentleman, sir?”
“Then who would I eat with?”
“Well, sir, you’re the head of the household, so…”
Whereas I’m a Ghost Princess, an Invisible Person—how could I presume to share a table?
That’s what she’d meant, but Siegmund’s answer caught her off guard.
“Then call me head of household from now on. Not ‘sir.'”
So he’d been bothered by her deliberately calling him “sir” all along.
Fair enough—barely thirty and already tired of hearing it, no doubt.
As Mabel nodded internally, the cook himself wheeled over a trolley.
“Oh, so this is the young lady I’ve heard such tales about!”
Yesterday she’d skipped dinner and gone straight to bed, so this was their first meeting.
His mustache, identical to some Pringles mascot, was quite the impression.
“My word, you really are charming… wait!”
But the cook suddenly furrowed his brow.
“What’s this? These thin arms, nothing but skin and bone! And you sent her to bed without supper?!”
Mabel glanced down at her own skeletal wrists, visible between the seams of her dress.
She was certainly thin—very thin indeed.
The sleeves of the ready-made dress he’d hurriedly purchased yesterday hung well past her hands.
“This simply won’t do. No, no—such a thing is unthinkable in Jacques van Mercer’s dining hall!”
With that, he set dish after dish before Mabel, even before Siegmund.
“Eat up, young lady. And grow strong now—like bamboo shoots!”
“Bamboo shoots?”
“Yes! I, Jacques van Mercer, shall personally see to it that those clothes—too old for your years—are far too small within no time!”
A small notepad and fountain pen had somehow appeared in Jacques’s hands.
“Now then, if our young lady has favorite foods, and foods to avoid—”
“Jacques, don’t I get any rice?”
Siegmund asked, as if exasperated.
“Ah, yes. Coming right away, sir.”
Jacques answered offhandedly, then immediately refocused on Mabel.
“Do you prefer sweets, young lady? How about highly seasoned dishes?”
Remembering both the novel’s contents and the proper order of hierarchy, Mabel glanced sideways at Siegmund, uncertain if this was appropriate.
Being fussed over felt pleasant enough, but she worried the kindly cook might lose his position.
Yet contrary to her fears, Siegmund merely sighed softly, rose from his seat, retrieved his plate, and returned to the table.
The servants around them seemed accustomed to it; no one paid it any mind.
‘What… is this household like?’
Nothing of the sort had been described in the novel, nor had any such Grand Duke’s Household ever been.
Even sifting through the occasional memories of modern times—or whatever that era was—she’d never seen anything like it.
But one thing was certain: with a household like this, there would be no objection to a Ghost Princess sharing a table.
“Jacques, I think the child should be comfortable while she eats first.”
“My apologies, I, Jacques van Mercer, have overstepped. I’ll visit the young lady’s room later—please eat at your leisure!”
At Siegmund’s remark, Jacques wheeled the trolley out of the dining hall.
Two plates, untouched on the table, remained on the trolley he carried out.
Mabel tilted her head curiously. “Is someone else coming?”
“No. Don’t worry about it. They’re not coming today, it seems.”
Siegmund shuffled through some papers as he answered, and Mabel asked nothing further, picking up her utensil.
Munch.
Holding a spoon larger than her own hand, Mabel took a generous mouthful of the fragrant Risotto.
She’d noticed it when they’d had a quick—well, generous for “quick”—snack upon arriving at the Grand Duke’s Castle yesterday, but the food here was absolutely delicious!
Absorbed in emptying her bowl, Mabel suddenly felt a warmth on one cheek.
‘Why… why is he staring…?’
Siegmund had been watching her intently—for how long, she wasn’t sure.
His own bowl, untouched, sat before him exactly as it had been placed.
‘Don’t tell me he’s offended because I started eating first…?’
It would have made sense.

Siegmund was the master of the Grand Duke’s Residence, and Mabel was a Ghost Princess from a rival house.
He’d clearly caught her off guard by feigning ease before striking at her weakness.
Moreover, Mabel was a child who understood Proper Order.
When Mabel set down the spoon she’d been holding in her mouth, Siegmund’s eyebrow twitched.
“Why have you stopped eating?”
“I’m terribly sorry.”
“For what?”
Moments ago she’d been eating with such gusto, and now this cautious apology—Siegmund’s frown deepened.
Wondering if he’d ever make sense of his conversations with Mabel, Siegmund waited for her answer.
“I should have waited for you to eat first, but I started before you did.”
Siegmund paused in bewilderment before breaking into laughter.
When Mabel looked back at him with confusion written across her face, Siegmund spoke with a smile tugging at his lips.
“Children don’t need to worry about such things.”
“But you’re the head of the household.”
“And you’re still a child.”
“That may be true, but…”
As she rolled her eyes in deliberation, Siegmund let out an amused chuckle.
“Just finish eating. Or is Jacques’s cooking not to your taste?”
“No, it’s delicious!”
Mabel picked up the spoon she’d set down.
She stuffed a full spoonful into her mouth and began to chew, and Siegmund nodded with satisfaction.
When Mabel had cleared her plate entirely, Jacques arrived with Fruit Pudding for dessert.
“My goodness, you’ve finished every last bite! Truly commendable!”
Jacques praised Mabel with a look of genuine delight.
Mabel found it strange how these people praised her for everything she did, and her cheeks flushed crimson in silence.
“Now then, if you’ll do me the honor of enjoying this Fruit Pudding as well, I, Jacques van Mercer, shall have no regrets!”
No regrets—truly?
Though her stomach was already quite full, Mabel picked up a small dessert spoon to fulfill Jacques’s wish.

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