I’m The Male Lead’s Biological Daughter, But I Want To Live With The Second Male Lead! - Chapter 66

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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 66
What is love, anyway.
What is this thing that makes people so utterly foolish.
Throughout the past winter, Caesar had spared no effort to win Sophia’s heart.
He’d promised to accept slowly, even if he couldn’t easily believe that Mabel was his daughter.
When he said those words, Caesar was as tender as he’d once been.
So warm, so gentle—that the sharp hatred she’d aimed at him melted away.
She even forgot that the daggers lodged in her chest had been honed from that very hatred.
It shouldn’t have been this way.
She should never have abandoned that bitter resolve not to love him.
Sophia sat with her face buried in her palms for a long while, remembering what had happened that winter, before she finally spoke.
“Let’s divorce.”
“…What?”
Caesar, who hadn’t cared whether Sophia wept or not, fixed his gaze upon her.
When Sophia lifted her head, her eyes were already dry.
She clenched her tear-dampened gloved hands and made her declaration again.
“Didn’t you hear me? We’re getting divorced.”
She should have done this from the beginning.
Not simply fled, but severed the tie cleanly.
She should have realized long ago how foolish it was to hope for his regret.
For all this time, Sophia had wandered alone through the wasteland of this obvious truth.
Clutching both her love and her hatred, suffering endlessly.
But she would not do it anymore.
Caesar no longer loved Sophia.
She had just confirmed that not a shred of affection remained.
‘So if I cling to this love, the only one hurt will be me.’
In the past, Sophia had not believed the saying that first love never comes to fruition.
But as time passed, she had become a living witness to the very rumor she’d once dismissed as jest.
What a desolate ending it was.
For that man, I marked my friend as a slave and even committed murder.
‘If God exists, He shouldn’t leave me like this.’
Sophia swallowed the creeping self-pity and fresh tears, forcing her voice to remain steady.
“From now on, let’s be strangers.”
At that resolute declaration, fissures appeared across Caesar’s face, which had been rigid with shock.
What kind of expression was that.
Once, she could read his every thought just from the light in his eyes, but now she couldn’t.
The man she faced now was a stranger entirely.
No longer willing to look at Caesar, Sophia turned her head away.
“There’s no need to go all the way to the Duchy Estate. Drop me here.”
That you no longer wish to spend another moment with me.
She hadn’t decided where to go next.
But wherever she ended up, it would surely be less wretched than this.
Sophia was just preparing to step down from the carriage when—
“Divorce? Ha!”
A cold, mirthless laugh cut through the air.
A chilling aura that reeked of murder flooded the carriage in an instant.
Its source was Caesar.
“You still haven’t grasped the situation, have you, Sophia.”
Thump.
Caesar planted his foot on the sofa he had just kicked over.
Sophia flinched in alarm, and he laughed coldly.
“I am the master of this House. You are my property, my wife.”
“What—what are you saying…?”
“The moment you put me in this seat, you lost any choice in the matter.”
“How dare you—!”
Sophia tried to cry out, but Caesar was faster.
He lowered the window and barked an order at the coachman, who was driving frantically toward the Townhouse.
“Head straight for the Duchy Estate.”
“Yes, yes? The main residence…you mean?”
As the coachman stammered in confusion, Caesar shot a glance at Sophia.
Her face had gone pale, as though she couldn’t fathom what she’d just heard.
When had it started?
This satisfaction he felt watching Sophia’s fear.
Was it from the moment he learned the man she’d truly loved was Zigmund, not him?
From when he saw her face as she brought Zigmund’s child and lied that it was his own?
No—this murky emotion had festered far longer than that.
Much longer. Since the day Sophia was sold off by her own brothers.
Since that radiant smile—so full of the marks of a beloved bastard—had crumbled into wreckage.
Since she’d clung to him desperately, grasping at straws while pitying Caesar, begging for his help.
His vile hunger for conquest had undoubtedly begun right then.
Caesar studied Sophia with methodical contempt.
Once she had been his goddess; once she had stood at the pinnacle of his world, looking down upon everything.
But now she wept and laughed at the mere crumb of false affection he deigned to offer—a pathetic creature, easily broken.
The woman who had deceived and betrayed him before his hunger for conquest had even kindled.
Caesar concluded his thoughts on Sophia and replied.
“No. The Underground Prison.”
There was no other fit place for a wife who dared abandon her husband for another man.
* * *
The day after the Crown Prince’s banquet.
“Then I’ll head out first!”
Mabel spoke brightly, her beloved Rabbit Doll Bag slung across her shoulder.
The sky-blue short dress with its charming round, short sleeves and white pumpkin-leg trousers suited her perfectly.
She’d tied a white Apron over it all, ready to change into fresh clothes at a moment’s notice.
Her hair was swept up into a single, bouncy topknot crowned with a sky-blue Ribbon Headband.
According to Ella, today’s concept for Mabel was the strange Capital’s Mabel.
Zigmund, who had been standing at an angle by the doorway, came forward.
“Go on, enjoy yourself. I’ll finish this and catch up in time.”
His voice held a faint note of regret as he crouched down to retie her ribbon.
And no wonder—Zigmund and Mabel had planned to tour the Capital together today.
But something urgent had suddenly come up, so he’d only be joining from the afternoon onward.
Mabel shook her head reassuringly and spoke up.
“It’s okay. I’ll take my time and have fun. So don’t rush—make sure you do it thoroughly. It’s about the Poachers, after all.”
The problem Zigmund had to handle urgently was indeed the elimination of Beastman Poachers.
Those same Poachers he’d heard about at the Crown Prince’s birthday banquet.
“I know. It concerns Aselt and Kellic’s safety, so I’m not planning to do this halfway.”
For most matters he would simply postpone, but given that it involved Beastman Poaching, he had to look into it thoroughly.
“The weather will be hot today. Don’t eat only cold things or you’ll get a stomachache.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Ella will be right beside you, so I’m sure you’ll manage well, but if it gets too hot and you really can’t bear it, go ahead and eat what you like. You have my permission.”
Zigmund glanced sideways at Ella.
A child’s health and education mattered, but since they’d come to the Capital to enjoy themselves, he wanted to let the girl relax a little.
Of course, Ella pretended not to hear.
“I’ve prepared cool ice water and healthy fruit and vegetable juice, so don’t you worry~”
In truth, Ella also wanted to buy Mabel anything she desired, since this was her first time visiting the Capital.
But Mabel was not like other children.
She didn’t know which foods to avoid, what allergies she might have, or when her health might suddenly take a turn for the worse.
Jack had tried various things, and it seemed Mabel had no major allergies, but this was the Capital.
It was far hotter than the Duchy Estate and brimmed with unfamiliar ingredients and spices, so caution was necessary.
Mabel understood this too, and answered with admirable composure, without complaining.
“I’ve packed the Parasol and Fan too!”
Such a good girl.
Zigmund pulled the bright-cheeked child into his arms and then stood.
“Then have lots of fun. See you later.”
“Yes~!”
Mabel answered cheerfully and quickly took Ella’s hand.
The small carriage carrying them both rattled off and disappeared from the Townhouse.
Puffy white clouds drifted lazily across a brilliant blue summer sky.
He could only hope that nothing but joy awaited Mabel until his return.
With that silent prayer, Zigmund turned away.
“Then let’s begin the meeting at once.”
He wanted to ensure the children at the Duchy Estate were safe as quickly as possible, and to be with Mabel.
“Yes, it seems nearly all your retainers have arrived.”
Dain followed behind him, speaking as he walked.
“And this is the method Greche devised—there is the risk factor that security would become lax, but….”
Zigmund accepted the paper Dain handed him and strode forward with purpose.
It was a clear summer’s day.

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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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