I’m The Male Lead’s Biological Daughter, But I Want To Live With The Second Male Lead! - Chapter 75

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

Chapter 75
While Dain finished treatment and swept through the remnants of the enemy force, Winter underwent examination.
Thanks to Mabel holding Winter firmly in place, no further injuries occurred.
Shortly after, the Doctor returned with the examination results.
Remarkably, no pathogens of any kind were found in Winter.
“He appears to have been confined in iron bars for quite some time, but look—he’s in excellent health.”
“I see. Then what about the wound on the hind leg? Mabel mentioned chains were bound there.”
“Yes, it is indeed thinner than the other legs, but it’s perfectly fine.”
The hind leg that Mabel had urged the Doctor to examine carefully bore the most blood and pus.
The Doctor had studied it gravely several times over, but each result was the same.
There was not a single scratch on Winter’s body.
“How could this be…….”
The wound had clearly been there, yet it had healed without a trace in the blink of an eye.
How was such a thing possible?
Zigmund stroked his chin, lost in thought, when something abruptly came to mind.
‘Now that I think about it, Mabel did mention that—an incredibly bright light she couldn’t look at.’
Then could it be……?
Zigmund turned his head to look toward where the carriage stood.
Beyond the open door, Mabel and Winter lay entwined in sleep.
A gentle breeze rustled through Mabel’s hair.
Winter’s tail twitched slightly at the tip, as if content.
‘But Winter’s ability shouldn’t be Healing.’
The ability possessed by Winter, the white lion, was the King of Beasts.
It was the power to control the behavior of animals within a certain space.
‘So if that white lion is truly a Beastman, he would possess the same ability as Her Majesty the Empress.’
Yet……had there ever been a Beastman with a Healing-type ability in the first place?
At least, Zigmund had never heard of one.
‘This matter bears closer investigation.’
Just as Zigmund was about to head toward the carriage, Dain spoke up.
Dain opened his eyes wide and asked.
“Oh, Your Grace. By the way, are you all right?”
“What do you mean?”
Zigmund, repeating the question, waved his hands dismissively, mentioning rabies transmission.
He was teasing—knowing full well that Dain hadn’t been bitten and that Winter carried no pathogens.
Dain’s face flushed red, embarrassed by how he’d panicked at the mere word “rabies.”
“I didn’t realize it was transmitted through saliva!”
“Hey now, don’t spray me with spit. Rabies spreads that way.”
Zigmund chuckled, continuing to tease Dain mercilessly.
Flustered, Dain insisted that the real issue at hand was something else entirely and changed the subject.
“More importantly—are you absolutely certain you’re all right?”
“What do you mean, ‘all right’?”
“What do I mean?”
Dain pointed to Winter, sleeping soundly cuddled against Mabel.
“Your cat allergy, sir.”
……
……
“……Oh.”
Now that it was mentioned, Zigmund did suffer from a severe cat allergy.
Every time he visited the Imperial Palace, he had to remember to take medication without fail.
He’d simply been too preoccupied to think of it until now.
“Achoo, ach—choo-ee, eh—choo-achoo!”
The moment he became aware of it, sneezes erupted uncontrollably.
“Ach-choo, Dain, sn—medicine, eh-hem, hurry! Ach-choo-yack!”
He quickly buried his face in his sleeve as he sneezed, but it made no difference.
‘Oh no……!’
Those arms had just been holding Mabel, who’d been rolling around with Winter!
Sure enough, his eyes swelled red and his skin erupted in hives in waves.
Zigmund hastily tore off his coat and hurled it away, but it was already too late.
“Dain, quickly, yaaaa……choo-ee!”
His entire body itched miserably from the hives now spreading across his skin.
So instead of fetching medicine, Dain began removing Zigmund’s clothes.
“Wha—what are you—achoo, cough, cough, achoo!”
“Medicine is one thing, but first we need to deal with this shirt absolutely drenched in Winter’s fur! Take it off, quickly!”
And so Zigmund found himself stripped to the waist in the middle of the forest.
Just then, in all the commotion, Mabel stirred awake.
“Master…?”
Of all the wretched timing.
Zigmund hastily crossed his arms in an X to cover his chest, but he couldn’t block the expanse of bare skin already laid bare before her.
“I…”
Mabel stared at Zigmund and Dain with a vacant expression.
A master who’d become half-naked outdoors for some inexplicable reason, and an aide who appeared to have undressed him just as inexplicably.
“Ah…”
Mabel rubbed her eyes.
She rubbed them again, and again, several times over.
“Heh-heh… just a dream…”
Mabel giggled softly and collapsed sideways.
Watching her—whether asleep or unconscious, he couldn’t tell—Zigmund had a thought.
Cats. He really hated cats.
* * *
That evening.
Freshly bathed, Mabel’s eyes flew wide open.
“Kitty! Your fur—what happened to it?!”
But Mabel’s words never made it to their end.
“Mew-owww!”
Winter cried out and retreated further beneath the bed.
And for good reason—though his gray fur had always been matted, the Beastman’s body was now completely shorn!
“Ella! Why does kitty look like that?!”
Alarmed, Mabel turned to Ella.
Ella smiled awkwardly in response.
“Well, you see~ Sheila tried her very best to wash him properly~ but his fur was so terribly matted~”
No matter how much they washed, filth kept coming out, she explained.
And the tangles were so severe that the mats wouldn’t come loose no matter what.
In the end, Sheila had no choice but to make a decision.
Shave it all off.
“But I heard from Kellic that an animal’s fur is its pride~”
So the shorn Winter had become this dispirited creature, she added.
Mabel gazed sympathetically at the Beastman’s bare form, then carefully approached.
“Kitty, it’s alright. You’re adorable even without fur!”
“Mew, ow-owww…”
“That’s right. You’re a fine male. Handsome, really. So don’t worry and come out here.”
Crouched and bending beneath the bed, Mabel gently stroked Winter’s back.
At that, the Beastman who’d refused to emerge slowly poked his head out.
His body was completely shorn, but his face still had some fur remaining—he looked exactly like an improper fraction of a character.
Mabel fought down the urge to laugh and stroked the Beastman’s head.
“See? You look magnificent!”
“Grrrr…?”
“Yes, really!”
As Mabel beamed and nodded, Winter’s tail swished back and forth.
Seeing him slowly climb up onto her lap, she knew his mood had lifted considerably.
Ella watched the two of them with fascination.
‘They seem to be having a real conversation~ How precious~’
A cute girl and a cute baby animal chattering away together.
At this heartwarming sight, a tender smile bloomed across Ella’s face.
“Miss, but what is this Beastman’s name~?”
“His name? Um…”
Now that she thought about it, they’d said he wasn’t a cat.
In the darkness, he’d seemed small and had mewed so convincingly that she’d mistaken him for one.
As Mabel looked at him quietly, Winter flicked his ears as if asking why she was staring.
His ears were indeed round, not pointed like a cat’s.
In that case, calling him “kitty” now would be disrespectful.
“What’s your name?”
“Ow-ooo.”
“Hmm? No name? Well, that won’t do.”
Mabel scratched Winter’s back with gentle, deliberate strokes while making soft humming sounds.
Despite her concentrated expression, her nimble fingers already betrayed the makings of a devoted caretaker.
Ella, amused by Mabel’s earnestness, ventured softly, “Why not let the young lady give you one~?”
“A name, you mean? From me~?”
“Me? Really?”
Mabel’s eyes widened, and a faint flush crept across her cheeks.
“May I give you a name?”
“Arf!”
“Wonderful! Then, let me see…… hmm…….”
As Mabel pondered, the perfect word bloomed in her mind.
“From today on, your name is Winter!”
Winter.
It was a name that fit perfectly—white as snow, eyes blue as ice.
“Nyao-oo~, growl!”
Winter seemed pleased with her new name, scrunching her muzzle and opening her mouth wide.
It looked almost like a smile.
The sight was so endearing that Mabel swept Winter into her arms.
[Good.]
[I. Like. This.]
[Name.]
[Winter.]
Words bloomed above Winter’s head.
“……eh?”
Mabel blinked rapidly, bewildered.
Yet the words still hovered above Winter’s head.
“Um—um, Ella! What is this?!”
Startled, Mabel pointed at Winter’s crown.
“Hmm~? Did something get stuck~?”
But for some reason, Ella couldn’t seem to see the words floating above Winter’s head.
“Wh—what—what?!”
Mabel’s gaze darted between Ella and Winter.
Then, once more, words materialized above Winter’s head.
[This. Only. You. See.]
[You.]
Mabel’s eyes flew wide with shock.
Winter purred with delight at her reaction.
[Mabel.]
[Only.]
[Mabel!]

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