I’m The Male Lead’s Biological Daughter, But I Want To Live With The Second Male Lead! - Chapter 79

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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 79
Words materialized above Winter’s head, a candy cone still caught between her claws.
[Stop.]
[Pointless.]
[Demand. Give.]
[To Mabel.]
[Dondurma.]
Though the ice cream shop owner couldn’t see the words floating above Winter’s head, he understood all the same.
“Ah… yes, here you are.”
If he didn’t give Mabel the ice cream now, there would be hell to pay.
So Mabel received her Dondurma without any of the usual teasing.
But it wasn’t quite what she’d been hoping for.
Ella, sensing the awkward shift, brightened her voice.
“Well, I guess beasts really are beasts, aren’t they~”
“Yeah…”
Mabel answered listlessly.
Winter, set down on the ground, tilted her head before suddenly leaping up.
She’d belatedly realized what Mabel had actually been hoping for.
[Again.]
[Play.]
But Mabel’s spirit had already deflated entirely.
“Never mind. Forget it. Just eat this instead.”
Mabel turned the Dondurma out into a bowl she’d brought along.
“Whimper…”
Winter wrapped her tail apologetically around Mabel’s ankle as she lapped at the ice cream.
It was cool and wonderfully creamy!
[Delicious!]
Delighted with the treat, Winter buried her face in the dish and devoured it.
Once she’d finished her portion, Winter lifted her head.
Ice cream smeared not just her mouth, but her forehead as well.
“Pffft—what is that~”
The sight of Winter eating with her whole face sent Mabel into laughter.
Had her mood lifted slightly?
Winter licked the ice cream from her nose and sat before Mabel with a small bleating cry.
“There, that’s what matters—you enjoyed it.”
Mabel smiled warmly and wiped Winter’s face clean with a handkerchief.
Then it happened.
Perk!
The moment Winter’s ears twitched while her face rested against Mabel’s hands, commotion erupted from the back alley.
“Catch them! They’re getting away!”
“We have to stop them!”
Crash!
The sound of goods stacked in the alley tumbling everywhere was deafening.
People who’d been lounging contentedly in the peaceful midday turned to look toward the alley in alarm.
Someone murmured.
“The one being chased… could that be a Beastman?”
A Beastman?
Now that it was mentioned, a white tail-like shape was indeed visible beneath the pulled-down gray hood.
“Wait, does that mean demi-human kidnapping is happening right now?”
“For heaven’s sake, where are we—for something like this to occur here?”
“Someone get the Public Security Force!”
The onlookers watched anxiously as the pursued Beastman fled.
Yet no one stepped forward to shield them.
Demi-human trading was legal, after all—only the kidnapping was against the law.
Still, there was reason for caution.
The masterminds behind most kidnappings were high-ranking nobility.
Helping a Beastman meant risking the ire of some aristocrat, and that was a luxury no one could afford.
Because of this vicious cycle, the kidnappers committed their crimes openly, even in broad daylight.
That it was happening in the Eschlide Grand Duchy, famous for its Beastman-friendly policies, was shocking.
And they’d only recently swept out the poaching rings, too.
Mabel quickly appealed to Ella.
“Ella! Let’s help that person! I’ll wait here!”
“Hm? Oh, well~”
Ella hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was all right to leave Mabel behind.
Just then, the Dondurma Shop Owner stepped forward and offered to look after Mabel.
“I’ll be back in no time~”
Ella spoke in her usual gentle tone as she unfastened the clasp of the hood draped over her shoulder with a soft pop.
And then—whoosh.
In her wake, only a violent gust remained.
Moments later.
“Ugh, argh! What the hell is this woman!”
“Who are you, where did you—ahhh!”
The dull thuds of heavy blows mixed with the kidnappers’ screams echoed out.
Within moments, Ella reappeared, dragging three large, muscular men in each hand—six kidnappers in total, limp and battered.
“There we go~ All subdued~”
Unlike the wreckage of the kidnappers, Ella’s appearance remained pristine and composed.
“But~ I’m afraid the beastman got away~”
Apparently, they’d slipped away into hiding while she was busy pounding the kidnappers.
‘If they’ve managed to escape cleanly, that’s one thing to be grateful for…….’
Mabel was about to scoop Winter back into her arms when she noticed something.
Perk.
Winter’s ears twitched, and the beast turned its snout toward the shadows, sniffing.
“Hm?”
When Mabel turned to look as well, she caught a glimpse—whoosh.
A gray hood slipped into the darkness of the shadowy alley.
‘Wha…….’
Could it be?
“Sister, over there…….”
Mabel tugged at Ella’s sleeve and pointed in that direction.
In the depths of the alley’s shadow, a figure in a gray hood was still hiding.
“Oh my~?”
Ella’s expression brightened at the sight, then froze in mid-smile.
Though people often joked that her narrow eyes made it hard for her to see anything, Ella’s vision was a perfect 5.0 in both eyes.
So her eyes saw it clearly.
“That person looks injured~”
The inside of the shabby gray hood was stained dark with blood.
“Injured?”
Mabel’s voice rose slightly in alarm.
Were they hurt while fleeing the kidnappers?
Now that she thought about it, Winter had been sniffing the air constantly.
Just then, the Public Security Force arrived.
Ella, bowing respectfully, handed the kidnappers over to them.
Fortunately, the beastman in the gray hood remained hidden in the shadows.
Mabel, cradling Winter, took Ella’s hand and carefully made her way deeper into the alley.
Sensing the figure about to flee, Mabel quickly called out to stop them.
“Wait! Please take this!”
From her rabbit doll bag, Mabel produced ointment and bandages.
Ella had packed them for her, just in case something happened.
How old was she now—six or seven?
A tiny child holding out small items in small hands made the beastman hesitate.
“You seemed hurt……. Oh, it wasn’t me—my sister Ella saw it.”
Ella, who had been watching the stranger warily, suddenly smiled softly when Mabel looked up at her.
The beastman stood frozen for a moment before approaching and carefully accepting the bandages and medicine.
The hand that emerged from the hood was very pale and delicate.
It was a gentle hand, showing no signs of hard labor whatsoever.
“Thank you—I mean, thanks.”
Was this someone accustomed to speaking in rougher tones?
The woman quickly corrected her speech.
“Chirp~”
Winter answered in Mabel’s stead, as if it was nothing much.
The faltering woman’s gaze turned toward Winter.
Though her face remained hidden beneath the deep hood, she was clearly looking at the beast.
At that rather persistent stare, Mabel smoothly redirected the conversation, as if shielding Winter.
“If you don’t mind my asking, might I inquire why you were being pursued?”
“Ah, well…….”
The woman who had been watching Winter for so long finally seemed to catch herself and turned away.
As she whipped her head around, white hair peeked out from beneath the hood.
The woman, who had been fidgeting with the ointment and bandages, answered haltingly.
“My disguise came undone…….”
“Your disguise?”
“Woof~?”
Winter cried out, echoing Mabel’s intonation.
“The Magic Stone in the Artifact…… well, it’s nothing, really. No, I mean…….”
As if mesmerized, the woman suddenly changed course, speaking in haste.
There was something unsettling about how she kept getting distracted by Winter.
‘Could it be…… she likes cute things?’
It was possible.
After all, a baby white lion was as adorable as a kitten.
Setting that aside, Mabel synthesized what the woman had said and reached a conclusion.
“Then you’ll need this!”
What Mabel pulled from her bag was a Magic Stone.
“That is……?”
The woman’s shoulders stiffened in an instant.
What Mabel held was a high-grade Magic Stone—the kind that was difficult even for her to obtain.
“Tee-hee, Winter’s guardian said I could use it if the need arose, so she gave it to me.”
“Winter……?”
“Yes! That’s this child’s name. This little one is a Beastman, you see.”
“……!”
The woman caught her breath sharply.
The woman, who had maintained a cautious distance until now, suddenly stretched out her hand and asked urgently.
“C-could it be that child is currently how old-”
“Miss! Lady Ella! Where are you?”
But just then, Hishin arrived with the carriage, searching for Mabel.
“Oh, Sir Knight, you’re here. We must be going now!”
Mabel placed the Magic Stone into the outstretched hand of the woman.
“Please take this. I apologize that you’ve experienced such trouble in our territory. Do be careful on your way back!”
“Squeak~”
Winter chirped brightly in farewell alongside Mabel.
Ella also gave a light bow to the woman and slipped out through the alley.
The woman, clutching the Magic Stone tightly, watched as the children boarded the carriage with the knight.
‘Winter…….’
She repeated the small baby white lion’s name silently to herself.
Suddenly, hooded men appeared behind the woman.
Between the fluttering hoods, the uniforms of the Imperial Elite Guard were visible.
The knights prostrated themselves on the ground in apology.
“We beg your forgiveness, Your Majesty!”
“We are shameless. Please, take our lives!”
The woman Mabel had helped was none other than Lillian, the Empress.

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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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