The Obsessive Male Lead Is Obsessed With Me! - Chapter 171

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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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Side Story: Episode 2
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“Come now. Say it for Mama—aah—”
“Aah—”
Penelope, seated in a custom-made baby chair that had required a craftsman’s special work, opened her mouth wide and made the sound at me.
I spooned pumpkin soup into that little mouth, then dabbed her glistening lips with a handkerchief, smiling with contentment.
“Oh, you eat so well. Does Mama’s pumpkin soup taste good?”
Penelope nodded with her lips pressed together, then swallowed the food with effort and reached out her hand to me.
“Pip wants. Pip wants to do it.”
“Does Pip want to hold the spoon and eat all by herself?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Goodness, she’s my daughter, but how could she be this adorable?
I pressed kisses to the child’s plump cheeks, then placed a small spoon—slightly larger than a teaspoon—in Penelope’s chubby little fingers.
“Go ahead now. Let Pip try.”
“Mmmm…….”
Gripping the spoon with four stubby fingers, Penelope scooped a generous helping of pumpkin soup and brought it to her own mouth.
Her hand wavered and she spilled a bit, but most of the soup made it past her lips.
“My goodness! Our Pip eats so well all by herself!”
“I spilled it…….”
Though she’d been born less than a year and a few months ago, Penelope was remarkably strict with herself.
She glared at the pumpkin soup stains on the table, her lips pouting, and while the sight was endearing, it was also pitiful—so I made a great fuss, assuring her it was fine, to draw her attention away.
“Mama spilled food all over the table until she was past two, getting it all over her hands and mouth while she ate. Our Pip is much neater than Mama!”
“No. Pip isn’t ne……neat.”
Unable to perfectly pronounce the word “neat,” Penelope chose not to voice it at all, and her mouth puckered like a duck’s bill.
Oh, she’s going to cry.
Just as I was about to hurry and lift the child into my arms, a maid called out from beyond the door.
“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”
“Oh my, Papa’s here!”
Perfect timing—genuinely couldn’t have asked for better.
I scooped Penelope up and quickly went to Lionel.
“The meeting ended earlier than expected? Have you eaten?”
“No, not yet.”
“Perfect. Then let’s eat now. Pip and I were just having our meal.”
I asked Uni to bring more food, then leaned close to Lionel’s ear and whispered softly, making sure the child in his embrace couldn’t hear.
‘Pip is terribly upset because she spilled some food, so maybe you could…….’
To my request, Lionel gave a subtle nod.
“Daddy.”
We’d always called ourselves Mama and Papa to Penelope, but somehow—from who knows where—she’d picked up calling Lionel “Father” instead.
Lionel found this deeply unfair, and I couldn’t blame him—especially since she did call me “Mama.”
“Call me Papa, sweetheart.”
“Daddy.”
Despite Lionel’s earnest corrections, only “Father” ever came from Penelope’s mouth.
Disappointment flickered across his eyes for just a moment.
I had no idea who’d taught the child to say “Father,” but I sincerely hoped Lionel would never find out. He’d certainly make a scene about it.
“Daddy, Pip hungry.”
“Yes, let’s eat together with Papa. With Papa.”
Lionel scooped Penelope up affectionately and settled into his chair, cradling her in his arms.
At that, Penelope stretched both hands toward her baby chair, wanting to sit in her own seat.
Lionel held the child a moment longer, but once Uni set down the bowls of soup, sandwiches, and other dishes, he placed Penelope in her chair.
“Does Pip want to eat by herself?”
…….
At my question, Penelope looked down at the soup stain on the table with a frustrated expression, then firmly shook her head without opening her mouth. Being upset over spilled soup seemed to have wounded her pride deeply.
‘Who does our daughter take after, being such a perfectionist?’
I shot a sidelong glance at Lionel, thinking I had a pretty good idea, then picked up a spoon and fed her more pumpkin soup.
“Come on now. Aah.”
“……Aah.”
As Penelope was chewing the soup, Lionel—who always ate with such elegant, formal grace—suddenly spilled some soup onto the table by accident.
“Oh!”
Penelope gasped in surprise at the sight.
But Lionel paid no attention to the pumpkin soup that had fallen on the table and simply continued eating.
Afterward, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and called to the maid standing nearby.
“Clean it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The maid wiped the table spotless, and Lionel went right on eating as though nothing had happened. In the process, he spilled the soup two or three more times.
The maids and maid servants, who watched with widened eyes as this man—who never made such mistakes—blundered repeatedly, now exchanged knowing glances at Penelope.
Whether or not Penelope realized that everyone’s attention had shifted to her, she watched Lionel continue eating while spilling soup, then reached out her hand to me.
“Pip wants to do it.”
“Does Pip want to eat by herself?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“All right.”
I smiled and placed the spoon in Penelope’s hand, and the child thrust it forcefully into the soup bowl.
But as she brought the spoon to her mouth, her arm trembled badly, and she spilled the soup again.
Yet instead of glaring at the mess, Penelope—just as Lionel had done—paid it no mind whatsoever and called to the maid waiting in the background.
“Wipe it.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After that, Penelope continued eating her soup with spirited determination.
Frankly, it looked to me like more soup landed on the table than in her mouth.
But thanks to Lionel having spilled soup on the table alongside her, she didn’t mind whether it spilled or not, and she managed to finish her meal entirely on her own.
“Pip’s belly full.”
“Full? Come here.”
“I shall do it.”
“But you haven’t finished eating yet.”
“I’m…….”
“That pumpkin soup—I made it.”
Lionel’s eyes widened in surprise, as though he hadn’t suspected this at all, and his gaze flicked toward the table.
He said nothing, and his expression remained nearly blank, but I could easily guess what he was thinking. The soup he’d deliberately spilled seemed to have pained him.
“Why didn’t you tell me beforehand?”
True to my suspicion, he asked this very question. I patted Penelope’s back gently as she leaned against me, then gave Lionel a playful smile.
“If I’d said I made it, you’d keep eating even if it tasted bad, wouldn’t you? I didn’t mention it on purpose, so you could eat freely.”
“It’s delicious.”
“Then you’d better finish the rest. Agreed?”
Lionel conceded with a small laugh and resumed eating what remained.
Meanwhile, I succeeded in getting Penelope to burp.
“Pip sleepy…….”
“Sleepy? Shall we take a little nap?”
“Mm…….”
“I shall put her down.”
Having finally finished his meal cleanly, Lionel rose from his seat at once and extended his hand to me.
In his gaze was a silent plea for this chance to be his—and smiling, I placed Penelope in his arms.
“Good night.”
Though the child called me Mama and Lionel “Father,” she wasn’t shy around him at all.
As she shifted from my embrace to his, Penelope wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her plump cheeks against his chest, her lips murmuring softly.
“Pip, hush now…….”
She was asking him to sing a lullaby. Lionel immediately began gently patting the child’s back in a slow rhythm and softly sang to her.
The sight of an Emperor cradling a young Princess while singing a lullaby might seem rare in other places, but here it was ordinary.
I watched the two of them—father and daughter—from behind with a contented smile. By the time they’d reached Penelope’s bedroom at a leisurely pace, Lionel had already laid the sleeping child gently on her bed.
“You’ve gotten better at putting her to sleep. At first you couldn’t get her down even after two hours……What are you doing?”
Lionel was carefully examining the child’s hands and feet as she lay sprawled across the bed.
Surely he wasn’t checking now to see if all five of her fingers and toes were accounted for.
‘What is he up to?’

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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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