Chapter 49
‘This is bad.’
Selena instinctively grimaced.
Ugh, that damned original-story wrecker. If you’re going to seduce the male lead, at least take responsibility until the end.
Whether Asil ran away or not wasn’t her concern..
But having to deal with a male lead who’d gone crazy after losing his obsession was a problem.
Since the only girl currently connected to Edenber was her—
‘If that kid runs away before I leave for another country, I’ll end up stuck with him because of the original story’s buff.’
Hahaha, damn it.
Having resolved to step down from the female lead role, Selena desperately wanted to escape this relationship.
After all, the saying “when whales fight, the shrimp’s back breaks” wasn’t for nothing.
So, she quickly racked her brain and offered advice to Elcai.
“It’s not that you’re uninterested, but perhaps you haven’t had the chance to take an interest? Managing a household is, after all, quite time-consuming.”
“That’s not entirely wrong.”
“I heard that the Third Princess’s birthday banquet is coming up soon. Since Her Highness is around the same age as him, there will likely be many peers attending. I’m sure he’ll have a good encounter there.”
She made it sound convincing, but only one thought occupied Selena’s mind.
‘Arcian’s daughter. You need to take care of the male lead.’
A villain’s daughter who didn’t exist in the original story? No matter how she thought about it, that was no ordinary detail.
Whether a villain or a hero, she was bound to have a significant role in this story.
There was a 99% chance she’d attend Eokaste’s banquet.
‘If he exchanges even a single word with that young lady, it’s game over.’
That would inevitably lead to some kind of entanglement with her.
That was the law of romantic fantasy, after all.
‘Then, even if Asil runs away, she’ll be the one dealing with the crazed male lead’s aftermath, right?’
Heh heh heh, I really am brilliant.
Unaware that she, too, was entangled in the laws of romantic fantasy, Selena smugly smiled to herself.
* * *
Meanwhile, the day of Eokaste’s banquet approached.
Rumors spread that Eokaste, intrigued by the gossip, had invited Countess Erzébet’s daughter to the banquet.
Upon hearing the news, Edenber made a firm decision.
‘I’ll show my face and leave immediately.’
He resolved not to speak with anyone except the princess.
He was determined to make his stance clear to prevent any more unnecessary rumors.
At the same time, elsewhere.
Asil was in the divine beast’s room, wrapping two strawberries in a scarf with a cheerful “lulu-lala.”
‘The day of the princess human’s banquet is finally here!’
Though Dad had said it wasn’t necessary to go, Asil desperately wanted to attend, as it was a chance to see the ferocious princess human up close.
‘This time, I’ll definitely become a ferocious black dragon.’
With firm resolve, Asil took out a necklace from its subspace and pressed the button.
A shape like a barrier breaking appeared in the air, and Arcian, half-dressed in formal attire, fell from the sky with a thud.
“Argh!”
“Pippi!”
Oh no, it looks like he was summoned while getting dressed! Startled, Asil covered her eyes with her front paws.
“Ahem, this needs some improvement.”
The issue was that pressing the button summoned him instantly, leaving no time to prepare.
Gone was his cool, charismatic image; now just a dad, Arcian adjusted his clothes and cast a soundproofing spell over the entire room.
Then, he asked gently,
“To attend the banquet, you’ll need to maintain human form for a long time. Have you practiced human transformation a lot?”
“Pippi, pippyaa.” (Yes, I can maintain it for a really long time now.)
Asil proudly puffed out her chest, holding up three fingers.
Though the necklace was necessary, it meant Asil could maintain human form for a whopping three hours.
Three hours might seem short to some, but for a young beastman who couldn’t transform on its own because its eggshell hadn’t fallen off, it was a tremendous achievement.
Arcian lifted Asil into his arms.
“My daughter, you’re so clever, just like your dad!”
“Pippii.” (I take after Mom.)
“…Say ‘Dad,’ try it.”
“Pippiya.” (Mom.)
“Daaaad.”
“Pippiyaaaa.” (Moooom.)
“Ugh.”
Arcian’s shoulders slumped in sadness. Why did his daughter put up such a high wall?
At this rate, he might send her back to the forest without ever hearing her call him Dad.
Unfazed by his mood, Asil tapped Arcian.
“Pipyatppi pippiya.” (Hurry up and get Asil ready.)
I want to go to the banquet already!
Nodding glumly, Arcian used magic to set up a full-length mirror.
He infused his mana to transform Asil into a human, dressed her in a beautiful pre-prepared dress, and put on her shoes.
He braided her ebony hair prettily and adorned her with expensive jeweled accessories.
As someone who enjoyed dressing up, his hands moved swiftly despite the lack of a maid’s help.
“Wooow!”
Asil, eyes wide with wonder, exclaimed at the beautiful reflection in the mirror.
While this was happening, Arcian noticed the two strawberries wrapped in the scarf and asked,
“My lovely daughter, what’s this?”
“That’s Asil’s lunch. I’m going to eat it in the carriage.”
“One of them is for Dad, right?”
“Nooo, they’re both for Asil.”
Unbelievable.
Arcian’s shoulders slumped even further.
“Kyuu…”
The baby rabbit looked at Arcian with pity.
But even so, Asil tightly hugged the strawberries meant for itself, keeping them out of sight.
No matter how pitiful he looked, Asil couldn’t give them up.
“Even the rabbit gets strawberries, but not me.”
Arcian muttered gloomily.
But soon, as if nothing had happened, he perked up and cast a spell over the divine beast’s room.
Since someone might enter while Asil was gone, he placed an illusion spell to make it look like Asil was sleeping soundly.
“Shall we go now?”
“Yup!”
At Asil’s enthusiastic reply, Arcian ignored the various barrier spells in the divine beast’s room and used teleportation magic.
Thus, the father and daughter rode a carriage from the Erzébet estate to the imperial palace.
* * *
Arriving at the palace before Asil, Edenber offered birthday greetings to Eokaste, the star of the banquet.
“Happy birthday, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for sparing your precious time. You must be disappointed not to have brought the little divine beast?”
“That’s why I plan to leave now.”
“What?”
Eokaste’s incredulous expression went unnoticed. Edenber immediately turned to leave.
If not for the young ladies, cheeks flushed like girls in their first love, blocking his path, he would have left the banquet hall then and there.
“D-Duke Monlepe! It’s an honor to meet you like this!”
“I’m Lorla, the only daughter of Count Altair!”
“I’m Luna, the eldest daughter of Marquis Eyre. If you have time, perhaps with me…”
Was it because his family’s prestige had been restored by summoning the divine beast?
Or because they wanted to make a move before Countess Erzébet’s daughter arrived? The young ladies were clinging to him more than usual.
Sighing inwardly, Edenber moved forward, avoiding conversation with them as much as possible.
But navigating through the crowd slowed him down.
That’s when it happened.
“Countess Erzébet and his daughter have arrived!”
The gatekeeper’s announcement rang out.
The grand doors of the banquet hall opened, revealing Arcian, dressed impeccably, and his daughter.
She was a cute girl with a round face, black hair, and pink eyes.
‘…That girl?’
Edenber, who had glanced in their direction, was startled.
She looked exactly like the girl he had seen in his dream.
Almost as if they were the same person.
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By Anna 💓
