-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: I'm the Male Lead's Daughter, But I Want to Live With the Sub Male Lead!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“A flower...?”
Mabel’s crimson eyes widened as she repeated the word, and Lundwell explained in a calm voice.
“Yes. It’s a flower called a crocus. I was walking in the garden today and thought it resembled you, young lady, so I brought it.”
The gently blooming purple crocus truly resembled the shy Mabel.
But why this...?
Mabel, unable to grasp Lundwell’s intention, merely blinked.
Then Ella, who was standing nearby, squatted down and whispered softly.
“It seems like he’s giving it to you, young lady~”
Mabel’s eyes widened at Ella’s words.
From the side, she looked like a startled rabbit, making Ella’s lips curve into a wide smile.
Mabel looked from the flower to Lundwell and back again, then asked cautiously.
“C-Can I really accept this...?”
“Yes. It’s not as beautiful as you, young lady, but I would be pleased if you accept it.”
Lundwell offered her a gentle smile, presenting it as a gift for Mabel.
‘A flower... a gift...’
Mabel stared blankly at the purple crocus.
It was the first time in her life she had received a flower.
A flower not necessary for survival or daily life, merely for lifting one’s spirits.
And now she had received it as a gift.
It truly hit her then that she had left the Ashilonia Ducal Residence, and a faint hope blossomed within her.
A hope that perhaps now she could live like ordinary people.
Mabel extended a trembling hand and took the flower.
The moist, soft stem felt fresh.
“Thank you...!”
Tears welled in the corners of Mabel’s eyes, sparkling as she smiled brightly and thanked him.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the dining room at that very moment...
“Ah, hurry up and give me food.”
“No, you cannot. The young lady hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Mabel will be here soon. What does Mabel not being here have to do with you not giving me food, anyway?”
“It has everything to do with it. I, Jacques Van Merger, will absolutely not allow the young lady to eat alone.”
Sigmund and Jacques were arguing with all their might.
“When have you ever seen me leave kids to eat alone?”
“Many times. Do you think I, Jacques Van Merger, haven’t seen you rush off to your laboratory, claiming you’ve had a brilliant idea, regardless of whether the other young masters were eating or not?”
Jacques’s words, spoken with narrowed eyes, silenced Sigmund.
“Ugh, seriously...”
Having nothing more to say, Sigmund leaned deeply back in his chair and decided to wait for Mabel.
A moment later.
“Hello!”
Mabel, who they had been waiting for so eagerly, appeared.
Holding Ella’s hand in one, and a purple crocus, strikingly similar to herself, in the other.
What’s with the flower?
Before Sigmund could even ask, Jacques made a fuss.
“No! How can this be! The person I, Jacques Van Merger, was waiting for was clearly our Young Lady Mabel, but a flower fairy has appeared in the dining room?”
“Huh?”
A flower fairy, you say!
“What are you talking about! It’s me, me!”
“No?! How can this be! Could our young lady actually be a flower fairy...?! Your Grace the Grand Duke, did Your Grace know about this?!”
When the question was suddenly directed at him, Sigmund flinched.
But then he chuckled and played along.
“No, I just found out today that Mabel is a flower fairy.”
“Even the Head of Household...?!”
Mabel’s face, which had just cooled down a bit, quickly flushed red.
Sigmund’s snickering made him seem annoying.
“Oh, come on, really...! Lundwell the Head Butler just gave me this flower!”
Mabel, as if telling them to stop, let go of Ella’s hand and strode to the dining table.
But unlike Sigmund, Jacques didn’t stop.
“Oh, a purple crocus! How could a flower fairy so perfectly suited to our Young Lady Mabel have arrived!”
He was almost like an actor performing a monologue on stage.
Mabel, whose neck was now also bright red, tried to pretend she hadn’t heard Jacques.
“Do you know, Flower Fairy? The language of the purple crocus, which so resembles our young lady, means... a new beginning?”
“A new beginning...?”
However, Jacques’s next words were so intriguing that she ended up answering.
Jacques chuckled, as if she had fallen into his trap, and pulled out a chair for her, saying,
“Yes, the crocus, you see, possesses a strong vitality, blooming even in the snow. That’s why it’s often called the flower of new beginnings and regeneration.”
“New beginnings and regeneration...”
As Mabel sat down and softly repeated his words, Jacques pushed her chair in.
“Doesn’t that suit our young lady perfectly, who will now only have happy and joyful days?”
He deliberately swallowed the words, ‘in this Grand Ducal Castle.’
Because Sigmund had given him a sidelong glance, as if to say, ‘Not yet.’
Jacques cleared his throat, then elegantly extended a hand towards Mabel.
“Now, Flower Fairy? Could you entrust your precious flower to me, Jacques Van Merger, and return to being our Young Lady Mabel? After all, you’ll need to hold your spoon and fork.”
“Right, I’m tired of seeing a flower fairy too. I want to see Mabel munching on her food.”
Sigmund, who had been quiet, also chimed in.
“Oh, really!”
In the end, Mabel burst into a giggle.
Seeing Mabel, Sigmund also let out a laugh again.
A smile also graced Jacques’s lips as he, at some point, placed the flower in a vase Ella had brought.
It was embarrassing, but truly a delightful start to the morning.
* * *
“Alright, then.”
They had moved to Sigmund’s office.
Mabel, with a slightly nervous expression, looked at Sigmund sitting opposite her.
“I’ll read it to you, so listen carefully.”
“Yes, sir!”
As Mabel nodded, Sigmund began.
“Employment Contract. Sigmund Esclid, hereinafter referred to as the Employer. Mabel Ashilonia, hereinafter referred to as the Employee. The two parties hereby enter into this employment contract.”
Mabel’s head spun with the difficult terminology, but she tried hard to focus.
“Here, ‘Employer’ will be changed to ‘Professor,’ and ‘Employee’ will be changed to ‘Assistant’.”
Dein quickly added an explanation from beside her.
“And after you’ve heard all the explanations, you can sign here. We haven’t written anything carelessly just because you can’t read, young lady.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Furthermore, we’ve added a clause stating that if there is even a single disadvantageous term for you, we will transfer this Grand Ducal house to you.”
“What? Transfer the Grand Ducal house?”
Mabel looked at Dein, startled.
Dein adjusted his glasses and showed a trustworthy expression.
“Yes, so you can sign with confidence. What if there’s a disadvantageous clause? You’ll become the Head of the Grand Ducal house anyway, young lady.”
Wait, was that really a trustworthy expression?
Or was it a swindler’s expression?
Mabel looked at Dein with a dubious expression, then turned her gaze back to Sigmund.
“Is that true? Even so, transferring the Grand Ducal house is a bit...”
“It means I’m prepared enough to ensure you suffer no losses whatsoever.”
Of course, he had other intentions as well.
An intention that it would be fine if Mabel truly became Sigmund’s successor.
He had considered actually putting in a single disadvantageous clause, but decided against it, as building trust was the priority.
“Alright... If you say so, I’ll trust you.”
As Mabel nodded, Sigmund continued reading the employment contract.
It was a standard contract widely used in the Greenhurst Empire.
The only difference was that the amount given to Mabel each month was quite substantial.
Of course, Mabel was unaware of this.
“Then I’ll sign...!”
“Here you go.”
Dein quickly handed her a pen.
Once she actually held the pen, Mabel felt a little nervous.
‘If I sign here, I’ll truly become the Head of Household’s assistant.’
Perhaps this was her deciding a significant part of the life she could choose.
But it also brought her one step closer to preventing the protagonists’ happy ending and the Grand Ducal house’s downfall.
With just that thought, Mabel was able to sign willingly.
“...Hmm.”
“...Oh.”
Of course, Mabel still didn’t know how to write, so all she could do was scribble crooked, drawing-like marks.
“Hehe...”
Sigmund, seeing Mabel’s embarrassed smile, collected the employment contract and said,
“Alchemy can wait for now. Let’s start by studying letters.”
“Yes, sir.”
