I Think My Daughter Has Regressed (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 13
Ariel, who had been braiding Lucy’s hair, fell deep in thought.
After Bruno and Madam Jessica left, Damian became even busier. He frequently traveled between the harbor and the imperial palace, and nobles visited the ducal estate several times.
Bruno, perhaps having given up on sending Damian as an envoy, never came to the ducal residence again.
Yet there was no exchange of words between Damian and Ariel either.
Damian remained as silent as ever—perhaps because he had given his answer directly in the study that day.
“What are you talking about, Madam? I don’t understand.”
His indifferent voice echoed through her memory. Yes, he was just as usual.
If anything, maybe Ariel herself had already concluded that once she’d realized Bruno’s hidden intentions, Damian’s thoughts had also taken a negative turn.
Logically speaking, it made no sense for Damian to knowingly ignore Bruno’s ulterior motives.
After all, he still came to see Ariel every night.
Right—he couldn’t possibly be like that.
He was simply a man of few words by nature.
“Mom…”
Ariel lifted her head at Lucy’s call.
Meeting her daughter’s eyes in the mirror, she saw Lucy staring at her with a worried expression.
“Is something wrong, Mom?”
“Huh? No, not at all.”
Ariel quickly smiled and shook her head, but her daughter’s expression only grew more concerned.
Eventually, Lucy called out to her once more.
“Mom, I heard somewhere that sadness, when shared, becomes halved.”
“That’s a lovely saying. If anything sad ever happens to you, Lucy, be sure to tell me. I’ll share your sadness and make it half.”
“…What about you, Mom? I’ll share your sadness too.”
“Of course. If anything sad ever happens to me, I’ll tell you, Lucy.”
As she spoke with a smile, Ariel tied Lucy’s hair with a pink ribbon.
“Mom, you look really, really sad right now…”
“No, I’m not sad at all. I was just admiring how pretty my daughter looks with her braided hair.”
Lucy’s eyes narrowed slightly. The child, who had been looking at her through the mirror, suddenly turned her head to face Ariel directly and spoke.
“It’s about Benjamin of House Orsini. I once helped ease Benjamin’s sadness.”
Lucy began sharing her own story, as if trying to prove her usefulness to Ariel.
“Benjamin received a gift from Elisha. But Benjamin isn’t good at expressing himself—he seems a bit odd, you know? Oh! But he’s not a bad friend…”
“Oh? Benjamin got a gift from Elisha?”
Ariel smiled, surprised by this unexpected news.
“Yes! Elisha gave Benjamin a really pretty glass bead. But Benjamin thought it was so precious that he hid it away tightly at home. And that was a secret only I knew.”
Ariel nodded attentively as she listened to her child’s story.
“But Elisha didn’t know that, so she thought Benjamin had thrown away her gift.”
“Oh dear. So Elisha misunderstood him.”
“Yeah. But I’d promised Benjamin it was a secret between us, so I couldn’t tell Elisha… Anyway, I told Benjamin to explain it, but he refused to talk about it.”
“…Why not?”
Ariel, now completely absorbed in Lucy’s tale, widened her eyes and asked.
“I don’t know. He’s probably just silly. He said something like… he’s not a man worthy of Elisha.”
At that, Ariel couldn’t help but burst into laughter—she was startled by how mature the words sounded coming from such a young child.
“So I just listened to Benjamin’s nonsense. But he said even that brought him comfort—because he could at least confide in me.”
“That’s fortunate for Benjamin, but Elisha, who misunderstood him, must have been deeply hurt.”
“Benjamin says he’ll tell her himself later—once he becomes a wonderful man.”
“Then Benjamin had better become a wonderful man quickly, hadn’t he?”
“Exactly! Hmph…”
Lucy let out a deep sigh, turned to look at Ariel, and sighed again. Then she gently placed her small hand over Ariel’s.
“When I grow up, I won’t meet a man like Benjamin. What about you, Mom? Is Dad a wonderful person?”
Ariel slowly turned her eyes toward her daughter and offered a bittersweet smile.
“Our Lucy shouldn’t meet someone like that. But of course your father is wonderful—didn’t he look handsome at the investiture ceremony?”
“Yes! Oh! Mom, I found a pretty box in Dad’s study—do you know what it is?”
“Your father’s study?”
“Yeah! I went in briefly to look at some books, and I saw this beautiful box. I was so curious I opened it—and inside was a handkerchief with both your names and Dad’s engraved on it.”
A pretty box… Lucy must have been referring to the gift that the late duchess had received during the ducal investiture ceremony.
Since it had become a cherished heirloom after the duchess’s passing, he treated it with great care.
So he’d kept my handkerchief in there… I thought he’d thrown it away…
Of course. That’s just how it is.
He couldn’t possibly have done such a thing.
No matter that his eyes may be focused not on me and Lucy, but on House Genova.
“But Lucy… touching things in your father’s study without permission…”
Realizing her mistake, Lucy jumped up from her seat.
“Uh… Mom, let’s go for a walk!”
*
“Lucy, do you know the name of this white flower blooming in the field?”
“Huh? No, what is it?”
Lucy bent her knees to look at the flower Ariel was pointing to, leaned in close, and tilted her head to examine it.
“They call it clover. Though, despite the name, it’s actually toxic to rabbits, so be careful not to feed it to them. But you can make a ring out of this clover.”
“A ring?”
Lucy’s eyes sparkled.
“Yes. When I was little, my grandmother taught me. If you poke a hole in the center of the flower and thread the stem through… Ta-da! Wrap it around your finger, Lucy, and tighten—it becomes a ring!”
“Wow! I want to try too!”
“Then I’ll sit over here. Go pick two stems for me.”
“Okay!”
Lucy set off, carefully choosing the prettiest clovers among the field. Watching her, Ariel settled down nearby with a gentle smile.
“Mom! Look! Isn’t this pretty?”
Lucy returned holding two lush clover stems in her palm.
“It’s very pretty. Should our Lucy try making a ring herself?”
“Yeah!”
“…Madam.”
Just as they sat there chatting, the butler called out to Ariel from behind.
“About the matter you asked me to investigate…”
The butler paused mid-sentence and glanced briefly toward Lucy.
“It’s fine—please go ahead.”
“As you instructed, Marchioness Orsini and Madam Jessica appear to have met.”
“Oh?”
“However, the marchioness didn’t seem particularly pleased. It seems she declined what Madam Jessica proposed.”
“…I see. Then please find out precisely who will go as the envoy to the Eastern Continent this time. Bruno likely won’t go, so Jessica might act again.”
“Yes, understood. And…”
The butler glanced toward Lucy again. Ariel nodded reassuringly, signaling him to continue.
“It seems Lucy, the duke’s daughter, took a history book about the Eastern Continent from the duke’s study and later returned it.”
“A history book on the Eastern Continent? I see. You may go now.”
The butler bowed deeply and withdrew.
Meanwhile, Lucy, having overheard the butler’s words, flinched and began humming a tune while fiddling with her flowers, trying to act nonchalant.
“Lucy?”
Ariel called gently.
“Um, Mom! Look! Ta-da!”
“You did wonderfully!”
Ariel clapped for Lucy, who had just finished her flower ring, and praised her without holding back.
Though she didn’t need to indulge every cute evasion, making a flower ring was certainly praiseworthy.
“Isn’t it pretty? I’ll give it to you, Mom.”
Lucy beamed as she slipped the flower ring onto Ariel’s finger.
“My mom’s hand looks even prettier now.”
“Does it? But is it true that our Lucy took the Eastern Continent history book?”
“I, I…”
“Why would our Lucy take a history book about the Eastern Continent from Dad’s study?”
Ariel asked again, smiling sweetly—but with a probing tone.
The child’s expression, as if breaking out in a cold sweat, was endearing, yet Ariel absolutely needed to understand why Lucy had specifically chosen that book from Damian’s shelf.
It wasn’t particularly beautiful in appearance, nor was it thin or easy to read—so why that one?
“If Lucy tells me the truth, Mom will reward you by making you a flower crown.”
“A—a flower crown? You can make one of those too? Really?”
Ariel nodded at her astonished daughter. Scolding would only make her lie—even a child this pure would tell the truth if offered proper incentive.
“I overheard Dad talking… I was just checking in case we couldn’t go on a family trip.”
Ariel smiled softly at Lucy.
Though inwardly, she was already planning to reprimand the maids.
No matter where Lucy had heard this rumor, spreading careless talk about the ducal household’s affairs was a serious mistake—
even if it happened within the estate itself.
“I see. That’s something I should…”
“Mom, actually… I think I need a tutor.”
Lucy suddenly brought up the subject of a tutor.
“A tutor? Why?”
“Do you… dislike me studying academics?”
“No! Of course not. If our Lucy wants to learn, Mom will support you any way she can.”
“Then get me a tutor! And I want to learn about politics too!”
“Politics?”
Ariel’s mouth fell open in surprise before she nodded.
“I’ll… invite a few people over.”
My daughter—how can she be so eager to learn, yet want to study something like politics?
She’s too talented—this is going to be trouble. Seriously.
“Really? Wow, Mom, you’re the best! Then teach me how to make a flower crown too!”
“Of course! I’ll teach you how to make a crown. Now, it’s a bit different from making a ring—like this…”
Ariel picked some nearby wildflowers and demonstrated how to weave a crown for Lucy.
Lucy immediately nodded and began searching the nearby field for clover stems to try it herself.
Male lead is a clingy little husband
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
I see that Lucy is guiding her tutor to discover the truth and realize that he is being manipulated.
Poor Ariel, I know her daughter Lucy would have ways to resolve that situation peacefully, but she went to extremes 😅 Poor mother, I imagine the next episode will show the anguish she’s carrying in that situation, especially since Lucy is under Ariel’s care.
What a fascinating novel! The title suggests that Lucy might be a regressor, but from my point of view, she behaves like a gifted child. How curious!