I Think My Daughter Has Regressed (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 15
“Bruno, sir, two of the tutors previously employed at Duke Genova’s estate have been dismissed.”
“Did you find out why they were dismissed?”
Bruno asked, his face brightening.
“It seems they were selected based on academic merit, but both the first and second tutors were reportedly given warnings before being let go. It appears they weren’t satisfied with those warnings.”
“What kind of warnings were given?”
“Well… something about giving the student more time to think. But more importantly, there was a common point when they were dismissed—whenever they offered any critique regarding the Duke’s Daughter’s lifestyle, the lessons were immediately terminated.”
“The Duke’s Daughter’s lifestyle? Ah! Hahahahahaha!!”
Bruno burst into laughter.
“Hah… I never thought those words would actually turn out to be true. Good. Well done.”
Bruno nodded to his subordinate and immediately ordered him to leave.
“Go find a few decent-looking men among those who aren’t uneducated—pick ones with desires, so they’ll be easy to use.”
“Yes, understood.”
*
“Lucy, Marchioness Orsini is coming to our home today. How about playing with Benjamin and doing some history quizzes together?”
“I’d love that!! And before the quiz, can Benjamin and I make flower rings?”
Lucy jumped up and hugged Ariel tightly.
“Then since we’ll be going outside today, shall I tie your hair into a ponytail?”
Ariel asked, and Lucy nodded vigorously.
“Yeah, yeah!”
Later, the Marchioness and Benjamin came to visit the ducal estate.
Ariel, who warmly welcomed her guests, took Benjamin and the Marchioness to Lucy’s playroom, where they chatted for a while.
“Benjamin! Instead of staying in the playroom, how about we go to the field and make flower rings?”
Unlike Lucy, who was full of excitement, Benjamin didn’t look particularly cheerful.
He clearly seemed uninterested in making flower rings—perhaps because he was a boy.
“But Elisa would really like it if we gave it to her!”
As soon as Elisa’s name came up, Benjamin’s face flushed red, and he nodded in agreement to Lucy’s suggestion.
“…Do you think Elisa would really like it?”
“Of course! You can either make it beforehand to give to her, or make it together with her! Oh, and besides flower rings, I can also make flower crowns! My mom taught me!”
Lucy bragged as if she’d just revealed something incredible, making Ariel smile awkwardly.
Watching from the side, the Marchioness gazed at Lucy with evident envy.
“You must be truly blessed, Duchess. I wish my second child had been a daughter as well.”
“But having two sons is lovely too—they’re both so handsome.”
“At home, they’re always dueling with swords and fighting constantly. That’s why I deliberately didn’t bring my second son today.”
The Marchioness shook her head, implying that raising two boys was quite taxing.
“…Do you happen to employ separate tutors for your first and second sons?”
When Ariel asked, the Marchioness nodded.
“Yes. Since what the heir learns differs from the younger son’s curriculum, a single tutor didn’t suit them both. …Might you be considering hiring a tutor yourself?”
Having previously wanted to discuss the tutor issue, the Marchioness was unsure how to respond to the news about Lucy’s new arrangement.
Ariel calmly nodded and met the Marchioness’s eyes.
“Yes… Lucy expressed a strong intellectual curiosity and said it would be good to have a tutor.”
“Oh, I see. You’re considering hiring a tutor—truly remarkable in your pursuit of learning.”
“Truthfully, my own will was strong back then; that’s why I never hired a tutor from an early age. I never imagined I’d cause such a stir in high society.”
At Ariel’s brief chuckle, the Marchioness slowly nodded.
“When I heard you hadn’t employed a tutor, Duchess, I confess it seemed somewhat understandable—even impolite as it may sound. And now, after hearing directly from the Duke’s Daughter, I’m even more certain.”
The Marchioness’s eyes, fixed on the children, now held a bitter, sorrowful glint—as if recalling the past.
“It seems that once you hire a tutor, the warmth of you teaching her to make flower rings or reading her bedtime stories every evening would vanish, leaving only the life expected of a Duke’s Daughter.”
Ariel parted her lips slightly, caught off guard by the Marchioness’s unexpected words.
No one in high society had ever shown genuine empathy toward Ariel’s choices.
Everyone had masked their opinions with polite words—this was the first time someone truly understood her decisions.
“When His Imperial Majesty was still Crown Prince, every parent of eligible young ladies surely wished for their daughters to become Crown Princess. My parents were no exception. It was… truly harsh. At such a young age, they taught me imperial etiquette with burning intensity.”
The Marchioness’s words made Ariel recall her own childhood—
a time when she barely ate or smiled, pushing herself relentlessly to become the most splendid trophy possible.
“By the way, a few tutors who passed through your estate were also invited to teach at our home.”
“Oh! So we were raised under the same teachers.”
“You weren’t the only one. Whenever someone mentioned having been taught by your tutor, that tutor instantly rose to fame afterward.”
Ariel blinked in surprise at this revelation she’d never known.
“I had no idea such things happened.”
“That’s precisely why news of you not employing a tutor spread so widely in high society. Everyone desperately wanted to learn from the tutor who taught you—only to discover you’d never hired one at all…”
Ariel gave a bitter smile and nodded. She wasn’t entirely oblivious to their sense of betrayal.
Everyone had believed Ariel’s successful marriage and conduct would serve as a model for high society.
But after her husband went off to war and she withdrew completely to focus solely on her child, their sense of betrayal must have been immense.
“Honestly, when I heard that news, I thought perhaps you didn’t wish to subject your child to the same education you endured.”
Ariel nodded and looked ahead at Lucy’s walking figure.
“That’s right. I wanted her to live as Lucy—not merely as the Duke’s Daughter.”
Lucy’s golden hair swished as she suddenly turned around.
When their eyes met, Ariel raised an eyebrow in silent question—and Lucy ran toward her.
“…Mom, I’ll be right back—I need to use the restroom!”
“Huh? Let’s go together.”
As Ariel reached out her arm, Lucy shook her head vigorously.
“No, it’s fine! I’ll go with Bella. Wait for me right here in the garden, okay?”
Then Lucy whispered in Ariel’s ear that she might be gone a little longer.
Seeing Lucy’s embarrassed expression and hearing she had a stomachache, Ariel quickly nodded in understanding.
*
“Add these applicants to the tutor candidate list and swap them with the files I’m handing you now.”
At Bruno’s order, the maid dressed in Genova ducal livery hesitated briefly before taking the files.
“Will you pay me just for doing this?”
Bruno tossed her a coin purse in response.
“If you carry this out thoroughly, you’ll receive the full promised amount.”
The maid clutched the purse, nodded, and entered the ducal estate through the back entrance.
It was the perfect opportunity—both the Duke’s Daughter and the Madam were out for an outing, leaving the servants somewhat unguarded.
The maid briskly dusted off her apron and tightly gripped the coin purse hidden beneath.
“Lizzy!”
The butler standing on the second floor called out to the maid, Lizzy.
“Since Bella is temporarily accompanying the Duke’s Daughter today, aren’t you supposed to be handling the Madam’s bedroom? Hurry up and get to work!”
Assuming she’d been slacking off, the butler issued his order promptly.
Lizzy, calming her racing heart, nodded and headed toward the Duchess’s bedroom.
She’d gone so far as to bribe Bella with a silver coin to switch duties—
she absolutely had to succeed. Slipping her hand into her pocket, she double-checked the contents with her fingertips and glanced around.
Fortunately, no one was nearby.
With a creak, she opened the door—inside, not a single soul was present.
Lizzy tiptoed cautiously toward the center of the Duchess’s bedroom, where the list of tutor candidates lay.
First, she placed the file Bruno had given her at the very front, then removed several existing files and replaced them with forged ones containing false information.
Once her task was complete, she tucked the real files into her bosom—now, her act was undeniably criminal.
Casually, she began dusting the sofa beside the table to appear natural,
trying to calm her pounding heart, and was just about to let out a quiet sigh of relief—
“Wow! Lizzy, you swapped them already.”
A familiar voice struck Lizzy’s ears like a whip.
Startled, she slowly turned her head—and standing there was the Duke’s Daughter: petite, stunningly beautiful, with golden hair.
And behind her stood Bella—the maid who had helped Lizzy commit her act!
“Y-your Grace…”
Lucy picked up one of the forged files from the table.
With remarkable composure, Lucy smiled sweetly and flipped through the documents one by one.
“Did Uncle Bruno tell you to do this?”
Her voice, clear as a glass bead, resonated in Lizzy’s ears—
utterly detached from the gravity of the moment.
She wasn’t angry, nor mocking, nor rushing to call the butler. She simply asked Lizzy directly.
“…Huh? Is it hard to answer?”
Lizzy knew she had to choose her words carefully. If she said Bruno was behind it, her younger siblings back home would surely be killed.
Her own life was already forfeit the moment the Duke’s Daughter caught her—but perhaps she could still save her siblings.
“…No.”
“Oh~ No? Then who told you to do such a wicked thing, Lizzy?”
“It’s just that…”
“Just that? You’d better choose your words carefully.”
The Duke’s Daughter set down the forged file and locked eyes with Lizzy.
Those green eyes—identical to the Madam’s—held an unfamiliar glint Lizzy had never seen before while serving her mistress.
“…Yes?”
“I’m referring to what could happen to your family back home… It’s not just the person who ordered you to do this. Don’t forget, Lizzy—you’re standing in Duke Genova’s estate.”
Lucy’s ever-present smile now twisted into something far more sinister.
It was hard to believe such a threat could come from a seven-year-old.
“P-please, Your Grace, have mercy!”
Understanding the implication, Lizzy immediately dropped to her knees.
“You want me to show mercy?”
“Yes, yes! Please, truly—have mercy! I’ll never do this again. Just say the word, and I’ll leave the estate right away. Please!”
“No. That won’t do. Instead, I’d like you to become a traitor once more.”
“What?”
Like a living porcelain doll, Lucy’s gaze bore down on the kneeling maid.
“Go tell Bruno you handled everything perfectly.”
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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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!