I Think My Daughter Has Regressed (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 2
“Because prayer is something people in love do together.”
Damian, pressed right next to Ariel, bent his waist and stared directly at Lucy.
“So that means Mama loves Papa very, very much.”
Damian wore the triumphant expression of someone delivering a finishing blow.
Ariel tilted her head at this unfamiliar side of her husband and furrowed her brows, feeling as if she were seeing something wrong.
“No. Mama loves Lucy more. Mama prays because Lucy said so—not because she likes Papa. It’s so Lucy and Lucy’s little sibling can live happily.”
Lucy calmly refuted her father’s words, leaning her face forward just as boldly without averting her eyes from Damian.
“Papa… isn’t needed, as long as it’s not for my little sibling.”
Lucy stepped in front of Ariel, spreading her arms wide as if to shield her mother from Damian.
“Mama loves Lucy more!”
Lucy’s voice, full of conviction, sounded so chilling that Ariel blinked in surprise.
Unfortunately, Lucy was turned away from Ariel, so her face remained hidden.
“Lucy?”
At Ariel’s call, Lucy glanced back slightly and gave a sweet, reassuring smile.
Seeing that expression, Ariel sank into deep thought.
Lucy seemed just like a fairy-tale hero determined to protect her mother, and Ariel let out an involuntary sigh.
Children her age do tend to cling more to their mothers… but still, calling her father a monster seemed a bit…
Ariel was troubled, wondering how she should teach Lucy about what a father truly is.
“No. Mama belongs to Papa.”
“No! Mama belongs to me!”
Lucy pulled Ariel’s hand tightly and looked up at her.
“Mama, right? You’re Lucy’s, aren’t you? You like Lucy better than Papa, right?”
Though it was obvious Lucy was beloved more, Ariel—considering her husband’s standing after such a long absence—picked Lucy up into her arms.
Above all, saying Papa wasn’t needed was rather problematic.
“Mama loves both Lucy and Papa equally. In a family, there’s no such thing as liking one more than the other, Lucy. Let alone ‘needing’—family aren’t objects.”
Hearing Ariel’s words, Lucy’s eyes wavered.
Her green eyes scrunched up, then fell limply as she fought back tears again.
Tears were about to spill over, so Ariel gently kissed Lucy’s cheek.
“Lucy.”
At Ariel’s call, Lucy gave a small nod.
“Mama.”
“Hm?”
Yet when Ariel looked back at Lucy after the kiss, not a single tear remained in her green eyes.
Instead, resolute green eyes stared directly at Ariel. Lucy’s tiny finger pointed straight at her father.
“Papa just said Mama belongs to him. That’s wrong. Only livestock have ownership. How can Mama be owned? Mama is just Mama—Lucy’s Mama. Right?”
Ariel swallowed hard. Large, clear eyes urged her for an answer.
“Y-yes, that’s right… Mama isn’t livestock…”
Ariel blinked, looking down at her daughter.
Meeting Lucy’s earnest gaze, Ariel felt oddly unsettled.
Ownership—something only applied to livestock… Lucy’s words pierced a sharp lance into some hidden corner of Ariel’s heart.
They say children’s innocence makes things harder. Was this what they meant?
Unfortunately, Damian’s words hadn’t been wrong.
A wife did belong to her husband, and Ariel was now close to being mere property—the Duchess of Genova.
The trophy Father once spoke of—the most beautiful trophy in the Duke of Genova’s mansion.
It was true she was owned… but Ariel, lips parted as if to finish the thought yet unable to, simply stared at her daughter.
“Not livestock, but part of private property. Mama is property Papa acquired through marriage. And now, you’re included in that property too.”
Damian filled the silence in Ariel’s place.
Ariel, holding Lucy tightly, glared coldly at Damian. She didn’t care that he’d called her property.
But to say Lucy was property too—to reduce their daughter to nothing more than mere gold?
“Papa is… a rock! A stupid rock!!”
Lucy shouted in anger at her father’s words.
This time, Ariel didn’t correct her.
Because even harsher words than “rock” had risen in Ariel’s mind.
Apparently, even as an adult, Damian couldn’t bear to lose even this one thing to a child.
Holding the flustered Lucy, Ariel sharply glanced at Damian.
She let out a sigh and gently patted Lucy’s back.
Since she couldn’t let the child curse her father, it was better to soothe her emotions with other words.
“Mama will be Lucy’s mama forever. And you know how much Mama loves our Lucy.”
Lucy, held in her arms, peeked her head out, seemingly affected by Ariel’s words. The tears at the corners of her eyes had stopped.
“That’s right… Mama is Lucy’s mama. Papa’s the rock.”
“Exactly. Of course. Papa needs to wash up anyway—how about Mama reads a story to our Lucy while he does?”
“Yes!”
Lucy happily wrapped her arms tightly around Ariel’s neck.
Of course, there were many things about Papa that needed correcting—but today, Ariel didn’t feel like doing that at all. She turned away, passing by Damian who stood beside her.
As she stroked her small, adorable child’s back, Ariel made a silent vow.
She would raise Lucy to be a healthy child who laughed brightly and ate well—not as someone’s property or trophy.
“Rock.”
Lucy, nestled in Ariel’s arms, grinned blankly toward Damian.
Her lips, precisely shaped to say “rock,” held not a trace of amusement.
It was an expression far too complex for a seven-year-old—and it wasn’t her imagination.
Until the very moment Ariel led her away to their room, the child had stared at Damian as if he were trash.
Apparently… her daughter was vastly different when Ariel was present versus when she wasn’t.
Now that they were home, it was her own daughter—of all people—who was determined to take Ariel firmly away from her.
…That simply wouldn’t do.
*
Fortunately, after reading just a few books, Lucy quickly fell asleep.
Hearing Lucy’s soft, rhythmic breathing in the quiet room, Ariel rose from her seat.
She felt she needed to talk with Damian.
When Ariel entered the bedroom, she glanced around. Water sounds came from the inner chamber—Damian was still bathing.
Ariel let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the edge of the bed. She needed to gather her thoughts first.
She had to persuade Damian once more about the tutor, and it would be best to caution him about his choice of words.
After all, Damian wouldn’t spend much time with Lucy, so she hoped he’d be just a little more mindful during the brief moments they did share.
Of course, tomorrow marked the start of Damian’s victory celebration at the Imperial Palace, so he’d be busy for a while.
After today, seeing Damian’s face again would likely be difficult.
Ariel sighed once more, recalling how Damian had unexpectedly come to Lucy’s room.
She still couldn’t decide whether she should expect—or not expect—him to fulfill a father’s role.
He’d been at war even before Lucy was born, and after returning briefly, he immediately left for battle again. When Lucy was born, it was during a particularly long campaign, so Ariel had delivered her alone.
She’d thought that would be the last time—but then he’d crossed the sea again to suppress a rebellion.
The days they’d spent together could be counted on one hand.
She hoped this time would be the last—but Damian might be deployed again at any moment.
In other noble households, brothers usually took turns going to war.
Yet, despite having a younger brother, Bruno, Damian always went himself.
Even in the most recent war, it was said Bruno had begged Damian to go, claiming he was unwell.
For a Duke of Genova, such treatment…
Ariel squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them and shook her head.
No. Damian was merely fulfilling his duty as a Duke of the Empire—it was wrong of her to think like this.
Ariel, her expression bitter, gently touched the wedding ring on her fourth finger.
Through frequent conquest wars, Damian kept returning with great accomplishments—something that, as both his wife and an Imperial subject, should have filled her with joy.
But… sitting in the Duke’s mansion, every day felt like being perched on a bed of thorns.
Whenever news of someone’s death arrived, she’d feel inexplicably restless and couldn’t sleep that night.
“Ariel.”
“Aaah!”
Startled, Ariel let out a scream. Damian’s face loomed right before her eyes.
“What were you so lost in thought about that you didn’t answer when I called?”
Water droplets from Damian’s hair fell onto Ariel’s skirt.
“D-did you call me?”
Damian tilted his head wordlessly. His blue eyes stared intently at Ariel.
Those eyes seemed to hold a miniature sea within them, making Ariel flinch.
This was no longer the gaze of a man merely belonging to her and Lucy in the Genova mansion—but something vaster, something containing the ocean.
The very gaze a Duke of Genova ought to possess.
Ariel took a breath after meeting his eyes for a moment.
Then she resolved to speak the words she, too, ought to say—as Lucy’s mother in this mansion.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Chapter Comments (30)
Inline Comments (5)
“…Your job is to come to my bedroom, and Lucy can be raised by a nanny. Besides,
Boy u better shut up before i slap you. Acting like some sperm donor🙄
He had no desire to see her turn away from him again with that sullen, disappoin
I think this novel is very good and I love their relationship
He had no desire to see her turn away from him again with that sullen, disappoin
So cute 😍 please I love this family so much
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Omg this fantastic I can stop reading it every time it so beautiful
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.