I Think My Daughter Has Regressed (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 3
“That’s… Damian. I’m talking about the tutor. I’m truly sorry, but regarding that part, I’d really prefer if Lucy were at least ten years old. I don’t want to suppress a child’s still-developing thoughts yet. Also, I’d appreciate it if you’d be a bit more careful with your words in front of her.”
“Words?”
Ariel glanced sideways at Damian, then squeezed her eyes shut tightly before speaking.
“Things like telling me to come to your bedroom, or saying Lucy is impertinent. And….”
Ariel briefly pressed her lips together, then quietly opened her eyes again.
Damian, who had just washed up and now looked drowsy, didn’t seem to be paying much attention to what Ariel was saying.
Walking over to the sofa, Damian tilted his head slightly as if urging her to go on.
“I’d like you not to treat me like property in front of Lucy. I know your words aren’t wrong, but regardless of their truth, they’re not good for a child’s emotional well-being.”
“…Your job is to come to my bedroom, and Lucy can be raised by a nanny. Besides, mentioning property is merely stating a fact.”
“I’d still like you to refrain from saying such things in front of her. She’s still young enough that it’s fine now, but there’s really no need to say it at all.”
At Ariel’s words, Damian frowned, as if wondering why he had to worry about even that.
As the silence stretched, Ariel rose from the bed and approached him.
She filled the empty glass on the table with water, and Damian took it from her.
“Ariel. Come sit beside me.”
Damian took a sip of water and gestured to Ariel with a slight nod.
Ariel carefully sat down next to him. A fragrant scent lingered around Damian, who had just finished showering.
After placing the now-empty glass back on the table, Damian slowly reached his hand toward Ariel’s face.
“Damian…?”
Damian clasped both of her hands, interlacing his fingers and holding them up before her.
“Prayer.”
“…Huh? Prayer?”
Ariel repeated, staring at Damian’s thick hands.
Is this what he called ‘prayer’? His rough, utterly faithless-looking hands moved before her eyes.
“Yes. You were the one who called it ‘prayer.’ So if I want to summon you to my bedroom, all I need to say is ‘prayer,’ correct?”
“Oh….”
Ariel’s cheeks instantly flushed. She swallowed hard and rolled her eyes away.
“That’s….”
As Ariel averted her gaze, Damian quickly added,
“Lucy was worried. She asked what would happen if Daddy and Mommy didn’t do ‘prayer’ together anymore. So don’t you think you ought to fulfill Lucy’s expectations? She seems to have great hopes in you.”
“Oh, that… Damian….”
Before Ariel could figure out how to respond, Damian took her hand.
“Lucy wants it.”
Damian spoke Lucy’s name once more.
Still seeing Ariel hesitate slightly, Damian made a suggestion.
“We can talk about treating you as property later, once Lucy is older. So now, may we offer a prayer together?”
Treating… me as property?
Ariel narrowed her eyes slightly.
“…No. I don’t feel devout enough for prayer today.”
*
It was Ariel’s first visit to the imperial palace in years—ever since Damian’s return—so she had been extremely busy since morning.
Because of that, she hadn’t had time to tend carefully to Lucy.
Just before entering the banquet hall, Ariel finally met her daughter’s eyes and knelt down, adjusting Lucy’s outfit.
“Lucy, is your dress uncomfortable at all?”
It was a dress they’d tried on several times already. Still, something comfortable at home might feel uncomfortable in the palace.
Worried Lucy might find herself in an awkward situation, Ariel gave her daughter’s attire one final check.
“No, it’s not uncomfortable at all.”
Lucy spread her skirt gently and gave a small curtsy with slightly bent knees.
Ariel, adjusting the ribbon atop Lucy’s golden hair, smiled broadly. How could her daughter be so lovely and well-mannered?
Even though it was her own child, she truly felt as if Lucy were an angel sent from heaven.
“Oh? Mom, you’re wearing an amethyst necklace today too?”
Lucy pointed to the necklace around Ariel’s neck.
Then, with her tiny hands, she smoothed the ribbon on her own chest and beamed.
A specially commissioned amethyst from Ariel was prominently embedded in the center of Lucy’s ribbon.
“Yes. This time, I matched mine with yours using amethyst—what do you think?”
“It’s so pretty! My mom’s the best!”
Finding Lucy’s enthusiastic thumbs-up utterly adorable, Ariel momentarily forgot they were in the imperial palace and rubbed noses with her daughter.
“…Oh dear. Duchess of Genova.”
At that moment, someone approaching from the side paused slightly in the corridor.
Jessica, placing a hand over her chest and lowering her eyes, bowed politely toward Ariel and Lucy. She was Bruno’s wife—the younger brother of Ariel’s husband.
“Hello, Duchess. And hello, Lucy?”
Beside her, Jessica’s son, Derek, greeted Lucy with a nod.
“Hello, Madam. Hello, Derek?”
Ariel, rising from her kneeling position, returned their greetings.
They weren’t particularly welcome relatives.
Although it was likely unintentional on Jessica’s part, whenever she gathered with other nobles, she often brought up unpleasant rumors concerning Ariel.
Perhaps she didn’t mean it deliberately—after all, they were sisters-in-law—but she was simply prone to careless slips of the tongue. Either way, it was uncomfortable.
Suppressing a sigh, Ariel smiled as best she could and greeted the mother and son, then firmly grasped Lucy’s hand.
As the steward’s loud announcement signaled their entrance, Ariel distanced herself from them.
It was Damian’s first return and her first palace visit in years—she certainly didn’t want any trouble today, so she’d best avoid Jessica altogether.
“…I was furious when I heard that rumor spreading, yet Lady Ariel appears so calm—it’s truly impressive.”
Despite Ariel’s resolve, Jessica wouldn’t leave her alone.
Once again, Jessica brought up the matter of Lucy’s tutor, leading a group of ladies and speaking loudly.
Those nearby, already curious, brightened at the perfect opportunity.
Noblewomen who had been quietly spreading gossip about House Genova behind their fans now looked at Ariel expectantly, demanding an explanation.
Ariel did her best to smile and interrupt Jessica, but as expected, it wasn’t easy.
Jessica was not only prone to careless remarks but also utterly lacking in tact.
“It’s absolutely absurd to say the Duke’s household is in financial difficulty. Just considering the imperial gifts alone, how could that be? The Duchess doesn’t indulge in luxuries—it’s simply impossible. She’s so frugal. Therefore, I suspect… perhaps such rumors started because Lucy, the Duke’s Daughter, might have fallen ill somewhere….”
Jessica’s eyes filled with feigned concern as she trailed off.
Ariel’s grip tightened on the fan in her right hand.
In Ariel’s view, this part clearly needed immediate correction.
She didn’t want to reveal her parenting philosophy unnecessarily, but since it concerned Lucy, she had to set things straight.
Just as Ariel was about to speak—
“Mother.”
Lucy approached with light steps, spreading her skirt wide and greeting Ariel with perfect etiquette.
“Lucy?”
Since Lucy rarely sought her out unless something important had happened, Ariel glanced quickly toward where the children had been staying, a look of disbelief on her face.
“I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but I felt I had to speak with you. It might actually be quite serious.”
The words “quite serious” came from Lucy’s mouth.
At the same moment, Derek burst into tears behind Lucy and ran toward Jessica.
Lucy’s eyes softened with worry.
Behind Derek, the other children trailed after him one by one, each calling out for their mothers.
Jessica’s voice rose sharply.
“Derek! What’s wrong? My son! What happened!”
Jessica quickly scooped Derek into her arms. When he kept crying without answering her repeated questions, she turned toward Lucy.
Just then, Lucy took one step forward and clasped her hands before her chest.
Looking up at Derek with concern, she wore a visibly worried expression.
“It seems there’s a serious problem with Derek’s tutor.”
Jessica’s eyes widened at those words, and Ariel was equally surprised by Lucy’s sudden statement.
But Ariel waited patiently for Lucy to finish.
“What do you mean! Miss Lucy! Such slander….”
“Madam, Lucy hasn’t finished speaking yet.”
When Ariel stopped Jessica, Lucy gave her a small, grateful bow before continuing.
“Derek asked me to compete with him, but it seems there’s an issue with his tutor. He couldn’t answer a single history question correctly. But clever Derek wouldn’t possibly do that.”
“History…?”
“Yes. He clearly told me that, with a tutor of his own, he absolutely couldn’t lose. And I believed that too. Yet he lost… so it must be his tutor’s fault.”
Lucy looked up at Ariel with genuinely worried eyes.
“Oh!”
Then Lucy clapped her hands, tilting her head in sudden realization.
“Could it be that you taught me better than Derek’s tutor taught him, Mother?”
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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MANGA DISCUSSION
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Chapter Comments (29)
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!
Inline Comments (4)
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
"I was once the same. I once shouted at the previous Emperor in anger, asking wh
Ooh that very kind of you too nice I like you too f
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Banni Cabdiraxman
Omg this fantastic I can stop reading it every time it so beautiful