I Think My Daughter Has Regressed (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 4
Lucy’s innocent laughter accompanied her.
The children who had chased after Derek from behind whispered into their mothers’ ears and rolled their eyes.
Since they were children, they couldn’t control their volume, so their entire conversation reached the ears of the gathered noblewomen.
“Mama, Lucy said the Duchess is an angel and teaches her everything. Is it true? Is the Duchess really an angel?”
One of the children who said that glanced subtly at Ariel and then quietly continued,
“But the Duchess really does seem like an angel.”
Only Jessica bit her lower lip, while Lucy stepped forward one pace toward Jessica.
“As her cousin, couldn’t I be of help to Derek hyung? Although I’m a year younger, I think I could teach him history.”
It wasn’t a bad thing if one only considered the child’s sweet intention—it essentially meant she wanted to help.
But for Lucy, who was a whole year younger, to claim she could teach Derek was an incredibly insulting remark.
Ariel anxiously glanced at Jessica, but fortunately, due to the large crowd, Jessica lowered herself to Lucy’s eye level with a gentle smile.
“Miss Lucy, Derek hyung is simply nervous because it’s his first time visiting the Imperial Palace in a while. There’s absolutely no problem at all. But, Miss Lucy…”
Just as Jessica was about to continue her gentle reprimand, Lucy turned her head backward.
Damian stood at the center of the hall, having just finished his audience.
“Daddy!!”
Lucy cried out loudly toward Damian.
Ariel was startled by the voice that nearly shook the banquet hall apart.
At that very moment, she almost opened her mouth in disbelief—our daughter, who always practiced impeccable etiquette, had just made such a slip-up, and worse yet, had called out to none other than Damian.
Before anyone could react, Lucy’s feet were already moving.
She ran over with quick, eager steps, flung her arms wide open, and dashed toward Damian.
Damian, holding a champagne glass in one hand, merely tilted his head slightly as he looked at his daughter Lucy, showing no other reaction.
Then, with a soft chuckle, he set down the champagne glass and lifted Lucy into his arms.
The sight was so tender—a truly affectionate moment from a father—that Ariel covered her mouth.
“Daddy!”
Held securely in her father’s arms, Lucy wrapped her arms around Damian’s neck and beamed brightly.
For some reason, Damian let out a quiet, amused laugh as he gazed at Lucy.
Everyone, initially startled by Lucy’s loud voice, now watched the sweet father-daughter scene with warm, approving smiles.
And among them, the most delighted was undoubtedly Ariel.
She was on the verge of tears from overwhelming emotion.
At home, Lucy always seemed somewhat antagonistic toward her father, which had worried Ariel greatly—but perhaps outside, with only her parents to rely on, she was simply showing her affectionate side.
Of course, Ariel knew she’d still need to teach Lucy that shouting in crowded places or interrupting adults mid-sentence was impolite.
“Ariel.”
Damian approached her, still holding Lucy in his arms.
Lucy, who had been hugging Damian’s neck, immediately stretched her arms toward Ariel—but Damian gently pulled Lucy’s arms back.
“Lucy.”
At Damian’s call, Lucy turned back to him with a bright smile and whispered something into his ear.
Watching the quiet exchange between father and daughter, Ariel wondered curiously what they’d said—but she also desperately wanted to preserve this small, precious moment.
Next time, she should invite a painter to their home and commission a portrait including Damian too.
A pose like today’s—just for private keeping! Lucy whispering into Damian’s ear would make such a lovely picture.
And they should also have a formal, dignified portrait hung in the center of the Duke’s residence.
Now that she thought about it, they still didn’t have a family portrait at all.
“My Lady.”
Ariel, lost entirely in thoughts of preserving this moment, was softly called by Damian.
“It seemed Lucy was listening to something Madam Jessica said. Did Lucy perhaps do something wrong?”
Damian’s gaze shifted from Ariel to Jessica. Ariel, slightly flustered, opened her mouth to speak—but Jessica bowed her head first.
“No… Your Grace. Derek was simply startled because he’s nervous about visiting the Imperial Palace. May I take my leave with Derek for now?”
“Children can react that way in unfamiliar situations. Go ahead, Madam.”
With Damian’s ready nod of approval, Jessica took Derek and stepped away from the group.
“Daddy, put me down.”
Responding to Lucy’s request, Damian carefully set her down onto the floor.
Then, as if his task were complete, he gave a polite nod to Ariel and the surrounding noblewomen before walking away.
Ariel tilted her head, watching her husband’s retreating back. He was certainly not the type to intervene in such matters.
He wasn’t the sort to step in… except for one thing: their daughter! They say fathers are weak for their daughters—could this be what that meant?
Recalling her own father, Ariel felt slightly puzzled—but then thought that maybe Damian was just different.
And that notion filled her with a very pleasant sense of anticipation.
Perhaps, even if their approaches to parenting differed slightly, their core intention—to love and respect their child—was fundamentally the same.
Amid the noblewomen cooing about how heartwarming the father-daughter bond was, Ariel gently asked Lucy,
“Lucy, what did you talk about with Daddy?”
“Hmm… It’s a secret from Mama.”
“A secret?”
Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise, and Lucy giggled.
“Actually… I asked him if Mama wasn’t the prettiest ever. And he said yes—Mama is the prettiest in the whole world.”
Lucy beamed as she said this. Ariel’s cheeks flushed, and she cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Did Daddy really say that?”
“…Yeah! Oh, and did you and Daddy pray together yesterday?”
Ariel smiled softly at Lucy’s question.
“Well, that’s my secret too.”
“Huh? I told you, so why is it a secret for Mama?”
Ariel lightly poked Lucy’s puffed-up cheek with her finger and narrowed her eyes playfully.
“It seemed like you talked with Daddy about something else, though—something longer~.”
“Hmm, Mama, I’m hungry.”
Ariel burst into laughter at Lucy’s easy deflection and simply picked her up into her arms.
She decided to let herself be gently fooled by such a cute lie.
After all, it was through moments like this that Lucy would build memories with her father.
*
“Damian, I think you were right. Our Lucy really does need a tutor.”
Back in the carriage returning to the mansion, Ariel declared with certainty.
Lucy lay fast asleep, her head resting on Ariel’s lap, while Damian had just been watching both of them.
Even as she spoke to Damian, Ariel gently stroked Lucy’s golden hair and smiled.
“It seems our daughter isn’t quite ordinary.”
At Ariel’s words, Damian raised an eyebrow and nodded.
“That does seem to be the case.”
“Right? You heard it too! Our Lucy has already read Imperial history!”
Ariel brightened and lifted her head eagerly.
“I think our daughter might be a genius! What should we do? She must have gotten it all from you.”
Ariel always had a habit of sweetly uplifting others—and this time was no exception.
“From me…” Damian chuckled softly. He wasn’t sure about “genius,” but their daughter did seem quite shrewd.
Just like at the banquet.
To others, it probably looked like she’d excitedly run to her father—but Lucy had, in fact, clearly been blackmailing Damian.
From the very moment she ran over, she’d silently mouthed, “Pick me up, Rock. Mama’s watching.”
Adding that “Mama’s watching” was a clever move—
It was a perfectly calculated threat, showing exactly how to pressure her target.
“She does seem to have inherited something from me.”
In this regard, Damian readily admitted it. Blood will tell—her eyes resembled Ariel’s, but inside, she was all Damian.
Moreover, once he picked her up, she whispered a deal into his ear:
“If you help me chase away Madam Jessica, I’ll help improve things between you and Mama.”
It was rather convincing blackmail.
“If you want a sibling, shouldn’t you be negotiating instead of threatening?”
Damian shot back, and Lucy snorted dismissively.
For such a tiny child, her expression and behavior were something only a much older adult would do.
She couldn’t have learned this from Ariel—so if she did learn it, someone else must have taught her.
Maybe she’d been secretly watching the maids during their breaks.
“If you don’t pray, I’ll sleep with Mama every night. You’re only needed if there’s a sibling.”
“Really? Then why did you offer to help me in the first place?”
“Because Mama needs you.”
Lucy’s green eyes sparkled brightly—her affections were clearly divided.
She called him “Rock” and claimed he wasn’t needed, yet fiercely looked out for her mother.
Finding this utterly amusing, Damian chuckled repeatedly—and ultimately agreed to Lucy’s terms.
If Lucy insisted on sleeping with her every night, Ariel would surely allow it without hesitation.
Of course, if Damian simply asked Ariel once, she’d reluctantly return to sharing his bedroom—
Because that’s the kind of woman she was. But Damian didn’t want to keep his wife beside him through obligation.
He liked Ariel best when she worried about him and showed him affection of her own accord.
He had no desire to see her turn away from him again with that sullen, disappointed look—as she had the previous day.
When the male lead is punished by carrying the female lead’s child and having periods like a woman
“I’ve given birth to two children for you, yet you still think about him.
Was I nothing but his substitute to you from beginning to end?”
Synopsis:
Meng Huan, a scumbag who has dated countless girlfriends, transmigrates to a female-dominated country.
Day 1: Whether it’s female dominance or not doesn’t matter. The beauties here are passionate and amorous. Isn’t it easier to date them than in modern times?
Day 2: After a night, Meng Huan discovers the differences in the female-dominated world. Men here actually have chastity locks and menstrual cycles. This hinders his ability to perform, damn it!
Day 3: What’s wrong with sleeping around? I don’t want you to marry me. I’m meant to be a playboy. I don’t care about male virtues… What? You want to drown me in a pig cage? Marry, I’ll marry!
Day N: Meng Huan inexplicably vomits and receives the shocking news of his life… He’s pregnant.
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"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
"Even just a short sentence would be fine. I just need to know you're alive."
Please write for her she will be happy if you do it
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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!