I'm Secretly the Father of the Yandere Villainess's Daughter

Grandma Tamari smiled warmly to herself. As she noted the expressions flashing across ”Maxi’s” face—the pure bewilderment, the slightly parted lips, and the wide, raised eyelids—she recognized all the classic signs of disbelief and emotional processing.

She felt a deep sense of self-satisfaction. Her sole intention had been to bypass all the agonizing doubt the young girl might have regarding the Duke’s feelings, and it appeared she had successfully achieved her goal.

As for Amelia, she was slightly puzzled and thought to herself, ’Wait, isn’t this actually a good thing? If this family is reunited, my mother will be happy, I’ll be able to recover my power much faster, and I’ll finally have a family... a real family.’

The word ”family” was a concept entirely alien to the former Empress of the Starry Empire, a woman who had been brutally betrayed by her closest disciple in her past life.

She used to believe that warmth, love, and harmony were merely abstract notions. They were things she had never known or experienced. Yet, she refused to be selfish; her mother’s feelings were what mattered most. If her mother was only going to stay with this man just because he was the father, Amelia inwardly rejected that idea.

Besides, it was glaringly obvious that her father was utterly terrified of admitting his fatherhood for some bizarre reason.

’There is clearly a deeper piece of the puzzle that I don’t understand yet,’ she noted silently.

Meanwhile, Lucy felt a sudden pang of bitterness, but she refused to believe it. The persona of ”Maxi” had only existed since this morning—how could anyone fall completely in love with someone in a single day?

Deciding to calm her racing heart, she realized she needed absolute confirmation.

”Thank you, ma’am,” Lucy muttered, giving a polite nod.

She stepped away from the corner table where Grandma Tamari sat, holding Amelia’s hand as she walked toward the exit. Her eyes locked onto his back—his straight, flawless posture, his tall stature, his black hair cascading down to his neck, and that shirt patterned with shark prints.

A sudden, fleeting thought flashed through her mind. Why... why shouldn’t she just drop her disguise? Why not step out and confront him as her true self?

She could confess... pour out her heart and tell him she loved him. And if he dared to reject her? She would simply bind him, drag him away, and lock him up in a hidden villa deep in the mountains along with their daughter.

Lucy clenched her fists tightly, desperately trying to suppress her chaotic, unhinged thoughts. If she actually did that... she would terrify him. She would just be another monstrous woman to him, and he would view her exactly like everyone else who heard the dreaded name of Lucy Montgrad...a villainess and a tyrant.

But she couldn’t keep living like this. How long could she possibly drag out this ridiculous lie?

Whoosh!

A brilliant swirl of magical aura suddenly erupted around Lucy, instantly melting her disguise away and restoring her true, breathtakingly beautiful form.

Gasps of pure shock echoed from every single customer inside the bakery and Grandma Tamari’s smile widened even further, practically ready to applaud her boldness.

Amelia, on the other hand, just swallowed hard.

Honestly, in tense confrontations like this, she really wished she had some popcorn.

Lucy raised a finger to her lips, gesturing for everyone in the bakery to remain silent. She subtly released a faint ripple of her Celestial Level aura over them, a quiet display of her terrifying power... all just to make sure they wouldn’t ruin her surprise.

At that moment, Lucy stepped forward, walking out the door with delicate, graceful strides. She headed toward Cain, who stood gazing into the wide streets and the sparse nighttime traffic under the pitch-black sky.

Cain felt a bitter taste in his mouth, painfully aware that even the innocent civilians in their homes would be caught in the crossfire of the battle that was about to erupt.

He was already drowning in guilt. Commoners had absolutely nothing to do with this catastrophic clash between two of the strongest entities on the entire continent. He deeply wished... that he hadn’t touched that alcohol all those years ago.

He wished he hadn’t made the mistake of thinking it was just a beautiful, fleeting night of pure passion. He wished he could have fixed everything before this terrifying yandere villainess became so unhinged and consumed by rage toward him.

Hearing the sound of her approaching footsteps, he desperately racked his brain for a solution.

Yet, he thought, if it weren’t for that single night... Amelia wouldn’t exist. And though he knew the extreme danger of getting close to a yandere, that night spent with her... as random and chaotic as it was—proved to him that he was still human, that he could still feel.

Memories of his past life flashed before his eyes. Back when he was wrongfully imprisoned, he had been the weakest, most helpless creature. He spent his days frozen in fear inside those silent, dark cells... constantly feeling as though everyone was lurking in the shadows, waiting to kill him.

But now, he was powerful. And he had something new: hope.

He thought to himself... I can undo all of this. I can fix everything... but I must start from the very beginning. I need to buy time, just enough time so that no one gets hurt.

Even though everything had unfolded within a single twenty-four-hour span, today felt like the most chaotic, event-filled day of Cain’s entire life. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to complain.

As she stepped closer behind him, Cain spoke out without turning around. He had resolved to stall for time—to do anything, absolutely anything, just to gain a few precious moments.

”I think... I am an absolute fool.”

Hearing this, Lucy froze in her tracks.

”What do you mean, Lord Duke?...”

Cain didn’t even turn his head.

”The thing is... I had a strange dream last night. I dreamt that I suddenly had a daughter. But... I have far too many enemies. One of those powerful foes ended up kidnapping my daughter and brutally killing her just to spite me. In the end, I died by suicide, completely consumed by grief. Honestly, my enemies are countless, and if I ever truly had a daughter, I wouldn’t want her to become my ultimate weakness. Isn’t that foolish thinking? Besides, where would I even get a daughter from anyway? Right, Lady Maxi?”

Cain turned around to face her. By a split second, Lucy had already reverted back to Maxi’s appearance, wearing a perfectly composed smile.

”Do not worry, Lord Duke. They are merely dreams...”

As for Amelia, she felt a sudden shiver of terror. She pondered quietly, trying to imagine just how absurdly, monstrously powerful the enemies of a Celestial Level being would have to be.

Meanwhile, Lucy was inwardly raging. How could she back down at the absolute last second over a mere dream?!

But as she thought about it deeper... she realized she didn’t actually know the sheer scale of Cain’s enemy list. If she revealed the truth right now, her presence would indeed turn into a weakness that might force him to retreat. It was an incredibly stupid excuse, yet it felt as though she was desperately clawing for any justification to soothe her deep-rooted fear—the fear that he wouldn’t accept her. It was thoroughly frustrating.

But then, a brilliant new plan struck her.

’I’ll just systematically eradicate every single one of Cain’s enemies with absolute speed. Once the threat is zero... then I will confess. Yes, that’s perfect.’

At that exact moment, the space warped, and Cain, Lucy, and Amelia transferred directly to the grand palace of the Oster Duchy.

”I apologize for leaving you so abruptly, but I am currently occupied with urgent matters,” Cain said, maintaining his distance. ”I shall take my leave now, and we will meet again tomorrow.”

With that, Cain quickly disappeared down the palace corridors accompanied by his aides. The servants immediately stepped in to assist the guests, preparing two separate, luxurious rooms. However, Amelia utterly refused to sleep away from her mother. Under the convenient pretext that ”Maxi” needed to guard her through the night, they ended up sharing the same room.

In the dead of night, resting on the lavish bed inside the palace chamber, Lucy finally dropped her disguise, revealing her true, breathtaking form. She looked down and spoke softly to Amelia.

”Amelia... your mother is a real coward. A massive coward...”

”What are you saying, Mother?” Amelia chimed in protectively. ”Mother is incredibly brave!”

Lucy offered a faint, bittersweet half-smile, pulling her daughter securely into her warm embrace. She had fully convinced herself that this was merely a temporary delay. She would confess later, and everything would be fine... completely fine. All would end well. She would personally annihilate Cain’s enemies, he would be endlessly grateful to her, thank her profoundly, and their grand love story would finally begin. It was just a strategic starting point; she really needed to stop being so hard on herself.

Yet, while everyone was winding down for the night, someone had been entirely forgotten.

In a shabby, worn-out holding stable on the outskirts, Jade stood completely alone. Every single female horse around him had their legs give out, utterly collapsed on the ground, unable to withstand his presence. Yet, there he stood—tall, unyielding, showing absolutely no signs of defeat or fatigue.

”Mother... this horse is truly a monster,” the stable boy whispered in sheer awe to his mother. ”Every single mare we have has collapsed under his stamina... What do we do? The Duke hasn’t even arrived to claim him yet.”

The old woman stared at Jade, who remained perfectly steady and majestic despite the environment. She turned to her son with sharp, business-savvy eyes.

”Take every single coin we own and buy more female horses immediately. This is an absolute goldmine of a deal.”

As for Jade, he stood firm, still loyally waiting for his master who had yet to show up. He resolved to wait even longer. It wasn’t that he was thoroughly enjoying himself with dozens of ordinary, common mares—absolutely not! He was a royal prince of the Unicorns, a creature of pure nobility!

It was simply that, as a loyal companion, he could never bring himself to disobey his master’s commands.

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Sorry if the slow pace was a bit dragging for you. From now on, I’ll definitely speed up the pacing if you guys want

Let me know what you guys think of the novel so far!