The Villainess Is My Cute Daughter

Claire just shook her head.

”I don’t care whether you confessed or not,” Claire sighed in frustration. ”Why are you trying to confess for me? You can’t steal that moment away from me.”

Claire immediately turned her head toward Adrian. She looked incredibly annoyed, but her eyes were deadly serious.

”I honestly did not expect that I would actually fall for someone,” Claire said directly to Adrian. ”But congratulations. I fell for you... and I think I love you. I’m not entirely sure if I do, but every single time you get close to me, and every time you do certain things, I can’t help but feel a flutter in my stomach. It’s really annoying, to be honest.”

Adrian just stared at her in silence, slightly stunned.

”It’s like I’m completely losing control of myself,” Claire continued, her voice trembling slightly. ”It’s like I’m seeing a part of me that I’ve never actually wanted to see. For a very long time, I’ve been silently judging all those girls at the Knights Academy who act giddy and childish whenever they get near the guys they like. And seeing myself do the exact same thing around you doesn’t really feel great. But... the feeling itself is something that is incredibly hard to describe.”

She took a deep breath.

”So yes. I think I love you,” Claire admitted. ”And for your information, Aria, your beloved daughter, and someone who I also really, really adore, was the one who actually orchestrated this.”

Adrian’s eyes widened slightly.

”She was actually the one who talked to me multiple times and actively pushed me into confessing to you,” Claire revealed. ”But I just did not think that I should blur the professional boundaries between us as a Lord and a General. And this girl here...”

Claire pointed an accusatory finger at Serena.

”...Took the chance and did it first. I’m not angry at her. I just want you to know that Aria is not as ignorant as you think she is. Yes, she is just a six year old girl, but she has literally seen her parents split apart. Maybe she does actually want a mother, and that is exactly why she is actively pushing me and Serena toward you. Because she literally asked both of us the exact same question.”

Claire waved her hand dismissively.

”Well, that is a conversation between us girls. You don’t have to know the specific details of that. But she is the one who ultimately pushed us into this situation today. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I feel like you should thank her instead of asking her if she wants the two of us as mothers. Because she directly told us that we are the two people she likes the most. After you, of course.”

Adrian’s expression shifted drastically.

Hearing that Aria’s favorite people in the entire world were Serena and Claire, his expression morphed from a look of listening mode into a sudden, deep sense of sadness. And when he heard that they were after him, he felt a little better about it.

Seeing his expression change like that was something Claire couldn’t help but find incredibly cute.

She looked at Adrian and smiled softly.

”You can ask her about it later if you want to,” Claire said gently. ”But I really don’t think her answer is going to change.”

Adrian nodded slowly, a thousand different thoughts clearly racing through his mind.

Claire could easily see the internal conflict on his face, and she smirked a little.

”So, Lord Adrian,” Claire said, her tone almost entirely playful. ”When exactly are you going to give me your answer?”

But just as she asked him that question, she felt a sudden pang of dread erupt deep within her chest.

Everything that had happened just a few minutes ago suddenly came rushing back to her. The indisputable fact that she had just irreversibly used her one single chance of using her divine blessing on him.

She didn’t even know why she had done it so impulsively.

Yes, she desperately wanted him to live through the Apostle’s attack, but this was a blessing that was related to her own life. It could potentially endanger her in the future if the knowledge of her curse fell into the wrong hands.

As she looked down at him, desperately waiting for an answer, she couldn’t help but think to herself in sheer terror.

’Please... please don’t say no.’

She felt her heart rate rapidly increase. She could feel it thumping against her ribs, and it hurt. But while Serena’s heart was currently beating fast due to pure excitement and positive emotions, Claire’s heart was beating hard due to negative ones.

It was beating out of fear of rejection and uncertainity of his answer.

Adrian took a deep breath before he looked at Claire in silence, then slowly shifted his gaze over to Serena sitting on the floor.

He let out a long exhale and finally opened his mouth to speak.

”Well... I...” Adrian started awkwardly. ”Okay, so... firstly, I want you guys to know that I’m really not great at properly expressing my romantic feelings.”

He cleared his throat weakly.

”But if you guys remember correctly, back when we went into the capital to shop for Aria’s birthday clothes, you guys essentially dragged me out for a massive shopping spree. It was... an experience, let’s say. And there were multiple times that day when you guys wore certain earrings and accessories, or even just tried on different dresses in the store, where I just couldn’t help but stare at you two. That was exactly how pretty you both looked to me.”

He offered them a faint, genuine smile.

”And I have been around you guys enough to easily tell that you are both great human beings.”

He slowly turned his head to look directly at Claire.

”You, Claire,” Adrian said softly. ”You are someone who takes your job incredibly seriously, but you do have a deeply playful side, which I did notice.’