I Became the Abandoned Daughter of an Underworld Boss

Indeed.

There was no way Miss Yuriana would have straightforwardly explained her business to her.

Melissa, having grasped the situation, raised her eyebrows.

The flushed cheeks, the fidgeting fingers that couldn’t be controlled, the skirt that had been wrinkled from being clutched so many times, and the lips that were moving like a goldfish’s.

Put it all together, and the conclusion was clear.

That girl was in love. She came to ask her, Melissa, for advice on how to look pretty, didn’t she?

She was known as the Witch of Dark Town because of her beauty, after all. Ho-ho-ho!

‘There isn’t a boy her age in the Dark House. Who could she have fallen for?’

“Why are you silent? Don’t you know?”

Melissa thought as she glanced at the grumpy, bald-headed man.

‘Hmm… well, that bald head can’t be the suspect of the young lady’s first love. Even a young girl would have some sense! Kids are usually better at recognizing faces!’

The Dark House was a strict place with its own zones and duties.

Like Melissa, many diligently did their work, unaware that Emperor Harun of the Empire frequently visited.

If a guest arrived, they accepted it as, ‘A guest has come.’

If it was an important guest, they acknowledged it as, ‘Oh, an important guest has come.’

Since Melissa was lost in thought and didn’t answer, the bald man asked again.

“I have to report to the boss. If you know something, answer quickly.”

“I know. And I have something to ask you… oh! Is that it?”

“What?”

Melissa put on a mischievous expression.

“The cat beastman, the one given to Miss Yuriana.”

“… yeah.”

“During the last attack, he gained the ability to return to human form briefly each day, right?”

“That’s true.”

Melissa began to spin a frightening tale, intending to tease Lupedos.

The reason was simple.

Before Lupedos was cursed to remain in his cat form, she confessed her love but was rejected.

Take this, a taste of Dark Town’s revenge!

“Miss Yuriana must have seen that form, right?”

“… as far as I know. Is there a connection between Lupedos and why she was looking for you?”

At the bald man’s slow and annoying persistence, Melissa’s eyes sparkled.

“Seeing that form, the young lady must have fallen in love.”

“What did you say!”

Dun, dun!

The bald man was shocked by her unexpected words.

Melissa, true to the Dark Town way, effortlessly fabricated an elaborate lie.

“Why? In Dark Town, seven-year-olds are old enough to notice things and understand everything, right? Unlike some people.”

“Hey, is that really true?”

“Think about it. As their personality becomes more sensitive, things they used to laugh at will start making them cry and get annoyed. Miss Yuriana has changed a lot, hasn’t she?”

Though the real reason was different, the bald man’s expression grew more serious.

After becoming Miss Yuriana’s No. 2!

Her once chubby cheeks had slimmed down a bit.

Ah… could it be that puberty hit her at just seven years old? And with a beastman of a different species?

The bald man became confused.

“This…! I can’t believe it.”

“Hmph. You’re just ignorant and muscle brained. It’s perfectly possible for a girl or a boy to have a first love with an adult.”

Could that really be true?

“I see. I’m going.”

“Take care, ho-ho.”

As the bald man’s figure disappeared, Melissa clutched her belly and laughed.

The pain of a broken heart must be repaid harshly, after all.

In the end, the bald man reported this to the boss as it was and received two bottles of 20-year-old wine as a reward.

That dawn.

‘Phew, it’s taking too long for my power to fully recover compared to yesterday. Is Yuriana asleep?’

The beastman Lupedos.

Being stuck as a cat wasn’t always so hard.

After finishing his training in human form, he quickly wiped off his sweat.

The feeling came over him. In a few minutes, he would revert to his cat form.

Then… he would climb onto the cat tower where he could watch over Yuriana and fall asleep.

Tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow.

If he kept training like this, someday, when he could fully control his power…

Then…

‘Haha. It’s funny that I feel disappointed if I don’t see that little one for even a day.’

Just as Lupedos was brushing back his long black hair with a smile…

Creak-

The door opened, and Asil barged in.

“…?”

“There you are.”

“Boss. What’s going on? Speak quickly if it’s urgent.”

This was the first time Asil, the leader of Dark Town, had interrupted Lupedos’s training.

If it was something that required his magic, he would deal with it swiftly, he thought—

Then he heard Asil’s voice, filled with anger.

“How dare you seduce my daughter?”

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

Bang!

Whether it was luck or misfortune, with that retort, Lupedos reverted to Lulu’s form.

No longer sleek, but now a chubby, rotund cat.

From the golden pupils of the cat, the club that Asil had hidden behind his back suddenly appeared.

It was huge.

But why did he bring that? And what was this baseless accusation about him seducing Yuriana!

“Meow… meow?”

Step, step.

Lulu cautiously took a step back, sensing danger, but Asil had no intention of letting him go.

“You dare target my daughter? Unforgivable. Come here, you!”

“Meow! (It’s not true!)”

Lulu cried out desperately, but Asil’s anger was overwhelming.

Whoosh!

Seeing the size of the club, Lulu panicked and raised his front paws, gesturing as if to wait.

It was a futile gesture, like a praying mantis trying to threaten a large dog.

“Just die already.”

“Meow… meow! Meow… meow…”

There was no time!

Lulu, in a frenzy, jumped onto the wooden table.

He began scratching out letters haphazardly with his claws.

Thud, thud.

Asil, holding the club in one arm, started to read the letters one by one.

“Hmm… I… al… so… have… pre… fer… ences…?”

“Meow!”

That was right.

He understood that Yuriana was objectively a cute little girl, but even Lupedos had high standards.

Just because she was the boss’ daughter didn’t mean he automatically liked her.

He was not the type to just fall for any girl!

Lulu, having barely expressed his intentions, snorted, but Asil raised the club again.

“… meow?”

Did he say it wrong?

A cold smile appeared on Asil’s lips.

“How dare you reject my daughter?”

“Meooow!”

So, he was going to die no matter what? What kind of tyranny was this under the moonlight!

The struggle between Asil and Lulu went on for a while.

* * *

The next day, on the eve of heading to Nea Palace after all the small commotions.

‘Will it be okay?’

Yuriana stopped eating and stared intently at Asil during their meal.

Asil’s face was as sleek and cold as ever.

Noticing his daughter’s gaze, he quietly suggested.

“Why? If you don’t want to go tomorrow, you can stay at the Dark House.”

“N-No, it’s fine!”

He was so calm. Even if he saw Alice on the way to Elodia, it would be… okay, right?

He got through it once before.

‘I’ll trust Dad.’

As Yuriana’s fork clinked as she pierced the steak, Asil was lost in other thoughts.

His conversation with Harun and Aidan was over.

Karas and his group would be staying at Nea Palace for a day, but it wasn’t just a rest stop.

While on a diplomatic tour to establish trade between the Nea Kingdom and Dark Town, they were going to formalize it.

Asil knew how significant this was.

The underworld, usually ignored or used as needed, was now being recognized as a force to be reckoned with.

And this acknowledgment was coming from the most powerful empire on the continent, the Reef Empire.

‘You entrusted such an important task to Karas with just an order? Harun, do you… plan to pass the throne to Karas in the future?’

Asil thought Harun was a man who was truly impossible to understand.

Just getting rid of that dangerous and powerful mummy tablet without taking it was impressive.

If he were to ascend to the throne, a basic human desire would be to own such power, even if not to use it.

Part of Asil’s motivation for accepting this request was his desire for more wealth.

To better raise his daughter, Yuriana.

‘No, I’m different from that guy.’

Wiping Harun’s bitter face from his mind, Asil spoke to Yuriana, who had finished her steak.

“Don’t overexert yourself today, just rest well.”

“Yes, Dad.”

Lulu’s luggage had been packed long ago.

Nothing else to do.

Lacking the courage to visit Melissa again, Yuriana fiddled with the bracelet Karas had given her.

She knew.

This meeting was a celebration of Elodia’s reconstruction, so everyone would be busy.

She might not have time to leisurely hang out with Karas.

Even if he couldn’t pay as much attention to her as before, she shouldn’t feel disappointed.

‘Ugh, I shouldn’t be so conscious of it.’

The words she wanted to say to the boy were written down briefly in the imperial language.

Oh! By the way, about Lulu.

When she asked Karas for help in saying something to Lulu, he kindly wrote the words for her.

When he was transformed into Lupedos!

And she copied those words and brought them with her… hmm, she trusted Lupedos to do his job, but why did he take them?

She couldn’t quite figure it out.

‘When he left with that, he did look a bit upset, didn’t he? Hmm.’

No matter how hard she tried not to think about it, Yuriana couldn’t help but remember Karas comforting her in the darkness that day.

She didn’t really like sheep, but when Karas talked about them, they seemed cute.

Their curly fur, those long snouts munching on grass.

“……”

Back in her room, Yuriana sat on the bed.

The castle, rebuilt after exposing all its terrible scars, seemed like a place where Karas would be smiling somewhere.

Even though she knew that no matter which curtain she pulled back, he wouldn’t be there.

‘Do I like Karas? As if adapting to living in this young body wasn’t hard enough, now I like that kid?’

She couldn’t tell if this feeling was self-contempt or something else.

It was only after impulsively going to see Melissa that she realized.

She wanted to look good in front of Karas.

She wanted to trim her nails neatly, brush down her unruly hair, and make an impression on Karas beyond what Levina did.

‘You fool.’