Here was a warm, heavenly paradise with anything you could possibly wish for. A place void of problems.

Although if a problem must be named, it would be the male protagonist and I, the daughter of a villain. But I had been abandoned by my family, thrown off a cliff and left to die, deprived of the right to live. It was the father of the male protagonist, who saved me that day

Of course, I would have most likely been killed on the spot if they discovered I had the notorious

Delde blood running through my veins. Fortunately, the truth behind my origins had not been found out yet.

Ah, seriously, my biological father just couldn't peacefully leave me alone somewhere. He just had to abandon me in a field in the middle of a raging snowstorm. If it weren't for my savior, I would have most likely perished.

Now I’m lying here next to his son, swaddled in a blanket. Ah, I really want to run away right now. But alas, I am still a newborn baby. I cannot do anything in this pitiful state of mine.

Hmm, perhaps it would be a good idea to stay here for now. In this house, I can eat and sleep luxuriously without lifting a finger. When I grow up a little bit more, I will run away.

What else can I do? I have no one to rely on right now. I guess, I can't help it. Until I become an adult and am able to survive alone, I will happily enjoy this comfortable life.

When I finally came to this conclusion, a loud cry sounded once again in the room.

“Uwaa! Uwaaa!”

The male lead, that guy, he's so noisy

I reached out and tickled his cheeks. It was evident he was not happy with my tickling, as tears began to pool in his pretty blue eyes. Before long, he burst into a crying fit again.

“Uwaaah!”

I gazed at his plump cheeks, patting him gently. Sorry, I'll be borrowing your dad~

There was a reason for my apology: I had stolen his father from him. The way his father treated us was evidently different. He would only show his kind side to me.

The reason for this kind of discrimination was simple. I appeared as a fragile and delicate girl, as if I would shatter like ceramics if I wasn't handled properly. The male lead, on the other hand, resembled his father.

That’s why you should call papa's name too, I thought. Maybe he’ll be kinder to you.

Somehow, I began to feel pity for him. I took the pacifier out of my mouth and put it in his.

"Uhng?"

Good, chew on that quietly. I rolled over, turning away from the male lead. Hmm, perhaps I've saved my father a little bit of

I flailed around desperately, my face buried deep in the snow.

The only reason I’ve even lasted this long is due to the Delde blood that runs through my veins. If it were any other normal child, they would’ve died on the spot due to suffocation long ago.

But if I don’t succeed in manifesting my abilities soon, there’s no doubt that I would die. As proof of that, my breathing was already growing rapid and shallow.

“Mmph!”

Every time I took a breath, snow made its way into my nostrils. In an act of desperation to break free from this situation, I clenched my muscles and forced out the strength I had been containing within me, but it didn’t work out as smoothly as I had hoped.

If I can’t even turn myself over, why am I even alive? But I didn’t have the leisure to catch my breath.

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Literary Stray Scans

Apr 12, 2020

8 min

I Tamed The Male Lead's Father: Chapter 2

Updated: Oct 30, 2021

I flailed around desperately, my face buried deep in the snow.

The only reason I’ve even lasted this long is due to the Delde blood that runs through my veins. If it were any other normal child, they would’ve died on the spot due to suffocation long ago.

But if I don’t succeed in manifesting my abilities soon, there’s no doubt that I would die. As proof of that, my breathing was already growing rapid and shallow.

“Mmph!”

Every time I took a breath, snow made its way into my nostrils. In an act of desperation to break free from this situation, I clenched my muscles and forced out the strength I had been containing within me, but it didn’t work out as smoothly as I had hoped.

If I can’t even turn myself over, why am I even alive? But I didn’t have the leisure to catch my breath.

Wanting to grasp onto the last sliver of hope in me, I mustered up all the strength that I had. I writhed in the snow, making countless futile attempts to turn over. I squeezed out so much of my strength that all my blood rushed up to my head, causing my small face to turn red.

I want to live.

That primitive desire to live began to bubble up within me. There wasn’t an exact reason behind it. It was simply a survival instinct you were born with.

While I flailed in the snow, somewhere, the sound of footsteps drew nearer.

Thud. Thud.

When those heavy footsteps finally reached me, I was already gasping my last few breaths.

I could really die here like this. I didn’t even have the strength to struggle anymore at this point.

The owner of the footsteps swiftly lifted me up. With their help, I was finally allowed to breathe. They stared at me intently with their blue eyes as I took violent gulps of air.

“Oh? It’s a baby.”

His voice was nonchalant and indifferent. His intent gaze slowly traveled down my body, inspecting me, exactly like the people in the Delde clan. He was no different.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if he simply put me back on the ground and left.

He looked like that kind of insensitive person. It seemed that with his dull, hollow eyes, he saw the world as a colorless place. In his eyes, I was nothing.

As I was penetrated by his cold-hearted gaze, the thought of the Delde family popped into my head. I remembered the ones who looked at me as though they were criticizing me, and my ruthless father who abandoned me. The memories of being tossed off that cliff swarmed my head and I shuddered.

The feeling of endlessly falling down an abyss. Of being thrown into an empty void with nothing to grab onto, with only death awaiting me. That very moment.

My body stiffened as I remembered those frightening memories.

But I can’t stay like this. If this man abandons me here and leaves, who knows how long it’ll take until another person comes to a place as desolate and cold as this.

This cold winter night, in the center of a snowy field, I, who was thrown out here, would freeze to death.

The cold would begin to devour me from my legs and my arms, making its way around until I eventually reached my last, final breath.

Becoming a human mummy in this way would certainly be unpleasant. I, who had only lived a single year, squeezed out the last of my strength. For the first and last time, I attempted the impossible.

And that was indeed aegyo*, the very thing that would determine my life or death.

“Papa!”

I’m cute, aren’t I? You can’t stand it because I’m so lovable, right?

I looked at him with desperate eyes.

He had been staring down at me silently, but at this moment, something stirred in his eyes. They were tinged with an inscrutable, complicated emotion.

Well, he could be perplexed by that. But it’s not like I had a choice.

I’m not calling out papa because I consider you my papa!

It’s been a long-established fact that humans would sympathize with a pitiful animal when they saw one. I was relying on that natural conscience humans carried.

Truthfully, that was all nonsense. I just wanted to live. Because even now, the tips of my fingers were still curved and couldn’t move at all.

In this state, it seemed like I might actually die after a few hours.

I filled my eyes with as much sadness as I could muster and turned to him.

“Papa!” I shouted.

But the man didn’t react. Now, nothing even stirred in his eyes. He simply gazed at me silently with placid eyes.

Just show some kind of reaction!

As frustration began to well up in my throat, behind the man, dozens of presences seemed to reveal themselves.

They rushed towards the man, but when they noticed me, they came to a sudden halt.

For a while, there was a murmuring among the unknown figures. But someone quickly silenced them and approached the man.

“Master, who is that child?” a voice asked.

I don't know.”

“Pardon?”

“She’s calling me papa.”

“Excuse me?”

A wave of confused gasps and whispers ensued. The people standing behind the two men stared at them with their eyes wide open in surprise.

In just a few moments, the murmurs rippled through the crowd. The man who was called “master” continued to stare at me intently. His eyes reflected the color of lakes, bottomless and mysterious. But then, the word “master” registered in my mind, and I froze, staring wide-eyed at the man.

Why did I only just realize?

This person wasn’t just an ordinary stranger. He was the head of the Ardellos clan, the enemies of the Delde family.

How do I know so much about this? Well, it was because of the male lead’s father.

The knight who would unseal the devil and exterminate the Delde family was the male lead, Devarus. And the person holding me right now was the male lead’s dad, Agnos Gaethje.

Agnos was the most powerful knight in the novel. He was a sword master who could instill aura into his blade. On top of that, he was the youngest person in history to have been deemed a sword master. He was a genius for his age, different from the rest of his peers.

Of course, afterwards, that title was passed down to his son, also known as the novel’s main character, Devarus.

But of all things, the one single person who could save me just had to be the main character’s father. How could my luck be this bad?

The man stared at me silently with his deep, lake blue eyes. Within them, an unknown question dwelled.

His lips, which had been firmly sealed, slowly opened, letting a mumbled query flow from it. His voice, low yet soothing, indicated that he was truly curious.

“But, why isn't she calling me Papa again?” He paused. “Perhaps she's in pain.”

Hearing the man’s question, the faces of the people behind him paled. I was sure that at that moment, I felt the same as them.

One of them stepped out to the front, slightly hesitating before continuing on from what the man had said.

“Why, that’s because this newborn baby has been in such a cold place. She must not be in her right state of mind.”

“Is that so.”

The male lead’s father looked as though it was the first time he heard something like that. He slowly shifted his head to look at his subordinate behind him.

“Then, what needs to be done?”

There was no agitation in his eyes, only a simple question of courtesy.

Hearing the male lead’s father’s question, the subordinate immediately slipped off the coat he was wearing and offered it to him. Seeing this, I relaxed.

Will my body finally warm up again? Ugh, it’s so cold that I could die!

But, contrary to my wishes, he just stood there silently staring. Annoyed at his behavior, I began to fuss up a tantrum, flailing my arms and legs.

“Waaahhh!”

Cold, it’s so cold! Just give me something to wear!

Why was he just standing there in a daze? I couldn’t understand. As I broke into a cry, the subordinate’s face froze with despair.

The man contemplated for a while, before seeming to have come to a conclusion, his expression twisting into one of realization. It was only then did he finally understand my situation.

Wow, so the head of the Ardellos family finally realizes that I’m cold.

It was truly the same as a worm swimming in the sea.** It was as impossible as that. I didn’t think he would ever figure it out, seeing how dense he was.

He was like a being that transcended mortal limits. Therefore, he was human, but not human at the same time. So even if you compare him to the standards of a normal human, there was no way you’d understand.

In the end, the subordinate seemed to have given him an additional explanation. He seemed to sense that if he didn’t do so, they would never progress, and the situation would never end.

Doing good, doing good!

I urged the subordinate on by shooting him desperate glances. He seemed unable to win against my eye contact attack and continued on, bracing himself through his fear.

“First, we have to heat up her body. If her body temperature falls any lower than this, it could be dangerous.”

“I see.”

“In order to defrost her body, we must cover her with coats, and light a fire to keep her warm.

“I see.”

Even after listening to his subordinate’s words, the master had no reaction. He simply replied calmly, still silently staring down at me.

Seeing his master’s lack of reaction, the subordinate trailed off. Even after explaining, his master didn’t react. There was no doubt the subordinate was speechless.

Mister, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it? I think so too.

I barely managed to swallow the sigh that threatened to break out from my lips.

As I held back my exasperation, a gust of wind swept through the area, the force of the ever changing winds causing my small body to shiver. Seeing this, the subordinate’s expression turned into one of pity.

And the master, who had been ever so silent, moved his lips to utter a quiet remark.

“Looks like this child’s body is weak. If my son was tossed into a snowy field, he wouldn’t shiver one bit.”

Hearing these words, my frustration grew, and soon I was teetering on the border of letting out a sigh.

That’s only because he’s Devarus?? That guy’s the strongest character!

In the end, I couldn’t stand it, and began to cry once more.

“Waaahhhh!”

Even the one who gave birth to me abandoned me because I was weak. Was I to be subjected to that here again?

Waahh, the supposedly lethal aegyo* was all useless. I might just die here again!

He turned his gaze on me once again as I stopped crying, growing tired of everything. Why is he just silently looking at me, doing nothing to help? I couldn’t understand it at all.

In his apathetic gaze, not a single trace of emotion could be found.

And as I observed his gaze, a feeling dawned on me. Just like the ones who abandoned me before, he could leave me here at any time and it wouldn’t seem strange.

In any case, this is why those who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth are a problem.

A wave of despair surged within me and I felt tears welling up again. The truth was, I didn’t even have the strength to cry anymore. I had barely managed to flail my upper body around earlier.

The shadow of death flickered in front of my eyes, seeming to slowly approach me. Sensing my death at just one year old… What an unfortunate life I have.

I guess I’ll really die now, I thought.

But right when that thought crossed my mind, his gaze began to waver. It was as though small pebbles were thrown into his blue, lake-like eyes. It was only the beginning of a small ripple.

But I had an excellent survival instinct, and managed to catch that slight change.

Huh? Something changed…?

I tilted my head in wonder, when suddenly, my surroundings became warm. The cold that froze my body disappeared, and I felt as though I was standing in front of a fireplace, the heat embracing me.

When I finally looked around me, I noticed that the area within a one meter radius was encircled in a really bright light.

It was probably caused by the aura emanating from him, whose particles collided amongst themselves and created frictional heat.

As proof of that, the overcoat that the subordinate had offered to me had already been shredded in half and burst into flames.

The expression of the dazed subordinate who had been observing the situation paled to a ghastly white. I, too, turned ashen in color.

They acted like they’d leave me here. What’s this all of a sudden?

As if to reassure my suspicions, the man opened his mouth. And with that, his steady voice spoke a single sentence which resounded across the snowy field.

“She called me papa.”

His eyes gazed at me intently.

Afterword

*Aegyo refers to a cute display of affection often expressed including but not limited to through a cute/baby voice, facial expressions, and gestures.

**An expression that basically means it’s impossible.

Papa? Did calling him "Papa" work?

I blinked in wonder.

He didn’t respond further, only silently trudged on. Every time he took a step, the snow that covered the field gently melted away.

Of course, it wasn't just the snow that melted. The luxuriant trees in the forest also burned up in seconds.

My eyes widened as I watched them turn into ash.

If this continues, all the trees will burn and this place will become like Mingdun mountain!

(T/N: Mingdun mountain is a mountain in South Korea where there are no trees, and so bare soil is exposed.)

Even so, he didn’t seem to care at all.

Seeing how indifferent he was to the environment around him, I began to wonder if the brightly burning trees in front of me were simply illusions.

But it seemed like it wasn’t just me hallucinating. The people behind him were shuffling their feet nervously, with eyes as wide as mine.

“M-Master!”

A few panicked and called out to him, but he paid no attention and continued to make his way across the field.

All the while, the trees that stood tall in the forest flickered with flames.

I began to think that at this rate, all nature here would be destroyed, so I grabbed onto his coat and tugged. He paused, quietly lowering his gaze to look at me.

His calm, steady eyes stared at me in silence, seeming to ask what the issue was.

I stretched my arms, pointing at the trees.

“Papapa!”

“Papa?”

“Papapa!”

It hurts! The trees are hurting!

But his expression held no signs of understanding. Seeing that, I started to feel dejected.

Why can't I call my papa, ‘papa’?

I thrashed and struggled in frustration. He turned to face the trees, still not understanding why I was acting like this. He lifted his chin, gazing at the distant horizon, before nodding his head, as if he had come to a conclusion.

“Are you saying your dad went over there?”

“Pa?”

“If not, are you a tree spirit?”

“Pa?”

What is this person saying?

I tilted my head in confusion, not understanding the words coming from his lips.

Right after he asked that question, he hung his head, thinking about something with furrowed brows. Then with a firm grip, he pulled me into his embrace.

“But right now, aren’t you all alone? You’ll need protection.”

Suddenly, he began to make long strides across the field. It wasn’t running or jumping, just a repetition of his body rising and landing. The wind whipped past me, the scenery beginning to blur.

The speed he was going at could be considered scary, but his upper body was steady and had no signs of shaking.

He seemed like someone who never held a child before. That’s most likely because the master of the Ardellos family was always preoccupied with increasing his abilities in training and subjugation. Of course, the reason for that was all because of the Delde family. Thus, my biological dad’s immense strength was largely to blame.

My dad made relentless attempts to open the doors to hell, causing endless waves of lower demons to escape. The demons that crawled out onto the continent preyed on humans as nourishment. Even worse, since they were lower ranked, they didn’t have the consciousness of fear. With these demons running amok, the continent fell into a chaos of confusion and despair.

Of course, with Devarus, the guardian warrior, the fate of the continent began to change.

I began to tremble as I recalled the contents of the novel.

I definitely must escape when I become an adult.

There’s no doubt that they’d point their blades at me if they found out I was born in the Delde family. It was certain. After all, his family and friends lost their lives during the rampage caused by the Delde family.

To make things worse, I was a direct descendent of the main branch of the family. It was in my blood. It would be a relief if I was killed in one blow if this was found out by anyone.

I would be lucky if I didn’t get publicly executed in the square.

“Uhh…”

I was flailing my body imagining these horrible things. Yet, his firm hands supported my body without shaking.

His aura enveloped my surroundings, and suddenly, my body was no longer cold or trembling. Maybe it was because of this that all the horrible thoughts I had a moment ago disappeared.

I yawned automatically.

Anyways, where are we going?

I had spaced out, and a random thought popped into my head. I could see the shape of a white castle appear on the horizon.

The castle resembled an elegant swan with fine curves. It had a feeling of flexibility that didn’t really suit the Ardellos family.

It seemed like something built by artists and architects who worshipped the Ardellos family.

Thanks to them, the Ardellos Castle is widely rumored to be the most beautiful building in the continent.

It’s said that the grounds of the castle are so massively wide that it takes a horse an entire day to run around the perimeter.

However, it felt like the knights of Ardellos only needed an hour to run the perimeter.

I squinted up at the superhuman lord.

Who would consider this man a mortal?

No matter what, I must be thoroughly prepared before making my escape.

...***...

The magnificent visage of the Ardellos Castle slowly revealed itself as we got closer.

It was as if the castle was made of platinum, encircled by a halo casted by the sunlight. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the dazzling building.

Seated in each corner were spires under the pure white arch, which stretched across the sky.

Something interesting about the castle was that in its center, there was an open space with a lake. The reflection of the white castle on the lake’s surface aroused the feeling of watching a fairytale.

Still captivated by the sight, I was frozen with awe in his embrace as we landed lightly in front of the castle.

The rebound from the landing had no effect on him, other than a soft fluttering of the bottoms of his dark blue coat. It was as if jumping from such a height caused him no pain at all. He walked along the lakeside as if nothing had happened.

Needless to say, I too, wrapped in his embrace, was unaffected.

It was the definition of comfort. If my eyes had been closed, I wouldn’t have even realized that we arrived. It was as if we had flown all the way from the snowy fields.

Unfortunately, I had kept my eyes open, and was terrified the entire time. Perhaps it was because I had been thrown down a cliff once, that the fear had increased tenfold.

All the emotions I felt as I fell—the fear of being helpless, the inability to do anything. Remembering those, my body began to tremble and quiver, tears welling up in my eyes.

I burst into sobs.

“Waaaaahhhhh!”

“W-What?”

“Waah, waahh!”

Hic, it was scary! I’m scared!

The head of the Ardellos family stiffened as I thrashed about in his arms. After a bit of hesitance, he began attempting to calm me down, awkwardly patting me on the back. After some time however, due to his innate athleticism, his hands fell into a soothing rhythm.

“It’s alright.”

Those two words were nothing special, just a casual comment spoken passively from his lips, but somehow, those two words made me stop crying immediately.

As I continued to hiccup due to the aftermath of my outburst, he began to hum a lullaby. His touch, suddenly as soft as a mother’s touch, was delicate and calming.

As if this will make me fall asleep...

I yawned.

A wave of langour washed over me, and I realized I had become incredibly sleepy. This was largely due to the fact that I had been tense from struggling on the thin line between life and death, and could finally relax.

His behaviour up until now didn’t seem to imply that he would throw me away.

If so, why don’t I sleep for a bit?

Would he throw away a newborn baby? Yeah, no way.

Making this conclusion, I finally closed my eyes and entrusted my body to the heavy swamp of sleep.

...***...

The butler, who had recognized the lord from a distance, made his way towards him. In one of his hands he carried a towel, supposedly to wipe the leather shoes of his master, which were covered in snow.

Like countless times before, the lord landed near the lake shore.

The butler bowed deeply to greet the lord, who had come back without fail like always. No, he tried to bow deeply.

That was, until he saw the newborn baby in his master’s hands.

The child was hiccuping as if stricken with fear. Certainly, she was scared after seeing the lord. He, who was naturally born cold as stone, did not display a single ounce of talent for caring for a child.

Knowing this, the butler tried to hold the child instead. The lord stopped him, an unbelievably affectionate tone flowing from his lips. “It’s alright.”

The butler’s eyes grew wide when he noticed that the Lord was also gently rubbing the child’s back.

The snow, caught in the winter breeze, entered the butler’s gaping mouth. Yet he didn’t even flinch, as if he were frozen in shock.

“...My Lord?” the butler asked timidly, as if he saw something he shouldn’t have.

The lord, however, didn’t even bother to respond. He was too busy humming a lullaby to the child in his arms.

...***...

Ahh, I slept well.

I opened my eyes, awaking from my slumber. Looking around at my surroundings, I discerned that I was in a warm, beige colored room.

A blindingly colorful mobile hung above me, and the cloth wrapped around my body smelled just like the sun.

As I sucked mindlessly on the pacifier, enjoying the pleasant environment I was in, I noticed someone shaking the cradle,

A woman, who appeared to be a maid, was humming a calming tune. Her gaze switched from the window towards me.

She met my gaze, and I blinked. She gasped. “Oh my!” Her eyes grew wide as she looked down at me, filled with intrigue. “How in the world is this child so demure?”

Her expression showed that she was thrilled, but I trembled slightly in horror.

Uh oh, was I too well-behaved?

Right, it’s normal for a baby to cry. If I didn’t want to raise unnecessary suspicion, I would have to act like my age.

I had just made up my mind and was about to fake a cry when suddenly, the cry of another child burst out from somewhere in the room. The child cried as if their life depended on it.

“Waaah! Waaah!!”

The sound was so loud, it echoed across the entire room. I craned my neck, but was unable to catch a glimpse of the one who had caused it.

All the maids had rushed towards the child. The sounds of stroking, the hum of lullabies, and the ringing of toy bells all mixed together to give way to a cacophony of noise.

“Aigoo, Young Master! Look here!”

“Now look here! Here!”

The maids who were busy trying to calm the baby down showed visible signs of exhaustion. The one that had been rocking my cradle looked as if her soul had left her body.

‘Young Master’, huh. He’s the male protagonist then, right?

To meet the male protagonist, Devarus, as a baby, you would think one would be relieved. However, he was screaming so loudly, I felt like my eardrums were about to burst.

Male protagonist or whatever. He’s still so obnoxiously noisy, ugh!

I began to flail about.

Afterword