There’s No Way I Can Raise a Dragon Daughter

“Mom. Mommy.”

An emergency has arisen.

Someone who knows my identity has finally appeared.

The hero, Leopard.

I don’t know the surname.

It might not have ever existed.

He is the Hero of Reversal who defeated the Demon King 50 years ago, and surprisingly, he still looks young.

However, it seems that the name Leopard is quite a rustic name, akin to Kim Deok-chun or Jang Deok-sam in Korea, as he keeps begging to be called Leo.

Of course, that’s utterly ridiculous, Deok-sam.

“Mom. Huh? Huh-huh-huh?”

Anyway, he clearly knows me.

It was not a bluff.

He saw through my being the Holy Maiden and Tia’s identity in an instant.

Moreover, he says I was his girlfriend…

Honestly, I can’t tell if that’s a lie or not, but I’ve concluded that there’s a high likelihood it’s a twisted scheme aimed at breaking my mental state.

That seems to be the only way to give me peace of mind.

“Mommy! Can’t you hear me? Mmooouuuu!”

But the problem is, I still don’t know his purpose.

For now, it seems he wants to seduce me since he hasn’t handed me over to the church, but whether that’s his real objective is doubtful.

In any case, the church is looking for me, and in this situation where getting discovered would be catastrophic, it’s true that he holds my weakness.

He could hand me over to the church anytime.

I can’t tell if he’s simply toying with me, but one thing is for sure, he isn’t particularly loyal to the church.

‘What on earth is the church looking for me for…?’

Leopard said.

If I had been caught by the church, I would never have come out alive.

Not “die,” but “never come out alive.”

He knows that my regenerative ability is a curse that prevents me from dying.

Then why is the church so intent on imprisoning me forever?

I’m not going to destroy the world in the future.

‘Should I try asking next time I meet him?’

The only one I could ask was Leopard.

Anyway, since he seemed inclined to come bother me again, I thought I could slowly probe him when he comes next time.

That guy’s personality makes me think he would demand something in return for any question I might ask, and what should I do then?

This is driving me insane.

I’m not a prostitute, nor am I a woman, and definitely not a gay person.

“Mom!”

“Eh.”

At that moment, something obscured my field of vision, bringing me to my senses.

Something grabbed my head, making me feel like my neck would break.

The soft belly fat touching my face was definitely Tia’s.

I immediately hugged her tightly and started patting her back.

“Muhuhuhuhu!”

Only then did Tia burst out laughing and flop down, resting her head on me.

Her face was already covered in sweat.

I almost suffocated there.

“What are you doing?”

“You weren’t answering, so…!”

“Me?”

“Yeah! You keep ignoring me!”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”

I hugged Tia, who looked sulky, puffing her cheeks.

Then I suddenly felt a jolt in my shoulders, making me flinch.

Was she always this heavy…?

It felt like it was getting increasingly difficult to hold her.

In the past, I could easily hug her with one hand, but now even holding her with both hands feels like she’ll burst out of my grasp.

What a piglet.

“Mom, are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“That man didn’t do anything bad to you, did he?”

“……”

I found it hard to speak as if my throat was choked.

Now that I think about it, I ended up showing Tia how I went upstairs with that guy.

That was the worst.

“No, no. Nothing happened.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Even I was shocked at how unconvincing I sounded.

A man and a woman went upstairs and came back down a little while later, and nothing happened? That was an excuse only a child would believe.

“Muuh. Thank goodness…”

And Tia is just a one-month-old baby.

I smiled with relief and hugged Tia tightly.

What a cute kid.

It would be great if she stayed like this for life.

“Julia, we’ll clean the room. Don’t worry; we’ll take you off the list, so just rest well today.”

“I’m fine. We still have plenty of time until closing.”

“Oh, no. Rest well. You must have been shocked.”

“What shock? Nothing happened on the second floor.”

“Right. That makes sense. Anyway, rest up. If there’s anything you want to talk about, come to me…”

“……”

Of course, only Tia is pure.

No matter how much I tried to explain to Irina, the sympathetic look in her eyes wouldn’t change.

Why does she keep treating me like a brutally victimized person?

I said nothing happened!

It seems persuading her is impossible, so I was about to give up when Sasha’s long horn appeared from under the table and slowly emerged, revealing her face.

“Um, Julia.”

“Huh?”

“What’s it like to be with a man? I’m curious; could you explain it to me…?”

“Sasha, come here.”

“Ah! Why? It hurts, Big Sister!”

Sasha was instantaneously pulled out by her hair by Irina.

Well, thanks to being forced on a break during the day, I now had quite a bit of free time.

What should I do?

“Muhuhuh.”

“Even if you plead, I won’t give you milk.”

“Phew.”

I glanced down at Tia, who was playing with my chest like always.

She looked like she had been running around all day, as her hair was wildly unkempt.

With so much hair, it was hard to grasp it with just one hand.

It was slightly curly.

My hair is straight.

It seemed to be the legacy of that lizard kid.

But I don’t get why dragons have curly hair traits when they don’t even have hair.

Looking at my long hair in comparison, it really didn’t feel like she was even my daughter.

A silvery straight hair with a blue tint and black curly hair?

“Ugh?!”

I held Tia’s cheeks and lifted her face to bump our foreheads together.

Beautiful eyes peering through her frowning face.

This was definitely mine.

It felt like I had just replicated and implanted them into her.

In other words,

‘If I were to pluck out an eye…’

If one of us lost our eyes, it would mean we are completely unrelated.

Then, there would be no way to prove our blood relation without a genetic test in this world.

“Muhihi. Mommy, I’ll pluck it out.”

“……”

Of course, that just means there is a way.

I’m still not thinking of severing ties with Tia and going into hiding.

But in case an unavoidable situation arises, I need to think of methods ahead of time.

It’s just a hypothetical scenario.

There’s no guarantee such a situation will arise.

Thinking seriously about this made me feel like a psychopath, leading to self-loathing.

“You do it for mom.”

The moment I said that, Tia rushed over and pressed her lips against mine.

My front teeth were already numbing.

Just a bit more gently…

I set Tia down from the table and got up.

I should prepare to go out now.

Since Tia’s hair has grown long, I figured I might need to find a hair tie or a pin to secure it.

“Mom. Are you going out?”

“I’m going to buy you a hair tie. We need to hurry before the market closes. Get ready.”

“……”

Tia gathered her legs and stood upright, stretching her arms up.

It meant she wanted me to change her clothes.

She meant she couldn’t change by herself.

She looks about three years old but is surely old enough to undress and dress herself at this age.

“Change by yourself.”

“Muh……?!”

Tia’s arms drooped down.

With an expression as if the world had collapsed, she looked up at me, tears welling in her eyes.

Startled, I almost rushed over to hug her, but I managed to hold back.

It’s either can’t or can’t.

At two months old, she should already be able to change her clothes by herself.

“Muh! Ugh?! Ugh!”

Throughout the clothing change, strange, grotesque sounds like screams echoed from behind.

Sneaking glimpses back, I saw her burying her face in the clothing, unable to find the hole, and it was a pitiful sight.

After struggling with the clothes for a while, falling over a few times and knocking her head against the wall, Tia finally managed to pull her head out through the hole.

“Big win!”

“Ugh.”

The problem was that it was supposed to be the hole for her arms.

Sighing, I approached her and helped her dress properly.

It seems like it was still too early.

Finally, tidying up Tia’s hair and putting cute little shoes on her completed our preparations to go out.

“Don’t forget to wear your hat.”

“Muh.”

There was still one thing left.

I was about to remind her, and Tia quickly threw on her hood.

With the hood sticking up like animal ears, it perfectly covered her little horns.

She looked so cute no matter how many times I saw her.

I couldn’t thank Irina enough for recommending the half-human hat.

“Let’s go now. Hold my hand tightly.”

“Muhuhuh…”

Tia seemed excited as she already started jumping her feet up and down.

If I take my eyes off her for a second, she would distance herself in no time.

I held her hand tightly so she wouldn’t let go.

Then we quietly slipped out of the shop through the back door.

Our steps, which had been heading naturally towards the market, halted.

After a brief moment of concern, I turned my steps toward the bustling district.

After all, it was just a hairpin, and wouldn’t it make more sense to buy a nice one from the department store that lasts longer?

Of course, more than that, I wanted Tia to see the vibrant city.

Life is made through experiences.

I didn’t want to raise her to only know the stinking back alleys.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Choo-choo?”

“I’m asking if you’re hungry.”

“My belly’s hungry!”

“Then let’s eat something. Do you want anything?”

“I want ice cream!”

Ice cream…

I hadn’t eaten it since I came to this world.

I tried looking for some to buy once, but the prices were outrageous, and I couldn’t afford it.

Apparently, they must be using magic for freezing, and everything involving magic tends to get very expensive.

But still, life needs experiences.

I thought it wouldn’t be bad to have it at least once.

“No way. Let’s have something else.”

“Muh!”

Of course, I was only thinking about it.

You can earn money later and eat as much as you want.

I already know what ice cream tastes like.

“There’s a place near the department store that sells cheap and delicious pies. Let’s go there.”

“……”

Tia pouted her cheeks and deliberately stomped her feet loudly as she walked.

I quickly figured out that she was pretending to be sulky.

If she were truly sulky, she would have already been on the verge of tears by now.

As expected, as we entered areas with more people, the roads filled with carriages, her puffed cheeks quickly deflated as she exclaimed in excitement.

“There are so many people…”

“Be careful to not let go of my hand. The moment you let your guard down, you might get kidnapped by bad people.”

“Eek…!”

The strength of her grip on my hand tightened.

How adorable.

“I’ll protect Mommy!”

“You?”

“Muh!”

The day will come when Tia protects me.

In fact, she may possess incredible strength inherited from the dragon.

There could be an astronomical amount of mana or divine power inside her.

“Puhuh.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Nothing. Just make sure to protect me. When Tia grows up…”

It was a happy delusion.

It was probably nonsense.

This world never goes the way I expect it to.

Tia was striding forward, looking proud as if she had already become my guardian knight.

I felt a sudden sense of reliance, and a smile involuntarily crept across my lips.

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