It's Troublesome That My Doting Dad Became A Villain

The knights holding me flinched.

That was because Meteor’s sharp, icy aura was directed at none other than them.
Not just the knights—everyone in the plaza had their eyes wide open in shock.
No one had ever imagined Meteor would treat fellow Holy Knights with such coldness.

Eventually, when the knights loosened their grip on me, Bishop Baldwin nearly leapt into the air as he shouted,
“What are you all doing! Drag that wench away, now!”
“Y-yes, Bishop…”

The knights clutched me tightly again.
I didn’t understand why these innocent knights had to be the ones suffering here.
Bishop Baldwin shifted his gaze from me to Meteor and began to speak.

“Yes, Meteor. Since it’s your house that was most betrayed by that girl, why don’t you be the one to carry out the execution? The descendant of the family that once slew the Demon King ended up protecting his daughter! Unless you kill her with your own hands, even your ancestors will strike you down with lightning.”
His voice dripped with mockery.
His tone was thick with the suggestion—"Are you seriously going to protect the Demon King’s daughter who deceived the humans?"

I stared at Meteor, feeling a little dazed.
“You dare touch Crescent? Remove every hand laid upon her.”
The words he had just spoken echoed in my head.

What had he meant by that?
Was it just that I was still a Saintess and therefore not to be touched? Or did it mean something more? I couldn’t help but wonder.
He wouldn’t actually be trying to protect me, right…?

At that moment, Lucas came bursting out from somewhere, his hair flying wildly.
“Meteor!”
For some reason, Lucas’s eyes were welling with tears. It seemed he had arrived at the temple just moments earlier with Meteor.
He cried out again.

“You don’t believe it either, right, Meteor? There’s no way Lady Crescent could be the Demon King’s daughter! It has to be false!”
As he finished speaking, Lucas looked at me.
It was hard to meet his eyes, but I didn’t look away.

“Right, Lady Crescent? That thing about being the Demon King’s daughter… It’s a lie, isn’t it?”
Even after saying that, you still can’t believe it?
You’re just making me feel even more guilty….

Just as I was struggling to figure out how to respond, another voice cut in.
It was Edgar.
“You’ve got some kind of situation going on, right? Is there a reason you have to be the Demon King’s daughter?”

“It’s not like that…”
“Then why the hell are you the Demon King’s daughter? Are we supposed to believe that now? Do you even think it suits you? People adore you… You really think that makes sense?”
Is that even something that can “suit” someone or not?

But honestly, it surprised me that even Edgar couldn’t believe my identity.
If it were Edgar, I would’ve expected something like, “Yeah, I always figured. You’re so evil all the time it makes sense you’d be the Demon King’s daughter.”
“Crescent! I believe in you!”

“?”
A loud, cheerful voice filled with trust suddenly rang out, and I turned in that direction.
There stood Adrian, looking surprisingly serious. He had apparently been in the plaza from the start.

And now he was saying… he believes in me?
“I don’t care whether you’re the Demon King’s daughter or not. I’ll still believe in you. Who else fought against the Magi as fiercely as you did? If you were the Demon King’s daughter and still did that, it just makes you even more incredible. All this time, you’ve been set on killing your own dad for the sake of others. What a wonderfully unfilial child you’ve been.”
Adrian smiled so widely it nearly split his face.

That smile left me a little stunned.
The area around us fell a little quieter.
This translation is the intellectual property of .

Even in a moment like this, Adrian found a way to knock me off guard. He really has a gift for being infuriating.
But then… why did I feel this strange lump rising in my throat?
That it didn’t matter whether I was the Demon King’s daughter or not—no one had ever reacted like that.

I’d fully expected everyone to condemn me.
The knights nearby seemed to grow thoughtful at Adrian’s words.
It looked like they were finally remembering how I’d constantly gone on about slaying the Demon King.

Not that it was all talk, either.
“So Sir Adrian believes in Lady Crescent too! I knew it! Sir Meteor, you must feel the same, right? We can’t let Lady Crescent die!”
Lucas shouted again.

I’m sorry, guys.
Thank you for believing in me… but I really am the Demon King’s daughter….
I never realized how guilty it would feel to be trusted by someone. The more grateful I felt, the more ashamed I became.

“Have you all gone mad? What are you even saying?”
“We need to kill Crescent! That’s the only way to get rid of this cursed Magi! Didn’t that demon say it just now? She’s the Demon King’s daughter—what’s there to hesitate about?”
The knights once again showed their bloodlust as they turned to me.

Baldwin and his lot had that look in their eyes like they’d been expecting this all along. They looked ready to drag me off at any moment.
I was overwhelmed by the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ sense that I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Is killing me really more important than saving people? Even now, that seething sky is oozing with Magi. We should be doing something about it! That demon’s power has already blanketed the entire empire!”

Baldwin couldn’t say anything, his face flushing red with frustration.
Eventually, he opened his mouth.
“How dare the Demon King’s daughter give orders to anyone? You must die. That is certain.”

He hadn’t even finished speaking when it happened.
A long shadow stretched out before me.
It was Meteor.

“Crescent must not be killed. Not that any of you could, anyway. But regardless, do not lay a hand on her.”
He looked more ruthless than ever before.
***

The tower had no windows and was built of solid stone, but it was terribly cold.
I sat in the center of it, one knee raised, resting my chin on my hand.
Being imprisoned in the tower didn’t really bother me.

But with the whole country overrun by Magi, it felt ridiculous to just sit here doing nothing.
‘Ugh, I really want to punch someone.’
I imagined flicking Baldwin and his crew on the forehead, one by one.

Had they been dying to kill me this whole time?
They’d seen me as a thorn in their side from the start. I knew they’d only grown more wary of me ever since I became a Saintess.
Because everyone’s attention and affection was directed at me.

It really felt like they were just waiting for the chance to get rid of me.
‘Anyway, are they doing okay out there with the Magi? Even if they clear them, it’ll just keep coming back.’
Unless Bonnie Antalia was killed, it was like pouring water into a bottomless jar.

I had no choice but to compromise—if they didn’t lock me up, I probably wouldn’t help get rid of the Magi. Still, I couldn’t help but worry about whether the knights were managing okay.
Fortunately, they were probably doing everything they could—for now, at least, it shouldn’t be something I need to worry about.
The problem was that the Magi had no end.

I had no idea how much time had passed.
Eventually, I just lay down on the floor.
Might as well get some rest while I could.

I closed my eyes for a bit.
But before I could even drift off, I heard someone coming up the stairs.
Step by step—precise, measured, quiet. I knew exactly whose footsteps they were.

And sure enough, as I got up, that figure appeared, silver hair catching the light.
“Meteor?”
I stood up from the floor completely.

I had so many questions. What was happening outside?
Meteor stared at me quietly, his eyes dark and brooding. I could feel his gaze slowly travel up from my feet.