187 2.2.12: Motherly Kindness

When she and Ingrid finished talking, she was finally alone and she could lie down on her bed. It was very late and the sky was dark. She didn't know the time, but she knew that it was long after midnight. Her mind filtered through the entire day and she felt exhausted. She had woken up very early to be dressed and styled like a doll, then proceeded to be taken to meet someone she had never met before, who thought that she was infatuated with him. Worse, he thought that she had picked him to be her escort. His egotistical behavior wasn't his fault though, the Duchess had thrown her in the fire by doing everything under her name.

Then, she figured that he was the crown prince who was her target simultaneously. The man that the Duchess was trying to set her up with was her target all along. Either the system was manipulating everything, or it just so happened that the Duchess' plan included him particularly.

Then, she ended up thinking of something ridiculous and doing it on the spot. Everything she had, she had spurred out on the moment. She didn't think he would take her seriously, but he ended up believing her. She couldn't decide if he was a lunatic like her or she was just too persuasive.

Everything was too much for her to rap her mind around. She sighed and stared at the ceiling of her room. She had spent so many years in this room, yet why she did feel more and more claustrophobic as the years went by? It wasn't anything like the room was too small—far from it since it was one of the biggest rooms in the mansion—she just couldn't endure being in the room anymore. She had been isolated here, trained here, almost murdered here...the memories that this room brought were not pleasant.

She wondered if maybe this room would be a lot more pleasant now that she had a golden thigh to attach to. The Duchess obviously couldn't abuse her as much as she usually does, purely for the sake that many eyes would be on the fiancée of the crown prince starting tomorrow. With that limitation gone, all she could was relief. Whether or not Adriel had decided to believe her from her powers of persuasion or just something else, she was grateful. His simple, verbal agreement had possibly ended her misery. Not completely since the cold woman could always pull more stunts, but enough to rest her mind.

And that was the last thing she thought before the fatigue kicked in and she fell asleep.

By the next morning, when she woke up, she realized that she had actually overslept. Usually, there would be a few servants waking her up early, but there were no signs of the servants anywhere. She stretched her arms and yawned, rubbing her eyes and feeling energized. She hadn't gotten a decent amount of sleep for a long time. Planning for the debutant party had been hectic and chaotic, so the entire mansion was left in a frenzy. Luckily, the morning after was calm so far and she felt invigorated.

At the remembrance of the day, she suddenly realized that the crown prince said that the castle would send a letter of invitation for today! She quickly ordered a servant to call for the Duchess immediately. Even though the Warrington mansion was big, the Duchess happened to be in the area so she arrived quickly.

"Violet darling," her nickname was said so smoothly that it gave Xiao Yunhua shudders. Usually, she never acted familiar in front of the servants, so why was she behaving like this today? "Did you need anything?" The gentle tone coming from the Duchess' poisonous mouth was terrifying.

"Your Grace—"

"Call me Mother." Was this really the same woman who had told her to never call her 'mother' unless in front of the public? Was it scientifically possible for someone to alter their personality this much overnight?

"M-Mother," no matter how many times she called the Duchess the word, she could never familiarize herself with it. It just felt so odd to call such a woman as a parent. Maybe Murderer would've been a better term. At least then, Xiao Yunhua could use it with ease. As much as she wanted to use that term, she couldn't because the Duchess still scared her. "Did the crown prince or the castle send any invitations?"

The Duchess' smile widened and she nodded. "Early morning, actually. They invited us to the castle for tomorrow night. We'll have to make sure you're the prettiest girl for the official authorization of your engagement. Once the private invitation is settled, then you'll formally be the crown princess." Xiao Yunhua was amazed. She had forgotten that as the fiancé, she got her own title too.

Crown princess?

It made her sound powerful, but she knew the truth. She had no political authority nor any actually power except the status of a future queen. Maybe if she ever did become the queen, then she could actually have the opportunity to have some power of her own. But that was impossible because it went against their contract and their deal. The moment that he would be crowned king, their deal would officially be over. She didn't want to be so pessimistic, but that was the inevitable future. So there was no point in pretending that there wasn't anything happening, it was best to think realistically beforehand.

"I'm so proud of you." The Duchess said, her smile still on her face. Just hearing those words from her mouth was unbelievable. Even the servants that were working froze for a few seconds and then resumed working. If they didn't believe it, did the Duchess believe that the recipient of her words believed it?

Seeing Violetta silent, the Duchess narrowed her eyes and forced her to express her gratitude. "Thank you." Those two words were forced out of her and insincere, but the Duchess didn't care. Instead, she instructed the servants to work diligently and help her finish quickly. When it came to her blonde hair, the servant had already grabbed the comb to use to brush the hair with, but the comb was suddenly snatched out of her hand by the Duchess. Xiao Yunhua and the servants looked at her in astonishment as she began to comb the blonde hair.

Xiao Yunhua closed her eyes as she felt the smooth hands brushing her hair. Unlike the servants who had calloused hands from the years of working, the Duchess had hands as smooth as butter. They hadn't worked a single day, so they didn't represent her actual age. She felt uncomfortable that these hands were the ones brushing her hair, but couldn't refuse in front of so many people. She found it ironic that the Duchess was acting like a mother now out of all times. She wasn't just late, she was late by eight years. If the Duchess believed that a single morning of kindness could replace the years of torture, then she was completely wrong.

The Duchess noticed her unamused expression and whispered, "Loosen up." Her words weren't a suggestion, but a command. Subconsciously, she felt her expression soften and the Duchess smiled at the effect that she had on her. Years of forcing her to do what she wanted had its effect. She had the ability to decide how and what the girl should do. Even if she wasn't willing to do it, the years of enforcing a fear in her heart and mind did it anyways.

"Why are you doing this?" Xiao Yunhua whispered after a few minutes, making sure that only the Duchess—who was still brushing her hair—could hear her.

The Duchess smiled cynically. "Motherly kindness, don't you like it, my darling?"

She didn't. She didn't like it at all. If she could do anything to give back this hypocritical kindness, she would.

"No." Hearing her honest response, the Duchess' expression darkened and Xiao Yunhua felt a sudden tug in her hair. She flinched from the pain and tried to release her hair from the hands of the woman, but the Duchess refused and continued to comb it for her. "Please stop." In the end, she resorted to this. She hated having that woman's hands on her. It made her sick knowing what those smooth hands had done to people. What those smooth hands had tried to do to her when she tried to choke her.

"Stop what?" The Duchess stopped combing her hair momentarily. "Do you not like my exhibition of kindness?"

"I only think I'm unworthy of your exhibition of kindness." Xiao Yunhua replies sarcastically. The sarcasm didn't escape the Duchess' ears, but she chose to ignore it and continue brushing her hair.

When she finished combing her hair, the Duchess placed down the comb and murmured, "You'll be experiencing this kindness a lot from now on, better get used to it darling." She turned around to leave but was stopped by the words that left Violetta's mouth.

"I'd rather not experience this hypocritical kindness. Your Grace, please refrain from doing such things that could harm your reputation." Meaning: stop doing things that you normally wouldn't do.

The Duchess stared at her and burst out laughing. "I raised you well." A poisonous tongue just like her, it was like the illegitimate bastard was actually her own daughter. As much as she wanted for that to be a reality, it wasn't. And all this effort to raise this daughter was for her real one. Her beloved Vivienne, she would be getting her revenge soon. Years and years of tolerance had been building up for this moment. She was tingling with excitement at the idea of killing them...and killing the girl in front of her.

The Duchess wasn't a saint.

She had wanted to kill this girl from the first moment she found out about her. That's why she had hired bandits to kill her, but she had managed to escape their knife. Then, when she saw her for the first time, she had wanted to kill the bastard herself. But she couldn't find it in herself to kill the child because the wheels in her head and begun to turn. And she realized that she didn't have to kill her yet, she could always kill her later. Once the little girl because the queen of the nation; then she could use that power to mobilize the nation against her daughter's killers and avenge her.

Then, she would finally be able to do the thing she couldn't do all those years ago: kill the little bastard born out of her husband's infidelity.

Just the idea brought her joy, nonetheless the reality of doing it. The child had the blood of a peasant, this she could never accept.

"I was afraid that if Your Grace didn't raise me well, then Your Grace would start to blame yourself." The more that the little girl responded, the more that she was tempted to kill her. But as she was so close to her goal, she couldn't do it now. She had to endure and wait for the perfect moment. Once she had gotten her perfect moment, then she would show the girl that her poisonous tongue wasn't just cute, it was her demise.

"Hmm, make sure to come down for breakfast." Xiao Yunhua was the hidden darkness that flashed across the Duchess' eyes and she was perplexed on what the woman was thinking. She didn't have a chance to observe more because the Duchess left immediately.