Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“…There’s a lot of forms.”

“Well, I mean. The mother that I know and the mother that the young master knows may be different.”

Liliana recalled the Baron Londini couple. Their daughters were hugged and raised like a treasure pot, but they always stared at Liliana with cold gazes.

“Just… I wanted to tell you that she is that kind of person.”

Elliot looked at Liliana’s smile and thought over how Anriche had been recently. To be honest, his mother’s recent attitude toward him has changed a lot. She kept trying to talk gently to him, and she even brought him cocoa…

‘But can a person change like flipping a palm, just like that?’

Elliot was in trouble.

‘…Uh?’

He noticed that Liliana looked at her. She was peering at Elliot’s face. It was as though she was afraid that her words might make Elliot feel bad. She naturally felt uncomfortable and worried about other people’s feelings.

Elliot, who swallowed a sigh, suddenly threw a question.

“Aren’t you bored?”

“What?”

In response to that sudden question, she forgot to even look at Elliot’s eyes and opened her eyes wide.

“Are you bored?” He repeated the question again.

“Uh, um…”

“You’re bored, right?”

Elliot asked Liliana several times. It’s like the answer was already fixed, and he was just waiting for her to agree with him.

Liliana nodded her head with a confused face.

“Uh, that, that… it seems boring…?”

“Okay, then, I’ll play with you today.”

“Yes?”

“Because you ate with me, as a thanks, I’ll play with you.” As his chest swelled greatly, Elliot asked a question again.

“So, what do you want to play?”

“Well… well, playing with dolls…?”

“…Are you tired of dolls? You even brought them to the kitchen.”

He was disgusted by the doll and gave a side glance at the doll in Liliana’s arms.

She shook her head firmly.

“I’m not bored.”

“Why?”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever received a gift, and it’s the first time I’ve ever had a doll.”

Liliana replied with a shy expression. He lost the words to answer as he heard her reply. At best, it’s just one doll, though she’s so happy that she got that gift. What kind of life has Liliana lived so far?

Just when he was feeling sad, she continued her words as she dyed her cheeks red.

“And importantly, mother chose for me, right?”

“…Oh yeah.”

Elliot stopped looking at Liliana with sad eyes. It seemed like It will take a very long time before he could cross the mountain called ‘mother’ and win Liliana’s favour.

After sighing, Elliot reached his hands out to Liliana.

“Come on, let’s go.”

“…”

However, Liliana only glanced down at the hand reaching out towards her as she couldn’t easily hold his hand, with the thought of ‘how could a child like her dare to hold the young master’s hand’ in mind.

But just then.

“Oh, why not hold it?” Elliot grabbed her hand.

Embarrassed, Liliana reflexively tried to stop Elliot.

“You-you-young master?”

“Why do you call me Young Master, it’s Elliot.”

At that bleak reply, Liliana’s face turned a new red color. ‘Is he allowing me to call him that?’ However, Elliott carried on with his words.

“And why do you keep talking so politely? We are the same age.”

“Yes? Bu, but…”

“Stop that.”

“But how dare I speak to the young master…”

She hastily swallowed her words. All of a sudden, with his eyes narrowly open, he was staring at her.

“Seriously, you aren’t going to stop that?”

“Uh, that-that’s…”

“Really, really?”

“…Well, uh, I’ll stop.”

Unable to overcome Elliot’s tenacious gaze, Liliana eventually spoke naturally with a stiff voice.

Only then, Elliot smiled softly, satisfied.

“Then, shall we eat cookies and play dolls?”

***

After a while.

Anriche found two children playing doll play in the living room together. At the cute scene, she closed her mouth with her hand.

‘Cute! It’s so cute when the two little kids play.’

Anriche quickly entered the living room.

As soon as Elliot saw her, he looked at her and stiffened his shoulders, but he didn’t run away like before. ‘Wow, this. Is it great progress?’ Anriche stopped, and her nose tingled. Meanwhile, as soon as Anriche and Liliana’s eyes met, she smiled brightly.

“Ah, mother’s here?”

“Yes. Liliana and Elliot, are you playing dolls?”

“Yes, mother!”

Anriche, who smiled at Liliana, looked at the children playing. The children were sitting on the carpeted floor. It was quite a full-fledged play to see how they even lined up the housekeepers.

“It must be fun. Can I join?”

“Of course!”

Liliana enthusiastically nodded her head. On the other hand, Elliot suddenly became a little sulky.

“I was having fun with Liliana…”

He grunted a little from his mouth.

Liliana and him were playing together, so he didn’t like the situation where Anriche intervened between them.

Seeing so, Anriche spoke to him in a mischievous voice.

“Ah, my son. Did you want to play with your pretty fiancée alone?”

“It-it’s nothing like that!”

Maybe he was stabbed in the heart, Elliot was furious. Anriche held back her laughter that was about to burst out.

“Yes, yes. I’ll believe you aren’t.”

“I, I said it’s not that!”

“You know, Elliot? Too much denial could mean affirmation sometimes.”

“Eek!”

In response to the smirk from Anriche, he was trying to stop her with his blushed face.

She settled next to Liliana, and she handed Anriche the doll.

“Mother is the princess!”

It was the same doll that Anriche bought at the clothing store. It was also the doll that was attached to Liliana arms every time. She shook her head lightly and lifted up a doll in a lady’s outfit.

“No, princess is Liliana.”

“But…”

“Because Liliana is my princess.”

When she replied so and looked into her eyes, Liliana became ecstatic. Elliot widened his axe eyes and stared at his mother, who skillfully seduced his fiancée.

That’s how the doll play began.

***

“Hoo…”

Alexei, who was busy checking the papers, dropped his pen and sighed. The fact that he didn’t say thank you to Anriche stayed in his mind until now.

‘I had to say thank you, too.’

It felt as if he had a thorn in his throat. He couldn’t concentrate on his work. Alexei eventually got up and walked towards Anriche’s room.

However, she was not in her room.

‘…What?’

When Alexei was puzzled, in the distance, he heard a faint sound of laughter. ‘Is it from the living room?’ Consequently, Alexei headed in that direction. Through the half-open door of the living room, he saw Anriche and the two children. At that moment, his eyes were full of suspicion.

‘Not someone else, but my wife… She is playing dolls with the children?’

In addition, sitting on the floor, not on the sofa? Anriche used to say it wasn’t classy to sit on the floor.

‘…Maybe she’s not bullying the kids, right?’

Alexei’s eyes narrowed.

But unexpectedly, Anriche was playing well with the children. She even played the role of a maid skillfully.

Until now, she despite humans below her, but now she’s playing the maid role?

Alexei was extremely surprised.

Suddenly.

Anriche, who was looking around, looked straight at him.

The two eyes met.

“…”

“…”

There was silence.

It wasn’t intentional, but it seemed as though he was spying on Anriche and the two children playing.

Eventually, Alexei, who could not overcome the embarrassment, turned his head and coughed. The back of his neck was suddenly stained red.

‘No. Why is that human staring in this direction with such bloody eyes?’

Anriche narrowed her eyes.

‘No way, are you doing this because you think I’m going to eat the kids?’

Just when she was complaining inside, Alexei stepped into the living room. With a somewhat awkward face, he asks her a question.

“Well, are you playing with dolls?”

“Oh, yes, duke. You’re here?”

Anriche smiled on the outside while shedding bloody tears inside.

He was making her feel awkward. Though even in uncomfortable situations, she has to smile steadily!

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I didn’t think I even got to say thank you properly.”

“…Thank you?”

“Yes. Didn’t you bring cookies earlier?”

In response, Anriche opened her eyes wide. ‘Really? You came all the way here to say thank you to me for bringing you cookies?’

Alexei, who hesitated for a moment, gestured at her slightly.