🔊 TTS Settings
chapter 83
“Hello, Daniel?”
It was a gentle greeting. But Daniel, looking frightened, slightly hid behind me.
“Oh, really! No matter how cute our Daniel is, you can’t just stare at him like that! It scares him, you know.”
That was true. Even if the gaze was kind and full of goodwill, having nine pairs of eyes staring at him was a little intimidating. Moreover, Daniel was a young child, not yet accustomed to so much attention.
“It’s okay, Daniel. These people are your mother’s family.”
“Mother’s family? Isn’t that Daddy and me?”
Clinging tightly to my skirt, Daniel looked up at me and asked.
“Of course!”
Seeing the child unable to hide his anxious expression, I quickly reassured him. He seemed genuinely worried that his mother wasn’t really his family yet.
“These are the people who were family to your mother before she became your mother. This is her father, and this is her mother. You met them last time, remember?”
“Hello, Daniel?”
“Nice to see you again.”
“Hello.”
Though still a little confused, Daniel hesitantly greeted his grandparents—my parents. Because he had seen them before, a shy smile appeared on his face.
“And this is your mother’s brother, James, and here is his lovely wife, Sierra! And this cute young lady is Aisha, daughter of your mother’s brother and his wife. She’s five, one year younger than you. So Daniel, you’re her older sister!”
“I-I’m… a sister?”
At the sudden title, Daniel looked confused, but he didn’t seem displeased as he stared at Aisha.
“This is your mother’s older sister, Sophia, and beside her, Mr. Leslie Gofort, Sophia’s husband. And the adorable little gentleman in the Baron’s arms is Thomas.”
“Uh…”
By the time I had finished introductions, Daniel’s eyes were spinning. He surely couldn’t remember everyone. I remembered feeling the same way the first time I got possessed.
But I couldn’t stop there.
“And finally! The youngest cutie of our house!”
“Don’t call me a cutie!”
I couldn’t leave out the youngest, Freddy, or he’d get sulky.
“Hello, Daniel! I’m Uncle Freddy.”
Freddy, who seemed uneasy leaving the introductions to me, stepped forward and extended his hand to Daniel.
“Ah, hello.”
Daniel, caught off guard, held Freddy’s hand and greeted him.
“Now! Now that the introductions are done, let’s eat. Since Daniel is here, we made lots of delicious food. Of course, you can eat plenty at the Winchester estate too, but it’s different eating at Grandma’s house.”
“Oh! Does this mean Mom’s special meat pie?”
Sierra eagerly raised her hand, and I swallowed hard at her words.
The Pomotz Barons’ house, being an aristocratic family, rarely had my mother cook. But occasionally, she would prepare her special dishes.
On special occasions, there would be a large meat pie at the center of the table, a soft cream stew if someone was sick, or gingerbread cookies made just like the ones she made for the four of us.
And we loved those dishes.
“Of course!”
“Wow! I’m excited!”
Sierra led the way inside, and everyone followed, thrilled to finally enjoy my mother’s meat pie again thanks to Daniel.
I also wanted to go inside quickly to taste the meat pie—if only Daniel hadn’t still been clutching my skirt tightly.
“What’s wrong, Daniel? Don’t want to go in?”
Shaking his head vigorously, Daniel clearly said it wasn’t that.
“It’s just… Mom’s family.”
I felt a twinge of nervousness at his words.
What if he didn’t like my family? What if he found them scary? What if he wanted to go home immediately—would we have to leave just like that?
“You look like Mom.”
As I looked at his anxious, cute lips, the words slipped out.
“Really? We’re not that much alike, are we?”
James resembled my father and was more rounded in appearance, while Sophia was much taller than me. Freddy and I could be said to resemble Mom to some extent, but not enough to call it a perfect match.
“You do! You really do!”
Daniel repeated firmly, as if to insist he was right.
“Really? Maybe it’s because we’re family.”
It was a bit bold for me to say, but I smiled and said it to Daniel.
“……”
Daniel blinked, seemed to ponder something, then looked up at me slightly. It looked like he wanted to say something.
I smiled and waited for him. Even though the Pomotz family loved Mom’s meat pie, they weren’t the type to eat it all, leaving none for me and Daniel.
“Then… if I live with you, can I become like Mom too?”
“Huh?”
“Even though we don’t share any blood, if we live together for a long time, will I become like Mom? Really like a mother and daughter?”
It wasn’t a question. It was a very earnest wish from Daniel.
“Yes. When family lives together for a long time, they gradually become like each other.”
And it was my wish too.
“Children are really cute, aren’t they?”
My new sister-in-law said, watching the children play outside. The children meant not just adorable Daniel, but also sweet Aisha, Thomas, and the little cutie Freddy.
Although Freddy refused the title of “cutie,” before Aisha was born, “baby” referred to Freddy in this house. So much so that Sophia still occasionally called Freddy “baby.”
Even if Freddy became a hunched 89-year-old grandfather, we’d probably still call him our baby Freddy. “Oh dear, baby Freddy, time to replace your dentures~” and so on.
And the strong men watching over the children—James and Baron Gofort—were on duty, while my father and mother sat in the shade of a tree, happily watching their grandchildren.
That meant in the living room, enjoying a relaxed tea time, were me, my sister-in-law Sierra, and Sophia. A cozy mothers’ tea time.
“The children are like a painting.”
Holding a teacup, Sophia spoke with a deep, poetic expression, unexpectedly like a wandering poet.
“From a distance, they’re at their most beautiful.”
Sierra nodded slightly at Sophia’s words. Her expression was… wistful, as if reminiscing about a first love.
“Why? Isn’t it fun to play together? Drawing, making flower rings, going on picnics?”
At my words, Sophia and Sierra both turned to me, their eyes showing sympathy and pity, as if I didn’t know anything yet.
“You’ll understand when Daniel grows a bit more.”
“But Daniel’s already the oldest?”
At my question, Sophia’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Isn’t it hard to raise him?”
“No.”
“Does he fuss about food?”
“No. He eats well.”
“Does he refuse to go out when he has to?”
“No. He doesn’t dislike going out. Ah, but he doesn’t have much stamina, so he gets a little tired.”
“What about refusing to wear clothes he doesn’t like? Especially insisting on wearing a pink dress, even if it gets stained by soup, or worn for three days straight?”
I kept shaking my head at Sophia’s words, and Sierra jumped in.
“Not at all. He just sometimes wonders what to wear because his new clothes are so pretty, but he doesn’t insist.”
“Does he refuse to sleep at night? Even nodding off?”
“No. When it’s time, he lies down in bed. He falls asleep quickly if you read him a story.”
“What if he begs you to sleep with him because there’s a monster under the bed?”
“That would be wonderful! I can legally sleep with Daniel! It’s not illegal, but among mothers, it’s considered bad for education, so it’s almost like it is!”
“…….”
“…….”
At my answer, Sophia and Sierra looked at each other and silently sipped their tea.
Had I done something wrong?
“What a lucky woman…”
Sophia muttered under her breath. Perhaps I really had done something wrong?
“Why? Isn’t your husband devoted to you? Doesn’t he dote on you?”
“W-Well, not really.”
“Of course not! If even your husband were that way, you’d already be assassinated out of jealousy. Just catching the Empire’s top bachelor, the Count of Winchester, you’d already be the number one target.”
At Sophia’s words, Sierra quietly nodded.
“Why all this…?”
“What do you mean? When Lord Winchester announced his marriage, the entire Empire was in an uproar! I was asked so many questions by everyone around me, I thought I’d die answering them all.”
Although she spoke as if it was exhausting, in my eyes, Sophia was holding her head high, proud of knowing the details, and sharing them to anyone who would listen…
Wait! Sophia thinks I married Lord Winchester due to a scandal? Did she actually tell people that?
