8: The Return and the Adoptive Father
Inside the clear glass window, a beautiful dress was on display. The pastel pink dress, resembling a peach, was decorated with white lace and ribbons that looked like waves. Yet, the dress was neither tacky nor overly busy. Despite being pink, it looked incredibly refined.
I couldn’t take my eyes off that dress. The kind of dress I never got to wear even as a child made my heart pound. My mind showed me an image of myself smiling in that dress. But a shiver down my spine brought me back to reality. When I returned to the present, a bitter taste filled my mouth.
A dress like that must be expensive. Especially in a place like this. The money for that dress could buy a massive amount of these dyes and still have change left over.
With my thoughts sorted, I turned my back to the tailor shop. Just as I was about to move on, I heard Felix’s voice in the distance.
“Lia, where are you? Lia!”
As soon as I heard his voice, I raised my hand high and waved, but since Celia was quite short, Felix still didn’t spot me. I ended up having to walk quickly toward the direction of Felix‘s voice. The street was crowded, as it was getting close to evening.
“Excuse me, let me… Ugh!”
I struggled to walk through the crowd and almost bumped into someone. Fortunately, I succeeded in avoiding them. The problem was, I collided head-on with the person who came behind them, and to keep from falling, I grabbed onto their chest.
Oh, I want to hide in a mouse hole. How do I even look up now? But I can’t stay like this forever!
By the time I realized what I had done, the situation was irreversible. I squeezed my eyes shut, then slowly opened them and let go. As I quickly leaned backward, the hood that covered my head slipped off. My vision was now completely clear.
When I faced the person who had caught me, my body tensed up as if in shock. The person looking down at me had an incredibly intense aura. Their face was hidden by a black, wolf-like mask, but their golden-yellow eyes stared intently at me, as if I were prey. The person looked at least 30 centimeters taller than Celia. They weren’t slender either; just their presence filled my view. Their height and build suggested they were a man, but I couldn’t be certain of their gender. This was because their dark blue hair, loosely tied, reached down to their chest.
As I stared at the person, unable to say anything, they silently looked back at me. My swirling thoughts made me lower my gaze. And what met my eyes were black pants, a dark navy cloak, and a wolf-like emblem on the chest.
“…The Jeshuerdt Young Master?”
“Lia!”
Felix’s voice snapped me back to my senses. I quickly pulled away and bowed my head to the man I assumed was the ‘Jeshuerdt Young Master.’
“I’m sorry. I accidentally wasn’t watching where I was going…”
While I was apologizing, the man looked down at me, muttered something in a low voice, and walked past me.
“A strange woman clinging to me. Annoying.”
…What? I was speechless. Did he really think I was following him? Didn’t he follow me?
As I stood there with a stunned look, Felix rushed up to me, panting, and grabbed my cloak.
“I finally found you again. Why did you suddenly disappear? You’ll be touched when you hear the story of how hard I looked for you.”
Felix wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and pulled my fallen hood back over my head.
“Let’s quickly buy my things and go back. I don’t want to be scolded by the Count for getting home late. Ugh.”
Felix didn’t seem to notice the man I suspected was the ‘Jeshuerdt Young Master’ and just continued nagging me. Of course, my mind was still focused on the man, so Felix’s nagging didn’t sink in. I walked after Felix, using his complaints as mere background noise.
We bought a quill pen and a dessert for Lily, then headed to the carriage. I asked Felix why he couldn’t have bought the quill at the art shop earlier, but he launched into a whole speech about how he felt awkward and couldn’t use a pen unless he bought it from his usual shop.
When we arrived at the store, Felix started picking out a massive number of quill pens! I stared at him with questioning eyes, and he cleared his throat and spoke as if announcing a great achievement.
“It used to be once every three days, but since I started coming to buy them, it’s reduced to once a week. How about that?”
Why should I care?
However, I figured Felix would pout like a duck if I actually said that, so I praised him for his effort. Thanks to my compliment, Felix walked back to the carriage with his dessert, strutting like an overjoyed puppy.
Once in the carriage, I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the coming butt-pain. I figured it would be better to just fall asleep.
Just as I was trying to fall asleep… Tap-tap.
A tapping sensation on my knee made me slowly open my eyes.
“What?”
“Aren’t you going to look outside? It’s your favorite view.”
“What’s so interesting about the view? I was going to sleep…”
I followed Felix’s words and turned my head toward the window.
The scenery passing by, moving in the opposite direction of the carriage, made me gasp open my mouth without realizing it.
“Wow.”
When was the last time I saw a view like this? Pink flowers spread across a vast field, and the sky was filled with a mix of orange and pink, as if pollen had risen up to meet the sunset. Light occasionally spread through the white clouds, making it feel like a god might descend from above.
Having only seen the lights of buildings, taking in this landscape gave me a feeling of explosive relief, and my breath shot up from my abdomen to my throat. People say they feel overwhelmed when they are moved by beauty—is this what they meant?
I watched the scenery, oblivious to time, and Felix didn’t say a word until we had passed it.
“Lia.”
Felix spoke to me when the mansion came into view in the distance.
“Why?”
“Should I send over your ball gown again this time, or do you have something specific you want?”
“Huh? There are dresses at home, right?”
“Are you going to wear one you’ve already worn? Everyone will laugh at you.”
“What were you originally planning to send?”
“Originally? I was going to send a blue dress, like usual.”
“Then could you send something more extravagant?”
“Extravagant? Suddenly? You never liked extravagant things.”
I didn’t like them? Then what was the dress I saw this morning? If that wasn’t extravagant, how much more extravagant could they get? That might be too much.
But going to this ball is no different from going to an ex-boyfriend’s wedding. In that case, wouldn’t it be okay to be even more stunning than I was this morning? If I’m going to change, changing completely will make me more famous.
I nodded and looked at Felix with sparkling eyes.
“Yes, an extravagant one!”
Felix looked bewildered but nodded with a puzzled expression.
“I don’t have an eye for dresses, so I’ll send a designer over tomorrow. You can look then and choose the one you like.”
“You have so much money. Are you sure you should spend it like that?”
“My father gave me money specifically to buy you dresses. Since you never called for a designer or bought things, the money has just piled up.”
“Then couldn’t you just give that money to me instead of buying a dress?”
“If I did that, it would all be taken. Don’t you remember? I gave you money to buy things, and your brother took it all. I couldn’t believe anyone would steal something like that.”
Seeing him sigh and shake his head, I clenched and unclenched my fist. What kind of brother steals his sister’s money? Is he a gangster?
Calm down, calm down.
I took a few deep breaths, calmed my heart, and looked at Felix seriously.
“I’ll come to the ball completely changed, so you should also dress as extravagantly as possible that day. Got it, Felix?”
“Extravagantly? Ugh, I’m tired already. Just tell me not to wear makeup. I don’t want to be covered in that pure white stuff.”
“Why would you wear makeup? You look better without it.”
“Oh? Uh-huh, oh. Thanks?”
Felix’s face turned bright red, and he stammered a reply, then nodded.
Just then, the carriage arrived in front of the mansion. Felix instinctively got up first and stepped out of the carriage. He then offered me his hand.
I didn’t think much of it before, but now it feels incredibly awkward and embarrassing! But when in Rome, do as the Romans do!
I squeezed my eyes shut, suppressed the emotion, opened them, took his hand naturally, and lightly stepped out of the carriage.
Felix gave me lots of advice, as if I were a child, and then rode away in the carriage. After confirming the carriage was gone, I finally started walking. Does no one usually come out to greet you in a place like this? As the sun was setting, walking alone through this long entrance to the mansion felt both eerie and lonely.
I looked around, then smiled. Well, I guess no one is coming out! I’ve walked paths like this my whole life. Don’t underestimate someone who lived a 15-minute walk from the bus stop!
I put strength into my steps and bravely walked toward the mansion. I passed through the not-so-distant entrance and reached the mansion door. I pushed the door open hard and entered.
I immediately came face-to-face with a middle-aged man with a neutral expression.
“Who are you.”
The man had distinctly blue hair and deep pink eyes. He had an extremely sharp gaze and a subdued aura. Just meeting his eyes took my breath away. I knew instinctively:
This person is Celia‘s adoptive father.
