Vol. 4 Chapter 2.11 - My honorable defiance toward confronting the disrespectful illegal inhabitant
Early in the morning, Eurea and I opened our eyes at the same time and sprinted like nobody’s business toward my mother’s room. He had just woken up and was still in his nightgown, his face set as if he had been having a serious conversation with that guy. Though Mother quickly relaxed when he realised we were there.
“Lenoc, Eurea.”
“Mom!”
Eurea ran over and crawled onto Mother’s bed, clinging frantically to his neck and asking, “Are you not hurt anymore?” I was curious about that too, so I quickly crawled onto the bed. Wrapping his arms around both of us, he laughed softly.
“I just need to rest for a few days. Just a little tummy ache, sadly.”
“Don’t say sadly, Mom. You shouldn’t be sick.”
Eurea said what I wanted to say, so I just clung to my mother’s arms, but strangely, he seemed a little disappointed, like he was really sorry. In comparison, the Demon, who was carrying the youngest, looked at peace.
“I see that you haven’t given up yet.”
“I will achieve everything one day.”
At Mother’s firm reply, the demon sighed heavily. Grumbling that he didn’t understand why Mother was so obsessed with six children, that guy told me and Eurea to go wash our faces. We didn’t want to leave, but not wanting to bother our tired mother, we both meekly complied.
As we left the room, I glanced back and saw Mother standing out of bed and hugging the demon from behind.
“Are you sure you don’t want at all?”
“I told you before, I can’t live without you. And you have to think of the children you’ve already delivered. Stop being greedy. There’s no point in taking unnecessary danger.”
“……Yeah.”
Mother, who had buried his head in the demon’s back, nodded. Then that guy sighed, turned, and pulled him into a hug. They pressed their lips together.
“I was happy at first. However, it’s not like you’ve lost the children that were already born, so don’t be so sad.”
“I’m sorry I was so angry earlier.”
“It’s okay.”
He wrapped his arms around Mother in a wide embrace. After whispering something inaudible over and over, the demon picked Mother up and laid him back down on the bed. He stroked Mother’s hair as he had done for me, then kissed his forehead and stood up.
“Me too.”
I couldn’t tell what he meant. Instead, he laughed softly at Mother’s words.
* * *
It was my mother’s birthday week. I call it birthday week, not birthday, for a simple reason. Birthday parties happen all week long.
The servants in this house were really busy. The house was deep cleaned inside and out, and all the curtains and tablecloths were changed for the party. Martha’s maids have been busy preparing the bedrooms for the guests, and Hugo’s footmen have taken out all the silverware and polished it with abrasive. Besides that, the gardens had to be tended and great quantities of ingredients had to be prepared. There was a lot of busy work. Of course, Eurea and I were no exception.
“You’ve grown so much, you’re going to need new clothes.”
I’d already outgrown last year’s suit. Eurea’s dresses wouldn’t button up in the back. Mother asked Martha to call in a tailor.
“Don’t you think it would be better if you went out rather than calling him?”
“That’s right. It would be better to buy them in secret.”
“You’ll get caught anyway, so I think it’s better to put it off until later.”
Mother nodded at Martha’s words. Then he looked at me and Eurea and said, “Shall we go out later?”
“Yes!”
“Wow! I’m excited!”
We jumped up and down with excitement. It had been a long time since we’d gone out without the Demon. With him, we always saw what we needed to see and always ate what we needed to eat. But without him, it was a different story. We could have anything we wanted, eat anything we wanted, see anything we wanted, hear anything we wanted.
“Please take care of Jester.”
“Don’t worry. The young master will be in good care.”
Martha said, looking at Jester, who was sleeping soundly in his crib.
Eurea and I rushed to our rooms and started pulling on our robes.
We excitedly rode the carriage. We were a bit hungry as it was just before dinner, but we decided to go quickly as we didn’t know when the demon would return. Of course, we also planned to eat ice cream and chocolate cake.
This was the third time I stopped by the high-end tailor’s shop, but I couldn’t remember the first time. As soon as we entered the shop, we were quickly greeted by a clerk, followed by an older tailor, around Hugo’s age. He had a friendly face and said hello when he saw us. He struck up a conversation with Mother, while Eurea and I looked at the colourful fabrics and costumes hanging in the shop.
“How do you like this fabric?”
As if on cue, the tailor pointed to a shiny pink fabric that Eurea had just touched. When Eurea nodded, he smiled and called out to the clerk.
“Anything you like, young master?”
“I don’t know, Alphas aren’t supposed to wear just anything, De…… Father said.”
“Well, then, we shall go with your father’s favourite fabric.”
The words stung. Outwardly, I was the eldest child of the Teiwind Count. Did he mean he would show my mother’s favorite fabric? My mother was the most good-looking person I’d ever seen, but it would be different to suit someone with blond hair and blue eyes than it would be to suit someone with dark brown hair. Still, I didn’t say anything and watched as the tailor walked away.
The tailor soon brought out a few fabrics, most of which were dark navy blue or darker colours. Not exactly what Mother, who prefers bright colours unless it’s a black suit, would have liked. When I looked at him puzzled, the tailor added kindly.
“This is Viscount Bendyke’s preferred colour. I think it would suit the young master well, too.”
How did he know he was my biological father? I asked in surprise, “How do you know?” The tailor looked puzzled at first, then smiled.
“He’s an old regular. Your father has been coming to our shop since he first graduated from college. After having you, young master, the Count has started to visit here as well.”
Hugo said that there are some tailors that the successive counts have been doing business with for generations. Since this was the only shop I remembered, and it was the same tailor who always came to the manor, I assumed he was the one Hugo was talking about. Why did Mother change his tailor? And this was the tailor that guy used.
“The count told me that once, when he went to his regular shop, he was berated for his dull-coloured clothes. I don’t know if what he said was true, because the Count doesn’t dress in a dull colour.”
My sophisticated mother was, and still is, the envy of many omegas. But to be berated by his regular tailor because he was dressed in an unflattering way? I didn’t understand. I would have to find out more later.
“How dare they disrespect the Teiwind Count. I will not let them continue.”
“Haha, young master, you’re just the same as your father.”
“And which part of me is like him?”
“Your father has said the same thing. That tailor shop is long gone, but you can ask your father why.”
The demon again. Just because he was older and taller, how dare he do all those things first! Frowning, I handed the cloth he had selected to the clerk and gave him detailed instructions.
After chatting with another clerk, my mother soon called me and Eurea over, specified the fabrics to the tailor, and ordered two suits for me and two dresses for Eurea.
“Did you have a colour in mind?”
“This one.”
“This one for me.”
After seeing our selections, Mother gave his approval. We were delighted to have a total of three new outfits. As expected, the biggest holiday in the Count estate was the week of the Count’s birthday.
After leaving the tailor, who was delighted to receive so many orders at once, we left the shop and went to a nearby shoe store. Again, we ordered two pairs each and then headed straight to the hat shop. I hadn’t reached the age of adulthood yet, so I couldn’t wear a silk hat. Maybe when I got to college, I’d be able to wear one, but for now, I could only imagine it. Using it would make me look taller.
Instead, Eurea ordered two wide-brimmed hats to match the colour of the dress she had just ordered, and Mother looked long and hard at the ones that were a bit big for him, then ordered one.
“I want them delivered to the estate by the beginning of next week.”
“Yes. Of course, Count.”
Having ordered everything he needed in one fell swoop, our mother led us out of the shop and into a carriage that slowly followed, taking us out of the quiet upscale shopping district and into one that was now lined with delicious confectioneries. Upon arrival, we debated which one to go to. Mother laughed and said we could stop at any of them.
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