episode_0177

[Episode 173] – Love for the Boss

Titania’s hand quietly reached up and touched Vivian’s disheveled bangs. Titania gazed affectionately at Vivian, then continued to stroke her sleeping mother’s face with her hand.

“Really, you truly haven’t turned back into a child.”

Even though it was almost time for the curse to be lifted, her mother still maintained an adult appearance. Normally, at this time, her mother, who had turned into a child, should be sound asleep.

“…The curse has really been lifted.”

Her mother hadn’t turned back into a child.

Titania felt so happy at the thought of Vivian’s curse being lifted that she wanted to embrace her mother right away. Considering the conditions for the curse to be lifted, her mother must have eventually come to love her.

A curse that is lifted through a kiss with the ‘fated one’.

When she first heard about such a curse, she thought, “There are curses like this?” But when she realized that her mother’s fated one was her, she felt truly ecstatic.

At first, it took only 2 hours for her to be cursed again, but the time it took for the curse to be lifted gradually increased to 12 hours. Eventually, her mother was completely freed from the curse through a kiss with me.

The fact that her mother was freed from the curse meant that her mother eventually came to love her. Not as a ‘daughter’, but as a ‘lover’. It meant that she accepted me as a woman.

“Hehe.”

The laughter didn’t stop. Surely, her mother had the same feelings as me, right? Always wanting to hold hands, always wanting to kiss, always wanting to embrace and be together.

Thinking that her mother, who had always avoided me, now had such eager feelings towards me, I wanted to kiss her lips and express my love for her right away. I wanted to fulfill those desires perfectly.

But it was still difficult to cross the line.

The most important thing in approaching her mother was ‘restraint’. If I approached her in excitement, she would surely be repulsed and move away from me.

So, I had to be patient, not desperate. Just like spending time to get close to a stray cat in the garden. I had to approach my mother slowly.

I shouldn’t rush until my mother felt comfortable with physical contact and approached me willingly. I couldn’t afford to be impatient until then. I made that foolish mistake once.

“…What did they do in novels at times like this? Was confession the first thing to do?”

Titania’s knowledge of love was all from romance novels she had been reading since she was young. Slightly, no, very explicit romance novels that children shouldn’t read.

Recalling the contents of the book, there were times when she wrote down a bucket list of things she wanted to do with her mother. Like wanting to dress her mother in various underwear or wanting to do certain things in certain places.

Thinking that it wouldn’t be long before she fulfilled those bucket lists she had dreamt of during her adolescent years at the academy with her mother, Titania’s ears turned bright red in an instant.

“Ahem!”

Anyway, that’s not important right now—

Thinking of the most basic thing in love, Titania carefully got out of bed so as not to wake her mother and quietly began to search through the drawers of the dressing table. It must have been around here…

Having found the tape measure she had prepared to measure Chi-su, Titania cautiously took her place on Vivian’s left, knelt on the floor, and gently raised Vivian’s left arm to prevent her from waking up.

“Come to think of it… Mother has never worn a ring on her ring finger since ancient times. She must have received a wedding ring from Father. Where did she put it?”

Carefully unfolding the tape measure that had become like a string, Titania wrapped it around her mother’s finger. There was no need for a ring, but…

The ring on her left ring finger was the same as the necklace she had given to her mother. I wanted to tie you to me with a beautiful iron chain so that others wouldn’t eye you, and keep you by my side.

And above all, it’s natural for lovers to share a ring on the left ring finger. We wanted to make it clear that we are ‘between mother and lover’ by sharing identical rings. Besides-

She is not just anyone, she is my mother and the woman who will be my lover.

So, I wanted to put the new ring I prepared on my mother’s long-empty left ring finger. Since my mother dislikes flashy things, I should prepare something simple and beautiful.

Preparing the ring was not difficult. I have already measured my mother’s ring size, so all I had to do was choose the design. I thought I would have to sneak out later to see the ring.

Titania, who had measured the size of Vivian’s ring finger with a ruler, put away the ruler and gazed at Vivian’s left ring finger. She couldn’t stop smiling at the thought that her soon-to-be-given ring would fit on this finger.

I wanted to prepare the ring right away and put it on my mother’s left ring finger, but the day to give the ring was special, and the place to give it was in the giver’s heart.

“When is the best time to give the ring? Maybe ‘that day’ is good after all?”

Perhaps because of the overwhelming emotion, Titania lowered her head and lightly kissed Vivian’s left hand. Kissing the back of her hand, moving down to her fingers, she kissed each joint of her fingers.

Moving between her fingers, she kissed Vivian’s left hand so much that there was no place where her lips did not touch. As she suppressed her overwhelming emotions and kissed her lips, a voice came from above.

“…Titania? What are you doing…?”

Blinking, Vivian, who was looking at Titania with sleepy eyes, yawned and licked her lips as if she were sleepy. Even that sight was so lovely, Titania lowered her head and kissed Vivian’s forehead.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

“Mm…”

It seemed as if Titania, unable to fully wake from her slumber, attempted to kiss Vivian’s forehead again despite her mother’s drowsy response. However, Vivian turned away. It was a sign not to disturb her sleep. Yielding to this sign, Titania reluctantly gave up on the kiss and, rising from her spot, settled back down on Vivian’s right side.

As they lay under the same blanket, a subtle, sweet scent wafted through the air. Titania, deeply inhaling her mother’s pleasant scent, closed her eyes while embracing Vivian.

After a moment of closing her eyes, Titania felt her mother squirming within the covers, turning toward her and beginning to nestle into her embrace. Perhaps it was a habit from the time when she had been cursed to remain a child.

“…Titania.”

The voice that called out to her in a sleepy, whiny tone was simply delightful to hear. Titania smiled and slipped her arm beneath her mother’s head, providing a makeshift pillow.

As Vivian snuggled closer, she buried her head in Titania’s chest and relaxed her body. Soon, the adorable, shallow sound of her breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep once more.

Seeing this endearing sight, Titania kissed Vivian’s forehead once again. However, what followed was an annoyed furrowed brow and a voice that seemed to scold her for disturbing.

Disappointed, but feeling that any further action might truly lead to trouble, Titania also embraced Vivian and closed her eyes. She held her mother’s waist tightly, sharing warmth between their bodies.

The warmth they shared under the blanket on that winter night was incredibly comforting and blissful. As the remaining days of winter passed and spring arrived, “that day” prepared for her mother would come.

Surely, when that day arrived, she would receive an answer from her mother. An answer of love, spoken by her mother’s lips and through her voice.

*

Blinking, Vivian woke from her sleep, nuzzling her face into Titania’s chest. She freed herself from Titania’s embrace, sat up on the bed, stretched out, and then extended her body.

“Ugh…!”

Vivian stretched her body and let out a pleasant moan as she yawned. As she woke up and gazed out the window, Titania also got up from her seat.

“Yawn… Good morning, did you sleep well?”

“Mm-hmm… Did you sleep well?”

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Vivian felt a strange sensation in her left hand as she got up from the bed. It felt like someone had been touching only her left hand.

“Did I wake up in the middle of the night?”

She tried hard to remember but couldn’t recall anything. If it had been Titania who touched her, it wouldn’t have been just her left hand, so Titania wasn’t the culprit.

“Well, it’s winter. Maybe I reached my hand out of the blanket and it got cold.”

Thinking it was just a misconception, Vivian yawned widely and turned to look at Titania, who was sitting beside her. Titania, still half-asleep, blinked her eyes with a dazed expression.

“Oh, by the way…”

After hesitating for a moment, Vivian leaned in close to Titania. When Titania looked at her with a gentle smile, Vivian blushed and spoke as if embarrassed.

“Titania, by the way, about the meeting… are you really going? Will you see it?”

At Vivian’s question about attending the meeting, Titania suddenly felt wide awake. She immediately understood what her mother meant by asking “in what sense.”

Unlike yesterday, it wasn’t a worried look about her leaving, but a pleading gaze, begging her not to go to the meeting. Moreover, was this intentional? Her mother’s behavior had changed.

Placing her hand on Vivian’s back and leaning in closer, she whispered as if pleading like an abandoned puppy, even sending a pleading gaze.

“Hmm.”

Really, did her mother know what she was doing? No, her mother couldn’t have known. After all, she was that oblivious. It was undoubtedly an unconscious act.

Titania burst into laughter at Vivian’s pleading, as if she were being seduced. Has her mother’s feelings changed with the curse being lifted? It’s so easy to see that she’s “jealous.”

Normally, she would have teased her mother by asking, “What should I do?” or “What would you like me to do, Mother?” But now, she felt good.

“No, I won’t see any matchmakers.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, because I only have you, Mother.”

Because she only has her mother. As soon as those words ended, her mother’s ears turned slightly red. Her mother cleared her throat and waved her hand to hide her embarrassment.

“C-clear your throat! Don’t make such embarrassing sounds from the morning. Really, I know you like me, but…”

Titania’s lips curled at the sight of her mother’s confused and embarrassed state. Of course, her mother really did come to like her. Her mother’s reaction, her voice, were evidence of that.

Titania let out a small sigh and lightly kissed her mother’s blushing cheek. Her mother was startled by the sudden kiss, but she didn’t get angry or anything, as usual.

In response, Titania felt a euphoric sensation. Yes –

“Really, my mother likes me.”

She could feel that her mother liked her.