episode_0066

[Episode 66] – Elise’s Day (8)

“Mother..! Wife, slowly..! Let’s go together..!”

Knock, knock – the heels of my high heels hit the floor, making a loud noise. Ignoring Elise, who was following behind me and telling me to wait, I walked alone through the city, making angry footsteps.

The fact that someone else had found out about what happened in the fitting room made me feel so embarrassed that I wanted to bite my tongue right then and there.

The tailor shop employee said that they wouldn’t tell anyone about the customers’ personal information, but I was a little worried, so I paid the employee a small amount of money to keep my mouth shut, and then I felt relieved.

I felt bad about spending so much, but it was a cheap price considering that I had bought peace of mind with money. However, I automatically frowned when I thought that I had wasted money when I was already tightening my belt.

As my already unpleasant face became even more sinister, people around me began to avoid me as I passed by. Judging from people’s reactions, I could guess what kind of expression I had on my face without having to look in the mirror.

People passing by would make a hoarse sound when they saw my face, or little children with runny noses would cry and cling to their parents’ skirts, shouting, “Mommy!”

My face right now.

No, Trisha’s face would be the face of a scary ‘villain’ to others.

I sighed, pressing my furrowed brow with my thumb. Then, Elise, who had come over to me without me noticing, hugged my arm and acted cute, smiled bashfully and looked at me.

“Oh, Mom… Lighten up…”

“Do you know who is doing this right now?”

“Ah, haha…”

I paused for a moment and pinched Elise’s cheeks hard to cool down my surging anger. Elise let out a ‘whoa’ sound as if in pain, and I kneaded her cheeks, stretching and contracting them as if kneading rice cakes.

What should I do with this obsessive, worthless daughter?

Are you just going to end the date like this and go home?

Then should I reflect a little?

By the way, your skin is so soft and supple.

While I was pinching Elise’s cheek to relieve all the accumulated stress while thinking about what kind of punishment I should give Elise for causing this incident, Elise’s cheek turned red as if it was about to swell up, so I had no choice but to let go.

“Should I just go home like this?”

“Oh, no..! I haven’t even gotten around properly yet..!”

“That’s you..!”

Elise, her cheeks red and swollen, cried out, touching them. It seemed like a proper date had long since passed, but Elise desperately grabbed my arm and looked at me with tearful eyes, pleading.

“That, that’s right..! Lunch..! Let’s eat lunch, us! We didn’t even eat breakfast! I found a nice cafe! I heard the sandwiches there are delicious! Let’s go together! Yes?!”

“……”

“This is the first time we’ve gone out together like this… If not on a day like today, when else would I ever go out with my mom..? I mean, going out with just my mom like this was my wish…”

With eyes like those of an abandoned puppy, Elise looked at me as if to ask if I was really going home. Although the puppy’s tail and ears were clearly not visible, for a moment, the pitiful drooping tail and ears overlapped Elise’s eyes.

Just as I was pondering what to do, I heard a commotion around me. Only then could I easily imagine what Elise and I looked like to others.

Anyone can see that this is the image of a bad mother scolding her child.

And that too on the street where everyone can see.

As Elise looked at me with tearful eyes and a sob in her eyes, the imaginative ladies behind her began to write novels on one side while watching us.

One of the women in the group wearing fancy dresses muttered, “Look at that fancy dress that the author’s mother wears, but the daughter wears simple clothes. I can easily imagine how she’s treated at home,” and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

What? Can you imagine how Elise would be treated at home? I was so shocked by the gossip behind my back that I turned my head and glared fiercely at the noble lady sitting there writing a novel.

When our eyes met, I saw her face turn pale with surprise and she avoided my gaze. Her sharp eyes are useful at times like this. Don’t speak without knowing anything. I’m always the one who gets hurt at home.

That’s why noble ladies like rumors.

Tsk- I clicked my tongue briefly and turned my head back to look at Elise. Still, I could understand a little bit why those ladies had such absurd imaginations.

Elise’s crying face was something that aroused sympathy. Anyone who saw a beautiful child crying could not help but feel sympathy.

Elise’s beauty, which was even more noticeable when she came out on the street, caught the attention of passersby, regardless of gender.

Golden hair that flutters gently in the wind as she walks, softly curved eye tails, and blue eyes like the dawn sky.

Elise’s appearance was one of the reasons I thought of this world as Cinderella’s world. In the fairy tale, the stepmother and new sisters felt jealous and inferior to Cinderella’s appearance.

The only difference from the fairy tale is that the new sisters, Sylvia and Lily, are also beautiful, but when you look at just their appearances, it’s true that Elise is more beautiful. Just looking at their appearances.

I lowered my head, let out a long sigh, and cupped Elise’s face with both hands. I had unintentionally become a spectacle for others, but I didn’t want to be noticed by others anymore.

When I saw Elise’s sharp expression as she glared at the lady who was whispering behind me instead of looking at me, even though she was holding my face, the corners of my mouth went up involuntarily. Seriously, I can’t hate her.

“Tell me. If it doesn’t taste good, I’ll get in trouble.”

“Hehehe. Don’t worry. And before we go to the cafe, would it be okay if we stopped by somewhere else for a bit?”

“Somewhere else?”

I tilted my head and looked at Elise. Elise, smiling bashfully, had a confident expression on her face as if she had prepared for something, and then she pounded her chest with her fist and shouted confidently.

“Yes! I want to give my mother a present!”

*

What Elise had prepared was none other than a necklace sold at a jewelry store. Trisha hesitated when she realized that Elise was headed to a jewelry store, but Elise consoled Trisha, who was at a loss, and headed to the jewelry store.

“How much money do you have to buy jewelry?”

“This much is okay. I told you, right? I’m preparing it so that your mother doesn’t have to worry about money.”

Trisha looked at Elise, who was groaning and confidently walking into the jewelry store.

She doesn’t even give her an allowance, so where does she get the money to think of opening a jewelry store like this? Trisha has never given Elise, Sylvia, or Lily an allowance or anything like that.

Instead, she was giving the children money in the form of providing them with whatever they wanted. While thinking about the source of the money, a bitter thought came to Trisha’s mind.

“You didn’t take money from Catherine, did you?”

“No, I didn’t receive money ‘directly’ from Lady Catherine.”

‘Directly..?’

Trisha groaned, holding her head with one hand as if her head was hurting, at the confusing answer that made her even more confused.

Elise looked at the sight, smirking, then grabbed Trisha’s hand as she stood there still, and walked into the jewelry store. She had no intention of telling her mother where the money came from.

‘If I just earn a little more, I can pay off my mother’s debt… Even though Lady Catherine said it wasn’t necessary, I guess I’ll have to pay it back no matter what.’

As she opened the door to the jewelry store and stepped inside, a well-trained employee greeted Elise with a professional smile. When Elise told the employee her name, the employee nodded, asked her to wait a moment, and headed off somewhere else.

Trisha stared blankly at Elise, who looked so natural.

“Have you ever been here?”

“I just ordered from the catalog that arrived at the mansion while my mother was being bullied in her room by my sister Lily. This week, my mother barely came out of her room… because of my sisters.”

Elise giggled and brought up Trisha’s embarrassing memory. Trisha’s face turned bright red as she remembered what had happened in the room this week. As if she was annoyed by Elise’s playful expression, Trisha puffed out her cheeks and slapped Elise’s hand on the back.

“Really… Stop teasing me.”

“The more you like someone, the more you want to harass them.”

It wasn’t just teasing, Elise loved to embarrass Trisha by provoking her sense of shame. It was always cute to see her mother blushing and unable to do anything because of her.

While Elise was teasing Trisha, the employee brought the necklace Elise had reserved. When the employee opened the box containing the necklace, he saw that it contained a red ruby necklace.

The necklace, with its well-crafted teardrop-shaped ruby on either side and a thin silver chain, looked expensive even to Trisha.

Elise smiled in satisfaction at the sight of the necklace, which was more beautiful than the picture in the catalog, but Trisha’s face turned pale as soon as she saw the jewel.

I couldn’t give my daughter such an expensive-looking piece of jewelry.

“Elise… I don’t need this stuff, so buy whatever you want.”

“Please take it. It’s the first money I’ve earned, so I want to spend it on my mother.”

“But, but…”

“Your mother doesn’t enjoy luxury, right? Please accept this much luxury. Okay?”

Elise turned Trisha’s body around and put the ruby necklace around her neck, half-forcibly. Trisha was busy looking down at the necklace that was half-forcibly placed around her neck, flustered.

Trisha, who had been looking at the necklace and Elise’s face alternately, finally sighed and caressed Elise’s cheek. It was a sigh that came out of the thought that no matter how much she refused, she would not be able to break Elise’s stubbornness.

Elise stroked the ruby necklace around Trisha’s neck and looked at Trisha, who was wearing the necklace. The red ruby necklace, similar in color to her mother’s eyes, sparkled beautifully in the light.

“…Thank you. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“…Please do so. You must always wear it on your body.”

“Of course. It’s the first necklace my daughter gave me as a gift?”

Do you really have to walk until you die?

The ruby necklace worn around my mother’s neck.

I put on a beautiful chain that binds my beautiful mother to my side.

With the thought that I will never let you go from my side.