episode_0083

[Episode 83] – Summary

“I hope you are happy for helping us.”

“Huh..?”

“And as my second wish, I wish for the happiness of children.”

Trisha, who had wrapped her arms around Catherine’s neck, smiled and met Catherine’s eyes. Catherine, who had heard Trisha’s answer, was speechless and just stared blankly at Trisha, who was hugging her.

When Catherine didn’t respond or respond, Trisha’s face turned bright red as she realized that she had said something embarrassing. With her throat parched with embarrassment, Trisha cleared her throat and looked at Catherine.

“…I’m really embarrassed right now, so if you could say something…”

“……”

When she saw Catherine just meeting her gaze without saying anything, Trisha’s already flushed face became even hotter as she felt embarrassed.

As Trisha groaned and tried to free her arms from Catherine’s neck, Catherine held Trisha tightly around her waist to prevent her from running away. Trisha was helplessly dragged into Catherine’s arms by the strong force.

“What is it..? Right now?”

“Just because you said such nice things.”

Catherine buried her head on Trisha’s shoulder and hugged Trisha’s waist more tightly with both hands. As she held Trisha in her arms as if trying to trap her in her arms, Trisha felt like she had to do this for some reason and carefully stroked Catherine’s back.

“Why am I first?”

“Yes?”

“I thought you would definitely put the kids first.”

Catherine asked Trisha in a whisper. The Trisha she knew was someone who put her children first. It was Trisha who rejected even the conditions she had set for herself and remarried for the sake of her children.

No matter how much she pleaded, no matter how desperately she wanted it, Trisha’s priority was her children, not herself. Catherine, who knew Trisha’s heart better than anyone else, could tell.

That the Trisha in his arms was not the Trisha he knew.

Catherine could tell.

*

“Well,” Trisha said, thinking for a moment, then patted Catherine on the back and answered. It was to hold on to Catherine, who seemed ready to collapse at any moment.

“It may sound selfish, but honestly, if you hadn’t helped us, we would have had a really hard time. Teaching the kids, working at the mansion, everything, you helped me, so I can feel at ease.”

“…..”

“The kids started laughing a lot after you came. The reason why they started laughing a lot is really strange. You did something that you shouldn’t show in front of the kids, saying it was class, but… Isn’t it strange? Yes?”

“Ugh,ugh…”

Kwak, Trisha thought, and tightened her arms around Catherine’s neck. As the arms tightened around Catherine’s neck, Catherine patted Trisha’s arms as if to ask for release, her breathing becoming suffocated.

“While we’re on the subject, let me ask you something. Why did you do that to me?”

“Ah, no, I just..!”

“Why did you take my clothes off in front of the kids and make a fuss..! What the heck is sex education..! What the heck is Valentine’s Day..! Even now, when I think about that time, it’s really..!”

Ugh, Catherine’s pace quickened as she slapped Trisha’s arm, as if begging for help, making a death sound. How could she say it? ‘She did it to spite me for rejecting my confession.’

At first, she just intended to tease them, but once she started doing it, she realized that the kids didn’t just look at Trisha as their “mother.”

I know how painful it is to be rejected, so I continued. How can I say that? Catherine continued tapping Trisha’s arm, as if she was out of breath, making an ugh sound.

“Well… Now I think I understand a little bit why you did that.”

Hoo, Trisha let out an annoyed sigh and relaxed the grip on Catherine’s neck. Then she looked at Catherine with complicated eyes.

“…I also try not to avoid the hearts of my children anymore. You already knew, right? How my children see me. That’s why you created this ridiculous day called Lover’s Day, right?”

Catherine, her eyes wide open in slight surprise, nodded slowly without answering. Trisha then shook her head from side to side, letting out a long sigh and saying, “As expected.”

Catherine smiled bitterly at Trisha’s appearance. The old Trisha would never have said such a thing, but the stubborn Trisha would never have changed her mind, saying that marriage was the happiness of the children.

“Anyway, we are happy enough thanks to you. So I think it’s your turn to be happy now. So if I could make a wish, I would first wish for your happiness for helping us.”

“……”

“Even if it’s not what you want, I can make you happy, right?”

“…ha.”

As expected, you’re not the Trisha I knew.

Catherine thought as she watched Trisha, who was talking with a blush on her face, as if embarrassed. The Trisha in front of her was not the Trisha she knew. The Trisha she knew wouldn’t say such things.

‘There’s no way Trisha would think of me like this. Trisha was a heartless woman who would reject me even if I confessed to her like I was begging her. She would never put me before the kids, no matter what the situation was. So…’

Catherine, who looked as if she was about to cry at any moment, hugged Trisha tightly to hide her expression. Leaning her head on Trisha’s chest, Catherine covered her face so that Trisha wouldn’t see her.

The emotion that welled up in my chest was a terrible feeling that could not be defined in a word. It felt like my heart that had been begging to be loved by Trisha was being comforted by someone other than Trisha.

It was a miserable feeling that came from knowing better than anyone that Trisha would never say such things to her. Catherine leaned her head against Trisha’s chest and chuckled bitterly.

“…Really, will you make me happy? How..?”

Catherine asked Trisha, as if to confirm.

Catherine’s hands, which held Trisha’s clothes, trembled as if a child were throwing a tantrum. Trisha patted Catherine’s head, trying to comfort her as she trembled in her arms.

“I was going to tell you later when the time came…”

To the question of how to make you happy.

Trisha answered in a gentle voice.

“Catherine, won’t you live with me?”

“…Huh?”

“Any way is fine. If you want, I can become the count’s concubine. Or, I can sell my title and live together in the countryside far from the capital. I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

“But…you…children’s marriage..?”

Catherine’s eyes widened in surprise, and she looked up and asked Trisha.

Catherine could not have imagined that Trisha, who was obsessed with her children’s marriage and life in the capital, would answer this question before she could even ask.

When the topic of children’s marriage came up, Trisha narrowed her eyes as if to say, ‘Is that something you would say?’ and pulled at Catherine’s cheeks.

“The kids don’t seem to have any intention of getting married. Are you asking because you know whose fault it is?”

“Ah, kid…that’s it…”

“Even Elise earned money on her own? You were the one who taught Elise how to make money, right? You should know, right? It’s absurd for a noblewoman, not a commercial noblewoman, to work and earn money on her own.”

Catherine’s shoulders trembled at the thought of being caught. She hadn’t intended to fool Trisha, but she had only helped Elise because she had said she wanted to pay off her debt herself.

Perhaps it was because she grew up under business parents, but Elise had the ability to grasp the essence of business even with just a little bit of information. She was a genius with a business aptitude.

Could it really be said that she was the daughter of a commoner who amassed more wealth than the first generation of nobles? Catherine simply lent Elise a few of the man’s businesses and provided consulting services, but did nothing more than that.

Trisha let out a deep sigh and let go of Catherine’s cheeks that she had been holding onto. Catherine stared blankly at Trisha while rubbing her flushed cheeks with her hands.

“I told you… I have no intention of avoiding the children’s hearts… I just thought about it myself. What the children want, and what I can do.”

“…..”

“Anyway…! If you have any thoughts, tell me! Nothing has been decided yet! That’s the end of this story!”

Trisha kept fanning her flushed face, saying that she had brought up an embarrassing story. Catherine looked at Trisha’s embarrassed face and let out a laugh without realizing it.

If back then Trisha treated herself like a complete child, now Trisha was a little different. It felt like she was being treated like a child, almost like she was trying to seduce her.

Catherine chuckled and buried her head in Trisha’s shoulder.

“Haa…”

Let’s live together.

Catherine planned to ask Trisha again later, to make another proper confession, to ask her if she would live with her again.

But who would have thought that Trisha would be the first to suggest that they live together? Catherine continued to hold back her laughter, buried her head in Trisha’s shoulder, and hugged her even tighter.

Obviously, it’s not Trisha, and if it were Trisha, she wouldn’t even make such a suggestion, but this person who is bashfully hiding in his arms is definitely not Trisha.

‘But why do I feel like crying when I see you like this? Is there a ticklish feeling in my chest? Is my breathing feeling suffocated somewhere? Even though I know you’re not Trisha, why do these feelings I have when I see you remain the same?’

Catherine, who had finished organizing her thoughts, hugged Trisha tightly, almost crushing her. As if she was holding Trisha in her arms so that she could not escape. Catherine slowly raised her head and asked Trisha.

“Tricia, can I kiss you?”

“I don’t like it because it doesn’t end with just a kiss.”

“Yeah, no. I was just asking out of courtesy. I would do it even if you said no.”

“Ah, really-!”