I Became The Stepmother Of An Irrevocable Dark Family - Chapter 52

At that moment, Rere’s eyes sparkled. Rere, who was lying down next to me, raised her upper body.

“That’s great!”

Luca’s large hand passed me and stroked Rere’s head.

“I hope it will happen someday.”

A refreshing scent attracted my attention to his forearm, and then I got lost in his tight muscles. Due to that, my heart raced uncontrollably.

But I tried to get back to my senses, and pretended to be fine. Of course, Luca’s eyes were on me again.

“Shall we start now? First of all, among these 28 types of wine, there are 3 wines that are both delicious and easy to supply…”

After that, Luca talked about the various things needed for the party for a long time in a meticulous manner so that I wouldn’t have a hard time choosing among the ones available.

Rere fell asleep as I was busy deciding the necessary things for the party. Perhaps because it was already late at night. And then, days after that, I got busier preparing for the party with the nanny, Luca, and Rere.

Before I knew it, the party was just around the corner. Although we were finished with the preparations, on the day of the party itself, my heart raced like crazy. The thought of wanting to escape dominated my head.

“Are you awake? You are right on time.”

As soon as the nanny and the maids saw me awake, they dragged me to the bathroom as if I was a paper doll and soaked me in water.

“Kyaaa!”

“We need to be fast. You have to meet the guests before the party starts, so you need to get ready now.”

“Wait, wait a second….”

They had no second thoughts as they helped me get ready. They even turned a deaf ear to my words when I repeatedly said that I could prepare alone and continued massaging my whole body in a swift manner.

“Uhm, I’m fine with…”

But it felt surprisingly pleasant. I was supposed to wave my hand to beckon them to leave and tell them to stop, but their massage felt too relaxing to do so.

“Ah, right there….. Yes….. Ah.”

“Do you like it, madam?”

“Very much.”

“It was worthwhile to train a few maids to hone their massaging technique.” The nanny shrugged her shoulders with a proud look.

If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. In the end, I entrusted my body to them.

“Kyaaa! Oh no!”

At that time, Rere’s scream resounded throughout the room. The people inside, who moved relaxedly in tune with a piece of classical music, sprang out in a hurry as though they were watching a horror movie as soon as they heard Rere’s scream.

“A-Are you up?”

“Let me go!”

Surprised by Rere’s scream, the nanny quickly went out.

“Uaaaaah. She left again, again!!! Again!!!”

“Oh, miss!”

“I hate this! I hate it so much!”

“What’s going on, miss? Hmm?”

“I’m not doing the party! I don’t want it!”

Rere’s voice was louder than ever.

“Miss!”

In the end, to soothe the child, I quickly wiped my hair roughly before going out of the bathroom in the next second.

“Rere, my baby, what’s wrong?”

Rere, who was kicking the nanny in a fit of temper, turned her head towards me.

“Mom!”

“Hmm? Rere, you’re calling me mom now?”

“No, you idiot! W-why are you here?”

“Why am I here, you ask? Of course to prepare for the party.”

“But I….!”

Rere sprang towards me tearfully as I was fixing my bathrobe.

“I thought you were gone! I thought you left me again. As soon as I woke up, I looked for you. But you weren’t there, and so…”

I thought she was fine, but I guess I was wrong. Rere, like a child she was, bawled uncontrollably and rubbed her head against my body.

My heart went haywire because I forgot the child has always been vulnerable despite her bright appearance.

“Rere, I’m sorry.”

“Mom, mom….. Don’t go anywhere, okay? Wherever it is, you can’t go.”

“Yes, I’ll never leave.”

“I’ll tie our hands together when we’re asleep. Because…I’m afraid you’ll leave and go to someplace again.”

The child, who had been murmuring for a long time, finally looked up and made eye contact with me.

“I was so scared….. I felt my vision turn black. I felt as if my fever went up all of a sudden…”

I quickly hugged the panicked child. Because of that, the towel in my head fell off, and water dripped down from my wet hair. Nevertheless, Rere continued to bury her head in my chest.

“I thought my mom ran away on the day of my most anticipated party because I’ve been doing bad things to mom…”

“Bad things?”

“…Well! I was just…trying to express my affection to you! That’s all I can do to show my love for you, so….. Mom, do you hate it?”

“No way. I like it. I don’t mind Rere swearing at me. I still like Rere even if she does that.”

At my words, a bashful smile spread on Rere’s face.

“Yes, yes!”

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes! I felt like I was about to have a fever! I felt like I was about to collapse as well! But then, suddenly, I felt all better again when I saw my mom! Haa, my Big Bunny must have washed up. Your face is so smooth!”

Rere said so as her little hands caressed my cheeks.

“You’ve become so pretty!”

“Really? Am I getting prettier?”

“Yup! You’ve gotten a little more attractive. My mom is pretty!”

“Will you be calling me mom now?”

“No. Big Bunny! Stop fussing over it! I like Big Bunny more than my mom!”

Rere, who puffed her cheeks, made eye contact with me for a long time. Due to that, the child’s pajamas became damp from the water dripping off my hair.

“But, Rere, if you continue to stay in this position, you’ll get even more wet. But now that it has come to this, let’s wash up together!”

“Uhm, do I need to wash up, too?”

“Let’s wash up and get ready for the party together.”

“Your matching dresses are ready!”

Only then did Rere nod with an expression full of excitement.

“I’m going to wash up!”

“Yes. But, Rere. I think I’ll have to go first to meet the guests. In the meantime, you should wash up and get ready, okay?”

“Okay! However, you must wear a different dress! Our matching dresses are only for our eyes to see. Alright?”

“Okay.”

The day before the party, I was informed by the Duke that before the party began, the nanny and the maids had to tend to me earlier than Rere since I had to greet the guests. Hence, two maids were glued to me now.

“Your hair is so pretty, madam.”

“Is that so?”

“It looks magical. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen your hair color before.”

It was May. I thought she really quit her job because I haven’t seen her for a while. But at some point, May gradually started to fulfill her duties as a maid once again. Perhaps it’s because she failed to get the court maid position. I didn’t feel like asking her to confirm my assumption, though.

“Is that so?’

“Yes! I thought it was amazing the moment I saw it. Brilliant silver hair is rare after all!”

At that moment, I recalled the appearances of Leona’s family. She was the only one with such perfect silver hair. Her father’s hair was more white than silver. It was a little strange.

Because of that sudden realization, I touched my hair. Perhaps because I was taken care of well in this mansion, my hair was so shiny.

“Silver hair, huh…”

“But I’ve seen someone with a similar hair color before! At the Imperial Palace!”

“The Imperial Palace?”

“Yes! It was a woman who seemed to be a noble, but she had a similar hair color to yours, madam!”

“…I see. I presume it’s because silver hair is rare.”

“That makes sense. And maybe because I was so nervous…”

May mumbled.

“By the way, May.”

“Yes.”

“Did you go to the Imperial Palace?”

“As I’ve mentioned before, I tried to apply as a court maid…but I got eliminated. I made it through the final selection, but as soon as they found out I wasn’t the princess’ personal maid, I got eliminated.”

May grumbled.

“When they heard you weren’t the princess’ personal maid, you got eliminated?”

“Yes, that’s absurd, isn’t it?”

That’s even weirder. It was just a complaint, but I could feel that something was off.

She got rejected not because she was underqualified to become the princess’ personal maid, but because she wasn’t one to begin with. It seemed as though they are trying to dig out information about Rere.

Why? Why the hell are you curious about Rere?

‘Is it because she’s already nominated to be the crown princess?’

But at that time…

“Are you not ready yet?”

While I was lost in thought, someone stepped inside the room. It was the same man who always barged in without knocking.

“Master,”

It was the duke.

“I don’t think you’re ready yet.”

“No. I just need to wear a dress, and then I’ll be ready.”

“Then do it quickly.”

He was always stern, even when he clearly saw that I was already preparing myself in a swift manner. Because he didn’t care about how others felt. Because of his words, the maids began to dress me up as fast as they could.

“Sigh…”

“Do you not like the dress?”

“No, that’s not it. I’ll wear the matching dress I have with Rere after meeting the guests, so please prepare the simple one for now.”

Nevertheless, the simple dress they prepared was quite flashy. It was a white dress that matched well with her silver hair. It wouldn’t be weird to go to a wedding hall wearing this dress.

“It’s too much.”

“Yes?”

“…Don’t you have a simpler dress?”

“Yes!”

May was so bright at times like this. May smiled broadly as usual, but I ended up wearing a matching necklace and ring with the white dress.

“She’s ready, master.”

“…I see. Let’s go.”

For a moment, it seemed as though he lost his composure, but he didn’t say anything about my appearance.

While I was walking side by side with him, my heart was pounding. Not because of him, but because I was nervous to meet the guests. What kind of people are they? Well, of course they’ll respond to me sharply.

“Ahem.”

After a long walk, he stopped his stride.

“What’s wrong?”

“…I have something to discuss.”

“With me?”

“Yes, we are to discuss it together. Someone advised me to do this.”

“…Is it Luca again?”

He flinched when I said that.

“Anyway, I got a notice from the palace.”

“What is it about?”

“They want Rere to be the Crown Princess.”