I Became The Stepmother Of An Irrevocable Dark Family - Chapter 58

Rere closed her eyelids as she smiled ever so brightly. She was oozing with confidence.

“Don’t be stupid, mom. Don’t forgive them so easily just because they apologized. Especially those kids. You can’t just leave them alone for what they did.”

Rere pointed her finger at Jayna Nedira and Lily Cuffs.

Rather than not wanting to apologize, they seemed hesitant and unaware of what to do.

Especially Lily.

It was obvious that she couldn’t apologize because Duchess Cuffs was behind her.

Meanwhile, Duchess Cuffs grasped her daughter’s shoulders with her long nails. As might be expected, Lily’s face became tense in fear.

Since Lily did not apologize, the other children who are on Lily’s side including Jayna couldn’t apologize either and just quietly mumbled to themselves.

“Okay, so what do we do now? What do you think, Rere? Should we accept their apologies?”

I silently took a glance at them and exchanged gazes with Rere.

“Ah! I’m sure they’ve finally come to their senses now. Even more so since I wrote down everything they’ve done and said to me in detail. And so, I believe they have already been punished enough for moving their mouths lightly!”

“Alright. Then I’ll forgive them.”

It’s not my hobby to bully a child, so I nodded my head to the children with a benevolent smile.

“I forgive all of you.”

“Do you really forgive us, duchess?”

“I hope you know the weight of your words from here on.”

“Yes! I-I will never say that again, princess. And duchess…”

“That’s enough. You may excuse yourself.”

The crowd of children smiled with relief. At the same time, they did not forget to apologize over and over, fearing that Rere might miss it.

“Thank you. Thank you very much.”

I’m surprised there are more than two children who apologized for offending Rere. Just how many times did the Duke make the mistake of shoving these children to Rere so that they could be friends with her?

The Duke never fails to amaze me.

The children kept on apologizing after realizing their mistakes, and the tense atmosphere gradually diminished.

Seeing that, Lily tried to grab this opportunity to apologize.

“Mother, please let go of me now. I want to apologize.”

“What have you done so wrong that you need to apologize?”

“What I did back then was wrong…!”

“Duke Petri has already criticized us enough! I already apologized to Duke Petri for not teaching my children properly, so what is there to apologize again? Just stay still!”

“Mother!”

“Didn’t I tell you before?! You must always take the upper hand in every situation. Gosh, I can’t believe you made me raise my voice in a place like this. This is so embarrassing! Do you want to keep embarrassing me like this?”

“Mother.”

The way Lily acted right now is quite different from what we had seen in the past.

“Don’t you have any pride? You’re also a princess, so why are you so restless in front of them?”

“I said something rude last time! I-I said….. About the princess’ birth….I said something I shouldn’t have said…”

While Princess Lily was struggling to say what she wanted to, Duke Ian Petri began to approach us. He then tapped my shoulder as if to announce his presence.

“I believe Rere called me earlier, did she not?”

“Yes, daddy. I called you.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Alright. As of this moment, I will start to act like a child.”

The children, who stood at a far distance from us after delivering their apologies, held their breath at Rere’s sudden remark.

“Daddy. The Emperor had acknowledged me as a descendant of Duke Petri, right?”

“Of course. There is no doubt about it.”

“Does that mean those who said I’m a fake princess opposed the Emperor’s words? Does that mean they are bad kids?”

“Who dares to say that!”

“Answer me! Am I right?”

“Of course. Neither the Emperor nor I will let them get away. Since that’s an act of defamation.”

Rere pointed her finger at Lily as if she had waited for it.

“Do you remember her? I told you to not scold her excessively, right?”

“Yes. That’s why I spoke to them reasonably.”

I presume Ian and Rere had a conversation about the incident while I was kicked out of the mansion.

‘As soon as Jayna Nedira and Lily Cuffs went back that day, Rere must’ve gone to the Duke and rattled on about what they had done, but it’s too strange for Rere to not cause an uproar…’

Is it because she was preparing for this moment?

They probably accepted Rere’s invitation because they didn’t get punished even after they bullied her.

As if she had made up her mind, Rere began to rat on them with a wide smile on her face.

“Okay. Now scold them. They regarded the Emperor’s words as lies!”

“….”

“I was going to forgive them if they apologized this time, but they refused to apologize until the end.”

“Pr-princess!”

Ian directed his gaze toward them slowly as if he were a predator looking at its prey.

“What? Why are you screaming?”

“I-I’m sorry. But it’s not that I don’t want to apologize…!”

At that time, Duchess Cuffs, who had been holding Lily’s shoulders tightly, suddenly let her go.

“Ack, mother!”

“You have to apologize properly. Did I teach you to act in such a way?”

At times like this, it’s only natural for a mother to protect her daughter, but Duchess Cuffs focused her gaze at someone with her eyes widened instead.

At first, I thought she was looking at Duke Ian Petri, but her eyes were focused elsewhere at a distance farther from where the Duke stood. And so, I followed her gaze that was on a blond, golden-eyed man who looked just like Princess Lily Cuffs. He looked at us with an irritated look on his face.

He must be Duke Cuffs, Lily Cuffs’ father, judging from his appearance. To make matters worse, perhaps because he couldn’t care less for his daughter’s well-being, he only continued to stand and watch the scene unfold at a distance.

As if to prove it, Duchess Cuffs began to say words that were the complete opposite of what she said earlier. Her words made it seem as if her daughter was stubborn and didn’t want to apologize.

At that moment, Lily Cuffs, who felt wronged, made eye contact with me. The child’s eyes looked somewhat frightened. Because of that, it looked as though the Lily I saw today was a different person from what we had seen before.

“That child is the one who bullied you, right?”

“Yes!”

“No…Your Excellency, I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

Even when she started to apologize earnestly, Duchess Cuffs grabbed her daughter’s head and forcibly shoved it down as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“My daughter has been causing trouble to the Duke…”

Why is she doing that? Does she think of her daughter as a tool?

“Rere,”

I couldn’t stand such inhuman behavior, so I called Rere.

“Yes!”

“I can decide whether or not I’d forgive her, right?”

“Of course!”

“Then I’ll forgive Princess Lily Cuffs.”

“Why?”

“I saw her eyes.”

After hearing my reply, Rere puffed up her cheeks as if she didn’t notice the fear in her eyes.

“Can’t I do that? Hmm, Rere?”

“No, you can’t! Unless she apologizes to mom first!”

“Princess Lily Cuffs, are you going to apologize to me now?”

Since that’s what Rere wants, I looked at the Lily Cuffs and asked her.

“Yes! I’m really, really sorry. I made a huge mistake toward the Duchess and the Princess. I will never let that happen again.”

Lily bowed her head even lower than when her mother forced her to bow, which, alone, is proof that she apologized with utmost sincerity.

“This should be enough, right?”

“Yes! My mom has forgiven her, so daddy doesn’t need to step up anymore.”

“But…”

“This is our business!”

“….Are you leaving me out again?”

“Yes! I don’t need my stupid daddy to butt in!”

“Rere….”

Rere shook her head, ignoring his sorrowful voice.

Then, she directed her gaze to Lily.

“Don’t ever talk nonsense to me again, okay?”

“Yes.”

Lily, who had been so dispirited not too long ago, nodded more keenly than ever.

“I’m relieved. I was worried that my daughter was inconveniencing everyone during the Duchess’ Party…”

People who treat their children as though they are tools. I refuse to think of someone like that as a parent.

At the same time, it made me wonder if there were parents such as Ian Petri and Duchess Cuffs in this world. Even just the thought of it made me frustrated.

“Yes. Fortunately, Princess Lily hasn’t caused that much trouble.”

Suddenly, Duchess Cuffs looked like an impressive woman. Her hair fluttered gently as she lowered her eyelids, and a kind smile bloomed on her face.

On the outside, she was the embodiment of a perfect Duchess.

For that reason, it’s possible for the others in the room to view her positively. But not me.

“Once again, I sincerely congratulate you, and I will make sure to teach my daughter…”

“You can’t just get away with those words. Princess Lily didn’t cause me any trouble, but you did cause me enough trouble.”

At my words, Duchess Cuffs’ face stiffened.

“What do you mean by trouble…haha.”

“Didn’t you just make a big fuss earlier, saying that it’s not a conversation between children, but a family matter?”

“Hoho. I thought that conversation had ended.”

“Ended? You were the one who didn’t allow Princess Lily to apologize for the trouble that she caused herself, weren’t you?”

How can you call yourself a parent?

I’m sure Rere’s past mothers all had behaviors that are similar to hers.

“I think Duchess Cuffs should be the one to apologize for making a fuss, and the one who should be taught a lesson.”