My Mom Got A Contract Marriage - Chapter 16

“Now, you can use it.”

“Really? Is it okay for me to use it?”

“Because I think that would be better.”

“Are you sure it’s alright?”

Brann asked carefully, and Atil nodded. Lilica held the key with both hands.

“I’ll use it, but Your Highness is the owner.”

“Didn’t I say to make use of it.”

“Alright, I’ll do that. But let’s be co-owners.”

Since she’d be someone that has to leave when His Highness becomes an adult and becomes His Majesty the Emperor. She didn’t intend to take it all for herself, and she didn’t have the confidence to do so.

“Do whatever you want.”

Atil replied and messed up her hair. Lilica burst into laughter.

It was great to have someone touch her hair without it being painful.

Lilica held the key tightly and made up her mind.

‘I’ll turn that garden into a beautiful one and return it back to His Highness.’

Atil asked something that he was bothered about for a while now like he’d suddenly thought of it.

“But until when are you going to continue addressing me as Your Highness?”

“What?”

“You don’t have to call me Your Highness anymore.”

At that question, Lilica felt a sense of deja vu for some reason. She seems to have heard a similar question somewhere.

Lilica tilted her head and replied.

“Then, Lord Atil…?”

“Didn’t you say we were siblings?”

As Atil spoke, a look of contemplation on whether he should stop here was on his face. At that, Lilica smiled as she grabbed his hand.

“Atil.”

Atil smiled faintly and tightened his grip on Lilica’s hand. Lilica led him by their joined hand towards the kitchen excitedly.

The people in the kitchen stiffened from fright at the crown prince’s presence. Brynn brought out the raspberries and the chef spoke politely.

“Please allow me to make a dish and send it over. Should I deliver it to the White Dragon Chamber and the Black Dragon Chamber respectively?”

Lilica glanced at Atil and spoke.

“Send it to the White Dragon Chamber. And send the good ones to His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress.”

“Understood. Please don’t worry and go up first.”

Not long after Lilica said to go after eating took Atil to the White Dragon Chamber, crystal bowls full of raspberry cream were brought in.

It was a cold dessert made by adding sweet and fresh whipped cream to raspberries mixed with sugar.

Lilica felt happy when she was full after eating the cream and raspberries.

She brought the final raspberry into her mouth with a silver spoon and savoured the sweet and sour vortex, and finished off with tea, pleased.

Pi laughed.

“Princess, you ate it so tastily.”

Lilica asked cautiously.

“Is it weird? Did I eat it improperly?”

Pi shook his head at that question.

“No, I just found it nice that you looked rather delighted.”

“Does eating delicious things not make you happy?”

“Yes, it does.”

However, no one revealed their happy feelings on their face as blatantly as Lilica did.

For some reason, Pi was impressed at the sight of that face that made people happy just by looking at it. And he pressed his lips together lightly.

‘Oh dear.’

He made a slip of the tongue.

‘What am I saying, I just found it nice that you looked rather delighted?’

If he was speaking to another aristocrat, it might sound like an insult. Pi became excited.

Lilica wouldn’t twist his words. She would take his words as it is without thinking twice or thrice.

If he says he’s happy, she’ll believe that he’s happy, and if he says he’s sad, she’ll believe that he’s sad.

She wouldn’t look for any hidden meanings behind those words.

‘She wouldn’t think about how to interpret my words, or who to report it to, and wouldn’t look for weaknesses in the words that I’d said.’

After some consideration, Pi apologised.

“My apologies, Princess, I made a slip of the tongue.”

At those words, Lilica shook her head.

“No, I shouldn’t have asked questions like, ‘Is it against the rules of etiquette?’ to Pi. I’d asked unknowingly.”

If it was a true princess, she wouldn’t have asked that question, would she?

“No, I was the one that committed an error by saying that. I’d relaxed without realising it.”

At those words, Lilica stared at Pi and held out her empty glass bowl.

“Give me one more piece and I’ll forgive you.”

Pi laughed quietly.

“I’ll give you two pieces.”

After watching this scene, Atil scooped out raspberries from his cup and placed them in Lilica’s.

“What’s wrong, Atil?”

When Lilica asked, Atil replied.

“I don’t want to have to apologise one at a time when there’s something to be sorry for in the future.”

“Princess, please take good care of His Highness.”

Brann poured his share into Lilica’s cup.

“Who are you to ask on my behalf?”

Atil spoke in an irritated voice, while Brann just laughed, “Haha.”

Instantly, raspberries filled up Lilica’s cup again. Lilica’s mouth widened and she looked back at Brynn.

“I’ll share half with Brynn. Because I think I’ll receive a lot of help from Brynn.”

Brynn, who’s cup became emptied before Lilica knew it, smiled and held out her cup, and she shared half to her.

Pi was quite pleased.

Even when Atil grumbled, he was rather at ease in front of Lilica.

He didn’t know how long it had been since he saw Atil like this.

Above all, he didn’t expect that Atil would enter that garden again.

The princess didn’t know how precious the key to that garden was to Atil, but Pi was aware.

In other words, Lilica would greatly treasure and take care of the garden.

‘It’s fascinating.’

It was his first time meeting someone that made him feel at ease.

‘Was this what the adults in the family called placidity? To marry someone that makes you feel comfortable.’

For a snake, it was a kind of peace and happiness that they rarely encountered, so it was both awkward and interesting. As a being that induces mistakes, he’d also felt uneasy because of that.

However, as a person serving His Highness, Lilica’s presence deserved to be welcomed.

‘As long as the Princess doesn’t betray this side, that is.’

She may still be young, but who knows how she’ll change after she grows up.

Pi had witnessed several people that were perfectly fine and lovely when they were young grow up into poisonous weeds.

If anyone heard those words, they would say, ‘what kind of words was a child blabbering,’ but Pi was thirteen. In Sandar, once anyone reaches their teenage years, they would gain a right to speak that’s equivalent to an adult’s.

Honestly, Pi wanted to protest that once he reached ten years old and went through Partha, he should gain a right to speak.

Count him as a teen when he turns ten years old. What’s the difference between being twelve and being thirteen?

However, each time he was refuted with, “If you aren’t thirteen, you’re not a teenager.”

Such ranks must be established at certain ages in order to survive in a den of snakes.

‘It’s better to be wary.’

He should be wary of an existence that lowers the boundaries of his mind.

As he pondered about that, Pi put the leftover raspberries into his mouth.

* * *

Lilica only met her mother three days later.

Although she heard that the meeting had ended, Lilica decided to visit her mother later as she thought that her mother would be tired. In the end, she was called over by her mother.

Ludia was dressed in a gown and her hair was roughly tied together. She kissed her daughter with a rather exhausted face and said.

“Did anything happen in the meantime?”

“No, nothing happened.”

“Alright, let’s, ouch.”

Just as she was about to hug Lilica, Ludia tapped her waist and groaned.

“Are you okay?”

When Lilica asked in surprise, Ludia nodded.

“It’s okay, I’m just tired. Mom looks so ugly, right?

Ludia had a wide smile on her face. Lilica shook her head vehemently.

“No, Mother is still very beautiful!”

Lilica’s comments made Ludia laugh, “Huhu”. At the sight of her smile, Lilica admired once again, ‘So pretty.’

Her mother looked really exhausted, but for some reason, her skin was glossy and the corners of her eyes were red, which made her so pretty.

Lilica frowned while staring at her mother.

“Mother, I think you were bitten by a bug. Are you alright?”

“What?”

“Here—”

When Lilica tapped at the back of her neck and spoke, Ludia hurriedly closed the collar of her gown.

“It seems pretty big and red. Isn’t it itchy?”

“Uh, uh. Mom is fine. It’s really alright.”

As Ludia shook her hands flusteredly, Lilica nodded.

It seems like her mother was ashamed about being bitten by an insect. It was nothing to be ashamed of.

After coughing, Ludia fiddled with the collar of her gown and said.

“I had received a reply from Barat in the meantime. He’ll come to teach you. Is that alright?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Fjord Barat said he’d come”

“Wow—!”

Lilica grabbed her hands out of pure delight. Ludia laughed.

“Are you that happy?”

“Yes!”

“And also—”

Her mother yawned softly and continued.

“When Atil picks a new escort, you’ll also pick an escort of your own. Go to the Knights of the Imperial Guard and pick someone to your liking. You can also ask Sir Tan to pick someone decent.”

Ludia said so and yawned again. Lilica said.

“It seems that the meeting was very tiring.”

“Meeting?”

“Yes, you were having a meeting with His Majesty, so you both stayed together the entire time.”

“Oh, yes, it was a unilateral meeting… it’s unilateral… Huhu. Oh, but we’ve pretty much finished talking over it.”

Lilica felt downcast when she thought about how tough it must have been for her mother.

Even so, she was really happy that her mother called for her immediately.

Lilica jumped up from her seat, hugged her mother tightly and said.

“Okay. Please have a good sleep now. I’ll listen to the rest later.”

“Mm, Mom will rest for a little while. Take the letter sent by the Barats from the head lady-in-waiting.”

“Yes.”

When Lilica left the room, a maid handed the letter to Brynn.

It was a letter with an extravagant flower pattern as its crest.

‘The crest represents the family’s ancestor. In that case, are the ancestors of the Barat family flowers?’

Can flowers become their ancestors?

‘But it’s quite plausible.’

Once Lilica thought about Fjord’s appearance, she thought that it was really possible.

Perhaps his ancestor was a flower fairy or something of the like?

As she examined the letter envelope, she arrived in front of the stairs.

Lilica glanced around furtively. She cleared her throat for a moment.

“Brynn.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“There isn’t anyone around, is there?”

“No one is watching.”

Lilica stole a glance at the railing. Brynn asked politely.

“Would you like to ride it down?”

“Is it okay to do so?”

“Why wouldn’t it be alright?”

“Alright, then.”

Under Brynn’s encouragement, Lilica sat down on a large and wide marble railing.

“Wah—!”

She began sliding down the railing at once.

‘Oh? Ohh?’

The stairway was longer and the speed was faster than she’d expected. What if she couldn’t land properly?

“Ah!”

She was flying out!

At the railing’s bent portion, Lilica let out a small scream and closed her eyes tightly.

Tak, and someone managed to catch her. When Lilica took a peek, she saw His Majesty standing there.

“You shouldn’t close your eyes at the very end. You have to check where you’re going to land.”

“Your Majesty!”

Startled, Lilica’s eyes widened as he lifted her up in an instant.

Altheos said to Brynn, who was standing next to him.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“I would’ve caught her if it wasn’t for Your Majesty.”

Brynn lowered her head slightly. Altheos turned his gaze to Lilica.

“I didn’t know that cleaning the railings was included in the Princess’s job description.”

Lilica’s face turned red. Altheos watched her reddening face blatantly.

“I’m sorry…”

“For cleaning the railing?”

“No, for sliding down the railing…”

“What’s there to be sorry for?”

Lilica looked at him with a troubled expression. “Ah,” said Altheos with a frown.

“I wasn’t asking you to confess your wrongdoings. I asked because I really don’t know why you felt the need to apologise.”

After speaking, he looked into Lilica’s eyes for a moment.

“Have you met your mother?”

“Yes, she looked really exhausted.”

“Hmm.”

Lilica couldn’t help but look at Altheos’ face.

Mother seemed rather tired, but for some reason, His Majesty gave a lustrous feeling.

“Was the results of the meeting satisfactory?”

“What meeting?”

“I heard that you’re having a meeting with Mother…”

“Ah.”

Altheos averted his gaze and nodded.

“It was very satisfying.”

“I see.”

“Lily.”

“Yes.”

“Did you ask your mother that?”

“About what?”

“The meeting.”

“Oh, yes.”

Altheos cleared his throat.

“What did she say?”

“Well…”

Lilica pondered over what she should say.

“The conversation has pretty much ended.”

“Is that all?”

“What? Oh, and.”

Lilica scanned his mood, and Altheos smiled and said, “Be honest.”

“She said it was a unilateral meeting…”

“Unilateral. Hmm… Right, that was the case. Hmm….”

Altheos said.

“In that case, I should do my best to make it a meeting that satisfies both sides in the future.”

Altheos was about to set Lilica down when he spotted the envelope in her hand.

“Barat?”

“What? Oh, yes. I wanted to invite Fjord Barat as a guest.”

“Fjord Barat?”

“Yes.”

Altheos became lost in thought at her reply. He reached out his hand and Lilica handed him the letter.

Barat’s crest was obviously imprinted on the envelope, as was the silver dragon emblem that indicated the recipient of the letter.

“Occasionally, no, often I wonder what the Empress is thinking.”

He murmured and returned the letter back to Lilica.

“Go on.”

Altheos, who was heading upstairs, turned in the other direction and vanished with large strides.

Lilica looked at the invitation and asked Brynn.

“His Majesty seems angry, doesn’t he?”

“No, if he was angry, he would have killed either one of us. Or, he would have killed both of us.”

“…….”

As she looked at the smiling Brynn, Lilica thought, ‘It’s hard being an aristocrat,’ and then put the letter into the pocket of Brynn’s apron.

She thought that it’d be best if it wasn’t seen by someone else.

*