Queen of The Scalpel - Chapter 3
She was barely able to stop her flowing tears. Her father, El de Clarence coughed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would be this hard on you.” Her family thought she cried because of her punishment.
Jihyun simply replied, “No, it’s ok. It was my fault since I did something wrong.” To be honest, she didn’t know why she was being punished.
‘Well, I probably did something bad anyway. Like throwing something expensive or throwing a tantrum at the servants.’
It was a little embarrassing to say this herself but…her temper really was atrocious. What did it matter to look pretty on the outside? Her ‘inside’ was disgusting. ‘But I guess it’s a relief that I haven’t done anything really bad yet.’
It was the year 283. She was 16, so she hadn’t made any big mistakes yet.
‘I can change it all.’
She definitely wasn’t going to repeat her past life, and live her life loving her family members. Jihyun promised herself that. Meanwhile, her family members were giving her strange looks.
‘Why did this child change so much?’ She was so different from how she normally was. A soft voice and a calm attitude. It was a placidity that was rarely exuded by 16 year olds.
‘Was the 10 days too much?’ Marquis El thought that he had given too severe a punishment.
‘But before this, she never repented or was hurt, no matter how severe the punishment was.’ It was nice to see her mild attitude, but he was still doubtful.
‘She’ll be back to normal anytime soon, won’t she? He made a sour smile. It would be nice if his daughter was always this nice, but it probably wouldn’t go that long. She was his daughter, but even he acknowledged that her personality was extremely mean. No matter how he tried to teach her or discipline her, it didn’t work.
‘Will I be able to see this child mature before I die?’ He felt frustrated, but he didn’t know how fast his wish would come true. After that day, his daughter, Elise, completely turned into another person.
***
“Mary, I’ll do the rest.”
“It’s,it’s ok….”
“No, it’s fine. It’s because I like doing it. And you’re busy with other things too. Go on.”
The maid, Mary wondered if the girl in front of her was really Elise. ‘Could it be someone else who looks like her?’ But when she saw her pretty doll-like face, she became sure it was Elise.
“Oh, and thanks for the cake earlier.”
“…!”
Mary was surprised again. In the past, Elise had never thanked anyone because of her pride. ‘Is this really my lady?’
Mary thought of her recent developments. It was like she had turned over into a new leaf in a single day. ‘And she even apologizes now.’
After the family banquet, Lady Elise had done unbelievable things. She went and apologized to the people she had thrown tantrums at! Everyone accepted her apology in surprise, but no one actually thought she had changed. They thought it was just a phase, and she would be mean again because people don’t change that easily. But after that day, Elise really changed.
‘Now she doesn’t throw tantrums and is thoughtful about her subordinates…’
Mary looked at Elise. ‘She found out Hans’ mother was sick and paid for her hospital fees.’ And that wasn’t all. She also gave a present to Merry upon hearing she was pregnant, and gave medicine to Yuni. Those people who had received Elise’s grace were touched beyond words.
‘Did an angel possess her body?’ She felt like the mildly smiling Elise was like an angel when she laughed. ‘If it really is an angel, please don’t leave and stay in there.’ The current Lady Elise was so nice that she would be glad to serve her forever.
***
‘Oh, the time.’ Jihyun, who had been writing something, stood up after looking at the clock. It was almost a month after Jihyun entered Elise’s body so she was somewhat becoming used to this life again. Recently, she had started something, and that was trying to be a filial daughter.
“Father, it’s me, Elise.”
After she knocked, she entered her father’s office.
“Ahem, you’re here?”
“Yes. You’re tired from work, right? I thought you might be, so I brought you some tea.”
“Ahem, ahem.”
She doesn’t do much. She would prepare her father’s tea and occasionally make his desserts. She would also keep her weak stepmother’s company. These weren’t much, but it was the effort that mattered.
‘I wasn’t able to do these things in my past life because I was an orphan.’ She had realized her parents’ importance too late. No one would ever know how much she had wanted to do something like this.
“Father, what’s wrong?” Elise looked curiously at her father’s awkward expression.
“N-no, because….you made me tea…”
“??”
“…Because I’m glad. I can’t believe the day has come when I drink the tea my daughter made for me.” Her father coughed.
It seemed like he was touched. Upon seeing this, Elise felt sad. What she did wasn’t even something that difficult. ‘From now on, I’ll bring you tea often. No, I’ll do even more than that.’
“Does the tea fit your taste?”
“Of course! It’s delicious. Even the tea at the Royal Palace doesn’t have this deep taste. How did you make it?” The Marquis wasn’t lying.The tea made by the ladies-in-waiting in the palace couldn’t even compare to this.
“I just practiced a little by myself.”
She thought to herself, ‘Well, it’s not a lie.’ In her previous first life, she had learned how to make tea to impress the Emperor after becoming the Empress. It was futile, but her skills were those of a master artisan, since she had learned in the Royal Palace. In her second life, there wasn’t any occasion to make tea, but she was glad her skills hadn’t declined.
“Then I’ll be off. Take it easy, father.”
The Marquis spoke in a wistful voice, “Oh….you can stay a bit longer.”
“It’s ok. I’ll only bother you if I stay longer. I’ll see you at dinner. Then, good-bye.” She quietly closed the door and left.
The Marquis started at the door for a long time after she left. He thought with a touched expression, ‘I can’t believe my daughter changed that much. And she even takes care of my health.’
Children were lovable even when they did nothing, so he was over the moon that she was taking care of him like this. He didn’t want this happiness to end, so he drank his tea in tiny sips