The Stepmother Loves Harems - Chapter 22

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The door to the top room, an old inn, opened. As soon as the door opened, the knight Melburn and Turis jumped out of their seats.

“Prince!”

“Where in the world have you been?”

They knew the Prince they served was reckless, but it had been a long time since they had lost track of him like this. Besides, Ulysses was a mess in his clothes and his mouth was ripped open.

‘’Shh, I told you not to call me that. Turis.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ulysses threw the money he earned from the chess game on the table and threw himself onto a cheap bed.

“I played a few rounds of chess to check out the atmosphere here.”

“Did you make a bet? It’s terrible. You had never played a game in your life, and whose nose have you pushed to flatten this time?”

“I didn’t press anyone’s nose, and instead the man burst my lips.”

“I bet you teased him by pretending to be nice.”

“That’s what makes it fun.”

Ulysses laughed with a mischievous expression on his face. He could still smell the perfume of the woman he met today.

Eliana Rose. She was a famous baroness in the city these days. She was the fourth wife of Karman Hunter, the next headmaster of the Hunter family. So far, so ordinary.

But rumors made her sound like a witch. They say she was so vicious that she beat her adopted daughter without mercy. Makeup and grooming were said to be overly extravagant, and she would wear the same dresses as the women in the bars.

But was she really a witch as he had heard?

She was not. Her physical appearance was different from the other women he had met, but she was beautiful rather than scary. It was a gorgeous beauty. She was so beautiful that he couldn’t take his eyes off her like a flower in full bloom.

But it wasn’t just for her appearance. What caught Ulysses’ attention was when she punched a man. She pretended to be sharp and leopard-like, but her punching motion was poor. It probably hurt her more than the person who got hit.

She was not good at hitting people, but she didn’t show it.

Most importantly, she recognized the royal pattern right away. Few people knew that the royal family sign was on the back of the neck and what pattern it was. Especially when it comes to a neighboring country.

But Eliana intervened, believing in that one sign. She even created a new persona for him, Duke Oliver.

“It’s crazy. It’s fantastic.”

“What?”

“She really is astonishingly clever.”

Ulysses said as he got up in bed. Melburn and Turis could not understand a word he said.

“How did she do it? If I didn’t play along with her performance, wouldn’t she look weird?”

“What in the world are you talking about? Prince, please get a grip.”

Very occasionally Ulysses became so immersed alone that he blocked out the voices around him, and now was just the right time. When he showed such behavior, Melburn and Turis would sometimes describe it as “he found his prey”. A presence had appeared that caught the Prince’s interest.

Who could it be this time?

Turis looked at Melburn’s face. Melburn nodded his head and said.

“Please let us know. Don’t hide it.”

“Oh! Yes!”

“…….”

“Find out about the Hunter family!”

“What? Don’t we all already know about the Hunter family, the founding fathers of this country?”

“Oh, no. I made a mistake. She’s in the Hunter family! No, no. She’s in the Hunter family, but she doesn’t belong to the Hunter family!”

“Prince, what are you talking about? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Eliana Rose!”

“…….”

“I want to know more about her.”

Ulysses’ golden eyes sparkled. Turis mumbled the name to himself in confusion.

“El, Eliana Rose? Was there an aristocratic family named Rose?”

Melburn’s expression, however, was not good. He had already heard the name Eliana.

“She’s a woman of whom the rumors are not good. She’s not quiet. I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved.”

“Melburn.”

“Yes.”

“When I left for this Contino country, the name Eliana Rose was nowhere to be found.”

“…….”

“This is the woman who swallowed up this little city in a short time. She could be poisonous, and I have to be careful, but….”

Ulysses’ eyes lit up like a child’s.

“It’s fun!”

Turis and Melburn sighed at the same time. This bright-looking Prince could not easily let go of the bait that had come into his eyes.

This time, however, his opponent was not to be underestimated. It was an opponent that he tried to eat, but she might eat him instead. However,  it seemed that Ulysses’ interest had reached its max.

Ulysses lay down on the bed again. Humming a tune, he continued.

“It’s time for me to disguise myself. Who’s better?”

Ulysses thought of his close friends and tried to pick one as if he was picking up finger food.

“Norton. I like the Norton family. Oliver Norton. What do you think?”

“Where did the name Oliver come from? Wouldn’t it be safer to use your best friend Adam Norton’s name as it is?”

“The probability is high that Adam will show up here and there. I’ll be Adam’s little brother. Yes, call me that.”

“If you’re Adam Norton’s brother, at least you should use the same name…..”

“I like Oliver.”

Ulysses chuckled and recited, “Oliver, Oliver, Oliver”. He then turned his head and looked at Melburn and Turis.

“But why is Oliver?”

Melburn and Turis only gave a small sigh as they asked.

***

“All I could remember was the olives I had eaten that morning. But I couldn’t call him olive, so I twitched it a little.”

Eliana answered Benny’s question, “Why did you name him Duke Oliver?” Benny spoke happily as she groomed Eliana’s hair.

“So if what you remembered was bacon or bread, you will name him bacon or bread?”

“Thinking about it, I feel fortunate that olives came to mind.”

Eliana and Benny laughed.

Today was the last day to do the dress fitting before the banquet. Eliana was wearing a dress made of low quality muslin, mainly worn by commoners. Despite the rough texture of the dress, when Eliana wore it, it looked like a silk dress.

Eliana looked at the olives on the table as she moved her body freely, not tightened by the corset.

“Oliver. That’s a good name.”

“It reminds you of him, doesn’t it?”

Eliana shook her head. Then she picked up an olive and put it in her mouth. Her eyes were full of curiosity as she looked at Benny with a smile. Benny touched Eliana’s cheek and said,

“When you discover something interesting, you always have this look in your eyes.”

“I can’t hide anything in front of Benny. I am very excited about what is about to happen. I think we can go higher than I thought we could.”

“Remember the mythical beeswax wings? Don’t get too excited and go up too high just because you can fly freely. The sun will melt all the beeswax.”

“I’ll be careful, Benny.”

A pfft of laughter spread between them. At the same time, they heard a knock at the door. Benny quickly brought a gown and wrapped Eliana’s body. Then she opened the door.

The person outside the door was none other than Pepe.

Pepe, the butler, greeted her with an uncomfortable face. Then he came inside, holding out what he had in his hand.

“A gift from the Hutt family has arrived.”

“Was it sent by Sir Gillian? Or is it Miss Helen?”

“Sir Gillian Hutt.”

“It’s the present I’ve been waiting for. Give it to me.”

“Madam.”

As Eliana extended her hand, Pepe’s expression hardened and he said,

“Don’t stand out too much. Just because the Baron doesn’t make a move doesn’t mean that the Hunter family doesn’t have eyes, does it? If you go further than this, Madam can be in danger.”

Pepe said in a serious tone. Eliana stared at Pepe and smiled.

“You opened the present in advance, didn’t you, Pepe?”

“The goods arriving at this house must be inspected. I just went through the acceptance inspection procedure. And if the person who sent the gift is someone who is rumored to have a terrible affair with the hostess of the house, I have to be even more sure of it. Don’t you agree?”

Eliana approached him and lifted the gift as if snatching it away. Then she looked him straight in the eye and said.

“I don’t know when you started treating me like a hostess of the house, butler. Do you say the same thing to Sharchen Hunter?”

“Oh, Madam…”

“If that had been the case, this house would not have come to this state. Isn’t it strange that I, the baroness, pretend that there is no problem, that there is no crisis, and lives comfortably like the butler?”

“…….”

“This house is already a field of rotting thorns. You, the butler, should know that best. But you tell me not to do shameful things to the family? You’re being arrogant!”

Eliana said, sharp as a blade. Her words were as cold as if it was scratching Pepe’s fat body. Pepe looked at Eliana, sweating instantly.

“Who dares to teach who?”

“Oh, I have never tried to teach you, Madam. I just….”

“You just deliver a message.”

“……!”

“Tell Karman Hunter. Don’t try to tie me down with this cowardly deed. I have been nothing in this barony from the first night until now.”

“…….”

“He said that to me himself. If he did, he must take responsibility for those words. Don’t you think so?”

Eliana said, pressing lightly on one of Pepe’s shoulders.

“Leave.”

Pepe left the room in a cold sweat at Eliana’s words. Eliana saw the frightened Lujan while the door was closed, but ignored her. Then she opened the gift box in her hands.

There was a coin and an amazonite necklace. Eliana unfolded a short card attached to the top of the gift case.