Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

“We have arrived, madam.”A luxurious carriage glided to a halt in front of the restaurant.I pressed on my hat deeply and entered the restaurant.‘I’m sorry, Helios.’I lied and left the mansion three days after I promised not to worry.Grabbing my pounding chest and looking around, the manager of the restaurant approached me.“Welcome, are you alone?”“I’m waiting for someone.”“What is the name of that person?”“Sirius.”“I’ll take you, this way.”The waitress, who checked the reservation list, led me to a room at the back of the restaurant.“This is the room.”“Thanks.”I handed the 5 gold bill to the manager and went inside.In the room, that person was seated first.“You here? I thought you might not come.”The man who got up from his seat greeted me warmly.I opened the bag and put the envelope I had prepared in advance in front of him.“What’s this?”“It’s the hospital bill you paid last time. With this, my business is over.”The man’s expression hardened for a moment as he picked up the envelope.“I’m in a hurry, so let’s keep this short.”“… It doesn’t look like that…”He muttered bitterly.Part of me wanted to walk away, but I knew the coachman would be suspicious if I did, so I sat down.As awkward silence drifted through the cramped room, the door opened with a knock.“Excuse me.”The waitress brought in the trolley and set the food on the table.It took a long time just to move the plates because he ordered so much.“Have a good meal.”As the waitress, who poured the aperitif with me and the man’s glass, left the room, the man opened his mouth again with a bright smile.“Have you not eaten yet? I thought it was going to be late, so I ordered it on my own, but I don’t know if it will fit. Try it once.”The man’s attitude was mild, as if he had forgotten all of my rudeness a while ago.I didn’t like the excessive intimacy as if he knew me well, but now the food on the table was even more surprising.A lobster. I didn’t know he ordered it, but I let out a sigh.“That’s Okay. I have eaten.”“Don’t lie. Hurry up and eat before it gets cold.”The man said as he pushed the lobster plate in front of me.Annoyed, I spoke in a shrill voice.“Forget it, I’m not eating it.”“Aren’t you ignoring people’s sincerity too much?”The smile disappeared from his face. I opened my mouth as an excuse with a face full of displeasure.“I can’t eat shellfish.”“Yes?”“I have severe allergies, so I can’t eat all the food they make in the kitchen where shellfish are cooked.”“Ah.”Then the man sighed as if the misunderstanding had been resolved.“I made a big mistake. I should have met you somewhere else.”“That’s okay, don’t mind me, just eat yours.”“It’s a bit difficult for me to eat alone.”The man smiled bitterly and picked up the fork.The man who had been munching on food as if he had lost his appetite put down the tableware.“It doesn’t taste good because I ate it alone. I’ll see you next time.”“Forget it, just explain. How do you know about the scars on my back.”“Ah, right. We met to talk about it.”He skillfully furrowed his eyebrows.I didn’t like his playful expression like a child, so I stared at him, and the man opened his mouth.“By any chance, where were you last winter?”“Last winter?”By that time… Before I was possessed.At that time, Charlet Melks was still alive, so Lenia and Helios had not reunited.And it was a time I can’t remember.“Why are you asking that?”“I’m not sure if I can tell you the truth you are curious about.”“… What do you know?”I sharply questioned him.The man who was staring at me with a hardened face wiped his face.“Ha, I don’t know, I never thought we’d be talking about this.”“Stop saying that and let’s talk in detail.”“……”But he seldom opened his mouth.This man must know something I forgot, so why can’t he speak?“Why don’t you answer me?”“… I thought it might be better not to know.”“Tell me that, I will listen and judge.”I hurriedly urged him, but he did not open his mouth.The man who had been staring at me for a long time without saying a word shook his head.“I need to think about it.”“What are you worried about?”“Can I tell you what I know? I will think about it and decide.”“It’s my job. I have a right to know. Why are you worrying about my business?”“I’m afraid you’ll fall again.”The man answered with a worried expression on his face.After being silent for a while, he emptied the wine in his glass and got up.“We have two more chances anyway, so I’ll think about it slowly and talk about it.”“Hey—.”“Not ‘hey’, but ‘Sirius’.”“……”“Call me like that next time we meet. Lady Evelyn.” ***** “Aren’t he completely crazy?”As I wandered around the room ferociously, grabbing my complicated head, I couldn’t stand it and screamed.No matter how you think about it, he’s a suspicious person.I don’t know which family he is, I don’t know what he’s doing, I don’t know what his intention of approaching me is.I have no one to ask.I wonder if I’ve fallen for one of the madman’s schemes.My suspicions were raised.But… knows the scars on my back too well to be a scammer, right?Besides ‘That, in the cave-.’ The words I had vaguely heard before I collapsed caught my heart.A cave, what cave are you talking about?Did Lenia get lost in the cave?But there are no caves in the Viscount Evelyn.What does the cave and the scar on the back have to do with it?“Ha, I don’t know.”I thought I would know something if we met, but I feel like my doubts have only increased.Sirius Winternight.What is the real identity of that man?I don’t think we had a close relationship, since he didn’t know that Lenia was allergic to shellfish.I felt like my head was going to explode.I try to get up thinking that if I go out for a walk in the garden it will get better.Knock–“Ar-Are you here?”A shy child’s voice was heard along with a light knock.“Tiaris? Come on in.”When I answered her question, Tiaris poked her face out through the door.Escal was in class with Viscount Espenser, so it seemed that she stopped by me alone.“What’s up?”Tiaris, who ran into the room giggling, bowed to me.“Thank you for buying Tia Dress.”“Tiaris, did you wear that dress… by yourself?”“Yes. Tia wore it.”Tiaris answered boldly.I held back the laughter that escaped and looked at Tiaris.One shoulder fell, the hem of the dress was wrinkled, and the ribbon was not tied behind the back, so it was dragged to the floor.In addition, the shawl worn over the dress fluttered around the chest, and the petticoat protruded under the crumpled skirt, making it difficult to walk.‘It’s still pretty though.’The outfit was a mess, but the girl’s blushing cheeks and the pink dress matched pretty well.“Come here. I’ll put it back on.”As I smiled and beckoned, Tiaris ran to me and stood in front of me.I asked, fixing her messy outfit.“Do you like the dress?”“Yes. It’s so pretty! This is the first time Tia wears clothes like this.”“I’m glad you like it. Next time, I’ll buy you a prettier one.”“Uh, no.”Tiaris unexpectedly shrugged.“Why not?”“Grandpa doesn’t like it, If I wear something like this…”“So you tried it on without your grandfather’s knowledge?”“Yes.”Somehow, I wondered why she wore the dress alone.He was quite the stubborn man, I thought, as I finished dressing Tiaris.“It’s over. After Escal study let’s go and show it to him. But what if Tia is so pretty and brother is surprised?”“… Is Tia pretty?”“Pretty.”“Hehe.”Tiaris smiled to me.I stroked Tiaris’ hair and smiled.Aww, these cute child.No matter how bad things were going, looking at them seemed to melt away all my worries.“Shall we head out then?”“Yeah.”I thought it was time for Escal’s class to end, so I went out to the living room to wait, when Merlin knocked on the door.“Excuse me, Madam.”As I opened the door, Merlin held out a white envelope.“Count Tilburn has sent you a letter.”“Count Tilburn?”What’s going on?Bewildered, I hurriedly checked the letter in the envelope. To the Duchess of Anthemion. There’s something I’d like to discuss with you about the academy, and I hope to see you at the coffee house in Kingston the following afternoon. Eric Tilburn.