My Mom Has Been Possessed

Chapter 5

Duke Lysianthus (2)

 

“Lady, the room is this way!”

 

“Oh no. You’re so skinny, you should eat a lot more and gain weight.”

 

“Oh my god! This bruise… Don’t worry, lady. Now that you’ve returned to the Ducal residence, you’ll never have a bruise like this again!”

 

Bonita was swept away by the chattering maids like sparrows.

 

The three maids, who had washed and dressed the child and styled her hair with much more skill than Aria, l exclaimed at the sight of a cleaned-up Bonita.

 

“My goodness, she really is just like the madam. Don’t you think she’s gotten younger?”

 

“By madam, do you mean my biological mother?”

 

“Sure! Oh, and lady! You can’t speak formally with us!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because you are the only daughter of Duke Lysianthus, and in the future, you will become a Duke after Your Excellency!”

 

“What, what?”

 

I’m becoming a duke?

 

…Me?

 

I couldn’t believe my ears.

 

She was a girl who lived as the daughter in the countryside for seven years and was actually the most precious princess in the Empire.

 

It was a story like something out of a storybook her mother often read to her when she was younger.

 

‘It’s like a bonfire.’

 

A bonfire that is nice and warm, but goes out before the night is over.

 

Bonita’s tiny heart fluttered. She fiddled with the sleeves of her robe, an unfamiliar, fine material.

 

“Hey, uh, what about my mother? Where is my mother now?”

 

“… Mother?”

 

The maid Mary raised her eyebrows after hearing Bonita’s words.

 

“Lady, are you really talking about Miss Aria?”

 

“Ye-yes.”

 

“Miss Aria is now….”

 

Mary looked puzzled. Quick to read her emotions, Bonita turned to Mary.

 

“Bring me my mother, will you?”

 

“Then, lady. First, I’ll tie a ribbon in your hair and put shoes on. Then you can go see Miss Aria. Yes?”

 

“But I want to see my mother now.”

 

“If you don’t wear your shoes, your feet will get hurt.”

 

“Ugh… Then, I won’t wear a ribbon!”

 

The three maids’ gazes crossed.

 

‘His Excellency told us to hold her back somehow!’

 

If that woman raised her, isn’t that bruising her fault? Is it okay to take her to that woman?’

 

‘I don’t know! You should do something!’

 

‘But what if she cries?’

 

‘No way! If she cries, we will be killed by the Duke!’

 

An unspoken conversation took place.

 

None of the three wanted to make the cotton candy girl cry when she finally returned. Her life was precious.

 

Eventually, Mary, who was in charge, stopped Bonita.

 

“Okay, lady. Let’s do it!”

 

Bonita’s expression brightened after getting her confirmation.

 

The corner of Mary’s mouth relaxed when she saw the smile in front of her. Her bright, childish smile on her face had a magical power that made people feel good.

 

Even more so when the child resembled the woman they so admired and loved.

 

Mary fitted Bonita with low-heeled children’s shoes made of lambskin that fit her small feet. The carefully stitched black shoes were hidden by her pure white dress, revealing a little more with each step she took.

 

“Now let’s go to my mother!”

 

Bonita urged, grabbing Mary by the hem of her skirt, forgetting that she wasn’t supposed to be polite. Mary smiled helplessly.

 

“All right. Miss Aria will be in the parlor with His Excellency right now, so let’s go there, young lady.”

 

*****

 

“So, right now, Miss Aria is…”

 

Tap, tap.

 

The man, who was elegantly sitting with his legs crossed, patted the armrest of the soft velvet chair.

 

“You raised my daughter in hiding all this time, is that what you want to say? Knowing how heartbroken my wife and I have been?”

 

“That’s not the point, but in the end, it is.”

 

“What is the reason?”

 

A deep murderous feeling flowed from Luke. Nevertheless, Aria thought calmly.

 

She said, ‘So this is how you act in front of others.’

 

In the past, Aria, or rather Elodie, became a Duchess through a romantic love marriage with Luke.

 

It was a famous story of how Luke, who fell in love with her at first sight, pursued Elodie so much that he turned upside down when Prince Lysianthus saw her, who seemed to be sugar-coated in society after their love affair.

 

Elodie is the only one who knows the side of Luke that no one else sees, but ironically, she knows nothing about the Luke Lysianthus that everyone else knows.

 

This was because Luke turned into a gentle sheep in front of Elodie, to the point where he was extremely stubborn.

 

So, this side of her ex-husband was very refreshing to Aria. If you ask her if she’s scared, she says she wasn’t at all.

 

Aria was recognized by everyone as having a strong heart.

 

No, that was an overly positive evaluation. Elodie’s temperament was completely different from just ‘not being scared’.

 

The youngest child of the richest Count family in the kingdom. Only her brother will give her comfort.

 

Thanks to her family’s penchant for sucking up to the sickly youngest child and her own gentle nature, Elodie grew up to be a ray of spring sunshine.

 

Although she was somewhat out of touch with reality.

 

Her sunny way of thinking did not change much even after her marriage. It’s just that the object of her affections has changed from her family to her husband. To her, the world is a happy place.

 

For Elodie, her daughter’s stillbirth or, more accurately, what she thought was a stillbirth was a huge shock.

 

Because she was a happy person, she was completely unprepared for the sudden fall of her unhappiness.

 

“You know what, Elodie?”

“Actually, your daughter isn’t dead, because I stole her.”

“You’re going to die now anyway, so I’m telling you out of respect for the past.”

 

Plus the betrayal of her trusted friend.

 

She may have suffered more because she was a flower in a greenhouse. Her suffering, guilt, and regret overwhelmed her to the point that her weak body became weaker and she died.

It was like that back then.

 

“If you can’t explain a valid reason, I might as well kill you. Ariel Hilton.”

 

In other words, she was saying that the threats from her ex-husband, who was now putting her life at risk, were not scary at all.

 

This really didn’t matter.

 

Compared to back then.

 

Aria smiled brightly.

 

“Really?”

 

“Does this sound like a lie?”

 

“If you harmed me in the slightest, I’m sure you’ll regret it later, on your knees, shedding tears.”

 

Aria narrowed one of her eyes.

 

“I would like to see that too, but I think it would be better not to do that. Your Excellency looks a little ugly when you cry.”

 

“… What?”

 

Luke opened his mouth at the absurd words. Was Aria Hilton this kind of woman?

 

He hadn’t paid attention to any other woman other than Elodie, but he remembered her because she was Elodie’s maid. Aria Hilton, despite her dazzling appearance, was a timid and pathetic woman who could not speak properly.

 

Not the kind of person who spits out whatever she can think of to say.

 

There were very few women in the kingdom who could say such rude things in front of him. There were only two women in the entire kingdom. One of them is my mother, and the other is..

 

Is no longer in this world.

 

Even though six years had passed, Elodie’s face was still vivid. Luke’s mood sank to an eerie low.

 

“If you mess with her mouth any longer, I really won’t let you go.”

 

“…….”

 

“Is it money you want? Or, being the mother of my daughter and becoming a duchess?”

 

He sneered at her and spat harsh words.

 

“If it’s the first option, I’ll give you as much as you want. But if it’s the second one, you’d better not even dream about it.”

 

“… Yes?”

 

Aria responded half a beat late to Luke’s words. I had no idea he would come out this sharp.

 

The Luke she knew was a good-natured and fun-loving man, even if he had a bit of a wild side.

 

However, Luke Lysianthus did not wait for Aria to open her mouth. He crossed his arms tightly and frowned.

 

“This is enough of a favor, so I hope you will stop acting as my daughter’s mother. It’s very unpleasant.”

 

“What-”

 

“Bonita’s mother is Elodie, and no other woman can be my daughter’s mother! If you are thinking of staying here, you better not even dream about it—”

 

That was then.

 

Creak.

 

With the sound of the door opening, a small child came in. Behind it, there was a red-haired maid who was struggling to stop the child who was trying to enter.

 

The Duke looked back at her with an expression of regret.

 

“Bonita, this is.”

 

But it was already too late.

 

Big tears were already welling up in Bonita’s pink eyes. Luke fidgeted, flailing his massive arms.

 

Bonita ran to Aria, ignoring his pathetic gestures.

 

“Mother!”

 

“Bonita!”

 

Bonita and Luke’s voice overlapped. Aria neatly ignored her ex-husband’s voice as she caught her daughter jumping towards her.

 

“Oh, Bonita, you’re so sparkly! You’re ten, no, a hundred, no, a thousand times cuter than you were before!”

 

“I missed you, mother…”

 

Bonita whined and snuggled into Aria’s arms.

 

Aria, dressed in the white shirt and brown suspender skirt worn by commoners, still smelled of the freshly baked white bread and corn soup she had eaten for breakfast. Bonita breathed in more deeply, trying to catch the scent.

 

In a place full of unfamiliar things, her mother’s embrace was so sweet that it brought her to tears. The mere presence of her mother in this place made her heartbeat calm down.

 

Luke’s eyes wavered as he watched her. This is because he never expected Bonita to depend on Aria to this extent.

From the beginning, I had no expectations for that woman at all.

 

At first he just ignored it, absorbed in his emotions, but Bonita’s nutrition and development were clearly not good.

 

There was no way his child, given proper care, would be so skinny and bruised all over her forearms.

 

As such, he even considered the possibility that Aria could not have cared for Bonita properly, that she may have raised her to be closer to abuse. Naturally, his stance was high-pressure.

 

Although he was thankful that she had brought his daughter back to him, but he would thoroughly investigate and retaliate against her previous treatment of Bonita.

 

But, but this.

 

“Mother, you are my mother, aren’t you?”

 

“Of course, Bonita.”

 

Doesn’t he seem like an uninvited guest caught between the mother and daughter who are on good terms with each other?

 

“So, then… You’ll stay with me forever, right?”

 

“Hmm, of course Mom would like to…”

 

Swish.

 

Bonita’s head turned to face Luke. The corners of her eyes were completely crushed by luck, and she glared at him like a rogue trying to separate her mother away from her.

 

Luke finally surrendered ‘temporarily’.

 

“You may stay at the Duke’s residence for the time being, Miss Aria.”