There was a moment of silence in the room.
What should I say to the undeserved compliment?
I sighed and opened my mouth.
“Do you see me like that?”
“I can explain more. Can I explain more?”
“Stop. Now I know how glorified I am in your head.”
It was natural for a maid to only say good things to her master in the first place.
“But don’t talk about it outside. I’m going to get cursed at.”
I was a kind employer, so I gave advice and got out of bed.
“I want to eat in my room today, is it okay?”
“Um, wouldn’t it be unreasonable?”
“Why?”
It was common to eat breakfast together, but it was possible to eat alone if I wanted to.
In this situation, it was clear that if I faced my sisters, I wouldn’t be able to raise my head properly, let alone eat.
As my eyes narrowed, Isabel quickly told me why.
“Miss Liliana and Miss Viola were in charge of the breakfast preparation.”
“What-what are they doing?”
“Miss Daisy blamed herself for being noticed as too thin last night. For Miss’ sake, I heard that they are mainly preparing healthy food so that Miss can eat properly.”
Hearing those words, I stood still and stiffened.
‘I’m scared. I’m really scared now.’
With my poor head, I couldn’t imagine what my sisters were up to.
“I’d like to add that other family members are waiting for Miss Daisy in the dining room.”
“You should’ve said that first!”
I got goosebumps just imagining that my feisty sisters were waiting for me.
There was no way they were just waiting.
Obviously, they were getting angry that I was late for the prepared meal.
Because my sisters are like that, that’s why!
They didn’t criticize me severely in front of our parents, but I didn’t want to face their looks of contempt so early in the morning.
With Isabel’s help, I quickly prepared only enough not to be criticized and headed downstairs.
When I arrived at the dining room, everyone in the family was really waiting at the table except for me.
“Oh, good morning. Father, Mother. And Sisters.”
When the four pairs of eyes turned to me, I greeted them with a trembling voice without realizing it.
‘Oh, I am going to get in trouble.’
It was obvious that I would be criticized for oversleeping shamelessly without doing anything for the family.
Or they might laugh at me, saying, You can’t even speak properly and stutter.
I was nervous at the words of my sisters who were about to fly, and I closed my eyes tightly.
But the words that came back were not a stinging remark.
“Did you sleep well, Daisy? Good morning.”
Behind Liliana’s sweet voice, Viola gently led me to my seat.
She pulled out the chair and let me sit down.
When she finished escorting, she went back to her seat, sat down, and smiled a rare smile.
‘Sister Viola is smiling. Is this an extension of Sisters’ yesterday strange behaviors?’
I wasn’t scolded, but my heart was pounding with anxiety because this was different from the usual.
“Since we’re all here, shall we eat now?”
Father lifted the tableware with a warm smile, followed by Mother and my sisters.
It was the same breakfast as yesterday, but the atmosphere was different.
Both Father and Mother smiled brightly as if they had blown all their worries away, and my sisters also seemed to be in a good mood.
I couldn’t ruin the harmonious atmosphere I felt after a long time, so I raised the corners of my lips awkwardly.
And the moment I saw the colorful table in front of me, I swallowed a huge amount of saliva and raised my fork.
‘Isn’t it too much in the morning?’
A light salad with a few slices of bread and fruit was enough to fill me up, but this was worth more than breakfast.
No, this wasn’t breakfast, this was food that would be served when hosting valuable guests.
“Eat a lot, Daisy. Eat a lot and don’t get sick.”
“Tell me if you want more.”
It would be nice if you can focus on your own meals once the meal started.
My sisters filled my plate with a little bit of each food.
Then they looked at me, telling me to eat well.
‘I think I’m going to get indigestion.’
Every time I moved the fork, their eyes continued following my moves.
Yes, even their eyes were like that.
“Oh, my little sister is cute even when she eats like this, right? I’ve prepared a lot for you. Eat a lot.”
“It’s good to eat a lot, but chew well.”
It was so unfamiliar to see their worried gazes with bright smiles.
“I-I’m full…”
“Oh, my God. You only eat this little? I can’t. Daisy! I’ll have to take care of your diet from now on!“
Is this a high-level bullying operation?
Viola supported Liliana’s words.
“I think it would be better to build up a little bit of physical strength… Let’s work out together.”
“What? Yes.”
I couldn’t hear well in the confusing situation, so I gave a rough answer and fixed my gaze on the plate.
What the sisters were saying didn’t go into my ears properly.
So I could only nod my head in a yes-or-no way.
The trembling in my eyes showed no sign of stopping due to the friendly attack of the two people that continued for a long time.
This isn’t the sisters I know.
‘Something’s strange.’
I wanted to run outside and asked people passing by.
When have you ever seen my sisters talk like that?
‘Why doesn’t everyone think it’s strange?’
I carefully turned my eyes to my parents while eating.
‘This.’
My parents didn’t care about us and were eating well.
“Honey, try this, too. It’s grapefruit that you like. Now, ah.”
“Ah, really. We already have children.”
My mother criticized my father, but opened her small mouth and ate the grapefruit.
‘You’ve been on good terms since this morning..’
Our parents, immersed in their own world, seemed to have no time to worry about us.
‘No, it’s not just today… In the first place…’
I didn’t want to keep the friendly image that popped into my head, so I hurriedly shook my head and decided to focus on my meal.
“Daisy likes grapefruit, too, right? Let’s eat some fruit if you’re full.”
Liliana put a piece of grapefruit on my plate with a soft smile.
She must have misunderstood something, I was looking at my parents, not the grapefruit my mother ate.
I looked down at a piece of grapefruit on my plate, swallowed a sigh, and put it in my mouth.
As the bitter taste spread in my mouth, my expression almost crumpled, but I tried to smile, conscious that Liliana was staring.
“Thank you, Sister.”
“No, grapefruit is good for your health, so eat a lot.”
Liliana put a few more grapefruit slices on my plate with kind words.
It was nice to be taken care of.
The biggest problem was that I hated grapefruit.
“Is there anything else you want to eat?”
As soon as Liliana finished speaking, Viola asked out of the blue.
I held back my cough and smiled brightly.
“Yes! I’m very full!”
“Yes.”
Contrary to what she said calmly, her voice sounded very sad, but it didn’t matter to me.
I gulped as I looked at the grapefruits stacked on the plate.
Just looking at it, my mouth was watering and filled with bitterness.
Just imagining it was painful but it couldn’t be helped.
‘If I can’t eat it all, what will you say?’
It was obvious that they were going to get mad at me for ignoring their consideration…
I cried and forced myself to eat all the grapefruits with lettuce and mustard.
✲ ✲ ✲
As soon as I entered the room, I took out a basket full of chocolate and ate it to get rid of the bitter taste that lingered in my mouth.
With the sweetness that filled my mouth, the wrinkles on my forehead were smoothed out and I was able to smile.
“Why are they doing this to me?”
They say if you suddenly do something you’ve never done before, you’ll die.
‘Are they really going to die?’
I shook my head immediately.
Well, seeing that I had a strange thought, the grapefruit must have been a big blow.
“I mean, it’s a whole bunch of stuff I don’t understand.”
Aside from my sisters suddenly became strange, seeing everyone happy rather than feeling strange about it made me feel frustrated.
‘After all, my sisters will be going out soon as always…’
I was able to relax my tense shoulders as I watched a carriage leave the mansion through the window.
“At least we won’t meet before dinner.”
Thinking it was fortunate that my sisters went out often, I hurriedly called Isabel.
“Did you call, Miss?”
“Yes, help me get ready to go out.”
“Oh, are you thinking of going to the salon?”
Isabel clapped her hands and asked in a delighted voice, but I shook my head.
“Salon? What are you talking about? I will go to the temple again today, so please prepare clothes as simple as possible.”
“What? But today…”
“What about it?”
Isabel didn’t have to answer my question.
This was because after Isabel, a person who shouldn’t appear here now appeared.
“Hello, Daisy. Do you have any special schedule today?”
“Oh, Sister Liliana.”
At her sudden appearance, I stood up straight again and smiled naturally.
“I don’t have a fixed schedule, but I was thinking of going to the temple after a long time.”
“…To the temple? Why the temple?”
When the word temple came out of my mouth, Liliana looked visibly displeased.
“It’s not a big deal. I thought I’d pray for you after a long time.”
“It’s a place full of corrupt priests anyway, so God won’t be able to listen to your prayers. If you insist on visiting such a place, you’re just going to waste four hours of your time.”
Liliana was right.
The Pope had been in bed with an unknown disease for five years.
The cardinals and priests seemed to do their best to fill the Pope’s vacancy, but they lacked the power to control the temples outside the Vatican.
As a result, the number of corrupt priests in the temples spread throughout the continent, except for the Vatican, especially in the case of the Odphelia Empire.
But there is no one proud enough to say it out loud…
As I just smiled awkwardly, Liliana brightened her wrinkled expression and suddenly approached and grabbed my hand.
“My tea party is going to be held today, so won’t you join me?”
“Tea-tea party?”
It was hard to believe Liliana invited me to a party in her name.
‘When I asked you to drink tea together, you refused….’
It was difficult when I wanted it, and so easy when Liliana wanted it.
I was very upset at the fact that the efforts I had made were so easily accomplished.
But I had to answer.
I asked back just in case.
“Can I come?”
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