On the day of the festival.
After Sophia woke her up early in the morning, Lyla began to groom herself.
She bathed in water adorned with apple blossoms, carefully applied scented oil to her hair, and meticulously brushed it.
Sophia braided Lyla’s soft, bouncy hair into a long braid, and adorned it with flower-made hair accessories.
After dressing in a pre-prepared dress and applying light makeup, the sun was already shining above her head.
While the rest of the family had long finished preparing, they were waiting only for Lyla.
Of course, Lyla hadn’t planned to take so long. She simply followed Sophia’s wishes to adorn her from head to toe, never expecting it to be such a lengthy process.
“You look truly beautiful.”
Sophia looked at Lyla with eyes filled with emotion.
To her, Lyla was the most beautiful daughter in the world.
With clear and fair skin, moist brown eyes that sparkled like stars, and delicately beautiful features, she was not a dazzling beauty at first glance, but a modest beauty whom one would want to keep gazing at.
What she regretted was her own skills, which couldn’t fully highlight her daughter’s beauty.
“If only I had more skillful hands. I’m disappointed I couldn’t do more for you.”
Lyla blinked at her words.
From the early morning until now, after several hours of continuous preparation, the phrase “this much” seemed to trivialize the time and effort spent.
‘I’m already feeling tired even though I haven’t stepped out of the house yet.’
The only thing that kept her going was her experience as a noblewoman, when she would wake up at dawn to bathe in perfumed oils, massage, and do more.
Lyla hid her exhaustion and studied her reflection in the mirror.
Compared to her preparations at Tordell Manor, which were much grander and more elaborate, her current appearance was much simpler and modest. Yet, perhaps due to her lively complexion and brightened expression, she looked much better than she did back then.
Lyla smiled, raising the corners of her lips. She liked how the smile suited her well now.
“This is enough. Among all the times I’ve seen myself, I like how I look now the most.”
“How come our daughter speaks so beautifully?”
Sophia murmured as she brushed Lyla’s shoulder.
“I always dreamed of this. Dressing you up beautifully and going out together. Whenever I saw a mother and daughter walking affectionately on the street, I felt so envious.”
Sophia’s tone was getting emotional.
“Mom…”
Lyla could understand her feelings.
There were times when she felt sad, thinking of the family she had lost when she saw seemingly harmonious families.
At the end of her difficult days, she would sometimes shed tears thinking about the family who were eagerly waiting for her return.
Though she had returned to her family now, that didn’t mean the feelings she had in the past had disappeared or been completely erased.
Lyla raised her hand and wrapped her mother’s hand resting on her shoulder.
“We’ll do this a lot from now on, because we’ll be together forever.”
Turning her head, Lyla locked eyes with Sophia and smiled. Sophia teared up at her daughter’s affectionate words.
“Oh goodness, I’m getting more teary-eyed with age.”
Sophia, still holding hands with Lyla, wiped her tears with the other hand and spoke in a brighter voice.
“You look beautiful, Lyla. Even more beautiful than I imagined.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Mom, for making such a lovely dress for me.”
Lyla looked down at the dress she was wearing.
The ordinary lavender dress, which seemed nothing special, was meticulously crafted by Sophia with all her love and care for Lyla.
Although Lyla had worn many expensive dresses from famous designers during her time as Helena, this dress was the one she liked the most among all she had worn so far.
It was because Sophia poured all her love for Lya into making this dress.
“Shall we go now?”
“Sure, let’s go. They must be exhausted from waiting.”
Laughing cheerfully, Sophia and Lyla left the room together, still holding hands.
“Oh, Lyla! You are looking so dazzling that Dad can’t even open his eyes.”
“Wow, sister, you’re so pretty. You look a little different than usual.”
Luke and Aidan praised Lyla enthusiastically. Lyla smiled modestly and thanked them.
“Thank you for the generous compliments.”
“Generous? You really look gorgeous today, sister. Don’t you agree too, Aslan?”
Aslan, suddenly being addressed, didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he carefully inspected the adorned Lyla.
Lyla awkwardly lowered her gaze.
“…Yes.”
Without taking his eyes off Lyla, Aslan spoke.
“Beautiful.”
“…….”
Aiden’s nudge from the side made Aslan’s brief compliment feel completely sincere, even though it was probably just a polite yes.
Glancing up, Lyla met Aslan’s gaze, who was staring at her intently.
Once again, Aslan borrowed clothes from Luke. Fortunately, it wasn’t work attire, but even Luke’s middle-aged clothes, no matter how freshly laundered, didn’t quite suit Aslan.
His own clothes or the ones his adjutant had sent were too conspicuous for him to wear.
Aidan’s clothes were too small for him, with wrists and ankles exposed when he wore them.
Thus, he had no choice but to borrow clothes similar in build to Luke’s.
However, perhaps due to Aslan’s striking good looks or his dignified demeanor, the issue with the clothes didn’t seem significant.
Just looking at his face made him appear dressed for a social event immediately.
Even in old and rustic clothes, he looked like he was dressed for a formal occasion. No wonder women express their admiration.
Lyla, who grumbled internally, answered.
“…Aslan too looks great today .”
It was out of courtesy. Of course, it was sincere, it wasn’t an extraordinary expression. So Lyla thought Aslan would take it lightly as well.
In fact, he simply thanked her and left the house to get into the carriage.
So, it was a coincidence that Lyla noticed it.
His long legs and wide stride deliberately slowed down as he walked beside Lyla.
Aslan’s ears, walking beside her, were red enough that anyone’s eyes could easily discern it
As soon as they arrived in Eres, the festive atmosphere of the festival filled the air.
Lyla found the bustling atmosphere a bit awkward since it had been a while, but it wasn’t bad.
“It may not compare to the events in Central, but it has its own charm.”
“I think so too.”
Lyla lightly agreed and looked around the square where the stalls were set up.
Seeing the interest in Lyla’s eyes, Sophia excitedly suggested,
“Shall we start exploring from there?”
“Sounds good!”
And so, their festival exploration began.
Members of the Violet House enjoyed the festival over the course of several hours.
The most they did was browse through the items laid out on the stalls.
“This is pretty. It suits you well.”
“Really?”
Lyla smiled at Sophia as she held a necklace up to her neck.
“Yeah. Our daughter looks good in anything, but this seems especially made for you.”
Sophia’s eyes lit up as she noticed Lyla’s slightly hesitant demeanor.
“How about buying this one?”
“No, it’s okay.”
Politely declining, Lyla stepped aside.
Despite loving her family, Lyla felt uncomfortable relying solely on them. It felt like she was leeching off them.
Although she had received pocket money for the festival, Lyla didn’t feel like spending it. She already felt guilty for living comfortably at home without doing much, so she didn’t want to indulge in such luxuries.
Feeling like she might receive gifts just by being with her family, Lyla distanced herself a bit from the group.
She pretended to browse through nearby stalls to appear natural.
But amidst her casual browsing, something caught Lyla’s eye.
It was a bracelet adorned with a yellow stone carved into a flower shape.
It wasn’t particularly valuable or expensive. It seemed like the type of item laid out for anyone to pick up and examine, with a price that didn’t justify its worth.
However, after briefly considering the bracelet up close, Lyla decided against buying it. Instead, she quietly slipped away as her family started to move.
While she admired the bracelet, she had no intention of purchasing anything at the festival that day.
From then on, Lyla only window-shopped. Most of the time, she merely glanced at items, occasionally picking them up to inspect.
She didn’t move or talk much, so her behavior went unnoticed.
Lila never realized that her every move was being observed.
Not to mention that someone was observing her every move, even noting what items she briefly examined.
Even among the items on the counter that she had only looked at without touching, there was one that particularly caught her eye and he made a mental note to remember it.
