Chapter 457 - Family Reunion Part I (2/2)
Truthfully Gisela did not even notice her daughter sitting quietly at the table; she had been too enamored with her niece and the two twins. Thus when Berengar said these words, she gazed over at Henrietta and was stunned by how much she had grown.
”Henrietta? Is that you?”
The young Princess glared at her mother as she called out to her. It was clear from her expression some serious issues had to be worked out in their relationship. As such, she stood up from her spot and approached her mother, however when she came close, she veered away from her mother and latched onto Berengar's arm before making a spiteful remark.
”Big brother, who is this woman? I don't recall ever seeing her before!”
The moment she said this, Gisela's expression sank, and Adela became visibly enraged at her cousin's behavior. As for Berengar's other wives, they began to giggle; it served the woman right for treating them like they were nothing more than their husband's mistresses. Berengar immediately flicked his sister on the nose before scolding her in front of everyone.
”Henrietta, behave yourself!”
After saying this, he looked over at his mother and apologized on his sister's behalf, which immediately caused the girl to pout.
”I'm sorry, mother, though Henrietta is now of age to marry, she is still a bit immature...”
Immediately Gisela frowned at Berengar before scolding him.
”Whose fault do you think that is? My baby girl is already sixteen, and you have not even found her a man. If I knew you were going to neglect her, I wouldn't have left her in your care!”
Berengar struggled to maintain his smile as he listened to his mother's harsh words; though he wanted to criticize her for abandoning Henrietta to his care, he chose not to do so. However, in the next moment, before he could smooth things over, Henrietta took the opportunity to enrage her mother further.
”What do you mean? Big brother is my man!”
After saying this, Henrietta pecked her brother on the cheek in front of everyone; the moment she did so, everyone was shocked, including Berengar. After hearing this, he flicked his sister on the forehead once more before lecturing her on her behavior.
”Not funny!”
In response to this, Henrietta stuck out her tongue as if she were joking the whole time; she knew she could not reveal the secret relationship she had with her brother. Thus the moment she did so, everybody present sighed in relief; Gisela nearly had a heart attack from this announcement.
Therefore when she finally recovered, she felt the need to slap her daughter; clearly, Berengar had failed as her guardian. As she raised her hand to do so, Berengar caught ahold of her wrist and glared at his mother before speaking coldly to her.
”No offense, mother, but the moment you abandoned Henrietta to my care, you forfeit any parenting rights you may have; disciplining my sister for her errant behavior is my responsibility, not yours!”
Sieghard gazed upon his wife and children with a stoic gesture; it was confirmed that he had abandoned them to focus on his health, but his wife was taking things too far. Thus, he intervened in the conflict before it escalated any further.
”Leave the kids be, Dear. So the girl has a bit of a mischievous streak in her, that will disappear in time. I'm sure our son has done a wonderful job raising our daughter. Now, how about we all get something nice to eat and come together as a family.”
With that said, the tensions were eased, and the family began to sit down at the table for a nice meal. Though Sieghard had defused the timebomb that was his familial relations, for now, it would not take much to set off at least one of the many women present. Thus Berengar and his father would have to navigate through the following lunch perfectly to avoid any future conflict.
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