Chapter 17 (2/2)

Ricarda grinned, hiding his disappointment.

“I wanted to let her know that it’s okay to call me that because we’re family. But now, I’ll have to control that because Daphne hates it.”

“I didn’t know you thought so… Ask Daphne later. Maybe she’s thinking the same thing as you.”

“Well, I guess so!”

Ricarda smiled brightly like he had never been sullen.

Daphne’s appearance was more noticeable to him because he had been abused by his father when he was young. Ricarda overlapped his young verse with Daphne, who was struggling to live.

I heard it late, but she said she wanted to change her fate, so she came here herself.

‘Like me when I was young.’

I didn’t want to live like a slave under my father, so ready to be beaten, I came looking for my Mother.

Ricarda could understand Daphne more than anyone else.

I wanted to make this child happy, just as he came here and became happy.

Lennox had never experienced such a thing, so he never knew Daphne’s mind completely. But now he could see it clearly.

Ricarda, even Lennox himself, and his mother, who only came back home late at night after the work’s done for Daphne, were all sincere.

That’s because, after work, she was also already preparing to get together in this room.

Strangely, if your heart keeps on fluttering, you can think of it as fate, and we can take care of you.

That way, If you open your heart like that and become a family, we can make each other happy.

Lennox grinned, seeing his mother standing in front of the door, not even knowing when she had returned home.

Then he handed Daphne over to his mother, who, as soon as their eyes meet, opened her arms as if she had waited.

I could hear a little whining as if Daphne was waiting for Mother to be stabilized, so I was a little disappointed.

“Have you taken care of all the urgent matters?”

“Enough for me to stay at home for a few days.”

Thought his gaze grew heavy, a smile formed around his mouth.

Even though she was tired, Chloe, Lennox, and Ricarda smiled as they were happy to see Daphne.

“That’s not like a mother.”

At first glance, it seemed to be blaming, but Chloe carefully placed Daphne on the bed with a smile.

Then Lennox’s gaze turned to the bag near the bed, and he asked Chloe,

“So, what did you decide to do with the seal? Did you take it separately?”

An unusual seal was found while looking through a bag. The first person to discover it was Chloe, who had been fiddling with the seal for a long time, and in the end, put it back to the bag, not knowing how to handle it.

To the question, Chloe answered as if it were nothing.

“Daphne wanted to leave it as a last resort, so I should pretend I didn’t find out. How admirable it is not to put everything as a commodity for a deal.”

“You don’t really look like our Mother. You’re so sweet! Where did you sell our Mother?”

Lennox was startled by Ricarda’s rising voice and glared at him, asking him to be quiet.

Chloe smiled as she watched the two brothers bickering with each other.

After meticulously covering Daphne with a blanket, she who was still smiling said,

“Do you know that you’re not like yourself too? I can’t believe my sons were so friendly.”

“It’s an exception to our Daphne.”

“Me, too.”

“Oh my,  you good-for-nothing kids.”

The room heated with natural bickering. The room was very warm.

***

Daphne, who woke up when she was in Lennox’s arms, listened to all their conversations without even waking up.

‘You really meant it.’

Mother, Lennox, and Ricarda, they were taking me seriously.

I didn’t expect you to pretend you didn’t know the seal. I didn’t even know that and used thorns to them like a hedgehog.

When I knew that both kindness and consideration were sincere, I felt something filling in my heart.

Suddenly, I remembered what Mother said.

‘She said, our relationship was different and special from others, but we would make a better and good relationship than them.’

Did she slowly open her heart to me from then on?

Was I a person who could receive such affection?

I tossed and turned in a fit of shame that came in.

When I turned around, I felt a hand that patted me. I never expected to receive such affection in this place.

‘I pretended not to know their affection for me, but now I realized it was already in my heart.’

This affection was already melting into my heart.

It was so warm and full of happiness.

Is it okay for me to be a little happy?

Is it okay to be happy even though I’m the daughter of a wicked woman?

Things that had been rationalized by the wicked woman’s daughter began to fade little by little from some point on.

Now, I had a feeling that I could write a new story as Daphne, not the daughter of a wicked woman.

‘I want to be happy. If that’s okay, I want to be happy with them.’

Even if they were entangled in a deal, with them who were more sincere than me,

I want to be happy.

If it’s okay to be happy…

If so, I want to convey affectionate feelings to these people who will be my family, just as they let me have it.

The first, gentle humming, regular patting touch, warm room temperature, and cozy blankets that I received,

And a heart filled with happiness.

With all these combined, I felt like I could have a good dream today.