Thus, the four of them sat cozily on the mat and opened the picnic box. Of course, it was Bonita’s role to open the box.
“Wow!”
Bonita, opening the brown basket shaped like a roof, was surprised and admired its contents.
Inside the large basket, there seemed to be nothing missing.
Smoked ham and crispy lettuce, fancy sandwiches with the chef’s special sauce, and pretty glass bottles filled with juice made from whole oranges.
Next to them were colorful macarons with cute animal drawings and neatly prepared fruits for easy eating.
Bonita’s bottom wiggled with excitement at the dazzling array that caught a child’s eye. Catherine watched the happy child with a fond look but soon straightened up, managing her expression.
‘No, I can’t! I still don’t know if she’s truly my granddaughter!’
Although she felt Bonita was likely Elodie’s daughter, there’s always a chance, however small.
She had to keep her wits about her, especially since her son had already melted in the situation.
“Bonita, shall I feed you?”
“I want to try eating by myself!”
“Really?”
Rejecting Aria’s offer, which was rare, Bonita solemnly took out a sandwich from the picnic box and lined them up.
There were six sandwiches in total, apparently prepared generously by the chef.
Bonita handed one of them to Aria.
“Oh my! Are you giving this to me?”
“Yes!”
“Thank you, Bonita.”
Catherine’s eyes sharpened at the sight of the two.
‘What is that woman doing, treating my granddaughter like that… Oh no!’
Catherine involuntarily thought of the word ‘granddaughter’ and internally slapped herself.
“Duke, have this.”
“Thank you.”
Meanwhile, Bonita also handed a sandwich to Luke. Catherine was still squeezing her eyes shut.
‘That sly little girl is cute, but I need to keep my composure. My son is just not reliable at all. Things were so much better when Elodie was here…’
“Um, ma’am?”
However, Catherine’s thoughts were interrupted as Bonita shyly spoke to her.
She asked, stuttering a bit.
“……Did you call me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to give you this.”
Bonita was holding two small pieces of sandwich.
The chef had cut them in half for Bonita to eat easily.
Catherine replied in a deliberately snide tone.
“Hmm. Isn’t this cut for a child to eat? Why, do you want me to eat less than those two?”
“It’s not like that!”
Bonita jumped a little, barely rising 3 cm off the ground, but it only made her look cuter.
‘What am I thinking!’
Catherine tried hard not to look at Bonita’s face.
But she couldn’t block her ears.
“I heard that older people find it hard to eat food that’s too hard or big. I thought you might find these smaller sandwiches easier to eat because you’re older.”
“How considerate of you…”
“What?”
“What? I didn’t say anything!”
Catherine denied it in shock.
Bonita tilted her head.
“I thought you just complimented me for being a good child…”
“Well, that must be just your imagination.”
“Yes……”
Of course, it wasn’t.
Catherine found it very hard to ignore the slightly disappointed Bonita but tried to keep a stern face as she snatched the sandwich from her tiny hand.
“Anyway, since you’ve given it, I’ll eat it so you don’t feel bad.”
Catherine muttered quietly.
“Lately, it has been hard to open my mouth wide… No, never mind.”
“Thank you, ma’am!”
Bonita’s smile brightened.
Catherine struggled to look away from that face, which reminded her of Elodie.
As the picnic wrapped up and Bonita and Aria entered the carriage first, Catherine called Luke to speak to him.
“Are you saying you want to return to the mansion?”
“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”
His tone implied he would kill her if she did.
“No, not really.”
Luke shook his head.
After all, the Duke’s mansion was incredibly vast. One more person wouldn’t make it uncomfortable.
Especially since the relationship between mother and son wasn’t terribly bad.
“How will you travel? If you wish, you can take the carriage I arrived in.”
“Your carriage?”
Catherine’s eyebrows twitched.
“No need. Your carriage is too gloomy for my taste. It’s like those from the North, with all the seats covered in black. I don’t understand such a peculiar hobby.”
“Ah, I see.”
Luke turned away.
He pointed at Catherine’s own carriage, adorned lavishly with gems and gold.
“Then, I’ll go with Bonita and Miss Aria in the Duke’s carriage, and you can take that one.”
What? Bonita?
Catherine’s ears perked up.
“Hmm.”
Sneaking.
She subtly approached Luke.
“What is it?”
“I’ve thought about it, and there’s no need to make separate trips if we’re going the same way.”
“But that carriage is going to the Duke’s residence anyway, regardless of whether you ride in it or not.”
“How dare you speak so bluntly to your mother?”
Snap!
Luke, who was hit on the head again, rubbed his sore spot with a displeased expression.
“Still such a child!”
Luke, now thirty, was labeled ‘a child,’ much to his disbelief.
Catherine and he hadn’t seen each other for five years. He was not used to being treated like a child.
“Ah!”
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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