Mom's Possessed - Chapter 30

The boy with soft, cocoa-brown hair was clearly a young master from a noble family, judging by his clothes.

However, those clothes were currently in the process of being ruined. Though the tailor shop floor was relatively clean, it was still a place where people walked around with shoes on. His clothes were covered in dirt.

“I won’t go to the social gathering! I won’t do it! I want to play at home! It’s not fun at all there! I don’t want to wear clothes!”

“Allen.”

The woman who appeared to be the boy’s mother called his name in a stern voice. Her face was hidden behind a fan.

“I won’t wear a necktie! It’s uncomfortable! I hate it! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it!”

“Allen, can’t you get up right now? Even babies much younger than you bravely put on clothes. Throwing a tantrum like this is very embarrassing.”

“Mother is a liar! Babies don’t come to places like this!”

The boy shouted again.

Aria awkwardly came out from behind the curtain. The noblewoman, seeing the shaking curtain, touched her forehead as if embarrassed.

As the fan covering her face moved away, Aria could clearly see the noblewoman’s face.

“He-”

Hazel?

Aria reflexively covered her mouth as she was about to call out that name. However, Hazel had already noticed Aria’s presence.

She nodded slightly, covering her mouth with her fan again.

“I apologize for my son causing a disturbance.”

“Ah, no. It’s alright.”

Aria hastily added, so as not to make her uncomfortable.

“I also came with a child.”

“…Then perhaps, are you a guest attending the parent-accompanied social gathering?”

“That’s right.”

Hazel’s gaze quickly scanned Aria. Soon, a slightly surprised look appeared in her eyes.

“You’re Lady Hilton, aren’t you?”

“Oh? You know who I am?”

“We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

Hazel said with a gentle smile. Aria tried hard to recall if the real Aria had been acquainted with Hazel, but couldn’t think of anything specific.

‘Well, Hazel did come to our house a few times…’

It wouldn’t have been strange if they had encountered each other in the mansion back then.

“Then the child who came with you must be the young lady of House Lisianthus. Am I cor-”

“Mother! Let’s go home!”

“Allen.”

Hazel admonished the shouting boy in a stern tone. She gracefully grasped the boy who was still lying on the floor.

“Get up right now. What kind of rude behavior is this?”

“Hmph…!”

Realizing he would be in big trouble if he continued throwing a tantrum, the boy stood up with his cheeks puffed out. Aria smiled awkwardly.

Just then, exclamations were heard from the staff.

“Oh my, she’s so adorable!”

“I’ve never seen a young lady who looks so good in red!”

At the sincere admiration beyond mere sales talk, the ears of the boy who had turned his head away perked up.

Allen’s head turned.

Among the staff, a tiny lady in a dress could be seen. Allen, who had been an uncontrollable troublemaker until just now, stared blankly at the little lady.

“Bonita!”

‘Is that her mother?’

Allen’s eyes turned to Aria, who was hugging the pink-haired little girl.

Still with a sullen expression, Allen thought.

‘They don’t look alike at all.’

Ah- This is so boring.

Social gatherings are really the worst.

Wearing uncomfortable cravats and bow ties, sitting quietly in chairs and drinking tea. The boy grumbled inwardly, wondering why they had to do such boring things.

“Mother, can’t we go home?”

Allen tugged at Hazel’s skirt.

Having been scolded harshly by his mother earlier, his attitude was somewhat more gentlemanly now. However, the whining in his tone was still evident.

“…”

But his mother neither scolded Allen nor sighed as if there was nothing to be done.

“Mother.”

Allen, getting increasingly irritated, grabbed Hazel’s hand and whined again.

Hazel was still staring intently at the little girl, as if entranced by something.

Unable to bear it any longer, Allen shouted.

“Mother! Let’s go!”

“Ah… Yes, we should.”

Only then did a slow response come.

She turned her gaze away, half her face still hidden behind the fan. The momentary confusion in her soft brown eyes had been neatly erased.

She asked Aria:

“Lady Hilton. I’ll see you at the social gathering later. And…”

Hazel’s eyes turned to Bonita.

She smiled. Hazel greeted Bonita, who looked to be only about five years old, kindly.

“Little lady. When we meet again later, I’d like to hear your introduction in person.”

Bonita’s face turned red at the sight of the elegant and beautiful noblewoman.

Bonita blinked a few times, then belatedly nodded.

“Yes, yes…!”

“I’d like to formally introduce the children, but unfortunately, as I’m in the position of host. I’m afraid I won’t have enough time.”

Hazel nodded towards Aria.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

“Are we going home?”

“Yes, Allen.”

“Yes!”

“And, as punishment for your rudeness today, you’ll sit in the thinking chair for an hour tomorrow morning to reflect.”

“What…?”

Thud!

Allen’s expression was shocked at Hazel’s declaration.

The ‘thinking chair’ punishment, where he had to sit still for an hour, was eight-year-old Allen’s most hated punishment.

Bonita, watching the boy being dragged away, soon reached out her hands to Aria.

Aria now reflexively picked up Bonita. She grinned at Bonita.

“Our Bonita. I think the new clothes look even prettier?”

“…Hehe.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Allen’s gaze turned to his mother, who was hurriedly moving.

‘What’s with Mother, why is she suddenly like this?’

It was unlike his mother, who would strongly caution Allen whenever he ran, saying that running or hurrying one’s steps was the behavior of servants, not nobles.

“Ugh.”

Allen, chasing after his mother, let out an uncomfortable groan at the stiff dress pants. The red bow tie choking his neck was unbearably stuffy too.

He had gone and ruined all the clothes in the mansion, and for what?

It seemed his mother wouldn’t be satisfied until she dragged him to the tailor’s shop and had a new children’s suit made.

“Allen.”

“What.”

Allen answered in an annoyed voice. His lips were pouting.

“Did you see that child just now?”

“Who? That tiny pink-haired girl?”

“That child is the daughter of Mother’s friend.”

“What?”

Allen was surprised.

“Mother has friends too?”

“…Allen.”

Hazel was at a loss for words at her eight-year-old son’s innocent yet cruel question.

She wanted to scold him for his manners, but honestly, it was true that she had no friends.

The noblewomen she currently associated with were mostly political or social alliances of sorts. The only one she could really open up to was her husband, Marquis Hyacinth.

Because her one and only friend had already died six years ago.

“Mother doesn’t have any friends!”

“…I did.”

Hazel flicked the forehead of her annoying son who was proudly declaring.

“And it’s rude to tell others they don’t have friends, son.”

“Is it wrong even if you say it to someone who really doesn’t have friends?”

“…That’s even worse.”

Then Allen asked with round eyes.

“Why? But telling someone who doesn’t have friends that they don’t have friends is true, isn’t it? Isn’t it worse to lie and say they have friends? Father said lying is bad!”

Only at times like this does he speak so articulately, really.

Hazel rubbed her throbbing forehead. Raising an eight-year-old boy was an incredibly difficult task. Not that raising a girl would be any easier.

It would be far easier to deal with the old nobles of high society, who whisper sweet words while hiding knives in their bellies.

She grasped Allen’s shoulders and said:

“Allen.”

“Yes.”

“People generally don’t like it when truths they want to hide are spoken aloud. If Mother told your friends that you still sometimes wet the bed at night, wouldn’t Allen be embarrassed?”

At the mention of that, Allen’s face turned bright red.

For the proud young master of a marquis’s family, wetting the bed at eight years old was an extremely shameful fact.

The so-called effect of putting oneself in another’s shoes.

The boy nodded his head vigorously.

“So, Mother not having friends is as embarrassing as wetting the bed?”

“No, that’s not…”

“I got it! I won’t tell Mother she doesn’t have friends anymore!”

“Yes…”

Hazel nodded with vacant eyes. At any rate, this was a fairly good educational outcome.

…Probably.

[This is the timeline separator]

At the same time, at the Hyacinth Marquis’s residence.

The servants of the marquis’s mansion were busily preparing to welcome the noble ladies and young masters and misses.

Taking advantage of this bustle, the eldest son of the marquis family, Derek, who had sneaked out of his room, knocked on the youngest’s door.

“Cassis, Cassis!”

Bang bang.

Despite knocking loudly twice, there was no answer from this chic youngest brother. Derek’s smile turned mischievous.

“So that’s how you want to play it, huh?”

Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!

“Cassis! Cassis! Cassis! Cassis! Cassis! Cassis! Cassis! Cassi-”

Slam!

As the door opened irritably, Derek nimbly dodged back as if he had expected it.

He stuck out his red tongue and made a face at his seven-year-old brother, who was full of annoyance.

“What, were you reading a book again? Always such a goody-two-shoes!”

“Look who’s talking.”

Cassis, the only one among the brown-haired brothers to have silver hair like their father, frowned with a book in one hand.

“What are you doing so uncouthly? Father told us to stay quietly in our rooms until the social gathering.”

“I just heard some interesting news!”

“…What is it?”

Cassis asked with a sigh like an old man in response to Derek’s fuss.

Then Derek exclaimed, clenching both fists:

“The young lady of House Lisianthus is coming to today’s social gathering! How about that? Isn’t it amazing?”