The next day, the place the maid led Philip to, saying he had prepared, was a room on the second floor.

The windows were wide open, and on the welllit side, there was a sofa and a table. It seemed like a place for Philip’s viewing.

The floor was plush with several carpets laid out. It seemed to minimize any possible injuries.

After changing into the clothes the maid brought, she tied her hair up and moved her body slightly.

It was light and comfortable, good for moving around.

As soon as Philip and Laila arrived, the lesson would begin.

She took her place in the center of the room and began to meditate.

“Whoooooooo…….”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

She should be relaxing, but she was getting more and more tense.

Seeing Laila was fine. But she didn’t know how she would look at Philip’s face.

She was bothered by the fact that she had kicked out Philip in the morning and Alexandre in the afternoon.

‘To kick both out in one day…….’

Philip would probably be fine with it, but Alexandre could be a problem. If he protested, how stunned would Philip be?

‘It’s better to tell him in advance, right?’

She slowly opened her eyes when she heard the door open and felt someone’s presence.

The ones who politely bowed to her were Laila and a maid, both in full bloom even in the early morning.

But Philip was not in sight.

He seemed very interested in Taekwondo.

‘Did he get really angry about yesterday morning?’

As she stared at the door without speaking, the maid and Laila seemed to wonder what was going on.

She almost said that she thought Philip would come with them.

Now was the time to win over the female protagonist.

If she taught well and lived quietly here, she wouldn’t die wearing a hot iron dress.

‘Yes, this is the opportunity to defuse the biggest mine!’

While she was momentarily determined, Laila and the maid began to get anxious.

‘Maybe I look like I’m plotting something?’

Let’s focus on the lesson and conversation for now.

“……Yes.”

As she smiled faintly, Laila and the maid tensed up.

‘Isn’t that too much tension? There’s still the matter of the tea party…….’

She guessed that Laila’s support for her that time was, as always, because of her motherly instinct.

‘After all the things Ellen has done to Laila, expecting to win her heart fully…….’

In fact, no matter what effort she made, it might be impossible to truly win Laila’s heart.

But she had to survive somehow.

“Go get a wooden board.”

“A wooden board?”

What she needed was a pine board, but she didn’t know if they had it here. She instructed the maid in detail about what kind of wood to bring.

“Yes, I’ll be back soon.”

Now it was just the two of them. She tried light conversation with Laila, who was even more tense, mixing in some compliments.

“You came looking very pretty, Laila.”

“……Yes?”

Laila’s eyes rounded like a rabbit’s. It was a face that did not expect to hear such words from her.

“You must have gotten up very early to dress up. Did you care for me?”

Oh, it’s cringeworthy to deliberately speak like an adult.

But Laila’s cheeks soon blushed a peach blossom color.

“I must be presentable when seeing mother.”

Gasp! Too adorable! She held her heart inwardly and smiled warmly.

“I’m pleased with your respectful attitude. So, did you hear what you’ll be learning today?”

“I heard I will be learning mother’s hidden techniques.”

Laila smiled shyly and bowed her head.

“You said it would help a lot with selfdefense. I’ll learn it diligently. Thank you in advance.”

Although she responded well, Laila’s expression was very complex.

Her careful glances seemed to show that she still found her scary. On the other hand, the faint smile that appeared and disappeared at the corner of her mouth was impressive.

‘Maybe she’s looking forward to this time? Then I look forward to it too.’

It was so cute that she naturally smiled.

“Yes, change into clothes like mine. And from the next time on, you don’t need to dress up like this.”

“……Yes?”

“You have to be in this dress from the beginning.”

While Laila changed clothes, she drank morning tea and stared blankly at the door.

Philip didn’t come.

‘He was so eager and expecting…….’
Certainly, the sour mood from yesterday’s incident had not yet subsided. Although I understood, a corner of my heart felt a bit empty.

‘I should have calmly talked about it even though I was flustered.’

But it seemed a bit too late to do so now. Furthermore, even though I sometimes considered it a dream, wasn’t I pathetic?

‘No, honestly, wasn’t Philip’s change of position too unrealistic? Who could believe it as reality, just after waking up?’

Only sighs followed.

In the future, even if something happens with Philip, I should refrain from hitting him.

At that moment, Laila changed her clothes and came in. A maid also brought a bundle of wooden boards to replace the pine board.

No matter what it was made of, the name of the wooden board was now a pine board.