When she revealed herself, the faces of the ladies, who had forgotten the etiquette, showed confusion.

“Why are you so surprised? I forgive you for missing the invitation since I’m not the representative. Hoho. But, as the mother of the Imperial Princess of Eldaryon, I couldn’t miss such a gathering. Did you happen to be entertaining guests?”

The ladies were even more astonished by her shamelessness.

To forgive for not sending an invitation, she was incredibly bold.

Anna, the temporary owner of the mansion, also looked at her with an awkward expression and quickly bowed.

“I greet her Excellency, the Empress of the Eldaryon Empire. Thank you for your forgiveness. We committed a breach by not inviting such a precious person to this small and humble gathering.”

“Oh, such circumstances. That’s right. It’s really small. There isn’t even one flower in this vast place. Next time, should I give you a gift of saplings from the Imperial Palace?”

After shrugging her slender shoulders, Hwangbi sat without hesitation at the large table.

She had shed tears many times due to the ladies’ teasing, but her shyness didn’t seem to be an emotion allowed in the position of a mother.

Thus, the modest gathering ended abruptly with Hwangbi’s appearance.

Anna, who escorted the ladies, teasing them like they were fleeing, approached Lucia, the last guest.

And she lowered her waist with a small and not-so-small smile.

“Madam Lucia, could you please tell us about your family background next time? I’m really looking forward to it. Surely, you don’t lack a surname, right?”

“…….”

Her delicate and elegant face was kind, but her words were quite provocative.

So, it seemed she didn’t think of Lucia as the fearsome black monster.

But on the other hand, she almost seemed certain about something else.
According to Evan, Nia was not a well-behaved child, and that implied she had to filter out the commoners with some wealth but no value.

On the day of Lucia’s business trip, Lion’s violin lesson began. However, beads of sweat flowed down his elegant forehead as the teacher, thrown off by the unexpected turn of events, struggled to adapt.

“…….”

‘What should I do?’

Although she initially tried to teach posture, one student remained silent, refusing to make eye contact. The other, dressed in a fancy dress adorned with ribbons all over her body, pretended to be elegant but was swinging a bow like catching a fly.

However, there was always one good thing.

“Have a snack or something.”

Despite dressing in a stiff conquest outfit for the business trip, Lucia’s appearance bringing in tea was as graceful and beautiful as any other lady. Since the incident when the child proclaimed hatred to the whole world, Lion had been trying to make amends by choosing snacks that he might like. But when he got caught in that embarrassing sight, his lips curled up.

‘If we raise a child together…, would it be like this?’

As Lion blushed at his fanciful imagination, Nia’s scrutinizing eyes and subtle mouth became more ominous.

And when Lion moved to the seat next to Lucia to help her, [Dash] plop! Nia threw herself onto the sofa between Lion and Lucia. Ivan, who was surprised by the unexpected action, pretended to be startled and covered his mouth with small hands.

“Oh my, you shouldn’t be so noisy. Nia, look.”

Slowly moving her feet like a bird, Ivan elegantly sat down on the sofa. Then, glancing at Lion, she gracefully raised a small teacup with her pinky finger.

Perhaps the two children had completely switched roles. While Lion swallowed back tears, glancing at Nia’s guarded face, Lucia felt oddly sorry. It seemed that with her absence due to the business trip, Nia understood that the child was trying to take her place.

Although both had awkward expressions for different reasons, Nia’s sharp eyes were still burning towards Lion.