The Eldest Daughter Walks Down The Flower Path - Chapter 17

※ This novel is complete on Patreon!

Chapter 17

Translator: Yonnee

—

“Mi…lady, please e-enjoy your… food…!”

Even the voice of the dispirited Irene sounded cute.

With only the bricks of the outer wall as support, Radis scaled the outside of the mansion and jumped back into her room through the same window.

She had already seen this several times, but Irene closed her eyes as though she had seen a ghost.

Irene’s attitude was still as haughty as ever, but she at least had some sense of self-preservation in her.

She brought in today’s meal, which was boiled pork, blanched vegetables and a large slice of bread.

Irene shook her head as she disdainfully watched Radis sit in front of the table smelling of sweat, but at the same time, the maid didn’t forget to butter Radis’ bread.

“Young Master David eats less than this.”

Radis glanced at Irene, but the maid immediately bowed her head.

“I-I’m saying that you’re eating well, Milady.”

“Shut up.”

“I’ll be quiet.”

And so, silence stretched between them.

The only sound in the room was the clattering of cutlery hitting the plate.

But it was only a moment.

“O-Oh, by the way, Milady…”

Radis grabbed her fork and stared straight into Irene’s eyes.

‘Oh my lord.’

Under the heavy pressure of that gaze, Irene was compelled to close her lips and gulp down for a moment.

‘Why did I act that way… towards the Lady before…’

It was natural for her to ask such a question.

The Radis before David’s academy acceptance celebration and the Radis sitting before her right now were two completely different people.

The haphazardly chopped hair of the girl was now neatly combed.

With a height taller than most girls her age and a strong body that was trained over a long period of time, she no longer hunched her shoulders and crouched down like before.

Above all, what changed was the look behind her eyes.

All this time, Radis had lived with her head bowed down as she avoided making eye contact with other people.

Even if she looked up and somehow met another person’s eyes, she would flinch and quickly avert her gaze.

Her eyes quivered constantly, never settling on anything, always looking away.

But right now, Radis’ gaze was like a blade piercing through everything she looked at.

Irene, who had always sneered at Radis, couldn’t look her in the eye now.

As the maid bowed her head as though she was the old Radis, Irene spoke.

“…The Madam will soon call for you, Milady.”

“Why?”

Irene slightly raised her eyes.

“I think the Madam will forgive you, Milady!”

Radis turned back to her meal, slicing the meat as she smiled.

“That’s very kind of her.”

“Right? And it seems that a gift has been prepared.”

“Gift?”

“I happened to see the box. Milady can look forward to it!”

Irene smiled widely, trying to please Radis.

But Radis didn’t return this enthusiasm.

She only frowned slightly, took a piece of meat with her fork, then brought it to her mouth.

‘You’re letting me out already?’

In her previous life, she would often be punished by being confined to her room.

Margaret, who thought of Radis as a thorn to her side, preferred to have Radis locked up in the small room, pretending that she never had a daughter other than Jurich. That’s why Radis was confined over long periods of time without knowing when she’d be let out again.

It had been only less than a week since Radis got grounded, but it seemed she’d be allowed outside soon.

‘I think it’s much better to continue being confined now though.’

This unexpected compassion felt more ominous than the familiar harsh treatment.

‘On top of that, there’s a gift?’

It was hard to believe.

Radis never received any gift in all her life in the past.

Even during her birthday, no one ever said ‘Thank you for being born.’ She never had any birthday cake or any presents.

‘Of course, it was different for David and Jurich.’

Radis set down her fork and knife.

“Oh my, you’re full now?”

Her chest felt heavy. It didn’t seem like she’d be able to eat more.

‘No way.’

Had her voice—her lingering cries—finally reached her mother?

* * *

“I am truly weak-minded.”

Margaret sighed softly.

“You’re the only person who could help your younger brother, the pillar of this family, and yet you threw dirt all over this household and struck back to disturb the family’s peace. After all that, here I am with a dress especially bought for you.”

And with that very dress in front of her, Radis laughed out loud.

Even if Radis had no eye for fashion, she could still tell how outdated the dress was.

The dress, made of light pink and dark pink silk, had a shiny luster to it.

The skirt of the dress was filled with tacky frills that seemed to have been popular about a hundred years ago, and there were many strange large purple ribbons added here and there.

‘People don’t change that easily.’

Radis could only laugh.

She laughed at herself for even thinking that her mother had changed.

Don’t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates~!
For update pings, novel discussions and/or to send mistake reports, join our discord server~