The Villainess' Son is Innocent - Chapter 15
Chapter 8.1
“From my perspective, considering the young lord’s deep golden eyes, Heliodor would suit him the best.”
Certainly, the color—not too bright yellow but with a subtle golden hue like the sun—complemented Emil well. However, Emil shortly declined.
“…I don’t like gold.”
I had a feeling it was because of his eye color. The jeweler removed the gold gems from view and opened another box.
“This blue topaz and sapphire are also very fashionable. If you want an elegant design, diamonds are a splendid choice as well.”
Again, however, Emil’s reaction was still indifferent.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to just buy everything as before?’
Nevertheless, after some time, and with Mom’s help, Emil managed to decide on quite a few nice items.
“This should be enough.”
Although it was just a few, others could not easily purchase this quantity, and the jeweler smiled brightly, bowing.
“I look forward to working with you in the future. If you ever need any other gems, please feel free to call upon me anytime.”
As he left the drawing room, I stretched and stood up.
“I have something to say to the jeweler. I’ll be back.”
“…Okay.”
When I reached the corridor, the jeweler had already descended to the first floor.
“Just a moment!”
As I ran down the stairs, holding onto the hem of my dress, he was taken aback.
“Y-you’re going to fall!”
“I won’t. But, may I trouble you for a moment? I have something I’d like to order.”
He seemed to consider it an important matter, judging by how urgently I’d rushed down. He carefully asked,
“Is it a gift for His Lordship?”
“No, it’s not for my daddy.”
Shh, I brought my index finger to my lips, as if to ask him to keep it a secret.
”I’d like to order a pair of cufflinks with a simple yet elegant design that can be worn even as an adult.”
Once I provided specific design details, the jeweler, surprised, quickly took out his notebook and sketched the design, exclaiming, “Where did you hear of this design?”
The technique of intricately embedding small gems was a trend that gained a lot of popularity when I grew into an adult.
“This- It’ll require great skill.”
“Is it impossible?”
Fortunately, the jeweler confidently smiled.
“Impossible? Not at all.”
Relieved, I finished the order, reassuring him that Elena would handle the payment.
With this, the biggest task of the day was complete. As I climbed back up to the drawing room, I saw it was being rearranged, and Mom and Emil were still waiting.
“Emil, are you tired?”
“…Not really.”
“Your face says otherwise. Shall we take a little break now?”
Emil didn’t object. That child gradually adapted to our home.
* * *
The traces of oppression and abuse Emil endured since birth weren’t easy to erase,
But with love and care, improvement was possible. During the two years Emil spent in our home, he significantly stepped out of the dark shadows.
“Vel, it’s time.”
“Already?”
It was great to witness this child, who once hated himself and accepted intimidation as a natural matter, now restored with a newfound self-esteem.
The recovery of his self-esteem had an impact on his expressions and behavior. While his facial expressions didn’t change much, Emil became less self-conscious and stopped being overly cautious around others.
His preferences, likes, and dislikes were becoming clearer over time.
“Sorry, can you hold on for just a second? This may take a little longer.”
Isana was in the midst of styling my hair, making it difficult to turn my head. Emil, as always, sat on the sofa and observed this side of the room.
‘I didn’t realize it since he was always around me, but seeing him like this, he’s grown quite a lot.’
Typically, at this age, girls tended to grow faster, yet Emil’s height wasn’t much different from mine.
“Do you want some snacks? I got them not long ago.”
“No, thanks.”
“Alright, I’ll have some after I finish then.”
“My lady, you said the same thing earlier and still sneaked in a cookie or two.”
“…You saw that?”
In my conversation with Elena, I heard a light, amused giggle.
“Do you want me to feed it to you?”
“Sure.”
As Emil approached with the snack, he paused, hand mid-air.
“What? Is there something wrong with my hair?”
“…No. It’s not that.”
It’s just pretty… Seizing the opportunity between his soft mumbling, I bit into the snack.
As Isana and Elena watched this scene from behind, they laughed.
“My lady, it’s all done. What do you think?”
“I love it. Thank you.”
As soon as I finished getting my hair done, I took Emil’s hand and headed towards the mirror.
My hair, reaching a little past my shoulders, was tied in a half-up-half-down hairstyle, so the back of my neck felt fresh. And the glossy ribbon swayed gracefully as I moved.
“Emil, how can dark colors suit you so well?”
“Um, I’m not sure.”
“I mean it. It’s like you’re…”
The “angelic” child of a villainess… As I was about to say something, I refrained, remembering that he was, in fact, the son of a villainess.
…My face almost stiffened.
“More- more handsome.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
Even though I stuttered in a panic, Emil casually extended his arm.
“I’ll escort you.”
Where did he learn to do this? It was both cute and praiseworthy that a twelve-year-old boy would offer to escort a lady.
“But we would always just hold hands before. When did you learn to do this?”
“…Because His Lordship, he always escorts Lady Isméralda.”
Ah… He learned it from watching Dad escort Mom.
“Thank you. Then, I’ll be in your care.”
I didn’t hesitate and took his small hand.
I overheard Isana say with a smile to Elena,
“Both of them are so cute.”
In the eyes of adults, it might seem like we’re playing childish games. It made me feel slightly embarrassed.
And because we matched our outfits in similar colors, it felt like we were already engaged, just as Duke Calixt said before.
“Did you intentionally make your clothes to match with mine?”
“The outfit I originally planned to wear got stained.”
“Oh, I see. The outfit you showed me last time was different, huh?”
Today’s outfit went through Mom and the butler’s approval. It was strange since it wasn’t the one I saw beside my Mom, but it made sense if it got stained.
It must have been some time since we reached the first floor. Mom and Dad joined us.
“Changing Emil’s clothes was a good decision. Don’t they look good together, honey?”
“…Did they really have to match?”
“Huhu, it’s not that big of a deal.”
Listening to their conversation, we boarded the carriage. As we reached the main street, I noticed several other carriages heading towards the imperial palace.
Normally, children who hadn’t made their debut weren’t eligible to attend such formal events.
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