Chapter 74 – Pampered Like a Child
Lila could not speak out of embarrassment, but her expression hid it all. She looked like a salon owner who would usually be a master at hiding one’s expression.
It’s more embarrassing to me that she must have heard but she’s pretending not to have done so.
Lila sighed inwardly as it felt like hours had passed instead of minutes. She had a strong constitution but just wanted to lean against the soft-looking velvet sofa now. However, she had too much to do.
Camerline picked up the dress from its hanger. “Since you chose this one, why don’t you try it on, Lila? We have to make sure that the size is just right.”
Lila sped through wearing several dresses, she couldn’t remember even half of them from how faint she was feeling, Camerline let go of her when she noticed this.
Lila let her head cool as she sat on the sofa, an employee brought her a warm cup of tea. Just from the look, it seemed bitter, so right before she raised her hand to refuse it Camerline spoke out as if reading her mind.
“Do you have any sweet drinks?”
He seemed a little surprised. “Do you have any preferences?”
Camerline spoke nonchalantly. “Like chocolate milk. She is still young.”
Lila’s face flushed a deep red at those words. She covered her hands with her face, almost the same way Hir did.
“Of course! I will be right back, ma’am.”
Even though the employee had left and treated the situation professionally, Lila could not raise her head.
Camerline laughed in her head. Like mother, like son.
They were both confident, did not care how others saw them and were not fazed by their embarrassment. Lila could go on and on, and she was sure the pair shared the same blood. Lila asked when the employee was completely out of sight.
“How did you know?”
Camerline acted obliviously. “What?”
“The fact I don’t like tea.”
Camerline laughed at Lila’s question. “Since you’re my family now, shouldn’t I know such things?”
Lila realized that Camerline doing this was like her making sweets for Hir. She felt strange, as she had never experienced such warmth from a family member. To think that someone would remember what she liked and that there was more than one such person. It felt like such a surreal experience for her and she didn’t know how to react to it.
She eventually thought of her father, an alcoholic brute who only wanted her money. He and Camerline seemed like opposites. Being with Camerline made Lila feel like she had become a child again.
Before Lila had the chance to come up with a response for Camerlines kindness the employee returned and saved her.
“Here’s the hot chocolate you asked for madam.”
“Thank you.”
Lila pushed her thoughts back and took the cup from the employee. The color was a rich brown with a sweet aroma that seemed like Camerline’s goodwill. She slowly took a sip.
Camerline snickered to herself. “You’re cute.”
“Thanks.”
“I never got that from Lacias. Lila, I do want to treat you like a daughter.”
“Uh … Yes, I would be grateful.” She continued sipping her chocolate milk, it was not bad.
Even if Carmeline seemed too much at times. Lila was being treated like Hir, the mother and son were geniuses at embarrassing her. She wondered whether previous Wiperes had been like this. As the novel never mentioned this side of the Wipere family. The characters Lila had read about in the novel seemed like completely different people.
“So, daughter. Where would you like to have your wedding?”
Lila blushed a bit at the title. “Wedding? I would like to have it within the Wipere lands.”
“Our lands, all right.”
Camerline looked excited as she wrote furiously in her little notebook for a while before questioning Lila again.
“Do you like natural flowers? Or jewels? What colors do you like?”
Lila went vacant at the sudden onslaught of questions and forgot some of them as Camerline rushed on.
“What music do you like? How about the tiara? Is it too old-fashioned to call the Pope?”
She didn’t know where to start. “I have not thought about such things yet.”
“The marriage is going to be held soon!”
“I will follow your preferences, as I do not have favorites.” She responded lamely.
“Is that so?” Camerline wrote some things down again, and Lila managed to get a breath in.
Oh?
She looked down at the empty cup in her hands and realized that she must have drunk all without realizing it. She thought of Lacias and wondered how a person could not like sweet things. She expanded on that thought and made a small plan in her mind to feed Lacias a dessert herself. He was sure to eat it if it came from her own hands.
Lila had been thinking for a while when someone tapped her cheek lightly and carefully. She almost jumped at the gesture.
“Yes?”
Lila turned quickly in the direction of the tapping, and her eyes widened instantly at seeing who it was.