Rosily stood in front of the courtyard, slightly lifting her head as she sniffed the lingering scent in the air.
Just as expected!
Rosily’s eyes narrowed sharply.
She had just caught the scent of a woman unfamiliar to her!
Even standing outside the courtyard, Rosily could already smell the Stealing Heart Scented Cat.
“Tch…”
She couldn’t help but click her tongue, her delicate willow-leaf brows knitting together. Squinting her eyes fiercely, Rosily strode toward the door with an imposing aura.
Inside the room, Enya was already wearing an apron, her beautiful silver hair tied up into a bun as she busied herself in the kitchen.
She planned to prepare a sumptuous meal for Estelle herself, so the child would remember the legendary taste of a mother’s cooking!
As for Estelle…
She sat obediently in her chair, quietly watching Enya’s busy figure.
Suddenly, Estelle sensed hostility.
She turned her head toward the doorway, her right thumb lightly pressing against the Spatial Ring on her middle finger, as if ready to draw her Longsword at any moment to defend against an attack.
Enya, of course, knew Rosily had returned. She had long anticipated this and was therefore able to calmly continue her tasks without rushing, prepared to face whatever was about to happen.
Still, a headache was inevitable.
As she fried the patties, Enya sighed inwardly.
“Sigh, it’s impossible to please everyone.”
Having one child was manageable, but with two, how to evenly distribute love and attention became a Century Dilemma—a problem every parent had to wrestle with.
“I wonder if this single mother can handle such a tricky issue well.”
Rosily pushed open the door and first saw her mother cooking in the kitchen.
Her orange-red eyes then landed on Estelle, who sat quietly nearby. Rosily raised an eyebrow.
“Heh, that scent…”
Rosily’s sense of smell was exceptionally sharp; she immediately recognized the scent on Estelle — identical to the lingering female scent she had smelled from her mother’s embrace last time.
Rosily understood at once.
So it’s you!
Her gaze instantly sharpened, narrowing to a slit as she stared at Estelle. Estelle, in turn, met Rosily’s eyes.
In Estelle’s view, this girl with pale golden hair was undoubtedly Enya’s daughter—that was, the one she should call “younger sister.” She wanted to say it out loud.
But Estelle felt overwhelming hostility from Rosily.
The golden-haired girl and the silver-haired girl stared each other down, the atmosphere stiffening.
At that moment, Enya carried two plates of fragrant fried patties over, her face bright with a warm smile as she said to Rosily,
“Go wash your hands, dinner will be ready soon.”
Rosily pouted but did not lose her temper on the spot. Reluctantly, she walked toward the door leading to the courtyard, where a large vat of water drawn from the well in the corner stood.
She scooped some water to wash her hands, then returned to the dining table and sat across from Estelle.
Enya watched the two daughters glaring at each other and sighed softly in her heart. She reached out and gently rubbed Rosily’s head.
Then she said to her daughter,
“Little Rosily, this is Estelle. She’s going to live here from now on. Estelle is a bit older than you, so you have to call her ‘older sister,’ understand?”
Rosily kept her lips pursed, her eyes glancing away, clearly unwilling to call Estelle sister.
Enya didn’t force her but turned to Estelle and said,
“This is your younger sister.”
“Hello, younger sister.”
Estelle’s voice was ethereal and melodious.
Upon hearing herself called “younger sister,” Rosily was actually a bit angry, but with their mother present, she dared not protest.
Enya ruffled Rosily’s hair again, calling her name softly.
“Little Rosily~”
Only then did Rosily reluctantly say to Estelle,
“S-sister. Hello, sister.”
“Hmm.”
Estelle nodded in response, her happiness obvious in that simple reply, which only further provoked Rosily, who sat across from her.
Rosily clenched her silver teeth, but then her head was lightly patted.
“Ugh…”
Her eyes instantly watered, and her nose tingled.
This startled Enya; she hadn’t expected such a strong reaction from Rosily.
Quickly, she touched the spot she had patted gently and comforted her softly,
“All right, all right, Little Rosily is a good girl. Let’s eat.”
“Ugh…”
Rosily’s expression was a little downcast.
Mother actually patted me—she never used to do this. She always spoiled me before, but now she’s patting my head because of a stranger.
How hateful! I’ll definitely make you leave my home!
Rosily turned her head and widened her bright, watery eyes, coquettishly saying to Enya,
“Mama~ feed me~”
Enya heard her daughter’s sweet voice and felt no annoyance—on the contrary, her heart warmed, though she forced herself not to give in to the urge to feed her.
Now was not the time to spoil the child!
Squinting her eyes, Enya tapped Rosily’s forehead once.
“Be good and eat by yourself.”
“Nooo, uhmm~~ I want it, I want it, I want it!”
Rosily grabbed Enya’s hand and immediately launched a full-on charm and whining attack against her own mother.
If this were any other time, Enya would have immediately surrendered to her daughter’s plea. How could she refuse when her daughter was asking like this?
But Enya was no fool! She saw right through Rosily’s shallow little scheme, watching as Rosily twisted her body while pulling on her hand.
This is exactly what your mother used to do years ago!
A glint flashed in Enya’s eyes, and she immediately wore a loving expression.
She reached out to pinch the little one’s soft cheeks, speaking indulgently,
“Sigh, I really can’t help you, Little Rosily. Fine, fine, I’ll feed you~”
Enya’s smile was radiant as she sat next to Rosily, picking up her knife to cut a small piece of patty, blowing on it to cool it down before bringing it to Rosily’s mouth.
“Little Rosily, here you go~”
“Ah~”
Rosily laughed joyfully, sneaking a glance at Estelle.
She happily opened her small mouth and bit into the tender, juicy piece of meat, chewing with relish, her pretty little face full of proud cuteness.
Enya kept feeding, and Rosily kept opening her mouth eagerly, not missing a single bite.
Soon, Enya’s hands were stuffing Rosily’s cheeks full, and the little pink mouth glistened with delicious oil.
At this moment, Enya deliberately sighed.
While Rosily worked hard to chew and swallow the food Enya fed her, she looked up at her mother with puzzled thoughts:
Why is Mother sighing?
When Enya thought it was about time, she spoke softly to Rosily,
“Look at your older sister—not only does she not need to be fed, she eats slowly and gracefully. No wonder Estelle is the older sister.”
Rosily almost choked on these words.
Enya quickly patted Rosily’s back and got up to pour two glasses of water for her daughters. After sitting down again, she smiled gently at Estelle and asked,
“So, how is it? Do you like the food? If there’s anything you want to eat in the future, just tell me. If you don’t mind, you can consider me your mother.”
“It’s very delicious. Thank you, Madam Phil.”
Originally, watching the interaction between Rosily and Enya, Estelle had felt some bitterness and discomfort—especially envy toward Rosily.
But Enya’s words filled her heart with warmth, dispelling those unpleasant feelings.
“That’s good, haha.”
Hearing Estelle call her Madam Phil, Enya took a deep breath to steady herself.
Well, Madam Phil it is—better than being treated like a stranger by her own child.
At this point, Rosily had calmed down and abandoned her earlier defiant attitude. Enya gently stroked her back and said to both daughters,
“Time to eat.”
The meal was quietly finished, after which Enya went to wash the dishes, letting her two daughters be alone for a while.
Lowering her voice, Rosily called out to Estelle,
“Hey!”
Estelle looked at Rosily but said nothing.
Under Rosily’s intense gaze, she forgot what she wanted to say at first. After a moment, she remembered and raised her head, saying,
“Fight me. If I win, you have to call me sister!”
The title of sister must be earned through strength!
Rosily was confident in her own abilities; in all this time, she had never faced a serious setback—well, except for that one time with the out-of-control doll.
…Fine.
Estelle hadn’t planned to agree but thought it might be better this way. Compared to words, swords better expressed emotions.
When she consented, Rosily’s lips curved into a swift smile.
“Then it’s settled!”
She jumped up from the chair and shouted toward the busy Enya, who was washing dishes,
“Mom, we’re going out for a bit~”
Enya had overheard their whispered conversation, but after a helpless smile, she still agreed.
“Don’t run too far, and no fighting, okay?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Rosily beamed and grabbed Estelle’s hand, pulling her outside. Estelle was a little taken aback when her hand was caught.
Enya glanced back at their retreating figures and smiled softly. It seemed her two daughters’ relationship wasn’t as strained as she had thought.
Just as she was about to rinse the dishes again…
Vzzz vzzz vzzz~
Something vibrated on Enya’s body. She took out a bronze round mirror, about the size of her palm, from her skirt pocket.
“Antiros…”