After sending away the annoying young noble master, Caine continued his leisurely time with his other-world self and her adopted daughter. After a brief rest, the three of them strolled along the lakeside, chatting idly.
During their walk, they encountered other picnickers. Though they were also dressed as nobles, this group was a middle-aged noble couple who had brought their daughter along for an outing.
The most awkward part was that Edwina actually recognized their family.
She had agreed to let loose and temporarily forget her status as a princess, but that had only lasted for the brief moment she was angry at the young master. To prevent the other party from recognizing her, the poor Edwina didn’t say a single word. She even made an effort to put on a cold, aloof expression, hoping to pass them by as if she hadn’t seen them.
However, to her surprise, the daughter of the family—who was also a young lady Edwina knew—proactively approached Caine to strike up a conversation. This, in turn, brought the noble couple over as well.
Although Caine sensed her concerns and deliberately drew their attention toward himself, providing impeccable answers, Edwina still felt incredibly nervous.
Under these circumstances, what shocked Edwina even more was that her mother—the majestic Queen herself—actually stayed in character, perfectly playing the role of a “landmine girl” who was hostile toward the opposite sex and easily prone to jealousy. Not only was her voice completely unrecognizable, but even her personality was far too proactive.
If Edwina hadn’t known this person was her mother in disguise, she really would have suspected she was trapped in some kind of hallucination.
The other party was likely frightened by Corellia’s “landmine girl” persona as well. After a few more words of small talk with strained, awkward smiles, they hurried away.
The way they looked as they left clearly signaled their thoughts: ‘Although that young man seems to be of good character and it’s a pity to leave him be, we are powerless. In the end, it’s his own business. Let’s leave quickly.’
While it was true that they had successfully gotten the other party to leave, allowing Edwina to breathe a sigh of relief, Caine’s feelings were quite complicated.
“…Corellia, I think that noble family pitied us.”
Once the others were gone, Caine looked at the Queen, who was still clinging to his arm and pressing herself against him. His eyes were filled with speechless exasperation.
“What does it matter? They don’t know who we are anyway.”
“…”
Corellia, who had just possessed fierce eyes and a high-pitched voice, quickly reverted to her original self. As she nonchalantly let go of Caine’s arm, she didn’t forget to use her usual indifferent, dignified voice to indicate that Caine shouldn’t care.
“…No, I think they won’t be forgetting us for a while, especially me. After all, it’s rare for them to see you two looking like this. As for me, if we ever cross paths on the street, they’ll definitely remember me instantly. They’ll probably think, ‘Ah, it’s that poor young man!'”
“Hey, Corellia, say something. Why are you looking away?”
Because the Queen, still in her landmine girl outfit, maintained a cool aura while looking elsewhere, Caine directed a somewhat reproachful gaze toward her.
“…Speaking of which, Edwina, your performance just now was a bit nervous, but it was acceptable. I’ll give you a passing grade for now.”
“Don’t think that abruptly shifting the topic to your daughter will end the previous conversation, Corellia.”
Edwina watched her twin-tailed mother, who had suddenly called on her to escape Caine’s gaze, and the man who was currently chasing after her to scold her.
Her mood, however, was not exactly happy.
‘What’s going on?’
Even though seeing the two of them together was exactly what she had hoped for, why did she feel even more uncomfortable instead?
In truth, she knew the answer to that question.
She had imagined Corellia and Caine being together meant they would both care for her, their daughter. But the actual situation was nothing like that. Instead, Corellia and Caine were focused entirely on each other, and as a result, she, the daughter, felt somewhat redundant.
Admittedly, this was slightly better than before Caine had appeared.
But only slightly.
Of course, she couldn’t show these thoughts. She could only continue to watch everything with a smile on the surface. Or rather… she didn’t know what else to do except respond with a smile.
What followed was the same as before. Corellia clearly had much more to say to Caine than to her own daughter, and her eyes remained fixed on him. Caine tried proactively to talk to Edwina, but nearly every time, his attention was drawn away by Corellia.
This caused Edwina to experience the feeling of being “sidelined by her own mother” more times than she could count.
As for why Edwina didn’t speak up?
If she could, she wouldn’t be so troubled. Usually, Corellia’s image forced her to instinctively accept all of her mother’s arrangements.
She didn’t dare to resist.
This rebellious outfit was, in the end, just an outfit. Her heart wasn’t quite that rebellious yet.
However, that didn’t mean it was completely useless.
Every time Corellia snatched Caine’s attention away from her, a small amount of resentment-like dissatisfaction accumulated in Edwina’s heart. When that dissatisfaction reached a certain level, it would undoubtedly erupt like a volcano.
If it were the usual Corellia, she might not even have the thought of resisting. But Corellia’s current light, cute style did indeed diminish the sense of majesty she projected to Edwina. It made Edwina realize that while Corellia was the Queen, she was also a young woman not much older than herself.
In other words, they were of the same kind.
…As for the fact that this was actually what Corellia wanted her to realize, the current Edwina naturally had no idea.
In any case, under these circumstances where things were only harmonious on the surface, the time quickly reached 4:00 PM. By now, the three of them were preparing to leave the lake and head back toward the spot where they had left the carriage.
It was just about 5:00 PM. If they headed back at their current leisurely pace, it would be just in time.
Having rested well today, neither Corellia nor Edwina had any intention of delaying their return. And Caine hadn’t forgotten that after he sent Edwina back to her room, he still had matters to discuss privately with the Queen.
However, the way back was not entirely smooth.
Not far after leaving the lake, the three of them heard a young girl’s scream.
The moment he heard the sound, Caine sprinted toward the source without a moment’s hesitation, not even stopping to consult with the two of them.
“…Let’s go as well, Edwina.”
Seeing Caine’s valiant figure rushing off as if heading to a battlefield, Corellia merely called out to her daughter, who hadn’t reacted yet, and then quickly chased after Caine’s back.
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