Just as Caine had guessed, because Corellia maintained an icy attitude that kept others one thousand miles away, even her adopted daughter, Edwina, rarely spoke with her.
However, despite this, Edwina deeply respected and admired the beautiful and powerful Corellia. Mimicking her appearance was just one of the ways she expressed this.
Corellia was certainly not the type to proactively praise her daughter’s beauty, and since Edwina craved her mother’s attention, she felt an immediate high level of favor toward Caine, who was essentially the same person as Corellia.
So, even though she knew they were just polite words, Edwina couldn’t help but reveal a smile that came from the bottom of her heart.
She also knew that Caine and Corellia were not the same person. However, because the two gave her such a similar feeling — especially that lonely aura of wanting to keep a distance from others — she was inevitably influenced.
Fortunately, she wasn’t entirely without reason. Upon seeing the faint awkwardness on Caine’s face, she realized her expression might be inappropriate. Her face instantly turned beet red, and she hurriedly looked away from her overly enthusiastic gaze, explaining sheepishly:
“I… I am terribly sorry, Mother. Because you so rarely praise me, I accidentally…”
Unlike her earlier state of intoxication, Edwina now looked clearly ashamed of herself. Her hands gripped the hem of her long skirt tightly out of embarrassment, and her body tensed up.
Just a moment ago, she was a Princess of extraordinary elegance; now, no matter how one looked at her, she was just a child feeling constrained in front of a powerful parent.
“It’s not something you need to apologize for. Don’t be nervous, I’m not going to scold you. Anyway, come in first.”
Seeing how overly stiff she was, Caine felt somewhat helpless. His intuition told him it would be best not to get too deeply involved with this Princess, but sending Edwina away now would be far too cold-hearted. Thus, he had no choice but to invite her in.
Seeing that Caine had no intention of punishing her, Edwina nodded and gave a soft “Mm” in response. She then took elegant yet cautious steps into the room where Caine was temporarily staying.
Even though her status was technically higher, she didn’t naturally find a place to sit. Instead, she stood still in front of the bed.
Only with Caine’s ‘permission’ did she shyly sit on the edge of the bed where Caine had been lying earlier. Caine, in turn, sat on the stool in front of the desk near the bed, keeping a distance of about 1 meter from her.
“…”
“…”
“…By the way, did you come to see me for something specific, Edwina?”
Since Edwina kept her head slightly bowed in silence, Caine realized he had to be the one to speak first. He gave a helpless smile — a social smile full of distance, of course.
“Ah, it’s… it’s nothing special. I just wanted to chat with you, Mother. I thought that suddenly coming to this world must be confusing for you, so I wondered if I could help you in any way. Am… am I being a bother?”
Although she had recovered from her earlier embarrassment, she had merely returned to her usual state. And the usual Edwina was that timid, constrained girl who acted submissively in front of her mother.
As she finished speaking, she kept her head down while pursing her lips, stealing a glance upward at Caine’s expression. She looked uneasy, as if afraid Caine would scold her.
“It’s not a bother, it’s just that I feel somewhat at a loss when facing you, Edwina. After all, in my world, I haven’t adopted anyone. Therefore, I have absolutely no experience being a parent.”
Realizing that Edwina was a Princess with a somewhat difficult personality, Caine spoke with what he considered an appropriate distance — friendlier than a stranger, but not quite at the level of a friend.
“Is… is that so? I thought for sure there would be a male version of me on your side!”
Perhaps interested in the topic, Edwina’s stiffness decreased significantly. She looked at Caine with some surprise, her body unconsciously leaning forward, her face full of curiosity.
“Haha, it certainly makes one think so. However, in my world, the former King is still alive. I’m just a young Prince with succession rights. It would be far too unreasonable for me to adopt children. Besides, my fiancée would likely not agree to it.”
Caine laughed, speaking casually as if he were talking about someone else (because it truly was someone else; after all, it was just the setting of the original work. He hadn’t spent even 1 second in his original world).
“That is true. My Aunt also said that having children before marriage invites gossip. But if it were the Queen Mother, not many people would object. Ah, speaking of which, which young lady is Mother’s fiancée?”
Because Caine didn’t have the same overtly cold, rejecting aura as Corellia, and because the topic was indeed interesting, Edwina’s attitude became increasingly relaxed and natural.
“Hmm, I don’t know what she’s like in this world, but in my world, she is the eldest daughter of Duke Lorenst’s family. She’s an excellent woman with a lot of pride.”
When his fiancée was mentioned, Caine thought for a moment. The face of the villainess who specialized in opposing the female protagonist in the original work surfaced in his mind.
The villainess of the original work was actually quite charming. Although she was overbearing on the surface, she had a cute side in private. Compared to the so-called “soft on the outside, tough on the inside” protagonist, Caine actually quite liked her “tough on the outside, soft on the inside” personality.
However, in this world, she was probably a man.
“Eh? In this world, the Lorenst Duke’s family only has two sons.”
Edwina’s words confirmed Caine’s suspicion.
Regardless of personality, if it’s a man, there’s nothing more to say. Caine had no interest in men.
“Even if her counterpart here were a woman, it wouldn’t have anything to do with the me from another world.”
Shaking the familiar yet strange face of his fiancée out of his head, Caine laughed and shook his head, teasing himself in a relaxed tone.
“In that case, should the eldest son of the Lorenst family also be Mother’s fiancé? But I’ve never heard anyone mention it. I thought Mother didn’t have a fiancé. Could it be that the engagement was already annulled…?”
At this point, Edwina had completely relaxed. No longer feeling constrained, she was like any other child her age, curious about her mother’s gossip.
After all, this was someone who could have become her father. It wasn’t strange to be curious.
“Ah, excuse me. This isn’t something I should be concerned about. Then, Mother, what are the other people like on your side? For example, my Aunt and Miss Altina should also be completely different from how they are here.”
After all, Edwina was an official Princess who had undergone 2 or 3 years of palace etiquette training. Realizing she had overstepped, she quickly dropped the topic of her mother’s fiancé.
Instead, she began asking Caine about other people.
Because she was so invested in the conversation, the gloomy and sad atmosphere she naturally carried had diminished quite a bit.
Seeing her current quiet yet curious appearance, free of fear, restraint, and more importantly, that heavy and clingy energy, Caine felt a sense of relief. He continued to smile and tell her about the settings of the original work.
Frankly, the current Caine truly felt as though he had gained a sensible younger sister or daughter.
It was likely because Edwina did indeed possess those attributes. Moreover, she called him “Mother” so smoothly. It was a bit hard to comment on the fact that she addressed both him and Corellia with the same title.
Although Caine had originally intended to refuse excessive interaction with Edwina…
If it were this kind of distance, perhaps it wasn’t impossible?
After all, Edwina was indeed an impeccable introverted beauty. Having a beautiful girl as a daughter certainly couldn’t be a bad thing.
It was just that being forced into the role of a male mother was still a bit strange.
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