“Mom! I got first place!”
“······?”
Just as I was starting to feel mentally and physically exhausted, Tia’s cheerful voice came ringing in from a distance, making my lips twitch in response.
First place, huh.
I wonder what that first place could be about. Did she do long jump in gym class?
‘Wait? It was a practice exam day today, wasn’t it?’
No, that’s not right. There shouldn’t have been any class since they would have taken the practice exam today. Does that mean, could it be that she actually…
“Mom! Look, look!”
“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t drag your backpack!”
“Muhuhuh…”
Tia flipped her backpack forward and came running, pulling something out. As she waved a piece of paper, her bag swung around, hitting the ground violently.
She seemed so excited that no matter how much I yelled for her to straighten her backpack, she didn’t listen at all.
Does she even know how much that thing is worth?
What a cute kid.
She’s so adorable that I seriously want to bite her to death.
“Muh!”
“Gack…”
Tia didn’t slow down and jumped straight into my arms, hugging me around the waist, and the impact was so unexpected that I could barely breathe for a moment.
But then, getting hit in the stomach like that sent a sensation through my insides that made me feel like they were twisting…
The thought that this might actually be more than okay flickered through my mind.
“Why do you seem heavier…”
“Muh? I didn’t gain any weight!”
“Nope. You did. I’m sure of it.”
I unexpectedly started to check Tia’s entire body.
Since she was in a growth spurt, she must’ve gotten bigger, but she couldn’t have grown exponentially in just a few weeks.
I suddenly feared that she would become voluptuous like me, and her chest looked the same as ever from my daily checks.
Nothing else seemed unusual.
Until I touched her backside and grazed her tail.
“Mhm. So that’s it.”
It was her tail.
I knew it the moment I touched it.
It grew exponentially in size all of a sudden.
I slipped my hand under her skirt to feel Tia’s tail, lifting it up in the process.
The upper part of the tail was covered in hard scales, so there wasn’t much to feel, but the underside was different.
The flesh underneath was soft and squishy, and while it didn’t feel like human skin, it was somehow addictive.
“Muhahh…”
Every time I pressed and stroked her tail flesh, Tia hugged me tightly and let out moans that resembled a massage receiver’s.
She must be feeling really good.
I, too, felt surprisingly excited and kept wanting to touch it.
I ended up researching which spot would make her feel the best…
“Muh, there. Muhh! It feels so good…”
She kept leaking out sounds like a man enjoying a massage.
By the way, as I touched her tail, I felt the weight of it; it was no joke.
Even though Tia was much smaller than me, the weight was similar, and that was all thanks to her tail.
“Hmm…”
Every time I looked at Tia’s tail, I felt an impulse bubble within me.
Today, that impulse was stronger than ever.
“Hangnyangnyang.”
“Muh?! Don’t, it’s dirty, Mom!”
I couldn’t hold back and tried to put Tia’s tail in my mouth.
Just a little bite filled my mouth so much that I started to feel suffocated.
Maybe Tia got nervous because her tail ballooned in my mouth, creating a feeling of unfamiliarity.
After finally spitting the tail out, drool dripped from the corner of my mouth.
My jaw felt like it was about to break.
“Nehehee…”
“Why did you bite Tia’s tail?!”
“Because it’s cute.”
“Muh!”
The way she puffed up her cheeks in anger was also adorable.
But in the past, when someone said she was cute, she would just enjoy it; now, she gets mad like this.
Is she slowly trying to shed that cute image?
But what can I do? She’s still cute.
“Oh! Almost forgot! Look, Mom!”
“What is it?”
Suddenly, Tia’s eyes lit up as she thrust the crumpled paper she was holding into my hands.
She must’ve held it tightly since it was crumpled all over the place.
It was none other than her score sheet from today’s practice exam.
Peeking down, I saw Tia looking up at me, her eyes full of expectations.
With a hint of tension, I began reading the score sheet.
‘Total score: 497… Rank: 1st?!’
I almost fainted.
497 points on a 500-point exam.
I only hoped for her to grow up kind, healthy, and strong. I never imagined she’d achieve such a score on her first exam.
Suddenly, I had the thought that I should steal a glance at the carriage.
There, the coachman was getting closer while carrying a birdcage.
I shot a glance at Lara inside the cage, who seemed to be giving me an absurd expression, as if to ask, “Why are you looking at me?”
It seemed that Lara hadn’t pulled any strings as the head of the school council.
After all, it’s not like a poor fairy trapped in there all day could have done anything…
“Hehe. Well done, our daughter.”
“Right? Right!”
Tia bounced up and down, her eyes sparkling with joy.
How could I resist such a look?
In the end, I couldn’t help but ruffle her tousled hair affectionately.
Roughly tousling her hair felt nice, and she hadn’t washed it this morning, after all.
“Who does your smart head take after?”
“Mom!”
She said it takes after me…
I’m not particularly bad at studying, but it wasn’t like I was on a superhuman level.
It must be due to the dragon’s blood having a huge effect.
Whether that’s good or bad, I really don’t know.
“Were the problems easy?”
“Muh! Easy-peasy for Tia! If you just do what the questions say, the answers come out!”
This was the first-ever practice exam for students who had just entered school.
Since they hadn’t learned anything, most of the problems were probably solvable just by logical thinking.
Almost none of the questions demanded any knowledge.
That’s why Tia was able to score so close to a perfect score.
From now on, classes would start in earnest, and exam questions requiring memorization would appear.
I’ve never seen Tia studying with a textbook before, and if things continue like this, her grades will continue to drop from here on out.
To maintain her score, a systematic study approach was going to be necessary.
I felt that need strongly.
If she doesn’t listen well, I might need someone to guide her study habits separately.
‘Ah. Why am I thinking like a competitive parent from Gangnam…’
Suddenly, I snapped back to reality.
I had just thought it was enough for Tia to grow up kind, healthy, and strong.
But now, I noticed myself wanting to send her to cram schools to maintain top-notch scores.
Thank goodness there isn’t a private education system like in South Korea in this world.
Otherwise, I would have sent Tia to every cram school in existence by now.
This is how our desires end up being unavoidable.
I think I can somewhat understand the feelings of parents who push their children hard like that.
Of course, understanding it is one thing, but I have no intention of pushing Tia that much.
I simply hope her choices in the future remain adequately broad.
“Tia, don’t you want any workbooks?”
“Muh? W-Workbooks?”
“Shall I buy them all for now, regardless of the type? But if I do, the room might get cramped. Then I might need to use the duke’s office. Oh! What if we use the office as Tia’s study room?”
“Oh, Mom. That looks scary…”
I intended to assign just enough work.
Just enough.
*
“Julia, are you going out again? You dressed so beautifully for where are you going?”
“S-sorry! Everyone else is taking half a day off, but I…”
“No, no, no. I’m not saying anything. It’s just that whenever you come back from the city, your face brightens up.”
“Do you have a boyfriend hidden outside?”
“I told you that’s not true!!!”
I accidentally let out a shriek.
They seemed to have taken to teasing me.
That’s not it…
While it’s true I’m going to meet a guy, it’s not like that.
I feel like tears might come out from the injustice.
“I’m going now. If Tia comes back early, tell her to do her homework first and then play.”
“Okay, okay! Don’t worry about Tia and enjoy yourself!”
“Sying…”
My face felt hot again.
I quickly turned and left the villa.
I wonder if this outfit looks good on me.
This is the first time I chose and bought clothes myself rather than receiving them from the Leopard or the Duke.
I bought a nice fluttery dress, but when I tried it on, my chest was tenting it like a pregnant woman, which surprised me.
In the end, I tied the string around my waist to make it work somehow. I wondered if it looked alright.
The colleagues all praised it, but…
They’d cheer no matter what I did, so I could hardly trust them.
“Ugh…”
It was a brilliantly sunny day.
I inadvertently stared straight at the sun and felt shocked as it blinded me.
I’m glad I wore a wide-brimmed hat.
“This is the first time I’m coming to church at this hour.”
I ventured out into the city and headed straight for the church.
Even though it wasn’t the Sunday I was supposed to tutor, I felt restless just staying at the villa.
If only Leopard would come over to visit, I wouldn’t feel so bored.
I think I should ask Alexander about how Leopard has been lately.
Ever since he warned me not to go to that strange forest, I haven’t seen him at all…
“There’s no one here?”
I must have arrived during a time when no one was scheduled, as the church was almost empty.
There were no believers, and it seemed that even the nun and priest, who usually kept their places, were gone on a short break.
I decided to wander aimlessly through the empty church and take a look around.
Was the church always this beautiful?
The colorful rays of light shining through the stained glass painted the walls, and I couldn’t help but admire it.
Just as I was wandering around the church for a while, I began to hear familiar footsteps coming from the back.
Heavy yet measured footsteps.
It sounded almost military.
I knew exactly who it must be.
I deliberately turned my back, pretending to admire the mural as I waited for him.
“Hey. Are you lost?”
“Yes?”
Alexander’s voice came from behind me.
But then he said something strange.
Does he think I’m just a child?
When I peeked back, Alexander looked at my face and seemed exceedingly flustered.
“Ah, uh. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was you…”
“Were you asking if I was lost? What did you think my age was?”
“No. That was a slip of the tongue.”
“What? Tell me. Hurry up. I’m curious.”
“······.”
Even when I kept poking him in the ribs, Alexander only turned red and refused to answer me.
It was becoming increasingly tempting to tease him.
But as I teased him, I found myself growing shy as well.
I discovered that I was secretly excited…
I’m a mother who has already given birth and sends a child to school, but being mistaken for a girl still makes me happy.
Really.
