Chapter 66

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Black Hair and Lilac

“Mmm~~~”

A sticky, coquettish sound emerged from the bright room illuminated by the firelight.

On the white soft bed, the silk quilt was wrapped into a messy bundle, with a small hump inside wriggling slightly.

Then, a pair of fair arms stretched out.

I tensed my body, straightening my little feet, and comfortably stretched out as I yawned.

Afterward, I poked my head out from the warm blanket, turned over to find a comfortable position, rubbed my head against the pillow a few times, and then remained still.

Jet-black hair clung to my cheeks, eyes closed, long, curled eyelashes fluttering slightly, and the eyeballs under my eyelids rolling rapidly.

Last night, I had been engrossed in reading until I couldn’t stay awake any longer and finally crawled into bed. At this moment, I felt like I hadn’t slept at all; it was as if the bed had kidnapped me, making my eyes too heavy to open.

Soon after, there were knocks on the door.

“Miss Silvija, are you awake?”

“Miss Silvija, the lady asked me to wake you up for breakfast.”

“…”

“Miss Silvija, are you there?”

“Miss Silvija…”

“…Not here!”

The face, still in a state of sleep, frowned in displeasure at this moment.

Annoying! Don’t disturb me!

I need to sleep a bit more!

“Uh.”

The maid outside heard my stubborn words and was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say. After a while, she spoke again.

“Um, Miss Silvija. The lady has already prepared breakfast, or it will get cold.”

“…”

“Miss?”

I suddenly pulled the blanket over my head.

“Mm—, I know!”

After saying that, I mumbled in a muffled voice, “Let me sleep a little longer, just a little longer.”

“Please hurry up, Master and the lady are waiting for you…”

My consciousness gradually became blurred.

When I opened my eyes again, Lady Catherine was already sitting beside my bed, smiling at me with a complex look in her eyes.

It didn’t seem like she had just arrived; it was unclear how long she had been watching.

My drowsy mind couldn’t comprehend the situation, my half-open eyes blinked, and just as I was about to close them again, I felt someone gently patting my cheek.

“Un?” I made an indistinct sound.

“Get up,” Lady Catherine chuckled. “What time is it? You must have stayed up late reading last night. I told you to go to bed early… Hurry up, wash up and eat breakfast.”

“Okay—”

And then I closed my eyes again.

“Pfft.”

A light laugh sounded, and after a while, my body was shaken a few times.

“Get up!”

“Ugh…”

I remained motionless.

“Grind grind—”

“Hahaha—!! I give up! I’m getting up, I’m getting up! Haha—”

I struggled desperately to curl up and retreat, trying to dodge Lady’s tickle attack. After struggling and fighting on the bed, all my drowsiness dissipated.

Even though I still felt drowsy, and despite not wanting to get up at all, I could only reluctantly get up.

“Ahhh—”

With a blank stare, I yawned, adjusted my pajama collar that had slipped off my shoulder, and used both hands and feet to crawl to the edge of the bed, swinging my clean, straight, slender legs, sitting there in a daze.

Hmm… What was I supposed to do? Get up. What should I do after getting up?

“What are you doing standing there? Take off your nightgown first.”

Lady Catherine turned around, rummaged through Pai Luo’s wardrobe, then took out a corset and a lace-trimmed sleeve dress, tossing them to me.

“Wear this.”

“Okay.”

I clumsily removed my nightgown, threw it aside, and put on the dress slowly, standing up and heading towards the door.

“Hold on, where are you going?”

Where am I going? To eat breakfast.

I looked at her puzzled.

“You haven’t put on pants yet, where are you running off to? Come back.”

“…”

“Okay.”

Lady Catherine took out a beige lantern pants from the wardrobe and walked toward me.

“Today wear these, they’ll be more convenient for activities later.”

She smiled gently after saying that.

“You, looking so sleepy is exactly like my daughter. She’s too mischievous, always disobeying me, staying up very late and refusing to sleep, resulting in her being lazy and unwilling to get up during the day. I have to come and wake her up, just like I did a moment ago…”

Seeing Lady Catherine squat down, holding the pants and about to put them on me, I immediately snapped awake, quickly reaching out to stop her and snatching the lantern pants from her hand.

“I can do it myself.”

Then, hopping on one foot, I hurriedly put on the pants.

“Calm down, why the rush?” Lady Catherine shook her head, slowly walking behind me, grabbing the waist tie at the back of the dress. After some rustling, I felt a slight tightening around my waist, and the long waist tie was tied into a beautiful bow by Lady Catherine.

“How does it feel? Is it tight?”

“Not tight.”

“Your waist is really thin, and your skin is so fair and smooth, it’s beautiful.”

“Still, still…”

“Indeed. It’s unimaginable that such a delicate body could hold its own against those terrible monsters…”

Seeing the Lady’s trembling, she must have witnessed the horrors of the Abyss.

That’s right. Two years ago, during the Valen disaster, the Duke lost an arm.

“Once he grows up a bit more, who knows how many hearts he’ll steal.”

“No way…”

After putting on his pants, the Lady pushed me back in front of the mirror and sat me down, taking out a wooden comb from the drawer of the dressing table to gently comb my hair.

“How can it not be? Look at yourself in the mirror. Even now, with this youthful look, it should make men lose their senses, right?”

“R-Really?”

But I’m a tough guy. Even if you praise me like this, it won’t make me happy.

How annoying~

“Madam, I can… do it myself…”

“Don’t move.”

She firmly held my restless body.

“Let me do it, please. Just this small request, okay?”

She looked down at me with eyes filled with indescribable gentleness.

It made my heart soften, so I stayed quiet and sat still, letting her fuss with my hair.

“In the past, I used to comb Pepé’s hair like this all the time. That girl was always mischievous, constantly coming up with ways to persuade her two older brothers to do things. Raoul and Pascal indulged her; as long as her demands weren’t unreasonable, they would try to make her happy. Those troublemakers often turned Santele Castle upside down, and I had to scold them quite a few times.”

“Pepé was very clever. She was always the one to start trouble, and when something went wrong, she’d pretend to be innocent, blaming her brothers. We all knew the truth, but we couldn’t resist her crying. So we had no choice but to punish her brothers to vent our frustration, hoping to stop spoiling her, but it never worked.”

“As she grew older, the wild girl learned to behave a little better, but she still often acted recklessly. Sometimes, when she disappeared for a while, her hair would be a mess when she came back. So, just like now, I would pin her down and comb her hair.”

The Lady combed through my black hair, then gathered it into a single strand and tied it up.

“Your hair is similar to hers. It’s smooth and shiny, just like silk. This is a family trait… Look at mine.”

As she spoke, she tilted her head and gently flicked her long hair.

“Don’t you think it’s beautiful? I’ve always been proud of it.”

“…Yes, it is beautiful.”

I quietly stared at the reflection in the mirror.

Two figures, one large and one small, have been the most beautiful women in my life since I arrived in this world, including before. They both have black hair and obsidian-like eyes.

Two faces, one mature and one still young, share a high degree of similarity.

In this quiet space, in front of the mirror, behind the fragrance, and even the sensation on my scalp…

This scene seems to repeat every day, deeply imprinted in my mind.

And it has become a habit.

A habit between a mother and daughter.

“Hmm.”

“Ah!”

Just as I was lost in thought, a tickling sensation on my neck startled me.

“Mm… Indeed. Miss Sylvie, you have the scent of cloves, just like me. Smell for yourself.”

She extended her arm toward me.

The woman in her forties had skin as smooth and fair as a young girl’s, without any wrinkles.

I brought my nose close and smelled the familiar scent of cloves.

It was a slight intoxication, like the scent of clove flowers.

Actually, I had already noticed it. There was no need to prove it so deliberately.

“Alright!” The Lady gently patted my head. “Tell me, does it look good?”

Hearing the Lady’s words, I looked up at the mirror. My black hair was tied up on one side, giving me a playful look, different from my usual hairstyle.

It looks good.

The words were stuck in my throat, and I couldn’t bring myself to say them.

I simply nodded lightly, but fortunately, the Lady didn’t seem to mind much.

“Come on, let’s go eat.”

“Okay.”

I followed the Lady to the dining room, where the large bow on my back fluttered with each step.

“Good morning, Miss Sylvie.”

The Duke was already seated at the table, reading a newspaper. He looked up and smiled warmly when he saw me enter.

Despite his nonchalant demeanor, I felt a bit embarrassed.

“Good morning…”

“Your hair looks very nice.”

“Thank you.”

Feeling a bit shy, I sat down. The table was already set with simple yet carefully prepared food.

I turned around and looked around but didn’t see Carlos or Pascal.

“Why, are we the only ones here?”

“Pascal was acting strange last night. He stood guard at the door all night and showed up at the kitchen this morning with dark circles under his eyes. He scared me when he grabbed some sweet buns and ran off again.”