Chapter 16

Chapter 5 - A Scary Mom

Increasing the number of maids was something I had been considering off and on ever since Yul fell ill during the trip. No matter how exceptional I knew Yul was and how careful she tried to be, human nature being what it was, it wouldn’t be strange for a similar incident to happen again.

Of course, I hadn’t planned on picking someone up so abruptly, and it wasn’t like I genuinely had a special liking for the girl right in front of me or anything; but truthfully, whoever it was around this estate didn’t really matter anyway.

“I’m thinking of using her as my second maid. Mom.”

Looking at the maid once after hearing my words, Mom glanced briefly into my eyes before nodding softly.

“If that is what you wish, it shall be done. Understood. Be sure to exercise more caution from now on.”

I had finally escaped the crisis, but watching the maid still unable to move because the strength had drained entirely from her legs, I spoke quickly to Yul.

“Yul, since you’re the senior, take her along and teach her well on how she ought to behave as a junior. I’ll be spending some time with Mom.”

“Yes.”

Something about her tone felt a bit subdued, but since Yul’s facial expression remained completely unchanged, there was no way of knowing whether she was genuinely upset or not. Figuring I’d ask her about it privately later, I immediately took hold of Mom’s hand. Mom looked slightly surprised before wrapping her hand gently around mine.

“Let’s go, Mom.”

“Oh my, Armienne. You seem unusually full of aegyo (acting cute) today.”

“Heh-heh.”

There was no way I could tell her that the aegyo was purely out of sheer terror, so I let out a soft exclamation of wonder as I gazed at the cookies and tea prepared in the garden.

“Whoa!”

Truthfully, if there was anything I liked second only to fantasy novels, it might just be sweets; however, the pastries in this world had felt somewhat hard and far too plain, leaving me with little interest in them. Yet the cookies right in front of me possessed a visual appeal that made them look mouth-watering simply by laying eyes on them.

“Heh-heh, to think you still love sweets so much—you’re still just a child. Our Armienne.”

Not really. Even as an adult, I love sweets, thank you very much.

Stuffing a cookie straight into my mouth, I chewed away with a muffled crunch as I looked up at Mom. With just the two of us here, the gorgeous woman before me was practically starting to look like an angel. Her benevolent smile, combined with the way she warmly tended to my every little need, truly made her look like an angel who loved her daughter beyond measure.

“……….”

The problem was that she was only like this in front of me, while turning into a bona fide wicked b*tch in front everyone else. That gap was entirely too terrifying.

“Mom, by the way, what brings you to call for me?”

Up until now she hadn’t summoned me at all, so I hadn’t given her any thought; but being called in after a whole month of silence clearly meant she had some business with me, and my guess hit the mark.

Mom stated her purpose as if she had been waiting precisely for this question.

“I have set up a dinner appointment for you a week from now, my dear.”

“Ah, is that so?”

What’s this, it was nothing major after all.

Believing everything was fine inwardly, I reached back out toward the cookies, whose addictive pull made it impossible to tear my hands away. To think such delicious pastries existed. I’d have to tell Yul to buy these for me from now on.

However, hearing Mom’s brightly smiling words next, my jaw dropped open in absolute shock.

“A dinner between none other than Prince Fren and our cute Armienne, just the two of you.”

Thud—!

The sound of the cookie—which had been heading into my mouth to become my nourishment—dropping onto the table sounded precisely like the sound of my own heart crashing to the floor.

“W-with Prince Fren?”

And not even as a family dinner, but a dinner for just the two of us. That I had to go have a dinner, a matchmaking meeting, a date alone with some dude?!

More importantly, how on earth did Mom, who was merely the wife of a duke, manage to secure a dinner appointment with a prince. Terrifying. Truly terrifying.

Watching me look completely dazed, Mom tilted her head in confusion.

“Aren’t you happy? It’s a dinner with the prince you’ve desired so terribly, after all?”

Did I really desire that so terribly? A date with a guy, of all things.

I have no memory of this. Mother.

However, the moment I let that kind of doubt show, this sharp-witted mother of mine might figure out that I wasn’t Armienne, but rather some jerk who had stolen her precious daughter’s body. If that happened, there was no telling what would happen to me, no matter how much I was currently inhabiting Armienne.

Getting my tongue cut out was a given, and I might end up losing all my limbs and living as a quadruple amputee. That was an absolute hard pass. I’d rather go meet a guy.

Opening both arms wide, I sprang up from my seat and shouted.

“No! I’m actually super happy. Thank you, Mom. I love you!”

“Oh my, I’m so glad to see our Armienne has learned to say such cute things. Seeing this reaction, you really are our Armienne after all. For a second there, Mom was worried you might have been struck by a curse of black magic and were being manipulated by someone.”

Insane. She was way too sharp for her own good.

Realizing I had just narrowly escaped the threshold of death, I broke out in an invisible cold sweat, but I made damn sure not to show a single flinch or trace of panic like an idiot. Mom proudly secured the number one spot as the most dangerous person on my mental watchlist.

“Heh-heh, I’m so excited, Mom. Do you think the prince will like me, too?”

I sincerely, desperately pray he hates me.

“Of course! What man in the world wouldn’t like a girl as cute and pretty as our Armienne? Prince Fren is bound to fall hopelessly under Armienne’s charm in the end, that’s certain.”

No, probably everyone featured in this novel hated her. Even right now, there were way more people who disliked her than liked her.

Even after that, I forced myself to exchange endless pleasantries with Mom while desperately wishing for time to fly by. Her conversation was warm, yet terrifying. On top of that, trying to act like a more traditionally feminine girl than usual was exhausting, leaving aside how much it made my hands and feet curl in cringe.

Fortunately, enough time had passed; roughly gauging how much had gone by, Mom stood up from her seat with a look of feigned reluctance.

“Oh my, look how much time has flown already. The moment I arrived at the estate, I came straight to share the good news with our dear child without even speaking to him first—he might be sulking by now.”

“I’m sad to see you go, too, but if you’re any later, Dad is really going to be upset.”

Watching Mom flash a radiant smile at my words, I couldn’t help pondering. Could Dad—who carried himself with stern dignity normally, yet turned into a complete fool of a pushover when it came to his family—possibly exert any kind of authority as head of the household in front of this terrifying mother of mine?

I honestly couldn’t picture Dad ever winning against Mom in a million years, so I blurted out a question before I could stop myself.

“Mom!”

“What is it, Armienne?”

“Who’s stronger, Dad or Mom?”

It was like asking children a typical parenting question—Do you love Mom more, or Dad more?—while staring up at her with big, wide, sparkling eyes.

And I instantly regretted asking it. Accompanied by an atmosphere that felt as though a sudden northern blizzard had blown in, Mom flashed a chilling smile unlike anything I had ever seen before. The moment I saw that smile, goosebumps erupted all over my body.

“Mom is stronger, obviously.”

“……R-right, of course. I thought so, too.”

Desperately trying to mask my trembling voice, I answered her.

“But why do you ask?”

Not knowing what on earth to say, I scrambled for a clumsy excuse.

“W-well, Dad usually acts weak, but he said that at night(?) he’s much stronger, so I was curious what that meant. What does it mean?”

Sorry, Dad.

Please don’t forgive a daughter who comes up with an absurd excuse like this. But Mom is just too terrifying.

Watching Mom’s facial expression shift by the second at my words, I felt as though I could clearly foresee Dad’s impending doom.

“Ha, hah. So he said such things, did he.”

“………….”

He actually hadn’t said anything of the sort, but if I claimed it was a lie right now, my head felt like it would go flying off immediately.

“Y-yeah. Dad said so.”

At my words, Mom wore a look of utter exhaustion for the very first time. Biting down on her lip for a brief moment, she soon resumed her benevolent smile and spoke.

“That is something a good girl like Armienne doesn’t need to know yet. Ho-ho.”

“O-oh, I see.”

“My, I must be on my way now.”

With the sheer momentum of someone about to sprint straight to the office where Dad was currently working, I nodded vigorously, and though she looked to ordinary onlookers like she was merely walking, she ‘flew’ toward the office faster than a running sprint.

“……….”

Watching Mom vanish completely from my line of sight, I offered a silent prayer, and whether my prayers actually reached the heavens or not, a sharp, piercing shriek from Mom echoed from afar.

[Daaaarliiing!! Just what on earth have you been teaching our Armienne!]

[Oh, my love. You’ve finally arrived. By the way, what are you talking about? I have never once spoken a bad word to our precious daughter……… Gack!]

[Then are you implying that sweet child was lying instead?!]

[No, that can’t be, but…… Gck-gack-gach! It hurts. It hurts, I tell you!]

“……………”

Listening to Dad’s screams—which sounded as though his very flesh was being torn apart—I quietly closed my eyes.

I’m sorry, Dad.