Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 101 “Tia, look at this!”Escal exclaimed, his face full of excitement as he opened the door.Inside the room stood a large soldier doll that she had never seen before.While Tiaris admired the doll’s overwhelming size, Escal wrapped the mainspring on the doll’s back.Then the soldier doll swung his sword nicely.“Wow….”“What do you think? Isn’t it cool?”“Wow. Very cool.”Tiaris blinked her eyes and answered. Escal’s shoulders shrugged.“It’s my birthday present.”As if Escal had a mouth hanging over his ear, he turned the spring of the soldier doll again.Seeing Escal like that, Tiaris quietly looked down at the doll in her hand.It was a puppy doll that she was playing with while Escal was taking lessons.Tiaris carefully held out the puppy doll to Escal.“Brother, how about this?”“Huh? oh, I don’t need that anymore.”“Uh?”“I don’t want it, you can have it.”Escal waved his hand as if he had lost interest in the puppy doll.Tiaris, who suddenly had a doll that had been abandoned by its owner, frowned for a moment before bringing up the real issue.“Here, brother.”“Yes? Why?”“This is a gift from Tia….”“Gift?”What Tiaris shyly held out was a small, faded box. The paper box, which was light enough to be easily lifted by a child’s small hand, was old and shabby.Escal, who was preoccupied with the wonderful gifts that filled the room, couldn’t help but notice the small box.Escal shrugged.“Put it on the desk over there.”“… Yes, here.”Tiaris, who tried to hide her sad expression, placed the box on the desk.But Escal didn’t ask what the gift was, nor did he touch the box.‘Tia worked hard on this letter for you, brother.’Tiaris looked at Escal who had a sword fight with a soldier doll with the model knife he received as a gift, and then left the room gloomy.   ***** As I sat in the living room and finished the finished embroidery, I lifted my head at the sound of rumbling footsteps.From the other side of the hallway, Tiaris was walking helplessly with her shoulders drooping.“Tia? What is it? What’s going on?”It had been less than 10 minutes since she entered Escal’s room, and the child had a face that was completely opposite from the time she entered.Tiaris, who hid the puppy doll in her hand behind her back, smiled awkwardly and shook her head.“No. It’s nothing.”“But why do you look so gloomy? What is Escal doing?”“Uh… Oh, my brother is sleepy.”“Really?”The child, who was not good at lying, stammered, then hurried out of the mansion.‘Something’s wrong.’Anyway, it was different from usual. I couldn’t figure out what was going on, so I headed to Escal’s room with the finished pouch.The figure of Escal could be seen through the slightly opened door.Contrary to Tiaris’ words, who said he was sleepy, Escal was too busy playing with the toys he received as a gift.“Escal, Mom, going in.”When the door opened, Escal jumped up from his seat.“Mom, look at this!”And proudly pointed to a doll in the shape of a soldier. It was a very finely crafted doll.“That’s great.”“Right? It even moves its hand!”Escal raised his voice and swung the soldier doll. As the child said, the doll’s hand with the sword moved up and down.“Do you like it?”“Yes, I do! I’ve never seen anything like this!”It was a rare sight for Escal, who did not express much emotion.I asked with a smile.“Aren’t you playing with Tia?”“Tia came and went a while ago.”“Really? What did she come for?”“Look, she gave me a gift.”Escal pointed to the desk.A small box was placed where Escal’s fingertips were pointing. The box was old and shabby, so I could tell it was something more special.“Can Mom open this?”“Yes.”I opened the box with the child’s permission. Inside the box were a poorly written letter and a handkerchief.The pale pink handkerchief was not new at first glance. Carefully unfolding the handkerchief, the words engraved in the corner caught my eye. [To my most beloved Tia in the world] I felt a lot of love in each and every letter engraved with thread.Intuitively, I could tell that it was a keepsake made by Tiaris’ mother.“…….”I looked at Escal, who was focused with the toy, and put the handkerchief back in place.He’d open it someday without my urging.You don’t know how much you value something until you realize it.“Escal.”“Yes?”“This is a gift from mom.”I held out a pouch embroidered with a leopard print to the child.“Happy birthday.”It was insignificant compared to the colorful and expensive gifts that filled the room, but when Escal saw the pockets, he smiled brightly without showing any signs of disappointment.“Thank you, Mom!”I lightly kissed the child’s forehead.“I love you, my son.” ***** “Madam, Grand Duchess Crawford has arrived.”“The Countess Turner is also here, would you like to take her inside?”“Count Tilburn sent a present to say that he was unable to attend due to an urgent matter.”“Yes. Let’s take the guests to the banquet hall and arrange the gifts later.”“Yes!”Ugh, what a mess.As soon as the time for the banquet approached, guests started pouring into the mansion.I decided to make a big deal out of this and sent out a lot of invitations, but I didn’t expect all those guests to show up.Crash!There was the sound of something breaking in the corner of the banquet hall.For the fourth time.“Clean this up quickly!”A servant carried a broom and went to clean up the broken glass.All of the children who had a relationship with the Honor Society attended the banquet, and the number of children was too large.No matter how well-educated, the excitement in a place like this was the same as the sound of footsteps running down the hallway, shouts, and occasional cries, to the point where my soul was completely blown away.‘If you keep breaking it like that, there will be no glass left.’Hah. I shook my head and looked around the banquet hall.Helios was busy greeting the guests, and Escal didn’t seem ready yet.Almost all the people who were invited were coming, so the moment I left the banquet hall to call Escal, Merlin rushed to me.“Ma-Madam, Your Majesty the Emperor has come.”“Your Majesty?”Suddenly, Emperor? I heard that only the Empress would come?“You said Your Majesty the Emperor, not the Empress, is here? Are you sure?”“Yes. His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the Princesses all came.”“I’ll go outlfirst, so call Helios quickly. Oh, and Escal, too!”“Yes, madam.”I sent Merlin to the banquet hall and headed to the front door. As Merlin had been told, the Emperor was coming into the mansion with all his family.This is crazy, the Emperor came to the child’s birthday party?The Emperor was also the Emperor, but the attendants who followed the Emperor’s process were more burdensome.Dozens of imperial knights, his aide, Count Grenier, and the Empress’s maids.‘Would you please tell me in advance.’Swallowing up my growing irritation and surprisement, I pretended to be calm and greeted the Emperor.“Lenia Anthemion, Your Majesty. It is an honor for you to visit this shabby place.”“I’m sorry for appearing all of a sudden.”“No. I didn’t even know you were coming, so I couldn’t even greet you properly.”“I understand that you must be busy preparing for the banquet.”The Empress smiled and said. The Emperor looked around and asked.“I can’t see the Duke Anthemion. Is he in the banquet hall?”“Yeah, he will…”“Are you here, Your Majesty?”Before I could finish speaking, Helios ran and bowed his back.Helios didn’t know the Emperor was going to come, but he didn’t show any surprise.“I heard that there are a lot of government affairs behind, so I thought only the Empress was coming.”“No matter how much work I have, I have to come. Whose birthday is it?Whose birthday is it? my son’s birthday, of course.‘Why does His Majesty the Emperor celebrate my son’s birthday?’ the word came up and down my throat.“… Your Majesty.”Seeing the late reply, Helios seems to feel the same way as me.The Emperor burst out laughing and tapped Helios on the shoulder.“There is no burden between us. Please feel comfortable like other guests.”“Yes. Please go inside.”Helios mumbled a reply and led the emperor and his children into the ballroom.As they entered the hallway leading to the banquet hall, greeted by the nobles, Princess Adela opened her mouth.“Oh, it’s Escal.”