I'm Only a Stepmother, But my Daughter is Just so Cute

CHAPTER 13

Blanche smiled sweetly, her cheeks poppy-red. Ah, Lord, please grant me one wish. Just one. PLEASE let me touch those cheeks of hers! It is all I ask!

Blanche's smiling face was as adorable as ever but what really hit me right in the feels was her heart of gold, how natural her first thought was to share her eclair with me. I can't imagine just how badly she must want to eat all of it herself, yet she didn't even hesitate to offer.

I choked back a sob, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. My teeth caught on my bottom lip as I attempted to hold my rampaging emotions in check and maintain a serene front. "Go ahead and eat to your heart's content. I can always have the chef bring more. Now, go on, eat."

"Y-yes! Thank you for the food..." I watched as Blanche happily resumed eating where she left off and man, was she doing a good job of it too. Her cheeks stuffed with food were as round as a little chipmunk's and, together with her content expression, reflected pure bliss.

Sigh~ what a lovely little thing. Maybe Sabelian didn't like Blanche because he'd never seen her this way? What had been a stray thought took root. What if he were to see her smiling face and witness for himself how lovely she was? He might very well end up changing his mind about her! And then he would probably hate himself bitterly for ignoring the girl for all of 11 years.

I imagined a scene where a remorseful Sabelian was giving a heartfelt apology to Blanche... Hohoho, just the mere thought of it makes me so excited.

The beginnings of an idea slowly began to take form. Just then, the maid brought over the extra eclair I'd requested. Whilst thinking of all the thrilling possibilities, I took a hearty bite and began hatching a plan inside my head.

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Sabelian was reading in his study, the natural light filtering through the windows dancing over the pages of the book he held. It'd been awhile since he'd last had the luxury of indulging in this particular pleasure due to the sheer amount of work on his plate. Being able to do so now was a nice change of pace for him. Only here could he feel that he was truly alone, closed off from the outside world and its never-ending roar. 

For him, solitude wasn't something to be dreaded but an old friend who had long accompanied him and he welcomed its loyal presence like nothing else. At this moment in time, immersed in absolute quiet, the warm sunlight casting a peaceful glow over him and his surroundings, doing what he enjoyed most⁠—Sabelian was truly in his element. There was nothing he treasured more in the world than moments like now.

Right in the midst of his thoughts, a knock shattered the tranquil silence like a hammer to glass, intruding upon his hard-earned solitude. Millard, huh. Sabelian clicked his tongue in annoyance as the only possible culprit came to mind. Millard was the only one bold enough to intrude on him like this. "Come in."

The door opened in response to his terse summons. Sabelian kept his attention on his book, refusing to even look at the offender, "What is it?"

"Ah, well..." Unexpectedly, it was a woman's voice. He looked towards the voice to see Abigail standing at the doorway, shifting awkwardly and looking quite out of place, "...I seem to have interrupted something, huh."

An unexpected visitor. Sabelian toyed briefly with the idea of chasing her out for a second, but thought better of it and closed his book instead, laying it aside. "Take a seat."

Needless to say, he wasn't too happy about his break being interrupted but come to think of it, Abigail had never ever set foot in here of her own accord until today. The stiff expression she wore was a clear indicator of how uncomfortable she felt about it. Thanks to their using separate rooms as of late, Sabelian found that he had a lot more patience with her than usual so he merely regarded her calmly before asking, "Is there something you want?"