Lila felt like someone had touched her heart from inside her body. She was questioning how one single boy could be so sweet. "No, no. You can have it all, I bought it for you"
"Mother, this is really delightful. It's only fair that you have a taste as well. "
Lila couldn't even handle the cuteness anymore. She didn't even have the strength to refuse his so-formal offer anymore. "Then, shall I?"
Had she and Hir become closer from last time? Lila smiled at this thought and lowered her head to eat from his petite palm.
Something felt unnatural as she was fed the pudding. Hir's hand was shaking so much that she could feel the vibrations from the spoon on her lips. Lila moved her eyes to check the child's expression.
Oh no. Hir's face was stiff and rigid, as if he had just seen a ghost. Why?
Evidently, Hir still felt fear towards Lila.
He must still remember the abuse clearly, he still believes that I'm the same person inside, thought Lila to herself tragically.
Lila thought that they had formed a thin connection, but that had not been the case. Hir still felt the same way towards her. He was just trying to survive by being nicer to Lila so that he could avoid returning to the terrible state that he used to be in.
Lila was truly surprised that such a small child had such a strong grip on reality and instincts. He has too much emotion for his age.
Her heart trembled as Hir reminded her of her own childhood. She ate the pudding acting like she had not noticed anything.
"Mmm, It's delicious."
"Yes ... it is!"
Hir's face brightened at Lila's answer, and he looked sincerely happy. Even if he felt fear, Hir had a kind heart. Seeing him smile at her words made Lila think that maybe they had become a tiny bit closer after all.
Lila felt that all her effort was not in vain and there was still hope for them to grow closer for just the little time that they have left together. Remembering that they only had a limited time together made Lila's satisfied heart dim a little. It was only a matter of time before her contract marriage with Lacias would be over and she would have to give him up. The thought made it through Lila's mind to her expression, but luckily she changed it to a smile quickly before Hir could notice.
"Was it tasty?" She said quickly, trying to leave her sad thoughts behind.
"Yes, a lot." Answered Hir with chocolate-filled lips.
She saw him trying to scrape the bottom of the bowl for any left-over pudding, Lila immediately decided to buy him another after that, completely forgetting what Jane had told her just a few minutes ago.
"Hir, if you're not busy, would you go out on a walk with me?" She said thinking that making nice memories together would maybe open his heart quicker.
"A walk ... ? Yes, all right," he said, with not too much eagerness in his voice.
She was glad that Hir did not refuse her request, Lila was sure that she would make all their times together full of joy and happiness from now on.
On that note an amazing idea crossed Lila's head. "Hey, how about we ride the swing first? It'll be fun!"
"The swings?" Hir's face brightened but then immediately darkened. "But ... the swing is ... broken."
Mrs. Marshmell in the previous novel had broken it, saying it was ugly and useless. Lila thought about the rudeness of that woman again. The swing made of dried mistletoe branches was one of Hir's favorite things, and she had destroyed it in front of his own eyes. It must have been a really traumatic experience for him. and Hir comes back to where the swing was after becoming emperor.
In the original book, Hir comes back to the broken swing after becoming emperor. While there were not many traces of it left, he rebuilds it from scratch and sits down on it facing the light breeze among the greenery.
Lila already knew about the significance of the swing in Hir's life from the novel, and she knew how his childhood wounds still had not healed even after becoming a tyrant. So one of the first things she did from becoming Mrs. Marshmell was repairing the swing for Hir to use.
"No, The swing is back. You can go see."
Brightness returned back to his eyes. "Is ... is that true?"
"Have I lied to you before? You can ride on it as much as you want from now on," she said, realizing that the first part was ironically probably not true because Mrs. Marshmell must have lied to him a ton of times.
"May I ... run around in the fields?"
She looked down at him and smiled. "Of course you can. I told you that you can do whatever you want."
YOU ARE READING
Living as the Villain's Stepmother
FantasiI became the villainess stepmother who is doomed to suffer greatly in the hands of the male lead, who will return as a tyrant due to his years of child abuse. I can't die like this. No, I was determined to survive. However... Why does avoiding a gru...
