Living as the Villain’s Stepmother - Chapter 177

Chapter 177 – Motherly Advice (2)

Judging from Camerline’s face, she didn’t look interested in their talk at all. It was to be expected.

“Lacias.”

“Yes?” He answers, already looking at her.

“Wait.” Lila, who had been watching Camerline from afar, pulled out her arms from Lacias. As if shocked, Lacias asked with his eyes widened.

“What’s wrong…?”

Seeing his face turning pale, Lila hurriedly explained. “Don’t get me wrong. I want to go talk to your mother.”

“My mother? Why?”

“She looks bored.”

“I don’t think so. She looks fine.” He says, shooting her a quick glance.

“You can tell if you look closely.”

“Only the thought of one person fills my head and there’s no room to give it to others.”

“…”

How could he say those embarrassing things without even the slightest change in his face?

Lila knew that ‘person’ very well and gently pushed Lacias away. He reacted like a pet rejected by its owner.

“It hurts if you push me away like that.”

“What do you mean?” She questioned.  “I’m not pushing you away.”

“How could you leave me like this?” Perhaps Lacias was so shocked that Lila’s words didn’t reach his ears. His gloomy face didn’t change no matter what Lila said.

“How can you do this to me… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get away from you, even for a prank.”

“I mean….” At this point, it seemed like he wanted to play a joke on purpose. Lila shook her head at his words becoming increasingly exaggerated.

“Ok, I’m going.”

“Lila!” He called dramatically, but despite his efforts, Lila was already gone.

When the bride came into view, everyone surrounding Camerline suddenly shifted their eyes to her. Camerline was the only one who smiled and waved her hand.

“Baby!”

Lila almost twisted her ankle in shock when the word ‘baby’ came out of her mother-in-law’s mouth. That one word was enough to make Lila panic from embarrassment.

Ba- baby? Who taught her such an estranged word?

It was so shocking to Lila that she almost doubted what she heard. But all the others were smiling wryly, either because they didn’t really care or they didn’t want to offend Camerline.

She could feel her cheeks burning in awkwardness, but she managed to fix her face before making a mocking of herself.

“Mother. I was looking for you”

Unlike the faint smile she had a while ago, her bright smile towards Lila seemed genuinely happy. The nobles, noticing the dramatic change in Camerline’s face, changed the subject of attention to Lila.

Everyone could tell at a glance how much the Duke of Wipere and the former Duchess Camerline loved and cherished Lila.

They instantly realized that the person they had to win the favor of was no one else but her, and in an instant, Lila became surrounded by the nobles.

“Oh my, Duchess. Nice to see you! Your pure, white skin matches with the dress so well!”

“When I saw you walking in with the Duke today, I was almost blinded by your beauty. You look amazing!”

Lila thought to herself, seeing the nobles praising her with exaggerated words without the slightest change in their expressions.

I still have a long way to go.

Once again, Lila realized the gap between herself and the other nobles. They were brilliant socialists.

Lila responded to most of them by nodding her head shyly, and tried prying herself back to Camerline who was proudly listening to the compliments.

“I’m worried that you’re tired,” says Lila, studying her eyes carefully.

“What do you mean tired? Looking at you wearing the dress and accessories that I picked for you, I lose track of time. It’s always fun to look at pretty things.”

Lila smiled softly. “Do you like pretty things?”

“Who in the world doesn’t like pretty things?”

“Then you can just look in the mirror.”

It was corny but enough to make Camerline burst into laughter. “What? Hahaha!”

“Was everything okay today? How did your day go?” asked Lila again, after off-tracking herself.

“There was nothing particular. Now is the time for me to get some rest. I can finally enjoy the party.”

Lila narrowed her eyes a little. “I know you’re not.”

“I am!” She sounded certain, but Lila knew it wasn’t true. She already saw Camerline twinkling her eyes in excitement whenever people brought up the topic of business items. Lila knew that Camerline was interested in something else, not the party.

“Well, if that’s something you’re interested in, then go for it. If you want to start a business, do it.”

“True, and that’s how I want you to live.” Camerline patted Lila’s forearm. She noticed how Lila became even more slender than she used to be when they first met.

“I heard you’ve been overworking.”

“Who said that? The employees probably said that to play for my side, but I don’t overwork. I am eating very well and having a good time.”

“Oil prices are higher than in the past.”

“….”

Hearing something unexpected, Lila missed her time to answer.

I’m the one in charge of all the management fees for the mansion now. So how does she know that?

Noticing Lila’s puzzled look, Camerline clicked her tongue and added. “I just said it to see your reaction, but I guess it’s true.”

“…A little, it only increased by a little.”

“Efficiency does not increase by overworking until midnight. If there’s a shortage of workers, feel free to hire a little more manpower. It’s also a good idea to get a librarian to advise you.”

Lila nodded her head in response to her sincere advice…

“I’ll search for some workers. If you find any of them useful, hire them.”

“Thank you.”

“I guess I’ll have to look for a woman or old gray-haired man since I don’t want to bring my son a competitor to the mansion with my own hands.”

“Haha….”

She throws a joke with such a serious face….

Unlike Lila, Camerline was deeply lost in her thoughts. A gray-haired old man around me who can be a great advisor… Of course, the ‘old gray-haired man’ part was slightly more important than the ‘advisor’.