### Chapter Thirty-Nine: Black Hair and Lilacs
“Hmm~~~”
In the brightly lit room, a sticky, sleepy sound huffed from my nose.
On the white soft bed, the silky quilt was all tangled up, with a little lump curled inside gently wriggling about.
Then, a pair of pale arms stretched out.
I tightened my body, straightening my little feet, and comfortably stretched my back.
Next, I poked my head out from the warm blanket, flipped over to find a comfy position, rubbed my head softly against the pillow a few times, and then went still again.
My black hair clung to my cheeks, my eyes still shut tight, long curled eyelashes quivered slightly, and the eyeball under the eyelids rolled around like an overcooked noodle.
Last night, I got so drawn into my book that I didn’t crawl into bed until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. It felt like I hadn’t slept at all. It was as if the bed had kidnapped me, and now I was so sleepy I couldn’t even crack open my eyes.
Before long, there came a series of knocks at the door.
“Miss Silvya, are you awake?”
“Miss Silvya, the lady asked me to call you for breakfast.”
“……”
“Miss Silvya, are you there?”
“Miss Silvya……”
“……Not here!”
Still caught in my sleepy daze, my face scrunched up in annoyance.
Ugh! Stop bothering me!
I want to sleep a little longer!
“Uh.”
The maid outside, hearing my lazy response, suddenly found herself at a loss for words, and after a long wait, finally spoke again.
“Well, Miss Silvya, the lady has prepared breakfast already. If you don’t get up soon, it’ll get cold.”
“……”
“Miss?”
I yanked the quilt up over my head.
“Ugh—got it!”
After yelling that, I mumbled back in a muffled tone, “Just let me sleep a little longer, just a little longer.”
“Please hurry, both the lord and lady are waiting for you……”
After that, my consciousness began to blur.
When I finally opened my eyes again, Lady Catherine was sitting at the foot of my bed, smiling at me with a look that had a hint of something complicated in her eyes.
It looked like she hadn’t just arrived either; who knows how long she’d been watching me?
My still-drowsy brain couldn’t comprehend the situation, so I blinked my half-open eyes, and just as I was about to close them again, I felt someone gently pat my cheek.
“Hmm?” I let out an unintelligible whimper.
“Time to get up.” Lady Catherine chuckled lightly, “What time do you think it is? You must’ve stayed up late reading again. I told you to go to bed early…… get up, wash up, and have breakfast.”
“Yeah, okay—”
I closed my eyes again.
“Pfft.”
A quiet laugh erupted, and after a moment, my body was shaken a few times.
“Rise and shine!”
“Mm-hmm……”
I remained completely still.
“Creak creak—”
“Pfft hahaha—!! I give up! I’ll get up, I will! Hahaha—”
In a flurry, I curled up and tried to back away, attempting to evade Lady Catherine’s tickle attack. After a struggle on the bed, all that sleepiness vanished like mist.
Even though I still felt heavy-eyed and didn’t want to, there was no other choice but to reluctantly get up.
“Ah-ugh—”
Rubbing my dazed eyes, I yawned, tugging the collar of my nightgown back onto my shoulders. I clumsily crawled to the edge of the bed, swinging my pale, long legs like a little kid, just sitting there in confusion.
Hmm…… what was I supposed to do? Get up. What do I do after getting up?
“What are you doing just sitting there? Take off your nightgown first.”
Lady Catherine turned away, rummaging through Peilo’s wardrobe, and then pulled out a fitted top and a long-sleeved lace-trimmed dress, tossing them toward me.
“Put this on.”
“Oh.”
I awkwardly slipped off my nightgown, carelessly tossing it aside, and then struggled to put the dress on at a snail’s pace, trying to head toward the door.
“Wait, where do you think you’re going?”
Where am I going? To eat, duh.
I looked at her, puzzled.
“You’re not wearing any pants; where do you think you’re running off to? Come back here!”
“……Oh.”
Lady Catherine then fished out a pair of cream-colored harem pants from the wardrobe and approached me.
“Wear these so you’ll be more comfortable when you two are active later.”
She smiled gently after saying that.
“You know, you look just like my daughter when you’re all sleepy like this. She’s such a handful, always not listening to me, insisting on staying awake until the wee hours, and then acts all clingy about getting up in the morning, making me come in to yell at her just like I did with you……”
As I watched her squat down, preparing to pull the pants onto my legs, I suddenly snapped awake, quickly stopping her with my hand and snatching the pants away.
“I’ll do it myself.”
Then I hopped on one foot, hurriedly trying to pull them on.
“Slow down; why are you in such a rush?” Lady Catherine shook her head, slowly moving around to my back, grabbing the waist ties of my long dress, and with a flurry of motion, she tied them into a pretty bow.
“How’s that, is it tight?”
“Not tight.”
“Such a tiny waist, and your skin is so fair and smooth; it’s lovely.”
“It’s, uh, alright.”
“Honestly! I can’t imagine such a delicate body can go toe-to-toe with those terrifying monsters……”
Looking at her nervous expression, she must have seen the horrors of the Abyss before.
Makes sense; during the Valen disaster two years ago, the duke lost an arm.
“Once you grow up a bit more, who knows how many hearts you’ll break.”
“Really…..”
After putting on the pants, Lady Catherine pushed me to sit in front of the mirror. She took a wooden comb from the vanity drawer and gently started brushing my hair.
“Why not? Look in the mirror for yourself. Don’t say when you grow up; even this innocent little apple now must make some men go wild.”
“Is, is that so?”
But I’m a tough dude; even if you praise me like this, I’m not going to feel happy about it.
Annoying~
“Lady, I can still do it myself……”
“Don’t move.”
Lady Catherine firmly pressed down on my fidgety body.
“Let me do it, please? Just as a small request.”
She looked down at me with a tenderness that was hard to put into words.
It made my heart soften; I quieted down and sat still, allowing her to fuss with my hair.
“Back in the day, I used to do the same for Pepé. That girl was always full of antics, coming up with all sorts of tricks to get her two brothers to play along with her. Both Lafael and Pasifal indulged her; as long as her requests weren’t too outrageous, they’d find some way to keep her happy. The three little troublemakers often turned Shanter Castle upside down, and I had to give them quite a few lessons.”
“Pepé is so clever; she always kicks things off, and then when the trouble comes, she just acts all innocent, pushing the responsibility onto her brothers. We all know the truth, but when that girl starts crying, there’s just no resisting it, so we end up giving the brothers a talking-to, hoping not to spoil her further, but it never really works.”
“As she grew up, the wild child began to tone it down a bit, but she still gets into mischief often. If you’re not careful, she vanishes, and when she returns, her hair is in a complete mess. And then, like now, I’d hold her down and comb her hair.”
Lady Catherine lined up my black hair, then gathered it into a single braid piled on top of my head.
“Your hair is similar to hers. So black and smooth, like silk to touch. It’s inherited, you know…… see mine?”
As she said this, she turned her head and gave her own long hair a gentle toss.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I take great pride in it.”
“……Yeah, it’s beautiful.”
I quietly stared at my reflection in the mirror.
The big and the small—the two of us since we came into this world, even including how beautiful women…… and girls were in my memories.
The same black hair, with pupils as deep as black onyx.
Two faces strikingly similar, one mature, the other still youthful.
In this quiet bubble, existing in this space. The mirror in front of me, the fragrance behind me, along with…… the sensation on my scalp.
This scene seemed to imprint itself deeply in my mind as if it were a daily routine.
And it became a habit.
The habit of a mother and daughter.
“Sniff sniff.”
“Ah!”
Just as I was starting to zone out, I suddenly felt a tickling sensation on my neck, startling me.
“Hmm… just as I thought. Miss Silvya, you smell like lilacs, just like me! Sniff it.”
She extended an arm in front of me.
A woman in her forties, with skin as smooth and white as a young girl’s, showing no signs of wrinkles.
I leaned my little nose forward and caught the familiar scent wafting from my own body.
A subtle intoxication of lilac.
Actually, I had noticed it long ago; no need to prove it so deliberately.
“Alright!” Lady Catherine gently patted my head, “What do you think, do I look good?”
At her words, I looked up at my reflection in the mirror. My black hair was styled to the side, resembling a playful little bun instead of the usual loose hair I had.
It looks nice.
That thought swirled in my throat for so long, but in the end, I couldn’t say it.
I merely nodded gently, but thankfully, Lady Catherine didn’t seem to mind.
“Let’s go eat.”
“Mm.”
I followed Lady Catherine into the dining room, and the large bow on my back swayed like butterfly wings with every step.
“Good morning, Miss Silvya.”
The duke was seated at the table, reading a newspaper in hand, appearing to have been waiting for quite a while. Upon noticing my entrance, he looked up with a warm smile.
Even though he pretended to be indifferent, it made me feel a little bashful.
“Good morning……”
“Your hair looks beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
Feeling a bit shy, I sat down, noticing that the table was already set with simple yet carefully prepared food.
I glanced around, not seeing Carlos or Pasifal anywhere.
“Is it just us?”
“That Pasifal is acting all weird; he spent last night guarding the front door. This morning, he came in with dark circles under his eyes, gave me a scare, then rushed off with some sweet rolls.”
