The door opened silently, and Ophelia leaned against the doorframe. Her amethyst eyes held a mix of surprise and mild reproach as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger.
“Hmm? What is it? You remembered your mother at a time like this?”
At dusk, Merlin had arrived at Ophelia’s doorstep.
The headmaster had specially arranged a private cottage for Ophelia. This was a precaution to prevent any dense instructors from getting into conflicts with her; it was simply better to let Ophelia live alone.
Ophelia watched her daughter’s silhouette standing in the glow of the setting sun.
“Um…”
Ophelia was quite unhappy. Her daughter had asked to keep her distance, and she had agreed. However, she hadn’t expected Merlin to be so uncompromising. Despite mother and daughter living in the same school, she hadn’t seen her child for an entire week.
Naturally, the Magic Department and the Alchemy Department were not in the same area, and Ophelia was only putting on a front by teaching a single specialized course. She had come here specifically to look after her child, so if she didn’t see Merlin for a week, wasn’t that putting the cart before the horse?
The chances of mother and daughter bumping into each other on campus were practically non-existent.
As for Ophelia, she had her pride too. Having her own daughter personally suggest that they keep their distance made it feel as though she were the one in the wrong, and it had made her angry.
Therefore, until Merlin sought her out, Ophelia refused to take the initiative to contact her. Even the one-on-one lessons had been postponed; she hadn’t held a single class this week. Honestly, it was because she felt the girl didn’t act enough like a lady that Ophelia wanted to teach her properly. Why was Ophelia being treated like the villain?
Ophelia wanted to see just how long her daughter could hold out.
The heartless little thing…
While she hadn’t seen the girl, the school was full of bizarre rumors. There were stories about her being spirited away by Lucia’s maid, and rumors of a dramatic love triangle involving the Third Princess and the Duke’s daughter.
Ophelia grew even angrier. While she was sulking alone, her daughter was acting as if nothing was wrong.
“Come in?”
Ophelia looked at Merlin, who was dressed in a neat uniform. It seemed she had completely adjusted to the female version of the school attire. Well, of course she had; the girl was so cute, what could possibly be wrong with her wearing a little skirt?
But…
Failing grade. Her hair wasn’t combed neatly.
Merlin obediently walked into Ophelia’s cottage. The interior decor wasn’t much different from their home outside the city, which put Merlin at ease. Ophelia brought Merlin a cup of warm milk and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around Merlin’s shoulder to pull her into an embrace.
If she was rejected even now, then Ophelia would leave the girl to fend for herself in this school; she would go back home and stop caring entirely.
This time, the little blue spirit didn’t resist. Instead, she seemed to miss her mother’s scent, curling up in Ophelia’s arms while her small nose twitched from time to time. She even wiggled her body to find a comfortable position.
Just looking at Merlin like this caused much of Ophelia’s anger to dissipate.
*Sigh… honestly.*
“Have you eaten dinner?”
“I have.”
*Hmph, even if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t cook for you.*
“So, why did you come to see me? I assume it’s not just because you missed your mother?”
Ophelia began to undo Merlin’s hair, combing through it gently with her fingertips. With a light grasp and a tug, a river of blue stars began to flow through Ophelia’s hands. The rustling sound of the comb passing through the strands filled the silence of the room.
Ophelia picked up a comb from nearby and began to brush Merlin’s hair. The tingling sensation against her scalp made Merlin squint her eyes in comfort, just like a kitten. Seeing her daughter’s adorable appearance, Ophelia’s heart felt warm.
Really… even just interacting like this once a day would be fine, yet she truly hadn’t come for an entire week. As expected, her childhood was too wild. When Ophelia raised the first one, they were still acting spoiled even at nearly eighteen.
This one was truly like a little wildcat. Only Ophelia kept her in her thoughts, while the girl didn’t consider her mother’s feelings at all, getting annoyed with just a bit of concern. Merlin didn’t even realize what she looked like now, nor did she understand how low her defenses were.
To say Merlin hadn’t missed Ophelia at all would be a lie. It was just that as academy life went on, because Ophelia hadn’t looked for her, she really had forgotten a little.
But if she said that out loud, she would get a scolding.
Ophelia intentionally let the comb linger at the ends of the hair for a moment, feeling the subtle movements of the small head in her palm as it unconsciously followed the comb. Her fingertips gently curled a lock of Merlin’s hair into a loop, a sly smile on her face as if she had seen through everything.
“So, what are you here to beg of me?”
Ophelia didn’t hide it anymore; seeing that fawning behavior earlier, she knew Merlin wanted something. Her voice was as soft as if she were coaxing a child, yet her fingers deliberately brushed against the sensitive area behind Merlin’s ear.
This caused Merlin to tremble slightly in her arms. Ophelia had long since seen through the intentions hidden beneath that obedient facade. However, Ophelia’s anger had already dissipated quite a bit. She couldn’t help it; she had a soft spot for her child. Merlin really was cute when she showed weakness.
If the request wasn’t too excessive, she would reluctantly agree.
Merlin shifted uncomfortably in her embrace, like a kitten whose mind had been read.
“I want to go off-campus.”
“You can, but you haven’t forgotten my condition, have you?”
“I have to be with Mother?”
“Of course.”
“No problem.”
“May I ask where you’re going?”
“The general store.”
“Then, let’s talk about the terms.”
Though night had already fallen and she would soon have to tie up her hair to bathe, Ophelia still tirelessly arranged Merlin’s hair into an exquisite style.
“Terms?”
Worried her braids would end up crooked, Merlin didn’t move, only stealing a glance at her mother out of the corner of her eye. Ophelia leaned down and rested her chin on her daughter’s head, her breath carrying the faint scent of violets.
“Leaving your mother aside while you enjoy a happy campus life—isn’t that a bit too cruel?”
“Uh…”
“And then? You come to act spoiled only when you want something from Mother? What do you take your mother for? A tool? Weren’t you the one who said to keep our distance? Why have you come back?”
Despite the intimate gestures of her hands, Ophelia’s words were merciless.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry? Is ‘sorry’ supposed to fix everything?”
“Then what should I do?”
Ophelia flashed a sly smile, her light chuckle like the night wind rustling wind chimes. She suddenly turned Merlin around and cupped the flustered little face in her hands.
“Then make it up to Mother properly. Stay the night here.”
“This…”
“What is it? Don’t you live alone in your dorm? Is there something wrong, or do you hate me now?”
“I could never hate you!”
“Is that so… Then let’s spend the night together. Didn’t we used to live together before?”
“But there’s only one bed here.”
Merlin peeked around the room.
“So what? There’s no reason for a mother and daughter to sleep apart.”
“This…”
“Ah, well, if you don’t want to go out, forget it. Mother needs to rest early, so you should head back too.”
“I understand…”
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