“Guess who~”
As soon as she stepped through the gates of Trenton Manor, Winnidith’s eyes were covered by a pair of fragrant hands.
She was long used to this.
In all of Trenton Manor, only one person would do this!
“Mom, how old are you? Can’t you stop playing this game?”
She pulled the hand away from her face, puffing her cheeks involuntarily.
“So childish.”
“Oh my, you’re saying your mother is old, huh~”
Her mother not only didn’t retract her mischievous little hand, but instead poked her puffed cheek even more.
“Take a good look at your mother’s face. Where is there any sign of age? Clearly young and beautiful, alright?”
Winnidith rolled her eyes.
To be honest, the saying “time never defeats a beauty” was perfectly embodied in her mom.
She was a woman in her thirties who had given birth, yet her face and figure remained that of a young girl.
If they wore the same clothes on the street, passersby would surely think they were sisters, not mother and daughter.
“Hmph~ Can’t argue with that, right? Every night, I don’t even have to beckon and your dad jumps right over~”
Winnidith broke out in a cold sweat.
Was this something her child should be hearing?
Fortunately, the person who could rein her in finally arrived.
“Tina, Wendy just got back from the Natural Forest, don’t tease her.”
Her father, the younger brother of the Duke of Trenton, Vidal Trenton, arrived at the manor gate.
The moment his gaze fell upon her, it was exceptionally gentle.
“I’ve already heard from Aaron about what happened to you in the Natural Forest. I’m just glad you came back safely.”
“Your uncle and the others have prepared a feast in the living room. Let’s go together.”
These two simple sentences immediately brushed away the worries in Winnidith’s heart.
She hesitantly grabbed her own hair ends, and somewhat shyly took her mother’s hand to walk toward the center of the manor.
But when she actually entered the living room, she found that there was already a protagonist—Eleanor Fox.
This second sister-in-law, who had gone with Theodore to the Imperial Capital out of concern for Winnidith’s safety, never expected that the first difficulty she encountered would be the care from the Trenton elders.
The most enthusiastic among them was Winnidith’s third aunt, Theodore’s biological mother, Estella.
She had always been concerned about her blockhead son’s marriage.
Previously in the Imperial Capital, she had introduced him to several noble ladies, but Theodore wasn’t satisfied with any of them.
This had worried her a lot.
Especially since Theodore had gone to the fortress a year ago and hadn’t returned for a whole year, this made Estella even more anxious.
Unexpectedly, a year later, not only did this boy not cause new troubles, but he also brought back a spirited and beautiful young girl.
This made her so happy that she wished she could have them hold the wedding right then and there.
As for social status?
Pfft, that kind of thing was completely unimportant to the Trentons.
Hadn’t they seen that the wife of the Duke of Trenton was just from a tenant farmer background?
“Eleanor~ How did you get to know my son? Can you tell me?”
“Eleanor~ This boy has a bad temper. If he bullies you on usual days, remember to tell auntie. Auntie will personally go and vent your anger!”
“Don’t be nervous, Eleanor. Just treat this place as your own home.”
“Sister-in-law, what dishes do you like? I’ll tell the chef to make them. Really, Theodore didn’t tell us you were coming at first, otherwise you wouldn’t have had to ride all the way to the manor yourself.”
“Second aunt, the armor you’re wearing looks so small! Can I touch it?”
Eleanor, a female general from a countryside fortress, had never encountered such a situation.
Throughout, she could only nod like a red-faced quail, making vague sounds of agreement.
As for Theodore?
He had long been dragged away by the Trenton men for interrogation.
At this point, he couldn’t even save himself, let alone come to rescue her.
Fortunately, just as she was feeling numb and dizzy from all the questions, she finally saw her “savior.”
“Miss Winnidith!”
She shouted excitedly, and that single sentence immediately drew everyone’s attention to Winnidith, their movements eerily synchronized.
Fortunately, Winnidith was long accustomed to being stared at, and she naturally inserted herself into the conversation.
“Second sister-in-law, you and my second brother are about to be engaged, so don’t be so formal. Just call me ‘Wendy.’”
“By the way, I’m actually quite curious about the story between you and my second brother. Since my aunt, third aunt, and eldest sister-in-law are all here right now, you’ll have to tell me all about it.”
Winnidith swiftly slipped into the women’s group, grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and joined the team interrogating Eleanor, causing Eleanor to despair.
‘Even Miss Winnidith is like this?’
Fortunately, with the return of the protagonist, Winnidith did help share some of the pressure.
“Seeing you still so lively, Wendy. It’s good.”
Lucille Knight, this young lady from the Knight Earl family, had confirmed a romantic relationship with her eldest brother, Black Trenton, during her studies at the Royal Academy of Magic.
After graduation, the two got married.
The wedding was so grand that the Imperial Capital still talks about it.
Now they have a three-year-old daughter—Elena Trenton.
“I don’t think ‘lively’ applies to me at all in the manor.”
A safe environment always makes one relax.
If not for her remembering that there was a dangerous Evil God in the city, she would almost have slipped back into her previous lazy mode.
“How could that be? That child Elena often praises in front of me how her aunt plays games with her.”
Lucille covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.
“And every time the Princess comes over, you two always cause such a ruckus. Isn’t that a lively performance?”
“Makes sense.”
Winnidith stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“So Mom saying I’m lazy is complete nonsense! I’m actually… Ouch!”
“You are lazy. There’s no doubt about that.”
“Look at whose daughter sleeps until the sun burns her butt? I’ve been lenient enough not to drag you out of bed, put you in a dress, and make you go to salons, alright?”
Before Winnidith could even finish her words, she received a “love punch” from her dear mother.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t even refute what her mother said, so she could only hold her head, tearful and pitiful, hiding behind Lucille for cover.
And Lucille cooperatively spread her arms, like playing a game of hawk and chicks, protecting Winnidith from the “hawk’s” capture.
This game often happened at Trenton Manor.
Winnidith always played the “chick” role, Tina always played the “hawk,” but the “hen” role kept changing—sometimes Vidal, sometimes Nolan, sometimes Lucille.
There was even a time when Winnidith hid behind the just-turned-two-year-old Elena.
Little Elena didn’t understand anything, but seeing her pretty aunt hiding behind her, she also spread her chubby little arms, glared at Tina, and shouted in a baby voice, “Auntie, don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you!”
This made everyone in the manor laugh heartily, and even Winnidith hugged her face and gave her two big kisses.
“Since everyone’s here, let’s start the family banquet.”
While Winnidith was playing around, her father had already gone upstairs to inform everyone of her return.
Thus, her eldest uncle Nolan Trenton, her father, her third uncle Josda Trenton, her eldest brother Black, her third brother Damian, and Theodore who looked as if he had survived a disaster, descended the stairs one after another into the hall.
With everyone present, they all began to take their seats one by one.
But then another unexpected event occurred: little Elena insisted on sitting in Winnidith’s lap.
No matter how Lucille coaxed her, she wouldn’t listen.
In the end, they just let her be, which also freed up a seat for Eleanor.
But as they ate, problems again arose: the topic uncontrollably turned toward Theodore and Eleanor.
One moment they asked how their relationship was; the next, they asked when they planned to get married and how the wedding would proceed; a while later, they started urging them to have children; and in the end, even Winnidith and Damian, who hadn’t even held their coming-of-age ceremonies, were affected, leaving one of them constantly putting food on Elena’s plate and the other burying his head in his meal, not daring to say a word.
Meanwhile, Theodore and Eleanor, who had become the protagonists of this family gathering, were full of embarrassment.
The former was fine since he had a thick skin; after hearing enough, he could even retort a few remarks.
But poor Eleanor, sitting beside him, had a blush that never faded throughout the entire meal.