Living as the Villainess Stepmother

Chapter 36 - Déjà vu (1)

He's so cute. Lila smiled at the memory of Hir riding the swing with his bright smile. Truly a mesmerizing moment for her

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Madame Marshmell," said a waiter, disrupting her daydreaming.

Lila looked at him with a slightly annoyed expression. "I was thinking about my son."

After watching the waiter walk away, she scanned the room for a moment for any signs of her target.

Hmm Hiln Senior has not arrived yet.

It was the day of the Hiln dinner party, there was a spot booked for her at the rear-end of the hall, Lila thought it was quite ideal for scoping out the entire room. A few people greeted her as she passed by and she wrapped up any extended conversation, trying not to lose sight of her goal.

She didn't find waiting for Senior Hiln to arrive particularly fun. However, she knew to herself that it was for the best. While studying the people around her one more time, she noticed that the control they had over their expressions were unnaturally upright. She could already feel her lips shaking after laughing at a terrible joke.

Lila read a few of the wedding cards she had received as Mrs. Marshmell during her wedding, and a lot of the people here seemed to match those who attended her wedding. There was plenty of pointless information on the card but one particular card stood out to her. It read:

[Please don't marry that man. Why are you marrying that ugly fat guy? You're too good for him!]

No sender's name, no signature or seal. It was a random card, pointless but for the content. Even so, it somehow stirred something in her. She couldn't put a finger on it, perhaps it was the way Mrs. Marshmell had preserved it all these years ... like it was a precious document. Just as Lila was beginning to muse over the peculiarity of it all, she caught sight of someone approaching through the corner of her eye.

"Hello. Lila ... I mean, Mrs. Marshmell." It was a pretty and young girl that couldn't be older than twenty five. She had long hair and near-slanted eyes that added to beauty. Not to mention her unique accent that Lila was quite unfamiliar with.

"Ah. Ms.Nepeli, go ahead." said Lila, trying to act as natural as possible.

Lila knew that memorizing the details of each guest that came to the party that day. She specifically requested Lacias the day before for a list of the names. It surprised her that he once again complied to her without question and brought her a list of information on each guest. Lila had spent the rest of that night absorbing the information of every guest on the list to be ready for any sort of interactions that Mrs. Marshmell would know how to normally deal with.

Edith Nepeli, daughter of Count Nepeli, was quite the influence on social circles. Even as she walked up to her table, a group of young girls had trailed behind her.

"You can call me Edith." She mentioned with a questionable tone.

Lila skimmed through the group behind her. "All right, Edith."

"I wanted to ask you a question if possible." Personally Lila preferred that people ask the question head on, instead of asking to ask the question. However, she understood that it was Edith's way of starting the conversation.

The eyes around her brightened after the inquiry. Almost as if they were predators waiting for their prey to make a move just to rip her to shreds. There was no way to escape from them, and Lila knew she had to be confident when things were unavoidable.

Lila smiled and looked at her audience. "Ask away."

"I heard you are marrying again. Is that true?"

Lila had guessed the question, and since she had signed the marriage form, it would have been submitted by now. The information may have leaked from there. However, since she was not talking about Lacias, it seemed that Edith only knew that point.

"Yes, I am marrying again." Lila heard whispers from the crowd almost instantly after speaking.

"It's amazing when she has been widowed only recently-"

"It's filthy to see her trying to stay an aristocrat."

Lila heard all kinds of words describing her, they weren't even trying to hide how they felt about her. It made Lila feel a little disgusted but she was most certainly too used to it.

A firm tone rose from the crowd. "Everyone be quiet! I cannot hear Lila ... Mrs. Marshmell speak!" Amazingly it was Edith who broke the chatter, she was seemingly hiding a side of her that was fierce and strong.