Living as the Villainess Stepmother

Chapter 108 - The Serpent's Nest (2)

"What's going on?"

"Oh, we were just having a quick conversation." Lila quickly tried to change the subject "Ah! This is the first time you're formally meeting, this is Senior Hiln, I'm sure you know her." Lila introduced, nodding at Senior.

"Of course I know her. Nice to meet you, I'm Edith." She raised her hand waiting for the other party.

Senior cautiously walked towards her desk before extending her hand. "Yes ... Hello Miss Nepeli."

Edith firmly grasped her hand. And Senior felt an immediate sense of relief as if she had just passed an important test. Lila on the other hand felt a bit more cautious.

She hasn't told Senior to call her Edith? She nagged me all day to call her Edith, but not Senior?

Edith acted sincerely as if she was only here to talk business, unlike how bubbly she acted towards Lila.

"Lila! Why are you so late?" After greeting Senior, Edith rushed over to Lila's side. She tweeted constantly like a little bird. "I've been waiting for so long. You can't take this long. You're too tardy."

Lila moved back a few steps. "Should I be sorry?"

She instantly covered the distance between them again. "There's no need. It was difficult, but I overcame it with the hope of seeing you."

She's as dramatic as ... Lacias

Lila felt startled at Edith's bold behavior. She glanced at Senior and saw the look of confusion in her eyes.

Lila raised her hands and tried to make the situation a little calmer. "Shall we sit first?"

"Sure! Of course!" Exclaimed Edith pulling Lila to her side. "You should sit right here Lila." Edith pointed at the large chair she was sitting on a minute ago.

She hesitated and pulled her arm away. "Uh ... I think you should be the one sitting there, Miss Edith. I will sit here. With Miss Senior." She gestured at a chair on the opposing side without changing her facial expression.

She needed Senior to be sitting beside her or else Senior's expressions would be more obvious. This way she could cover for Senior's emotion. However, Edith appeared to be very indifferent to Senior, as she fixed her eyes on Lila the entire time. Suddenly, she clapped her hands and blurted out.

"I'll sit here then. All good?" Lila followed her gesture and realized she was pointing at a chair near her instead of opposite of her.

"... how come here?"

Edith displayed her perfect set of teeth. "I don't know? I just want to!"

Lila had no right to control where Edith sat, especially in her estate, so she just simply nodded her head.

"I was so jealous of Mr. Ecarte at the teahouse!"

"Lugar? Why...." A vague memory of Edith staring annoyingly at Lugar came to mind as she spoke. Lila shook her head and attempted to steer back the topic. "Would you mind reading the contract please?"

"No need to read it through. I'll sign!" Edith smiled happily with a pen in hand. Lila sighed at the sight.

Senior and Edith ... are both out of control.

So unless Lila read everything out loud, Edith was willing to trust her and just sign without confirming? Why was everyone trusting her so much? What if the contract was unjust? Edith was unaware of these concerns and was beaming widely.

"Miss Edith."

Her smile twisted a bit at the label. "Could you just call me Edith?"

"Edith ... Can I really trust you?"

Her eyes widened at the sudden change in Lila's voice. Then, she diligently nodded her head. "Of course. I'm always on your side. I sent you those cards and presents to become closer to you."

"Even if I ask you to act against Nepeli's opinion?"

She stopped for a moment then looked back up at Lila. "Is it an action that threatens my family? Is it strong enough to influence the Nepelis?"

Lila gazed into Edith's pupils. She had never seen Edith so sincere and frank before. The moment Edith noticed, she returned to smiling, with an even wider grin.

"If Nepeli changes her mind, we would become perfect partners with the same goal. However, from what I heard, Count Nepeli has completely opposite opinions from mine."

"You're saying that my father should give up everything and choose you instead." Edith spoke as she looked at Senior. Lila smirked. She liked that Edith understood at once.

"Right. Very smart."

She clapped her hands again and instantly turned back to Lila. "Oh my gosh! A compliment from Lila!"

"..."

At Lila's silence, Edith turned sincere. Her playful and immature aura vanished instantly, she was almost unrecognizable. She then tilted her head and seemed to be calculating something. After a moment, her face wore a wide smile again.

"Lila, I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"There won't be any negative impact on my family, right? If I, without my father, end up switching sides?"

Lila giggled lightly. Her head spins fast.

Count Nepeli was quite old. He would eventually have to replace the head of the family, and the only blood relative he had was Edith.

Edith used to have two older brothers, but they both passed away suddenly. Nobody would find out the actual reason. Without any unexpected abnormalities, Edith would probably end up becoming the head of the Nepelis, so she thought she had to ask.

It's a good opportunity.

Lila drew a line and responded confidently with a smile. "It might hurt not to switch sides, because...." She glanced at Senior, who was obediently keeping a straight face, and opened her mouth again. "I will do anything to reach my goal."

Edith also turned her eyes to Senior. She seemed to be weighing various situations.

Finally, Edith fixed her eyes on Lila. "This is why I like you, Lila."

As if the rain stopped and the sky cleared, Edith's face was as bright as the rays of the sun. "You're so credible. I guess it's my turn to ask you for a favor?"

Lila looked down at the contract on the table, she wanted to be done with it before dealing with any other favors. "So what do you think? It's a great opportunity, so you wouldn't want to miss it, Edith."

"It's always so pleasing to hear you say my name, Lila." Edith her pen firmly after playfully spinning it between her fingers. She flipped to the last page and started at the point where Senior and Lila had already signed. Jet black ink was pushed out of the pen like running water.

"May I ask you one more thing?" She questioned while signing.

"You ask a lot of questions for a person who was going to sign the contract without any doubt," Lila said.

She laughed at the statement instead of feeling hurt. "I was truly willing to sign without a clue, but you're the one who boosted my curiosity, Lila!"

Lila nodded, indicating to her to go ahead. She thought that disclaimers and explanations would be beneficial if they were to work together.

Edith made sure to finish signing before asking. "There, that's to prove that my question won't affect our deal."

She put the pen down and placed her hands together as if she was planning something. "Now here's my question, is the Wipere family going to be with us, or against us?"