Living as the Villainess Stepmother

Chapter 138 - Newfound Feelings (1)

Lila's eyes fluttered open out of how surprisingly comfortable the carriage ride was. She felt like she was laying in a calming field of green and yellow. If only there was a breeze. She thought. However, the window was closed shut to her disappointment.

Should I open up the window.... She contemplated quite seriously over such a trivial matter in her head.

As Lila looked over to the window, Lacias promptly noticed her want and said, "The air will be cold now that it's getting dark."

"You think so?" Lila clicked her tongue as she wistfully stared at the window. Seeing her disappointment, Lacias chuckled and said, "Well, it should be alright if it's just for a moment."

With a creak, the transparent frame was pushed aside, but instead of a light breeze, a gust of cold draft came through. Lila seemed quite perplexed as her disheveled hair suddenly hit her face.

Lacias couldn't help but break into a burst of laughter when he noticed the subtle signs of distress on her face. As his eyes arched into a crescent, the tiny ocean in his eyes rippled along with his laugh.

"It sure is windy outside." He finally said.

"I ... don't think we can call this weather windy. We'd better close the window."

She then exaggeratedly explained that it was lucky that their carriage was yet to be flipped over by the wind, which Lacias found especially amusing as he began to chuckle harder than before. It was fascinating to see how easily she could bring a smile to his face, even with such flat jokes.

"By the way."

Lacias straightened his face immediately to answer her. "Yes?

"After we get back to the mansion...."

"After we get back?" His eyes were filled with anticipation.

"Would it be possible to investigate the abandoned property where Baron Blake was witnessed last time?"

"..." The glimmer faded from his eyes at once. So that's how his grimace looks. The fact that she could control his expression at her will was still ridiculous to her. She wasn't sure if she was glad or not to have such power.

Lila couldn't quite put a finger on what she was feeling inside her. Whenever she was with him, she could feel her heart being filled with unfamiliar emotions, emotions which she had never felt before. It was hard to put a name on those feelings as they were all new to Lila.

"...Of course it is possible. I can even have it destroyed if that's what you want." Regardless of his disappointment, Lacias readily gave his consent to Lila's request.

"That's a great idea. It will be satisfying to see it being torn down brick by brick."

"Just give me your word, then I'll see to that."

Lila felt like she wanted to tear down every single obstacle that stood in her way. Such an aggressive idea must have come from the accumulated stresses she's been under lately.

"And-" As Lila was just about to say another word, the carriage came to a sudden halt.

"And what?" Lacias seemed to not care less about their stop as he was eagerly waiting for the words to come out of Lila's lips. But as opposed to him, Lila promptly shifted her eyes to the window to find out the reason for their stopping.

From there, she saw Roxanna and Lugar approaching on their black horses. On her other side, Lacias had heaved out a sigh of distress as he finally took notice of his interrupters.

Roxanna then changed her rein on the horse to come closer to the carriage door. With Roxanna being gone from the window, Lila saw Lugar's face instead. And as his eyes were met with hers, he reactively bowed his head to her along with a broad grin. Then came a knock on the carriage door.

"It's Roxanna, my lord."

Disapprovingly, Lacias clicked his tongue as he studied Roxanna's face through the carriage window. Taking that as a sign of his approval, Roxanna swiftly opened the door.

"I...."

Roxanna hesitated to break the silence as Lacias remained silent without giving her permission to speak. So Lila stepped in instead. "How did it go?"

Upon Lila's permission, Roxanna continued her report stating that the nobles have returned to their places.

"All of them returned without any complaints?" Asked Lila.

"Yes." Replied Roxanna. "We told them the commotion seemed to have been caused by some unidentified terrorists, they rather expressed their concerns and offered words of consolation instead."

The nobles must have meekly obeyed without making a further fuss while being rescued by the knights. Otherwise, they wouldn't have returned to their places without a single complaint.

"Nevertheless." She continued. "Before any unfavorable opinion spreads, we will make sure to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the culprit and give our further findings regarding the incident. However, we do already know who the mastermind is."

Lila nodded in approval. "Alright. You all did a very good job."

"Thank you. And about the boy, I'll have the knights informed about the description you gave. As he's now our prime suspect, we could maybe bring him forth as a witness in the future...." Roxanne quickly glanced a side glance at Lacias to see his expression. "Well, I'll leave you two alone then."

Moments after the door closed, the carriage began to move again. She could see the knights on the carriage sides escorting it again.

"And you were saying?" asked Lacias as if what Roxanne just reported was useless.

He must have waited for the conversation to continue all along. Thought Lila. "I was going to suggest that we go on another excursion next time as we haven't got to enjoy ourselves to our fullest last time."

A clear excitement on his expression betrayed his cool collected personality.

"So, do you like the idea?" She reaffirmed.

Despite being asked a question, Lacias only inclined his head to one side without saying a word. And it was only after a moment of silence that he casually intoned, " Yes, I like you."

"...."

Lila's mind went completely blank in an instant. That's not what I meant, I only asked if he liked the idea. Didn't I? She suddenly lost her thought process and felt dumbfounded by his irrelevant but mischievous remark.