Chapter 4
“What is happening here…! Seriously…!”
Mavis jumped up from her seat and shouted.
She had come out thinking, “It’s such a nice day, maybe I can have breakfast outside and bond with her a little,” but things had taken a wild turn.
A big unexpected event had shaken everything, and her mind was spinning from shock.
The real problem, though, was that someone right in front of her was clearly even more out of it.
“This is insane… Seriously…!”
Vanessa had her face buried in the table, breathing heavily with a flushed face.
Seeing her like that, Mavis yanked at her two braided pigtails in panic and stomped her feet in frustration.
No matter how much she rang the bell, no maids showed up.
That made her even more frantic.
“Isn’t anyone here?! Seriously?!”
When she got closer to check, Vanessa’s face felt burning hot.
Mavis nearly lost her mind.
The main character of the novel is about to die and no one’s even showing up?!
Mavis had read the novel and knew Vanessa wouldn’t die here, but even she could see how dangerous things looked.
“Am I the only one worried about this whole world right now?”
Well, to be honest, Mavis wasn’t actually worried about the whole world. She was worried about Vanessa.
Even though she knew Vanessa would survive, she still looked extremely unwell.
“All of you are going to get fired one day…”
When her father came back, Mavis was determined to flip this house upside down. Her will was burning hotter by the second.
“But first… I need to take care of Mom.”
Mavis looked down at Vanessa, full of concern, and gently placed a hand on her forehead.
“Ow, hot!”
Even her own warm hand couldn’t match the heat coming off Vanessa’s skin.
She had a serious fever.
“First I need to get her to bed and call Dr. Libane.”
But with her small body, Mavis knew she couldn’t drag Vanessa to her room—it would only make things worse.
Feeling like time was running out, she rushed out of the room.
* * *
“Um… Shouldn’t I greet Mother and Father first…?”
“It’s fine! I saw them heading to the dining room to eat anyway. No one’s in their rooms.”
Mavis replied brightly.
Of course, she knew they went ahead to breakfast, ignoring Vanessa’s morning greeting, but she smiled and pretended not to know.
They were ranked number one and two on her “kick out of the house” list anyway—so who cared?
No point wasting her energy worrying about them.
It was better to focus on this fragile woman next to her.
Vanessa’s shoulders were hunched up in nervous tension.
Even though Mavis had visited her every morning for the past week, Vanessa still looked uneasy.
Mavis grinned and looked up at Vanessa, who sat across from her, stiff as a statue.
Today was their seventh meeting (though Mavis had come on her own each time), but they hadn’t made much progress.
Vanessa’s face was still full of confusion.
“Well, of course she’s confused.”
Until just a few days ago, Mavis had been openly cruel to her.
Suddenly being treated with warmth by the same child would throw anyone off—especially someone like Vanessa who had endured so much from her.
Even someone as kind as her couldn’t just accept such a change overnight.
“Um… Mavis…”
“Call me Mae!”
“Huh?”
“Mae! Remember we promised you’d call me that!”
Okay, technically I made her promise that…
Vanessa was sweating like someone stuck in the summer heat, but Mavis kept smiling even more brightly.
“There’s still time before Vanessa and Dad get divorced.”
In the original story, it was after about a year of Vanessa returning to the past, and after that trash—uh, Hiram—finally came home that the divorce happened.
So Mavis had less than a year to turn things around.
But there wasn’t much she could do with the body of a six-year-old.
She would have to rely on Hiram’s power to fix a lot of problems.
Which meant—she had to earn Vanessa’s trust before her dad returned.
Mavis needed Vanessa to believe in her and accept her help.
“Mae…”
“Yup!”
“…”
Mavis nodded with energy, as if to say, “Yes! I’m right here!”
It was a playful and cute gesture meant to earn affection, but Vanessa didn’t seem to notice—too nervous to focus on anything.
“Um… are you feeling okay?”
“Yup! I’m super healthy!”
“I see…”
Hearing that, Vanessa looked slightly relieved.
After a moment of thought, she asked,
“So… why did you bring me here today?”
Mavis had been showing up a lot lately, and now she was dragging her around… Vanessa was sure there was some deeper reason.
Did she mess something up?
“Even if I didn’t… Mavis might still find a reason to be angry.”
Vanessa braced herself for harsh words.
“Today… well, the sun’s shining, the sky’s as blue as the sea… let’s eat in the garden!”
“In the garden?”
“Yup! There’s a table, chairs, and even a roof out there. I used to eat outside sometimes!”
Her answer was so ordinary and simple that it left Vanessa speechless.
If they had a normal mother-daughter relationship, this wouldn’t be strange—but Mavis and Vanessa were far from normal.
Vanessa almost wanted to ask, “Don’t you hate me?”—but she held it in.
“…”
A little girl stood in front of her with wide, sparkling eyes and an innocent smile.
Mavis had no idea that she’d one day grow up to hate Vanessa.
So… maybe her sudden kindness was genuine.
Vanessa forced a smile. Her lips trembled slightly.
Even though she was still feeling sick, she tried to smile—and it made her face twitch painfully.
She worried Mavis would notice how fake the smile was—but thankfully, the girl was busy talking about something else.
“Mom?”
Vanessa flinched.
Mavis had been chatting about how beautiful the garden was, but now she suddenly stared straight at her.
Her eyes were so clear—like mirrors—that they seemed to reflect Vanessa’s whole self.
In those eyes, she could see her own hunched shoulders, full of tension.
“Mom, are you thirsty?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Your voice sounds cracked…”
But instead of the sharp remarks Vanessa expected, Mavis’s voice was full of worry.
She tilted her head and looked up at her.
“Drink some water.”
Mavis poured a glass of water from the table pitcher and handed it to her.
Only after accepting it did Vanessa realize how dry her throat felt.
Her mouth was parched.
Still, she hadn’t even thought about asking for water—not in front of this child.
Even though Mavis now looked small and young, Vanessa still felt nervous whenever she stood in front of her.
Vanessa wasn’t afraid of Mavis herself.
She was afraid of what Mavis represented—all the people who hated her.
She was terrified of disappointing them all over again.
“Mom…?”
“Y-Yes?”
“You’re really sweaty…”
Mavis had been walking back to her seat but paused and spoke in surprise.
Vanessa, startled, quickly pulled out a handkerchief.
How embarrassing.
Of course she was thirsty—she was sweating buckets.
She felt ashamed, being this tense and sweaty in front of a child.
And strangely, that made her eyes sting with emotion.
The heat behind her eyes spread across her face.
Her cheeks burned, and she quickly wiped her sweat, pretending not to be flustered.
“Ma…”
“Mom…!”
“…Yes?”
“Your face is super red… Are you sure you’re okay…?”
“…Yes…”
Vanessa tried to respond, but no sound came out.
“I’m okay.”
She had to say it.
She had to apologize for ruining tea time.
Vanessa was best at one thing—apologizing.
Apologizing for being born as a count’s illegitimate child…
Apologizing for marrying into a grand noble family without being grand herself…
Apologizing for not being proper enough…
Apologizing for her husband’s death—even though they had never once shared a night together.
She had spent her whole life apologizing for things that weren’t her fault.
“Mom?”
“I’m okay… I’m really okay…”
But the words wouldn’t leave her lips.
They felt stuck—like her mouth was sealed with honey.
Mavis was panicking now, running over to her.
But Vanessa’s vision was starting to blur.
Mavis seemed to be yelling something, but it sounded far away—like she was underwater.
And just like that…
Vanessa was swallowed by darkness.
