Chapter 10
‘Did they just bully the Duchess in the Duke’s office?’
Since the Duke was away, the Duchess was the acting head of the house. It was obvious they had called her here on purpose to pressure her.
“Miss…!”
“Ahhh! Let go!”
As soon as the door opened, Trisha grabbed Mavis. But Mavis had already caught everyone’s attention in the room—it was enough to interrupt them.
“Trisha, why aren’t you watching the child?”
“S-Sorry, Madam. I’ll take her back to her room right away.”
The Countess scolded Trisha sharply. She was angry that Trisha couldn’t even handle one little child properly.
Trisha shrank back under the Countess’s harsh words and tried to take Mavis back. Mavis struggled to break free, but as a 6-year-old child, she couldn’t escape an adult’s grip.
“No… Mavis should stay. Mavis, come here.”
The Count stopped Trisha and smiled while calling Mavis over.
‘What’s he planning?’
Mavis didn’t want to go to the Count. He felt suspicious. But she saw Vanessa trembling and looking down, so she ran over to the Count, pretending to be cheerful.
“Boo~ You adults are playing without me! Mavis wants to play too!”
“I’m sorry, Mavis. But this isn’t playing. Your mommy did something bad, so she’s getting scolded.”
“She’s getting scolded~?”
“Yes. Because your mom hurt you.”
The Count whispered to Mavis while pulling her onto his lap. Vanessa looked up in shock, her eyes wet with tears.
He squeezed Mavis’s arm tightly, like he wanted her to agree with him.
“No, that’s not true.”
“…No, Mavis. Think carefully. Your mommy hurt you. That’s why you were in pain.”
“Nope! Mavis fell from the tree because I wasn’t careful! Mommy ran fast to catch me! Mommy got hurt too because of me… It’s Mavis’s fault…”
The Count knew it was Mavis’s fault, but he thought if he scared her a little, she would say what he wanted.
It was common—young kids often believe what adults say.
In the original story, Mavis had blamed Vanessa for her fall, which led to Vanessa being locked in her room for a week. That was how the story started in her second life.
‘This is when Mommy decided to divorce them all over again…’
A cold sweat ran down Mavis’s back.
In the original story, Mavis had always been a part of the group that bullied Vanessa. But this time, she joined in later.
Maybe it changed because Mavis was now clearly on Vanessa’s side. If so, maybe she could twist the story even more.
Though she had the body of a small child, Mavis’s soul had lived through many things. She wasn’t going to say what they wanted.
When Mavis didn’t answer as expected, the Count’s smile started to fade.
“Oh no… We must have let a witch into our house… So scary…”
“She must’ve even brainwashed Mavis! Once the Duke comes home, you’re getting divorced!”
The Countess shouted with anger, her body trembling.
‘How dare they say such scary things!’
Mavis glared. But deep down, she knew—there was only one person in this house who truly wanted a divorce.
Vanessa.
The others just used the word “divorce” to control her and keep her down.
‘They want Vanessa to stay weak so they can rule over the house like kings.’
The real reason they let Vanessa marry the Duke was because she was powerless and easy to control.
They thought she wouldn’t challenge their authority. But if she truly tried to divorce the Duke, they would panic and try to stop it.
‘Just like in the original story, where they fought hard against the divorce.’
They were the ones who kept threatening divorce, yet when Vanessa agreed, they tried to stop her with lies and fear.
In the end, Vanessa left the house, and soon after, the family fell apart when all their crimes were exposed.
“Then… let’s call Daddy.”
“What…?”
Mavis’s words shocked everyone.
“We can just ask Daddy who’s right and who’s wrong~ Grandma and Grandpa always say Daddy is amazing and that Mommy doesn’t deserve him~ So we should ask Daddy, right?”
Mavis smiled brightly. She had to break this toxic family before they said any more scary things to Vanessa.
Even if it wouldn’t stop the fall of the family later, at least kicking out the Count and Countess would make things easier.
(And there would only be one annoying person left: Hiram Arsen, Mavis’s father.)
“No, Mavis. Your father is very busy… You shouldn’t call him over for this…”
Of course, they didn’t want the Duke to come.
Mavis tried not to smile as she kept a sweet face.
“Huh? It’s okay. I already wrote to Daddy saying I missed him! He said he’ll be here tomorrow! Mavis did a good job, right?”
Unlike the shocked adults, Mavis’s eyes were filled with determination.
Inside this crazy house, things like “fixing Daddy” or “stopping Mommy’s divorce” were impossible.
Mavis pulled out a wrinkled letter from her pocket. The Countess quickly snatched it and checked if it was really the Duke’s handwriting.
[Arriving tomorrow]
He didn’t talk much, but even his letters were this short. Mavis had sent him over 50 letters, and this was the only reply.
Still, the important part was that he was coming tomorrow.
That alone was enough to shake the adults in the room.
“The Duke… tomorrow…?”
“Yup yup! Daddy’s coming~ Isn’t that great~?”
Mavis smiled innocently.
‘It would’ve been better if he came without warning so they couldn’t prepare… but this will do.’
She glanced at Vanessa, who looked pale. Meeting the Duke again after such a long time clearly scared her too.
‘Don’t worry, Mommy. I’ll fix Daddy… I won’t even give him a moment of awkward silence…’
But first, Mavis had to get rid of these troublesome people.
As long as they were around, they would keep bullying Vanessa and keep the Duke from getting close to her.
“Let’s ask Daddy tomorrow. Who’s really wrong here~ Okay?”
Mavis’s pink eyes glowed in the firelight. She wasn’t like them. They fought for power and money.
She was fighting for her whole life.
Mavis smiled in the Count’s arms.
As long as the Duke was home, she had to convince him to get rid of these people.
“Ahh… Mavis is sleepy now… Since Daddy will decide who’s in trouble… Can I go to sleep now?”
“…Sure.”
“Mommy! Let’s sleep together~ I’m scared I’ll have a bad dream!”
Before the Count could say anything, Mavis jumped off his lap and ran to Vanessa.
Vanessa, still pale and overwhelmed, gently hugged her.
* * *
Vanessa held Mavis in her arms and walked to her room, trying to calm her emotions.
“Mommy, aren’t you going to sleep?”
“Y-Yes. I’ll sleep.”
She laid Mavis down and stood quietly. Mavis held her hand.
When Vanessa finally lay beside her, Mavis whispered softly.
“Um… Can you sing me a lullaby?”
“…I’m sorry, Mavis. Mommy doesn’t know any lullabies…”
Vanessa’s ears turned red with embarrassment. Her mother, a maid, had been thrown out of the Count’s house after giving birth to her. Vanessa didn’t even know if she was still alive.
She had grown up ignored by the maids. No one had ever sung her a lullaby.
She had never thought about lullabies—until now.
Now that she was asked to sing one, she realized she didn’t know any.
It made her feel a little sad and pathetic.
In the warm light, Mavis blinked up at her.
“…Then… Mavis will teach you one. Next time, you can sing it to me.”
“You’ll sing it to me?”
Vanessa looked surprised. She listened carefully as Mavis began singing.
“Hummm~”
🎵 “When Mommy goes to pick oysters~ in the shade of the island~
The baby is left behind~ watching the house~” 🎵
Her clear little voice filled the room.
The song was unfamiliar, but it sounded beautiful because of her pure voice.
Vanessa blinked slowly, listening to her child’s sweet lullaby.
