I know what you don't (3)

"Mother…" She crouched down at the armrest of the single sofa at the side where her mother sat while reading her work.

"Elizebeth, mother is a working baby." The Duchess caressed her cheek with her index finger.

"But mother, you missed my aunt, right?" Pleaded her, not quitting just yet.

"Who told you?" the Duchess answered half-heartedly as she wrote something on the paper.

Elizebeth pouted. She was with her mother from morning until afternoon but her mother didn't budge at all. She did her work inside of the guest room that had been modified into her own office.

"Your Grace, this is the tea." Sophia, the duchess's maid served her. "My Lady, this is your cookie." She patted Elizebeth's head full of love.

"Cookies? Yay!" She leaped towards the bathroom inside the room and washed her hands before dashed back to her original place and grabbed the cookie. "It's delicious." She hummed happily.

The Duchess sighed. Massaging her temple to see her child's manner. She was far from the model noble lady in front of her, but the perfect example in front of others. Her cute side that only duke's family knows. Only meant for their eyes. Still, she practiced cleanliness.

"Sophia. It's good. I want more." She bounced at her place.

"Elizebeth," the Duchess laughed with her cute reaction. "Sit tight at your seat. The cookies not running away, baby." She put down her paper to clean her messy mouth.

"I will send more, My Lady." Sophia chuckled, patted her head in affection before she retreated.

"Mother, mother, are you really busy?" She stuffed her mouth with the remaining cookies.

"Yes, your father fired several maids last night. Mother currently is investigating the course." The troubled voice echoed inside the office.

"Oh, them." She had just realized. She was the one who fired them and her father was the one executing her plan.

Her reaction made the Duchess curious. "You know what happens?"

"Hehe, I know, mother. I was the one who fired them." She scratched her sideburn with her index finger, guilt face parading her whole face.

"Good grace." The Duchess huffed. "Why, baby?"

"Creating hierarchy and bullying. They almost make a maid traumatize for her entire dear life." She pouted, her full cheek bloated like a chipmunk, making her cuter.

"Oh my baby," the Duchess laughed, the face was a legend and cute. She had no thought to fix her baby when they were alone. When they were alone only, Elizebeth showed her goofy attitude.

"Will you get mad at me?" She blinked, her big round eyes wavered like a pitiful rabbit. Well, when you have a cute face, you can buy them with it. Hahahaha.

The Duchess rubbed her head, "I won't. Your reasoning justified your actions." She took her hand back and put it under her chin, thinking. "Why do you rip off their title as well?"

"If I merely dismissed them with a letter recommendation, they would surely do the same to other maids at other places. I need to cut their evil roots. They were commoners from the start anyway. The taste of fame changed them." She justified herself. Mumbling in between munching.

"Indeed. The title is the evil root. You are clever, baby." The Duchess rubbed her hand on her head once again. The proud feeling boosted inside her unwillingly. Elizebeth was her pride. She would be the center of attention soon, no matter where she went. Didn't mean she had to follow her step in woman debutante. She could create her own path.

"Yes." She agreed. Focused on her cookies once again when Sophia came back bearing another large plate for her and another small plate for her mother.

"Hurm, we need to set up an interview to select new maids and butlers." The Duchess's thinking out loud. Didn't bother with her loud crunching sound.

'Should I help you, mother?'

Yeah, that's what she said if she was an overly devoted daughter. How bothersome. However, she wasn't and she was too lazy to even lift her fingers. If she could act according to her will, she would ask Emily to do everything for her, even feed her food, she would ask sir Derrick to pick her up everywhere she went even if it's just one meter away.

"Mother." She thought of something. Even if she didn't help her mother, a few hands from her should be okay. "The celebration that will be held in two weeks. How about you ask the butlers and the maids to put up the recruitment notice at the board?"

The Duchess blinked in shock. It's indeed a brilliant idea. A week before the celebration, they had to post the activities for the whole week. "True. So true. What a clever girl, baby." The unmoved mother grabbed her hand and urged her to come closer.

"Yes, mo- oh. Thank you…" She blushed to receive the unexpected smooches from her mother.

"Mother has a competent daughter. She always gives mother a solution when mother is stuck. She is the loveliest daughter." The Duchess lifted her lightweight on top of her lap and wrapped her hands around Elizebeth. "Mother loves Elizebeth so much." She kissed her face this time.

"Mother." She laughed while squirmed inside the Duchess' arms while Sophia laughed at them as she went away. "Mother, it's tickling. Mother. Mother. Mo- Ahahahaa." She laughed too when her mother's breath tickled her cheek.

"Reward for my baby." She kissed again. "You are so clever. Always help mother out in my work. Lifting mother's mood. But your father always takes my baby away from me. Mother wants Elizebeth here too."

This time, she laughed ironically. Well, her father said the same thing about her mother as well. He always complained about her mother to her face like nobody's business. The content was the same as the Duchess too. Why did the other take Elizebeth away most of the time? Hahaha. She was like their trophy or something or comfort bear.

"Mother will explore the magic forest with you too, Elizebeth." At last, the Duchess budged. It's her sole victory.

"Really?" She grabbed her mother's arms and twisted her body to face her mother. "Really?"

The Duchess laughed again. She was easy to please too. Who did she take after? Not her nor her husband. At that time, her sister's face was swimming inside her mind. Yes. She was exactly like her sister. Stella. Her one and only sister. How did she know about her?

"Have you ever met your aunt, baby?"

"No." She shook her head innocently. "But Dada said Mama always remembers her." She came up with a plausible story on the spot. No one cares about the legitimacy of the story. Her mother trusted her words as it was.

"I see." The Duchess rubbed her back in a circle. Shifted her position to make her comfortable. Like the Duke did yesterday. She knew the position too well. This was the position where she was forced to sleep for the entire day.

"Do you want to know your origin?" The Duchess continued to do so. It's a trap for her to sleep.

"Okay," but she complied.

"Mother and aunt are from a nymph tribe. At the very beginning, we mixed well with humans. Your father met me at my village just above the hill around the forest entrance." She started.

The hill around the forest entrance? The hill before the forest was passable to be the gigantic mountain. The higher they climbed, the colder it became. There's nothing but a harsh environment over there and mother lived there?

"It was love at first sight for your father. Your father courted until he was legal enough to marry me." She chuckled, her eyes filled with the memory of them. "But due to a misunderstanding between humans and nymphs, they decided to move inside the magic forest. There, we are safe from harm. I was married to your father so I can't follow them and had to hide my identity as a nymph until now."

Elizebeth dozed off. But conflict with humans again? From the story, she only saw humans as the source of the problem. From conflict with the siren and now the nymph. It's a human fault. She was sure. Who was the ring leader that mofo...

"I'm sorry to hear that, mother." Her consciousness could not let her go. She was after all half-human.

"Silly girl. What are you apologizing for? You are not even born yet." The Duchess laughed.

"The king gave his permission for me to do whatever I want. Will you help me, mother?" She slurred.

The duchess stared at her child, the lovely face almost surrendering to her sleep. The trick was not always effective but she appreciated it if it did. "I will help you, my baby. Mother doesn't know what Elizebeth wanted to do but mother will become your shield. Just be you, my baby." She kissed her cheek once again and let her child be completely disconnected from the real world.

Elizebeth was a clever girl. She never did meaningless things in her entire life. Any request from the princess would be fulfilled without her second thoughts. Truthfully, this was her only first request in her entire life and it's for her mother's sake too.

"My baby," she rubbed the body without stopping.