Chapter 278. Epilogue, Part VI

There was also a mixture of sorrow in the surprise, along with a sense of guilt that she might have been wrong from the start when she offered Phoebe the chance to be the foster daughter of the Kiellini family.

When Maribel saw Julietta's darkened expression, she gave Vera a wink.

Vera held up Phillip, and said, "The Prince is struggling to go to his mother."

As she recalled the painful past for a while, Julietta casually accepted Philip onto her lap. "You are getting heavier, my son. Who do you look like and so strong?" The sight of Phillip growing up made Julietta forget all her troubles, and she smiled sweetly.

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Around evening time, the group arrived and spent the day in the city of Lakers, in the territory of the imperial family of Vicern. They were able to leave the next day and reach the Kiellini Territory of southern Vicern in the afternoon.

"The field is much wider than I thought." Julietta looked out from the main bedroom on the second floor and admired it.

The mansion was not so big compared to the farm. The land surrounding the two-story building and its small garden was densely planted with metum, waiting for the autumn harvest.

Julietta pointed to a mansion beyond the low-growing metum plants. "What's that mansion? Is that also part of the Kiellini Territory?"

Maribel shook her head slightly, not knowing, and looking at Julietta after she said "Kiellini Territory." Julietta never said it was her land. She didn't seem to think it was hers.

She did not do so when she visited the Kiellini mansion in the capital, where Mrs. Raban was living, but she drew a line when dealing with the other property, business, and land of the Kiellini family.

The caretaker and butler of the Kiellini family in Vicern had been embarrassed by their master's sudden visit. He didn't understand the question he was asked, so he just clumsily answered, "Oh, yes. That's the territory of the Empress, and the land of the family of Count Bordeaux is adjoining."Julietta eased up after ordering the struggling butler to keep her visit strictly confidential. She shook her head as he ran out of the bedroom. "I'm stuffy, as I came in a carriage. I need to take a walk."

"Go and come back safely. Until then, our Prince should take a nap."

Manny, who she had brought on her trip was also tired, and had already fallen asleep in her carry-on bag.

Julietta put on her hat and gloves, then took Vera out with her. The two, accompanied by a long group of escort knights, left the mansion and headed for the metum field.

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"Edmund, I see your head. I got you, so get out of there. It's your turn to seek me."

"You saw me hiding, didn't you'?"

A brother and a sister with identical red hair were playing hide-and-seek. When the boy came out from the hiding place, angry that she had found him, the little lady answered, clasping her feet with her arms crossed, "My brother's hiding place is always so obvious, and I don't have to cheat. As I've said repeatedly, take advantage of the color of protection. Why do you always pick out the opposite color to your red hair and hide there? Are you asking me to find you on purpose?"

Unlike the boy, who was soiled here and there after playing hide-and-seek, the girl was clean. Her light pink dress with lace was not crumpled and dirty at all.

The boy lost the words to say at his sister's rebuttal, stamped his foot, and ran away. "I'm going to go get my older brother and Rita. Let's divide into two teams and do it again."

"Do you think fifteen-year-old Adrian wants to play hide-and-seek with us? And let Rita rest! Do you think it's fun for a maid to play with the kids in the master's house? It's a sort of thing to wait on!"

The girl even clicked her tongue at her older brother as he ran away without looking back. "He doesn't even pretend to listen. When he does what he wants to do, he will be satisfied."

When the girl was alone, she raised her skirt, threw off her shoes, and grumbled, "I have to wear boots in early summer. Just so they can't see my ankles, I have to wrap them up like this."

The girl wriggled her little toes and enjoyed the coolness, and she was so cute that Julietta approached to greet her. "Hi, I'm Julietta. I came from the mansion over there."

The girl didn't know someone was with her, and jumped up and covered her bare feet. The child looked blankly at Julietta who was wearing a sunshade and smiling, and quickly greeted her. "Hello, I'm Adelaide. By the way, you're so pretty. Is that blonde real? It's not a wig?"

Julietta burst into laughter when asked, her eyes glistening bluer than the sea. "Yes. It's not a wig, but my real hair."

"How long are you staying? Lady Lotus went to Austern to go shopping, and I really want to introduce her to you as soon as she gets here. Oh, Lady Lotus is the daughter of the family of Count Lotus over there. She's very proud of her blonde hair. But it's just a straw color to me. It's a perfect color to make straw hats, but she can't face reality. I want to show Lady Lotus, 'This is what real blondes are like.' Of course, the people I've seen before..."

Adelaide was starting to talk about the blondes she had known in the 1960s, but she thought that Julietta wouldn't know about her previous life. "Oh, you wouldn't know if I told you. There are a few actresses who are famous for their blond hair. It's a little different from that blonde. I've never seen such a pinkish blonde before."

Adelaide who was constantly complaining about Lady Lotus with a pout, so Julietta asked, "You must be a close friend."

The chatter that seemed never to be quiet stopped. Adelaide frowned for a moment as if she were displeased, and replied, "She is not a friend, but I'll say she is close to me right now. I can say so. It's so rural that everyone looks the same, though. But I don't want to call her a friend because I don't know when or how our relationship will change."

"I made a mistake. But I don't think I'll stay until your close acquaintance returns if you don't know what's going to happen later. I'm leaving tomorrow. But you said you didn't like the shoes covering your ankles?"

It was part of Julietta's long thought. She was planning to sell shoes at Chartreu, and was attracted to what the little girl had said.

"Yes, I think it's too ignorant to wear these shoes in this heat."

"Yes, I see. I need to design a new pair of shoes."

Julietta thought about modern-day shoes. The ankle-covering shoes were natural for her, so even though she thought they were tacky, she didn't feel uncomfortable. Come to think of it, there would be quite a few such items. Like underwear…

Adelaide put the brakes on Julietta, who had been thinking for a while. "So far. This is an idea I've been thinking about before. I don't want you to steal my business with my idea, because I may set up a shoe store later."

Julietta confronted Adelaide's strong rebuttal. "I've been thinking about this before, too."

"You just thought about it, but you didn't think about putting it into action until you met me. So, I have a priority. I'm saving my money hard, but if I can't save my seed money, I'll hand my rights over to you."

Adelaide was so cute that Julietta laughed out loud. When she saw the cute girl in front of her, she wanted to have a daughter like this, just as Killian wished.

Adelaide looked at her as she smiled affectionately, even at her own rude remarks. She thought that there would never be such a beautiful person in the world.

"But what's your job? Are you an actress?"

Julietta smiled sweetly at Adelaide's question. "No, I'm running a small clothing store. I was thinking about selling shoes together, but you're right, so I'll give up. Let me know if you ever give up your plan later. I'll buy your idea."

At Julietta's words, Adelaide nodded haughtily. "Yes, I'll contact you at Tessa mansion."

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