OVERLORD- CH-55. The Miss's Dress

Operan took her daughter to her bedroom. She sat on the bed, rubbing her heels which were swollen from walking too much in high heels, and looked at Angelina with a concerned expression.

"Lina, explain it to me." Operan's smile faded as she focused on her daughter, her brow furrowed in displeasure.

"Didn't I tell you to wear a tuxedo?"

"I haven't worn that kind of shoes in a long time, and I accidentally broke the heel." Angelina lowered her head, nervously tapping her chest with the index fingers of both hands, her face filled with genuine regret.

At that moment, the girl was dressed in casual clothes, the kind she wore daily to school in the Bahas Empire. They were designed for comfort and practicality during exercise.

It wasn't that the outfit was unattractive. With Angelina's youthful beauty, she could look great in anything, as long as it wasn't too shabby. However, according to the strict etiquette of nobility, this casual attire did not meet the formal dress code expected for an official dinner.

"Don't act pitiful in front of me. I don't know how many pairs of the same shoes I've prepared for you." Operan reached out and patted her daughter's forehead.

"You will inherit the position of Duchess in the future. How can you ignore these basic etiquettes?" Operan said seriously.

"I don't want to inherit that position!" If she were a few years younger, Angelina might have said something like this, but she didn't.

Angelina now understood that this was her fate as the only heir, and she had no choice.

And saying things like that would make her mother sad.

"I'll pay attention." Angelina said softly.

"I heard from Lena that your performance at the dinner table was also unsatisfactory."

"Sorry."

"Why do you have to go to the bathroom so frequently? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Neither do I."

Operan's voice remained steady, while Angelina's voice became softer and softer, until in the end, it was barely audible.

"Alas." Operan sighed, "My dressing table, on the second floor, go get that thing."

"That thing?" The girl was a bit confused.

"Go and take a look, and you'll know what I'm talking about." Operan waved her hand, and Angelina had no choice but to walk to the dressing table and open the drawer on the second layer.

At the sight, the girl's expression froze.

"Mom~"

"Bring it here."

"Mom~"

"Hurry up."

Acting cute didn't work. Angelina, looking sad, handed over the teaching stick that had accompanied her since she was a child to her mother.

"Hmm." Angelina closed her eyes and reluctantly stretched out her hands.

As Angelina's only remaining guardian, Operan dotes on her daughter and gives her the best of everything. However, she will not spoil her daughter and will never exempt her from punishment when she makes mistakes.

She has to be both a loving mother and a strict father, balancing the need to nourish her daughter with love while also correcting her mistakes.

Through this combination of soft and hard tactics, Operan has done her best to educate her daughter, who grew up in such a hostile environment, while shouldering the heavy burden of the lord's government affairs.

Angelina closed her eyes, waiting for the stick to fall. To be honest, Operan's strength was very small, and it wouldn't hurt if it hit her palm, but she had been afraid of this since childhood, and it had formed a psychological suggestion.

After waiting for a long time, there was no pain. Did her mother soften her heart? With this thought, Angelina happily opened her eyes.

"There are guests outside, so I won't hit your palm today." Operan said.

As expected, she was soft-hearted. Mom is still the best person in the world!

"Come, lie down here." Operan continued, patting her white thigh.

"Huh?" Angelina, who thought she had escaped, was stunned.

"If I hit your palms until they are swollen, how will outsiders see it? That's why I won't hit your hands." Operan said, "Hurry up and lie down here."

"Mom." Angelina turned pale, "Mom, I'm already fifteen years old."

"Your grandmother spanked me the day before my wedding," Operan said calmly.

"At that time, mom, you..."

"I was sixteen years old. I was beaten because I didn't want to get married. Hurry up and lie down here." Operan's expression was very serious.

"No! I don't want it. I would rather die outside and run away from home than be spanked!"

____

"Miss, does it still hurt?" The head maid asked with concern as she helped Angelina tie the belt of her dress, "Do you need me to massage it for you?"

"No thanks." Angelina looked like she wanted to cry but couldn't, "Loosen the belt a little, it's a bit tight there..."

"The Duchess' strength has suddenly increased a lot in the past two days." The head maid said, helping the girl loosen her belt a little, "And she doesn't seem to realize it yet."

"Well, I felt it firsthand..."

Before, Operan's strength was much weaker than that of women her age, but now for some reason, her strength had become so great.

"Do you want to find a priest?" Asked the head maid.

"No need." Angelina said.

'How could I possibly ask the priest for something like this? Don't I have any dignity? After all, she is my biological mother, so I wasn't going to be rude at all.'

"Oh? Is this your dress?" Angelina was startled by the sudden voice just as she walked out of the room.

"Mr. Levi, why are you here?" The head maid's reaction was quicker than Angelina's. She bowed slightly and spoke respectfully.

"Came to play with Lina." Levi said calmly, and his answer made Angelina uneasy.

'Why did he come to see me? Is he having... thoughts about me?'

"Meow, meow~" The kitten in Levi's arms suddenly arched its back and waved its little paws toward Angelina, looking like it wanted to grab her, but unfortunately, its short paws couldn't reach her.

Levi had originally planned to contact Lilith through rumors in the corridor but unexpectedly ran into Lina, not the girl, but Lina, the ragdoll cat raised by the Duchess.

"I followed the kitten for a while and ended up here."

"Lina is actually willing to let outsiders hold her." The head maid exclaimed in amazement.

The eldest lady took a step back silently. She and the kitten, whose name was similar to hers, had always had an unharmonious relationship.

She don't know if it was because it hated sharing the same name with the eldest lady or because it hated her for taking away the Duchess's favor, but no matter what food or toys Angelina offered to tempt the kitten, it never wanted her to touch it, and even scratched her every time it saw her.

'This stinky cat was so rude to me, but it's so well-behaved in the arms of a stranger!' Angelina was indignant about this.

"Miss, this dress is quite beautiful, and the shawl hair suits you very well." Levi said while stroking the kitten's furry back.

"Uh, thanks." Angelina said softly.

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Thank you all for supporting me.