How dare you bully the female lead

Chapter 16

Of course a few days weren't enough to heal Lichen of all her trauma and it wasn't the last time that I came home to a crying Lichen. The next incident that I came face to was because Lichen's dresses didn't fit her anymore. I didn't understand why that would make her cry so much but sat down and listened patiently to what she was feeling:

"Does this make you sad? Is it because you liked your dresses a lot?"

Lichen couldn't answer, still crying her eyes out. Seeing her sad, Elm started rubbing her shoulder:

"We will buy you other dresses."

Persimmon was just as excited as Elm:

"He is right, you don't have to be sad, we will buy you all the dresses you want. We could go to the city right away."

But Lichen didn't stop crying and Alaneo touched Persimmons shoulder to make him stop talking. Persimmon didn't understand what he did wrong and Alaneo just shook his head silently. I exchanged a gaze with Alaneo and Karlene and they tried taking the children out to leave me alone with Lichen but the boys weren't budging:

"We want to stay with our sister.

-Sister is crying. We can't leave her.

-Mom said that we should never abandon our family."

Karlene kneeled down in front of them and gently rubbed their heads:

"You are right. We should never abandon our loved ones. But Lichen needs to be with Nebula right now. Trust her, she will take care of your sister."

The boys nodded and slowly followed the others out. Lichen was still crying and I pulled her into my embrace rubbing her back:

"You can cry. Let it all out."

I waited for her tears to stop, not letting her go one second. Lichen grabbed my collar and pulled me closer to her, hiding her face in my neck.

"Why are you crying?"

Lichen breathed loudly a few times before saying:

"I gained weight."

I frowned. Was this what I thought it was?

"That's totally normal. We will buy you new clothes and everything will be fine."

She quickly shook her head:

"I ate too many sweets. Mother told me that I would be fat if I ate too many sweets."

I tried my best not to get angry and soothed my voice:

"Do you like sweets?

-Yes... I like them a lot.

-Then you did nothing wrong. You should always eat what you are craving. No more, no less.

-But I gained weight...

-That's normal. You are a child and you are growing. Your weight and height will change a lot and that is completely healthy."

Lichen frowned:

"Is that okay?

-Of course it is okay. You don't have to hold back from doing something you like just because your body is changing. You are the prettiest when you are happy.

-But people will say that I am fat...

-Who cares what people say? People only talk when they are sad in their own lives. Deep down everyone wants to eat sweets and the bravest people will listen to their cravings."

Lichen thought about my words seriously.

"Then, can I eat more sweets?

-Of course you can. But you also have to eat vegetables and you have to brush your teeth well.

-I will!"

She jumped into my arms with a huge smile:

"Thank you mom!"

Both of us suddenly froze and Lichen retreated very quickly:

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

I just smiled and rubbed her head:

"You can call me whatever you want darling. I am not mad.

-Really?

-Yes."

Her smile came back and I thought I would melt:

"Mom!"

As promised we went to buy dresses for Lichen. I didn't think everyone would want to come with us but Light and Elm decided that they wanted to see their sister in a beautiful dress so they insisted on coming. Of course the others followed too and we went into the shop like a gang. It wasn't a well known shop and we went in because Lichen liked the dress in the vitrine. Lichen felt shy because of all the attention she got but I could see how happy she really was. The boys couldn't stop bringing dresses for her to try on and I just sat down appreciating this happy moment.

While Lichen was trying on clothes, I asked for tea and the owner of the shop herself brought it before serving me:

"Thank you. Would you like to have tea with me?"

She jumped on the occasion and sat down. I liked talking to new people and asked her about how long she had had her shop.

"I opened this shop quite recently, three years ago.

-I knew that I hadn't seen it before.

-A lot of people had to sell their businesses so I jumped on the occasion.

-Did something happen three years ago?

-Prices rose unfortunately and most families had to move out. Most of my friends had to leave the capital because they couldn't afford the life here anymore. Unfortunately some of them couldn't find another place to live.

-So where are they living now?

-On the streets, with friends... They go where they can. Some parents abandon their children and leave by themselves. Or they sell their children all together."

I forgot how busy the capital was and I wasn't home a lot. I was only there for breakfast and before dinner but between the two I was invited to tea parties, conferences, expositions... I didn't know how much I missed all of this excitement therefore I didn't notice the negative aspects of the city yet. I did notice that the number of children on the streets tripled in the past five years but I didn't realize it completely.

"People are abandoning their children?

-They don't have another choice. Most people can't afford rent anymore.

-Why did prices rise so suddenly?

-Three years ago the tax collector changed for this district.

-Can you afford this place?"

The owner pinched her lips:

"If our sales don't go up, we will have to move out in three months. But it's okay, you don't have to feel bad for me. I always dreamed of opening my own shop so I am glad that I tried. At least I'll be able to move on with a light heart."

I saw an opportunity presenting itself. This shop wasn't big yet but their dresses were very pretty and hearing about my visit, I knew that people would run up here so I had to invest.

"What if I invested in your shop?"

Hearing me talk about business, Persimmon rolled his eyes:

"You really can't relax for one second."

I laughed:

"I know a good deal when I see one."

The owner seemed very touched:

"Thank you so much, Duchess. It is a great honor for us to have you in our shop already. But I am not sure that you won't regret investing in our small business. We have been here for three years already.

-You have to be more confident in your shop! These dresses are very pretty, trust me. I want to bet on your future.

-Thank you, Duchess. Thank you so much."

The owner wanted to bow but I forced her to stay seated.

"I am not a Duchess. Please just call me Nebula."

The owner quickly covered her mouth:

"How dare I?

-It's okay, I don't mind."

She quickly shook her head:

"I could never.

-Then please call me Miss Wyrm. What is your name?

-My name is Juniper Lacroix.

-Nice to meet you Miss Lacroix. I am happy to do business with you."

After investing in the shop, my next plan was to investigate those homeless children. I couldn't leave them on the streets and immediately thought of a solution. The first thing I thought of was to open a shelter for homeless children in the capital. The place would also be open for homeless people, children who needed to run away from their parents and women who were abused by their husbands. In a day I found the perfect location and sent a letter to meet up with the current owner.

The man immediately answered my letter and we met up the next day to talk the details through. He agreed very easily to selling me the land because I was offering a lot of money and I immediately looked for personnel. I let Persimmon and Karlene take care of this part and now that this plan was in motion, I needed to find out who was the new tax collector in the capital.