How dare you bully the female lead

Chapter 18

Satin started spending quite a lot of time with the children. Lichen still felt awkward around her mother and wouldn't go to tea parties without me there but the boys didn't have that problem and every time I came home, I would see them together. They would go to the horses or go look at swords. When I confronted Persimmon, Karlene and Alaneo about this they only shrugged:

"What did you want us to say? She is the Empress."

Alaneo quickly added:

"I always escort them. They are never alone."

I couldn't convince them to stop her Majesty from taking the kids with her so I had to move on to talking to Satin directly and I took advantage of our weekly tea party to do so:

"Your Highness...

-You can call me by my name.

-Your Highness, I am worried that by taking care of the children every day, you don't have time for your affairs.

-It is alright. I can always work after.

-I won't be staying out so long from now on. I can look after the kids myself. I don't want them to bother your Highness."

But there was no keeping them apart. Especially because the children liked Satin and would be disappointed if I didn't let them go with her. Satin wasn't a warm person to begin with and she wasn't especially warm to the kids either but she was very patient with them and would do her best to take them to interesting places. She found a teacher for Elm who started taking riding lessons and would awkwardly sit next to Lichen while she was admiring flowers outside. But the one she had the best relationship with was Light. Him and Satin seemed to be getting along perfectly and Light couldn't stop talking about how cool the Empress was and wouldn't refrain from saying everything he thought of to her. At first I would apologize to Satin saying that Light was very honest but she said that she didn't mind and she did seem to like it. At least she didn't feel awkward around Light because she always knew what he wanted and what he was thinking.

In fact Light warmed up to Satin way before Lichen did and when I asked him what he thought about her Highness, he said:

"She is interesting. I like her."

I didn't really understand what Light liked about Satin but didn't want to take this away from him. He had to make his own decisions and have his own opinions about people without me intervening. Moreover, if Light liked Satin, then Lichen would warm up to her more easily too. Liche loved her mother but she was way too shy being terrified of making a mistake and being scolded. Maybe seeing Light be completely honest and himself would help her open up.

Light was very honest with Satin and Satin would listen to him with uncompromising seriousness. Their conversations would go something like this:

"I want to forge blades too but mom said that I was too young. Take me to the swordsmith. I want to see if it's really dangerous. If they use fire then I will like it. Fire is very beautiful. Do you think so too?

-I never thought about it before.

-Mom is scared of fire but she took me to a fire spitter and the air became very warm suddenly. I want to see it again.

-I will call a fire spitter here for you.

-I would like that, thank you. Do you think that mom would let me learn?

-I don't think so.

-I thought so too. It's okay, I understand that she is worried about me. Mom is very protective of me."

Satin stole a glance at me before smiling:

"You have a very good mother.

-I know. She is the best mom on Earth."

I smiled, touched by what I heard. However I still stayed in retreat to let them talk. I sat down to have some tea while Satin and Light were walking further away under my terrasse:

"My mom helps everyone. She is like a hero. Thanks to her I could meet Elm and I told Elm that he could call her mom too but he calls her aunty because his mom is dead. I told him that I wouldn't be jealous but he didn't want to so I didn't insist. Mom told me to never push people to do something they didn't want to."

Satin froze for some reason:

"Elm's mother is dead?

-Yes. He never met his mother and would cry sometimes at night having dreamed about her. I would always hug him to comfort him and he would slowly calm down."

Satin straightened up and looked at me:

"Are Light and Elm not brothers?"

I frowned. Did she think that they were? Light and Elm did like calling each other brother but I never said that Elm was my son too. He was Alaneo's son. I looked at Light and noticed that he did look a bit similar to Elm and Alaneo. All three of them had dark hard even if Light's was way darker than Elm's. Did Satin misunderstand something?

"Of course we are brothers. Elm and Lichen are my brother and sister."

Satin didn't look at Light and continued staring at me:

"Are they related?"

I shook my head thinking that she already knew. I did forget to specify but to me it was obvious.

"They aren't. Light is my child and Elm is Alaneo's son. But I love both as if they were mine."

Satin started smiling for some reason and I had no idea what was going on anymore. A second ago Satin and Light were bonding about fire and the next second she was staring at me and smiling.

"I thought that Mister Alaneo Sourdove and you were married."

I laughed:

"Alaneo and me? No, we are good friends.

-Then, may I ask who Light's father is?"

I shook my head:

"We are not that close, your Highness."

Satin looked away but the next second Light replied instead of me:

"I don't have a father. But I don't need one. I have mom, uncle piggy ride, uncle Persimmon, aunty, brother and sister. I love my family the most!

-You don't have a father?

-No, I never had one."

I quickly rushed down and lifted Light into my arms:

"We should go now, your Highness. I wish you a good evening."

I didn't give Satin time to answer and ran away with Light in my arms. Once we were far enough, I put Light down and the latter looked at me with curious eyes:

"Did I say something wrong?"

I rubbed his head:

"No, darling. You didn't do anything wrong. I just didn't want to disturb her Highness for too long.

-We are not disturbing her. Satin likes me a lot.

-Light, you shouldn't call the Empress by her name.

-But she told me I could."

I didn't have anything to retort to that so I just shrugged:

"Well then.

-You don't like her Majesty, mom."

I didn't want to lie to Light but being a child he didn't need to know about these things. I didn't have to pretend to like Satin but I couldn't tell him the real reason. What was I going to say? That Lichen got abused by my sister and that Satin ignored her pain? Knowing Light, he would have insulted Satin and that would be considered as an act of treason punishable by death. Light was too young to protect Lichen and I had to take on that role:

"Why did you think that?

-you always avoid her and give her that look.

-Liking people is subjective. You won't like everyone and everyone won't like you either. I don't have to like her Majesty. She is the Empress so I should be polite to her but apart from that I don't have to like her. Me not liking her doesn't mean that you can't like her either.

-But you never dislike people without a reason. I won't like someone that mom doesn't like either.

-I can't tell you the reason yet because it is an adult problem.

-Will you tell me when I grow older?

-If you want to then I will.

-But then what do I do until then? Satin is very nice to me. She will even call a fire spitter for me.

-Then you can like her.

-I will have to think about it..."