Lili | Side: The compromise
Mother sported an approving smile at my direction. In such a familiar manner, she held Lady Yong-hi's hand and beamed brightly at her. "Had I not told you, dear Yong-hi? It's only a matter of time," she enthused, hardly containing the ecstatic tone in her voice. "They are quite adorable together, no?"
Pretending that her remark had gone deaf on my ears, I kept my simpering guile intact; barely, however, because if there was a mirror before me I would hold no surprise if my face had almost appeared like it sucked a lemon. I gulped down my tea, mentally pouring my attention towards my drink in hopes that maybe, just maybe, the brew may miraculously turn into alcoholic cordial. Because the gods—or Hiryuu, or whatever Koukan deity out there—know that I need it.
Lady Yong-hi chuckled. "I suppose so," she agreed with a soft smile on her lips. "A friendship would be most convenient in a harmonious relationship. . ."
I almost choked on my tea at that explicit detail. For respectable court ladies, these women were relentlessly blunt to the core.
"Indeed," Mother agreed with a teasing grin on her face. "I was almost considering the thought of marrying my sweetling to yours. Why, with the tryst these two decided upon themselves, I wouldn't mind an engagement this early."
They both laughed at the jape. However I knew better that the implication wasn't as farfetched at it seemed.
After all, if there had been an antagonist in my celebrated celibacy, no one better suited the role than my very own mother.
A/N: This is just a place where I can store all the random scenes I couldn't include in the actual story. Other POVs from different characters, including. So, here ya go. This scene is supposed to be somewhere between Chp.5 and Chp.6, however because of the shift in mood I had to scrap it off.