Chapter 250: Elaria’s plan
"Nothing," Chloe replied, her eyes lowered to her thighs. "Not yet."
"You mean?" Elaria raised an eyebrow.
"Since morning, I’ve been trying to make him look at me as a woman," Chloe revealed, a hint of shyness in her voice. Her fingers fiddled with her skirt as she confessed, "But it isn’t working at all."
She looked up into Elaria’s eyes, grabbed her hand, and whimpered, "Mama, what if Vlad doesn’t like me?"
Elaria had long been aware that Chloe loved Vlad as a man. As Vlad’s mother, she also knew how he felt about her.
Still, neither she nor Edren had ever interfered in their relationship in any way. It was these young ones who had to figure it out after all.
Seeing Chloe so worried, Elaria wanted to tell her the truth right there, but she held back, knowing it wasn’t her place to say it.
"What have you tried since morning?" Elaria asked, gently pressing her fingers against Chloe’s hands. She could already tell that one of the attempts had been wearing this knee-length skirt, an outfit Chloe would never usually wear.
The crimson on Chloe’s cheeks spread further as she felt shy about telling the absurd attempts she had made.
But since it was her Mama, who knew all of her embarrassing secrets, she didn’t feel uncomfortable revealing them to her.
Two minutes later...
"Baby, who taught you such things?" Elaria gasped, her eyes widening and lips parting. Chloe was a very reserved girl. Her innocent mind could never think of anything beyond holding hands.
Chloe decided not to tell her about Seraphina.
"A female friend at the academy taught me," Chloe revealed, which only made Elaria release a deep sigh. She was already worried about Chloe’s circle of friends.
"Ahem, those are some effective methods," Elaria said with a hint of embarrassment, covering her mouth with her fist.
The girl who had taught Chloe such things clearly knew how to wield a woman’s charms to her advantage. With skills like that, any man unfortunate enough to fall for her would be dancing on her fingertips.
Noticing how awkward Vlad seemed around Chloe, she could tell that these attempts had already done their work. If she hadn’t interfered back there in the restaurant...
She pressed her temples, overcome by a sudden sense of guilt.
Now that she was the one who had ruined their moment, she had to step forward and fix the blunder.
"Chloe, let me tell you a secret," Elaria said, beckoning her to come closer.
As Chloe leaned toward her, she said, "You just need to ask Vlad..."
---
A few minutes later, Vlad returned with two keys attached to keychains engraved with the numbers 501 and 502.
Guided by a bellman, the family entered the lift and reached a long hallway covered in red carpet. Bright lamps were fixed to the walls on both sides at regular intervals.
After a few seconds of walking, they reached their rooms. For now, the whole family decided to enter one room together.
It was a grand room, far larger than their house back in the village. Its entire front wall consisted of floor-to-ceiling glass, offering a breathtaking view of the city below. The room was warm thanks to the afternoon sunlight streaming directly through the glass wall.
A king-sized bed rested against the side wall, surrounded by elegant furniture and polished wooden flooring. A comfortable seating area was arranged beside the glass wall, with a small table where one could sit and enjoy the view.
The attached bathroom had a translucent glass wall that showed only a blurry view of the inside, leaving the rest to the imagination.
Both Edren and Elaria gasped upon seeing such a luxurious room.
"Vlad, you’re sure this is free?" Edren asked, swallowing hard.
"Of course, Dad," Vlad answered confidently. He took the massive bag from the bellman’s hand and entered the room.
After taking a curious look around the room and at the scenery outside, Elaria and Edren sat on the chairs in front of the bed, where Vlad and Chloe sat at the edge.
"Mama, Dad, close your eyes," Chloe said, a faint smile on her face.
"Eh?" Edren raised an eyebrow.
"Do it," Chloe ordered in an even tone.
The couple obliged.
"Tada!" Chloe’s voice came with slight excitement.
When the duo opened their eyes, Elaria found an elegant black gown spread across the bed. The glittering finish along its surface shone like stars under the light.
Beside it, a formal outfit for a man was placed. A black shirt, magenta waistcoat, and a long black coat with magenta embroidery along its edges. A pair of black trousers was placed beside it, with knee-length black leather shoes on the floor below.
Atop the waistcoat, a silver ring rested, with symbolic runes engraved along its surface.
"Th-this is?" Elaria asked, blinking.
"A gift for you two," Vlad said, placing his hands on Elaria’s shoulders from behind.
"Is that a storage ring?" Edren asked, his crimson eyes fixed on the ring.
"Now you don’t need to carry heavy logs from the forest," Chloe said, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind and resting her chin on his shoulder.
"But these things are too expensive," Elaria said, shaking her head reluctantly. "You should return them and buy proper training equipment for yourse—"
"Dear, accept them," Edren said, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Our children have brought us gifts for the first time."
Despite his calm tone, drool trickled from the corner of his lips and fell onto Chloe’s arm, his greedy eyes fixed on the storage ring.
"Eek!" Chloe exclaimed, quickly wiping the drool off with Edren’s face.
"Hah... this greedy idiot," Elaria sighed. She wasn’t faring any better. Tears had already covered her cheeks.
"Waa... my babies are so sweet," she cried, rising from her seat and showering Vlad’s face with kisses.
Chloe was the next to get attacked, but she had already accepted her fate, leaving her cheeks to Elaria’s mercy.
Only after both of their faces were covered in faint lipstick marks did she finally stop crying.
"Mom, Dad, I want to take you all out for dinner tonight," Vlad stated once Elaria had calmed down.
The couple didn’t refuse anymore. Since their children wanted to treat them, refusing would only sadden them.
Elaria hugged the dress on the bed and declared, "Then I will wear this for dinner."
She grabbed the formal attire and placed it on Edren’s shoulders, who was excitedly examining the storage ring on his finger from different angles.
"Now give the ladies some time to get ready," she ordered, pushing Edren with one hand and Vlad with the other toward the door.