After a few days of repeated warm and loving routine, an unusually tired man put down the last box from his carriage at the front door. He took a deep breath and pushed the button nearby the door.
Ding Dong~
At the ring of the doorbell, the door opened in a matter of seconds.
"Good—"
Before he could even say a thing, Christina snapped her fingers and the boxes floated on their own. One by one, they flew inside the house and placed neatly on top of each other.
"Uwaaa~"
After all the boxes piled up in the living room, Elysia beamed and ran around to try and sneak a peek on the inside. She was happy on her own, leaving the disheveled person at the door.
"Ma—"
Smack!
Mike felt wronged as a man who diligently delivered her goods from the town. Christina did not try to bother him. He helped himself in and slumped down on the sofa, feeling at home.
"What are you going to do with that pile?"
He was seriously curious about the contents of the boxes. It was too much to say that it was brought as a whim. Not even before when he visited that they bought this much.
"It's from your eldest brother."
Mike unusually coughed drily without anything consuming. Elysia was curious and patted the poor man with poor health. Her eyes were full of pity that Mike felt complicated for a second.
"I'm fine. I'm fine."
Elysia was not convinced that she looked at Christina for confirmation. Christina then remembered what she taught Elysia just recently.
She then diligently answered Elysia while coldly looking at Mike.
"He's really fine, Ellie. Sometimes people would tell you they were fine but not really. But that only happens when someone was pale, sweating, in extreme pain, or laying on the bed. He did not fit any of the criteria. Therefore, it must not be so serious."
Gently patting Elysia's head while explaining made the toddler feel at ease. Mike saw the scene and suddenly felt the unfairness of the world for the very first time in his life.
He looked at the two immersed in their own world for quite some time. He even had to cough again to remind them of his existence.
Christina looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. Mike awkwardly asked.
"I'm just curious as to what those boxes contain. In the first place, why would that guy send you some goods? He never even visits here."
Confused, Christina tilted her head.
"You don't know?"
It was Mike's turn to be confused.
"What should I know?"
Christina had an urge to laugh at his situation but managed to stop on time.
"Ehem… he didn't send you the letter?"
Mike blinked a couple of times and a big question mark was written all over his face. Christina knew by then that Eric teased Mike again by sending him an invitation at the last moment.
Since she also found this amusing, Christina decided to take the ride and let Mike figure out himself.
"You'll know when you come back home later."
To avoid further questions, Christina turned around and approached the curious Elysia. Mike did not have the chance to ask therefore he watched the two enjoy themselves.
Neatly placing the boxes on the floor, Christina and Elysia unboxed the contents. Just like how it was planned, Eric diligently sent a few sets of dresses separately for Elysia and Christina.
Seeing the huge quantity of the dress, Mike was even more confused. According to what he could remember, Christina wasn't the type to buy or accept gifts that wouldn't be useful to her. She was that much of a practical woman.
On the other hand, Christina was pleased as she checked the goods one by one. All of the clothes would fit the theme of the wedding. But every single one of them could be used on any occasion.
Eric did a very good job that made Christina think of a grand wedding gift.
Now, Elysia just needed to pick one that she liked the most amongst the dresses and keep the rest for another day.
"Nana!"
Elysia dragged behind her a dress. Her eyes showed how eager she wanted to wear the clothing. Christina picked up the dress and examined it thoroughly.
It was a one-piece patterned net wedding party outfit for children with a white and light pink shading. The upper part was a petal sleeve and was not too revealing for the country's ethics. It also had a few flowers embroidered all over the edge of the dress.
In Roman Catholic Wedding terms, Elysia was supposed to be the flower girl. Christina urgently brought a little light rattan brown basket out of nowhere and let Elysia carry it. Checking all the angles and postures, Christina placed the dress in front of Elysia.
All of it was like the will of God to fit. Or rather everything seemed to fit Elysia no matter what she picked. But out of all the dresses for her, this one fitted the best for her age.
Looks cute.
Mike, who really treated the mansion as his home, ate as he watched on the side. He also knew that the one that Elysia picked was the best among the rest.
His munching was getting louder as time passed by that Christina who was now picking her dress got annoyed. She looked back at him giving him all the attention that he wanted from the start.
"Until when do you plan to stay?"
As if being sarcastic, Mike replied.
"Until I'm full."
Christina couldn't take it anymore and told him the truth.
"Your eldest brother is getting married. We're invited. You should beg him to give you one or you won't get any at all."
She told him half-truths but that alone made Mike drop his food from his mouth.
"You serious?"
As a little payback, Christina had a sarcastic expression on.
"What do you think?"
"You--… YOU MEANIES!"
Mike scrambled his way out of the mansion and the place was set at peace.
After all the sorting, Elysia fell asleep in the middle while Christina fell into a dilemma. If her black hair and black eyes would fit the bright clothes of Elysia she would not hesitate to wear one. But when she tried to, it went a horrible road.
Why…
For the first time, Christina felt her current beauty was lacking. After comparing the clothes color with her snow-white skin, it turns out that there were just three colors available for her to wear.
Black, Dark Blue, and Deep Red.
She could not wear black as it was considered unlucky. Neither could she wear deep red that almost looked like it was painted in blood. Out of options, Christina managed to narrow it down to three blue gowns.
There were only three dresses available with the color of choice.
A Victorian Old school royal blue dress that technically cannot be worn by Christina due to the exclusivity of its dye.
An Asian inspired Dark Blue Hanfu Dress that would incur everyone's interest and curiosity about the new fashion.
And last but not the least, a Bardot Off-Shoulder Navy Blue Gradient Toe Length Gown, which would show her curves but would also give her a decent and elegant feel.
Since Christina had to attend as a guardian representing the relatives of Eric's family, she only had one obvious choice.
"Okay. Let's leave this for today."
Christina gently kissed the forehead of the peacefully asleep toddler and went to her bed.