The small group of children all huddled in front of her, but did not dare to invade her personal space.
"We-we helped Miss Violet in cleaning the front yard…"
"As you should."
The children all grind their teeth in unison after hearing my comment, their brows couldn't furrow any lower.
"But you're the one who started it! Olivia's front yard wouldn't have been messy if you didn't paid a visit to the village!"
The little commander exclaimed with confidence and anger fused together in his expression. His index finger pointing at me accusingly like I'm a sinner caught red handed.
"I'm here to visit Olivia, not the village," I muttered, sticking my index finger at the child's forehead. "Also, none of this would have happened if you just stayed put and threw away the idea of getting even with me. This is all your fault."
My finger started to drill into the child's forehead softly, making the other children around him feel a bit frightened.
"Stop it."
Olivia's hand slapped my finger away from the child's forehead.
"You're very lucky. If Olivia wasn't here, I would have drilled my finger through your empty head…hahaha…"
"You…You'll pay for this!"
The little commander yelled with teary eyes before scurrying away. The others followed his lead, and the front yard was left with only the three of us.
"You're pretty brutal with children."
Jade commented, standing up from her wooden seat.
"I'm not."
Olivia on the side only sighed like she already expected this situation to happen. To be fair, in every corner of the world that I have been, I did not get along well with children.
Even in this remote village, the children always looked at me like a useless nuisance. But I guess they're only reflecting the eyes that I give them whenever I see them.
The children in this village don't like me, and I don't like them. A fair trade.
"I'm so sorry for my sudden outburst earlier. It's just that I was woken up by noises and…saw my front yard covered in mud…"
Olivia began to apologize to Jade who was behind me.
"Oh, it's alright, I understand. I would have thrown rocks at the person who trashed my front yard with mud if I were you."
"Shut it."
I hissed with a weak smile. This woman really doesn't fit the noble description I once had of her.
"Ah, so you really are guilty of trashing her front yard."
Jade scoffed and crossed her arms with a sly smirk. Since when did this woman become so annoying? Wasn't she supposed to be calm and collected and not irritating?!
"I'm not!"
Veins on my neck were starting to bulge, almost bursting into oblivion. But Olivia already had her hands on my shoulder.
"Calm down…Why don't you both go inside first. I'm sure neither of you had lunch yet."
Her attention turned to Jade and hastily asked, "Miss…?"
"Oh…I'm Jade Everhart. I'm sorry for the late introduction."
Olivia's face became frantically flushed with either embarrassment or nervousness. Maybe it's because she knows who exactly this woman is.
"I'm so sorry for my lack of hospitality earlier, young lady Everhart!"
She bowed her head as soon as her hand left my shoulder.
"Stop apologizing."
I demanded with a dejected expression.
"But I…the door almost squished her earlier…"
She whispered, also with a dejected expression.
"You know, I'm sort of disappointed that the door didn't hit her face."
"I'm right in front of you, just so you know!"
Now, it was Jade's turn to speak with the same expression liberating on my face.
"I'm so sorry again!"
Olivia apologized one last time and after that, we finally went inside the house.
The interior was plainly decorated, nothing notable to say about it, except for the rows of family pictures in one wall. Graduation photos of Olivia's sister, along with her medals, certificates, and trophies were shining brilliantly in the glass covered shelf. A smart daughter.
Olivia settled us down in the living room before going to the kitchen. Suddenly, the raspy voice of a woman rang through the room. It was Olivia's mother, with messy hair and wrinkled clothes. It looked like she just woken up from her sleep.
"Olivia, why didn't you wake me up? You could have told me Miss Violet was paying a visit today…"
"Good afternoon Mrs. Arialle, I'm so sorry for coming in uninvited…"
I greeted, standing up from the couch. Jade remained seated and only smiled towards the forty-some lady.
"It's alright. Why didn't you send us a notice about your visit, we could have prepared you your favorite meals…"
"You don't have to actually…It's really fine if you don't."
Mrs. Arialle only sighed in response and sat down on the couch to keep us company while Olivia continued to work in the kitchen.
"And who might this lovely child be?"
Mrs. Arialle asked with a kind face.
"I am Jade Everhart, it's nice to meet you."
"Oh! You must be friends with Miss Violet!"
A sudden beam of happiness enveloped Mrs. Arialle's face.
"Yes. We're friends."
Jade replied with the same tone of happiness as Mrs. Arialle.
I stayed quiet with my lips pursed together. I could tell that Jade only said those words with annoying reasons. She looked at me with a proud expression, a sparkle glinting on the edge of her smirk.
"I'm glad Miss Violet brought one of her friends to our small village. Have you looked around the village yet?"
"I haven't yet, but Miss Violet said she'll give me a tour after lunch."
When the f*ck did I say that?!
"That's great! I recommend going to Velya's orchard first, they're giving out free fruits today. Miss Violet has already been there countless times, I'm sure she'll be a great tour guide!"
I'm not going to be her tour guide!
"Mom! Can you help me with this?"
Olivia suddenly called out from the nearby kitchen.
"Yes, hold on."
Mrs. Arialle stood up from her seat and scurried away to the kitchen.
"The people of this household seem to be fond of you."
Jade announced in a voice only the two of us can hear.
"You think?"
I replied half jokingly while curving the corners of the lips upwards.