Chapter 37 : Insolence Backed by Confidence
Was that not pure slander?
Eve could not help thinking—when had she ever said she liked playing with legs or people? Tsk, she had actually been seen through…
Vivian suddenly asked, “Does this also count as human nature?”
“It does not.”
Vivian snorted disdainfully. “I am wondering, has anyone ever told you that your mouth is very stubborn?”
“In reply, Young Miss—likewise.”
Likewise?
Vivian raised a brow and silently repeated it, somewhat surprised. Had she actually listened to what she said?
After a moment’s thought, she spoke with the attitude reserved for addressing the disrespectful, invoking the name of the Hatherin Family. “Do you know that if anyone else had said what you just said, I would truly have ensured they never saw the sun tomorrow?”
“And what about me?”
“Hmph. You are fearless because you rely on something. Unfortunately it is you. Before my objective is achieved, I am unwilling to kill you,” she said, beckoning with her finger while lifting her well-rested black-stockinged calf. “Come here. Help me take it off.”
This time Eve did not hesitate. She stepped forward, and the pair of jade-like feet cooperatively lifted higher. From this face-to-face angle…
…it was very easy to glimpse beneath the skirt.
Vivian tilted her head and curled her lips playfully. “If you want to look, then look. Try saying ‘I want to look.’ Perhaps this Young Miss might mercifully agree.”
The moment she finished speaking, she almost spread her legs, but Eve promptly steadied her while removing the stocking, preventing any deliberate display.
“Next time, certainly, Young Miss.”
“Tsk, coward. Even if you wanted to look, I would not let you!”
Vivian was increasingly intrigued by the near-nonexistent wavering on Eve’s face. Perhaps it was merely a trick of light and shadow, perhaps real—but either way, it was a beginning.
Eve removed the stocking and held it in her hand, still warm with its owner’s body heat.
Vivian swung her newly freed bare foot, removing the last sticky sensation, then stood and stepped barefoot onto the soft carpet.
“Find a change of clothes for me. Go prepare bathwater,” she ordered, her voice recovering some of its usual arrogance and loftiness. “Remember to add rose petals. Control the temperature well.”
After speaking, she walked toward the door without waiting.
Eve stood in place, still holding the black over-the-knee stockings. “Then these stockings…”
Vivian stopped at the doorway and looked back with a smile. “You know whose fault this is.”
“Dispose of them yourself—or if you have the potential to be a pervert, keep them as a collection. Do as you like. Hmph.”
“And…” She pointed at Eve and threatened viciously, “Keep what just happened to yourself. If a third person learns of it… I will definitely kill you!”
Without waiting for a reply, she left without turning back.
Eve did not immediately follow. She remained alone in the room, lowering her head to look at the stockings in her hands.
The workmanship was exquisite, the material high-grade—clearly custom-made luxury goods. Delicate lace decorated the opening, elegant yet carrying a certain suggestive allure.
At that moment, two tiny figures suddenly appeared in her mind: a small angel Eve and a small demon Eve, extreme and opposed.
The demon Eve wagged her triangular-tipped tail and hooked a finger by her ear. “My dear, why not take an epic deep sniff? What are you waiting for?”
“No! That would truly make you a pervert! No, absolutely not!”
The angel Eve strongly protested, wishing she could throw the Bible in her hand at the other’s face.
“Tsk, do not listen to that wretch. Do not stray from the path, my dear. What you should do now is take a good smell of the fragrance she left behind!”
Eve shook her head sharply, making both disappear. She actually hesitated and struggled—how could she have such thoughts…?
After unconsciously rubbing the fabric for a long while, Eve finally folded the stockings neatly into a small bundle and held it in her palm.
“No… why am I keeping them?”
Only after leaving the Study with a tray in hand did she belatedly realize this.
…
At night, Vivian proceeded with the final lesson of the day. Before this, she had intended to use the same trick again to make the private tutor leave.
She bluntly refused to study, absolutely refusing. The tutor knew he could not handle it—on one side was the order of the Hatherin Family Head, on the other the uncooperative Miss Hatherin.
As the two reached a stalemate, Eve stepped forward.
Still heated from earlier, Vivian instinctively threw the fountain pen in her hand at the person entering the door. Eve caught it before Vivian realized.
“Hmph. Was he not sent by that old fossil? He even dares disobey me!”
She referred to the tutor, not Eve. The former was still shrinking in the corner, trembling as he said, “Y-Young Miss, but the master said… your lessons must be ensured…”
“Say another word and I will have you fed to the fish! Get out!”
“Y-yes…”
The tutor withdrew from the Study and stood outside the door at a loss, while the onlooking Eve quickly understood—the child did not want to study.
“Young Miss does not wish to study?” Eve’s voice was calm.
“I do not! It is always the same things, annoying to death! I want to go out!”
“Now?” Eve glanced at the wall clock. “It is already eight in the evening, Young Miss.”
“I do not care! Either you take me out to play, or you get out like him!” Vivian gave no good expression, sulking in the armchair.
Eve did not respond immediately. Rarely, she let out a slight sigh, though Vivian did not notice, busy sulking.
Where was the demeanor of a noble young lady? She was clearly a child throwing a tantrum because her parents would not buy her a toy.
From a personal standpoint, whether she studied or not was none of Eve’s concern. It could be ignored and would inevitably reach the Hatherin Family Head—something she did not mind.
The main issue was that the Head Maid would also bear responsibility. Eve had promised not to disappoint her and did not wish to break that promise.
“Young Miss, I can take you out as I did this morning.”
“Really?” Vivian recovered a little spirit.
“But there is a condition.”
“Hah? You dare negotiate conditions with me? Eve, have I been too indulgent with you?” Vivian’s first reaction was disbelief at her audacity.
Eve did not look at her. She walked forward, bent down to pick up the book lying on the floor, and said, “But only I dare bear the consequences, and only I can freely take Young Miss in and out of the manor. You may consider it carefully.”
Again—confidence backed by reliance. Who else could do it if word spread? Who would dare? Who had touched the Young Miss’s legs? Who had seen her lace undergarments?
“You!” Vivian was speechless, then questioned, “Are you that certain? If I had Vya—”
“The Head Maid does not have that authority,” Eve interrupted calmly, standing upright, her profile absolute. “Young Miss also said that I was sent by the Family Head.”