“Oh my, Princess. Thank you so much for inviting me again today.”
Georgina, who was standing at the entrance with Yu-jin and Angela, greeted them with a graceful curtsy. Angela, who had come all the way to the car to greet them, frowned deeply as she looked at her.
“Today, it’s a high-end restaurant, Georgina!”
“Oh my…”
Startled, Georgina lightly covered her mouth with one hand and sneaked a glance at Yu-jin. Yu-jin gave a strained smile and added an explanation.
“It was a sudden decision this morning. There wasn’t enough time to change the invitations…”
“I see. Then what should I be? The chef? Or the manager?”
She was asking what role Angela had assigned her today. Angela straightened her chest proudly and answered.
“Call me Chef Angela. Manager, please guide the guests to their seats.”
Following the little girl’s instructions, Yu-jin led Georgina and Charlotte inside. Just like last time, they headed to Angela’s room, and Georgina was secretly filled with excitement. Finally, it was time to confirm the things she had been investigating on her own.
As she sat quietly in Angela’s room, the child soon entered wearing a convincing chef’s hat, an apron tied around her waist. Georgina quickly took out her phone and snapped a picture before sitting up straight as if nothing had happened, waiting for the girl. Stopping a few steps away from the table where the guests were seated, Angela cleared her throat and opened her mouth.
“Welcome, dear guests. Thank you for visiting Angela’s Fine Dining Restaurant todayyy.”
Stretching out the last word on purpose, the child placed her right hand over her left chest and gave a slight bow. For a moment, Charlotte and Georgina almost burst into applause, but Yu-jin quickly stopped them. It seemed like there had been a rehearsal before the guests arrived, so the two obediently lowered their hands and waited. Straightening her back, Angela continued.
“Today’s special dish is a carefully prepared steak. It has been grilled to perfection with a generous coating of butter. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
She accompanied her words with deliberate hand movements, twisting her hands back and forth before finishing with a flourish.
“Now, please enjoy today’s meal.”
Taking a few steps back, the child bowed once again before turning around and trotting away. The door closed behind her, and after a few seconds of silence, Georgina could no longer hold back her words, letting them pour out like a waterfall.
“Oh my God, how is Angie this adorable? And how does she even know about that toque? Ugh, I should have taken more pictures!”
Flailing in excitement, Georgina seemed at a complete loss over what to do with herself, while Yu-jin could only give her a wry smile.
“She’s been completely hooked on cooking shows lately. The chef on one of them is… well, exactly Angie’s type.”
“Oh my, who is it? Tell me! I’m dying to know what kind of man Angie is into!”
Unable to withstand Georgina’s persistence, Yu-jin searched for the chef’s picture and showed it to her. Charlotte and Georgina both leaned in at the same time to look at the screen.
“Oh, this guy. Yeah, he’s getting really popular these days. So this is the kind of man Angie likes, huh?”
Georgina’s admiration was quickly followed by Charlotte speaking up for the first time.
“I thought she’d like kids her own age… This is unexpected.”
Hearing her voice trail off the way it usually did, Yu-jin replied.
“Angela’s tastes are, how should I put it… a bit more mature.”
“You’re saying she likes grown men?”
Georgina swiftly latched onto the tail end of Yu-jin’s sentence, and Yu-jin nodded readily.
“She says kids her age are childish.”
“Oh my.”
Charlotte flushed and brought a hand to her mouth. She looked like she was trying to hold back a laugh, but all Yu-jin could do was give a bitter smile.
“She’s a lot more mature than other kids her age…”
“Well, it’s true—those boys aren’t really on Angela’s level.”
Georgina nodded in agreement, as if it were obvious.
“Angela really has a sharp eye. That guy’s smart, well-mannered, and super popular right now. Plus, he’s pretty handsome…”
Trailing off, Georgina then glanced over with a mischievous expression.
“Maybe she just likes him ’cause he’s good-looking?”
“Ah, not really.”
Yu-jin shook his head.
“Angela likes kind people. And this guy seemed really kind when I watched the show. Who knows what he’s like in real life, though.”
“Oh? So looks don’t matter to her?”
At Georgina’s question, Yu-jin let out an awkward laugh.
“They matter. A lot.”
If Angela had liked people just for their looks, she wouldn’t have been so wary of Winston. Not at first, anyway. Of course, things were different now.
Suddenly remembering recent events, Yu-jin felt a strange unease rise within him. Winston’s overly gentle attitude toward the child made him uncomfortable enough—but Angela, too, seemed to be opening up to him little by little.
This couldn’t go on. It would be trouble if things kept heading this way.
While Yu-jin grew more uneasy inside, Georgina, unaware of any of it, nodded with a satisfied look.
“So she’s into guys who are both good-looking and kind. A solid foundation, plus personality—typical Angela. I like it.”
She even gave a thumbs-up, and Yu-jin could only laugh in response.
A moment later, Angela returned, leaving the household staff behind. She had recreated, step by step, a course meal shown by her favorite TV chef in a recent episode.
As they enjoyed the elegant meal and played along with Angela’s performance, Georgina never once stopped observing Yu-jin and the child.
No matter how much she thought about it, something didn’t add up.
Based on everything she’d carefully investigated so far, Yu-jin should’ve been a vulgar prostitute who only cared about money. That would’ve made sense.
But last time, and again today, he was anything but flashy—he was quiet, composed, and calm.
It didn’t line up at all with the person the Campbell family had constantly ridiculed and insulted with such contempt.
If anything, it seemed like he’d been through absolute hell.
Knowing her family and extended relatives all too well, Georgina couldn’t come to any other conclusion.
But what she couldn’t wrap her head around—no matter how much she thought about it—was the fact that even Winston seemed to share that sentiment.
It was clear the two of them had once been deeply involved. If that were the case, Winston had to know Yu-jin pretty well, didn’t he?
Up to now, all Georgina had managed to uncover was that Yu-jin had been Harold’s mistress, and that he’d supposedly tried to seduce Winston as well—only to earn Harold’s wrath and be cast out.
Given that, it was understandable—at least to some degree—why the family still recoiled at the mention of his name. If it was true.
But then why had Grandfather brought Yu-jin back to the estate?
And not just that—he’d gone so far as to give him a condition: marry his most beloved grandson and have a child. That wasn’t exactly the kind of final order you’d expect someone to give to a mistress who’d tried to toy with his own son.
Especially after personally kicking him out.
That was where Georgina hit a wall.
No matter how hard she tried, no one would tell her anything, and there wasn’t a single document or clue she could dig up that even hinted at the truth. There was only one method left.
And even then, there was no way to know if it would work.
At least, she’d been told she could get the drug.
The real question was—could she actually go through with using it?
Even thinking about giving that to her uncle just to satisfy her curiosity… it was a dangerous, reckless idea. And truthfully, it did prick at her conscience.
Still stuck on that edge, unable to cross the line, she was suddenly distracted by the sight of Charlotte’s arm entering her field of vision.
More precisely, a faint bruise peeking out from the edge of her sleeve.
“Oh my God, what is this?” Georgina raised her voice in alarm, pointing to Charlotte’s arm.
Startled, Charlotte hastily yanked down her sleeve—but it was already too late. Yu-jin, too, stared at her with wide eyes, and under their gaze, Charlotte turned pale, visibly flustered.
Realizing her own blunder, Georgina quickly shut her mouth and looked around nervously. Charlotte glanced about, her eyes darting as she stammered.
“I-It’s nothing. I just got hurt doing chores.”
Georgina’s face was full of doubt. She looked like she had a thousand things she wanted to say, but held back because of Yu-jin’s presence. Yu-jin, noticing the shift, gently rose to his feet.
“I’ll go check on what Angela’s up to.”
With a quick excuse, he tactfully left the room.
Once he was gone, Georgina leaned in and spoke.
“What happened? Was it Gordon again?”
“Georgina!”
Charlotte cried out in shock, immediately clapping a hand over her mouth. But her reaction alone was all the answer Georgina needed. Her eyes sharpened as she hissed in a low, furious voice.
“When the hell is he going to fix those damn hands of his? Did you report him to the police? That bastard deserves to be publicly humiliated!”
