"I'm Pascal, Aunt Lily.
And you...?"
Although the woman had a somewhat intimidating aura, she offered a greeting, so Damian responded politely.
“Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs...”
Damien belatedly realized that Pascal hadn't given her last name.
As he hesitated, unsure of how to address her, Pascal shrugged his shoulders and said,
"No need for formalities.
Only Pascal is appropriate."
“Yes, Mrs.
Pascal.
I am Damien Esterns.
It is a pleasure to meet you.” (In the first chapter, I made a mistake and called it Stearns, but when I realized my mistake, I had no choice but to go back to the rest of the chapters, so I completed it until 26 ahead.)
“Oh my God, this makes me happy.
But may I ask you what your relationship with Lily is?”
“Auntie!
Don’t be harsh with Damian!
He is my friend.”
Liliana stepped between Damian and Pascal, but Pascal said to him without looking at her:
“Ah, friend... how long have you known each other?”
“About ten days, I think.”
"And nothing happened during that time, right?
Lily didn't do anything rude, and neither did you."
Her voice was gentle, but there was an underlying harshness.
Behind her smile, Damian could sense the unspoken question, “So, who are you to be hanging out with my niece?”
Liliana seemed to feel it too and waved her hand at her aunt.
"No, aunt!
What are you saying?
Damian isn't like that!"
Liliana was so embarrassed for Damian that her ears turned red, and it looked like she wanted to cry.
Damian realized that getting defensive and arguing with Pascal, who was already wary of him, would only make the situation worse.
So speak as calmly as possible.
"That's not true.
In fact, I was receiving help from Lady Liliana."
Pascal looked Damian up and down.
"And what are you doing?"
“I was in the army...”
Damian instinctively started to mention his rank and name, but then he remembered that he had been discharged.
He paused for a moment, thinking about how to introduce himself, then replied,
"I was a soldier, but now I'm discharged, so I'm unemployed.
I'm currently looking for a job."
"soldier?".
Pascal's gaze briefly lingered on Damien's right arm before turning away.
It seemed like she somewhat understood his position on this.
He didn't know whether it was pity or sympathy, but it seemed to ease her guard towards him, so he quickly added,
“I met Ms.
Liliana by chance at the hospital, and she was kind enough to talk to me.
She was a great help to me in many ways.”
In fact, the only help I offered him was to practice his handwriting, but he felt the need to exaggerate a bit.
“That's right!
I helped him with a lot of things!
And Damian bought me tea and accompanied me as thanks!”
Liliana interjected from the other side of the room.
Although she rejected his offer to accompany her, she agreed with Damien that some exaggeration was necessary in this situation.
They were doing their best to prove that Damian wasn't a stranger.
"See?
He's handsome and seems like a good person!
He's definitely not a stranger."
Damian didn't understand why he was so excited to talk about his appearance.
He knew some people found him attractive, but hearing Liliana say that made him feel weird.
It seems that Liliana's desperate defense eventually succeeded in calming Pascal, who reluctantly surrendered.
“I'm sorry for being rude.
I tend to be overly protective of Lily.
Especially now that her health is not good, she has become more sensitive...”
“If you know you're protecting me too much, stop it!”
Liliana interrupted her, but Pascal responded firmly.
“Shut up, this is different.”
Damian nodded and replied,
"I understand.
I am also concerned about Lady Liliana's health.
I will be more considerate of her condition in our future dealings."
“Does this mean you plan to keep seeing her?”
Pascal asked, smiling and staring intently at Damian, who pulled back a little.
Pascal seemed friendly and smiling, but her words always had a hidden meaning.
Damian was starting to feel uncomfortable in this situation.
“If you don't like me, I can stop visiting...”
"Damian!
What are you saying?!
Is this all our friendship means to you?!"
Liliana protested, but they had only known each other for ten days; Their friendship can't be that deep, can it?
Damian, feeling embarrassed in many ways, rolled his eyes.
"First of all, I'm an adult.
It's weird that I need my aunt's permission to meet and befriend someone!
And it's not like I brought him here as a potential suitor.
He's just a friend!
A friend!
Right, Damian?"
"This is correct".
Pascal stared intently at Damien's face, then nodded.
“I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything.
Like I said, I'm just worried about Lily's health...
As long as you two meet within reasonable limits and don't endanger her health, I won't interfere.
As Lily said, she's no longer a child, and I don't want to control her every move...”
She stopped talking and looked at Liliana.
“I really don't want to, but...”
“My dear, worrying is my nature, isn’t it?”
Liliana shook her head with a tired expression.
"Anyway, I'm glad Lily has become a friend of yours.
I have my own business, so I can't stay at the hospital all the time, and I was worried about her being alone."
"Am I a child?
I'm fine on my own.
Why do you worry so much?"
Liliana was extremely embarrassed by Pascal's constant treatment of her like a child.
It was even more embarrassing in front of Damian, who was only a year younger than her.
"Stop bothering Damian.
He's not a babysitter.
He's just a friend, a friend.
Who makes a friend their babysitter?
Right, Damian?
Say something!"
"I'll be careful not to cause any trouble."
Damian said authoritatively, but Paul, knowing his usual behavior, didn't believe a word of it.
However, Damian gave a fairly honest impression, and perhaps due to his rapid maturity, he was often viewed as trustworthy.
Of course, Paul would have scoffed and said it was all an act.
“No, not that kind of talk...”
"Okay, okay.
Please take good care of Lily."
Pascal ignored Liliana and extended her left hand to Damian.
Without any errors this time.
Damian smiled awkwardly and shook her hand.
“It's almost dinner time.
Have you eaten yet?
If not, why don't you join us in...”
"Oh, come on, Auntie.
Damian needs to go home and rest.
You can't keep him here.
We can have dinner together another time."
Liliana interrupted Pascal.
She took off Damian's coat, which she was still wearing, and handed it back to him, whispering,
"I'm so sorry.
Isn't it my aunt who drives you crazy?
She's always like this, so suspicious.
I'll talk to her so this doesn't happen again."
"No, it's okay.
I'm fine."
“Then, um...”
Liliana looked around, then scratched her cheek and said,
“We will meet the day after tomorrow, right?
At the same time...”
"If that's what you want, Liliana."
Damian's answer surprised Liliana.
It seemed like she was worried that Damian might grow distant from Pascal and not want to see her again.
"Great!
Then I'll see you the day after tomorrow."
Damian said goodbye to Liliana and turned around, hearing the door close behind him as the two women entered the room.