Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 310: A Promising Bud Corrupted by the Adults [Bonus - ]

Chapter 310: A Promising Bud Corrupted by the Adults [Bonus Chapter]

Lucille was blessed and loved by everyone.

Or that was what she once thought.

She was said to be the cutest and the prettiest in Obrusca and everyone cherished her.

She excelled in everything she did so she was hailed as a fast learner too. Everyone said she was talented.

In fact, in their kingdom, Lucille was the best in everything she did.

Aside from her beauty and elegance, she had a brilliant mind so everyone thought she had a good future ahead of her and she would be married to one of the best men in Eliora.

She was among the few young noble ladies who were praised for something else aside from her beauty or excellence in skills related to being a good wife.

She was good at studying and excelled in every subject she tried to learn.

She was the pride of Obrusca and of her parents.

Her mother had a lot of praise for her. She often said she was her star and her hope. And she cherished Lucille a lot.

But that was until Lucille began losing and can no longer beat her mother’s exceedingly high expectations.

It all began when Lucille met Arabella. She was several years younger than Lucille but she was beautiful. And yes, much more pretty than Lucille.

That was fine with Lucille. She didn’t mind not being the prettiest since she had other things she was good at. She excelled in a lot of things so there was nothing to worry about. Everyone will still love her.

Or so she thought.

One day she realized that people had only been saying good things to her to get close to her parents and her brothers who would someday rule Obrusca.

She was merely a means to an end. Now she wasn’t sure what was true and what was false in all the praises had received from them so far.

Was all of it a lie?

And worst yet, the first person that Lucille noticed whose love waned was her own mother.

When everyone realized that she wasn’t as loved by her mother as before, they changed as well.

Everyone else didn’t praise her as much as before anymore. They began comparing her instead and criticizing whatever it was she cannot do or slightly failed at. Everything she did well was mostly taken for granted.

And whose fault was it that Lucille was suffering through all this?

Ah, it was her. That pretty little girl. Everything began because of her. Her mother changed when she saw that beautiful little girl that shined wherever she went.

Ever since people saw Arabella in Medeus, Lucille was no longer the prettiest. She was second. And her mother didn’t like it.

Her mother made her wear grander accessories and dresses to outshine Arabella.

But Arabella was pretty even in a simple dress. She didn’t need pretty accessories or dresses to make her pretty. She was beautiful enough just being herself.

But Lucille’s mother wouldn’t believe it. She insisted Arabella must be using a lot of makeup and skincare products. She even asked Lucille to pretend to accidentally trip and throw juice or water on Arabella’s face to see what her real face was like.

Lucille chose water. She pretended to trip one time while holding a glass of water and intentionally splashed it on Arabella. She then wiped Arabella’s face with a handkerchief as her mother had instructed.

But Arabella was indeed not wearing any makeup except for her pink rose-colored lip tint. She was still young after all.

Using makeup too early would make the skin age earlier. Arabella said that was what her mother told her so she only uses skincare for now and a natural lip gloss and tint made from roses.

Since Arabella had to change, she brought Lucille along to her room. There was no makeup there indeed. Just skincare. All of them were the best skincare products of Lobelius.

Lucille made sure to memorize them. When she reported it to her mother, the following day, the same products were brought to Lucille’s room for her to use.

Her mother had one of their maids buy it since Lobelius was showcasing their products to other nobles.

The products were indeed good but it was not at all superior to the products that Lucille was already using. She didn’t really need to change what she was using since their own products in Obrusca had the same effects.

Thus, Lucille continued to use the usual products she had from Obrusca. And yet her mother scolded her.

Lucille was determined to prove that their product was not inferior so she said she would also promote their products.

Her mother said that a lot of young ladies were buying Lobelius skincare products after Arabella said she only used skincare.

Doing her best, Lucille tried to compete by promoting their own products. There were people who bought it. But more people bought Lobelian skincare products because Arabella was using them.

Seeing how effective the strategy was, Lucille also said that she was also using Obruscan skincare and nothing else.

She was happy that they were also able to sell a lot because of it. But her mother was not satisfied because more people still bought from Arabella.

At a tea party, Arabella said she drank Lobelian herbal tea every day and it may have helped the health of her skin.

The following day, Lobelian tea was selling too well. The young ladies were buying a lot just because of a possibility that was not even assured. Even the elder ladies were buying too.

Due to this, Lucille’s mother made her promote their tea as well and asked her to make sure they sold more than Arabella’s side did.

But tea was Lobelius’ banner product. How can they sell more?

Lucille was beginning to get heavily confused by her mother’s actions. Why does she always compare her to Arabella?

Was Lucille failing too much that her mother was getting too disappointed in her?

Does she want Arabella to be her daughter instead?