New World with Four Husbands-Chapter 581: Mother and daughter talk

After the eventful evening, Coco found herself settling into her room with her mother, the two of them preparing for bed.

The air was heavy with exhaustion and something else Coco couldn’t quite name— the memories of what had passed and what it would mean going forward playing in her mind.

They went through Coco’s routine of getting ready for bed: washing up, changing into sleepwear, and tidying up.

Throughout all of this, Cleora remained noticeably quieter than earlier, her normally lively eyes contemplative and subdued as she watched Coco go about her night.

Once they were done, Coco promptly plopped onto her bed with a soft bounce, her body sinking into the familiar comfort of her sheets and Cleora, instead of joining her, took a seat at the edge.

Cleora’s back was straight, her hands folded neatly in her lap— her expression unreadable in the dim light.

The silence between them stretched, heavier.

It wasn’t uncomfortable.. No, not exactly, but it was charged, like something unspoken hovered just above Cleora’s tongue.

Coco knew that she didn’t have much to say, but her mother looked like she does.

Coco rolled to her side, staring at her mother.

The woman who once felt like a distant, painful memory now sat right there— real, present.. And somehow out of reach all over again.

It’s kind of painful to think that she’s right here, but feel like there’s a wall between us. Coco bit her lower lip and sat up slowly, the soft rustle of the sheets filling the quiet room as she turned toward her mother.

"Mama?" She asked softly, voice tinged with worry. "What’s wrong? You’ve been so quiet ever since dinner.."

To know what is bothering her mother, Coco took the initiative to ask.

She reached out instinctively, fingers brushing lightly against Cleora’s arm— a small gesture, but one weighted with care and fear.

The silence of hers felt bigger than just tiredness. Something was off.

Coco searched her mother’s face in the dim light, hoping for a smile, a scowl, a snort, a reassurance— anything to break this sudden wall between them.

Cleora frowned, her silence stretching like a thread pulled too tight until she finally sighed, soft and heavy with emotion.

"You found good men to marry, my darling." Cleora said quietly, her voice neither cold nor warm, but somewhere in between.

Was it perhaps exhaustion? Or maybe resignation?

Cleora’s eyes stayed downcast for a good moment before lifting to meet Coco’s gaze.

There was no anger there. No judgment. Just something deep and sad that Coco couldn’t name— a shadow of longing, or loss, or maybe both.

"They love you fiercely." Cleora continued, her voice soft. "I can see it in the way they look at you.. The way they gravitate towards you during clean up."

A faint smile touched her lips. "And that made me happy for you."

The pause that followed was quiet, but it was heavy. "I.. I just wish I was here when you first started stepping out of your shell."

"Yes... I was lucky." Coco agreed slowly, voice gentle, but had a tone of confusion. "I love them and I’m so glad you see that in them, but..."

She paused, squeezing her mother’s hand. ".. There’s something else, isn’t there? You’re not just sad about losing time, mama. You’re hiding something."

Coco looked down on her mother’s hands and smiled. "Mama, it’s okay. Just tell me. I promise I won’t judge."

Cleora’s bottom lip disappeared between her teeth as she bit her lip and for a moment, she stared at their hands— Coco’s fingers that squeezed hers softly in a silent encouragement made her inhale deeply before meeting Coco’s gaze again.

"You promise?" She asked quietly, the two words coming out almost as a whisper.

"I promise." She said, smiling.

Cleora looked away, closing her eyes— a small gesture that spoke volumes.

"I’m a Duchess." She said, the word bitter on her tongue, her voice wavering slightly. "And I have abandoned my subjects in search of you."

Coco blinked, her expression turning to one of pure surprise, her head tilting slightly as questions spilled out of her lips in a rush, stumbling and stammering.

"W-Wait, hang on!" Coco blurted out. "You’re a Duchess? As in.. The highest rank amongst nobles? You own a castle? You have subjects?"

Her eyes widened as this truth dawned on her— her mother had been a ruler— a person of power and responsibility.. And she has left that all behind to find her?

Coco blinked slowly, her grip loosening slightly as the words sank in as her hands lifted slightly in disbelief— like she was physically holding the impossibility of it between her palms.

Coco knew that her mother must have been a noble so she didn’t bother asking about the past of the original owner of her body, but to think that she wasn’t just a noble.. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"How— how did you know that you’re a Duchess?" She breathed out, feeling both stunned and fascinated.

Coco had found out that she was a daughter of a noble a month after she took over Coco Hughes’ body, and had to learn about it through the husbands’ lips.

Did Cleora find out the same way?

"I took over this body two months ago—or so." Cleora admitted, her voice low and steady. "When I first woke up.. I was so confused because maids were tending to me, butlers bowing at the door.. Knights in armor standing guard like I was someone important."

She glanced down at her hands— slender, graceful— but not the ones she remembered.

"I didn’t know who I was supposed to be at first.." She continued quietly. "But then the memories started coming. Not all at once.. Just flashes. A man putting on a crown on me, a war council.. Papers signed in my name."

A faint frown tugged at her mouth. "...And then, I found out that I have taken over the body of Cleora Dilitriodix, the only heir to the Dilirio Dukedom."