The Girl Who Unknowingly Became Harem Queen! 30 Mother-Daughter Bonding Time

"Now that was a lovely shopping trip; don't you agree, my adorable Maria?"

Maria was strolling down the street with her mother, walking side-by-side while Kuroka and s.h.i.+rone trailed behind them. For two hours Maria watched as her mother picked out a variety of outfits and dresses to try on for themselves. If she liked them, her mother ordered for them to be delivered to the Rosendrey manor.

They had gotten up early this morning, s.h.i.+rone and Kuroka dressing Maria in a simple pastel yellow turtleneck top with puffy sleeves and in a plaid pastel yellow and pink short pleated skirt. Silk pink ribbons were used to tie her hair into pigtails; around her neck was the necklace that Mai had won during the Amare Carnival.

Her mother's choice of attire matched the same color theme of Maria's own outfit, seeing how she was going for the whole mother and daughter matching look today. After getting dressed, they left to go get brunch at Sunny Rose.

A very nice eatery that many women in the capital tended to love visiting. Then after brunch, they went shopping for clothes, and now they were heading to Black Swan Boutique for a spa and nail treatment. When they finally reached the location, Maria was met with this large navy opulent building.

Once through the door, a chic and stylish lady escorted them inside and led them to this high-scale white room, furnished with a gold couch and two chairs sitting across from each other; rows of artistic nail polish bottles covered the wall. In front of the couch was an oval-shaped gla.s.s coffee table.

The lady handed them a template just as they took their seats. "Welcome to Black Swan Boutique! We offer a unique and luxurious experience to all of our clients. Once you have picked out the style of nails you would like to have done, you can make your way past this door. Until then, please enjoy your stay, Countess Rosendrey."

There was no doubt that this lady was a professional, the smile on her face never wavering, polite at all times. Saying what needed to be said, the woman left the room. After the lady had left, it took thirty minutes just to pick out the shade of pink nail polish that would look good on Maria.

"I'm telling you, ojou would look perfect in blush pink!" proclaimed Kuroka, refusing to back down.

"No, carnation pink really suits ojou-sama," s.h.i.+rone calmly suggested.

"Maria would look the cutest in cherry blossom pink!" exclaimed her pouting affectionate mother with her hands on her hips. Maria honestly did not see what the big deal was but she was happy when they all found a color that they all agreed on.

Once they decided on what type of nails they were getting done, Maria and her mother was led through yet another door and walked inside a medium-sized room filled with soft navy blue and gold cus.h.i.+oned spa chairs and saw a teenage looking girl heading in their direction.

"Hi~! I'm Kei, the person who will be serving you this evening~!" The girl had dark chocolate skin, yellow and purple hair styled in s.p.a.ce buns with an aesthetic pop-style appearance. It was after they took their seats that another mother and daughter pair were led through the door.

"Maria?!"

"Mai?!"

"Ara... Just who is this person, Mai?" The one asking this question was a highly attractive woman, silky strands of raven hair pooled down her back and shoulder blades, a pair of gold eyes peered warmly in Maria's direction.

'She looks like an Egyptian G.o.ddess!' said Maria, noting the woman had looks that could rival the archd.u.c.h.ess.

"This is my best friend Maria I'm always telling you about!" Mai excitedly explained to the woman standing beside her.

"Ah, is this little cutie by any chance Mai? The little girl my daughter can't stop talking about!" said Countess couldn't stop herself from smiling, pointing her sparkling gaze towards Mai, interested in hearing what the other girl had to say.

"Yes, that would be me! You must be Maria's mother? Wow, you two really look alike!" Mai shot a glance at both her best friend and the countess, only to be taken back a bit when Maria's mother released a loud squeal at the compliment.

"You are truly a cutie~! Cleo, you didn't tell me you had such an adorable daughter. You've been holding back on me." The Countess Rosendrey calmed herself down as she familiarly addressed the other woman.

"I never have time since you're always bragging about your adorable Marichan. Which I'm finally happy to have met by the way. Mai says a lot of good things about you. I'm glad that she has a friend to confide in." Hearing such compliments from a beautiful person, Maria bashfully looked away but in her heart, she felt warm and happy to hear such words.

'So this is the famous d.u.c.h.ess Dior... the beautiful woman who killed her husband. Though she had legitimate reasons for doing so.'

Due to her sudden transmigration, Maria was unable to finish the novel, but she knew of d.u.c.h.ess Dior's character. A woman whose past was filled with pain and her life only got worse when she was forced to marry a duke from a different country. There another key fact that Maria was reminded of when she saw the d.u.c.h.ess and Mai together.

'The d.u.c.h.ess is Mai's stepmother; Mai's real mother...' Maria stared dolefully at her best friend, masking her gloom with a bright smile once Mai rushed over and sat next to her.

"At first I didn't really wanna come here, but mother talked me into it. So what nails are you getting?"

"Strawberry pink, you?"

"Lapis!"

♦*♦*♦*♦*♦*♦*♦*♦*♦*♦*♦*♦*♦*♦

"Ojou-sama's nails fit her perfectly~!" gushed Kuroka. Maria stared at her strawberry pink coated nails with her middle finger painted yellow with cute pink flower designs that had a tiny pink diamond in the middle.

"I think Mai's nails are really cute. It suits you." Maria admired Mai's lapis blue painted nails with a yellow star design on her middle and thumb nail. After leaving Black Swan Boutique, d.u.c.h.ess Dior suggested that they all go and visit the capitol's second popular jewelry store called New Moon Palace.

"Your Grace, it's good seeing you again!" greeted a brown-hair woman and owner of New Moon Palace.

Once inside, Maria saw that the building was very luxurious; sparkling gems and diamonds lit up the place. It was as if they just walked inside an ornate and refined treasure chest. Every crafted piece of jewelry sold inside this building was pure art; it was no wonder this place was insanely popular amongst n.o.blewoman here in the capital.

"This is Layla, owner of New Moon Palace, and a long time friend of mine. A few years ago, New Moon Palace was robbed but thankfully the stolen items were returned. Funny, how the thief was caught by my two daughters."

Listening to the d.u.c.h.ess Dior story, Maria was reminded of the Amare Carnival and how it was thanks to Mai and Isis that the con artist who was cheating people out of their money and giving stolen magical items as prizes was finally put behind bars due to his crimes.

"Wait, so this is a magical item store?" Maria asked Mai, but since her question was overheard by the owner, she answered for Mai.

"Why yes, little ojou-sama! New Moon Palace was voted as the capital's second-best jewelry store but number one magical items store. Here we offer nothing but the rarest and best of acquisitions. We're also insanely expensive, so you better have money if your shopping here." The woman smugly smirked and gestured for the group to follow her, leading them towards a gla.s.s display case.

Inside, Maria saw a sparkling green and pastel pink round crown embedded with colorful gems; the gold sun-shaped base in the middle had a large pink star-shaped crystal in the center. The shards' edges that jutted out at the top were each tipped with a white pearl. The star in the center twinkled, emitting a bright glow.

"The Fairy Queen's Crown. It grants the user potent healing powers. There are very few that exist, and only a limited number of people can afford such a rare beauty," boasted Layla, pointing to the price tag that was displayed underneath.

A price that made the Countess gasp, s.h.i.+rone and Kuroka face pale, Mai's eyes grew comically large, and Maria felt as if her soul almost left her body.

The price read: 10, 000, 0000 Gold Star Coins.

'So... So many zeros!'