Let's start over, Your Majesty.

Chapter 89 Caroline Griffith
Noticing Caesar's expression, Caroline smiled slightly and explained:
“I recently heard that a young elf came to the botanical garden. I was thinking of checking if there was anything I could help with, but I found that I got along surprisingly well with Yumilia. So I thought I'd take her home and pick you up on the way.”

"Is this so"

Yumilia scratched her head sheepishly, "I don't have anything special, it's too much trouble for Ms. Caroline."

“Let’s talk in the car,” Caroline said.

She looked at Leon, who was standing to the side in a daze, and said, "You're Caesar's classmate, right? Want to go for a ride?"

"Oh, I... I don't need it, thanks." Leon scratched his head and said tactfully.

Caesar and Leon said goodbye and got into the car with Yumilia.

The seats inside the car are reversible, the space is large, and the leather seats are very soft.
Caroline sat opposite them, legs together, hands clasped in front of her, a calm smile on her face as she looked at Caesar:

"At such a young age, you were able to get into St. Illustrated Academy through your own efforts. You are a very special child, Caesar."

"You flatter me," Caesar said.

“Yumeria has been telling me about you the whole way. I can tell she’s very proud of you and loves you very much,” Caroline said.

"Ms. Caroline, that was just something casual," Yumilia said, blushing slightly.

“So I’ve been working hard to live up to her pride in me,” Caesar said, then looked at Yumilia and said jokingly:

"You probably didn't tell Aunt Caroline about the embarrassing things that happened to me when I was little, did you?"

“Of course not, Caesar, really,” Yumilia said.

Caroline smiled. "You two have such a good relationship; you wouldn't guess you're adopted at all."

“Oh, by the way, Ms. Caroline, what about your child? He must be very outstanding too?” Yumilia asked.

"My child."

Caroline shifted her gaze to the street outside the car window and gently shook her head:

“I have no children, and I have no plans to have a child after my husband died.”

"Is this...is that so?"

Yumilia seemed to realize she had said something she shouldn't have.

“It’s just that I’m too busy with work,” Caroline said. “I’m so busy that I don’t have time for my own things. Even if I had children, I would definitely be an incompetent mother.”

“You can’t say that,” Yumilia said earnestly. “Every mother is different, and I believe that if you had children, Ms. Caroline, they would be exceptionally wonderful.”

She patted her chest and said with a hint of pride, "Like me, I was so clumsy at first, with no experience whatsoever, I couldn't even change a diaper properly, but I still raised such a wonderful boy as Caesar."

"You're making it sound like my upbringing was very difficult," Caesar thought to himself.

Caroline looked at Yumilia and smiled faintly: "Thank you for saying that."

For the rest of the time, Yumilia chatted about everyday things, but Caroline listened attentively with a faint smile, her gaze fixed on Yumilia.

Caesar kept an eye on her out of the corner of his eye, feeling a strange, inexplicable feeling in his heart.

The car stopped in front of the apartment building, and they got out.

“It’s really a pleasure to meet you today, Yumilia,” Caroline said. “Would you like to come over sometime next time?”

“That’s such an honor, Ms. Caroline,” Yumilia said, her face flushed.

Caroline looked at Yumilia, her lips slightly parted, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she only smiled.
See you later.

"See you."

She got into the car and left, while Caesar squinted slightly as he watched the rear of the car.

Caroline Griffith.

The manufacturer of the perfume with the unique scent that he had smelled on Yumilia.
Is it a coincidence?

He thought for a moment, then shook his head.
"Maybe I'm worrying too much."

But then something strange happened.

When I got home the next day, I was surprised to find a large pile of beautifully packaged gift boxes in the living room.

"Jewelry, handbags, clothes, shoes. And they're all designer brands."

He frowned as he flipped through the pages. "Why did you suddenly spend so much money?"

“It wasn’t me.” Yumilia came out of the room, looking at the pile of valuable items. “These were sent by Ms. Caroline, who said they were employee benefits.”

"Employee benefits?" Caesar found it somewhat amusing. "I didn't know employee benefits included underwear."

Caesar picked up a box of women's underwear and said that the underwear was a rather mature style with openwork lace trim.

“I don’t quite understand either,” Yumilia said, tilting her head. “These are too valuable; we definitely can’t just accept them like this. I asked other people, and they all said they’ve never received anything like these.”

Caesar frowned: "Take it back. Sending so many things for no reason, who knows what tricks they're up to."

“That’s true. If we accepted it, we would definitely owe a huge favor,” Yumilia said.

What is she trying to do? Caesar wondered, looking at the pile of gift boxes.

Are you interested in Yumilia's elf identity? Is this how you plan to get closer to her?
Thinking back to the perfume he had smelled before, Caesar felt that something was amiss.

Past experience taught Caesar that when a merchant shows you goodwill for no apparent reason, you should be wary.

Showing courtesy for nothing is either cheating or stealing.

In any case, we need to be wary of this woman.

However, just two days later, when he returned home from school, he saw Caroline's white Foton car parked downstairs in the apartment building.

His heart sank slightly. He quickly went upstairs, opened the door, and saw Caroline, dressed in a dark red business suit, sitting on the sofa, very close to Yumilia, talking to her.

"Caesar, you've returned."

Yumilia looked up and greeted him.

“You’re back.” Caroline turned and smiled at him, as if she were also the mistress of the house.

“Aunt Caroline,” Caesar said, giving her a long look, “what brings you to my house?”

"Oh, I was just passing by and stopped by to chat with Yumilia." Caroline put down her teacup, took Yumilia's hand beside her, and smiled faintly.
"Also, I heard the day before yesterday that she returned the employee benefits the company gave her. I didn't know what happened, so I came to ask her."

"Um, I really can't accept those things," Yumilia said helplessly.

“Yumeria, I’ve already told you all that.”

“Yumeria said it’s not necessary,” Caesar interrupted Caroline before she could finish speaking.

At this moment, he stared intently at the hand Caroline was holding Yumilia's, and his tone suddenly turned much colder.

"We don't need anyone's charity."

Caroline opened her mouth slightly, then smiled and said, "Alright, I understand."

“Well, Ms. Caroline, Caesar is just a bit blunt, please don’t take it to heart,” Yumilia quickly said.

“It’s alright,” Caroline smiled calmly, stood up and said, “Well, it’s getting late, I’ll be going now.”

"I'll see you off."

“No need.” Caroline took Yumilia’s hand, her gaze lingering on her, looking deeply into her eyes.
"Perhaps I expressed myself poorly, but I really didn't mean anything by it, Yumilia. I just really like you as a person."

"Huh?" Yumilia's lips twitched slightly.

“So, if it’s alright, could you come over to my house sometime? We could have more time to chat and get to know each other better,” Caroline said softly, raising her hand to rest her face on Yumilia’s.

"I, um, I."

Yumilia was clearly at a loss, just then Caesar pulled her over, looked at Caroline, and said coldly, "Sorry, no time."

Caroline paused for two seconds, then smiled sheepishly, looking somewhat flustered, and said:
"Sorry, I was a little too hasty,"

"Well then, I'll take my leave now."

After saying goodbye, Caroline left, and Caesar's face gradually darkened as he watched her car drive away through the window.

“Caesar,” Yumilia said, pursing her lips as she looked at him, “Ms. Caroline meant well, you don’t need to be so…”

“I can’t explain it to you right now,” Caesar said calmly, “but stay away from her in the future.”

He finally understood why Caroline cared so much about Yumilia; after seeing that look in her eyes just now, he completely understood.

So that's how it is, I see.
This woman's interests are completely different from those of ordinary people.

This matter won't end so easily; that woman will come back.

But Caesar will not give her another chance to get close to Yumilia.

Nighttime at the Geffert mansion.

"Madam, the hot water is ready. Please take a bath," the butler said, standing at the study door.

"I understand," Caroline replied casually, glancing at the document.

She tidied up the documents, put them in the drawer, locked it, let out a long sigh, and then looked at her hands.

Recalling the feeling of holding Yumilia, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up. She pressed her palm against her cheek, feeling the warmth that was no longer there.

After savoring the moment, she got up, closed the door, and left.

After she left, there was a soft creaking at the window, and Caesar stood on the floor of her room.

I had intended to observe for a few days first, but I couldn't shake off my unease, so I decided to try my best to get things sorted out.

This woman definitely has other schemes against Yumilia; I need to find out what they are.

Upon arriving at the workbench, the items on the table were neatly arranged, including a pen holder made of bamboo tube, which had a rather refreshing feel.

The documents on display were all company-related, and Caesar continued to search through them more thoroughly.

Then he noticed a hidden compartment in the drawer, which was locked.

"Wait, is this lock a magical item?" He frowned.

It's not surprising that the president of a big company would possess some magical items.

He tried to break the magic on the lock to see what it was protecting.

Just then, he heard footsteps outside. He quickly restored everything and then used a stealth spell to hide his presence in a corner.

Caroline entered. She walked to the desk, looked at the unchanging surface, paused for a moment, and then said softly:

"What's the matter with you?"

"Caesar?"

She turned her head and smiled slightly at Caesar, who was completely hidden in the corner.

As expected, a mere second-tier stealth technique was ineffective against her.

Caesar slowly walked out and calmly looked at her.

“You could have just rang the doorbell, and I would have treated you well,” she said with a smile.

"No need to waste time." Caesar was too lazy to waste words now, staring at her coldly.
"I'm only here to tell you one thing: whatever your purpose is, stay away from Yumilia,"

"This is a warning."

Caroline blinked at him and gave a helpless laugh.

"I think you must have misunderstood something."

"Misunderstand?"

She pulled open the drawer and opened the magically locked compartment. Caesar saw that inside was only a necklace with a shell box large enough to hold a small photograph.

Caroline opened the lid of the shell box and handed it to Caesar.

Caesar took it with a puzzled look and saw that it was a black and white family photo of three people.

They were a couple. The mother was stunningly beautiful with long, flowing hair, and the father was tall and handsome, dressed in the uniform of a high-ranking officer from the Kingdom of Fein, holding his young daughter in his arms.

Although this daughter was very young, Caesar recognized her at a glance as the young Yumilia.

He stared at the photo for a moment, then looked up at Caroline: "This."

Without a word, Caroline removed a pinky ring from the ring finger of her right hand. Then, her short black hair instantly turned gray-white and cascaded down like a waterfall.

Her appearance also changed visibly, instantly making her look decades younger and transforming her into an absolutely beautiful woman.

She tossed her long hair aside, revealing a pair of long, elven ears, and smiled at Caesar, her voice becoming soft and melodious:
"I am Yumilia's mother, her biological mother."

Caesar stared in disbelief at the stunningly beautiful woman with long, gray hair before him, never expecting things to turn out this way.

(End of this chapter)