At the birthday banquet being held in the Holden mansion, Callum patiently waited for me outside.
As soon as I finished preparing and dressed myself more appropriately, I went out. Upon reaching there, I caught a glimpse of Callum, which made me panic, but I was suddenly forced to smile at him.
"Why did the general come in person? This servant…"
"Vera," Callum interrupted me, his gaze on my face. "In the future, you will reclaim your identity as the Miss of the Holden Family and no longer need to refer to yourself as a servant."
I shook my head and replied, "I'm afraid I can't."
Callum frowned upon hearing what I told him.
"You know what? I can admire being well-behaved, but being too reserved is a bit much," he remarked.
I was taken aback. I knew he believed I was pretending.
Suddenly, Callum took my hand and said, "Let's go. It's been three years since we last met. I'll introduce you to my father and mother."
As soon as he was about to touch me, I immediately reacted and took a step back to avoid his touch.
With that, Callum stared at me confusedly.
I fell to my knees, fighting to hold back the tears in my eyes. "Please forgive me, General. I…" I stuttered, unable to continue.
These three years of experience had made me afraid of men's touch.
Callum's gaze lingered on my face, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned around and walked ahead. I followed silently behind him.
A lot of people could be seen attending the birthday banquet.
Since I suddenly appeared here after being gone for three years, the visitors who happened to see me started gossiping about me. Some of them were familiar to me, but others weren't.
"I think she's the one, right? That legitimate daughter from the Holden Family," someone whispered to the others.
"Why does she look so pale and thin? She's not as pretty," the others replied.
"You better cut that crap! Remember how she did shameful things back then, three years ago now? I think now that she has learned some lessons, then I am still pretty sure she will do it again. Besides, a person like her cannot change despite whatever she has learned!" one woman from the side also shared her opinion.
That said, they didn't respond at all and remained muted, seeing our presence nearby.