The tip of my nose suddenly tinged because I felt emotional.
âTheyâre good brothers.â
I looked down at my Dad in front of me with a soft feeling. My Dad was smiling, too, as if he had noticed something.
âWhy are the kids like that? Do you want to get scolded?â
While my Aunt was still puzzled.
Grandfather gave me a strange look and picked up the tableware he had just put away.
âFather, Iâm sorry. I told themââ
âEnough.â
âYes?â
âLetâs eat.â
I felt at ease as if Grandfatherâs cutting with a knife had become a signal. Then I took a piece of meat Theo had cut into bite-size pieces with a fork and put it in my mouth. The meatâs soft texture and the sauceâs sweetness melt as soon as it touches my tongue.
The first taste of the food I felt at the first uncomfortable meal wasâ.
âItâs amazing!â
Itâs definitely amazing!
To the point where my cheeks are shaking!
âPft.â
Suddenly, my Dad, who was sitting across from me, was smiling while looking at my face. Then I made eye contact with Grandfather while I was chewing hard and feeling emotional.
ââŠis it delicious?â
Delicious?
If to change the nitpick with wordsâ.
I nodded my head first, chewed the meat left in my mouth, and swallowed it.
Grandfather said with a very small smile that no one knew.
ââŠYeah, eat a lot.â
*****
âWhoa.â
My room was much larger and more luxurious than the cabin I had originally lived in.
However, it was not awkward as there were childrenâs books my father used to read and toys I used to play with.
âDo you like it?â
âYess!â
Dad was delighted that he had decorated my room by himself.
âWhoa, the bed is so fluffy, too.â
I got to the bed quickly, and the cushion made me feel like I was lying on a cloud.
My Dad gave me Tosun, my favorite doll, and then he moved up into the seat next to me with a big smile.
âOkay, letâs go to bed now.â
âUng? Are you going to sleep with me?â
My Dad, who was blinking blankly at my question, asked back.
âWhat do you mean⊠Then do you want to sleep alone?â
âWe slept together in the old house because there was only one room, but thereâs plenty of room here, right? isnât Dad going to have Dadâs own room?â
âNo, Princessââ
âWhy?â
âWe didnât sleep together because there was only one room, but Daddy slept with the princess because I liked to sleep with you. Princess, sometimes when you have nightmares, Daddy has to be by your side, and⊠because the Princess is scared when it rains and thundersâŠâ
âI know, I know. But Iâm not a kid. Iâm all grown up now. What did Grandpa say? How long are you going to sleep with your grown-up daughter?â
âWhy do you keep looking at your grandfather? And youâre not all grown up yet. Where did you grow upââ
Dad muttered with an upset face.
He looked sad at his daughter, who was trying to become independent from his arms even though she wasnât ready.
I swallowed a sigh and dug into my dadâs arms.
âPhew. Okay.â
âDo you want to sleep alone? Already?â
âNo? Of course, I still like sleeping with my Dad. All right, I wonât look at Grandpa.â
My Dad, who felt at ease, hugged me tightly at that moment.
âYou were flustered in the dining room earlier, right?â
âUng. There were so many spoons and forks that I didnât know what to pick up. Iâd have to study a bit if I wanted to live hereâŠ.â
Dad laughed and tapped the tip of my nose.
âThatâs right. My princess, youâre busy just playing. Iâll teach you from tomorrowââ
âNo. Youâre going to be busy because we just come at Dadâs house. If you call the teacher, Iâll take care of it and learn well.â
ââŠ? No, princessâŠâ
Again, I quickly tapped my fatherâs chest, who opened his mouth blankly.
âEy, donât misunderstand. Iâd love to do everything with my dad. But Dad canât do Dadâs job because you cares about me and will get scolded by GrandpaâI donât like that.â
ââŠ.â
âAlso, I have to show people that Iâm smart and thereâs nothing I canât do because I resemble Daddy. Wonât everyone praise Daddy for doing a good job of raising me by himself?â
My Dad, who was still looking into my eyes, smiled and rubbed his forehead.
âWhen did my daughter grow up like this?â
âIâve grown up so much.â
âYou donât have to grow.â
âI donât want to, Iâm going to grow taller!â
âHmph.â
My Dad, who hugged me and patted me, let out a sigh.
âYou know, Princess.â
âUng.â
âYou know the boy you met in the alley earlier?â
âAh, ung!â
Cheshireâ!
âIâll find out right away. Iâll probably find it soon. If I do, Iâll ask if he needs help.â
âUng, thank you. But you can do it slowly.â
Just at the time, I also thought about it.
Even though I feel sorry, no matter what Dad does right now, itâll be hard to find Cheshire.
âWe only met by chance earlier, but it wonât happen twice. According to the original story, Dad and Cheshire will meet again in two years.â
Now, since Cheshire is an illegitimate child, the Marquis of Onyx keeps him hidden and raises him.
On the other hand, when my dad returned to the Capital after 7 years, he was still sad about the situation here.
I donât think he will set up his hands in an illegal guild that looks for people under the water.
âHmm. As expected, Iâll have to help too, well.â
Thinking of Cheshire, I dug into my Dadâs arms, whose eyes deepened.
âLetâs go to bed, Dad. Donât worry too much.â
Your daughter will take care of everything.
****
Is there any logic in this world that children should be like children?
When I just woke up in the morning.
Also, when Iâm hungry, and I donât have energy.
At that time, it was difficult for me to think like an adult, even if I put force on my head.
Soâ.
âWhoa, Iâm in trouble.â
An empty stomach in the morning.
I was nervous when I came to the dining room, holding my Dadâs hand with a hazy baby spirit.
âLilith, come here.â
âHello kid.â
âLilith! did you sleep well?â
âHello, Auntie! Hello brothers!â
Apart from my Aunt and twin Brothers, I feel worried about my Grandfather.
âH, hello GrandpaâŠ.â
ââŠYeah. Come here and sit down.â
I swallowed my saliva with worry.
âCome here, letâs have breakfast our princess!â
But today, I was fine with my Dad right next to me. I focused on the meal and learned how to use the tableware my Dad took care of.
âUhm, why is Lilith so small and skinny?â
Then Aunt stopped eating and looked at me with sad eyes.
Grandfather clicked his tongue.
âThe ugly guy was hiding in the countryside without a penny, where would he have given her a decent meal? Iâm glad she wasnât starving.â
âHmm.â
Dad coughed awkwardly when Grandfather scolded him.
âN, no, thatâs not true.â
I wanted to correct Grandfatherâs misunderstanding.
âNo, GrandpaâŠâ
I looked at him and said it very carefully.
âDad, he made me delicious meals every dayâŠ.â
ââŠ.â
âH, he buy flour and make bread.â
Carbohydratesâ.
âAnd cook me some eggs.â
Proteinâ.
âWe also grow carrots and pumpkins in the yard and eat themââ
Vitaminâ.
âAh! We bought me milk at the marketâŠI drank two milk a day every day!â
Calcium, too.
James Brown was a single dad and 9-level househusband who was more serious about his daughterâs healthy diet than anyone else!
I opened my eyes to tell Grandfather what my Dad was doing.
ââŠ.â
Nevertheless, Grandfather looked unhappy.
âA, as expected, is it because of meat?â
I closed my eyes tightly and said a little bit of a lie.
âM, meat is a bit expensiveâŠBut I always ate it once a weekâŠâ
Actually, I ate it three times a month.
âPft.â
My Dad was resting his chin on his hand and smiling at me.
Phew, Daddy fool. I donât know what was so good to make him smile like that while Grandfather was looking at him.
ââŠOkay, you ate well. I understand.â
Grandfather said this hesitantly, but his face showed a little bit of relief.
I shouted hooray inwardly.
In the end, James Brownâs hard work was recognized by Grandfather!
âOh my. Lilith is so nice and smart. My kids werenât like that when they were seven.â
Aunt, who was smiling happily, shook her head as she saw the twins eating next to her.
I slightly raised my shoulders.
It was nice to hear that Iâm smarter than my brothers, who spent their whole lives as young aristocrats.
âI donât know how you can speak so beautifully.â
âYes! My Dad always told me to greet adults politely.â
âHoho, is that so?â
Aunt laughed. Grandfather was also staring at me with a proud expression on his face.
My chest raised a little.
âRemember when the twins were as young as Lilith, Father? They always cry and whines.â
âI donât cry, aunt! I donât cry and listen to my dad. I donât even bother.â
âYou deserve praise.â
Grandfather praised me. My chest raises even more. The runny nose is also itchy.
âI donât know how bad a picky eater is. Look at that.â
Aunt pointed to the twinsâ plates. There were only beans, carrots, and broccoli left on an empty plate.
âThereâs nothing I canât eat! Beans and broccoliâŠâ
I glanced down at the plate while talking. Two big broccoli were placed shyly.
âOh my, do you eat vegetables well?â
The pride that started with momentum grew like a snowball and even started telling lies. But, I couldnât disappoint my Aunt and Grandfather, who looked up to me.
Eventually, I nodded.
âYes, yes!â
I glanced sideways, and my Dad was smiling wickedly.
I picked the broccoli with a fork.
âUgh. This is too much.â
It was different, perhaps because it was broccoli served on an aristocratic meal.
And it was very, very, very big.
âOh my, my good daughter who isnât even picky about what she eats.. You also eat broccoli well, of course.â
ââŠ.â
I broke out in a cold sweat.
I thought about it as the hand holding the fork started shaking and then came up with a trick.
âY, yeah, and if thereâs something delicious, I always share it with my dad!â
I put a fork with broccoli in my dadâs mouth.
âD, Daddy? Ah~â
âAh,â Then my Dad laughed as if he was dumbfounded