/
“Ah, huh?”
“Are you okay? You’ve been looking a little off since earlier.”
Lakius asked me again, a look of concern on his face.
I couldn’t just tell him, ‘I don’t know what the Bartoloa Clan is up to,’ because I knew that would be a bad answer.
I quickly shook my head.
“No. More than that, Nora, where are my dads?”
“Oh, that’s

.”
Nora looked a little lost for a moment, then quickly chimed in on Lakius.
“More importantly, Young Miss, are you sure you’re okay? You’ve had such a dark look on your face since earlier.”
“Eh? I’m fine!” I exclaimed, waving my hands in the air.
Then Nora turned to look at me. Her eyes were kind.
“Of course, I believe you, but

 if something is bothering you, please tell me. Okay?”
“

.”
For a moment, I pressed my lips together. I was not unaware of the affection in her gaze as she looked at me.
Knowing full well that there would never be a time, perhaps never in my life, that I would open up to Nora about my troubles

.
“Mmm!”
I nodded, smiling brightly.
* * *
As we stepped onto the first floor where the kitchen was located, a sweet smell wafted from the hallway.
“Hmm, what is this smell?” I sniffed, my eyes sharpening. “Doesn’t it smell like someone’s baking a cake?
This was it, the sweet smell of the townhouse I’d spent the last six years of my life smelling!
They say that your mental age follows your physical age, and I guess that’s true. The mere smell of baking cakes can instantly brighten up a rather gloomy mood.
“Let’s go, Laki!” I said excitedly, tugging on Lakius’s hand. “They must be baking my birthday cake in the kitchen!”
“Tati, slow down! Nora was just asking me earlier to stop you from falling!”
Although he berated me with his mouth, he quickened his steps to match my stride.
We burst into the kitchen,
“What the heck, why are my dads here?”
There they were, all three of them together!
My mouth dropped open.
‘In a kitchen.’
Isn’t that the wrong place for my dads to be?
“Heuk, what?”
Kirios turned around, a puzzled look on his face.
“What’s the kid doing here, shouldn’t she still be in class?”


Well, that’s what I was going to ask.
As if it weren’t bad enough that the three dads were dressed up in aprons with yellow chicks on them.
Their faces and even their hair were covered in dough.
“

.Did you get into a fight with cake dough?”
At my doubtful question, the three fathers looked at each other.
‘Hey, you tell her.’
‘Why are you leaving it to me?’
‘Ugh, you bunch of little losers

.’
After an intense exchange of glances.
“Well, it’s our little miss Tati’s birthday, isn’t it?” Cesar spoke up. “We asked what you wanted for your birthday, and you said you wanted to spend some time with us.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Well, Miss Tati asked us to spend time together, but we can’t just spend it as we please, can we?”
“So, I thought I’d feed you, Tatiana, a birthday cake that I baked myself,” Siegfried broke into the conversation in his characteristically blunt tone.
“That’s right, that’s right, we know the taste of a kid, don’t we?” Kirios chimed in with a snort.
“

.”
And I felt the tip of my nose wrinkle.
No, I didn’t want my dads to care about my birthday present. I didn’t really need or want anything; it was just a fun day for us

.
‘I never thought you would care so much about my birthday.’
My heart sank, and I clutched the hem of my skirt tightly to keep my emotions in check.
I felt like I was going to start sobbing if I didn’t.
“But, Masters, what on earth are those baby chick aprons?” Lakius asked in disgust.
Then Kirios answered, puffing out his chest, “It’s an apron that the kid picked out by herself.”
“

.”
I was silent once again. But for a different reason.
No, one minute my heart was so touched. And then you go and make me feel so ridiculous?!
I mean, could you even say that I picked it in the first place?
I think I was duped!
“What do you like better – puppies or chickens?”


 so I just picked the chick without thinking!
“Why, Lakius. Are you jealous?” Kirios asked, rolling his eyes. “You don’t have anything like this, do you?”
“

.”
Lachias pressed his lips together, then glanced back at me.
His red eyes were filled with regret.
I just flinched.
No, Lakius, why are you looking at me like that?
It’s as if I’ve betrayed you!
* * *
Anyway, the dads’ struggle with the cake dough was definitely worth it.
The finished cake actually looked pretty convincing. A chocolate sheet with whipped cream on top, topped with strawberries in sugar syrup.
I looked at it with a twinkle in my eye.
“Look at this, Laki. It looks so delicious!”
“

Well, the masters have done a lot of hard work.”
Even Lakius could say that with a straight face!
Just then, the dads, who were returning to the dining room after washing off the cake dough, overheard our conversation and each had a proud look on their face.
“Do you like the cake?”
“Yes, dads, it’s amazing!”
At Siegfried’s question, I clapped so hard my palms hurt.
The dads’ shoulders heaved in excitement.
Except for Lakius, who gave me a sour look. 

.
“Tatiana, come here.”
I obliged, and Siegfried sat me down in a fur-padded chair.
“You’re getting cold, put these on.”
Kirios draped a thick shawl over my shoulders,
“Why don’t you drink some tea first, it’ll warm you up a bit.”
Cesar shoved a mug of hot tea into my hand.
“

.”
I looked at the three dads with shaky eyes.
The townhouse was well heated and even had a new heating system recently. For the record, the reason for the new heating was not a problem.
It was because I had a tickly nose and sneezed once

.
‘It’s early spring, after all.’
Although they still heat the house up, just to keep it warm. It’s not the kind of weather I’d normally wrap up in!
“Well, it’s not really necessary,” I muttered, causing Kirios to raise a sharp eye at me.
“Kid, what are you going to do if you catch a cold and get sick?”
“

.”
No, honestly, I feel a little hot

.
The protest rose to the top of my lungs, but I decided to just sit there and play nice.
The dads were only going to pay attention to me, and they were going to continue to treat Lakius as if he were invisible.
“Laki, come here.”
Frustrated, I beckoned him to sit next to me.
At the same time, there was an odd glance between Lakius and the three dads.
“Yes, Tati.”
Lakius sat down beside me with a commanding stride, like a commander who had just won a hard-fought battle.
The three dads’ expressions were equally grim.
But years of experience have taught me that there’s no point in trying to mediate between Lakius and the three dads at a time like this.
If you get it wrong, you’re likely to get a childish question like, “So, Tati, whose side are you on?
So, in times like these

.
‘Ignoring is the answer.’
Under that judgment.
I opened my mouth, ignoring the four people who were engaged in an intense snowball fight with each other.
“So, when do we get to eat our cake?”
“Oh, right, just a minute.”
Coming to his senses, Siegfried grabbed a bread knife.
The look in his eyes as he sliced the cake was so deliberate, I don’t think a general in the face of his enemy would have worn such a look.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
‘Just because he’s a Sword master doesn’t mean he’s any good with a bread knife

.’
The cake slices were cut so crookedly that they were all different shapes and sizes

.
“

Hey, a Sword Master is supposed to be skilled with all blades, right?”
“We asked you to cut the cake, not take it apart.”
Even Kirios and Cesar, who couldn’t be bothered, had something to say.
“Shut up. A bread knife is not a sword.”
Siegfried’s face turned bright red.
He put the cake on a plate and handed it to Lakius, who stepped forward first.
“Here, take this.”
And I knew.
I recognized that the cake slice offered to me and Lakius was the prettiest of the crooked pieces of cake.
’Well, thank you.’
I smiled in satisfaction.
‘After all these years, you’re still taking care of Lakius, aren’t you?’
Grown-ups who care about little kids.
I guess my dads are pretty cool after all.