One Day, My Dad Showed Up

Chapter 12

Even though he must have clearly noticed that I was deliberately avoiding eye contact, Dad still spoke with a gentle and casual tone.

“Clare, do you need anything?”

“...I’m okay.”

He generally showed equal attention to both of us.

When I was reading a book, he would glance at it and then put similar books next to me.

When Eciel looked ecstatic after seeing a shiny ceramic doll, several more similar ones would arrive the next day.

When I hesitated to say ‘thank you,’ he would smile lightly, and when the touched Eciel clung to him, he would hug her back.

Even that seemed like enough repayment.

It seemed like he was determined to convey to us with his whole body, ‘You are not lacking anything.’

Now that he knew about us, he seemed to want to give us everything he couldn’t give us in the past.

Even Mom noticed his efforts.

—

“Ashel, let’s have some tea in the garden for a moment.”

Charlotte spoke in a calm voice just after lunch. It was the result of a week-long deliberation.

Unlike her, there was a vague tension in the man’s face, but he nodded quietly.

Eciel, who didn’t notice the tension, enthusiastically chimed in.

“Let’s go to the garden instead of the playroom!”

Parents might not know the heart of a child who always wanted to be with them.

Anyway, the garden was spacious, and as long as Eciel was there, the children would play far away, so Charlotte readily nodded her head.

As Charlotte’s gaze swept over the two children again, she commented.

“...They seem happier the more they go out?”

Charlotte hadn’t ignored the kids all this time.

But finding differences in kids who were more familiar to her than anyone else was not an easy task.

Until she saw the calm complexion, lively smiles, blushing cheeks, and above all, the unhesitant attitude towards Ashel.

The man who knew that responded with a strangely proud voice.

“I’ve taken care of them well.”

Charlotte’s gaze turned back to the children. It was an implicit question as to whether she could trust those words.

The children nodded in agreement.

A gentle warmth spread over the man’s face as he earned the recognition of his daughters.

Under the cold light of winter, the gentle warmth of spring settled in, creating a tenderly beautiful countenance.

Charlotte couldn’t help but smile and ask.

“Are you getting along now?”

“Not quite yet.”

“You’re always tagging along with the kids. Is it okay for you to always play?”

“It’s fine for now. Charlotte, did you enjoy your stay?”

He opened the door to the garden himself and ushered Charlotte and his daughters out.

Seamless everyday conversation.

His time and affection poured out without any hesitation.

As she thought about that, a bright and sweet scent wafted in.

Flowers blooming together under the winter light were endlessly splendid, and fragmented clouds lazily drifted above.

It was an exceptionally bright and pleasant day.

A sparkling butterfly fluttered by, coming close before darting away. Eciel, noticing it, suddenly grabbed Clare’s hand.

“Clare, look! A butterfly!”

Eciel ran after the butterfly, and Claire followed her sister. The soft hem of their clothes disappeared into the vibrant garden in an instant.

“...Understood.”

Though it was a short conversation, afterwards, the two remained silent for a while as if drained of energy.

* * *

In the end, Eciel regretfully turned towards me after missing the butterfly.

“It was pretty.”

“There are many flowers around, you’ll soon see another pretty butterfly.”

“Is that so?”

Eciel’s gaze momentarily shifted to the flower next to her.

“Oh, this flower is really pretty.”

While all the surrounding flowers were beautiful, there was one particularly bright and vibrant rose in Eciel’s line of sight.

Its layers of blooming petals were a beautiful crimson. The fully bloomed flowers were so attractive that they naturally caught my eye.

My sister briefly touched the flower before looking at me.

“I want to give this to mom. Will I get scolded if I pick it?”

I silently looked at the faint worry on the child’s face and replied.

“It’ll be fine. If, by any chance, you get scolded for picking it, I’ll say I did it.”

I was confident enough to say that. Eciel’s eyes widened, then she shook her head.

“No, Claire. There’s no need for that.”

“Why? You’ll cry if you get scolded. I don’t.”

“I won’t cry, Claire. You also don’t like hearing those things, right?”

After saying that, Eciel carefully picked the flower. Without even giving me a chance to intervene.

“Claire doesn’t like it when I cry either, right? I also dislike Claire getting scolded. If it’s not Claire’s fault, I dislike it even more.”

The child said so and once again held my hand.

With that soft hand, I was pulled back into the peaceful and ordinary world where she existed.

We began walking back to our parents.

Because we’d only been circling around to catch the butterfly in the same spot, we hadn’t walked far, and were still close enough to our parents.

Dad’s voice flowed quietly enough to be heard even without the wind.

“Then, I’ll consider it as going together and contact Evan. He wants to meet you personally before deciding on the reinstatement.”

“...I’ve barely seen Evan since childhood. Will he resent me?”

“No. Before, Evan was disguised as Lord Larnal ...”

Before Dad could finish his sentence, Mom suddenly stood up and knocked over the teacup.

Clatter!

The sharp sound of shattering was piercing.

Eciel and I were close enough to see and hear it. We stopped in surprise and stared at the scene.

Dad took Mom’s hand with a bewildered expression.

“Charlotte?”

“He... He’s Evan?”

“Yes.”

“It might not be just a year. If I go to the capital, I might immediately be arrested because of lèse-majesté.”

Before Dad could say anything, Eciel, who could no longer contain her curiosity, let go of my hand and ran over.

“What’s lèse-majesté? Are we going to the capital? What happens if we go there? Why one year?”

Our parents, bewildered, struggled to answer various questions while I picked up the flower Eciel had missed when running.

The recently picked roses were still fresh. Its smooth petals shimmered under the bright sunlight.

‘ .... Looks like we’re going to be in the capital for a year.’

The cut roses might not last even half a day... But all I wished for was that our family would be together in peace there for a long time.