One Day, My Dad Showed Up

T/N: From now on, I’ll write as since it seems more suitable like that.

“Charlotte.”

Along with the hand, a particularly soft and low voice wrapped around Mom gently.

“As you search for a teacher for Eciel, find someone who can teach you again too.”

“… me? Again?”

“With your skills, I know you didn’t need to revisit such books just to brew basic potions.”

“…”

“You wanted to know if you could still understand and study magic even without magical power, didn’t you?”

The gentle words, lighter than a sigh and as soft as the wind, continued quietly.

“Don’t give up on magic, Charlotte.”

I held Eciel’s hand, stopping her from saying anything further.

So that his kind offer, as gentle as starlight, could fall gently upon Mom.

“Right now, I’m by your side, and I can support you so that nothing will be an obstacle. Let your wishes and your life remain fully yours.”

A moment when even the strongest person became inevitably weak.

At such times, Dad would stand behind Mom and finally let out those words.

“I don’t care whether you can use magic or not, but I always know that you are a wizard. I married a woman in a wizard’s robe.”

Those words brought an involuntary smile to Mom’s face.

Dad looked down at her, his quiet longing turning into a serene expression.

Even if he were to see a bride wearing a veil made of starlight and a crown of pearls forged from moonlight, he wouldn’t be as captivated as he was now.

However, just when it seemed like Mom would readily agree, her expression turned cloudy again.

A silence settled between them, like a grotesquely distorted failure.

I blinked in confusion, not understanding why, then suddenly realized.

‘… ah. Mom still wants to leave.’

If so, bringing in a new teacher would be pointless.

Dad’s violet eyes gradually froze as he reached the same conclusion.

Before the silence grew too sharp, I hurriedly intervened.

“Mom, I don’t think Eciel needs to start right away.”

All three of them looked at me, surprised for their own reasons.

“The revised edition of has probably been released, and the way young wizards are taught at the Magic Tower has changed a lot in the meantime.”

“…”

“As Dad said, Eciel is still young, so it’s not too late for her to meet a good teacher and take things slow.”

It was all reasonable and convincing enough to lighten the atmosphere that had begun to tense up.

“And recently, Eciel has been overexerting herself to avoid doing assignments when she goes on the trip. It might be good to let her rest a little, don’t you think so?”

Mom, who had secretly been worried about that, finally gave her permission.

Eciel couldn’t hide her joy and hugged me tightly.

“Thank you, Claire!”

It was fortunate that Eciel wasn’t aware of the deeper situation. I felt a bit relieved as I gave a word of caution.

“… when the new teacher comes, you’ll have to study really hard. Magic is a subject you can study all your life and still not master.”

At my words, the body holding me tightly trembled slightly.

Eciel glanced back at Mom and asked me very quietly.

“Claire, is that book difficult?”

“By whose standards?”

“By my standards right now.”

“It’s difficult.”

“… how much?”

“It would take at least a year to fully understand it.”

“… when is the new teacher coming?”

When was the Magic Fair again? I thought about it carefully and estimated it as conservatively as possible.

“Probably after we get back from the family trip?”

I held back from saying that if Lord Islay was very competent, he might come earlier. That wouldn’t count as by Eciel’s standards.

But my sister’s face was already filled with determination.

“Then I have to play as much as possible before the teacher comes.”

“…”

“This is my last chance.”

I thought she was right, but did she have to be this serious about it?

About something as simple as playing?

* * *

On the second day we were invited to the imperial palace, the sky was especially high, and a cool breeze blew.

It was the kind of weather Eciel liked.

“Let’s ask to play outside today.”

Sure enough.

As soon as we entered the crown prince’s palace, my sister, who had been eager to play, enthusiastically suggested it.

Usually, there were three options in situations like this.

Convince Eciel, convince someone else, or run away.

Of course, I had never successfully run away from Eciel. So, in reality, there were only two options.

I asked carefully.

“… if we go outside, what are we going to play?”

“The same things we’ve been playing.”

“…”

“There are five of us, so let’s play tag.”

… in this vast place? With the crown prince who must not be harmed under any circumstances?

I suppressed my instinctive reply and tried to calm Eciel.

“This isn’t our home. We can’t do as we please.”

Eciel glanced around the palace anew.

Well-maintained plants and expensive ornaments. The floor, polished to a shine, made running freely unthinkable.

And Eciel, at least, understood the basic courtesy of not acting out in someone else’s home.

With a slightly disappointed look, she eventually nodded.

Good. I managed to hold her back for now.

Even as I sighed in relief, a sense of uneasiness lingered.

After all, Eciel was capable of doing things I couldn’t even imagine at any time.

“Your Highness, let’s play hide-and-seek today.”

… and sure enough, Eciel didn’t disappoint me.

I closed my eyes tightly.

She whined so much about not wanting to write a letter, so when did she get this friendly?

And in just a short moment, everything unfolded so quickly.

Was it because Artair, who had made it clear he didn’t want to be here, suddenly showed interest?

“What’s that?”

“You pick one seeker, everyone hides within a set time, and if the seeker finds all the kids hiding…”

Or was it because Lady Cezanne, who didn’t seem interested in such things, openly asked about hide-and-seek?

“How long can you hide?”

“As long as you can?”

I’d bet she wasn’t actually interested in playing hide-and-seek; she just wanted to be alone.

But I couldn’t stop the momentum Eciel had started.

“Can we do that too?”

Even Callen, the one with the most authority here, was showing interest.

Why did the crown prince of all people want to play a commoner’s game like this…?

Anyway, with four out of five wanting to play, there wasn’t much the last one could do.

I got swept up in the flow and followed them out to the garden.

The garden of the crown prince’s palace seemed especially spacious, and the children were all excited, as long as they weren’t the seeker themselves.

“Whoa, it’s so big. Perfect for hiding.”

“So, who’s going to be the seeker?”

Except for one.

“Ah, Your Highness. I’ll be it. Everyone, start running now.”

While all the children claimed the role of hider, Lady Cezanne smiled.

Naturally, the others didn’t need to be told twice and quickly dashed away.

After waiting a while for everyone to scatter, I sighed and extended my hand.

“Caught you.”

“Why? You should hide too.”

That relaxed expression.

I looked at Lady Cezanne, knowing it was rude, but I couldn’t help but letting out an even bigger sigh.

“You didn’t really plan on playing this game, did you?”

Her golden eyes curved into a wide smile.

To my dismay, it was confirmation that I was right.

‘Hide-and-seek is a game where the seeker must find all the others before it ends.’

Why bother running and hiding?

If she volunteered to be the seeker and simply chose not to find the others, she could stay alone as long as she liked.

And Lady Cezanne didn’t deny my guess, simply nodding.

With an expression that was calm and unapologetic.

And so… as always, I felt a little more uncomfortable whenever I looked at her.

A direct aversion to her extremely selfish and arrogant mindset.

A reluctant sympathy, as it was the first thought that crossed my mind too.

A sense of estrangement from seeing a stranger think and act exactly like the me.

Lady Cezanne spoke in a delicate and graceful voice.

“Don’t be stubborn, Lucy. You know I don’t intend to catch you, and the game your sister suggested doesn’t really matter to us.”

If I hadn’t had my mother, or Eciel, or Nathan Colta in my life, she’d be a perfect mirror of myself.

“… I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say like that.”

“Does it bother you?”

Was she asking because she didn’t know?

I sighed for the third time and took her hand, pressing it firmly.

“Fine. Sit by that fountain if that’s what you want. According to the rules, you’re not supposed to, but I’ll find the others myself.”

For the first time, I held Lady Cezanne’s hand, and it felt soft and warm.

… but her heart was probably nothing like that.

Lady Cezanne looked at me for a moment, her face as calm and indifferent as when she cut her arm before the barrier to draw blood.

“Are you going to find your sister?”

And only after I turned away did she speak again.

“I’m going to find all three.”

I replied firmly, cutting off any chance of further conversation, and set off.

Following where the wind led.

The first child was hiding well enough, but it wasn’t hard to find him.

I called out calmly.

“Artair Jaen Wilfram Teneliere.”

“… just call me Artair. Please, feel free to call me Artair.”

I looked down at him for a moment before obliging.

“Artair.”

The boy, lying behind well-kept shrubs where you’d need to look closely to see his shape, finally sat up lazily.

I asked as a matter of courtesy.

“Do you need more time?”