Chapter 300: Twisted Family
(From Demetrius's Perspective)
"Hey, look, she is playing with the doll you chose for her. Though the doll is very peculiar, she seems to like it," Blue whispered, peaking through the gap of the door.
"Why are you not going in?" I asked.
"Lady Ava, His and Her Highness are here," the headmaster suddenly said loudly. Her voice was so loud that my ears ached. The same was true for Flint who looked like he could burn her alive.
"Blue... Ah, Aunt!" Ava exclaimed, opening the door very quickly and loudly. "There are so many toys you brought for me!"
"Do you like them?" Blue asked, smiling at her.
"Yep! They are so cool! I like this doll the most!" Ava exclaimed, showing a doll that was the size of her arm.
It was the doll that I had chosen when we went out before after my wife told me to choose something too since she had been choosing all the other toys. It was not a fun thing, but since she looked so excited, I could not refuse. But after I was done choosing, she looked at me as if I was crazy. I had no idea why she kept saying that the doll was very weird looking.
It had brown hair which was very curly and its eyes were merely two black dots. It had a button for the nose and the mouth was in the shape of a heart. It wore a bright green dress which matched the color of the eye makeup it had on. It was also wearing a bit of makeup which made its face look whiter than its body.
"Oh my god... It is that ominous one...," Flint exclaimed, backing away as if he was afraid of being touched by something.
"It is not ominous," Ava said. "I like it. Don't you think it's beautiful too, Aunt?"
'She has been calling her Blue all the time and now that the headmaster is here, she is calling her 'Aunt'? Is she trying to show that she is very well-behaved when she usually calls her aunt by name? Well, Blue allowed it, but still... Haa, it's not like I care.'
"..."
"It is so beautiful that she is speechless," I said, seeing my wife struggling to even utter a single word. "Right, honey?"
"... Yeah, it is very... special looking," she nodded a bit.
"Please feel free to stay as long as you desire," the headmaster said. "If you may grant, I will go and take care of some work in my office."
"Yes, go," I said which was very different from what my wife said. She smiled at her and said, "Yes, of course. We will spend some time with our niece and then, we will take our leave. I am afraid we might not have time to say goodbye in person."
"That is fine, Your Highness. Just feel free to do anything. This is all because of the grace of the King and the Queen."
"Blue, come and take a look at the plant I have been growing," Ava said, pulling Blue by her hand after the headmaster left. Ava had gone to her usual self and started talking to Blue like she usually did.
"Heh, that brat... She is acting all innocent in front of her," I sneered.
"Well, most people do this. It is all to get the affection of Her Highness," Flint agreed. "Her Highness doesn't know what kind of people the members of the Royal family are. That's the advantage Lady Ava is taking."
"You are talking to the King about his family like this? Have you no fear?"
"I am Her Highness's mage and a very useful one. She won't fire me," he chuckled.
"Haa, I don't care," I sighed. "You don't work under me."
From a very young age, the children of the Easton family developed a strong sense of leadership. They could talk clearly at a very early age than normal children. They matured very quickly and developed all kinds of controversial personality traits, including manipulation, violence, indifference towards most things, especially the emotions of others, and obsession with a particular thing.
They were not mentally strong either which sometimes caused them to lose their minds. It happened because of the same disturbing and twisted environment of their family that had been going on for generations. The people who entered the family by getting married to a member also turned twisted or were like that in the first place.
Ava was no different because her family was no less different than the previous generations. Her parents loved her, but their love did not suffice the fact that they also showed her things that a child was not supposed to see. It was probably because her mother did not know what a proper and regular family was. In her family, she had more influence than her husband.
No wonder he could not fix the situation even though he was a very normal person in the beginning.
My wife endured a harsh reality in her family, but in her eyes, children were just children. She treated Ava like a mother would treat her child. It was a very normal thing to do. And Ava liked this gesture and ended up changing her behaviors and personality in front of her. But it did not change the fact that Ava was just another member of the Easton family who developed an improper mind.
'But my innocent wife does not need to know this. Let her see Ava just as any other child. She is already shaken enough from that incident.'
Blue had bought a lot of candies and toys for Ava just like she bought for Athena. It seemed she liked to be with children just like they wanted to be with her. And I liked to watch her having fun and smiling happily. It filled my heart with joy every time I saw her like that. I just wished she would stay happy all the time.
"Do you water this plant every day?" Blue asked.
"Yep! I water it every day! Isn't it great?"
"Yeah, it's amazing. I have never taken care of a plant before. You have done really great," Blue said. "It is a blue rose at that. So beautiful..."
"Right? Blue things are really beautiful!" Ava exclaimed.
'Wait...! What? That girl... I had a feeling it was the case, but I never truly considered it to be actually true... What the hell? She is...
obsessed with Blue? Is this the case? No wonder her thoughts always included her.' Your journey continues at M V L
"Blue, it is getting late," I said. "Flint's wife is pregnant and he needs to go there."
Flint looked at me with his mouth hanging open as if he could not believe me. But it was the only method to go away from this dangerous girl. I needed to keep Blue away from her as much as possible. I was an Easton myself and I knew very well how dangerous obsession could get. If it was not prevented early, it would be very dangerous later on when it would be hard to control.
"It is? What time is it?" Blue asked.
"It is not late!" Ava said loudly. "Blue can stay with me for some time more."
"We need to leave," I said sharply. "I remember I have something important to do too."
"Then why did you come with Blue, Uncle?"
I looked at my wife who looked confused but nodded at me. It was a relief that she listened to me almost all the time. She trusted me a lot, probably because I was the first person to get her away from her trashy family.
"I am sorry, sweetie. It seems I need to leave now. I will come to meet you when I have time again," I said.
"Do you have to?" Ava asked sulkily.
"Yes, but I will surely come to visit you again. I will bring more candies and toys then. By the way, share those candies with your friends, okay? It is important to share good things with friends."
"Hmm...," she nodded.
"It's alright. I will come again," Blue said and kissed Ava on the forehead. "Goodnight. Sleep well, sweetie."
"Yes, goodnight," she waved.
I sighed in relief after we teleported near the market. We teleported to an alley where there were no people. It was not a usual thing to see a mage around after all.
"But you did not tell me about it before," my wife said.
"Tell you what?" I asked.
"That you have work... You should have mentioned it before."
'Ah, I have made this excuse to leave quickly. I forgot completely.'
"Yeah, I have work which came to my mind suddenly. But I mainly said it because Flint needs to leave early because his wife might need him."