(Maia's Pov)
I'd like to say it was a coincidence, but well… yeah, it just wasn't. It was around 7 in the morning or so? And me, our parents and Mio were already just ready to head out. After all, today was the day we'd finally bring Cifer home with us. And since I'm sure you must have caught on to the fact that what I just said had zero correlation to coincidences, I'll actually explain what I was talking about.
Yesterday, "mysteriously" Nala seemed to have caught an unstoppable urge of asking Cael to take her out this morning, to go shopping with her. Apparently, she heard from "somewhere" that a new clothing shop opened this morning, not so nearby, and begged her sweet older brother to take her, until he eventually agreed.
Needless to say, that was of course… part of our plan. What plan, you may ask? It's pretty simple actually. Keeping Cael and Cifer separate until we bring him home. In all honesty, we don't really have any real clue regarding how those 2 may react to seeing each other for the first time since our first life.
Which is why, to avoid commotion either at the orphanage, or on our way home, we decided to give Nala a little piece of information that seemed to play in our favor, not so surprisingly. This way, since the shop is around an hour and a half on foot away from my house, not only would he only arrive there by 9 at most, considering they're probably gonna be out of the house in half an hour at most, but they wouldn't be home until maybe even noon.
We actually put bets on an estimate, by the way. How long will Nala actually stay at the shop itself? How much extra time will we gain from them most likely being approached in the streets for questions, now that we cleared our names as nobles? And around what time exactly will they be home? Effectively merging all of them with the last one, our bets were as follows.
Mom and dad had the same opinion, guessing that they'd be home by around 15:25 or so. I personally didn't think that was enough time, considering we have to also take in consideration a crucial detail. They're both bound to get hungry eventually, especially since we told them to just eat breakfast outside as well, and on top of that, Nala may either buy only a handful of things but spend hours browsing, or she'll buy half the store.
Amidst the line that is probably outside the store already even now probably, and how busy the store most likely will be, and lastly checking out, and either carrying everything home or arranging a courier for them, my guess is that they'd be home by around 16:40.
Mio on the other hand, didn't really seem to think too much about it. She simply placed a finger on her chin and thought about it with a hmm sound for maybe 5 seconds, then gave a clean answer.
"I think all in all… they're most likely going to get home by around 18:10 or so."
I was a little skeptical about her answer, since it was a considerable increase in time from ours, but she didn't even bother elaborating on it. I was honestly pretty confident in my answer above all though, so while skeptical and wary of hers, I still didn't think too much of it.
Oh and for the record, it wasn't an empty bet either. The winner would get a day of slacking, while the rest would be involved in the continuous organization that's been going on almost ever since the trial was done. Aka, the joint banquet to celebrate my becoming Mio's lieutenant, and our family regaining its nobility.
Our parents have been going in and out of the house ever since the day after we told Cael and the twins about Cifer'd adoption, also. Amidst having to greet other nobles per tradition, consulting with the architects and building squad for the new Ashford estate, being built next to mine, and going back and forth between those and the noble palace, they've been pretty busy.
Their paperwork rush hasn't begun yet though, luckily for them at least. Most of them are still being printed, and gradually sent to my house. We did talk about it, and we agreed that dad would begin the paperwork mountain after the first banquet. Mom on the other hand, who had been withholding from attending or hosting any kind of social events for noble women, like tea parties and what not, also agreed on starting to work on our social status after that.
So yeah, putting it shortly? They're pretty busy. Getting that day off would be a pretty good thing for them, but I'm not so sure about how that'll go given their guess. On the other hand, me and Mio are just as busy as usual, so even if we do lose, nothing would really change… but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want that day off. Of course, in the eventuality of either me or her winning, the other would cover for the winner's work.
Although some may question its integrity, Mio does allow me to take care of some of her work in principle, even if only the lesser important ones. And as for my work? Yeah, I don't think the commander has to worry about the horror of doing her Lieutenants work.
But either way, we were all gathered in the living room now, and it was about time we went out.
"Then we'll get them from that bakery, right?"
I asked everyone once again, just to make sure. As you already know, whenever I went to visit Cifer until now, I'd always bring him some kind of treats, or pastries. That kid's sweet tooth is the real deal after all. Luckily for us, a new bakery opened fairly close to the orphanage recently, so we decided to get them from there this time around.
And on top of that, we'd also get something for ourselves, and eat breakfast together with him, at his little home. We've already sent some caretakers yesterday to prepare his stuff for the record, and once we arrive, they'll begin taking those to my house first, as we take our time with him.
"That sounds good to me."
"I heard about that place from Ivy a few days ago, and I've also just been wanting to try some of their pastries too."
"Do we really have to fuel his sweet tooth even on the day you're bringing him home?"
"Don't be a buzz killer now, Mio. Didn't you say you forgave him?"
"I did forgive him, as I said. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to be against speedrunning his diabetes on my dime…"
"Yeah, I bet that paying for a bunch of pastries out of your pocket must leave a pretty big dent in your infinite bank account, wouldn't it? Miss Commander, that can create money out of thin air."
Though I'm teasing her and all, I can't really say that I have a clear idea of what she really thinks of him…
We've had this conversation a few times before, even to the point where its mentioning may just be a nuisance by now. But I still can't help but be worried about it, considering the grim history behind these 2, from our first life. However, since that time where I jumped straight to the edge after hearing what she said to Cael, I want to be a little more patient.
I won't ask her if she's fine again, since I trust that she'd actually act on it, if she truly felt any discomfort or leftover hatred towards him. Granted, the way she glanced at me with a little annoyance at my teasing didn't help with it… but hey, that's how younger siblings are sometimes, right?
Her point about diabetes did also make sense, granted, she only mentioned the money part to try and make her point stronger, since objectively, Mio has an endless supply of money, as I said. But regardless, overthinking it won't really help with anything, so instead I just smiled, and spoke once again.
"Let's go then. We have a long day ahead of us, after all."
She sighed, but as I felt absolutely 0 actual negative emotions from her, I just ignored it, as a portal opened in front of us. She went in first, then our parents, and lastly myself. It brought us just near the bakery.
"We're here."
We had just arrived in front of his little home. Mio had already changed back into Luna as well, for the record.
"This is actually the first time we'll see him since our first life, you know?"
Both mom and dad's expressions were a little complicated. Malahchony? But also some very noticeable happiness. Of course, it's not like they had any kind of grudge against him either by now, as they know what his circumstances in our first life were, but still… I guess you can't just erase the past.
But regardless, I don't think it'll be an issue. With a smile, as we all held 2 whole bags full of pastries boxes, replied to mom, then we began approaching the door.
"Then we better hurry up."
Once we were there though, I was a little stuck, contemplating.
Should I knock? I sometimes do and sometimes don't depending on my mood whenever I visit him… but this is our last visit…
Hmmmm
I instinctively handed my bags to dad, as I needed both my arms to be free. Why, you ask? Well of course it's to be able to do this. One arm crossed, while my other hand grabbed my chin. What other pose could possibly instigate better brain power than this one? The simple answer is: none.
Alright, I decided. Since it's the last time I'll be visiting him since we're taking him home today…
I grabbed the handle, and swung the door open-
"There's no way that I'd knoc——"
But the instant I did, something a tiny little bit unexpected happened. I froze in place, trying to process it. As I did that, the container that was supposed to hold the cream pie, now smothered on my face, fell on the ground. And also, I heard footsteps from inside, approaching.
"Don't you think this is a little rude… my dear new little brother?"
"What are you talking about? I made that spell a few days ago, with a pretty simple and respectful design. It would only activate and send that cream pie flying if a gorilla tried to open the door without knocking first."
"…that's a surprisingly specific spell activation requirement, isn't it?"
"And unsurprisingly, it seems like it wasn't a waste of time to create it after all, was it?"
"…let's go in, everyone."
But as I wiped the cream off my eyes, and looked around me…
"What the- when did you guys even-"
They were all already inside. Cifer was the only one still at the door.
"They went in as soon as you got hit."
"I see…"
"Do you just plan on standing there?"
"…no."
And so, with a humbled ego, I made my way inside. The others had already begun setting up everything on the table, while Cifer gave me a towel to wipe my face, which was surprisingly quick to come at hand.
He completely anticipated this, didn't he?
Maybe I should've knocked more often than not.
But either way, with the table fully set out with plenty of pastries, desserts and a few savory breads or pastries for some of us, and freshly brewed coffee and tea that Cifer made, we all sat down, and began eating.
The mood was honestly a lot better than I expected it to be. Not only did no one seem uncomfortable, but Cifer was also unusually quiet, and well behaved, enjoying his stuff.
"Are these from that new bakery that opened recently?? They're surprisingly good!"
"That's right, kiddo. We figured we'd bring you something new while we were at it."
"Not to mention, we also wanted to try this spot as well."
"I see. Thank you…"
But that seemed to be where his excitement took a little step backwards, and awkwardness stepped forward. It was pretty obvious what this was about. But it was no issue after all.
"I guess we haven't introduced each other properly yet, have we? Though we've heard a lot about you from Maia and Luna, this is also the first time we've really met. So it's nice to meet you, Cifer. My name is Bartholomew. Bartholomew Ashford."
"And I'm his wife, Isolde Ashford. Maia often told us about you whenever she came to visit, you know? She also mentioned how much you like sweets. And by the way, that tart you're eating right now, I was actually the one who picked it for you haha. How is it?"
He blushed, looking away slightly for a few moments, but ultimately resulted in facing them. Well, granted, he was still only occasionally glancing up while keeping his eyes glued to his tart, but at least his face was pointed towards them. That probably amounts to something on the progress scale.
"My name is… Cifer. Nice to meet you… I've also heard a lot about you two, both from Maia… and from my parents. Also, the tart… is really good."
It really brings back memories…
Seeing him so innocent, flustered and genuinely unsure of how to act. He was like this back then too at first, wasn't he? At heart, he's always been a sweet boy. But let's not dig too deep into the past, especially since we're not planning on unsealing his memories any time soon.
Mom and dad continued to smile, as they kept the lead strong.
"So they told you about us, huh? I bet they were all exaggerated compliments, haha."
"I can totally imagine them doing that, dear. Especially his mother. She really loved gossip after all."
"Well, haha… I guess so… they often told me about how you guys' party saved them, a while ago. They always referred to you two in particular as their heroes."
"Heroes, huh? … they're giving us too much credit."
Cifer seemed a little taken aback by dad's reply, clearly not really understanding it. But it does make sense from his perspective at least. No one in our family could ever consider themselves a hero after all. Not when Cael, the true hero, exists. To our parents, having helped Cifer's parents was just a normal thing to do.
"They were really good people, you know? We're really sad about losing them too. Which is exactly why, we agreed to adopting you without a second thought."
Mom's words seemed to have done some critical damage, as his eyes started shaking a little from them. But still, no tears had formed yet. Instead, he simply nodded his head, probably doing his best to avoid letting them.
"We're not going to act like their replacements, Cifer. After all, neither me or Isolde think we could even replace them to begin with."
"That's right. We have no intention of forcing you to act in any way around us either. Though it may be a little unprofessional for the Grand Duke and Duchess, we're not really that strict, you know?"
Cifer still hasn't managed to say a word yet. But they continued.
"We're going to make sure that you feel as comfortable as possible in your new home, until you can proudly say you're now an Ashford."
"But at the same time, you don't have to necessarily think of us as your parents, if you don't think you're ready for that, just yet."
"Of course, we will treat you as if you're our real son, but you don't owe us any kind of respect, or special treatment."
"We're choosing to adopt you, not the other way around after all. So no matter how much time it takes, until you feel comfortable around us, we'll give you all the time and space you need."
"However, that doesn't mean we'll just leave you alone, nor allow you to isolate yourself. Joining a new family is no easy task after all. When you need time, we'll gladly let you go hang out alone for a little while."
"However, if you take too long to come back, we will start searching for you. Regardless of whether you're at home or out. Coincidentally, if you need time? We have absolutely no problem with waiting."
"But that doesn't mean we'll detach ourselves from you, until you magically start seeing us as family. We'll always be there, simply waiting, and providing you a place to always be able to call home."
Cifer was sitting alone on his side of the table. Both me and Mio were next to one of our parents. That was, until they both got up, and sat down next to him instead.
"And lastly… we'd like to formally say this, at least once before we take you home."
"Not to mention, we may not even have the chance to say it so peacefully when we get there. We have a pretty hectic girl, you see?"
Mom placed a hand on his head, while dad placed one on his shoulder, as they both said it simultaneously.
"'Welcome to the family, Cifer.'"
Which was also his breaking point. But as he let all of his tears run cleanly down his face, both of them remained by his side, aiding him however they needed to.
You know, I had a pretty good feeling about this. I don't really have any basis to back up my claim… but I guess you'll just have to allow it this time. After all, for some reason, I was pretty sure that it wouldn't actually take very long, until Cifer would think of us as his family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Cael's Pov)
"You little… I told you it was that way!"
"Hmph! But when we went that way the first time, we ended up back where we began! This way has to be the right one! We just have to walk a little more!"
She crossed her arms, genuinely trying to stand her ground with her ridiculous claim. Just because you're my beloved little sister, that doesn't mean you can just pout and hmph and wish for the best, ya hear me?!
Not only did we spend a good few hours at that shop amidst the initial opening line, browsing and actually purchasing half the store, but we also had to arrange a courier to deliver everything to Maia's house… I genuinely didn't think it would take this long.
Not to mention, we also got lost a few times on our way there, so the line was longer than anticipated, and a bunch of randoms approached us once in a while too… and of course, I had no choice but to avoid asking for directions at all costs. Why you may ask? The answer is simple: it would make me look lame as fuck!
I mean, come on. Just because it's a big city, that doesn't mean it's impossible to go around it. So what if I don't know it that well? This is called interactive learning my friends, take notes. We got there somehow in the first place, didn't we? Not to mention, in a reasonable time frame, and managed to achieve our goal, didn't we?
Even with all of our stops, including breakfast, whatever street foods that caught our attention, and random kitties that Nala insisted on trying to pet. All in all? I'd say that we did pretty damn well on our own, without asking for directions, on our way there. So why should we do that on our way back?
So what if it's already getting dark outside? It's winter, it gets dark faster than usual, big deal. So with that being said and done, our exploration continued. Of course, needless to say that the return journey was just as shaky and unpredictable as the travel one… but we didn't give up. We persisted. We conquered. Well, kind of.
"Uhm, excuse us. Are you two…"
"Hm?"
As we stopped to get something to drink, a random couple approached us. This made them like the 27th of the day or something like that.
"Ah, yes, we are…"
Please just go away…
"Ah, I knew it! We've all watched your family's trial, haha. You and your older sister really stood your ground against those fake claims regarding you."
"Well, they were some pretty nasty claims after all… we had to get them dealt with."
Looking back at it, I feel like we went a little overboard, so I'd rather not think too much about it.
"As you should, haha. By the way, what are you two doing out alone so late?"
I glanced over my right, at the gremlin. The spark in her eyes was terrifyingly easy to read. And so with a resigned expression, I nodded. She puffed her chest, and held her hips as if she was a certain blonde, muscular hero that shouts "I am here!"
"We went shopping! Cael took me to a store that just opened today, and I bought looooooots of new clothes, hehe!"
While at first they did in fact just nod with a smile at her cuteness, understandably, after taking a good look at the two of us, a little confusion rose up on their faces.
I couldn't really blame them either, since not only did we have none of them on us, we had no luggage whatsoever. Putting aside the 2 drinks in my hands, we were pretty much empty handed. Earlier, I said that we kind of conquered our journey, right? Yeah so, about that…
By conquering, and again, keep in mind the keywords "kind of", I didn't mean that we've found the way home. Rather, I was actually leaning towards "we gave up on actively trying to find the way and just went with the flow, and while we were at it, stopped to get something to drink as well" instead.
I sighed, as I stepped in to put an end to their confusion.
"I know it may not really look like it, but there's a reason as to why we aren't carrying any of them at hand. She did buy quite a lot after all."
"That's right, huhum!! You see, when I couldn't decide on a few things to buy, because the entire store looked nice, but I didn't want to buy the entire store, I decided to buy half of all the clothes in the store instead!! So, uhm, some people had to come and take the clothes to our house instead-"
But before she could finish, I put one of the drinks on the ground, and tapped her mouth as quickly as possible.
This little shit!
This was why I was the one who stepped in just a few seconds ago… I didn't want to let the whole world know that we're already buying entire store halves, you know? Our gremlin here is not only a big spender however, she also can't keep her mouth shut, as you may already know by now.
While she struggled to free her mouth, the couple looked at us with a wry expression. The man was scratching his head while both of them looked at each other, then back at us. Needless to say, I felt a not so slight urge to smack Nala. This was not only embarrassing as a situation, but we were also clearly being labeled as weirdos, as other people were starting to look at us, more than they already were.
And to make things worse…
"What the- you little sh-"
"Bleee! Hmph, that's what you get for doing that to me!"
"You didn't have to lick my hand though!!"
"You didn't have to cover my mouth!"
"It's because you kept on rambling, you gremlin… do you know how greedy and spoiled you sound when you proudly announce that you bought half a store?!"
"So what?? I just thought the clothes were cute, so I wanted that many!"
"That's not… well, that's fair enough, but-"
No one seemed to be able to interrupt or break us apart. People were obviously watching, but yeah, they were only doing so. Not even the couple standing in front of us seemed to be able to do something about it, so perhaps we'd just have to go on like this for a while, until we both left our steam out, huh? Not quite.
After all, someone did intervene, after all.
"I figured something like this may happen, so I came to pick you guys up… but you two really don't know how to lay low, do you?"
It came from behind. A voice so familiar, that there was no point in even trying to guess who this was. Both of us knew right off the bat. In fact, Nala was the first to turn around, her expression instantly lighting up upon seeing her.
"Ah! Luna!!"
And as I also turned around after her, Nala had already run straight into her arms.
"My, my. Did you two have fun shopping today?"
Luna lightly patted her hair.
"Yeah! It was looots of fun! We ate a lot of yummy things too, and even bought a ton of clothes!"
"Is that so? I'm glad to hear that."
Nala then let go of her, but they still held hands as they approached me once again. Luna also picked up that one drink I left on the ground a few moments ago, and took a sip through the straw out of curiosity.
"Sweet…"
She frowned, the drink being clearly a little too sweet for her. But to be fair, that one was Nala's.
While the situation had instantly taken a complete 180 degrees turn, and calmed down at record speeds, that didn't mean that the context had changed. People were still staring at us, including the couple that stopped us to begin with.
"I'm sorry for these two causing a scene like that. They do occasionally go at each other's throats."
It didn't seem to be an issue to her however.
"Haha, you don't have to apologize. We also have siblings, so we know how it is."
"Yes, that's right. Not to mention, we weren't really weirded out or anything like that. Rather, just unfamiliar with it. Obviously, we all knew they're siblings, but since we've only seen them at the trial, we had no real image of them personally."
"I get what you mean. Coincidentally, Nala specifically didn't really have much of a presence during the trial either, after all. She was quietly enjoying the show."
She ruffled her hair a little while saying that, Nala pouting slightly because of it, but not actually saying anything back.
"Yes, that! Actually, we were especially surprised by her!"
The couple's energy had completely shifted for some reason though. Both of them became visibly enthusiastic.
"We've read in the newspapers before that she was the one that designed the clothes the Ashford family wore when they first arrived at the capital, and also what they wore at the trial!"
"But when we saw her briefly in the trial livestream she was so quiet and behaved, that we weren't even sure what to take from that news."
"However, after hearing her enthusiastically declaring how she went on a shopping spree with her brother, and how they bought half of an entire store?? We had no doubts about it, it was definitely true!"
I glanced over at the gremlin, feeling a satisfactory sense of pride in being her brother. But to my surprise, instead of taking the positive feedback with her usual smile on her face… she was… hiding?
To think the day I'd see this would ever come…
She was hiding behind Luna, glancing at the couple. I didn't even notice her getting there to begin with honestly, so I have no idea how long she's been like that. But what was pretty obvious, not just to me, but to anyone else watching, is how hard she was blushing.
It turns out that… the prideful and energetic gremlin we all know and love, is not really used to any degree of praise from anyone other than her family.
I guess she is Rune's twin after all.
It took around 10 minutes or so of failed communication attempts, before we managed to actually get out of there. The couple was completely understanding of the situation too, by the way. They both had some pretty stupid grins on their face, kinda like how most people would while watching cute cat videos online. That kind of face.
As we walked home also, Nala refused to let go of not only Luna's, but also my hand. She was in the middle, while I held her right hand.
"Seriously… you two should try and avoid arguing like that in public. Granted, this time it went well though."
"But, its because-"
"I know, I know. Cael was mean and covered your mouth, right?"
"Yeah!"
"I wasn't mean…"
"Shut up, Cael."
"Yes mam…"
"You're looking like a kitty and a puppy that just got scolded with those pouts, you know? You really are siblings."
"But even then, don't get too sad about it, alright? As I said, everything went smoothly in the end. You two had a fun day, no? Don't ruin your moods over a little banter. I'm not mad either."
Oh, Now that I think about it…
I get why she was trying to lighten the mood. Honestly, with all the ruckus going on today I had almost forgotten about it.
"Today is a special day after all."
That's right. He must've been brought home already by now.
"Also, Cael, next time you two get lost, just ask people for directions. I know you probably think it makes you look lame, but that's better than having to be picked up, you know?"
"Ugh."
So she knew…
I really can't hide anything from her, huh?