/
It, it’sh not hea! Bro, brother’sh hea!]
“…..baby.”
What a drama queen you are.
I lifted Haniel back up where she was, pitifully collapsed to one side like a true heroine.
No thoughts, head empty.
***
Seeing how my first reaction was to find this adorable and laugh, it seemed as a mother, I didn’t regret the lost ribbon as much as she did.
Also, I was pretty resigned about ‘her big brother’ by now too.
“Haaaaahh.”
[Why are you sighing, Madam? I’m the one who wants to sigh the most.]
“Why you, Selene?”
[Tha-that’s because our princess has been missing school for a few days already.]
Though she’d been locked in sorrow along with me at my side until now, Selene hurriedly began to arrange Haniel’s feathers nicely.
Don’t pretend like you’re thinking of her now!
I used the palm of my hand to push away her yellow beak once more.
“They’re not unexcused absences but a sick leave due to shock, okay? I’ve already told Lady Melleo that too.”
[Lady Melleo has been in bed down sick herself after she was kicked away by His Majesty the Emperor, you know. And who tells the principal that? You need to tell the homeroom teacher. We shouldn’t be here—even if it’s now, I should go and….]
“Go where. Even though you didn’t have the slightest interest in her education. Now that I think about it, haven’t you been suspicious from last time?”
[……]
No matter how hard I looked at her, Selene’s tightly closed beak did not open. Honestly, she was a very cunning duck with many secret schemes hidden in her arms at all times, just not as evil as Lania.
Whatever.
I’ll die of suffering at this rate.
Besides, there was something I’d heard that made my ears perk up more than trying to interrogate and hear about questionable motives.
“But Haniel has a homeroom teacher now? Really?”
[Of course. Have some interest in the princess, please.]
“….it’s you who shouldn’t be crossing the line.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how incredulous that was, but at the same time it was very amazing. To think our baby had a homeroom teacher now!
Others were apparently deeply moved at every toddling step and every ‘mama,’ but as someone who’d become a mom a bit late, I slightly exceeded that line. The smallest little change that overcame Haniel made my heart race madly.
Mothers, hurrah!
This was all possible because I’d become a mother.
As the first proper smile I’d shown in a few days, I looked at Haniel with proud eyes.
“My baby, do you really have a homeroom teacher now?”
[Ye-esh. Noo teacher.]
“A new teacher? Ohh.”
That was right, I remembered how last time Lady Melleo had said she had invited a new teacher.
Even still, if this was a teacher that Lady Melleo would like, they wouldn’t be your normal level of strict. Worries followed the understanding.
“Does the new teacher treat you well? Like, if he acts scary to you and all…”
[Noo. I lwike teacher. When Haniel was blublub in water, teacher push me lwike dis…]
“What are you talking about. The one who saved you was your big brother.”
[…..]
S-sorry.
As soon as I brought up her big brother, Haniel returned to being a drama queen. Looking at the duck and the swan who had rapidly collapsed to one side together, as if they were holding some kind of protest in front of me, I smiled at them with mixed feelings.
‘But it’s the truth.’
No matter what happened, it was the Emperor who had scooped Haniel out of the lake that day.
I had also gone in, of course, but with my mentality completely out the window and my eyesight hazy, I couldn’t guarantee that I could’ve saved her safely.
To be honest, I couldn’t swim; I couldn’t guarantee that I would’ve been able to save myself, much less Haniel.
[Moommy. Bwother scawy. Don’t say bwother.]
“Mmm.”
But with Haniel this frightened by her brother, I didn’t feel good about going so far as to emphasizing that.
And if I were to explain, how would I even.
Do I say, your brother isn’t as much the alone-by-myself-in-this-world despot as you think he is?
Or that on some days, water pools in his footsteps instead of blood?