Chapter 101: Return Date
On that night, we had a casual dinner with the royal family per the Queen’s wishes. Although, Bart and his crew were thoughtful and didn’t attend, so it was only a small group made out of the Albans, Lisburns and the royal family. Alistair was nervous, but an infant doesn’t know their own status, so I wasn’t nervous. I watched Alistair in shock as I ate the delicious food.
“Even so, it’s a pity the both of you came all the way, but it’s still impossible to use the barrier box in the long run.” It was Prince Gilbert who had said this. He and Huu had a lot of magic, so they idealistically wanted to activate the barrier box so it would cover the whole town.
“I haven’t given up yet, But, if we operate it like a tightrope, then the royal family will be exhausted, and the country will weaken.”
“I’m glad you’ve noticed that. I don’t think it’s a good thing to always keep the barrier up.” Gill answered quietly. Does that mean it was okay for Alistair not to come to Sebel after all? I looked at Alistair. He smiled a bit wryly.
“As for Alistair, he will be known as a Lisburn no matter where he goes. You need to prepare yourself and live with that name.” Gill said while looking at Alistair. Alistair looked a little sullen, but he still nodded. I think we had a good discussion since we were all in the same room.
“No acthivathe bawwier?”
“It’s okay to activate it sometimes, but it’s hard to keep it up every day,” Prince Gilbert answered seriously. He had children of his own, so he was used to dealing with children. His two children were also eating with us, and they have been looking at me with sparkling eyes since a while ago. Two boys, age three and five.
It seems like Alistair, and I will be building blocks with the tiny children later. Or will I be taken away by the Queen to become a dress-up doll…? I looked off into the distance.
So it’s difficult to maintain the barrier every day? I thought while chewing my food. Why do they have to keep it up every day?
“Ish ith bad noth tho have ith shomethimesh?” (Is it bad not to have it sometimes?)
“People will probably be confused if the barrier is only up sometimes.”
It seemed that my question was surprising since it took a while for me to get an answer.
“You can puth ith up on howidaysh.”
“Howidaysh? Oh, holidays?” Prince Huu rephrased. I recalled when I was kidnapped, the town was lively at night, and something smelled delicious.
“Decide on a howiday and acthivathe thhe barrier. Puth outh a woth of shthawwsh and dewicioush food.” (Decide on a holiday and activate the barrier. Put out a lot of stalls and delicious food)
Isn’t it alright for them to go out a few nights a month?
“So, you’re saying we should open a market at night? Decide on a day, three or six times a month. In that case, we can do it with just the royal family’s magic.”
Prince Gilbert, who was surprised by my words, looked at Huu and nodded. Isn’t that fine? More importantly, I looked at the fragrant pink dish that had been brought out a while ago. This must be the dessert.
“I wondered how lucky it was for a baby to survive in Frontier, but it seems like she hadn’t survived just based on luck. Luke-dono, it seems like the Albans have a hard to obtain treasure.”
“Yes, indeed.”
They were talking about something, but I was only interested in dessert.
“Niini wanth thhath.”
“That apricot?”
“Ai.”
Nii-sama went to get me some. The sweet smelling dish was softly boiled fruits. I scooped it with my spoon and put it in my mouth.
“Yummy.”
“Really? That’s good.”
I don’t care if they open a market or whatever in Wester. No, I’ll be visiting Sebel from now on. Wouldn’t it be fun if a market opened up here?
I looked at Nii-sama with sparkling eyes.
“Niini, shthawwsh.” (Nini, stalls.)
“No. It’s absurd for you to go out at night until you grow up.”
“Ai.”
I held my spoon as I hung my head down. If they were to open a market, then it would be thanks to me. But wait? What if Nii-sama went with me? I looked up at Nii-sama in anticipation.
“Uoah. You can’t go even if you look at me with those eyes. You should be aware of how easy it is for you to be kidnapped.”
“Aai.”
That may be true. Well, I’m sure there are other things to look forward to when I become an adult. I extended my spoon for the rest of the dessert. “That was close,” I felt he had said, but there’s no need to listen to it if he doesn’t take me.
Just as I thought, we played with the children until it was nearly bedtime, but I, as Amy’s friend, didn’t have any blind spots. Including Nii-sama, the children had a lot of fun playing.
I slept together with Nii-sama in the room, and the morning of our return came. We got ready, greeted everyone, and paraded through town as if it was custom.
Bart and his crew will accompany us until the border.
Bart held me until we left town, and I waved at the people with Nii-sama and Gill. Anything goes. Let’s raise the popularity of the Four Marquises before leaving. Though, my face felt like it was going to twitch from smiling.
We finally got out of town and had a break. The important part starts now. Guards and an imperial carriage were waiting for us outside of town.
“Lei, are you alright?”
“Ai.”
I had Bart put me down in front of the carriage.
“Now then, it’s alright for you to come out,” Nii-sama said, and the person who came out of the carriage was…
“Sebash!”
“Lei-sama!”
His hair wasn’t tied up, and he wasn’t wearing his uniform. He had gotten a little tanner, and he might have more white hair on his head. Still, the gentle smile that was on his face was certainly Sebas’s.
I reached out, and Sebas lifted me up.
“Oh, you’ve gotten heavier. Lei-sama, you’re growing big and well.”
“As expected of Claire-sama’s child. I’m sure you’ll be bright and treated with great care no matter where you go. Sebas wasn’t worried in the slightest.”
“Ai! Lei awwaysh hash fun.”
Sebas gently teased me as he held me.
How long did we spend being affectionate?
“Lei-sama.”
“Ai.”
“Hannah’s family…”
I looked at Sebas’s face in surprise. He looked at the carriage.
“Will you meet them?”