Translator: Blushy
Editor: Sam
By the time we finished eating while saying it was delicious, Chris was really tired and fell asleep.
I thought it was my role to sleep, but sometimes itâs okay to let others sleep too.
There was a knock on the door by the time the table was cleared, and tea was ready. Stan-ojisama, Julia-obasama and the two Moleseys arrived. All the bloodlines of the Four Marquises are now in this room.
âWhereâsh Nii-syama and Giww.â
âThereâll be a big uproar if we call the two of them. They can wait.â Otou-sama answered the curious me.
âFelicia!â
Julia-obasama immediately went to sit next to Felicia; she pulled her closer to reassure her. By the way, Chris had fallen asleep, so I was clinging to the other side of Felicia.
Felicia froze for a moment when Julia-obasama hugged her, but she finally relaxed when I hugged her tightly.
I knew someone who would freeze like this. It was Nii-sama. Youâll freeze if youâre not used to people touching and hugging you.
I remembered when I was a baby and we werenât truly a family in the true sense of the word yet. There are some families where itâs normal to not show affection.
Julia-obasama is a good adult for Felicia since she has a relationship with the Four Marquises.
âI know youâre tired Felicia, but can I ask what happened?â
âYes.â
Felicia nodded quietly at the sound of Otou-samaâs voice.
âWe were told that we would be leaving Kingdom when we visited the town near the border. I knew she had planned something, but I didnât expect that it would be that, and of course I was very much against it.â
âSo, it was Ange...â Otou-samaâs words represented everyoneâs thoughts. Julia-obasama confirmed just to be sure, âSo you werenât threatened by Easter or anything?â
Felicia shook her head feebly.
âIt seemed like she was really looking forward to it. I asked her what the people of Kingdom would think, and I believe she had already thought that through and made her plans and decisions long ago. She never wavered no matter what I said.â
Felicia is 16 years old. No matter what she says, sheâs still at an age where she has no choice but to obey her parents. No one can blame her.
âI told her that I would stay in Kingdom then. I told her that if she wanted to think about the people in Frontier, then I will think of the people in Kingdom as the heir of the Four Marquises. If Okaa-sama wants to decide who she wants to live for then I should be able to do the same.â
âWhy did Ange burden a child with such an important decision?â
Julia-obasamaâs hands were still around Feliciaâs waist as if to support her.
âThen Okaa-sama said that I can do that if thatâs what I want, but she will be taking Chris with her. Chris was thrilled that Okaa-sama said she would be less busy when we moved to Easter and would be able to play with her more. Of course, she would be. But I didnât want to leave Chris with Okaa-sama, so I went with them to Easter.â
âChrish ish happy tho be withh Okaa-syama.â
I wanted to praise Feliciaâs decision. But Felicia shook her head and clasped her hands on her lap.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âSheâs the kind of person who finds it a hassle to even have lunch with Chris and I in the castle. Thereâs no way she would make time for us just because she had free time.â
I thought that might be the case. If I hadnât fixed the bonds with Nii-sama and Otou-sama when I was a baby, then Iâm sure Otou-sama would act the same way.
âChris and I would always have guests over to socialise with people our age. Even though Chris is more accustomed to people now, itâs still confusing to see the friends sheâs supposed to play with change all the time. Even more so when theyâre five or six year old nobles, all of whom are to a large extent, selfish. I couldnât pay attention to Chris because I was dealing with my own guests, and she became tired and expressionless... Of course, she didnât get anytime to spend with Okaa-sama.â
No one in the room could say anything.
âAnd then it was Chrisâs sixth birthday. Okaa-sama wanted to make it big since it was finally her birthday and invited a lot of guests. People complimented Chris for being a quiet and refined girl which made Okaa-sama proud. She said that it was a good idea to bring Chris to Easter. Say, Lei.â
âYes?â
âDonât you think itâs weird? Donât you think itâs weird for Chris to sit quietly with glassy eyes while people greet her even though sheâs usually lively, naughty and energetic?â
âIthâsh weird. Chrish ish fuww of energy.â
âRight? But now that I think about it, I can see that it was because she couldnât adjust her magic. I couldnât take it anymore. Then we...â
Chris didnât know what to do because of her sudden change in environment and Felicia was too busy to do anything about it.
âBut itâs impossible for children to run away.â
âOtou-sama helped.â
Otou-sama. Heâs someone who rarely gets bought up when people talk about the Remingtons.
âBroadâs finally acting. I was wondering what he was up to,â Stan-ojisama blurted out. Broad is probably the name of Felicia and Chrisâs father.
âOtou-sama basically doesnât object to what Okaa-sama does. He let her do what she wanted this time as well. But he couldnât take it anymore when he saw Chris at the birthday party.â
âMothers donât have to be the people who show you love. It wouldnât have mattered if Broad loved you two instead.â
Otou-sama probably thought that Chrisâs Otou-sama should do this because he was doing it. Felicia laughed a little for the first time. It was a resigned laugh that said she had given up.
âOtou-sama has his hands full with Okaa-sama.â
âFelicia...â
âOtou-sama said that Okaa-sama also never had any freedom since she was little, so the least he could do as her lover and husband was to let her do as she pleased.â
I donât believe that Ange-obasama has ever suffered since sheâs so free. Well, even the carefree Mark can suffer, so something must have happened.
ââBut if Ange wants freedom, then Chris and I, as children, should be free to do what we want.â He said sadly that she was restricting our movements because she was forcing us to do what she didnât want to do when she was little. Otou-sama asked me what I wanted to do.â
Itâs too late to ask, I thought.