39 - Breaking Free of Vegetable Soup
I've heard that men have higher body temperatures than women. And a body fresh out of the bath is warm regardless of gender. In other words, Leonardo's body right now is even warmer than usual, and to add to that, I myself am full and sleepy. My head was getting a bit heavy and drowsy, so I decided to lean against the nearest wall. Leonardo, who I was using as a wall, wrapped his arms around my body and pulled me in, as if to keep me from falling off his lap. The stable posture made me feel even sleepier.
"Leonyaldo-san, is your work settled?"
"No, Alf chased me out, said I should come home at least today. He said Tina might be anxious in a new house."
It seems Leonardo came home tonight by chance. Apparently he usually doesn't come back to the residence much.
"I can't afford to spend much time with you until things settle down at the fortress, so I want you to listen to Bart and Tabitha and wait patiently like a good girl... that's my selfish reasoning, but Tina, would you prefer I come home every night?"
"I don't want to bother your work. If you can't, you don't have to come back."
I'm aware that I'm being taken care of, so I don't want to interfere with Leonardo's work. Unlike a real infant, I won't feel lonely even if I'm somewhat neglected, and I can manage on my own.
...The reason I cried my eyes out yesterday was because I was scared of that suspicious person, you know.
Even an adult would find that scary, so even if I did cry and scream, it's not my fault.
"...What should I do here? It's different from Aurelia-san's place. There's no chores to help with."
I recall being bewildered by suddenly being given free time. Until now, there were always things to do, like housework or helping prepare medicinal ingredients, but now I've been told I can use all my time however I like, and I'm at a loss. I did offer to help, but they refused, saying it was their job.
"As for what Tina should do... how about studying? There are plenty of books in the study..."
"Can't read letters. Study, no good."
I can read and write Japanese, though. Unfortunately, I still can't read or write the language of this world I was born into. In the village it wasn't necessary, and since I started speaking late, my parents never showed any sign of teaching me letters. My father, who used to be a knight, might have taught me letters eventually, but that father is already in the ground. He couldn't teach me letters now.
"To learn letters, we'd need to hire a tutor, or send you to the Menhishumi Church..."
He seemed to be discussing my education policy, but Leonardo's voice, which I could hear directly through our touching bodies, was pleasant. His post-bath warmth also boasted maximum attack power. Leonardo's voice gradually became harder to pick up as meaningful words, and I strained my ears. If I blocked my vision, I should be able to catch his voice better, I thought, and closed my eyelids. My consciousness was pulled gently backward.
...My back is warm.
For a moment I couldn't remember whose lap I was on, and I looked up behind me. The one holding me on his lap was my father, his wavy golden hair tied together in one bundle. I thought something was strange, but when I began trying to grasp what that question was, I couldn't figure out what it had been. The more I thought, the more the initial doubt felt like it was just my imagination.
-- Father, were you there the whole time?
-- Leonardo-san called you Saromon-sama.
-- Father, were you a knight before?
Unable to remember the first question that came to mind, I spun out other words rising in my chest. Father answered none of them, simply stroked my head. Eventually he picked me up and laid me down on the bed. A blanket with a completely different texture from our house blanket was pulled up to my shoulders, but I slipped out from under it, chasing after Father's presence as he moved away from the bed.
-- Father, you forgot something.
Ever since I was a baby, Father used to kiss me goodnight. As a Japanese person, I resisted it at first, but I quickly got used to it. That was because I could truly feel that both of my parents in this life loved me very much. Once I got used to it, it became such a comfortable affection that not having it felt lonely.
I chased after Father as he moved away from the bed, thinking there was no goodnight kiss today. I climbed onto the lap of Father, who had sat back down in a chair and was facing Mother as if they wanted to be alone together. If I'm being greedy, without kisses from both of them, or at least one of them, I won't sleep yet. If you want some time alone together, first give your daughter your love, I thought as I hugged Father's body. Father and Mother seemed amused by my childlike reaction, chuckling as they stroked my hair. When I buried my face in Father's chest and took a deep breath, his scent filled my nostrils.
...Huh? Did Father's scent always smell like this?
Feeling a sense of wrongness about the scent of the father I was hugging, I looked up. Father's purple eyes looked black today.
-- Father?
Before the feeling that something was wrong could occupy my chest, Father's large hand began stroking my hair. The hand gently stroking my hair felt good, and I couldn't help but doze off. I sensed him picking me up and carrying me to the bed, so this time I grabbed his clothes so I wouldn't lose him. Then, as if Father had given up on returning to Mother's side, he got into bed with me.
-- No goodnight kiss, but if he'll sleep with me, I guess that's okay...
Having obtained a measure of satisfaction, I pressed myself against Father. I don't have many memories of being so clingy in this life, but it's fine once in a while. Because I have memories of being an adult in my past life, I couldn't cling openly like a normal child, but at least for tonight.
...Good night, Father, Mother.
When I came to, it was morning. I don't remember getting into bed myself, so Leonardo must have carried me. In my dream, I felt like Father had carried me to bed, but that couldn't be possible.
...From where was it a dream?
As I lay in bed thinking about such things, a pleasant smell drifted in from outside the canopy.
...The smell of coffee?
The closest smell was the aroma of coffee I'd encountered in my past life. I didn't know if the same thing existed in this world, but since things with different names that were actually the same thing existed, something coffee-like probably existed too.
Drawn by the smell, I emerged from the canopy to find Leonardo relaxing on the settee. He wasn't wearing last night's shirt, so he must have already changed.
"Smells good. What's that?"
As I approached the settee with my head still half-asleep, Leonardo showed me the contents of his cup. The amber liquid closely resembled coffee from my past life, not just in aroma but in appearance too.
"It's Ihoku. Might still be a bit early for Tina."
He offered me the cup, asking if I wanted a sip, so I tried a sip. The aroma was nice, and a slightly bitter flavor spread through my mouth.
...It's coffee, isn't it. The pattern where the name is different but it's the same thing.
The pattern of different names but the same thing lurks in surprisingly many places. For example, chickens are still 'niwatori' here, but when they become an ingredient as 'chicken meat,' the name changes to 'Nikitz.' The chicken meatball hot pot is 'Nikitz meatball hot pot.'
"...How is it?"
"A little bitter. But it smells good."
Having confirmed the name and the actual product, I returned the cup to Leonardo. In my past life I could drink it without sugar, but this bitterness was a bit tough for me now. I couldn't tell if it was due to the type of beans or the disadvantage of a toddler's sensitive tongue.
I slipped my arms through the clothes Tabitha had mended for me during the night. Since I just wear what's prepared, my preferences aren't reflected at all, but I felt like I could tell Leonardo's preferences. The contents of the closet leaned slightly toward red.
...Red has too strong an image of Sentai heroes, so I have a bit of resistance to it.
It also has the image of a seductive villainess's color. It's a color that requires some courage for someone like me to wear.
...But since the accent color is black, maybe it's not that Leonardo-san likes red and more that it matches Leonardo-san's armor?
The armor of Leonardo and the other Black Knights is, as their name suggests, all black. I don't know if it's a knight order regulation or something, but Leonardo and Alf both wore the same deep crimson capes. Realizing this, I peeked into the closet again, and besides the red clothes, there seemed to be a lot of black ones.
...Is it like a 'this is my kid' marking?
Tabitha said she'd fix my hair and led me to the vanity. I'd seen my face reflected in glass and water before, but seeing my face in this life directly in the mirror from the front, there was no room for complaint.
...If I grow up like this, I'm guaranteed to be a beauty in the future.
I should be careful of perverts. I was that kind of beautiful little girl.
...Facial preferences vary from person to person, but it felt like something anyone would have to acknowledge.
Anyone who could look at this face and call it 'ugly' or 'not cute' would have to have rotten eyes or live in some unique world with inverted aesthetic sense. It was a face that all ten out of ten people couldn't help but acknowledge as cute.
...Well, the moment the content is a fake little girl, even this precious cuteness gets a 'too bad' attached to the front of it.
I stared at myself in the mirror, my hair tied into twin tails, a style only permitted for little girls, and tilted my head. Naturally, the twin-tailed little girl in the mirror tilted her head too.
...If this weren't my own face in this life, I'd be writhing about how cute it is, wishing I could keep it in a photo.
When I moved to the dining room, breakfast was already prepared. The table was long, but perhaps because I'd shown resistance to eating alone at dinner, my seat was prepared right next to Leonardo. Tabitha and the others still didn't seem to sit at the same table, but since Leonardo was eating with me today, the atmosphere wasn't as awkward as last night.
"The bread is warm. Tabitha-san, did you bake it?"
When I picked up a round loaf of bread, it was slightly warm. I asked if it was homemade bread, and apparently a baker delivers bread every morning, and they warm it in the oven once to match breakfast time. A lovely bit of thoughtfulness.
Today's breakfast was lavish with bread and honey, a vegetable salad, thick-cut bacon, and tomato soup. Especially, while the ingredients weren't much different from vegetable soup, the fact that it was tomato soup was wonderful. Since it had been vegetable soup or pseudo-stew the whole time, I felt like I'd finally encountered a different flavor.
...And her soup really is properly delicious, Tabitha-san's soup.
What was wrong with my stew, I wonder. I want to either peek at Tabitha while she's cooking sometime, or learn cooking itself from her.
...Though my offer to help was turned down.
As I was eating breakfast while thinking about such things, Leonardo, as if accepting my plea from last night, started saying this:
"...If Tina says she wants to, let her help with some housework."
"But Tina-sama is..."
Work was something for servants to do, not something for someone of the master's lineage. I could tell Tabitha and Bart were confused.
"I'd like to get Tina a nurse maid or a tutor, but I don't have time to look for people until the fortress settles down."
Since she'd end up being left alone for a while, Leonardo continued, he wanted them to watch over her as a substitute babysitter during that time. Having someone of the master's lineage do chores confused Tabitha and the others, but in the end they accepted Leonardo's words. Since the master of the residence said so.
When breakfast ended, I walked with Leonardo to the gate as he headed back to the fortress. Since I'm being supported, I at least want to see off my guardian as he leaves for work. That was my intention.
...Why am I being carried, I wonder.
I wondered why, but the answer was simple. The pace of a little girl's steps was too slow, and Leonardo couldn't bear it.
...Well, even just going from the gate back to the residence is quite a distance on my legs, so it'll be a light walk.
While being obediently carried, we reached the gate. I hadn't been able to see their faces well yesterday, but at the gate, two young knights stood as gatekeepers.
"Remember these two's faces and names. Starting tonight, one of them will be stationed at the residence for night watch, so you won't be scared of ghosts or thieves."
The two gatekeepers were carefully introduced, and I stared at their faces to remember them. I wondered if increasing security because of me was an abuse of authority, but apparently the lord's residence was originally part of their security target, so I didn't need to worry about it. In fact, they said security had actually been reduced because the master rarely came home.
I saw off Leonardo as he headed for the fortress, then walked leisurely back to the residence. The path on my own feet felt like quite a distance. Taking breaks as I walked, I returned to the residence, thought for a while, and then walked around the building without going inside. When I moved to the back garden, there was the white building I'd found from the attic window last night.
...So this is where Tabitha-san and the others sleep?
As I approached, I saw what seemed to be an herb garden beside the building. Several types were the same as what Aurelia had at her house, making it a somehow calming corner. The scent of herbs reminded me a little of Aurelia.
[Author's Note]
Thing names and such, if I get too particular, it's hard to remember them, but if they're all the same it feels strange, so they're inconsistent.
The Sedovara Church is a hospital-like facility that worships Sedovara, the god of medicine arts. The Menhishumi Church is a temple-school-like facility that worships Menhishumi, the god of knowledge and learning. There are also religious facilities that preach religion, but well, maybe they'll appear eventually, or maybe not.
I'll fix any typos and missing characters later.
Fixed the typos and missing characters I noticed.