After we bid farewell to Nigel and Lady Natalia, Phil and I continued to have fun walking around the menagerie and looking at its wide collection of animals. But after a while, Phil suddenly stopped. When I followed his line of sight, I saw that he was staring straight inside of a cage.
“It’s adorable,” Phil said.
“This thing...?”
“Yes. It looks like you.”
“Like me?”
What he was pointing at after he said those words was a purple snake that looked like it was venomous. The only thing that was similar between us was the color scheme. But perhaps that was really how I looked like in Phil’s eyes? It seemed that Phil was seriously taken by the reptile, because he was happily staring at it through the bars of the cage.
“Maybe I’ll try keeping one in the manor as a pet,” Phil said.
“I’m begging you, please don’t do that,” I hurriedly said.
Eventually, I will also live in House Lawrenson’s manor. I started to worry that if I didn’t stop him now, the manor would eventually become filled with purple animals. I firmly told him that Little Vio was more than enough to serve as the purple animal in his home, then pulled his arm to the next exhibit.
The next location we stopped at wasn’t an exhibit, but instead, it was the petting corner. Apparently, the animals in the corral were used to humans, and you could actually touch and feed them. I didn’t usually have the chance to interact with animals other than Little Vio, so I was really happy to be here.
I entered the petting area and immediately, several tiny rabbits hopped toward my feet. I felt my heart clench in my chest at their cuteness. I quickly purchased a basket full of carrot sticks and shredded cabbage, and gently fed it to the nearby rabbits.
“Hee hee, there’s no need to push. There’s plenty where that came from,” I said.
The rabbits looked so cute, and yet they ate with immense gusto. I couldn’t help but giggle a little at that. Then, for some reason, Phil made a face like he was trying not to cry.
“Phil?” I asked. Curious as to what the issue was, I stopped feeding the rabbits.
He stared at me and eventually, his expression softened and his eyes curved gently with his smile. “I love seeing you laugh, Viola. I’m happy that I got to see it so much today. Thank you.”
My vision clouded over slightly at his words and how truly happy he seemed. I should be the one thanking him.
“I’m grateful that you brought me here today. I’m so happy that I can enjoy such a wonderful experience.”
“I see. I’m gla—”
But as soon as Phil opened his mouth, a goat suddenly appeared from out of nowhere and slammed into him. He disappeared from my line of sight.
“A-Are you all right?” I asked.
“Yeah... Sorry.”
“Ahh!”
He’d been pushed to the ground so I leaned down to try and help him up, but this time, another goat charged at me from behind and I fell on top of him. The sign outside the petting area claimed that only gentle and well-behaved animals were in here, but in my opinion, the menagerie needed to take that sign down immediately.
I giggled, and as soon as I did so, I heard Phil start to laugh. It was just too funny how quickly that emotional atmosphere between us dispersed. We continued to laugh together for a while longer, staring at each other the entire time.
✦ ✦ ✦
After a while, it was noon and we decided to have our lunch in the park’s garden. It was a lovely place, with plenty of colorful blossoms in bloom. Phil and I sat down next to each other on one of the vacant benches. Then, a servant from House Lawrenson, who seemingly materialized from thin air, handed us the lunch boxes I’d given them this morning. They were so perfect at all of the tasks they were entrusted with, from fishing to taking care of Little Vio, that they never failed to astound me.
“As promised, I made us lunch,” I said.
“Thank you. I’m looking forward to tasting it,” Phil replied.
Though I didn’t know the specific location we’d be going to today, I’d heard that we’d be spending the day outside. So I woke up early and, along with my family chef, made lunch for us. Granted, since I wasn’t very good at cooking, I mostly served as the chef’s assistant and didn’t handle any major tasks. Despite that, Phil still thanked me with a happy look on his face.
“You’ve made the sandwiches so fun to eat. I don’t know when and where the fillings will fly out from, so it’s a very thrilling experience,” Phil said. “And thanks to how this egg dish seems to have fallen apart in the frying pan, it’s been cooked all the way through.”
I wasn’t sure what to say for a second, then I sighed. “I’m sorry that I’m forcing you to find things to compliment about this.”
My ugly food was scattered here and there in the beautiful lunch box. Phil was doing his best to find something positive to say about everything, but it was obvious he was pushing himself to do so. Hearing him compliment the taste and saying how happy he was still made me happy though, and I could feel affection welling up from within.
“Phil.”
As soon as I called his name, he immediately asked, “What’s the matter?” in a kind and gentle voice.
“I love you.”
In the face of his unconditional support, I desperately wanted to tell him my feelings at this moment. Normally, I’d get much too embarrassed to say the words. But they came out with surprising ease.
Phil’s eyes widened in surprise, but after a second he let out a heavy sigh and looked down.
“I’m so happy I could die... In fact, I feel like I did die.”
“Hee hee, don’t do that.”
I remembered that we had a similar conversation in the past.
“I love you as well,” Phil said. “Thank you.”
Seeing him say that, his face bright red, made me feel some belated embarrassment about my own confession. Unsure of what to say, we stared at each other, and a slightly awkward silence stretched between us.
“Um... If you’d like, I have some after cookies and tea we can have as dessert.”
I couldn’t handle the silence anymore and took out a tea set that I’d brought with me. Phil nodded and thanked me before he slowly reached his hand out.
“This cookie is so refreshing,” he said.
“That’s some leftover cabbage I was feeding to the rabbits,” I replied.
He’d lost more of his composure than I thought, because he made an unbelievable mistake just now with the food.
“I was so happy that I couldn’t even tell the difference between the two flavors,” he said.
“Oh, you.”
Despite my worries over Phil’s digestive system, I still smiled happily. Once we finished our dessert, we observed the beautiful flowers and the people passing us by, chatting cheerily the entire time.
“Taking care of a child is a lot more work than I expected...” Phil suddenly murmured.
Where did that come from? Why’s he suddenly talking about children? I was confused until I noticed that there were a lot of parents with their children around us. He must’ve been reminded of something upon seeing them.
“Yes, that sounds about right,” I said. “Children are so small that they have to have an adult protecting them. You could also say that childhood is the time when they’re allowed to be selfish, and let the adults spoil them.”
I remembered my parents spoiling me rotten when I was a child. Even now, when I thought back to the days of my youth and all the love my parents showered upon me, my heart felt warm.
“I see. That makes sense.”
“Hmm?”
Oddly enough, Phil looked like my reply solved some conundrum he had. He murmured, “Thank you. I’ll give it a try.”