Lydie pointed at Allen and declared, “You’re infinitely better than that rogue! In fact, I couldn’t have thought of a better mother myself.”
“R-Rogue...? You shouldn’t talk like that about him, Lydie. Allen’s your father now.” Though she chided Lydie, Charlotte was all smiles. She seemed relieved that Lydie had accepted her.
“Hey, that’s not fair, Lydie!” Natalia said, flinging her arms around Charlotte and squeezing her tight. “She’s my dear sister! You can’t have her all to yourself.”
“Hmph, she’s my dear Maman!”
“M-Maman...?! B-Be nice to each other, both of you!” Charlotte fretted over the two girls squealing at each other. As a mother (level 1), it seemed she was going to face a rocky road ahead.
Smirking, Eluka nudged Allen with her elbow. “You’re pretty smooth sometimes, bro. How does it feel to become a dad before you even get married?”
“I-It just happened. What else could I have done?” Allen mumbled, clearing his throat. Although...on paper, Charlotte isn’t named as Lydie’s guardian. Of course, since Charlotte was still wanted as a criminal, he couldn’t put her name on the registration papers. It was just some paperwork, but still—her life would only begin afresh when she could write her own name in situations like that, without hiding from authorities.
As Allen was pondering such things, the others were getting more excited.
Roo stood right in front of Lydie and proudly huffed through her snout. “So that means, you’re my little sis, Lydie. You can call me big sis!”
“Mrr, I suppose it is true you were Charlotte’s first daughter... Fine. I shall call you Big Sister Roo.”
“And you may call me Esteemed Sister Gosetsu.”
“Understood, Grand-maman.”
“Oh dear, feeling rebellious already, are we? All the more reason to teach you some manners...” Gosetsu said ominously.
“Eep!” Lydie flinched. She somehow mustered up her fighting spirit and drew herself up to her full height. “T-Try it, I dare you! With dear Maman on my side, I have nothing to fear!”
“Be nice, Lydie,” Charlotte said gently. “You and Gosetsu should be friends too.”
“Urgh...b-but Maman, she makes me shiver...!” Lydie went back to clinging to Charlotte in the end.
They may have been teasing the former saint, but everyone had welcomed her in as part of the family. Perhaps Lydie could sense this in the air—her expression had certainly softened.
Finally, the case was settled. At least for now.
Allen covered his face with his hand and heaved a lengthy sigh, steeling himself to confront the final, most formidable adversary.
It looks like everything’s going to be all right with Lydie. Now, all that’s left to do is...give Charlotte her birthday present.
The final test was none other than the first kiss that he had promised her.
♢
A few hours later, as the hour approached midnight, Allen was slumped lifelessly over the living room sofa. “I-I’m spent...” he groaned.
Just a short while ago, the mansion had been lively with chatter, but now silence fell over the mansion. Allen sat in the living room, surrounded by the scattered remains of gift boxes and paper bags of various sizes. The plates they’d used for dinner were still on the table, the telltale traces of a hearty party. The room was filled with the special hush that comes after a jovial celebration.
With a sigh, he looked down at his lap, where Lydie lay sleeping peacefully, her soft, regular breathing audible in the silence, her hands clutching his clothes.
“Never knew...being a dad was this tiring...”
There was a very good reason they ended up like this tonight. With Lydie starting her new life at the mansion, the newly formed family naturally found that they needed to buy all kinds of things—like a change of clothes, stationery for studying, picture books, and various daily necessities. Though there was enough stock in the house to cover some of those needs, he obviously hadn’t had any clothes for children at hand.
At first, he thought they could go shopping in the city the next day, but Charlotte proclaimed with much enthusiasm, “Time to go shopping! If we set out now, we can get to Flora’s Golden City before they close!”
“Ooh, good thinking! Come on, let’s go, bro!”
“Uh, okay...?”
Since everyone was up for it, they all went out to the city then and there. Charlotte and Eluka led the way, buying clothes and whatnot for Lydie. Allen stood by at a little distance, watching them absentmindedly.
“You’re so cute, Lydie! Could you try this one on next?” Charlotte said.
“You have excellent taste, dear sister. I’d like the same one in a different color too,” Natalia chimed in.
“Hmm. But isn’t this all a bit too extravagant...? Isn’t Allen the one footing the bill?” Lydie said.
“What’s that?” Allen’s fighting spirit flared at Lydie’s reluctance. “Don’t be stupid. Our finances are much better than you think. Going on a spending spree for a little kid like you wouldn’t even make a dent!” He turned to Flora, the owner of the shop. “All right! I want all the preschool education books here—everything on the shelves!”
“Thank you very much, as always!” Flora sang in response.
“Would you like me to call Miach? I think you’ll need another pair of hands to carry everything back...” Jill, the part-time shop attendant, suggested.
Since Flora and Jill extended their opening hours for Allen’s unrestrained shopping, he wound up purchasing as much as he wanted, to his heart’s content.
“So...” Lydie whispered to Gosetsu, eyeing the mountain of things at the checkout counter. “It’s just like I suspected—he’s the type to ruin himself for a woman, isn’t he?”
“You certainly do not need to be as long-lived as me to see that,” Gosetsu observed under her breath.
Allen was in a generous mood, so he decided to let their comments pass.
When they got back home, it was time to open everything they purchased. The whole process was punctuated by a fashion show featuring the new outfits. Eventually, Charlotte said, “Lydie, it’s time to go to bed.”
“Mrr...I’m...not sleepy...”
“You’re practically nodding off,” Allen pointed out, but Lydie refused to get off his lap. Earlier, she had been hugging a picture book, looking at him like she wanted to say something. Without any further prompting, he had taken her up on his lap and read her the book again and again.
But now, despite Lydie’s obvious sleepiness, she wouldn’t budge, no matter how much Charlotte tried to put her to bed. She clung to Allen’s shirt and shook her head. “Allen said he’ll read to me...so, just one more time...” she mumbled drowsily.
“Don’t worry, he’ll read for you tomorrow too. Won’t you, Allen?” Charlotte said.
“O-Of course. So go to bed, Lydie.”
“Nooo, I don’t wanna... I wanna stay here with Papa...”
“P-Papa...?!”
As Lydie wouldn’t listen, Allen had no other choice but to pat her on her back until she fell asleep. He was glad that whatever Lydie might say, she was really getting attached to him.
“Shall we go to bed too?” Natalia asked Charlotte with a big yawn.
“Yeah, you had a long day today, Mommy. You should get some rest,” Roo added.
“Y-Yes... Um, can I leave Lydie with you, Allen...?”
“Ah, uh-huh...I’ll take care of her...”
Charlotte and Natalia retired to their bedroom, Eluka had gone out for a late-night snack with Jill after his shift was over, and Gosetsu had gone out for a drink once again. Those who were free of responsibilities were as energetic as ever. And so, Allen found himself left all alone, holding the sleeping Lydie.
He looked up at the clock and buried his head in his hands. The darkness outside the window was growing deeper and deeper.
“Come on, it’s less than an hour till the end of her birthday...! What do I do? Should I go to her room right now...?!”
But Natalia and Roo were sharing Charlotte’s room. They should have fallen asleep by now, but what if they were still awake? If they caught him coming to Charlotte’s room, they would surely glare at him suspiciously. Tactless daredevil as he was, he was neither so strong nor so shameless that he could tell them to give him and Charlotte some space because he wanted to flirt with her. Besides, he couldn’t move because Lydie might wake up.
Mulling over his predicament, he realized something. “Wait, does Charlotte even remember what happened last night...?”
A kiss for her birthday. He was about to kiss her just a day ago, but so much had happened in the space of twenty-four hours. It wouldn’t be surprising if Charlotte had forgotten all about it by now.