“Hm? Lady Riche?” I said, taken aback for a brief moment.
Claire tactfully continued with the pleasantries. “Are you all going picnicking?”
“Yes. It’d be a waste not to do so on such a rare holiday with such blessed weather,” the pope replied.
“We all made lunchboxes together. Even Mother helped out,” Yu said.
“Well, I couldn’t very well stand by and watch when there was so much to be made, now could I?” Riche said.
“Everyone, what do you say?” Misha said to the children.
“Good morning!” the children called.
It appeared the four of them were taking the children out for a picnic. But why would the pope, as well as Riche and Yu, two cardinals, be…
Huh? What had I been thinking about just now?
“Are you four heading to that hill over there as well?” Yu asked.
“Yes. The view is wonderful from there,” Claire said.
“Same as us, then. If you’d like, maybe we could picnic together?” the pope suggested.
“It would be an honor, Your Holiness. The more the merrier.”
“Thank you, Miss Claire. In truth, four people wasn’t quite enough to watch over all these children.”
“Julia! Please stay with the group!” Misha called.
In total, there were about twenty children from the orphanage, a difficult number for an inexperienced group like theirs to manage. That realization gave me newfound respect for the preschool teachers of my old world; they must have been more skilled than I could even imagine. Lady Riche in particular seemed to have it rough as the children ran circles around her, perhaps because she wasn’t used to dealing with children at all.
Our groups met up, and we headed for the hill. After some walking, and much noise, we came out into a clearing.
“We’re here, everyone. Shall we eat first?” the pope said, and the children broke into groups to spread out picnic blankets, laying the food out on top.
“No eating yet. Wait until everyone’s ready, please,” Yu said.
“Everyone, let’s say grace together,” Riche said.
“Hands together, everyone. Ready?” Misha said. “We thank thee, Almighty Spirit God, for the nourishment we shall now receive.”
“Amen!” everyone said together.
The children dug in as soon as we finished.
“Hey, hey, what are those?” a child asked.
“These? They’re sandwiches,” May said.
“They look yummy! Wanna trade one for my boiled egg?”
“Sure!”
“I’ll trade you this for one too!” Aleah said.
The twins were shy around the other children at first but were soon hitting it off. How sweet.
This hill must have been a really popular picnic spot as there were a number of other people around. There were families like ours, what I presumed to be couples, and even what looked to be a mother-daughter pair, the mother clad in pitch-black armor and the daughter in a dress a princess might wear—
Wait, what?
“Hm? If it isn’t Rae Taylor and Claire François.”
“What…? Your Imperial Majesty Dorothea?” I said.
“H-hey! Don’t ignore me, I’m here, too, Rae!”
“Good morning, Philine. C’mon, Rae. Don’t be rude,” Claire chided me.
“Oh, no, I wasn’t ignoring her or anything, it’s just…” What were they doing here? This was Bauer, not Nur. In the first place, Dorothea was—was what, again? I feel like it was just on the tip of my tongue…
“What’s the matter, Rae Taylor? Did my daughter’s loveliness blind you? Humph, of course it did. But make no mistake: My daughter belongs to me and me alone,” Dorothea said.
“Wha—Mother! Jeez, what are you saying?!” Philine objected.
“Nothing more than the truth.”
“I know no such truth! Humph!”
“Ha ha ha, you’re adorable, my dear.”
They seemed to get along swimmingly. Not a single snag between them…but was that really—
“Your Imperial Majesty, should you be wearing armor to a picnic?” Claire asked.
“Don’t fret, Claire François. This is my leisure armor.”
“Such a thing exists?!”
“Indeed. It’s actually made out of paper.”
“But wouldn’t a passing rain ruin it?!”
That’s the part you’re hung up on, Miss Claire? I frowned. “Um, Your Imperial Majesty?”
“What?”
“How are you feeling?”
“You’re worried about me? This picnic weather must have you feeling rather off. Perhaps it’ll even start raining out of nowhere. Humph, I’d rather not be caught wet in my leisure armor.”
I felt an overwhelming sense of discomfort hearing the words “picnic” come out of Dorothea’s mouth… No, that wasn’t what was bothering me. Like, what kind of armor is made out of paper—no, no, that wasn’t it either…
“Sorry, I just had to ask,” I said.
“Fair enough, then. I’m the very picture of good health. In fact, I can’t say I’ve ever had so much as a cold in my life.”
“Yeah, they say idiots can’t catch colds…” I muttered under my breath.
“Hm? Did you say something?”
“Nothing at all. I wish you the best of health.”
“As do I myself. I can’t have Philine worrying about me.”
“That’s right. Mother has to stay healthy forever!” Philine said.
They seemed incredibly close. Like, hearts flying out everywhere-level close.
“Our family bond isn’t one to lose out to theirs. Right, Yu?” Riche said, her competitive spirit having been lit.
“Of course, Mother,” Yu replied. “But I’d be happy if you could share some of your affection with Misha as well…”
“Whatever are you saying? It’s precisely because I’m so taken with her that I’m harsh on her. She’s proven to be an excellent wife for my daughter.”
“A-aha ha ha, thank you…” Misha awkwardly laughed. She was a bit timid around Riche. How cute.
“Humph… You two seem quite lovey-dovey as well. But you’re no match for the love between me and my daughter,” Dorothea said, looking at Misha and Yu.
“Impossible! You cannot find a more perfect couple than my dear Yu and Misha!” Riche exclaimed.
“M-Mother?!”
“Mother, please, you’re embarrassing me…”
“Oh, goodness…”
Philine, Yu, and Misha suffered psychologically from their parents’ competitiveness. I watched on with mild amusement, nibbling away at my sandwich, yet unaware that I was about to be dragged into this.
“If you’re competing at lovey-doveyness, allow me and Rae to join as well!” Claire exclaimed.
I spat out my food and exclaimed, “Miss Claire?!”
“What, Rae? Do you have an objection?”
“I…I don’t know! Isn’t this whole thing just weird?!”
“How so?”
“That’s… I’m not sure, but something’s strange!” It was like I was watching a drama where all the developments were just a little too convenient to be realistic. I felt dizzy from the unplaceable sense that something was off, but the feeling was quickly dispelled by the appearance of two intruders.
“St-stop right there! We have a right to partake in this lovey-dovey contest as well!”
“Humph.”
Joining the fray was Lilly and—