episode_0069

Ayla’s mother was a middle-aged woman who looked like Ayla would grow up to be. She had wrinkles that symbolized the passage of time that could not be hidden here and there, and she would ignore various things and salivate when serving, so that people would somehow compliment her and say she was her older sister.

On the other hand, the father looked quite weak-willed. Unlike the family members Ayla had seen so far, he had red hair that was close to orange, and he looked very innocent, had a faint smile, and was a cute old man with a plump belly. However, behind that smile now, he looked a little embarrassed. Ayla answered without being particularly surprised, as if it wasn’t the first or second time she had heard that.

“Are you saying that again? I said I have no intention of marrying Cedric until I graduate from the academy? Why would I marry Cedric in the first place?”

“Then, who else would you pair up with if not Cedric? Where in this town can you find a son-in-law as good as Cedric?”

Ayla wasn’t surprised, but she seemed to be annoyed and annoyed by this, as if she had heard it many times before. Ayla spoke while nervously poking her fork into her portion of meat.

“In the first place, wouldn’t it be more of a loss for me to marry someone like Cedric? Doesn’t Mom have any idea what my grades are? I could join any knighthood, right?”

I drank the herbal tea with excitement, hoping that the boy Cedric, who was not only treated like a man by the woman he loved, but was treated like a malicious object, would have another good relationship in the future. It was my first time drinking this tea, but I liked the flavor quite a bit.

“Why don’t knights get married? And let’s say Cedric is inferior to you. Then who else would you marry besides Cedric? Are you going to grow old alone? Are you going to find a commoner in the Order who will get along with you? I don’t know if you can actually join the Order, but are both your parents knights? ”

“Ugh..”

Ayla stopped moving the fork that was poking the meat. If both her father and mother were knights, as her mother said, it might have been quite a difficult environment for the child.

If there was nothing special going on and it was peaceful, then it wouldn’t matter, but… being a reporter is often away from work for one reason or another, and it’s also a dangerous job.

“What do you mean, do you have something to say? This. Were we telling you to get married right away and have a baby? You do that yourself, and for now, we’re telling you to get engaged to Cedric. Or do you have someone in mind? I don’t think that’s the case.”

“There it is!”

At that moment, Aila, who had been listening to her mother’s words pouring out, suddenly shouted. A cold silence fell over the restaurant. Her mother’s eyes became mysterious.

“Oh, there’s someone I like… Could you please tell me their name, or at least introduce them to me?”

“Hey, here! We’re already dating!”

Ayla grabbed Mathias, who was blankly staring with a red face, and dragged him away. Mathias blinked his eyes, looking quite embarrassed. Of course, it was the same for Cosette and the others, who had somehow become spectators in this situation and were only eating the food without even being able to breathe properly, and my mother was the same.

Unlike her usual easygoing attitude, my mother dropped the utensils she was holding onto the plate. She remained silent for a moment, unable to say anything, then tilted her teacup, took a sip of herbal tea, and took a deep breath.

“..I’m sorry. I just knew that my daughter liked to swing swords.. I didn’t know anything about you.”

“Uh..Huh? No, well.. I didn’t say anything.. We’re not friends since I came to the academy..”

Aila was obviously flustered by her mother’s sudden change in attitude. Even so, judging from the fact that she was poking Mathias’s side invisibly, it seemed like she was asking for a kiss for a moment. Of course, she didn’t think she really wanted to kiss him, did she? Leah Jock.

“..Still, you could have told me before you left home. Even then, I kept nagging you to marry Cedric.. Mom, I never dreamed you liked women.”

“Krrr!”

At that moment, it was Agnes who burst into laughter while quietly eating, hiding her presence. Agnes, with her face flushed red, covered her mouth and desperately held back her laughter.

Of course, it was the same for Cosette, and I had to admit that my poker face, which I had practiced for many years, had experienced a rather powerful crisis for a moment. Ayla stared blankly at her mother for a moment, then shouted.

“No, I’m not a woman! Even though I look like this, I’m still a man!”

“Uh.. Ah.. Mi, I’m sorry. What’s Ayla’s boyfriend’s name..?”

“This is Matias. You don’t have to apologize, it happens often. ”

Mathias accepted it calmly without any particular reaction, and Ayla’s mother also kept fanning her face with her hand with an embarrassed expression to cool down the heat on her face. The serious atmosphere disappeared at some point, and the mother spoke again.

“Then… Mr. Mathias. I’m sorry to ask you this all of a sudden. Mr. Mathias, do you plan on marrying Ayla?”

“If I were to tell you that I don’t mind getting married right now, I’d probably be lying. But my feelings for Ayla are sincere. When I graduate from the academy, I’ll formally propose to Ayla.”

“Ugh, huh. Heee..”

Ayla’s face turned bright red and she let out a strange moan as she watched Mathias talking about the proposal in a straightforward manner. Her mother, who was looking back and forth between Ayla and Mathias, closed her eyes and nodded.

“Yes. Then I will stop talking about this story. Thank you for answering the burdensome story, Mr. Mathias.”

“I am the one who is grateful that you allowed me to associate with Ayla.”

Ayla’s face was now so red that it seemed as if it was going to burst. Cosette, who was looking at her, had the corners of her mouth almost touching her ears.

.

.

.

After dinner, we gathered in an empty room. Ayla hesitated and tried not to make eye contact with Mathias as she spoke.

“I… Matias… Thank you. For accommodating me under difficult circumstances…”

“It’s okay. It’s nothing. If you’re my friend, you should help me.”

“Uh, yeah.. friend. Right. Friend.”

Ayla muttered the word friend absentmindedly. As I was leaving Ayla alone and chatting away about something trivial, someone knocked on the door.

“Sister! Can I come in?”

“Just sleep.”

“I hate it!”

Even just listening for a moment, you could clearly tell that they were young, and a high-pitched voice could be heard chattering. Ayla got up immediately, strode over, and opened the door wide.

“Our cute twins!”

“Wow!”

“Hello.”

The ones standing in front of the door were two little girls, each with long red hair that reached their waists, similar to the ones Ayla had seen with her father earlier. Just as Ayla had said, they had identical, cute faces that made it seem like they were definitely twins, but one side was smiling brightly while the other had a blank expression on its face, as if it was annoyed.

Their reactions were also distinctly different, just like their facial expressions. When Ayla lifted the girls up with one hand and spun them around in place, one of them squealed in delight, but the other showed no reaction. The sight of them quietly standing there with a blank expression was even cuter.

Even though they were just little kids, there was something odd about seeing Ayla, a girl, lift up her younger siblings. Of course, everyone in the group except for Agnes could do it, but it was still a bit odd to see it with my own eyes.

Ayla gave her younger siblings a kiss on the cheek, then put them down on the ground and brought them to us.

“Okay, this is Lini, this is Lenny. How old are our twins now?”

“6 years old!”

“Hmm.”

The one who jumped up and answered was Linny, and the one who gave an expressionless answer with a finger was Lenny. It was really easy to tell them apart. Ayla patted the twins on the head.

“These are my sister’s friends. In order, Cosette, Agnes, Mathias, and the princess.”

“Princess!?”

“Lies.”

As soon as Ayla finished speaking, Lini came running towards me. Lenny didn’t run either, but judging from the way he slowly approached me and spoke to me, I thought he was curious about the same thing.

I thought about smiling to act as a kind and pretty older sister, but since it had been so long since I had smiled, I didn’t have the confidence to move my face properly, so I gave up for the time being.

“It’s just a nickname. It’s Ayla’s prank.”

“But why are you covering your face, unnie?”

“..Lini. You shouldn’t ask that.”

Lenny hit Linnie on the head with a slap. It was so cute, and it didn’t even hurt. Linnie just looked bewildered with her eyes sparkling. I searched hard for words to say in response, and then simply answered.

“My sister is a little sick.”

“Does it hurt? What should I do..”

“Lini you idiot.”

As soon as she heard my answer, Linnie clasped her hands and stamped her feet. Lenny blamed Linnie, but her indifferent expression seemed to be turning slightly sad. I gently and gently patted their heads.

“Yeah, no. Right now, I’m not sick at all, so Linina and Leni don’t have to worry about you. Right, Ayla?”

“Of course. You’d be surprised if you knew how strong this girl is?”

I felt my heart, which had been devastated by my academy life, being healed quite a bit by the cuteness of the twins who had brought smiles back to my face, and we continued to have fun together until the two of them got sleepy and went to bed.