Sidestory – 4

As I was strolling along the castle, Adelaide approached me with a bright smile and ran towards me.

I was talking with my companions, but I lowered my posture when I saw my daughter, accompanied by her maid.

“Daughter!”

At six years old, she could now run well and speak clearly.

Her face was always adorned with a healthy smile, and her body had grown strong.

Every little thing about her as she grew up hit my heart deeply.

She was just so adorable.

With hair like Vivian’s and eyes that were dangerous to my heart, she looked just like her mother.

No longer a baby, she suddenly ran to me and, just like a little child, hugged me tightly.

I couldn’t help but shower her with kisses because she was so lovely.

“You’re not in your room again, and you’ve come looking for Dad?”

“Hehe! I thought you might be bored!!”

“You’re not looking for me to skip class, are you?”

“No! Ask Lady Linne! I did really well today!”

“Really?”

The maids spoke on her behalf.

“She worked really hard in her studies today. She was so determined to finish quickly and come see Lord Kailo.”

Such a silly smile seemed to be creeping up on my face.

Still holding Adelaide in my arms, I continued to dote on her.

“Really? Our Adelaide is so beautiful. If you’ve worked hard, you should be rewarded. How about a walk by the river?”

“Yes! Let’s take a boat ride! And…”

“And?”

Adelaide smiled slyly and whispered into my ear.

“…without Mom!”

“Adelaide!!”

At that moment, I heard a familiar voice coming from afar.

How she knows when to show up and say something like that.

“Ugh.”

I shuddered, and Adelaide, in my arms, hid her face as well.

From a distance, the red-haired devil, who looked just like Vivian, was walking toward us in a huff.

She stood before us and said directly to Adelaide,

“…I told you not to cling to your father like that. You should be able to walk on your own.”

“I’m not clinging to him because I can’t walk. I’m clinging to him because I like him.”

…Vivian wasn’t happy about that.

I spoke softly to Adelaide,

“Adelaide is still a little baby.”

Our daughter, as she grew, had learned how to scratch at Vivian.

She never acted like this when alone, but she trusted me enough to do it.

“Come on, get down. A young lady shouldn’t act like this.”

“…But Mom clings to Dad like a baby too. I saw it yesterday. You sat on Dad’s lap like this, like this, rubbing your neck.”

Adelaide mimicked Vivian from yesterday, rubbing her head against my neck.

The same scent of flowers that reminded me of Vivian filled the air.

The maids suppressed their laughter at Adelaide’s sharp observation.

Vivian’s face flushed red.

“Well, when did I—”

“I saw everything, you know? Honey, hug me a little harder.”

“Adelaide!”

Vivian quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment from Adelaide’s continuous teasing.

I understood Vivian’s reaction.

Adelaide had always been an affectionate child.

I had helplessly surrendered to this personality, and as Vivian had worried, at times, I paid more attention to Adelaide than I should have.

Vivian didn’t openly show jealousy in front of the child, but whenever we were alone in the room, she would get quite jealous.

Especially if she’d had one more drink, it would get exaggerated.

“…Do you really love her more than me, Kailo? Hehe, just be honest with me. Really?”

“I love you more, Vivian. I just take more care of her because she’s a child.”

I was being completely honest.

I loved Adelaide too, but comparing my feelings for her to Vivian’s was difficult.

They were fundamentally different kinds of love, so it was hard to make a comparison.

With Adelaide, it was love that I just wanted to give.

With Vivian, it was a reciprocal love, a love that was shared.

With Adelaide, I only wanted to show her the good sides of me.

With Vivian, I showed both my strengths and my weaknesses.

No matter how much I loved my child, I couldn’t help but feel that the woman I chose to be with was more lovable.

And Adelaide’s playful nature made me want to give her a playful smack on the head sometimes.

Raising a child was no easy task.

However, no matter how much I explained this to Vivian, every time she saw me favoring Adelaide, it made her flare up.

“Why can’t Adelaide be like that, too? You hug Dad like a baby, don’t you? You’re much older than Adelaide, you know?”

“Older…! …Huh.”

Vivian let out a long sigh.

Her gaze changed.

As soon as Adelaide saw this, she seemed to realize something.

Vivian moved closer to me and called me,

“Kailo?”

“…Uh, yeah?”

“Kiss me.”

I shrugged and leaned in to kiss her.

Vivian held my cheek, and with a light yet deep kiss, pressed her lips to mine.

Her playful, half-lidded eyes locked onto Adelaide as she did so.

“Did you see that?”

Vivian smiled as she spoke.

“…Dad is Mom’s.”

Adelaide looked at me as if to ask, ‘What’s the big deal?’

As if she could do whatever she wanted if she tried.

“Dad, kiss.”

Pinch.

At that moment, Vivian pinched my bottom.

The strength in her hand wasn’t ordinary, and I knew it was a proper warning.

I glanced at Vivian.

There was a flame burning in her eyes.

Perhaps because I gave her a kiss in front of the maids, it seemed like she was genuinely upset.

Vivian is recently pregnant with our second child.

In this situation, I was the weaker one.

Besides, if I ignored Vivian’s warning now, her jealousy at night would be too much to handle.

If I don’t pick a side here, the backlash will be huge.

At the same time, Adelaide’s tendency to provoke Vivian needed to be reined in.

If I don’t show respect for Vivian, my children will start ignoring her later.

With a heart full of tears, I said to Adelaide.

“Dad is Mom’s, right?”

Vivian laughed softly and said.

“I told you, Dad is Mom’s.”

Adelaide, looking momentarily shocked, pouted and buried herself in my arms.

Vivian, as though she was letting out all the pent-up frustrations, continued to tease Adelaide.

“Adelaide, it’s great that you want to get along with Dad, but you need to get permission from Mom first. Like I said, Dad is Mom’s.”

“Waaaaah!”

At that moment, Adelaide began crying bitterly.

It was the kind of sudden and harsh tears typical of children.

Both Vivian and I were at a loss, not knowing what to do.

We immediately raised the white flag.

“Okay, it was a joke. Come on, kiss Dad!”

“Oh, it was a joke from Mom too. Ah, Adelaide kept complaining only to Mom.”

“Waaaaah!”

Only after Adelaide burst into tears did we both feel embarrassed and couldn’t handle it anymore.

What were we doing to our child?

I gently rocked Adelaide in my arms and then suggested.

“Oh, right! Adelaide, how about we go on a boat ride down the river, just the two of us? Without Mom!”

“…I-I mean… okay. I’ll let Mom off this time.”

“A-Anyway, stop crying. Mom is sorry.”

Hearing those words, Adelaide, who had been sobbing, started to calm down and wrapped her arms around my neck.

I exchanged a look with Vivian.

Vivian nodded and told me to go quickly.

It was hard to watch Vivian crouching down with a resigned expression.

“Phew, it’s fine.”

Just as Vivian’s figure faded, Adelaide suddenly sighed deeply.

“…??”

I looked down at her, surprised.

Adelaide grinned and said.

“If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to go on the boat with Dad. I beat Mom.”

I burst out laughing.

She must be smart like Vivian or something.

“Aren’t you upset?”

“Why would I be upset? Dad is Mom’s. But Mom, trying to make a big deal out of it, is childish.”

I scratched my head and gave Adelaide a gentle tap on the head.

Thunk.

“Ah!”

“…Don’t tease Mom like that.”

Her expression was cute, but I still had to give her a warning.

“…Are you mad, Dad?”

Adelaide asked anxiously.

“You should show as much love to Mom as you do to me. Mom is precious to Dad too.”

“…When we go back, I’ll apologize. I’m sorry, Dad.”

“…It’s fine now. Let’s go have fun. Relax and enjoy.”

“…Okay!”

I smiled and patted Adelaide on the head.

Then, we got on the boat together and I kept showering her with affection.

After enjoying some time with my daughter, we went to find Vivian.

Adelaide apologized to Vivian for teasing her.

Vivian, amazed by her boldness, laughed out loud.

Then, she gently patted Adelaide’s head, as though finding her adorable.

In the end, as a parent, no matter what our child does, we couldn’t bring ourselves to be mad.

And so, that night, perhaps because of everything that had happened during the day, I had to show Vivian affection in a different way, an adult’s way, just like I did with Adelaide.

Vivian loved receiving affection from me even more than Adelaide did.

By the time it was almost dawn, Vivian returned a happy smile to me.

With that smile, she asked.

“…Who does Adelaide take after, to act like that?”

Was it really necessary to ask?

I answered.

“She’s just like you, Vivian.”