abcnovels
Chapter 696
Chapter 696
Chapter 696
The children enjoyed digging
“Wuff! Wuff!”
“I want to dig too!”
“Liza. Calm down. You wouldn’t want to hurt yourself.”
“Okay, papa!”
“Ah, I want to do it too.”
“Kii? Kii…”
“Tilura… Should the duke’s daughter really be doing something like that?”
“Well, Leo is doing it. And it is just for play. Having fun is what is important. Still, be careful, Tilura.”
“Yes, father!”“Kyau!”
“You too, Sherry? Very well… Just do what Leo is doing then.”
As Leo started diffing another hole, Liza and Tilura started digging with their hands as well.
Unsurprisingly, Ms. Anne did not join them, but she laughed and watched.
She had started to act like an older sister around Liza and Tilura recently. I suppose it was due to being at the mansion and being close to Claire.
“Yes, yes. It’s good to have fun. There’s nothing like the sight of innocent children playing. It reminds me of when Claire was young. Though, she was also quite the troublemaker. One time, she put balls of mud on my dinner plate and tried to make me eat them… Compared to that, this is nothing.”
“Father! Must you bring up old memories like that? And in front of Mr. Yakumi…”
“Well, such things are hard to forget. Still, if only you had just wanted to show me them…”
“Father!”
I could easily imagine Claire serving her father dirt on a plate. It was no wonder he didn’t know what to do.
What if Liza did that to me? Even Leo wouldn’t eat that. So I would have to figure out a way to get out of doing it…
“Mr. Takumi. What are you thinking about?”
“Oh, I was just imagining if Liza did the same to me.”
“As if I would teach Liza to do that! You are making fun of me too, Mr. Takumi.”
“Haha. Well, your reactions are amusing.”
“Ah, Mr. Takumi. If you want to know what to do when that happens…”
“Father!”
“Oh, Claire is angry. We better drop the subject then.”
“Leo. Don’t dig too deep, alright?”
“Wou!”
After teasing Claire, we watched them playing for some time. Leo would sometimes get carried away, and so I would have to remind her.
One meter was dangerous enough, but if she were to dig deep enough that a human could not get out… It would be very bad if someone fell in and no one noticed.
“Still, Mr. Takumi. If Leo continues to dig holes and fill them up again, it will help to soften the soil.”
“Yes, that’s true. Though, I think that the soil was already quite soft to begin with.”
It had rained not long ago, so the ground was on the soft side. I didn’t know how much of a difference Leo’s efforts would make…but it was probably better than nothing. Well, I suppose I could praise her for it later.
…Even though she was likely not thinking about that.
—
The next day, after eating breakfast, it was time to see Mr. Ekenhart and the others off, as they would be returning to the main house.
It was Mr. Ekenhart, three guards, and Ms. Anne.
However, since a carriage was too slow and boring, they would only be traveling on horseback. I hoped that Ms. Anne would survive.
“Now, Mr. Takumi, Claire, Tilura, Leo… Goodbye for now.”
“Yes, be safe.”
“Please be careful, father.”
“Goodbye, father!”
“Yes. Next time… Yes, I shall visit when Mr. Takumi and Claire’s house is ready. And then we can celebrate.”
“Father!?”