Chapter Five: An Unexpected Peril
Chapter Five: An Unexpected Peril
On the day of the annual Costume Festival, the Scarlett household was filled with giggles and excitement. The girls were running in circles around the dining table, wearing their bunny costumes.
“Does anyone know what day it is?”
“I dooo! It’s the Fesibal!”
“Ding-ding-ding! Smart girl!”
“Ahhh, I can’t wait for it to start, m’kay?!”
The girls had gone to sleep early the night before, so they’d awoken equally as early. From the moment their little eyes had popped open, their excitement was palpable. They’d managed to have a normal, relatively quiet breakfast, but they broke loose right after cleaning up. Excited to go out, they began hopping around the table in their costumes.
It was like a festival without being at the actual, ongoing one. Anima couldn’t even imagine how excited they would get when they arrived at the Festival itself, but suffice to say, he was looking forward to experiencing it with them.
“Festival! Festival! Dress-up festival!”
“Fesibal! Fesibal!”
“Woooo! I can’t wait, m’kay?!”
Watching them put a smile on his face. It was definitely going to be a fun day.
“Such adorable little angels,” Anima murmured, to which Luina giggled while staring at the top of his head.
“You’re adorable too. That bunny hairband looks great on you.”
Luina praised his looks, but he was rather indifferent about it. Checking himself out in the mirror, he concluded that the accessory wasn’t going to become a part of his usual getup.
Luina, on the other hand, wore it gracefully. She was charming beyond words, as if bunny headbands had been created with the sole intent that she might one day wear one. The sight of such a beautiful, smart young woman wearing something so childishly innocent and cute had an indescribable appeal to it.
“It looks great on you, too. Maybe you should wear it more often.”
“I couldn’t possibly…” She stroked her bunny ears, then sheepishly looked down at the ground. “It’s too childish.”
“You’re just so lovely. Anything looks great on you, no matter how childish.”
“There you go again… I’ll wear it for the next Festival too, but you’ll have to wait until then.”
“That gives me one more reason to look forward to it.” He was already excited for the next year’s Festival, but for the time being, he was going to enjoy the current one. Anima clapped to gather everyone’s attention. “Is everyone about ready to get going?”
The girls excitedly hopped over to Anima.
“Look at us! We’re ready to go right now!”
“I’m ready to take on the cold, too! This costume’s nice and warm, m’kay?”
“Lessgooo!”
The girls were ready to roll, but Anima made sure to check everyone’s costumes, just in case. The wind howling outside made the day ahead look to be a cold one, but their snug, warm costumes seemed like they would be more than enough to mitigate that. He picked up his money pouch and extinguished the fire dancing in the fireplace, and they were ready to go.
“Are you okay?”
Luina was leaning against the table, her hands pressed against her mouth. She turned toward Anima, quickly put her hands down, and flashed a warm smile to dispel all his worries.
“I was about to sneeze, but it went away.”
“Do you want to put on something warmer? It looks cold outside.”
“This coat you bought me is plenty.”
Luina gently stroked the coat he’d bought for her during their date. They’d gone into a clothing store, where Anima had asked for their warmest item, and that coat was what they’d handed them. It was heavy, warm, and comfortable—sure to keep Luina warm even on the coldest of days.
“That’s good to hear, but aren’t your hands cold?”
“They are. Do you think you could warm them up for me?”
“With pleasure!”
Anima took her dainty hand, checked the fireplace one last time, and then left the house with his family in tow. It was certainly cold out, but even Bram seemed able to weather it well from inside her warm bunny costume.
“Which way is the Festival? I wonder if anyone knows, m’kay?”
“Umm, issober there!”
“Good job! You’re super perceptive, m’kay?”
“Lessgooo!”
“Quit running! It’s dangerous!”
“Try to catch me, m’kay?!”
“I’ll make you eat those words! I’m way faster than you!”
Joining in on the fun, Myuke started running and caught her almost immediately. Seeing her sisters having fun, Marie cantered over and hugged them.
Watching as the girls played, Anima, smiling happily, heard some unfamiliar sounds. Even over the sound of the girls playing, he could hear the sounds of the Festival despite being so far away, which only fueled his expectations. Excited for what was to come, they headed for Garaat.
They entered the familiar town painted in an unfamiliar light. Colorful will-o’-the-wisp plush toys hung from the buildings, while people in colorful costumes walked the streets. It was still early in the morning, but the streets were packed. Anima couldn’t even imagine how the streets would look like later in the day, but he was excited to find out.
“Hi, Wiwwy! I’m Marie!”
Marie waved at the will-o’-the-wisps, which represented the returning souls of the dead. Acting cheerful and kind to them was a form of reassuring them that everything was fine. Luina had decorated their dining room with her own plush will-o’-the-wisps, and naturally, the girls loved them.
While enjoying the buzz of the town, Marie started sniffing the air.
“I smell sweet!”
Myuke and Bram immediately switched their attention from the plushes to the mysterious smell.
“Oh yeah, I smell it too. I think it’s pastries.”
“Hmm… It’s coming from that way! Let’s go and check it out, m’kay?!”
“Lessgooo!”
“N-No, stop! You’ll get lost if you wander off on your own!”
Myuke was just as excited as they were about the prospect of baked goods, but she was reserved enough to not act rashly. She took her sisters’ hands and turned toward the source of the smell.
“I’m really glad that Myuke is so responsible,” Luina noted.
“Yes. She is definitely the oldest of the three.”
“I-It’s not a big deal,” Myuke replied meekly. “I’ll look after these two; you guys just stay here and kiss or something!”
Luina immediately went bright red.
“I can’t kiss him here!”
They’d shared a kiss in the plaza while on their date, but she still wasn’t fond of being intimate in public. If nothing else, the comment fueled Anima’s excitement for a kiss later, but first he had to fill his daughters’ stomachs.
“Okay, tell me, which one of you wants a treat?”
“Meee!”
“Let’s go, let’s go! I don’t want them to run out of pastries, m’kay?!”
“And I don’t want you to run out there and get lost, jeez!” Myuke protested, but maybe only ostensibly. Either the two excited girls had easily overpowered her, or she’d simply given in and only pretended to hold them back. Regardless, with her being pulled behind Bram and Marie, the family set off toward the source of the smell.
They soon arrived at a familiar bakery, which had a stall set up out front to do business from instead of making use of the full building like usual. The first thing that caught Anima’s eye was the dozens upon dozens of small, bite-sized pancakes they had prepared, and as he looked around, he found that people were enjoying eating them off of skewers.
“Nummy…”
“Look at them, they’re so small and cute! Mmm, I just wanna eat ’em all up, m’kay?!”
“Don’t just stand right in front of the stall like that! It’s rude!” Myuke chided as she wiped the drool off her face. She stood proudly, basking in her sisters’ respect for the eldest after confirming that they hadn’t caught her slip-up.
Though Bram and Marie had missed it, Anima hadn’t. The way his lovely daughters were drooling over the pancakes made him feel obliged to treat them. He took out his money pouch and approached the stall.
“Let me have as much as this can afford, please.”
The vendor went wide-eyed at the gold coin Anima tossed him.
“I’m sorry, Anima, but this is a fortune. We won’t be able to complete your order even if you give us the whole day. You’re a family of five, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have five copper?”
“I do, give me a moment.”
He fished out five copper pieces and watched as the man skewered the pancakes.
“Here you go. I hope you enjoy them.”
He took the five skewers and passed them out until all five of them had one. The girls’ broad smiles as they marveled at the sweet treats were priceless.
“Thanks, Daddy!”
“Thanks, m’kay?!”
“Thank you, Daddy!”
“You’re welcome,” Anima answered with a delighted smile. “It’s better to not walk with those, though, so let’s find a place to eat them.”
With the girls fixated on their pancakes, they all slowly moved to a quiet area where they wouldn’t be a bother to the stall. There, they started stuffing their cheeks.
“Yum! These are ultra delicious, m’kay?!”
“Yeah, I gotta admit, they’re great!”
“Sweet ’n nummy!”
“Be careful, girls,” Luina told them. “If you put too much in your mouth, it’ll get stuck in your throat.”
“But it’s so good! C’mon, try it!”
“All right, don’t mind if I do… Mmm, wow! You’re right, these are very tasty.”
Luina happily munched on her pancakes, one after another. Anima had noticed it while they were eating waffles on their date, but the pancakes fully convinced him that his wife had a sweet tooth.
“You can have mine too,” he told her.
“Do you not like sweets, Daddy?” Myuke asked.
“No, I do.”
“Then go ahead and eat up! They’re super sweet and tasty!”
“I agree, you should try it,” Luina added. “Here, let me help you. Say ‘Ahhh’, here comes the carriage!”
“Ahhh…” He reflexively opened his mouth. “Omnom… I have to admit, they’re very good.”
“Right?! It wouldn’t be a festival without some awesome food, that’s for sure!”
“I love fesibals!”
“Let’s find another place to stop at once we finish eating, m’kay?”
They devoured the rest of their pancakes in a flash, then threw the skewers into the garbage can placed next to the stall.
“What’re we gonna have next?” Myuke asked. She had been so hung up on acting like an adult, but was completely overtaken by the festive spirit. Seeing her loosen up a bit made Anima even more excited for the Festival.
The five of them took each others’ hands and started walking the busy streets. A couple moments into their journey for more unforgettable culinary experiences, loud roars, barks, and howls boomed through the streets. They only got louder and louder as the family made their way towards the plaza.
“Is there a fight?”
If there was, it would’ve been for the best to take the girls somewhere else. Getting wrapped up in a fight was neither fun nor festive.
“That’s actually the shouting contest,” Luina explained.
“What’s that?”
According to her, the shouting contest asked its participants to imitate the voices of the creatures they were dressed as to the best of their abilities. The idea was that fierce roars and screams would scare away the evil spirits.
“That sounds fun.”
“It’s lots of fun, and everyone who takes part gets a treat.”
The mention of treats immediately caught the attention of the girls.
“I ’gream suuuper loud!”
“I’m sure everyone would be amazed by your screaming, Marie. Should we enter?”
“I wanna!”
Marie was immediately on board, but Bram and Myuke seemed strangely worried.
“You girls are being awfully quiet. Do your tummies hurt?”
Bram shook her head.
“I just don’t know what bunnies say, m’kay?”
“Yeah, I don’t know either. Do you, Mommy?”
“You know, now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a bunny make noise.”
While the girls discussed the issue, Anima remained silent, trying his hardest to figure out what bunnies sounded like. While he was doing so, Myuke seemed to have gotten an idea. She looked down at the ground and started muttering to herself.
“Bun! …Maybe? Wh-What’s with the smirks?!” she cried, her face as red as her hair.
“That was very cute; I like it a lot. Bun!”
“I like it too, m’kay? Bun!”
“Me too! I like bun!”
“Bun! What a wonderful suggestion.”
Myuke was basking in praise. With the mystery solved, they headed to the plaza and lined up as participants. The line moved quickly, and they soon found themselves at the front. Hand in hand, the five of them walked onto the stage and lined up, where they shouted from the top of their lungs.
“Bun!”
They had no idea if the sound they’d made was correct, but they had certainly been loud enough. The audience sent them off with a round of applause as the announcer gave each and every one of them a small piece of candy, complimenting the girls on their wonderful performance.
Enjoying the sweet candy, they stayed for a bit to listen to the participants who came after them, joining in the applause as each one finished. It didn’t take them long to finish their candies, after which the girls began excitedly looking for their next adventure.
“Let’s go somewhere, m’kay?”
“Why don’t we walk through the whole town? We might find something cool!”
“Good idea! Let’s walk everywhere and eat all the yummy snacks we can find, m’kay?!”
“Smacks!”
They started their march through the town—led by Myuke, Bram, and Marie—to discover all the treats the Festival had to offer. They were unbearably excited for the tastes and smells that they would find.
“Nh!”
Suddenly, Luina started to stagger. She fell to her knees and pressed her hands over her mouth.
“Wh-What’s wrong?!” Anima asked, terrified. He couldn’t bear to hear his lovely wife groan in agony, unable to stand up.
“Wait, what’s going on?!”
“Don’t tell me you’re sick, m’kay?!”
“Pain, pain, fye ’way!”
Catching on to what was happening, the girls began to freak out as well. Panicking in front of the girls would only make the situation worse, but he couldn’t help it. It was impossible for him to keep his composure when his wife was suffering.
“Don’t worry, I’m okay,” Luina said in her usual, calm tone, reassuring everyone with a warm smile.
Anima was very familiar with Luina’s heartfelt, genuine smiles. Because of that, however, he knew right away that she was forcing one in hopes of calming everyone down, and he couldn’t think of any reason for her to do so than that she was feeling sick. He slowly calmed himself down; he needed to help her, and he couldn’t do that properly if he was panicked. No matter the issue, he couldn’t allow Luina to push herself even further. Her safety was his number-one priority.
“So, where are we going next?” Luina stood up and asked, acting cheerful as if nothing had happened. She knew how much everyone had been looking forward to the Festival and that there wouldn’t be another chance to experience such a high level of excitement until the following year.
The girls had been completely fascinated by the Festival ever since they’d learned about it. Making plans for it was a daily topic at the dinner table; it had been basically all Bram and Myuke talked about for the past several days, and Marie had even tried to blow away the clouds so they would have a nice day for it. Ruining such a day was sure to crush Luina. But that didn’t matter; there were things that were more important to them.
“We’re going home,” Anima said in a firm tone, leaving no room for argument.
Simply having vertigo would have been more than enough reason to go home, but Luina had shown similar symptoms the week prior. He now understood that she hadn’t been holding back a sneeze that morning either—she likely had experienced a bout of extreme nausea. It was far from ideal to have her parade around the town in her condition, and was sure the girls would take his side.
“Daddy’s right! You gotta lie down! You can’t push yourself when you’re sick!”
“But you girls were so excited for the Festival…” she apologized, but Marie shook her head at her. She walked up to Luina, took her hand, and looked up at her with a dazzling smile.
“Y’know, y’know, the Fesibal’s fun! There’s lossa nummies! And we doed the bun! too! But, but, it’s ’nough! We go home!”
“I’m so full,” Bram nodded in agreement as she rubbed her stomach. “I really wanna go home and relax, m’kay?”
The girls tried to cheer her up. For everyone in the family, Luina’s health was much more important than some festival.
“It’s really cold outside. Let’s go home and get warmed up.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
All the support from her family made a faint smile appear on Luina’s face. Anima picked her up, and the five of them made their way back home.
◆◆◆
Anima took extra care to walk as smoothly as possible so that his wife had a comfortable ride home; jostling around in his arms would only worsen the situation. He slowly carried her into the bedroom, where he laid her down to rest. As he tucked her in, she smiled at him.
“Thank you, but I’m fine,” she said not only to Anima, but to their daughters as well. The three of them were standing beside the bed, worriedly watching over her.
“That’s great to hear. Still, stay in bed for today.”
“We’ll do all the chores so you don’t have to worry about anything, m’kay?”
“I help too! I’m four!”
Marie’s proud display of four fingers made Luina giggle. She felt relieved to be surrounded by her kind, beloved family.
“I’m so grateful to have you girls in my life. I’ll take it easy for the day. Promise.”
For a moment, a sense of relief radiated from the three girls, but it immediately transformed into burning determination. They realized that the tasks ahead of them would prove difficult, but were ready to overcome them to the best of their abilities. Meanwhile, Anima had to keep his senses sharp to make sure the girls didn’t get injured while they were hard at work.
“Should we move to the dining room once it warms up?” Anima asked.
“Yes, that would be nice. I’d like to stay close to you, otherwise it’ll get incredibly lonely and boring. Ah, I know! We could make dinner toge—”
“Forget it!” Myuke retorted, cutting her off. “You’d just start doing everything yourself!”
“Can I just watch?” Luina tried to reason with Myuke, even deploying her sad puppy impression.
“Nope. It’s cold in the kitchen.” Myuke stood her ground, driving her point home with an exasperated sigh. “Seriously, didn’t you just say that you’d take it easy for the day? You gotta stop worrying; we’ll take care of everything today. You just focus on getting better, okay?”
“But I’m already feeling much better.”
She indeed seemed much better—her paleness was gone, and it didn’t seem like she had a cold. It could’ve very well been random vertigo.
“Well, you don’t seem to have a fever,” Myuke stated, holding her hand against Luina’s forehead.
“But if she doesn’t have a fever, what was the issue? I just don’t get it, m’kay?”
“She must’ve been exhausted.”
“Not at all. How could I get exhausted when you’re all here to help me?”
“It doesn’t matter, you still need to rest today,” Anima commanded. He had to be assertive or she’d get right back onto her feet and start working. She needed to take the day off and get some proper rest.
“Mommy, be good girl!”
Luina let out a small sigh.
“How could I say no to you, Marie? All right, I won’t lift a finger today.”
“Yaaay! Good girl!”
Marie pet her head, which soothed her soul. Her family’s love was the best medicine she could have ever asked for.
“It’s great that you’re gonna rest up, but it’s pretty cold. I can grab you your scarf and gloves if you want ’em, m’kay?”
“She won’t be able to fall asleep with those on,” Myuke said, “so… That’s it! Let’s make her a cup of warm milk! Mommy, lemme borrow the stone!”
“Be careful not to burn yourself.”
“I’ll be fine! We made veggie soup all by ourselves, remember?” Myuke took the stone, then looked Luina straight in the eye, like a mother ready to give instructions to their child. “I’ll tell you when it’s ready, so you just wait here, okay?”
“Okay, I’ll wait.”
With Luina’s agreement, Myuke turned towards Marie.
“Marie, can you stay here with Mommy? She’d be lonely all by herself.”
“Uh-huh!”
Marie energetically nodded. Her eyes were twinkling with determination—just like everyone else, she was ready to do everything she could for Luina. Anima turned toward her and ruffled her hair.
“It’s cold in here; why don’t you get under the covers with Mommy?”
“’Kaaay!” She hopped into the bed and snuggled up next to Luina. “Mommy warm?”
“Yes, very warm.”
Smiling cheerfully, Marie nestled up even closer to Luina. With those two in bed, Anima glanced at Myuke, and they turned toward the door. He figured they could start by warming the dining room with the help of the fireplace, but there was one other thing he had to do first.
“Are you coming as well, Bram?”
“You bet! I’d do anything for Mommy, m’kay?”
“You’re a very kind, brave girl.”
There was a chance that a terrible accident could happen if someone wasn’t around to keep a constant watch over the fireplace, so they decided to prepare the milk first. The three of them headed into the kitchen, which was kept just as cold as the outside by the chilly wind blowing in through the lattice kitchen vents.
“Thank goodness for this bunny costume. It’s nice and warm, m’kay?”
“You’re so strong.” Anima gently pet her silver hair to praise her for braving the cold so well. “Okay, let’s do our best to make a delicious cup of warm milk for Luina!”
“Let’s go, m’kay?!”
“Sorry to rain on your parade, but I can make warm milk on my own. I’m just warming up some milk, so could you cut up some apples instead, Daddy? Make sure they’re small and easy to eat.”
“I’ll cut the best apple pieces you’ve ever seen!”
“Awesome. Bram, get a plate, a fork, and a cup please.”
“Of course, m’kay?”
Everyone started working based on Myuke’s instructions. She herself used the fire lizard stone to start heating the pot, while Anima was busy choosing the most beautiful apple from the pile. He cut it into six slices and moved it to the plate Bram had chosen, marking the end of his task—or so he thought.
“Daddy, grab a cup off the shelf for me please, m’kay?”
Anima immediately jumped on her request and reached for a cup.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks, m’kay?”
“You’re welc—”
The cup slipped out of Anima’s grasp. Luckily, though, Bram was there to catch it.
“Phew, that was close, m’kay?”
“What happened?”
Myuke whipped around in surprise.
“Daddy dropped the cup, m’kay? But I managed to— Eep!”
Bram froze in place, her lips shaking, as Anima placed his hands on her shoulders. The cup fell from her hands, but fortunately for them, Myuke was quick on her feet.
“Phew, I just barely saved this.”
“Wow, I’m impressed, m’kay?! That was super fast, Myuke! But anyway, umm, what’s going on, m’kay?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. But, I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I don’t know, m’kay? What did I say?”
Bram tilted her head in confusion, and Anima took a deep breath to calm his raging emotions.
“Did you just… call me ‘Daddy’?”
“Oh, I guess I did… Huh, I didn’t even notice, m’kay?”
“Y-You didn’t notice?”
He could barely contain his happiness—Bram had unconsciously called him “Daddy”. She had been very conscious about it a couple weeks before, but she seemed to have completely accepted Anima as a father figure.
At last, the day has come.
He was ready to burst into tears. For a moment, he thought about running to the bedroom so he could celebrate with Luina, but he decided against it. She was lying in bed sick, and they were in the middle of making something to help her feel better. He couldn’t just abandon his post and rile her up. He had to contain his happiness for the time being.
“Just look at that smile,” Myuke giggled. “Seems like Daddy loved that.”
“Yeah, it’s almost embarrassing how happy that made him, m’kay?”
Anima hid his broad smile. Bram was feeling shame, which meant that she was once again being conscious about calling him “Daddy”. If it got too bad, she wouldn’t repeat it.
“Don’t feel embarrassed! Please!”
“You’re just making it worse, m’kay?”
“L-Listen to me! There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, okay?!”
All he wanted was to hear that magic word come naturally out of Bram’s mouth once again. She knew quite well that that was an incredibly strong desire of his, as proven by the smile she was wearing.
“I’m just kidding. I’m not embarrassed to call you ‘Daddy’, m’kay?”
“R-Really?”
“Yes, really. I’ve been calling you that in my head for a while now, m’kay?”
“B-But then why didn’t you say it earlier?”
“I wanted to, I was just kinda scared to call you something different. I needed, I dunno, some special occasion to change it, m’kay?” Bram explained herself with a serious tone. “Then, when you told me about the Festival, I knew it was the perfect chance. Daddy’s spirit would return, and I wanted to show him that I found a good family, that he doesn’t have to worry, ’cause I’m happy, m’kay?”
Fearing that her dad’s spirit would think she didn’t feel like a part of Anima’s family, she wanted to reassure him that she had a good life, and the best way for her to go about that was to admit to her feelings. She may have only just started calling him “Daddy”, but she’d thought of him as a father for a long time. Learning the truth that was hidden in her innocent smile, tears began rolling down his face.
“D-Don’t cry, m’kay?!” she said frantically.
“I’m so happy. Thank you, Bram. Thank you for becoming my daughter. I promise I’ll always be here for you!”
Anima got on his knees and embraced Bram. She cracked a joyful smile and hugged him back.
“You already do enough for me, m’kay?” Happiness filled the air. Strangely, it seemed that happiness smelled a lot like smoke. “I think something’s burning, m’kay?”
Myuke, who had been quietly watching the heartfelt moment between her dad and sister, quickly spun around to check on the milk.
“Oh no! I forgot all about this!”
She quickly put out the flame. The milk was boiling, and a thin layer around the edge of the pot had burned, but the rest of it seemed completely fine. They couldn’t serve it to Luina just like that, though; the milk was still boiling hot. They poured some into a cup, then brought it over to the dining table along with the sliced apple. After that, they lit a fire in the fireplace and sat down to take a breather.
“We got that taken care of quickly. Thank you, girls.”
“You did great too, m’kay?! Look at those apple slices! They’re perfect, m’kay?!”
“It really goes to show just how much you help Mommy.”
“I’m happy to hear that.” Anima’s face clouded over in the midst of their small chit-chat. “Maybe if I had done more, Luina wouldn’t have collapsed.”
“You’re doing more than enough, Daddy.” Myuke turned toward him with a smile. “We’d have a lot more to worry about every day if it wasn’t for you. I don’t know what happened to her, but one thing I can say for certain is that it wasn’t your fault. Plus, she got sick like this before. This is nothing new.”
“Wait, she did?”
Anima didn’t know anything about that.
“Yeah, once. Three years ago, give or take.”
“Three years ago…”
That timeframe sounded grimly familiar. Judging by Myuke’s grave expression, his intuition was, unfortunately, correct.
“She collapsed and slept for three whole days after learning about her father’s death.”
“I see…”
Luina enjoyed sharing memories from her past, and she always reminiscenced about them with the most beautiful smile on her face. She clearly loved and treasured her family more than anything else.
Losing her father must have been for her like what losing Luina would be for Anima. He couldn’t even comprehend the deep pain he would feel, but Luina had already walked that path once. Just thinking about what it must have felt like almost made him throw up.
“She didn’t collapse when her mom passed away, though. I think she tried to keep it together for our sakes.”
“Meaning you’re the best husband she could’ve ever asked for, m’kay?”
“That’s really kind of you, but why’s that?” Anima questioned as he tilted his head.
“We can always rely on you, and that leaves Mommy a lot more time to relax, m’kay?”
“She’s totally right. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be worried about her, but she’s in good hands. She wouldn’t have agreed to take things easy today if she wasn’t.”
“Exactly, so just keep doing what you’ve been doing, and don’t feel guilty about anything. Y’know, Mommy looks so happy every time you guys do the chores together that she’d probably get depressed if you did everything for her, m’kay?”
“Yep! I’m sure that’s what she wants too!”
Anima nodded deeply.
“Thank you for looking out for me, girls. I’ll keep doing the chores with her, I promise!”
“That’s what I like to hear!”
“I wanna keep seeing your passion, as piping hot as this milk! Oh, it’s cold now, m’kay?”
They had been talking for so long that the warm milk had gone back to being regular milk. Myuke touched the cup to check how cold it had gotten.
“It’s warm enough. Daddy, you should go get Mommy and bring her down here.”
Anima nodded, then went upstairs. As he entered the room, Marie whipped around with a big smile.
“I maked it warm!”
“I knew you could do it, big girl.”
“It’s really warm and cozy now. Thank you, Marie.”
Marie nodded proudly, enjoying all the praise she was getting.
“How are you feeling?” Anima asked, turning his attention to Luina.
“Great,” she stated confidently. Her short rest seemed to have helped a lot. Even so, Anima still insisted on carrying her down into the dining room, just in case. He made his way into the dining room with Luina in his arms and Marie by his side.
“Ah, you’re here! Look, here’s your warm milk and some apple slices. Eat up!”
“You’re going to bed after you finish eating! We don’t want you to collapse again, m’kay?!”
“Mommy, sit!”
Marie pulled out a chair, which Luina sat down in. Though she was embarrassed by everyone’s attention being gathered on her, she joyfully took a sip of the milk her family had prepared for her.