CH 37

A Return to the Everyday

“Haa… Now I’ve done it…”

As I sat in the carriage on the way home… I held my head in my hands, thinking about what I had just done.

The reason, of course, was the adopted son of Marquis Victaire… or rather, the fact that I helped Masque, who in the original otome game was both my adopted son as well as a capture target for the heroine.

Well, no, it’s not as if I regret helping him at all.

There was no way I could leave a child to suffer through the same sort of thing that Laurier had, and it was obvious that Masque was being treated poorly, so that’s not an issue, but…

“Why does it feel like I’m getting involved with all the capture targets myself…?”

As a result of our duel, the mercenary instructor was fired. It was agreed I would take over, but… after I calmed down, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was an idiot for getting involved in something that could one day hurt Laurier.

Why did this happen…? The only reason I went to that house was to crush some pesky bugs that were trying to attach themselves to my Laurier…

“And even though it’s just once a week, my workload is going to increase again…”

What’s more, even though I’m already so busy, for some reason I’ve taken even more work upon myself.

“But, well…”

I remembered the look Masque gave me as I was leaving. That boy’s eyes were shining with something I can only call respect… well, if I can shape his character properly through training, I can make sure that he won’t be a threat to Laurier in the future as well.

Alright, let’s go ahead with that.

—

“Father!”

As I returned to the mansion, it was Laurier who first rushed at me as I stepped in the door.

As Laurier pulled at the fabric of my pants, innocently but adamantly insisting I hug her, I swept her into my arms, my serious thoughts from before being washed away by the enormous effort I was exerting to keep a straight face.

“I’m home, Laurier.”

“Welcome back, father!”

Smiling at me like an angel… Yep! Laurier is just absurdly cute!

Well, of course I kept that to myself, as I restrained myself and asked Laurier a question with a gentle smile on my face instead.

“Your timing was very good… perhaps you were waiting for me?”

“Yes! I wanted to meet father… was I bad…?”

Oof! I almost staggered at that heavy blow I couldn’t avoid. Even though I had just survived a duel without a single scratch, just a few words from my daughter was enough to completely catch me off guard… Honestly, Laurier and Sasha may really be the death of me!

Well, putting Laurier aside… if Sasha wasn’t pregnant, she had the ability to make me lose my reason, and turn me into a wolf… If we’re not careful, our family might grow quite large.

“Now then… I need to talk to Sasha about a few things that happened today, but… what will you do, Laurier?”

“I wanna go together with father!”

“I see… Then, are you fine if I carry you upstairs like this, then?”

“Yep!”

A full bloomed smile spread across her face… ah… just seeing that face wiped away all my worries…

As I carried that adorable girl in my arms, I went up the steps to my beloved wife’s room, where she was still recovering.

After all, my wife and daughter really are like an oasis in the desert!