Serira was so confident that it was almost like she got a lot of gall. Caitel was dumbfounded after hearing her attitude.
What did she just say?
“You are quite daring, saying something so bold like that.”
At that point, he doubted if she really intended to end her life at this very moment. Did she go crazy when he was at war? Without knowing that Caitel’s eyes were turning into doubt, Serira spoke as hard as she could.
“But your Majesty, didn’t you want to see her even though you were far away or wanted to know what she was doing? Perhaps you were worried whether or not she might be crying over something.”
“I didn’t do any of that at all.”
Serira burst into laughter after hearing his sullen reply. She was trying to control her unbearable laughter, but Caitel had already watched it all. ‘How dare you make fun of me when I’m in front of you.’
Caitel frowned, concluding that this nanny really went crazy.
“Why are you laughing?”
Serira replied with a smile, which she couldn’t possibly erase from her face.
“Your expression is giving your true feelings away; it’s amusing to see how you keep denying it.”
“Looks like you’ve grown fearless.”
An effort was made to threaten her; still, an indelible smile lingered on her face. Caitel felt annoyed after seeing this, but he didn’t think of banishing her or executing her. At that moment Ariadna moved her body while sleep.
“Mmm…”
Looking at himself immediately responding to a small sound, Caitel groaned at the feeling that he had never felt before.
“I’ve never…”
His hand moved toward his small, feeble daughter. The cheek he touched with the back of his hand was warm and smooth.
“I have never felt the need to see someone like this. Is this what yearning feels like?”
It was a feeling he never felt before. It was something he never had within him from the past. It’s hard to figure out how many ‘firsts’ he’d felt in the last few months after getting separated from his daughter. When Caitel asked Serira while sighing, she nodded.
“Yes, that is called yearning.”
Yearning. So this was how it felt.
“But she’s just a small thing.”
Listening to a small grumbling voice, Serira said with a stiff expression.
“You will feel it even more from now on.”
Caitel’s hand, which was stroking her cheek, stopped. Serira’s high, clear voice filled the room.
“As the princess grows older, that feeling of yearning will grow as well. You won’t want to leave her side even for a moment.”
“Just the thought of that sounds horrible.”
However, the look on the face of the person who found the thought as something horrifying was the opposite. ‘But if I say that, I’ll really get killed this time’. Serira whispered brightly.
“I want you to be happy now, your Majesty.”