Ms. Anne Did Not Give Up Easily
As the dining hall seemed to turn into a meeting room, I listened to the others talk while eating my food.
Mr. Ekenhart was the duke, and Ms. Claire had a lot of responsibilities, so it was understandable.
…But I was surprised to hear Ms. Anne also talk so earnestly… Well, I already knew that she was prone to making suggestions about such things… But recently, she and Ms. Claire talked like some kind of comedic duo, that I had forgotten about what she really was like…
“Papa…it’s delicious!”
“Indeed. It really is.”
Liza smiled as she ate the food that had been served.
Me and Leo watched and smiled.
Though, there was one thing that I wanted her to be careful with… Of course, I couldn’t blame her considering what she had been through…
“Liza. You should hold the fork .”
Liza didn’t know how to hold a fork properly, and held it as if making a fist.
And it was difficult to eat some dishes like that.
And so she would start picking up things with her hands.
I didn’t know if that had anything to do with being beastkin or her upbringing… And it might be difficult to teach her here.
One of the maids was now busy wiping the table and her mouth. I felt bad for her.
However, the maid seemed to be smiling at Liza… Maybe she just liked taking care of children? Or she was just interested in Liza’s ears and tail…
She had all but forgotten the ordeal with Ms. Anne, and so her ears and tell were moving happily again.
Ms. Gelda, who was waiting near the door, was looking at the other maid a little jealously.
Yes, Liza would probably be spoiled by the people here…
As I was trying to teach Liza and listen to the conversation around us at the same time, Ms. Anne suddenly turned to me.
She too seemed to feel strangely about the fact that I was called papa…
“If Mr. Takumi is called papa…then I can be called mama…”
While she seemed to be thinking aloud, it was rather shocking.
Ms. Claire raised her voice in astonishment, though Mr. Ekenhart was calm.
“Uhh, Ms. Anne? I don’t think that would be…”
After all, Liza was scared of her.
Even though she didn’t look scared now, she still avoided looking in Ms. Anne’s direction…
“No, Mr. Takumi. While you may have rejected me…you are still not promised to anyone! So if I were to be named this child’s mother… Well, it would be as if we were married…”
“…So you still haven’t given up…”
“Of course, not! You have a Silver Fenrir! That would be very useful for my family!”
“…Tsk… I shall not give up!”
“Hah… So that’s what you were thinking about, Anne.”
I had turned her down quite directly… But it didn’t seem to matter to her.
If I was called papa and she was called mama, then we would look like a family, and eventually… That seemed to be what she was thinking.
Leo looked at Ms. Anne when she heard mention of Silver Fenrir, which caused Ms. Anne to recoil. But then she moved forward as if to show her resolve.
Ms. Claire sighed with exasperation.
“What do you think, Liza?”
Mr. Ekenhart was just amused by the whole scene, and then asked Liza what she thought about it.
Since he had laughed at her reaction before, he was expecting Liza to say something humorous again.
Speaking of Mr. Ekenhart, Liza now had no problem looking at his face.
And so that was one of the reasons that he looked so satisfied.
“Uh, that lady wants you to call her ‘mama.’”
“…No…that’s wrong. I already…have a mama!”
“…But…what about my plans…”
“Your plan was terrible to begin with, Anne. So, who is this mama? Could it be…me?”
“Well, it can’t be me, because I’m her older sister!”
Liza looked a little puzzled by Mr. Ekenhart’s question.
And then she looked at Ms. Anne and shook her head.
Not only that, but she insisted that she already had a mama.
I didn’t know how she came to such decisions, but who could it be?
…Even I was interested.
Ms. Claire was looking at Liza with great expectation.
As for Ms. Anne… I’m not sure why she was blurting out her plans in front of me in the first place…
I thought she wasn’t that stupid…but maybe I was wrong…
“Liza, who is your mama? You don’t have to worry about these people. Just say what you think.”
Said Mr. Ekenhart with a big grin.
And Ms. Claire nodded in agreement.