Chapter 122: Two Years Old

After Nii-sama’s birthday in December, I celebrated my second birthday when I felt that my chubby limbs had gotten a bit slimmer.

“At this time last year, I thought that I would spend my days happy without any worries forever. And last summer, I was prepared for it to take a few years before Lei returned to us. I’m thrilled that I’m able to spend your second birthday with you.” Early in the morning on the day of my debut, Nii-sama came into my room, woke me up and said.

“Nii-syama…”

I certainly wanted to return, but I also enjoyed my life in Frontier. I felt bad for that.

“Nii-syama, Lei had wothsh of fun.”

“Lei, I wouldn’t normally call getting kidnapped twice in six months fun.”

That’s true, but I got over it by the third time, and thought nothing of it. The minds of babies are so convenient. There are good things that come with being young.

“Jeez, you’re easy going by nature.”

That’s not true. It’s because I’m a baby.

“Now Lei, happy birthday. We’ll be celebrating your second birthday in the afternoon. There’ll be children after all. Get up quickly and let’s go get ready. Ojii-sama came from the northern fief today. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Ojii-syama!”

I woke up after hearing this.

“It’s Claire-kaasama’s Otou-sama. He has brown eyes like Okaa-sama, and is very kind.”

“Wow, I’m woowing forward tho meething him!”

He was going to come earlier, but barely ended up making it here, so he’ll be staying at the mansion for a few days starting from today. I heard he’s good at riding Rug Dragons, so I’m sure he’ll let me ride with him.

“His Highness will also be here. Lei just needs to look nice and smile at lots of people. No, you don’t even have to smile at them,” Nii-sama started muttering.

“Nii-syama. I’ww shmiwe. Everyone have fun.”

“You’re right, for me I’ll smile as much as I can if it would finish with that.”

I feel like what Nii-sama and I are thinking about different things. Nii-sama suddenly looked serious and peeked out the window.

“We’re celebrating my birthday today too, so it seems like Diana-okaasama will be coming, even though it’s fine if she doesn’t.”

“Nii-syama…”

“Otou-sama is a complicated person. Even if the person in question intends to live a simple life, his forwardness and unwavering personality can sometimes hurt people. I know that.”

I’m sure he was implying that he was selfish for wanting Otou-sama by his side. However, his 12-year-old pride didn’t let him utter those words.

“Now, let’s get ready. This is your first party. You can enjoy it to the fullest.”

“Ai!”

That morning, I took a bath and dried my soft, fluffy hair. Then, I was dressed in a white dress with a lot of purple embroidery on it. It was a little longer than the dresses I usually wear and the maid outfit I wore the other day. It even covered my calves.

I twirled. The hem was soft, by the way, so is my hair.

“Oh my, Leila-sama. We’re not done. Next, we’re going to wrap this around you.”

The maid brought a thin purple chiffon. She wrapped it around my waist and tied a big ribbon at the back. Don’t I look like a present? The same thing happened the other day, but a different maid was in charge of changing me into outfits I wasn’t used to. Today, Natalie is accompanying me while looking happy.

“People normally wear white on their debut. Even if they didn’t, the Albans uniform is white, so Master and Luke-sama will also be wearing white. How wonderful! It’s amazing to see all three of you together!”

Some maids even started crying.

“You’re finally back, but you go to the castle every day. So everyone is lonely because the castle took you away from us.” Natalie explained. That may be true.

We, who were excited, were on the second floor, but when I looked out the window, I could see gorgeous carriages pulled by Rug Dragons arriving at the garden one after the other, and dressed up men and women getting off the carriages.

Relatives’ children aside, is it fun to see children you don’t know? I thought, and Natalie explained, “Master has already warmed up old friendships before the debut, and there are people who come from far away like Luke-sama’s Okaa-sama, and your Ojii-sama, so it’s a rare opportunity for them to interact with others.”

Oh yeah, they’re not here just to see me. I felt relieved when I thought that and relaxed.

“Leila-sama, you look relieved.”

“Reawwy?”

I put my hands on my cheeks. I didn’t know that.

“Oh my, Leila-sama.”

Laughter echoed in the room. The maids continued to talk happily.

“We’re also looking forward to it. We can see nobles who we usually don’t get to see.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing Molesey-sama. His cool wintery eyes are amazing.”

“I want to see Gill Lisburn-sama. His growth is so dazzling.”

“Apparently the Remington Ojou-sama is coming too. All the Four Marquises will be here! It’s a spectacle.”

Remington.

I was a little nervous. Otou-sama and Nii-sama said the Remingtons had nothing to do with my kidnapping. But, I wonder if that’s true. Everyone will think that there’s no other mastermind apart from the Remingtons who have a reputation of being bottom feeders.

But, I remember Hannah’s painful reactions and the word Remington that she had uttered with a shaky voice.

“Let’s eat a little something first.”

“Ai!”

I was wrapped in a big apron and passed a small sandwich.

“The chefs made a lot of delicious food today, but they said they’ll keep some for you, so don’t worry.”

“Ai!”

That’s good. I was anxious about how I would pinch food off the table during my debut. I ate my light snack with peace of mind.

When I finished wiping my hands and mouth, I heard a knock at the door.

“Come on, it’s about time. I wonder if Luke-sama came to pick you up.”

“We’ll be waitressing from now on, so we’ll look out for you.”

The maids said. The people in the mansion got pretty close since Nii-sama’s birthday. I’m sure they’re going to watch over me as they observe the other nobles.

“Now, Lei, it’s about time. Oh?”

“Wow.”

He wore a lustrous white coat with purple embroidery on the collar of it, thin black trousers, and well-polished shoes. His long blonde hair was silky.

“You look cute.”

“Coow.”

Our voices overlapped, and we laughed.

“Now, let’s walk to the stairs in a way that won’t wrinkle your clothes.”

“Of courshe. I’ww waww carefuwwy. I can even run.”

“You mustn’t run. Let’s hold hands and walk slowly.”

‘I’ll enjoy every step,’ I thought I heard him say. Now, let’s go to my debut.