Happy late birthday to Naru_pink!
I hope you had a nice day!
~
~
Wriothesley's POV
"You are not to do anything so reckless again."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"No more secrets."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"If something is wrong just tell me! Tsk! You are still a child! Who asked you to act like an adult?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
"You are grounded for life." I tried.
Sure enough...
"Yes, Your Grace." He said blankly.
This brat...
I stuck out my hand to pinch his ear.
"Ouch! Ouch! Your Grace-"
"At least bother listening to me when I scold you, you damn brat."
Tsk!
Reckless kid!
But...
"You did a good job protecting them. Thank you." I petted him on the head.
Reckless but for the right reason.
Tsk!
He's still grounded for a week.
I took a step aside as Neuvillette too came over to either thank or scold Claude.
I wasn't sure. My attention was drawn away when I felt a small pull on my shirt.
"Sigewinne? Is everything-"
"Just come with me for a second."
She pulled me to the side, motioning for me to crouch down.
Oh?
She usually didn't like it when I lowered myself to her level.
It was even more surprising when she hugged me.
"It's- It's good to see you again." She mumbled.
That scared, huh?
I hugged her back, petting her back reassuringly.
"I'm glad you're here... P-Pa... Papa."
A shiver ran down my spine right that instant.
Sigewinne too stiffened.
"Yeah, that's the last time I'm doing that. At most, I'll just call you Uncle Wriothesley in private." She mumbled as she ducked out of my embrace.
"Okay. That's fine."
Completely fine.
That was weird.
Really weird.
It sounded more like some kind of threat than anything.
It was cute when the rest of the girls said it but...
I glanced over to Sigewinne only to almost burst out laughing.
She...
She was pouting all red-faced.
That's adorable.
The most stubborn melusine of them all.
I'm pretty sure she's gonna end up calling me Papa eventually.
That will take some getting used to for sure.
To think SIgewinne of all people would one day...
Sigh.
Let's not think about it for now.
By this point, Neuvillette too was done saying whatever it was that he wanted to say to Claude.
Now back to a topic we ignored.
"When did you get your vision?"
"Six years ago."
"That long? What happened?"
"It just... appeared? I woke up one day and it was just kind of lying there."
You can get a vision by sleeping?
Well...
It's not like I did a whole lot to get mine.
"And you've been hiding it why exactly?"
"The older misters in Meropide told me to hide my vision well."
Ugh...
If it's the older guys...
"There is no need for that. There hasn't been a single instance of a vision being stolen since Wriothesely took charge of Meropide." Neuvillette said kindly.
"Oh. Alright then."
Claude nodded and fastened his vision to his belt.
"Now, kids you go and eat with the rest while I talk to Wriothesley." Neuvillette smiled at them.
All three of them beamed at the mention of for like they hadn't been fed for a week. Both Sigewinne and Mamere climbed into Claude's arms and when I threw Sigewinne a questioning glance, she returned it with a look that seemed to say:
Why would I bother walking when he's so happy carrying us around anyway?
It makes me think that this is not the first time Claude has been used as transportation.
Well, as long as he likes it.
Now...
"I'm guessing you wanted to talk about something not so child-friendly." I turned to Neuvillette.
"It isn't exactly that I wanted to talk. I just wanted to be able to get away for a moment without arousing suspicion." He smiled.
Get away?
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing special. I just need to take care of some things I didn't have time for yesterday."
"Neuvillette. Spit it out."
It can't be nothing special when you're acting like this.
There was a moment of silence before he spoke.
"I'm going to go and rip apart the bastards who dared to touch my children."
His words were bordering on an angry growl and I could see his control over his form slip.
"You can't."
I didn't want to, but I had to say it.
"They need to stand trial first. Unlike the people who disappeared because of the Primordial Seawater in Meropide, the public knows about this incident. If no culprit is ever caught and you appear to be fine with that, the public will get suspicious."
"Let them suspect as they please! Why should I care? I-"
"Hey."
I cupped his cheeks, forcing him to look me in the eyes.
"Take a deep breath. Yes, that's it."
I waited for his eyes to return to their usual state as he calmed down. Only then did I start speaking.
"Can you find them?"
"Yes." He said confidently.
"How?"
"The Fountain of Lucine. All of Fontaine's waters gather at the fountain. I can read the information within them."
"Then can you find me the mastermind instead?"
He blinked, shock flashing past his eyes as if he had never thought of that.
Perhaps he had not.
Maybe...
"Yes, I can."
"Will it harm you?"
If it did we won't be doing it.
"It will exhaust me, but I will not be hurt." He said softly.
Alright then.
"Then let's make some arrangements for the girls and Claude before we go back and take care of this group of clowns. What do you think of that idea."
"It is... acceptable." He nodded.
Phew.
That's better.
I would rather not have an angry homicidal dragon out for murder running around Fontaine unsupervised.
I let go of him, turning to follow the kids, but before I could take a step, I found myself being hugged from behind.
"Neuv?"
"Thank you. Thank you for calming me down just now." He mumbled.
"Who would want their husband running about with guns blazing?" I chuckled.
"I love you."
I stiffened for a moment but I quickly relaxed, leaning back into his embrace.
"I love you too."
My words were rewarded with a soft peck on my cheek, followed by Neuvillette's soft voice.
"Wrio... The girls really want us to have one." He said hesitantly.
Why was he hesitating?
Just what kind of miraculous thing would the girls want that would have Neuvillette hesitate?
"So... If you don't mind... Let's have one."
A what?
What are you talking about?
"After everything has been handled, let's have a wedding."