Wriothesley's POV
In Neuvillette's defense, most things available in the cafeteria were indeed healthier than the cookies I managed to bribe Sigewinne with.
He did not take into account, however, that the old ladies behind the counter would run off to find her a large slice of cake five seconds after they saw her.
Sigh...
Can my little princess be just a little less cute?
I decided to eat some sandwiches while Sigewinne devoured that slice of cake that was larger than it had any right to be.
Meanwhile, I couldn't help but listen in on the conversations around us.
It was mostly everyday lawyer stuff. Divorce case this, murder trial that.
It was when Neuvillette's name was mentioned that I started paying more attention.
"I guess the top floor is still a no-go."
"Would you dare approach Mr. Neuvillette's office right now? Even Ms. Furina laughed the idea off."
"I heard his office looks like a battlefield right now."
"When does it not look like a battlefield? It's just shocking that the reason for this mess is a pro bono case."
Huh?
That guy's been up since 3 am working on a case that's pro bono?
"How is that so surprising, it's another child abuse case. You know he's sensitive when it comes to those."
"He cares a lot about kids. Surprising considering he's no good when it comes to actually interacting with them."
Hmm?
He interacted with Sigewinne just fine though.
"Hye, Sigewinne. What do you think about Mr. Neuvillette?"
"The pretty mister? He's nice."
See?
Even Sigewinne likes him.
Though...
He really is a weirdo.
He always looks so emotionless and then he goes and acts all nice with a kid.
Sure, it's better than having him glaring at my kid, but I still don't like him.
He allowed too many of the people we captured to run free for me to like him.
Sometimes I feel like I'm just wasting my time.
But a pro bono, huh?
I wouldn't have expected it from him.
Especially not when he's putting so much effort into it.
"Hey, Dad." Sigewinne spoke up interrupting my thoughts.
"Yes?"
"I need to make a poster for a presentation I have tomorrow. Can we go buy a large piece of paper?" She dropped a bomb casually.
"Tomorrow?"
"Yep, tomorrow."
And you bring it up now?!
"I also need a new set of markers and some other stuff." She added.
I had the urge to bang my head against the table.
Today is Sunday damn it!
Everything closes early if they open at all!
And you're starting to make that poster today?!
You deen it for tomorrow!
While she finished her food, I quickly looked for a store that was open and had what we needed.
And off we went on our quest to go down Sigewinne's shopping list!
-
I let out a sigh of relief after I dropped Sigewinne off at school.
I watched as she ran up to some people, smiling at them happily as she waved her poster around.
I smiled seeing her get carried inside as the whole group laughed.
I can't express how glad I am that she managed to fit in so well.
I was so worried when I was told that she could and should go straight to high school just after her first year in pre-school.
I knew she was smart, but this...
Everyone around was at least double her age so of course I would be worried.
After some thought, I allowed her to join for just a few days to take a look.
A few days turned into a week, a week turned into two, and now here we are, Sigewinne's 4th month in school.
I still constantly worry for her, but my monthly conversations with her teachers allow my heart to rest just a bit.
She's an amazing child.
Incredibly clever.
She settled in wonderfully.
What really did the trick and made me allow her to stay in school was that time when a few of her friends came over.
I made sure to keep an eye on them as they worked on a group project.
I realized that Sigewinne was being treated as something akin to a younger sibling by them.
A very spoiled younger sibling, if I might add.
When I told her that she would be allowed to stay in school, she was happier than ever.
Still, I can't help but worry even now.
I got home and started putting away all the things that got thrown around while Sigewinne was getting ready earlier.
After I put some clean clothes back into her closet and collected the laundry lying around, I was prepared to leave her room when I spotted a familiar piece of paper that just looked out of place.
I looked way too official to be something for school.
I leaned down to take a look and nearly fainted when I realized what it was.
No wonder it looked familiar!
This is one of the documents I saw in Neuvillette's office yesterday!
Dear god!
Sigewinne took it and filled it out!
I had never jumped into my car so quickly.
He's gonna kill me for sure!
There is no way for me to survive this!
I drove over to his law firm and somehow convinced the receptionist to let me upstairs without an appointment.
Now...
Now comes the hard part.
At least I didn't have to knock on the door.
Though, on second thought, that might not be such a good thing.
Not when his whole office floor is covered with papers and he's frowning down at them.
I let out an awkward cough, drawing his attention.
"Huh? Who- Mr. Wriothesley? What brings you here?"
"That..."
Ugh...
"You wouldn't be looking for this now, would you?"
I avoided my eyes as I held the paper out to him.
I felt the paper leave my hand.
This was sudden followed by a quiet laugh.
"Pfft."
God!
I can't bear to look at him!
"Please don't worry, Mr. Wriothesley. This mess wasn't created because I was looking for this paper." He said calmly.
I somehow found the courage to face him, only to see him wearing his usual expression, no trace of that quiet laugh remaining.
"The young lady... She is...?"
"My daughter. Her name is Sigewinne. I apologize for this."
"Don't worry about it too much. What she took was just a test we usually give our potential new recruits. I have a whole pile of them. Even if she took them all I could probably find at least another hundred lying around the firm."
"She still took it-"
"As I said, don't worry about it." He cut me off.
Phew!
I thought I would at the very least be scolded to death.
But...
He said test, right?
"Uhm... Mr. Neuvillette, if you don't mind... May I know how Sigewinne did on that test? She'll probably want to know."
And knowing the answer to that question would spare me a tantrum for touching her things.
Neuvillette gave me an unreadable look before carefully making his way across the sea of papers on the floor.
He grabbed a pen and quickly went over the test Sigewinne had filled out.
Soon, I received a paper filled with red writing.
"She did god awful at it." He said bluntly.
"Ugh..."
I couldn't help but let out a groan.
Now this will pose a completely different problem.
"I'm assuming she won't be all too happy with that."
"Nope. Not at all."
This will surely turn into another pouting session.
"For a six-year-old, she did wonderfully. Even for law school graduates, this test often poses to be difficult."
That might be true, but it doesn't help me with my current predicament.
"If I may ask, which school does your daughter go to?"
So suddenly?
"Sumeru Akademiya. Why?"
"That place, huh..."
He fell deep in thought for a moment before handing me another paper.
It was the same test Sigewinne took, just empty.
"Give her this together with the one I corrected. Once she finishes filling out the second one, she can give it to the dean of her school. The deal will get it delivered for me and I'll send it back corrected and if needed coupled with another empty one. That should keep her occupied for a while, no?"
"That's a bit..."
"Oh, it's no trouble. It would be a most welcome distraction from my usual work, actually."
If you say so.
You are probably underestimating Sigewinne's persistence and stubbornness though.
And...
"Why don't I just deliver-"
"Please, Mr. Wriothesley. Don't you find me nothing more than a walking-talking annoyance? There is no need for me to annoy you more than necessary." He spat out.
Oh f*ck.
When did I say that out loud in his presence?!