Wriothesley's POV
"Ms. Chiori-"
"Chiori is fine." She cut me off.
"Chiori, there is really no need for this."
When she turned around to look at me with eyes full of confusion, I pointed to the ever-growing pile of clothes on the side.
That is worth at least a year's worth of my salary!
It would be one thing if they were just Sigewinne's, but about a third of it was apparently mine.
"I don't make me guilt trip you into taking them. I spend way too much effort on doing that with Neuvillette already. Oh, on that note. Neuvillette! I have another suit for you!" She shouted to Neuvillette.
"There is no need-"
"If you don't take it I'll cut it into pieces and throw it out!"
"...Fine."
Well, that was easy.
And it didn't require nearly as much effort as she was making it out to be.
"So, Wiothesley- Can I call you Wriothesley?"
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead.
"Okay. So, Wriothesley, what do you do for work?" She asked.
Well...
That...
"I work in law enforcement." I said eventually.
Not exactly, but close enough.
Chiori's hands sorting through the pile of clothes halted and she gave me a pointed look.
"No, you don't."
"Excuse me?"
"You don't work in law enforcement. If you did, you wouldn't be able to get a single word more than absolutely necessary from Neuvillette, let alone that gentle smile of his. Let's not even talk about your chances of staying at his house being lower than zero."
What?
"Why?"
Her eyes darkened a bit and she turned away from me, going back to sorting through the clothes.
Probably another touchy subject, huh?
I reckon she didn't even mean to bring it up.
Just when I thought I wouldn't hear the rest-
"When Neuvillette was eight, he dialed the emergency number, but his call was brushed off as a child's whining. The only people he thought might help him didn't. He lost trust in law enforcement since." She said softly.
"That..."
That's horrible!
Even if it is a child placing the call, you can't just brush it off like that!
Which crazy bastard would do that?!
"While it's not exactly a secret, only very few people know about this incident so I would appreciate it if you didn't tell Neuvillette that I told you."
"Of course." I nodded.
That would probably only bring up bad memories anyway.
I think I've done that more than enough this morning with the topic of his profession.
I heard Chiori take a few deep breaths before quickly stuffing the now-folded clothes into bags.
Seven bags.
I don't even want to know how much mora's worth of clothes is in there.
"These four are for Sigewinne and these three are for you."
"Is this really alright?" I asked again.
No matter how I look at it, this is a complete loss for her.
"It's fine. I have more money than I know what to do with. Plus, your daughter is cute, you are handsome, and because of you bringing him here, I was able to finally make a proper appointment with Neuvillette today."
I had yet to process anything after 'you are handsome' when Sigewinne came running over with a tired-looking Neuvillette in tow.
"Dad! Dad! Can we go now? I really want to start making your milkshakes!"
You know what?
I suddenly feel like staying a bit longer.
"I don't want to reign on your parade guys, but I feel the need to remind you that today is Sunday. If you want to do any further shopping, I suggest you get on with it." Chiori spoke up, pointing off to the side.
I followed where she was pointing to see a clock.
A clock showing that it was already 16:41.
Damn!
Did we hang around here for that long?
At least we didn't need to go clothes shopping anymore, but Sigewinne's school supplies were still on the list.
The store we need to reach closes at five!
"Ah... Chiori... Thank you for the clothes and..."
"Don't forget to stop by if you're around." She smiled.
"Sure. Of course."
I picked up Sigewinne and was ready to make a run for it when I remembered that we didn't come here alone.
I looked behind me to see Neuvillette holding back a smile.
"Go, go. I'll catch up. I'll take care of the bags too." He said.
All seven of them?
Will that be alright?
"I'll be fine. Go now, or the store might close." He reassured me.
With some hesitation, I nodded and bolted off with Sigewinne in my arms.
Damn it!
Why did that store have to be on the other side of the mall?!
-
Neuvillette's POV
As soon as Wriothesley was out of sight, I turned to Chiori.
"You did not tell me to go find a boyfriend." I said bluntly.
"I was just sugarcoating it for your little friend."
"If you were going to sugarcoat it, just leave it out of the conversation entirely."
She scoffed, throwing me a pointed look.
"Looks like someone doesn't know how to appreciate a favor I so kindly did for him. I could have just told Wriothesley that when I gave you that jacket, I actually told you to give it to someone whom you want to-"
"Chiori." I cut her off.
"Marry. Someone you want to marry." She finished her words anyway.
Sigh...
"So... What's with your new friend?"
"Friend... is a bit of a stretch."
After all, I've been sabotaging his hard work for years. I doubt a small favor like this would erase all of that and make us friends.
"Whatever. What's with your acquaintance that lives with you then? The acquaintance that you buy expensive clothes for. The same acquaintance who clearly likes it a lot when you smile." She said suggestively.
"That's quite enough nonsense for today."
He likes it when I smile?
Where did she get that kind of absurd idea?
"He was staring." She pointed out.
"Everyone stares." I retorted.
"Everyone stares for around 5-10 seconds on average. He easily doubled that."
...
"Where on earth did you even pull that average from?"
"Furina and Navia calculated it."
Of course, they did.
Perhaps I should arrange them some more work if they are so free.
"His attention lingers purely because I interact with his daughter. Any parent would do good to pay attention to someone interacting with their child." I explained.
"Sure. And I won the lottery yesterday."
"You did?"
For a moment, she looked at me like she was looking at an idiot before sighing and turning away to grab a few of the bags filled with clothes.
"Do you know where they went?"
"The stationary store on the ground floor."
Fortunately, Sigewinne mentioned it in passing.
"Let's get going then. I'll help you with the bags and don't you even dare try and protest. Not when you should be staying off your leg with your medical checkup being tomorrow."
Hmm?
"Tomorrow?"
I froze for a moment.
Wait...
What was today's date again?
Monday was the 2nd of December so...
Oh oh.
Well, this is certainly problematic.
I may have miscalculated slightly.
But why was it not on my calendar?!
I have plans for tomorrow!
Now I will have to delay my appointment with Freminet by an hour at least.
I'm really setting a poor example for the children.
"Oh, and Neuvillette." Chiori spoke up, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Yes?"
She suddenly held out her hand towards me.
"What?"
"Your card."
"What about it?"
"Hand it over." She demanded.
...
"I believe I heard you say something about the clothes being free of charge." I pointed out.
"They are. For them. You are paying for it."
"Didn't you just say you have so much money you don't know what to do with it, Ms. Chiori?"
"I didn't lie."
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"You didn't?"
"I know the pin of your bank card after all. That kind of makes me rich as hell, doesn't it?" She smirked.
And before I could react, she had snatched my wallet right out of my pocket and ran off towards the front of the store.
...
Sigh...
"Chiori, I changed the pin!" I shouted after her.
"Then get over here and pay for it yourself!" She shouted back.
"I'm coming. I'm coming."
If someone saw this they might think this world-famous designer is broke.