“Father! Mother!”
“Laurier.”
As Sasha and I left her room to head to the courtyard, I thought that it might just be about time for Laurier to finish her class for the day… and speak of the devil, after we coincidentally ran into each other in the hallway, I tussled her hair.
“Good work with your studying. Are you all finished for the day?”
“Yes, father.”
“Is that so… Good girl.”
Ah, stroking her hair feels good… This really is what it means to be a father and daughter, isn’t it? Feeling my face go slack in happiness as I kept rubbing Laurier’s head, lost in her cuteness, suddenly a slightly sulky Sasha pinch my sleeve so I took my hand away.
“Laurier is your daughter. I’m not jealous… is not something I can say, but you can do that as much as you like later, so please restrain yourself for now.”
“…Okay.”
After a slightly bashful whisper in my ear, Sasha began to pet Laurier’s head herself. Laurier, who looked ready to burst with happiness receiving her mother’s love, and Sasha who smiled at her so gently… Yep! My wife and daughter really are the greatest!
Suppressing my doting instincts, I called out to them.
“For the time being… let’s go and have some tea?”
With that, the two of them followed me to the courtyard to sit down.
The weather was fine out and there was barely any breeze at all… that said, I could feel my excitement rising as the two people I loved more than anything else were together with me in one place. As a maid arrived to set out tea and the cookies I had made earlier in front of them, I called out to those two.
“I tried my hand at baking some cookies… would you like to try some?”
The two of them looked at me in abject surprise… but it was Sasha who spoke first.
“My Lord… you made these?”
“That’s right. I baked them for both of you… would you try some?”
Sasha still looked stunned, but nodded slowly… meanwhile, Laurier looked infatuated with the cookies that had been laid out in front of her.
“For Laurier, I tried to make them nice and sweet. For Sasha’s sake, I tried to give them make them soft to eat as well, but…”
“My Lord, you would go so far for Laurier and myself…?”
Sasha still seemed surprised as her voice trailed off in embarrassment.
“…Well, um… I just thought that I’d like the two of you to eat something delicious. For that sake, it wasn’t too much trouble.”
“My Lord…”
“Thank you, father!”
Sasha, who looked like she was ready to burst into tears and Laurier, whose smile was as radiant as the sun… Just seeing the expressions on their faces made it feel like all my effort was totally worth it… but, still, I wanted to see them actually eat as well, so I encouraged them again.
“Well, for now at least… please feel free to try some.”
“Yes. Then, I’ll…”
The two of them bit into their cookies at the same time… then, they both turned to me with smiles at the same time.
“It’s delicious…”
“It’s so sweet! Tasty!”
“Is that so… I’m glad.”
I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I heard them say that. Like mother like daughter… as I watched Sasha and Laurier eat together so happily, I sipped my tea in satisfaction.
“My Lord, aren’t you going to have any?”
“Hm? Ah, just seeing you two eat is filling enough.”
Sasha blushed from ear to ear as I said that… as usual, I was overwhelmed by the urge to pamper my ludicrously adorable wife, but… since Laurier was here, I had to turn my mind to steel and endure for the time being.
It’ll be okay… I’m a perfect gentleman… What’s more, Sasha won’t be able to stand the shame if I did something in front of our daughter… but, still, just imagine if Sasha was maybe a little ashamed but didn’t actually hate it after all… No! Endure it!
Without knowing about my deep internal conflict, Laurier finished eating her cookie and then, as she took another one, thought about something and then held it out.
“Father… ahh.”
“Mfuo…?” Just what kind of strange sound did I just make as Laurier offered a cookie to me… but, even though she was embarrassed, somehow it seemed like Sasha was inspired by her daughter, and also held out a cookie towards me with a trembling hand.
“M-my Lord… A… ahh…”
Critical hit. Both my wife and daughter trying to feed me like this… I’ve never been so happy since I’ve become Callis. No, honestly, now that I think about it, the Callis that ignored such an adorable wife and daughter really must not have been human. Yep, I’ve decided that.
Like that, our tea time passed peacefully. Laurier’s innocent cuteness juxtaposed by Sasha’s adorable brand of beauty… It was an utterly exquisite thing to behold, and needless to say, I secretly made a vow to myself that we would have regular tea parties like this from now on.