EP.132 Gathering Part 3
This must have been what they called unexpected.
Jeong-hyeon was at a loss on how to resolve the situation, so he paused for a moment.
Lucia gestured for him to quickly pick up Hana.
‘Oh, right.’
Thinking that comforting her might make things better, he picked her up.
Hana sniffled and nestled into his arms.
Jeong-hyeon let out a small chuckle at Hana, and Lucia spoke in an awkward voice.
“Hana, Jeong-hyeon just went to the bathroom for a moment, he didn’t go anywhere.”
He wasn’t sure if this would work, but he quickly nodded in agreement.
Hana remained motionless, clinging to him.
Jeong-hyeon pondered for a moment, then patted Hana’s back and said,
“It might be best to sleep like this tonight.”
Lucia nodded with an awkward smile at his words.
“Yes…”
Seeing her reaction, he playfully suggested to Lucia,
“Lucia, do you want to sleep together too?”
Lucia glanced at him, tilted her head, and replied,
“Should I?”
She seemed genuinely okay with it, not realizing it was a joke.
Seeing Lucia like that, Jeong-hyeon felt it was too late to say it had been a joke.
Deciding to proceed as he had suggested earlier, he nodded.
“Alright, let’s do that.”
“Then I’ll move the bedding to one side!”
“Sure, sure.”
Jeong-hyeon watched Hana, who was still clinging to his clothes like a ghost, and fell silent for a moment.
He patted Hana’s back and said,
“Hana, stop.”
Hana shook her head side to side, burying her face in his clothes as if she didn’t want to.
Feeling guilty, he decided to let her be and gently stroked her head.
“I’ve moved everything.”
“Oh, really? Thanks.”
“It’s nothing…!”
With that, Jeong-hyeon headed to the bed Lucia had prepared to put Hana to sleep.
***
When Jeong-hyeon opened his eyes, it was morning.
He looked at Hana sleeping in his arms and felt a strange sensation, gently brushing her bangs.
‘This must be why parents check if their kids are sleeping well.’
Watching her, he felt the urge to tidy her hair and pull up the blanket.
Thinking these thoughts were unlike him, he continued to pat Hana.
Someone opened the door and came in.
“Did everyone sleep well?”
Judging by the tone, it seemed to be Miria.
Jeong-hyeon turned his gaze to Miria, who looked at the three of them with a dazed expression and said,
“…Oh?”
Then, as if shocked, she looked at them and asked in a trembling voice,
“Did you… sleep with Lucia?”
Her tone was full of misunderstanding.
Jeong-hyeon quickly tried to add that Hana was there too, but before he could, Miria approached Lucia, shaking her shoulder rapidly.
“It’s too early to make a sibling for Hana…!”
Hmm. She definitely misunderstood.
Jeong-hyeon wanted to tell Miria to be quiet as Hana stirred from her loud voice, but then—
“Daddy… hehe.”
“Did you sleep well, Jeong-hyeon?”
Hana and Lucia woke up at the same time, looking so alike that Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but laugh.
No matter how much they were mother and daughter, they were too similar.
As he laughed at the sight, Miria, seemingly exasperated, lightly tapped Lucia’s back and said,
“Did you really do it where Hana was?”
Seeing Miria crossing the line, Jeong-hyeon sighed.
It would have been better if she acted like a crazy woman like when they first met; seeing her like this was hopeless.
He shrugged and held Hana, who clung to him, as she said something.
“Right… Daddy, I’ll make you something delicious!”
“Something delicious?”
“Yeah!”
Curious, he looked at Lucia and Miria.
Miria explained,
“Oh, when you went to the demon realm last time to feed Hana, we suggested practicing making a meal to give you as a gift.”
So, in short, they had tried cooking together?
Nodding at her words, Hana fidgeted with her fingers and asked,
“Do you not like it?”
“No, I like it.”
At Jeong-hyeon’s words, Hana smiled bashfully and declared she would make a meal, then quickly got off the bed and ran to the kitchen.
Lucia, watching this, approached Hana in surprise, while Miria shook her head and remarked,
“Look at how similar they are.”
Hana’s behavior must have been learned from watching Lucia.
Even if Jeong-hyeon wanted to say they weren’t alike, they were too similar, making him smile. He then turned to Miria and said,
“I’ll explain what happened yesterday.”
He explained in detail what had happened, and Miria nodded without much surprise.
“…Then it’ll definitely accelerate. You left evidence that the kingdom is behind it.”
“Yeah.”
“Usually, when it’s so obvious, people start to doubt, but… given the closed nature of the religion, if the leader is convinced the kingdom is behind it, no one will doubt it.”
It seemed his intention had worked perfectly.
Jeong-hyeon nodded, tapping his foot.
Miria tapped the table with her fingers, pondering for a moment before asking a question.
“So, what will you do now?”
He almost unconsciously said engagement ceremony but stopped himself with superhuman reflexes.
‘That was close.’
Thinking about how scary the subconscious could be, he let out a small laugh.
He then forced himself to say something else.
“For now, I plan to watch how the kingdom reacts.”
“Is that so? It’s not a bad idea to spend some peaceful time comforting Hana.”
As he awkwardly nodded, Hana approached from the kitchen and called out,
“Daddy…!”
She seemed quite excited, suggesting she had done well.
Jeong-hyeon turned his head at her voice and saw Hana with a side ponytail.
Lucia must have tied her hair to prevent any accidents in the kitchen.
As he watched, Hana approached him, grabbing his hand and pulling him along.
He followed Hana, who was tugging at him, and she patted a chair with her palm, saying,
“Sit here…!”
“Alright, alright.”
Thinking it best to do as she said, he sat down.
Lucia then placed what looked like pancakes on the table.
“Please enjoy!”
Golden-brown pancakes with syrup poured over them.
Jeong-hyeon let out a small exclamation at the sight.
‘They turned out better than I thought.’
It was probably more Lucia’s work than Hana’s, but since Hana had helped, he decided to consider it her creation.
‘Well, anyway, she must take after Lucia.’
Thinking she had good skills, he suddenly noticed Hana approaching from the opposite side.
She placed her hands on the table, looked up at him with a bright smile, and said,
“Daddy… eat this!”
She signaled for him to try it with sparkling eyes.
He patted Hana’s head and slowly tasted the pancake.
“It’s delicious.”
Hana responded happily with a “Yeah!” and he smiled at her.
***
Charlotte read the letter directly from the royal family and closed her eyes tightly.
The contents made her head hurt, but what troubled her the most was the section that read:
[You will be summoned for preparations.]
‘I ran away because I didn’t want to see the power struggle or competition for the throne.’
Being called back was stressful.
She didn’t want to return, but the royal command was absolute.
It wasn’t a decision she could make based on personal feelings, so she decided to go.
‘I hope there won’t be any issues…’
There was a high chance of encountering various problems.
Sighing repeatedly, she bit her lip, tapped her cheeks to regain composure, and opened her eyes wide.
‘Get a grip, Charlotte.’
She had done well so far, so she believed she could continue to do well.
‘Once this is over, I can sever all ties.’
Determined to give it her all one last time, she wrote a reply stating she would head to the palace.
‘To think I’d end up getting engaged…’
She had received several engagement proposals before, all of which she had ignored and rejected, so she never expected to accept one.
‘I don’t dislike it, but… it’s something.’
Honestly, she had a favorable impression, but she had never thought about something like a romantic relationship, so thinking about it made her blush.
As her face heated up, she fanned herself, and a maid approached, asking about her condition.
“Are you alright, Princess?”
“Oh… yes.”
“If you need anything, please let me know anytime.”
“Thank you.”
After the maid politely withdrew, Charlotte took a deep breath and looked at the letter again, her expression hardening.
“I’ll head to the palace soon, so please prepare.”
“Yes.”
However, there were many things to consider, so some preparations were necessary.
Gathering supplies was basic, and just in case, she thought it would be good to contact Jeong-hyeon.
Though still embarrassed and flustered, she knew she had to do it.
Trying to calm her embarrassment, she wrote a letter to Jeong-hyeon.
‘This should do it.’
She decided to meet her father after a long time and make her position clear.
“Oh, and I’ll be wearing a garter belt, so please prepare it.”
She requested the garter belt she always wore when she needed to win, and the maid responded with a slightly brightened expression.