For My Derelict Favorite

Charis, who fell asleep, was taken care of by Clarice, and the rest of Hestia’s family came out to the backyard.

The hammock chair that the servant had prepared in advance was placed according to the number of people. The butler and the gardener were in the midst of it making a bonfire.

Hestia said apologetically.

“It must have taken a while for the fire to start, but you did a great job.”

“Fortunately, the firewood dried well, so it stuck quickly, my lady.”

The family was completely armed for the night cold. Of course, they wore a fur coat, and was meticulously equipped with earplugs and a fur hat. Even in winter, the night temperature was as good as that of winter.

Creos was the first to grumble.

“Oh, my face is so cold.”

“Then shall we go back in? It’s so cold that I can’t wait until the aurora comes out”

As Hestia deliberately spoke with a big smile, Cree immediately wavered.

“No, I was just saying it was cold. I don’t mean to go in.”

At that time, a servant from inside the mansion brought out a large bowl full of marshmallows. It was a precious snack that only rich aristocrats could eat, made by mixing egg whites and sugar.

It was a precious snack.

Kaelus looked delighted.

“Oh, it’s been a while. I remember grilling it on a brazier before.”

He picked up a long wooden skewer that the servant had brought with him. Then, familiarly, he poked a lump of marshmallow at the end of a skewer.

To Cree and Leon, who watched with curious eyes, Kaelus grinned and waved his skewer.

“This is how you do it.”

Kaelus put marshmallow skewers at a moderate distance from the flame. After a while, the marshmallow turned brown on the outside and cooked crisp.

He pulled the steaming marshmallow off gently with his fingertips. Then, as if the skin was peeling off, only the crispy surface was separated.

“Do you want to try it?”

“Oh, I’ll go first…!”

Cree stepped forward. He took a baked marshmallow from Kaelus and put it in his mouth.

“How is it? Is it good?” asked Leon nervously, whose body was full of energy.

“Um… It’s the best!”

In Cree’s answer, Leon almost cried and said to Kaelus.

“Daddy, me too…“

“Okay, there we go.”

Meanwhile, Kaelus, who completed the baked marshmallow, gave Leon a skewer. Leon filled his mouth with air and blew hard. Then, he touched the marshmallow with his finger, and then pulled it carefully.

Kaelus laughed with satisfaction.

“You’re good, Leon.”

Leon put marshmallow in his mouth before he could answer. Soon a satisfied smile spread.

“It’s delicious…!”

Hestia looked at the three boys with a smile and then inadvertently turned to the sky. Her eyes opened wide.

“Oh my…!”

At the exclamation, Kaelus and his sons’ eyes headed to the sky at the same time.

“Wow!”

The children looked at the aurora that had just appeared with their mouths open.

Kaelus looked up into the night sky, speechless. A faint green light seemed to flow across the sky, and soon a mysterious giant green curtain filled the dark sky.

A phenomenal sight that one would never believe unless one saw it with one’s own eyes. Everyone surrounding the bonfire appreciated the great nature in silence for a moment.

“It’s really cool…”

Hestia muttered unconsciously.

The aurora waved gently. Dark green and pale yellow mixed together and shone magically.

Kaelus said, looking at an inexplicable spectacle.

“I hope Cess grows up soon. So that we can see this wonderful aurora together.”

“Ha ha, I know.”

Hestia laughed quietly. Any parent will naturally think of their children when they see something good.

Cree said enchantedly.

“I’m not going to sleep tonight…”

“Me neither…”

Leon replied without losing.

The aurora slowly began to change direction. Purple also appeared and disappeared from time to time. The whole world was tinged with green.

Hestia bent her neck and said to the children looking up at the sky.

“If you keep standing like that, your throat will hurt. Here, lean on the chair.”

The two children moved quickly. Before she knew it, they became obedient children and laid down on a hammock chair as their mother said.

“I can see it really well, Leon.”

“You’re right.”

Hestia and Kaelus slowly baked marshmallows under the aurora light. The feast under the fantastic scenery was really sweet.

Kaelus took out his watch and said to the children.

“Let’s go in after one last bite.”

“Huh? I’m going to watch the aurora all night long.”

“Me too!”

At their father’s words, the sons immediately stood up. But Kaelus shook his head sternly.

“You’ve seen enough. And if you stay out in the cold air for too long, you’ll catch a cold. If you want to be stuck in a room all day with some bitter medicine, do it.”

“Ah…”

“Well…”

The children’s troubled feelings were revealed on their faces.

Hestia laughed silently. They must be upset, but how cute they are with that face!

So she decided to help a little bit.

“Instead, I’ll allow you to see the aurora in your room. Close the door and look through the window. You’ll see it well.”

Leon then asked with a protruding mouth.

“What about the marshmallows?”

“I’ll put it on top of the hot chocolate and bring it to you.”

“…Okay…”

Leon nodded reluctantly.

After a while, at the appointed time, Kaelus and Hestia got the children up. As Cree and Leon entered the house, they looked up at the brilliant aurora with regretful eyes.

The bonfire also burned until the aurora disappeared, 

~~~~

Creos and Deucalyon hurried down to the village as soon as the morning came. 

Besides the Patton and Paenon brothers, the children of other villages had already come out.

Cree and Leon, of course, rushed to speak.

“Did you see the aurora last night?”

“It was so cool!”

Then, the children each spoke one by one.

“Yeah, me too. But I only saw a little bit because my mom told me to go to bed early.”

“Ah… I fell asleep early yesterday…”

“Hehe, I saw it on the roof!”

Peers who had become best friends before they knew it, played comfortably regardless of their status. For rural children, who are still only six to seven years old, the status of “duke” was not very important.

Still, Cree and Leon knew that they were “the children of the lord,” so they didn’t look down on them or ignore them and sometimes let them be leaders. Thanks to them, everyone was able to have fun without getting hurt.

On this day, the children’s playground was a shallow stream flowing through the village. They’ve seen it before, and some good guys have created a fairly good shaped fishing rod.

Patton gave a grown-up demonstration.

“Now, you can hang the bait at the end here.”

“Where does the bait come from?”

Creos’ eyes glistened. Even though it was his first fishing, he was more curious than afraid.

Then the other twin, Paenon, turned over a stone by the stream. They could see worms burrowing through the wet soil. Paenon caught a worm running away with a quick hand.

Catch the worm that ran away.

“This!”

“Oh…”

Cree and Leon quickly turned ashen. If they didn’t catch that weird thing that was wriggling, they really couldn’t fish?

Fortunately, friendly village children rescued the two brothers from the challenge.

“We’ll help you since it’s your first time fishing.”

“Yes! We’ll put the bait on for you, too”

The brothers brightened up again.

“Thank you!”

Finally, they began fishing. The sloppy fishing rod did its part, so they were able to catch some small fish the size of their palm.

“In the summer, I go into the water and catch them. But it’s too cold now, so I can’t.”

“If the water freezes hard, break the ice with a hammer and fish.” 

“Then the big river over there freezes. Adults catch fish there.”

In the children’s story, Cree and Leon were very curious about the ice fishing.

“When will the river freeze?””

“There’s still a long way to go.” replied Paenon.

“I see…”

Cree and Leon became a little sullen. But soon, the fishing rod got a bite, and the feeling that almost subsided revived.

Cree’s eyes were round at the sight of his fishing rod.

“Wow, I got you…!”

Leon was more surprised.

“I can really caught it.”

Like this, the two “urban villager” brothers had an exciting morning.

~~~~

The brothers played in the stream until noon and returned to the permanent residence. 

As soon as the two children sat down at the table, they immediately brought up their fishing activities.

“I really caught a fish”

“But it was too small.”

“But I caught a lot!”

The children were so busy talking about the morning that they could hardly eat. Little Charis looked at her brothers with envy. She herself was impatient to join the story.

“Me too…!”

Hestia managed to patch up the hectic table atmosphere.

“Yeah, you must have really enjoyed fishing. Did you play with the twins again today?”

The two sons answered excitedly.

“Yes! The kids said they catch a lot of fish even in the winter when the river freezes.”

“You have to break the ice with a hammer.”

Hestia and Kaelus looked perplexed. Judging from the situation in which the story was going around, the children certainly seemed to want to go ice fishing.