Chapter 019
“…But where is Charlotte?”
“Oh! Sister-in-law went out for a bit. She said she’d be back soon, but…” Theo pouted.
“It’ll still be about an hour before she returns,” he added.
‘Out again?’
Cassius raised an eyebrow.
The last time she went out, she bought Theo’s supplements.
This time, he wondered what she’d bring back. His thoughts have changed now—thanks to Charlotte.
Yes, even Cassius was starting to change because of her.
Charlotte arrived about 30 minutes later than promised. Theo, who had been studying vocabulary in Cassius’ office, ran downstairs, his face flushed. She returned with her arms full of items.
“Why are you so late?”
“Oh, sorry. Theo, did you wait long?” Charlotte sighed briefly.
“It was hard to buy gifts with so many people around.”
“Gifts?”
“Yep. I promised, didn’t I? If I found something delicious, I’d bring it back.”
“Wow! Then let’s eat now!” Theo jumped up and down excitedly.
He had never been outside the mansion, let alone tried food from outside. For him, the mansion was his entire world. His eyes sparkled as he grabbed Charlotte’s arm.
Charlotte smiled knowingly.
‘I knew he’d react like this.’
And there was a reason why she expected this reaction.
“Carrots, spinach, and beans,” she said.
“Huh?”
“Eat those tonight, and I’ll let you have all of this.”
“That’s mean!” Theo puffed out his cheeks like a pufferfish.
Charlotte poked his cheek playfully, It was soft and fun to touch, and she chuckled at the feeling.
“Yep, I’m mean. Theo, life isn’t always easy, you know. So, are you going to eat them or not?”
Charlotte waved the bag of food in front of him. A delicious aroma wafted out, making Theo’s eyes follow it like a pendulum.
“Fried chicken coated in a rich sauce, bread soaked in sweet condensed milk with chocolate syrup, and even spiral-cut fried potatoes. Your choice, Theo.”
Theo swallowed hard. Just hearing about the food made his mouth water. He had never tasted them, but he had heard stories about them from Luna and even from the knights. And now, this smell in the air…
“…F-fine. I’ll eat them.”
“Good boy, Theo.”
Charlotte handed the food bag to Luna, who took it to the kitchen. Luna had stopped questioning Charlotte’s actions or doubting her motives—it was too exhausting to keep up.
“You need to wash your hands before dinner. It’s dinner time anyway, right? Show me how you keep your promises.” Charlotte smiled warmly at Theo.
Although it was her first time having lunch with him today, Charlotte realized that eating together was far better than eating alone.
She always thought eating delicious food together felt like magic.
She smoothly guided him towards the dinner table.
“Fine. I’ll go wash my hands. You better keep your promise, Charlotte!”
“Of course. Have I ever broken a promise? I even bought you a book about origami!”
“…W-wow… Ahem,” Theo coughed, regaining his composure before rushing to wash his hands.
Charlotte headed upstairs to change into something more comfortable. As she reached the staircase, her eyes met Cassius, who was standing nearby.
Charlotte blinked in surprise and then smiled slightly.
“You’re home early today?”
“…I finished work earlier than expected.”
Near the snowbeast’s territory, he had found traces of a magical explosion. Based on the evidence, it had happened about a month ago. Historically, magical explosions often led to a rapid increase in the snowbeast population. Their strange behavior over the past month suddenly made sense—they had likely been struggling to find food in their limited space and were forced to venture into the human territory.
There was still more to investigate, but Cassius had decided to withdraw for the day.
Since the habitat was close by, it would be better to send more people to investigate. And… his thoughts kept drifting back to Charlotte, which made it hard to focus.
Cassius dismissed everything in one sentence.
“Work finished early.”
“Ah, that’s good timing. I visited the herbalist today and picked out some supplements you might like,” Charlotte handed Cassius a bottle of supplements. Cassius’s gaze followed her fingers as she neatly folded them.
“They’re supposed to help with insomnia, chronic fatigue, digestion, and filling nutritional gaps.”
“Is this all?”
“Sorry? Oh, should I have bought more?” Charlotte tilted her head and blinked.
Cassius hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“No, I meant… Is this all you bought? Nothing else?”
“…Yes. Was there something you needed? Let me know, and I’ll get it next time.”
Cassius let out a faint laugh.
The idea of Charlotte going out just to buy supplements for him, snacks, and an origami book felt so unreal.
‘If Charlotte from a few months ago had seen this shopping list, she might have laughed at it.’
“…It’s fine. I’ll make good use of these.”
He turned to head back to his room, but Charlotte quickly stopped him.
“Um, excuse me!”
“What?”
“Let’s have dinner together, Cassius. Theo will definitely love it.”
Charlotte smiled brightly, a harmless smile that left no room for doubt.
It was impossible to refuse.
For the first time, Cassius, Charlotte, and Theo sat down together for a family dinner.
It all happened quite unexpectedly.
Cassius, Charlotte, and Theo sat together at the table. Cassius watched them with unfamiliar eyes, observing the scene of Charlotte and Theo sitting side by side.
“This is way too big…”
“Look, if you cut it like this, it’s smaller, right?”
Charlotte split a boiled carrot in half. Theo pursed his lips, poking at it with his fork.
“Hmm. Is Theo the kind of child who doesn’t keep promises?”
“I’m not a child! I’m already eight years old. I’m an adult!”
“Alright, a young man then?”
Something felt off. Theo blinked. Charlotte was strange. She seemed to be doing whatever Theo wanted, but somehow, it all felt like things were going her way.
“…Fine.”
Theo shut his eyes tight and chewed on the carrot.
Charlotte chuckled softly at the sight.
She continued to take care of Theo before finally starting her own meal.
And only then did Cassius begin eating as well.
The once cold and barren dining table now felt a little warmer and fuller. It was strange. Nothing about the table or the room had changed,
But it felt warmer, and the food tasted better.
All three of them felt it.
After dinner, they shared the treats Charlotte had brought back. There wasn’t much, but the portions were perfect for sampling.
Theo poked around his plate.
“Is there more?”
“Eating too much of this isn’t good for you, especially for a young man like you. If you want to grow tall, eating your meals properly is more important than this.”
“…Grow tall?”
Theo already felt self-conscious about being shorter than his peers. His biggest wish was to grow tall like Cassius.
He dreamed of standing beside Cassius as a proud and strong knight, instead of waiting for him at home whenever he went on expeditions.
Just as Cassius had always protected him, Theo wanted to grow up and protect Cassius in return.
