As Aslan quietly observed Lyla, a past memory flashed in his mind.
While not completely recovered, at least the memories up until the decision to marry Lyla had returned.
[I accept your proposal, my lady.]
At that time, Aslan found Lyla both adorable and intimidating. He wanted to both torment her and protect her.
It was confusing. Except for the single-minded determination to make her his wife in any way possible, everything else was chaotic.
It was still the same. The sudden resurfaced memory complicated his thoughts.
While complying with Lyla’s request, Aslan subtly revealed the truth.
“I am proposing to Lyla.”
“Proposing?”
The child tilted her head in confusion. It seemed they didn’t understand the meaning of the word “proposing.” Aslan kindly explained.
“It’s asking someone to marry you.”
Only then did the child understand the meaning. Her eyes widened with surprise. The child reflexively turned to look at Lyla and mumbled.
“Really? You’re going to marry my teacher?”
Despite the muttering to herself, Aslan answered.
“Yes.”
“Wow!”
The child covered her mouth with her hand. Her tiny, open mouth was covered by an equally tiny hand, but that didn’t take away the surprise she felt.
The child looked at Lyla, lips twitching with the desire to immediately share this astonishing news.
Seeing this, Aslan spoke up, “You haven’t forgotten the promise, right?”
The child’s lips tightened.
“Oof.”
“It’s a secret, especially from Ms. Lyla.”
Aslan pressed his lips with his index finger, emphasizing the importance.
“Okay!”
The child nodded enthusiastically.
The child giggled and beamed looking at Lyla, thrilled to have shared a secret with a wonderful adult, but Lyla, busy tending to the other children, didn’t notice.
The rest of the class after the break went well. The lesson was kept short to accommodate the children’s attention span, and the sun was still out.
“It’s a beautiful day,let’s go out to play!”
The children exclaimed with excitement.
“Well, that’s something the teacher can’t decide right away…”
Though she taught the children, Lyla, not being a formal teacher, didn’t have the discretion to freely decide matters outside of the lesson.
However, the children were unaware of Lyla’s situation, and the whining grew louder.
It was loud enough for Pastor Phineas, who happened to be walking by, to hear it.
“You’re going on an outing? The kids will love that.”
“Is it okay, though?”
“Of course, it is.”
Pastor Phineas, who gladly agreed, looked at the worried face of Lyla and added,
“It’s fine. They often venture to the forest and the beach on their own. It’s actually reassuring if the teacher goes with them.”
And so, Lyla and the children set out for an outing.
They didn’t plan to go far, so they packed up their mats, blankets, and water and headed for the shore.
“All right, everyone, be careful!”
Lyla raised her voice to warn them, but the excited children forgot to be cautious.
She tried to control the energetic kids as they moved, but Lyla had only two eyes and two hands.
Holding two children with both hands, the other two managed to escape.
“Hahaha! Teacher is really slow!”
“Zeke! Sol! There are stairs in front! Be careful!”
Even though she raised her voice to warn them, the excited children paid no attention. They recklessly ran until they reached the stairs leading to the sea without properly surveying their surroundings.
“Zeke!”
Sensing a potential disaster, Lyla shouted. Her heart sank.
Thud!
“Ouch!”
Fortunately, a dreadful incident was narrowly avoided. Unbeknownst to them, Aslan had swiftly positioned himself in front of the children.
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Lyla, who had hurriedly caught up, breathed a sigh of relief.
“Zeke! Didn’t the teacher say to be careful?”
“Ow.”
The child was busy rubbing his nose, even as she scolded. His nose was sore from being bumped into Aslan’s hard leg.
Seeing the red nose and tearful eyes, it was pitiful, but Lyla steeled herself. If she let this slide without a firm reprimand, a truly uncontrollable incident could happen next time.
Lyla scolded sternly with a determined expression.
“Since you’re not listening to me and getting into trouble, I’m going to have to send you home.”
“No, teacher!”
“We will be good, teacher!”
Despite the children’s protests, Lyla did not relent.
Then the children checked where Lyla’s gaze reached and changed their goal.
“Zeke! Quickly, apologize to the teacher!”
“Yeah, hurry!”
With their friends joining in the criticism, even mischievous troublemakers who seemed fearless couldn’t keep their mouths shut.
“Sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Zeke apologized with a sullen expression.
Only then did Lyla’s stern expression soften.
“You were lucky this time, but if something like this happens again, you could get seriously hurt. All of you could. We don’t know what might happen in the sea. Everyone, be careful, very careful.”
“Yes!”
After a brief commotion , the atmosphere finally stabilized.
Now it was time to head to the actual beach.
However, there was one last obstacle.
“The stairs are steep.”
Laila looked down at the stairs leading to the sea. There weren’t many steps, but they were narrow and steep, posing a danger to the children.
“I hope they don’t slip on the way down, because if they do, they’ll get really hurt…….”
Lyla expressed her concern with a murmur.
At that moment, Aslan, who had been quiet all along, eased her worries.
“Let me help them go down.”
Aslan swiftly embraced the children and, once they were all safely down, only Lyla remained above.
Wearing shoes with heels, Lyla was cautiously attempting to descend when a hand reached out to grab her arm.
“Hold on. The ground is slippery.”
Aslan took Lyla’s hand,forcing her to cling to his strong forearm. Lyla hesitated for a moment, but did not refuse his kindness.
With a strange sense of urgency, she took one step after another, escorted by Aslan, down to the beach.
Lyla quickly released his hand as soon as her feet touched the sand.
The hand that held his forearm was warm. It was perplexing, as it felt like his body temperature had somehow transferred, even though it wasn’t in direct contact with his bare skin.
Despite the awkward sensation, Lyla didn’t forget her manners.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Aslan grinned. Unlike me, he was calm, almost teasing.
Lyla took a deep breath and looked up.
The unplanned outing brought more worries than expectations, but when she saw the vast sea under the clear sky, admiration came first.
“Wow….”
The sunlight from the clear sky reflected beautifully on the sea surface as if scattering diamonds.
Walking on the finely-spread white sand of the pristine beach was a different kind of joy.
As the waves lightly lapped the shore, white foam formed, accompanying the gentle breeze.
The children laughed joyfully, their cheerful laughter harmonizing with the summer scenery at the seaside.
“Let’s play in the water!”
“I want to go into the sea.”
“I want to swim!”
They chorused, waving the hem of Lyla’s skirt.
Lyla, with a somewhat embarrassed expression, but firmly, nodded her head.
“I didn’t bring a change of clothes today, so we’ll go into the sea next time.”
Even though it was summer, playing in the water and wandering around in completely soaked clothes could lead to catching a cold.
Moreover, with several children and only two adults to supervise, that was also a concern. A major accident could happen.
For safety, they needed thorough preparation before going into the sea to play.
“I really want to go in…”
The children pouted, pushing their lips forward. However, since Lyla maintained a firm attitude, they quickly gave up.
The kids were quick to cheer up. As if never disappointed, they started playing again.
“Let’s play tag!”
“No, the teacher is going to build sandcastles with us!”
The children tried to snatch Lyla away. Lyla, with an embarrassed expression, intervened in the squabbling children, who were holding her legs. She took turns playing with them, mediating.
Aslan helped, too. The energetic boys were hard for Lyla to deal with, but Aslan lifted them in his arms and joined in.
“Wow! Higher, higher, higher!”
The laughter of the boys clinging on Aslan echoed loudly, spreading far.
Lyla, who was building a castle in the sand with the girls, glanced over to see Aslan grabbing the boys and lifting them higher.
She was surprised.
Aslan was good at everything, but she hadn’t expected him to be so good with children.
He didn’t seem to be used to this, but he was playing with them with great enthusiasm.
The children responded well to him. She could tell by the way they kept hovering around him with smiling faces.
Watching this, she realized that Aslan would make a great father.
Thanks for the chapter
🥰🥰
Aww, this is so cute! Thank you for the chapter!
we prayed for times like this🤭
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