Chapter – 21
One week later.
Mari was still shrinking under Crofort’s gaze.
She had stopped her usual nagging, and even the little chores she used to do were quietly finished without being noticed.
She tried to move in silence, to avoid bothering Crofort as much as possible.
“Mariposa.”
“Yes?”
However, no matter how stealthily she moved, it was hard to escape Crofort’s eyes.
“I told you not to clean the antiques.”
Mari hid the cloth she was holding behind her back. Her green eyes wavered restlessly.
“Oh, I—I didn’t clean them….”
“Lies like that are obvious.”
Crofort clicked his tongue lightly.
“I told you you don’t have to do housework. I’ve said it many times—doing it myself is faster than having you do it.”
Mari’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Forgetting her cautious behavior over the past few days, she pointed out something she had been thinking.
“But Crofort always says he’ll do it and then doesn’t.”
“What?”
“If you leave it alone, dust will pile up. Dishes get harder to clean if you don’t wash them right after eating. Housework should be done whenever you can.”
Crofort was speechless.
He slumped onto the sofa with a dissatisfied expression.
“Where did you learn something like that?”
“Mom taught me.”
“Ha….”
Good teaching. He had nothing to say.
Crofort sighed deeply and buried his upper body into the backrest.
“From now on, I’ll take care of it myself. So please just stay still.”
Now he understood why Sasha would stick her lips out when she was in a bad mood.
Feeling treated like a troublemaker made Mari puff her lips forward.
But only for a moment.
Mari took a breath and turned around.
“I’m sorry.”
She was already living under someone else’s roof, and she had even caused trouble.
Mari walked away slowly with a gloomy face.
Watching the child’s lonely back, Crofort opened and closed his mouth several times before making a pained sound and covering his eyes.
“Mariposa, wait a—”
“Mari-po-sa!”
Mari’s steps stopped. Crofort’s eyes widened.
They both turned toward the direction of the voice.
“Nine-year-old? Did you sneak into the research room again?”
“Sasha, what happened?”
It was the direction of Crofort’s storage room.
Mari and Crofort hurried there with anxious faces.
Soon, the two entered the storage room.
“What on earth is—”
Crofort stopped speaking.
Sasha was standing on a small table, reaching toward the top of a shelf.
At the tip of Sasha’s small hand was a light brown flower-bud ornament.
A large drop of water-like energy was shaking there as if it might burst at any moment.
Crofort carefully approached Sasha.
“Little one, take your hand off there. Slowly. Come down.”
The longer Sasha’s contact continued, the larger the droplet became, dangling precariously.
Sasha looked alternately at Crofort and Mari, then slowly removed her fingers.
“Good. Slowly.”
After all her fingers left the ornament, Crofort sighed in relief and reached his hand toward Sasha.
“Come down now. It’s dangerous—”
Bang!
The droplet burst with a loud explosion.
“Kyah!”
“Little one!”
Startled by the deafening noise, Sasha lost her balance and fell backward.
Crofort’s face turned bone-white. Forgetting even to use magic, he caught Sasha with his body as she fell from the table.
Crofort and Sasha crashed backward in a clumsy tumble.
He groaned in pain as he twitched slightly.
“Damn it….”
“Mom, Mommmm!”
Sasha cried and grabbed Crofort’s collar.
His hips, waist, and entire body ached.
Crofort sighed and pulled Sasha into his arms, sitting up slowly. His head rang faintly, likely from the explosion sound.
He shook his head and checked on Sasha.
“Are you hurt?”
“Crofort… here hurts…”
Sasha said tearfully, pointing to her elbow.
It must have been hurt when she fell. It was red and slightly swollen.
Crofort clicked his tongue and examined her carefully.
“Anywhere else? Any bleeding?”
“N-no, nothing else….”
He checked her once more, confirming there were no serious injuries, and sighed deeply.
“I told you not to go into the research room. There are so many magic-sensitive objects there. Even if Mariposa doesn’t know, you—”
Crofort stopped, remembering Mari was also there.
He had forgotten Mari was present.
“Mariposa, are you okay—?”
Crofort froze.
At some distance away, Mari was covering her ears and trembling, her head lowered.
Tears spread in spots across the white apron on her body.
Crofort’s heart sank.
“…Mariposa?”
Through falling tears, he heard shallow, struggling breaths.
Crofort hardened his expression and knelt in front of Mari.
“Why are you like this, Mariposa? Were you startled?”
When he gently touched Mari’s shoulder, she raised her tear-streaked face.
“The sound… loud sounds…”
The usual sharp intelligence was gone. Her green eyes wavered as if lost in fog.
Crofort realized the seriousness of the situation and held Mari.
“Mariposa, nothing happened.”
“Help me….”
“Everyone is fine.”
Mari’s shoulders trembled like a leaf in the wind.
After a moment’s hesitation, Crofort hugged the quietly sobbing child.
“Mom, I’m scared. I’m scared….”
“It’s okay. I’m here.”
“Fire… must not die, please…”
Fire?
Crofort frowned slightly but continued patting Mari’s back.
“No one was hurt. It’s okay. See, your little sister is safe too.”
Sasha.
Mari’s blurred gaze moved.
Seeing Sasha standing beside Crofort, sniffling, Mari’s eyes slowly regained focus.
“…Sasha?”
“Uh, sis. Did I scare you?”
Mari stretched her arms out from Crofort’s embrace.
Sasha sniffled and squeezed herself between Crofort and Mari.
Crofort groaned in discomfort.
“Sasha… are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m okay, but is big sis okay?”
Mari’s breathing gradually stabilized.
Holding Sasha, feeling the warm, familiar baby scent, Mari lowered her head.
“I’m okay now.”
Mari closed her eyes tightly and stroked Sasha’s back.
One or two drops of unfinished tears fell, then quickly dried.
Crofort sighed and leaned his upper body back.
“Heavy. Get down now.”
“Huh?”
Mari lifted her head in confusion, realizing she was sitting on Crofort’s knee while hugging Sasha.
“I’m sorry!”
“Ugh, Mariposa. You stepped on my leg!”
“I’m sorry!”
She hurriedly tried to stand and move away, but still shaken, her legs wobbled and she collapsed sideways.
Crofort immediately swung his magic pipe and lifted Mari into the air.
“Are you hurt?”
“Oh, uh, yes, I’m fine….”
“Stay still. Let’s leave here first. Little one, you can stand up, right?”
“Yes, I can.”
Crofort rubbed his waist and stood up, taking Mari and Sasha out of the storage room.
Soon they arrived at the children’s room and carefully placed them on the bed.
“Thank you, Crofort.”
“It’s nothing. Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
Mari wiped her tears and nodded.
The panic attack that had erupted for a moment quickly subsided. The child slowly breathed, calming herself.
“I’m okay now.”
“Good….”
Crofort almost asked about what had just happened but stopped.
This was a child with many wounds. The earlier incident might be related to her parents’ death. If he carelessly brought it up, it would only hurt her.
While choosing his words, Sasha tugged at Crofort’s clothes and asked hesitantly.
“Um, Crofort. What was that thing that exploded earlier?”
“Oh.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and answered.
“It was a magic detection device. Normally, the sensing bubble shouldn’t burst, but sometimes if the detected magic is too aggressive or vast, it breaks down…”
Sasha blinked her round eyes.
Crofort sighed and changed his explanation.
“It broke because of your magic. That’s all.”
“Oh. So it was because of me.”
“Yes. That flower—well, the bubble that came out of the flower shouldn’t grow that big. It should be smaller than your fist.”
Mari, who had been listening quietly, drooped her eyebrows and asked,
“Was it completely broken? Can it be obtained again?”
Crofort hesitated for a moment.
Magic detection tools were research equipment used at the magic school of Magia, rare items that ordinary magicians could not obtain.
Of course, Crofort had acquired it illegally, but he had no intention of explaining that, so he answered briefly.
“It would be difficult to use it again. Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t that important anyway.”
“Oh….”
The rare tool instantly turned into something trivial.
Mari’s face fell sadly.
Crofort was about to say it was fine again but felt something strange and looked up.
“Wait a minute.”
His face was filled with shock.
“Little one, did you use a magic tool?”
Sasha’s innocent eyes widened.
Crofort panicked and shouted.
“You could use magic power!”
