“…”
“…”
Her Papa didn’t make this breakfast and while it tasted acceptable, Leah was slightly unhappy. The women next to her didn’t have any ill-will, but Leah was very mindful, since a stranger appeared in her territory. Veirya, who was opposite her, was expressionless as she ate her meal. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but did Veirya not notice that she had blood stuck in her hair?
Leah was slightly scared. Veirya had blood on her, yet she sat there and ate dinner with a cold expression while her Papa had yet to return.
‘Could Papa have been killed by this woman…? Where exactly is Papa? Why was Papa gone when I woke up?!’
Despite her worries, Leah was still afraid of moving, though, since it was Veirya, who was opposite her, while her Papa wasn’t by her side. She suspected something would happen if she cried and made a scene… Leah was afraid, too. Leah didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to die no matter what. She wanted to see this world, but her favourite Papa was no longer here while the violent woman in front of her still had blood in her hair. It was too scary for Leah.
‘I should go and find Papa.’
Leah made up her mind. She secretively snuck a glance at Veirya from the side of her plate. She slowly slid down and out of her chair. She wanted to run as soon as she hit the ground; unfortunately, somebody suddenly grabbed hold of her hand, which gave her a fright, causing her to let out a high-pitched scream. Veirya coldly turned her head to look at Leah, “You. Haven’t Finished. Where you doing?”
“Ugh… Ugh… Ugh…”
Veirya tightly gripped Leah’s hand, causing Leah to shudder from fear. Veirya stared intently at her face with her blue eyes. Leah felt as though she was a rabbit that had been caught. The last time Veirya grabbed her this way, she nearly lost her head. Therefore, Leah shook with fear and didn’t dare to budge. She gradually lowered her head as she sat in her chair. She really wished to curl herself up into a ball.
Veirya lowered her head and sincerely looked at Leah, who was softly sobbing. She was somewhat puzzled as to why Leah was so upset, when she asked a normal question.
‘What should I do at a time like this? If he was in my position, what would he do?’
Veirya released her grip, and then gently titled Leah’s chin up using her left hand. She looked at Leah’s red eyes that were continuously shedding tears. She then wiped Leah’s tears with her right hand. Leah was so frightened that she didn’t dare to move. Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop her tears; thus, she just looked at Veirya’s blue eyes while shedding tears of her own. Veirya, on the other hand, maintained her patience as she wiped the tears on Leah’s face over and over.
The newcomer watched Veirya and Leah. She couldn’t help but softly giggle, “I never thought that you would have this side to you, Lord Veirya. Your husband was always the one taking care of the girl, so it is quite the new and novel scene to see. I never thought that you would have such a gentle side.”
“Husband?”
Puzzled, Vierya turned her head to look at the woman. She asked, “Husband… Are you talking about Lin Dongqing? Husband. What’s that?”
Veirya’s question caught her by surprise. She didn’t even know how to explain it. She smiled awkwardly and replied, “A husband… Is a man similar to the man with you, living together… Mm… And a child… Loving each other and whatnot… As an adventurer, marriage is a major problem for us… There is no man who would willingly want a woman who could cut down a huge demon with a swing of her sword… There are very few men fit for adventurers. Lord Veirya, you are truly blessed. That man suits you in every aspect.”
“Yeah…? Love. What’s love…? But… Mama… That way of addressing is…”
Veirya fell into a short silence, as though she wanted to become the person called Mama. She didn’t know the meaning of ‘husband’, but she did know what ‘mama’ meant. She did almost fight her own mother, after all. But nonetheless, she didn’t have the violent look for her mother in her gaze at the moment; rather, a form of sadness filled her gaze.
“She’s not my Mama!!”
Leah raised her voice and interjected before Veirya could finish. She honestly couldn’t hold it in. She smacked Veirya’s hand away then wiped her tears. She exclaimed, “I have to find my Papa!! What did you do to Papa?!!”
Veirya looked at her and asked, “You want to go find him?”
“Ah?”
Leah froze. She imagined countless sorts of tragic deaths her Papa could’ve met with, but she never considered that her father would be safe. She looked at Veirya and nodded with confusion.
Veirya looked at her with absolute seriousness. She replied, “Call me your Mama, and I’ll take you to go find him.”
“Ah?!”
Leah jolted. She looked at Veirya feeling completely surprised. Veirya repeated herself with an expressionless look. It seemed that the ostensibly realistic remark from Veirya was too much for Leah’s mind to accept. She froze in a daze on her chair for five seconds. She then vigorously shook her head and exclaimed, “Impossible! There’s no way I’ll accept you as my Mama! No way!”
“Lord Veirya, you need to be patient at times like this.”
The newcomer appeared as if a light bulb just switched on for her..
‘I get it now. So Lord Veirya married a man with a daughter, but his daughter struggled to accept her new mother. But it’s understandable. She’s just a kid, after all.’
Veirya looked at Leah. She picked up her knife and viciously stabbed it into the table, thereby frightening Leah, causing her to shudder. Veirya looked at Leah with a serious look, “If you don’t call me Mama, you will sit here forever. I won’t. Let you see him.”
“I… I… I…”
Leah looked at Veirya with despair. She knew that she couldn’t escape from Veirya, and she was was aware that Veirya might just seriously kill her if she did. She wanted to go and see her Papa now, though.
‘Is Papa truly all right…? I… I really want to see Papa… It seems that I only have one choice, then… But I really don’t want to do this!!! I really don’t want to! This woman… this woman tried to kill me before. She wanted to kill my Papa, too. What right does she have to be my Mama?! Although… although she did protect me before, Papa… Papa… Papa is mine!! Mama or whatnot… No way! I can’t give my Papa to somebody else! But… but if I don’t call her Mama… My Papa… my Papa… I want to see… I want to know that Papa is safe. Is my Papa… truly safe…?’
Leah’s lips squirmed. It was just one word, yet she couldn’t utter it. Veirya’s blue eyes were intently focused on her. Veirya wasn’t rushed, either. She just waited for Leah to call her ‘Mama’.
Leah cast her feelings aside and shut her eyes. In a soft and shaky voice, she murmured, “M-… Mama…”
“All right.”
Veirya didn’t continue teasing Leah; instead, she stood up and grabbed hold of Leah’s hand. She said, “I’ll take you to go find him.”
“Ah… Oh… Uhm…”
Leah felt as though she might not be able to keep up with Veirya’s train of thought.
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