14 Mini Family (2/2)
”Tilly, your pets eat well like you do,” Kiho said when he turned around to face her. His face was as stoic as usual but his eyes were sparkling. Despite his built and reputation as a ”monster,” she couldn't see him anything other than a ”cinnamon roll” that she wanted to protect at all cost. ”In time, your fishes will get big enough for you to eat.”
”I won't eat them,” Tilly complained with a pout. ”Stop picking on my koi fishes. They are my children.”
His eyes widened in obvious shock. ”Y-Your children? How? Were the children cursed by an evil mage and turned them into koi fishes?”
She stifled a laugh at his adorable wholesomeness.
Well, she couldn't blame him if he often took her words too literally. As far as she knew, he grew up in isolation. He never had friends to joke around with. When he became a captain, his personality became more serious because now, his knights' lives were in his hands.
”It was just an expression, Kiho,” Tilly explained with a smile. ”How can you even think that I already have a children?”
He blinked in confusion. ”Ah, right. Blake often tell me that I'm slow when it comes to ”jokes.””
”But you thought I was serious and didn't care if I already have children that I hid from you?”
”It's fine with me even if it was true,” he said in a casual yet sincere voice. ”I'm willing to accept everything about you, Tilly.”
She tried to hide her smile by pretending to cough. Then, she changed the subject. Her heart wasn't ready yet to confront his feelings for her.
”What I mean with what I said earlier is that I treat my pets like they're my own children.” She playfully glared at him. ”They're now your children, too. So don't even talk about eating them ever again.”
He looked pleasantly surprised for some reason. ”I'm their father now?”
”Of course,” she said. ”If you want to marry me, you should accept my children as well.”
”Okay,” he agreed in a more cheerful voice than usual. Then, he turned around to face the pond again. Much to her surprise, he bowed to the fishes. ”Hello, children. My name is Kiho and from now on, I am your father. Let's take care of each other.”
She covered her mouth with her hands when she gasped from so much cuteness.
[OMG! He's so cute! If I could go back to the time I was being mean to him in my first life, I would beat myself to death!]
”Are you okay, Tilly?” Kiho asked when he found her frozen in her seat when he turned around to face her. ”Are you crying?”
She might have been a little teary-eyed but she didn't want to make a big issue out of it.
Tilly pulled her hands away from her mouth. ”I'm okay,” she assured him. Then, she tapped the space next to her. ”Come here and have some tea.”
The captain nodded, then he sat beside her. As usual, he left a decent space between us. See? He didn't have noble bloodline but he was far more decent than some of the nobles she knew.
She poured some tea for the handsome gentleman.
”Thank you,” Kiho said when she was done. ”Are you feeling better now?”
”Hmm?” she asked while slicing a chocolate cake with a fork.
”You seemed to be in a bad mood when I arrived,” he said. ”But now, you're back to your usual happy disposition.”
To be honest, she didn't expect him to notice that she was in a bad mood a while ago. But she was glad that he did. That meant he was paying attention to her.
”Can I share my troubles with you, captain?”
”Of course.”
”Actually, I had a little argument with my father a while ago,” she said, then ate the slice of cake in her fork before she continued. She wanted to tell him about her mother's sickness but she held back. Kiho was about to leave for his mission tomorrow. She didn't want him to worry about her. So she just told him the ”tip of the iceberg.” ”He practically banned me from using my Mana again.”
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