Chapter: 06
I placed the wand into Cisrein’s hand and smiled.
“For now, take this. I’m not quite finished preparing yet.”
I pulled out an adorable pink teddy bear-shaped washbasin and began pouring water into it.
Splash—
‘I’m not making him bathe in a tub. A washbasin should be okay, right?’
We’ll start with washing his hands.
And once he gets used to that, maybe we can slowly work up to taking baths in the bathtub.
‘The ultimate goal: a proper bath!’
This was the first great step toward that goal.
To keep the handwashing as short as possible, I mixed soap into the water beforehand. The shorter the unpleasant experience, the better.
“There! Done!”
“Cisrein! Let’s wash your han—”
I turned around with a bright smile.
…And for the first time, I met those eyes.
Eyes filled with overwhelming terror.
It was obvious at a glance.
What he saw wasn’t simply a basin full of water.
He saw cruel, rough hands forcing his face into it.
The monstrous strength pressing down on the back of his head…
The sensation of soapy water flooding into his nose and mouth.
His lungs tightening…
The agony of coming so close to death.
“…Cisrein.”
“…”
The boy squeezed his eyes shut, trembling violently.
Seeing him like that made my chest ache as though someone had struck it without warning.
‘His trauma… it’s much worse than I thought.’
“I’m sorry.”
With his eyes still closed, the boy apologized to me instead.
“If I’m like this… you’ll get scolded too, Anette…”
Even in the face of instinctive fear, he thought about me first.
That kindness made it hurt even more.
My eyes welled up, and while Cisrein couldn’t see me, I hurriedly wiped away my tears.
Then I quietly dipped the wand into the basin and gently stirred the water.
Whoosh—
I blew through the pink ring.
Pretty soap bubbles floated lazily into the air.
One drifted toward the boy, touched his cheek, and popped.
“…”
Only then did Cisrein slowly open his eyes.
“Look, Cis.”
Smiling, I dipped the wand into the basin again, swirled it around, and blew another long breath.
More bubbles floated into the air.
Before long, Cisrein was staring at them in fascination.
“Aren’t they pretty?”
Warm spring sunlight streamed through the open window.
Bathed in the brilliant rays, the bubbles shimmered with every color of the rainbow.
The boy’s innocent eyes slowly followed them.
At last, his dry lips parted as he whispered softly,
“Yeah… they’re pretty.”
He slowly reached out toward the bubbles.
“They’re like flowers made from breath.”
“…”
The way he described them was so beautiful that my heart melted.
I dipped the wand into the soapy water and held it out to him.
“You try.”
He hesitated, as though it was unfamiliar, then carefully blew into the little ring.
Pretty soap bubbles bloomed into the air like flowers, drifting peacefully through the sky.
‘He likes it. Just look at that expression.’
Aw…
My little baby…
It seemed he’d never played a game like this before.
Feeling both heartbroken and happy at the same time, I smiled as I watched him.
Just then, the door swung open, followed by the sound of tiny footsteps racing in.
“Anette! Play with me too!”
It was Sasha.
An adorable little girl with big pink eyes and fluffy pink twin tails that bounced like cotton candy whenever she moved.
“Sasha, how did you know I was here?”
“Julian told me you came this way!”
Never shy around strangers, Sasha ignored Cisrein entirely and naturally plopped down beside me.
“I wanna blow bubbles too!”
“Here.”
Good thing I’d made several wands.
The three of us sat side by side, blowing bubbles together.
It had been a long time since I’d enjoyed such a peaceful, happy moment.
The bubbles carrying the breaths of three children floated dreamily through the air.
Before we knew it, almost all the soapy water in the teddy bear basin was gone.
I pointed at Cisrein’s hand.
“Cis, your hands are all clean.”
“…Huh?”
He raised his hands in surprise.
Sure enough, while he’d been dipping them into the basin over and over to coat the wand with soap, he’d unknowingly washed them completely clean.
Without even realizing it.
I smiled.
“See? It wasn’t hard at all, was it?”
“…Mm.”
Cisrein nodded his little head, looking amazed.
I hope that from now on, only good things happen to this boy.
I really hope so.
The next day.
During class, I doodled fluffy, clean little hands in my notebook while thinking about Cisrein.
Ever since we’d played with the bubbles, he’d gradually practiced on his own.
Now he could wash both hands without any trouble.
When I praised him, he’d eagerly washed them over and over again just to show me.
‘Hehe… so cute.’
Cute as he was, though, anger continued to build inside me.
‘What was that guy’s name again…? Pura… Puralala? Something like that. The man who gave Cisrein this trauma.’
Obviously, no one’s actual name was “Puralala.”
Still, he had been a slave trader.
A despicable man who saw people as nothing more than money.
No wonder he’d inflicted such horrifying trauma on a child.
‘It’s already in the past, but I’m still furious.’
“What a bastard.”
I quietly cursed him under my breath.
Not that there was any way to get revenge now…
Completely unrelated to the blazing rage inside me, class continued peacefully.
At the moment, we were in Introduction to Summoning Studies.
Beside me, Sasha was enthusiastically practicing her summoning.
“Hyaaah!”
Finally—
Poof!
A tiny chick appeared.
“Ah! I did it!”
‘How insignificant.’
“Anette! Look!”
“Wow… that’s really amazing.”
Honestly, it was amazing.
I couldn’t even summon something that insignificant.
‘…Typical extra-character stats.’
Peep!
Cheep!
I looked at the little yellow chick with a hint of envy.
When the teacher walked over, I immediately pretended to practice as hard as I could.
“Hyaa! Hyaa!”
Of course, nothing but air sat on my desk.
Still, no teacher disliked a hardworking student.
Sure enough, the teacher smiled warmly, patted my head, and walked away.
When class ended, I officially announced the beginning of my “Great Operation.”
“Everyone! Look over here for a second!”
At the commanding voice of a dignified twelve-year-old, all the little kids blinked and turned toward me.
“Who wants to come play a super fun game with me? Raise your hand!”
Tiny steamed-bun-like fists shot into the air.
“Meeeee!”
“Me too!”
Perfect.
We had enough members.
In front of the mansion stood a fountain where angel statues blew water from golden trumpets.
Little children who resembled those angel statues gathered around it.
I clapped my hands.
“Alright! Is everyone ready for a water fight?”
“Yeeees!”
“The Raspberry Team wears red scarves! The Peanut Team wears peanut-colored scarves!”
‘I split them into two teams on purpose.’
There was a reason for it.
Every part of this had been carefully calculated.
‘Hehe. Since they’re on the same team, they’ll have to work together, right?’
I looked happily at Cisrein and Heinri.
Both boys wore red scarves around their necks.
Heinri looked thoroughly annoyed by the situation.
Cisrein looked completely bewildered.
Like a baby beast that had been thrown into a chick coop.
‘Hmm… games like this must be unfamiliar to him.’
Playing with friends was already new to him.
A game involving water?
Even more so.
‘…This will either end in the best possible outcome… or the worst.’
If things went well, his fear of water would improve dramatically.
The thing that terrified him would become something fun instead.
‘But if this goes wrong…’
His fear of water would only grow stronger in this unfamiliar environment.
If we had more time, I would have chosen a gentler method.
But only two days remained.
We had to hurry.
‘Please… help him, everyone.’
Help your friend overcome his fear of water.
And please…
Just this once…
‘…Cisrein.’
Steeling myself, I raised my hand high.
“Ready… Start!”
“Waaaah!”
The children burst into laughter, splashing water at one another and running around.
“…”
Cisrein quietly looked around with an uncertain expression.
‘Ah… maybe I pushed him too fast.’
He looked like a lost child.
My heart pounded anxiously as I watched him.
If only someone would splash him just a little…
That was exactly when it happened.
Heinri scooped up an entire basin of water—
—and dumped it right over Cisrein’s head.
Splash!
“…!!!”
‘Aaaah! Heinri!’
That little rabid chihuahua!
He’s on the same team!
“Hehehe! Idiot! Serves you right!”
“…Heinri!”
What if you scare him?!
I hurriedly tried to stop the laughing Heinri.
Cisrein stood frozen in place, drenched from head to toe.
‘Did it frighten him? Is he terrified?’
He certainly looked shocked.
Confused.
Afraid.
But only for a moment.
The next instant, he shot Heinri a murderous glare.
‘Ah! The baby beast is angry!’
Without hesitation, Cisrein grabbed the biggest bucket he could find, filled it with water, and got his revenge.
SPLASH!
“Gah!”
Heinri toppled backward onto the grass, blinking blankly.
He looked like a cat that had accidentally fallen into water.
Then, slowly…
His eyes filled with pure fury.
From that moment on, war broke out between the two boys.
Splash!
Splash!
Splash! Splash!
Their fierce water battle was so intense that all the other children stopped playing and stared with their mouths hanging open.
“…Whoa…”
A little while later…
Heinri was the first to collapse onto the lawn, completely exhausted.
“Huff… huff… that stubborn jerk…”
“…”
Cisrein was breathing just as heavily.
Both boys looked like drenched little rats.
Watching the two of them, I couldn’t help laughing.
“Pfft.”
Julian, standing beside me with his big sky-blue eyes, laughed too.
“Hahaha!”
That was all it took.
Soon every child burst into cheerful laughter.
Their delighted giggles echoed around the rainbow-colored fountain.
‘Thank goodness. The plan worked.’
I’d once heard that one way to overcome trauma was by confronting the source of your fear.
This had been something similar.
Of course, Heinri deserved much of the credit—
even though he hadn’t intended to help in the slightest.
Hehe.
What wonderful little kids.
‘At this rate, we’ll be able to keep tomorrow’s promise to Lady Mimosa!’
Feeling immensely satisfied, I smiled to myself.
Until ten minutes later.
When an unexpected guest appeared.
Life, after all, was full of twists.
