Anyway, we decided to enter the villa and take a break. The villa had a corridor leading directly to the living room from the entrance, which I found to be both nature-friendly and uniquely designed.

Lumiere was thrilled, bouncing around as she explored the interior.

“It’s like we’re in a fairy house!”

“It’s possible that fairies could live here.”

“No way… There are no fairies in the world.”

“…”

Sometimes I wonder if she has a childlike innocence or not. I chuckled lightly as I responded.

“But there are spirits, right?”

“Spirits and fairies are different.”

Lumiere snorted and trotted ahead. Her tightly tied silvery-white hair fluttered gently.

Theodore and I exchanged a knowing glance and smiled as we followed her leisurely. As we were about to reach the living room, Lumiere’s cheers rang out.

“Wow…!”

Curious about her excitement, I hurried into the living room to find a pile of enormous gifts. About twenty boxes were stacked high on the low table.

“Mom, maybe there really are fairies…!”

But the gifts were not from fairies. They were from Duke and Duchess Delacroix. There was also a letter from them on the table. Since Lumiere was still struggling with reading, Theodore read the letters aloud for her.

“Dear lovely Lumiere, and beloved Lily and Theodore…”

The gist of the letters went something like this: Welcome to Dornak, we had hoped to greet you personally but were unable due to busy schedules, please accept these gifts without feeling obliged, and we hope to visit the villa soon.

Half of the letter was filled with expressions of affection for Lumiere.

“….PS: It might rain tomorrow night, so be sure to have a barbecue party tonight. We’ve also prepared a fireworks kit for Lumiere.”

After reading the letters, Theodore shook his head, as usual finding it difficult to comprehend why Zen and Shelbery were excessively fond of Lumiere. ‘She’s my daughter, why do they act like she’s theirs?’ was essentially his sentiment.

“Fireworks…! That will be fun!”

Lumiere had already started opening the gifts, murmuring excitedly as she unwrapped them. One of the first boxes she opened contained caramel chocolates, her favorite. Before she could pop one into her mouth, I quickly stopped her, as it was almost lunchtime.

“Let’s eat the chocolates after lunch, okay?”

“Hhngg….”

Lumiere looked disappointed, but she listened well.

After unpacking all the gifts, we had a quick lunch at the villa.

Then, we headed out to the beach. As soon as Lumiere hit the sandy shore, she kicked off her shoes without a moment’s delay and sprinted off. She was incredibly fast.

“Wow! The ocean~!”

Lumiere jumped around, playing tag with the waves. Theodore and I watched anxiously, never taking our eyes off her for fear she might get swept away by the sea.

“Lumiere, don’t get too close to the waves.”

“Okay~!”

She casually responded and went back to her game. Watching her tease the waves brought a smile to my face. Eventually, Lumiere got completely soaked when a wave taller than her washed over her. Theodore, who rushed to hug her, ended up drenched as well, though not as much as Lumiere.

“Look, a crab!”

After shaking off some of the water, Lumiere started earnestly hunting for crabs, placing each small one she caught into a net bag. Charlotte was helping her, both looking very serious.

“Miss, shall we also catch some starfish? You can eat those too.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. We can take them to a restaurant that cooks starfish… No, we should bring the chef here from the restaurant!”

The idea of eating starfish didn’t appeal to me, but if Charlotte and Lumiere were having fun, that’s what mattered.

After a full day at the beach, we returned to the villa for a barbecue. Lumiere kept trying to eat only meat, so we had to make sure she ate some vegetables too, but it was still fun.

The crabs and starfish Charlotte and Lumiere caught weren’t cooked… Instead, we arranged for a local chef to prepare and cook them. We would likely have crab and starfish dishes for lunch tomorrow. I’m a bit afraid about what they will taste like.

“Did you finish writing?”

“Yes!”

Before bedtime, Lumiere had written replies to Zen and Shelbery and also penned a letter to Margaret, who couldn’t join the trip due to her studies at the capital’s academy.

__