The doll with its feet tied in a position that seemed to hug Vanilla’s waist tightly was something I had never seen before when I met Vanilla.
‘Elston clearly said that Vanilla doesn’t like dolls.’
Wasn’t that it again?
Out of curiosity, I glanced at Vanilla and asked.
“Miss Vanilla. “What is the name of this doll?”
“uh… … oh!”
Vanilla looked at the doll hanging on her waist, was startled, and quickly tried to cover it with both hands.
Why did you suddenly do that? Vanilla’s words immediately cleared up my doubts.
“My puppy! They say that if you keep looking at the dog, it will wear out! “Don’t look!”
“Yeah, really?”
“Wow. He said that he had to hide the precious things and buy them secretly. Otherwise, you’ll end up getting taken over by a bad person!”
“Being taken away by a bad person?”
Who said that? As if it was the most precious thing in the world, Vanilla put down the excavator and quickly hid the doll behind her back.
“Wow. “That’s why Dazar lost that person.”
“… … ?”
I blinked at the unexpected name of Dazar. that person? Who is that person?
“Who is that person?”
“… … “Ugh.”
I asked quietly, but Vanilla only narrowed her brows and didn’t say anything more. He kept his mouth shut because it didn’t seem right to tell his story in the presence of others.
Instead, I deliberately turned my head and pretended not to notice the doll.
“I see. Then I won’t watch it. Should we just keep playing with this instead?”
“yes!”
As if my efforts had worked, Vanilla started playing with the excavator with a relieved face.
I don’t know who that person is, but since they say he lost it, I don’t think it’s a topic that should be approached lightly.
I put Vanilla’s words out of my mind and focused on playing with the kids.
“Wow!”
“Oops. You hold it there. Wow, great! “Here we go!”
Vanilla, who had been playing for a while, woke up with a sad look when it was time to go back. It was soon time for lunch.
Vanilla rubbed the floor with her foot as she looked at the servant who came out to pick her up.
I felt like I didn’t want to go back.
I smiled at Vanilla and pointed to the excavator lying quietly on the floor.
“Do you want to come out again at this time tomorrow? Let’s play together.”
“article… … “Peck!”
Vanilla smiled brightly with an infinitely happy face and followed the attendant back to the mansion.
It was from this time that I started playing with Vanilla every morning. At the appointed time, we gathered in an empty space where sand was piled up and played sand games.
“lol! Celia! Zion! This is a bar!”
“Wow. vanilla. It’s really well made. “Is this a dog?”
“yes!”
Vanilla was good with her hands. I applauded as I looked at the lump of sand that mimicked the face of a dog with its small hands.
While hanging out together, I learned that Vanilla had a great attachment to a doll called Doggy, and I also found out that there was someone who gave her that doggy doll as a gift.
One day, while we were playing sand stacking with an excavator, Vanilla made this suggestion.
“Yes, Celia. Do you mind if a dog comes to Deko too? “Why, the dog will be upset because he can’t play in the morning.”
It seems that the morning was originally the time to play with the dog. I nodded willingly.
“sure. Of course it works. Axion would also be happy if she could play with Vanilla’s dog. By the way, if we take the dog outside like this, we will have no choice but to see the dog. Is that okay?”
“right… … Ugh! “Sion and Celia are cool!”
Vanilla started playing with the dog doll the next day.
The Doggie doll, as its name suggests, was a doll in the shape of a dog. The tip of the nose and the tail were worn, so it seemed like the doll had been kept for a long time, but it seemed to be of fairly good quality.
‘Who gave it to you?’
Could it be that Vanilla’s biological parents gave it to her?
A thought like that suddenly occurred to me, but I didn’t say it out loud.
I don’t know why, but this is why Vanilla would sometimes look at me and Axion with sunken eyes.
To be exact, it was directed at me, who was playing with Axion.
As I looked into those eyes, the thought occurred to me that Vanilla also needed parents to play with her.
okay.
‘I need Dazar.’
* * *
“… … what?”
Tuk. The cigarette that was in Dazar’s mouth fell to the floor.
“Attette!”
At the same time, it seems like the embers inside the cigarette holder fell out. Dazar hurriedly got down from the window sill and blew on his hands.
“Why are you so surprised? “Is this really that surprising?”
“Suddenly, the four of us are going on a picnic. “Then you’re not surprised?”
“Why is going on a picnic surprising?”
“… … .”
Dazar, unable to answer, picked up the cigarette that had fallen on the floor, placed it on the window sill, and brushed away his flowing hair.
Then he mumbled something else.
“He won’t like it.”
“Who? Surely it’s vanilla?”
“okay. So there’s no way I can go… … .”
“I said we would go together? “Don’t you want to take this opportunity to get to know Vanilla?”
Dazar’s eyes widened.
Last time, Vanilla and I exchanged a lot of bickering words, so I thought that that unlucky attitude was also maintained by Vanilla. Actually, seeing Vanilla being cautious, I felt a little strange.
It felt like I had unintentionally discovered Dazar’s soft side.
I looked at Dazar, who had a blank face, and thought I was going to become attached to him like this, so I quickly spoke.
“So let’s go together. To the back hill. “I’ll be there by 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.”
“… … !”
Then he left before Dazar could even answer. That’s him, he’s always killing time like Hanryang, so he’ll have plenty of time.
“Come on, Vanilla. Are you ready?”
“yes! “Is Zion ready too?”
“Wow!”
And the next day, we gathered at the agreed upon location to go on a picnic. Vanilla looked very excited.
Vanilla raised her hands high and shouted.
“Pikniik! Write it down in the book! “Look happy!”
“is it so? “Let’s have a fun picnic today.”
“yes! “Let’s go!”
Vanilla, who was the most excited, took the lead, followed by me holding Axion. And behind me… … .
“What kind of porter am I?”
There was Dazar, who grunted and followed. He had an awkward look on his face, as if he wasn’t used to this type of situation.
Although he was grumbling for no reason, it seemed like a defensive action to somehow get over this awkward situation.
“Do you know now that you are a porter? How can the three of us carry it all? Of course, you need a porter for a picnic.”
“There are also black hawks. “You have that butler too.”
“oh. It’s a black hawk. How can you show such garbage in front of children? Besides, Carl is an old man. “Don’t you know how to respect your elders?”
“… … “Let’s not talk.”
As we bickered and climbed, we soon reached the top of the hill behind us. In fact, the hill behind the Siaster family was not that high. Although it was only the size of a fingernail compared to the nearby mountains, it was perfect for a picnic for children.
“Wow! Look there, Celia! “I can see the lake over there!”
“that’s right. I can see the lake. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
“yes! Shion. The lake sparkles like your eyes. “It’s pretty.”
Ugh. Such a poetic expression. A child’s vocabulary is sometimes surprising.
I was impressed by Vanilla’s way of expressing myself, and then I was impressed again when I saw the two children sitting side by side holding hands.
If everything goes well like this, there will be no worries about the future of the two children. Hehe… … .
“Why are you smiling so sinisterly?”
“… … When will I?”
“just now. You laughed like that. You are like that sometimes. Especially when I’m alone with my thoughts. “I want to show you a mirror every time.”
“… … .”
That bastard.
“If you’re here, quickly sit down next to Vanilla. “Let me take a picture.”
“… … picture?”
“yes. “I have a magic item I borrowed from Elston specifically for today.”
I took out a sandwich, a glass bottle of milk, and a napkin from the picnic basket. After that, I took out the long-awaited rice cake and honey that had been stored in the deepest place.
“vanilla. “I don’t know if it will suit your taste, but would you like to try this?”
“Ugh?”
Vanilla, who was looking at the lake while holding Axion’s hand, turned her head. I blinked at Dazar first, then looked at the rice cake in my hand.
“Now, if you dip this in honey and eat it, it’s very delicious. “Try it.”
“Wow.”
Vanilla held the rice cake with both hands, stuck out her tongue, tasted the honey, and slowly mustered up the courage to take a bite. Vanilla’s eyes widened.
“My!”
“is it so? thank god. “Then shall we all gather together like this?”
With Axion in front of me, we sat together. After hesitating to cut everything, he quietly sat down next to Vanilla, who was preoccupied with the rice cake.
In the meantime, I quickly took out the magic items I had put together in the picnic basket. Elston gave it away, shedding tears.
He said it was very precious.
“Okay, everyone look over there!”
“Wow!”
“… … joy.”
When I pressed the button, I heard a click and the sound of the magic working, and a picture was taken.
“Elston said he would develop the photos and give them to me later. So, let’s take as many pictures as we can!”
That way you can pull out the mulberry!
I planned to take as many pictures as possible and give them to Vanilla and Dazar. All that remains is photos! And that is just a memory.
The more memories you make, the deeper your relationship becomes.
Of course, I also took a lot of pictures of Vanilla and Axion.
“… … Well, it’s not bad.”
At that time, Dazar, who was watching Vanilla laughing, suddenly said.
Vanilla seemed to be happy about the picnic, and unlike Dazar’s worries, Vanilla got closer to him quite well. For when he went up the garden he held his hand.
Moreover, didn’t you even lean on his knee when taking the picture just now?
Although they only took time out to have a picnic, the atmosphere between them was quite different from the previous bickering.
It feels like they seem a little like father and daughter.
For some reason, I felt happy.
* * *
… … That’s what I thought about today.
“Huh! Celia! Sobbing… … . “Ugh!”
Why is Vanilla crying sadly in front of me?
