Dad is Back From a Deserted Island - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Father has returned from the Deserted Island
Chapter 21

“I’m heading out!”
“Okay, be back soon. Father!”
“Please take care on your way!”
Jang left once more, leaving Anne and Vivian behind at the Mansion.
There was an endless mountain of tasks—touring potential new homes, conducting interviews with servants, and furnishing the place.
After seeing Jang off, Anne, who had been playing in the Garden with Vivian, suddenly looked up at the sky as it darkened without warning.
“My, it looks like rain is coming. Miss. We should head inside.”
“Rain? Oh no, what about Father…?”
Had I known it would rain, I wouldn’t have gone out today. Vivian clutched Anne’s hand as they headed inside, worrying about Father getting completely drenched.
Dark clouds filled the sky, and soon raindrops began to fall one by one.
Pitter, patter.
The soft sound of raindrops tapping against the roof drifted through the air.
Vivian barely touched the cocoa Anne had made for her, her gaze fixed on the window outside.
[Did you smear honey all over the outside?]
“Father might come back early.”
My heart was half-worried, half-hopeful that Father might return in the middle of the day.
Anne, who had been watching Vivian with a pleased smile, suddenly clutched her chest as she felt a sharp pain in her solar plexus.
“Ugh. Did I eat too much?”
She had played rather vigorously with Vivian before breakfast had fully digested.
Anne rubbed her stomach, thinking that she’d felt bloated since earlier, when she noticed her breathing becoming increasingly labored.
“Hngh…”
She didn’t want to show a child how much pain she was in, but the sudden wave of agony forced an involuntary groan from her lips.
“Sister?”
Hearing the strange sound, Vivian turned around and was startled to see Anne clutching her stomach, her body slowly curling inward.
Anne’s face had turned pale, and she was barely managing shallow breaths, yet she forced a smile for Vivian’s sake.
Of course, smiling didn’t make her condition look any better.
Vivian rushed down from the window and grabbed Anne’s skirt, asking urgently.
“Why, why are you like this? Does something hurt?”
“Oh dear. Well. I think I may have eaten too much, Miss.”
What was eating too much?
Vivian didn’t yet understand what indigestion meant, but seeing Anne’s complexion, she mistook it for a very serious illness.
“You can’t be sick!”
Startled, Vivian jumped up and grabbed Anne’s hand, pulling her urgently toward Anne’s Bedroom.
Anne could barely move her feet, so she had no choice but to be dragged along wherever the child led her.
“Miss… why are you taking me to my room—”
“If you’re hurt, you need to lie down and rest!”
“No, no, Miss. Lord Lambert isn’t even here, so how could I possibly… ugh. Just sitting for a bit should be enough to help me feel better.”
“No way! Vivian can stay by herself. Well, actually, Kiki is here, so I’m not alone!”
[Where did you learn to say things like that?]
“Kiki, be quiet!”
Anne couldn’t hold back the tears welling up in her eyes as the small hands forced her onto the bed.
She couldn’t tell if the blur clouding her vision was tears or sweat. Cold sweat streamed down her face, and the world spun around her.
“Miss, would it be alright if I just lay down for a moment? Just a moment, I promise I’ll only rest for a moment.”
“Not just a moment—a long time! You need to rest until you feel better!”
“How can you have such an angelic heart, Miss… ugh. I really can’t go on like this.”
After leaving instructions that no one should be allowed in no matter who knocked on the door, Anne surrendered to sleep as though losing consciousness.
Vivian, wiping away the beads of sweat from Anne’s forehead with her fern-like fingers, watched over the sleeping woman with worried eyes.
Anne’s furrowed brow showed no sign of relaxing, still twisted in discomfort.
It was merely indigestion, so after sleeping for a few hours, she would surely feel better… but unfortunately, Anne had no mind to explain such facts to Vivian.
Kiki clicked her tongue at the sight of Vivian’s trembling form.
[Does staring at someone make their pain go away? From what I can see, it’s nothing serious. Stop moping about and go drink the cocoa you left unfinished!]
“Really? She’s not very sick?”
[That’s right! Her life force is overflowing—she’ll easily live for decades to come.]
“What’s life force?”
[… Ask Jang when he returns.]
“Okay!”
Too lazy to explain, Kiki gladly passed the task to Jang. Vivian was simply delighted to hear that Anne wasn’t seriously ill.
Following Kiki’s instructions, she went back to the Living Room to drink the cocoa she’d left behind.
Flash!
The world suddenly brightened.
“Oh, you startled me. Phew.”
The thunder rumbled in the distance, its sound arriving only much later. Vivian pressed a hand to her racing heart and picked up the teacup she’d carelessly set down.
Glance, glance.
But as Vivian kept glancing out the window instead of drinking her cocoa, Kiki asked her a question.
[Why do you keep peeking out the window like that? Are you wondering when your father will come back?]
“Oh, no. It’s just… I was wondering when the lightning would flash again…”
The way she was edging away from the window made it obvious to anyone that she was frightened. The baby monkey’s red eyes narrowed.
[Are you afraid of lightning?]
Kiki had been asleep, unaware, when Vivian had woken in fright at the thunder before, so she hadn’t witnessed that moment.
Had she seen it, even this sharp-tongued divine beast would have given her a look of concern rather than one questioning why a child would fear such a thing.
Vivian hesitated before slowly nodding her head.
“When it flashes like that, it feels like the sky is falling.”
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a coward.]
“I’m not a coward!”
[Vivian is a coward.]
“I am not!”
Vivian cried out indignantly at Kiki’s teasing.
Though she glared at me with her horns fully raised, she seemed to have forgotten her fear of lightning, and Kiki chuckled with satisfaction.
[With me here, you should be ashamed to fear mere lightning.]
“K-Kiki, what does you being here have to do with being scared of lightning!”
[The one who awakened me should display the composure to fear nothing like lightning.]
“Composure?”
[…I have no idea what I’m even saying to you. Anyway! There’s absolutely no need to be afraid. Who is by your side! It is I, this great one.]
The baby monkey puffing out his belly with such proclamations was, regrettably, not reassuring at all. Though he was adorable.
“….”
Kiki cackled upon reading that look in Vivian’s eyes.
Still, as Vivian regained her smile and sipped at the now-lukewarm cocoa, the world flashed brilliantly once more.
Boom—
This time it had struck nearby, and thunder roared immediately after. The sound was incomparably louder than before, and my heart lurched.
Startled, the teacup slipped from Vivian’s trembling hands.
Crash.
Unluckily, the cup struck the slightly protruding wooden floor and shattered into pieces.
“Oh, what do I do.”
My heart still pounded from the thunder’s fright, and watching the brown stain spread across the carpet left me completely flustered.
“Clean, I need to clean.”
If anyone found the Living Room in such a mess, I’d be in terrible trouble.
Though Jang and Anne would never do such a thing, Vivian’s mind was consumed with the thought of cleaning this up before anyone saw.
Vivian hastily reached down to gather the shards.
Just before the sharp fragments cut into her skin—
[Don’t hurt yourself!]
Kiki dashed forward and pushed Vivian back.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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