Star Child's Parenting Diary - Chapter 26

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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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Episode 26
Chapter 6. The Vanished Mage’s Whereabouts (6)
“Dismissed. She’s a minor…….”
“Then you should send away every minor maid at the Manor on the same grounds.”
“……But they have nowhere else to go, nowhere at all.”
“Does Lili have nowhere to go?”
“The Orphanage.”
“And after she comes of age?”
“She’ll find her way somewhere, I’m sure. Live well enough.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if that somewhere became here? You can see how much she loves it already.”
“Stop talking nonsense and go find me a governess.”
“There isn’t one! There isn’t! You’re only mean to me! This is unfair!”
Sniff!
Aspe stifled a sob and bolted from the room, his arm shielding his eyes.
Ethan watched him stumble over his own feet halfway down the corridor and clicked his tongue.
“Fool of a boy.”
‘Why on earth am I paying wages to keep such an incompetent around?’
Ethan observed Aspe’s pathetic crying fit for another moment, then turned to Lili, who was happily reunited with Ppupu, and asked offhandedly, “Would you like to be my secretary instead of him?”
“I’m sorry? Your secretary?”
“……Never mind. Just play.”
‘What am I saying?’
Ethan called for a maid and instructed her to look after both children properly, then tactfully excused himself from the room.
* * *
Lili’s eyes widened as she stepped into Ppupu’s room—no, Setia’s room.
“Wow. It really is a beautiful room.”
Such is the wealth of a noble house!
Setia’s room was truly magnificent.
A space larger than the Orphanage’s dining hall, plush carpeting, an array of colorful and adorable dresses and shoes, and a majestic wardrobe spacious enough to hold them all.
A bed so vast you could roll across it endlessly…….
Lili’s gaze swept around the room until it came to rest on a doll sitting alone upon the bed.
Among fine, expensive dolls that gleamed with polish, there sat Ppupu—little more than scraps of cloth.
“Setia, are you sleeping well with Ppupu?”
“Mm-hmm!”
Setia nodded without a second thought at Lili’s question.
“Really?”
Lili gently stroked Setia’s head and picked up Ppupu.
She then carefully pressed along the doll’s belly in several places.
Between the plump stuffing, she felt something small and hard.
‘Good. It’s still here.’
At that moment, Setia tugged lightly at Lili’s skirt.
“Hug.”
“You want a hug?”
“Mm.”
“Oh, my sweet thing. Your tantrums have gotten worse, haven’t they? Give your sister a kiss too.”
Lili readily scooped Setia up and offered her rosy cheek.
Setia kissed Lili’s cheek without hesitation, and Lili returned the affection in kind.
‘She’s smiling more than before.’
Lili looked at the beaming Setia and felt reassured.
The old Setia had worried her, if she was being honest.
Setia had rarely shown much expression or emotion, and she’d been slow to learn to speak.
Even when Lili mouthed new words for her to copy, Setia would just stare blankly…….
“Poo-oh.”
And yet her vocabulary had grown by leaps and bounds.
A child truly does need a parent to flourish.
‘I was honestly worried, but despite that stern look, he seems to be a good person.’
Thank goodness.
When I get back, I should tell the Orphanage Director this news first thing—she’ll be relieved too.
Reassured, Lili set Setia down on the floor.
The moment Setia’s feet touched the ground, she scampered across the carpet with quick, eager steps.

On a low chair and table sized perfectly for Bell, drawing paper and an array of crayons lay scattered.
‘Crayons wouldn’t be cheap.’
Even watercolors cost money, and these were processed further—how expensive must they be?
The wealth required to buy them casually as toys for a child was staggering.
It struck her anew, this realization that Bell was receiving such kindness.
“Bell. Want to draw and play?”
“Mm!”
Bell, settling into the chair as if she’d done this a hundred times, swung her feet excitedly.
‘Well then, while she’s absorbed, I should get some work done myself.’
Lili watched Bell disappear into her own artistic world, then quickly opened her bag and pulled out a spool of thread.
Her hands moved with practiced ease as she worked her teeth against the hidden seam in Ppupu’s back, opening it carefully.
As she eased out the stuffing bit by bit, what had been hidden inside finally revealed itself.
Lili held it up to the light from the window.
It was covered in transparent, impossibly thin glass, and inside, tiny intricate parts no larger than those in a pocket watch meshed and turned.
At its center, a deep violet Mana Stone bore a faint crack.
‘Why did it break?’
Could its lifespan have run out?
Lili’s eyes narrowed as she studied the fracture.
‘What do I do?’
Mana Stones were far too expensive to acquire.
Even cut this small, proper function would require the highest quality Mana Stone.
‘And reaching the mines would be so difficult.’
Was there no way around this?
The girl’s expression darkened.
“Lili! Look!”
Sister Lili, look at this!
Bell came bounding over with a sheet of Drawing Paper larger than her own body.
Across it, wild, jagged lines sprawled in every color of crayon.
She was eager to show off her magnificent work.
Lili quickly tucked the small mechanical device back inside Ppupu’s body.
“Wow, Bell drew all of this?”
“Mm!”
“You drew it wonderfully.”
Lili smiled brightly and sat down to meet Bell’s eye level.
Her gaze stayed fixed on the child while her hands moved swiftly, sewing with considerable skill.
Bell began explaining her artistic world, piece by piece.
“Dragon-dragon!”
The blue one was apparently a dragon.
“Sis!”
The pink wave seemed to be Setia…….
“Mister!”
And the green triangle at the end was Ethan.
As it happened, Ethan had arrived looking for them and now leaned against the doorframe, watching the scene unfold.
“……I don’t look like that.”
He denied it at once.
How on earth did that grotesque green triangle resemble him?
“Aspe, go find an art teacher right now. There’s clearly a serious deficit in aesthetic sense.”
“Isn’t that judgment a bit premature?”
“No excuses.”
Ethan protested, but Bell remained convinced her drawing was exactly like Ethan.
So she brought the picture closer to show him, wanting him to look properly this time.
“Mister.”
Bell’s index finger touched the drawing once.
“Mister.”
Then pointed at Ethan once.
“‘Mister’ to a nobleman? Bell, and we don’t point like that.”
Just then, Lili hurried over and gently folded Bell’s finger down.
“You point like this—with your palm open and flat.”
And she kindly repositioned the small hand.
Bell, her wriggling fingers now straightened and pressed together, palm turned upward, pointed at Ethan once more.
“Dad.”
“……!”
Ethan crouched down in front of Belle, startled by the unfamiliar word.
“Just now—what did you say?”
“Dad.”
“Again.”
“Dad?”
Belle tilted her head, puzzled.
Ethan’s expression grew serious once more.
“You always call me ‘mister.'”
“Mm.”
That was true.
Belle had only ever called Ethan “mister” until now.
He’d tried correcting her to call him “dad” a few times, then resigned himself to thinking she needed more time—a problem he’d let go of…….
‘Was it just an educator’s concern, then?’
“……Try again.”
“Yes?”
“This time, have her call me ‘dad.'”
Ethan pressed Lili urgently.
Lili, catching his drift at once, turned Belle back toward him.
“Belle.”
“Mm?”
“Say: da……”
“Da.”
“That’s right, dad.”
Lili coached her through the syllables carefully, one by one.
Belle’s expression, watching her, was radiant.
“Pa!”
Belle’s small mouth worked through the sounds in quick succession.
“……Done……!”
“Whoa!”
Ethan’s fist clenched tight in the same instant Aspe’s mouth fell open.
Belle had finally, for the first time, echoed the word “dad!”
“That’s it. Good job, Belle.”
Understanding the adults’ gleeful reaction, Lili quickly pointed at Ethan with her palm turned outward.
“Belle. Who is this person?”
Belle blinked slowly at Ethan, her gaze unfocused and deliberate.
Her deep green eyes seemed to be waiting for something, grave and intent.
‘Ah-ha!’
The quick-witted child Belle grasped at once what Ethan was hoping for.
Following Lili’s lead, she pointed at Ethan with a sharp gesture of her palm.
“Dad!”
“Good grief.”
Contrary to Belle’s solemn answer, Ethan let out a long sigh.
Belle blinked, bewildered, understanding nothing.
‘Wasn’t this it?’
She’d thought he’d praise her for speaking well.
Disappointing.
Belle glanced sidelong at Ethan, who kept sighing heavily.
As if he’d been waiting, Ethan’s rebuke came flying at once.
“Look at that look in your eyes—disrespectful. What are you glaring for?”
“Mister is dumb.”
“You’re the dumb one.”
There.
Undeterred, Belle stuck her tongue out at Ethan.
* * *
Whisper.
A small, warm, gentle hand brushed across her forehead.
“Sleep well, Belle.”
A familiar voice whispered tenderly.
‘It’s you, Lili.’
Even half-asleep, Vel’s mouth curved into a soft smile at the sound of Lili’s voice.
“I should go now.”

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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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