Star Child's Parenting Diary - Chapter 31

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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 31
Chapter 6. The Vanished Mage’s Trail (11)
Lili closed the lid of the box containing the Magic Stone and fled the study.
In her clenched left fist, the Magic Stone glimmered against her palm, the back of her hand aching from the pressure.
‘It’s all for Bell.’
I promised to protect Bell, after all.
The corridors were empty on her way back to the bedroom.
Bell slept soundly, knowing nothing, and the moonlight filtering through the slightly parted curtains fell cold and bright—achingly bright.
Like the memory of that day.
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”
Lili clasped her hands together like a prayer and whispered toward the moon.
But an apology to the moon alone could never wash away her guilt.
Lili crawled into bed and lay restless, unable to quiet her turbulent thoughts, tossing and turning through the night.
‘Could I save up two years’ wages and pay it back?’
Once she turned eighteen, Lili would be free to find work wherever she pleased.
If she asked the headmistress for a letter of recommendation and found employment, she’d save every coin she could.
Enough to repay the value of the Magic Stone she’d stolen today.
‘And if I include interest, I’ll need a bit more, won’t I?’
Would it be better to repay something now, at least?
The Duke seemed frightening, but he didn’t strike her as a bad person. Surely if she showed genuine remorse and a firm intention to repay him, he would forgive her.
‘If I explain the situation carefully, surely he’ll understand.’
But what if he starts asking questions about where the Magical Tool came from?
‘My identity can’t be discovered.’
A sleepless night.
The girl’s restlessness never ceased.
* * *
“No no no!”
“Not today. Let go of your sister’s skirt right now.”
“No! You’re mean! You’re a dummy!”
“You’re the dummy. Come here.”
“No no no!”
The noon sun blazed clear and bright.
A battle raged between Ethan and Bell at House Aibeck.
Bell, clinging desperately to Lili’s skirt, insisted she must stay and live at the Duke’s mansion, while Ethan countered that anyone who wished to leave must be allowed to go. The argument stood at an impasse.
“She said she’s leaving. What right do you have to restrict someone else’s freedom of movement?”
“Pardon? That’s hardly something for Your Grace to say…….”
“Aspe, quiet.”
“Yes!”
“Take that!”
Smack. Bell finally struck Ethan’s forearm as he tried to pry her away from Lili.
But Bell’s limp blow landed no real blow against him.
Ethan firmly separated Bell from Lili and gave a chin flick in Lili’s direction.
“She’ll wear herself out screaming soon enough and collapse on her own. Go on. I’ll handle the rest and calm her down.”
“Yes. Then I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for everything today.”
Lili bowed respectfully and climbed into the carriage, her movements sluggish.
‘I’m fading away.’
Unlike yesterday, she seemed listless and wilted, which would have caught his attention, but he assumed it was simply the strain of parting with Bell.
“Excuse me, Duke.”
“What?”
“Will it really be all right if I come again?”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean.”
Ethan replied flatly and personally closed the carriage door for her.
“Go.”
“Liiiiiii!”
Bell’s anguished cry echoed as the carriage began to roll away.
“Waaaaaah.”
“The world’s not ending. Stop crying.”
Ethan mercilessly tucked the wailing Bell under his arm.
Bell drooped against his side, squeezing out tears of sorrow.
“Liiiii……. Don’t go.”
Lili, you can’t just leave me here! Wah, wah!
Belle’s laments continued even after she entered the playroom.
Buried among toys and a mock castle and plush animals, Belle sat alone, nursing her loneliness.
A sigh escaped her lips as she exhaled.
I’m all alone now.
Belle placed a doll with golden blonde hair like her own atop the castle, then buried her face in her palms.
As Belle shook her head in despair, Aspe dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief.
“Such a tragic life for a two-year-old.”
“She’s making quite a fuss.”
Whether his daughter cried or not hardly mattered to him.
Ethan, buried beneath a mountain of documents, brought some of them over to a small children’s desk and stacked them there.
Sitting on a tiny chair where only half his buttocks fit, he found his neck already stiff before he could even begin signing.
Belle kept stealing glances at Ethan, who had abruptly withdrawn his attention from her.
A whimper escaped her.
“Is this region’s tax revenue really correct? It’s less than previous years.”
“According to the correspondence, severe flooding recently caused the river to overflow, resulting in significant damage to homes. They’ve had to implement emergency tax relief to support the affected residents.”
Another sigh.
“Send an inspector to verify, just to be safe. If it checks out, we’ll consider additional aid as well.”
“Yes.”
“And how is Lili?”
“And…”
But Ethan’s attention remained fixed elsewhere, not on Belle.
Realizing that crying would get her nowhere, Belle puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
“Ethan! Blow! Nose!”
“Are you done crying?”
In the end, Belle demanded his attention.
Only then did Ethan glance at her, his lips curving into a smirk.
A small sound of protest.
The moment their eyes met, Belle scrunched up her face and squeezed out tears with all her might.
A single tear, wrung out with tremendous effort, rolled down her flushed cheek.
Seeing this, Ethan let out a dry laugh of admiration.
“Aspe, start a theater troupe for her. She’ll become the empire’s greatest actress.”
“That was truly magnificent acting, miss. I was deeply moved.”
Aspe clapped along in agreement, mimicking the gesture of wiping away tears.
At their teasing, Belle’s eyes narrowed to sharp slits.
“Ethan!”
“What?”
“Blow your nose!”
My nose is running, so wipe it for me!
At her demand, tinged half with protest, Ethan chuckled and rose from his seat.
Aspe, understanding the cue, gathered the signed documents and excused herself.
In the meantime, Ethan retrieved a clean handkerchief and settled down in front of Belle.
A small sound of acknowledgment.
“I’ll bring Lili back after ten nights. Tell her to visit every ten nights. Will that work?”
As he spoke, Ethan carefully wiped her face clean of tears and snot, offering her comfort.
With his proposal, Belle’s resistance melted away, and after fidgeting with her hands, she gave a small nod.
A quiet hum of agreement.
“Good. Will you cry anymore?”
“No.”
After a moment’s deliberation, Belle slowly crawled toward Ethan’s side.
Then, bold as anything, she settled herself between his legs.
Faced with such a brazen reconciliation, Ethan gently stroked her head.
“Good girl.”
A pleased sound.
At his praise, Belle’s lips curved upward in a smile.
A kiss.
She planted a kiss on Ethan’s cheek, then nestled into his embrace.
Ethan unhesitatingly held the small warmth that pressed against him, cherishing her close.
* * *
Back at the Orphanage, Lili withdrew the Magic Stone she had hidden deep in her bag.
She wrapped the Magic Stone tightly in a handkerchief to block any escaping light, buried it deep beneath her bed, and waited for nightfall.
“Sister! We promised to do the dishes today!”
“We had meat last night, remember? That man who adopted Bel sent one of his servants, and—”
“Oh yes! That clumsy, funny man!”
“He gave me chocolate too.”
She cared for the chattering children with practiced ease, and by the time they began drifting to sleep one by one, evening had settled in.
“Is Bel doing well?”
Teresa, the Orphanage director, drew Lili aside to ask.
Lili answered brightly.
“Yes, very well indeed.”
She was thriving under the affection of Lord and Lady Aibeck, living in an environment she could scarcely have wished for.
Lili reassured Teresa.
“She’s become much more affectionate, actually.”
“How wonderful.”
That was precisely where Teresa’s visible relief centered.
Bel was an adorable and lovely child.
Yet she had always carried a peculiar detachment, a certain blankness about her.
The other children would make silly faces trying to make her laugh, but she would simply stare off into nothing.
When teaching her to speak, even showing her how to form words with her mouth, she struggled to imitate them.
And when shown the few picture books they possessed, she showed so little interest that Teresa had begun to suspect—privately—that perhaps Bel couldn’t distinguish colors properly.
It was rare, but some people truly could not perceive color as others did.
“She loves picture books now.”
“She seems to be thriving.”
Children really did need parents.
Especially the very young.
“I’m relieved, Lili. I’m always grateful for what you do.”
“I visit because I want to.”
“You must be exhausted. Go on to bed now—sleep a little longer tomorrow. I’ll make breakfast.”
Teresa walked Lili to her bedroom and watched until the girl lay down and drew the blanket up over herself.
“Sleep well, all of you.”
Whoosh.
Teresa extinguished the gas lamp and closed the small bedroom door behind her.
Lili lay on her side in the darkness, waiting for the creaking footsteps in the hallway to fade away.
At last, when her younger siblings had all fallen asleep and Teresa must surely have retired as well, she moved.
She rose onto her tiptoes and slipped quietly out of the building, heading toward the storage shed in the backyard.

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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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