Chapter 381: Waiting for Mama
That perception was not wrong, and there was no need to say anything that would hurt them, so Qiong Xing also chose not to speak.
However—
"I plan to stay here for a few more days. So, it would be helpful if you could keep that stupid dog away from the children."
Qiong Xing drew a clear line, warning that he would not allow the man who had insulted his family to be brought here again.
Qiong Xing and Leander had only accepted Rohen, and Feris who had spoken insultingly toward Leander was not included in that acceptance.
If he were brought here again, even that opportunity would be revoked.
After hearing this warning, Rohen nodded deeply and waved goodbye to the twins with a smile before heading home.
"Mama, do you not like dogs?"
"Hm? I like them."
It seemed the children had misunderstood his earlier words to Rohen and thought their mother might dislike dogs.
"But sometimes there are dogs that bite and say they hate you. In Riru’s case, he understood Mama’s words, but if those kinds of dogs hurt Rui and Yue, Mama would be very sad and cry."
"No!"
The two immediately clung to him, begging him not to cry.
Qiong Xing lifted them into his arms.
"That is why I simply asked not to bring such dogs here, so you two do not need to worry about it."
With that, he carried them to bed, telling them it was already time to sleep.
Perhaps because they had played so much with Rohen, both of them quickly fell into a deep sleep.
"How was it?"
The children had already fallen asleep, but the adults were still awake.
While Qiong Xing glanced at the sleeping faces, he tried to sit down on a chair, only to have Leander grab his waist and pull him onto his lap.
At first, Qiong Xing had resisted, thinking it childish to be treated like that, but after learning it was simply a form of affection for them, he had stopped resisting.
Qiong Xing then asked Leander how he had felt about Rohen after spending the entire day with him.
"Well... he doesn’t seem like a bad guy..."
It was clear that Leander still could not fully trust him yet.
But Qiong Xing simply smiled and accepted that.
"You can’t just trust people so easily. That’s why it’s fine like this."
In every world, there were good people and people who thought only of doing harm.
One could not judge someone at a glance alone.
Someone who seemed kind might actually be violent and the opposite could also be true.
"All I want is for you to take your time and judge his character for yourself. You don’t have to force yourself to accept him just because I said so. What I said is only a starting point."
Qiong Xing only asked that Leander look at him properly once more.
Not that he forgive him, but that he observe how the man behaved toward them from now on.
If, after that, Leander still felt he could not accept him, that would be fine.
"Trust is not something so easily earned. Even between humans, it is difficult. So to build it between humans and beastmen, who were once enemies, is even harder. That is why I ask you to take your time."
"...Got it."
Unlike Naz and the others, who had not shown much resistance from the beginning, Rohen had grown up believing such prejudice as common sense.
But after speaking and understanding that what he had believed to be normal was not necessarily true, Rohen had properly apologized.
He had cried, bowed his head, taken Yue’s hand, and knelt before the children.
That was why Qiong Xing had asked for time.
Even if it could not be like Yue and the others, it was enough that Leander was willing to consider believing him.
"Thank you. Thank you very much, Leander."
After expressing his gratitude to Leander, who had nodded, Qiong Xing reached out and wrapped his arms around his broad back.
...
"Is Mama back yet?"
"Not yet. Didn’t I just tell you? Mama will be back in three days."
"...Okay."
Elias gave a wry smile at the sight of his daughter’s clearly dejected back as she trudged away.
The only relief was that she was not crying, but he could only sigh as Lian kept asking every few minutes whether Mama was back yet.
Despite being this upset, she had finished everything Qiong Xing had asked her to do.
Perhaps sensing the situation, Cari and Albe were taking turns trying to cheer her up, but it seemed that even they could not replace the presence of Qiong Xing.
"It really does seem like it only works with Qiong Xing."
Albe who had apparently been watching the earlier exchange approached with a wry smile, and Elias also let out a small laugh.
"Lian was more attached to Qiong Xing than Rui and the others."
"She’s more of a spoiled child than Rui and the others, after all. Lately she even got sulky about being taller than them."
To adults, it was a cute kind of worry, but for Lian, it was likely a frustration tied to being the older sister.
"They were going to surpass her sooner or later anyway. She just doesn’t really understand that yet."
She probably vaguely understood that she was different from Rui, Yue, and the adults, but Qiong Xing had never clearly taught the children the difference between beastmen and humans.
Because of that, Lian worried about things like Rui and the others being able to do things she could not.
But in truth, that was something every person, regardless of beastman or human, experienced at least once in their life.
Personality and physical ability differed from person to person, and sometimes people envied those differences in others.
But in the end, one could only be oneself.
It could not be changed, and one could not restart life or become someone else.
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