Chapter 385: Mama’s Return
All of her wishes were accepted with a gentle "yes," so she promised to wait a little longer until Mama came home.
Even so, her loneliness made her cling to her Papa every day, and then this morning, the moment she opened her eyes, she was completely shocked by the voice she heard.
"...Lian? What is wrong?"
"...whaaaah..."
She had many things she wanted to say, but relief at finally seeing Mama made her tears spill over.
With her still-drowsy body from just waking up, she staggered forward, and her Mama held her tightly just as promised while gently stroking her back.
"I’m home, Lian. I’m sorry I’m late."
"Mama... Mama..."
She had tried to say "welcome back," but the words would not come out because of her tears.
However, as if Qiong Xing already understood, he told her "thank you for waiting" and "I’m home," which made her cry even more.
Because of that, Lingxiao also woke up, and once he realized Mama was there, he cried and clung to him as well.
Unlike adults, a few days felt very long for children.
They could hear his voice, but could not see him.
Even when the promised day came, he did not return.
It was only natural that they would cry.
"Now, now, don’t cry. Like we promised, let’s all eat together."
"sniff... okay. eat."
"Gyaa!"
When they said they did not want to let go, Qiong Xing did not scold them, but instead held them both in his arms.
"Thanks to you two, Mama’s friend’s illness was cured and he was running happily again. It is all because you two waited for Mama’s selfish request. Thank you."
After that, they talked about what the children had done while Mama was away, and Qiong Xing praised them for completing the tasks he had asked of them, and the whole family ate the meal he had made together.
"Papa Iseul was crying with Lingxiao. Uncle Raon was... napping?"
"Hm?"
Sometimes children’s explanations were unreliable.
In reality, Iseul had looked like he was about to cry but had not actually cried, and Raon had not been napping but had actually been unconscious.
But Lian who is eager to talk did not notice this and continued telling everything that had happened.
"We read books with Brother Cari and Brother Albe, and we took naps too. And then, and then, we watered Mama’s flowers..."
"You all worked very hard. Thank you."
"We played with Mayo and Fenrir, and when I went waaah, Brother Albe got mad."
"Hm?"
To be precise, Lian had asked Fenrir to give her a "high toss," and when she was thrown high into the air, Albe had panicked and screamed while rushing to catch her.
The missing details were filled in by Elias and the others, and Qiong Xing nodded as if it was nothing, saying "that sounds like it was tough," which made Albe extremely angry, asking why they were teaching children such games.
"Mama, let’s take a nap with Lian?"
While everyone was confused by how quickly the topic changed, Lian finished eating and, seeing Qiong Xing’s hands free, she immediately asked him to take a nap with her.
"That sounds nice. Then may I hug Lian? I want to hug Lian and sleep together."
"Okay!"
She cheered and climbed onto the bed, happy to be together with Mama, and as promised, she was held tightly.
She was able to indulge herself as much as she wanted.
"Is Papa not allowed to join?"
"You can join too, Papa."
When he said he also felt lonely, the whole family lined up together and took a peaceful nap.
...
After a long time due to various events, Qiong Xing headed to the castle to help.
Since he had not yet reported that he is pregnant, Sergei was quite shocked upon hearing it.
"...You... really are... good at surprising me."
"Thank you very much."
"That was not a compliment."
Qiong Xing smiled softly and nodded as if he understood.
It had been a long time since they had exchanged jokes like this.
"Then Lian, please say hello."
"Um... hello, Uncle Sergei!"
"It has been a while. Haven’t you gotten bigger again since I last saw you?"
Recently she had even been surpassed in height by Rui and the others, so being told she had grown bigger purely as praise made Lian very happy.
I grew a lot! she said happily, and Sergei smiled warmly in response.
In her excitement, she even reached out her arms as if offering to be picked up, and while Qiong Xing tried to stop her thinking it would be rude, but Sergei surprisingly asked if it was alright and lifted her up.
By the second time, Sergei seemed used to it and held her much more smoothly than before.
...What if he really just thinks of her as a relative uncle?
"I heard that Mr. Paulo is also here today, so I brought this child as well. I think it is about time we make up."
"I personally do not mind never reconciling... but very well. Go on. If you manage to make up, come back and help me again."
Having received Sergei’s permission, Qiong Xing went with Lian toward Mr. Paulo.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, Lian suddenly stopped him.
"Lian? What is wrong?"
"......"
Until coming here today, Qiong Xing had not told Lian that they would be meeting Mr. Paulo.
However, as if sensing something, Lian hesitated and pulled at his hand.
Seeing that, Qiong Xing smiled and lifted her into his arms.
"Mama is here. If you do not want to talk, you do not have to. So may I speak with Mr. Paulo for just a little while?"
"...Mm."
Her face was buried against his shoulder, so her expression could not be seen, but she nodded.
Qiong Xing thanked her and entered the room.
Since arrangements had already been made in advance, they were able to meet Mr. Paulo without difficulty.
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