Dad Came Back from a Deserted Island Chapter 24

‘Oh, no.’

Jean tried his best to hide his troubled expression.

He failed.

How was he supposed to explain this?

What would he do if Vivian were accused of being a witch?

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation. Even Jean himself wouldn’t have believed any of this if he hadn’t witnessed Kiki hatch from the egg—or if he hadn’t personally returned through time.

“Just as I thought!”

Anne suddenly exclaimed.

‘Just as you thought, what?’

Jean was about to step in, tense from head to toe, when Anne continued.

“So you really are fairies! Or maybe angels? The two of you are far too beautiful to be ordinary humans. I always suspected you might be fairies or angels pretending to be human, and I was right! Yes. There’s no way people can be this beautiful and handsome. I could never believe you were the same species as me. The difference between you two and me is about the same as the difference between Kiki and me. Yes. I knew it!”

[That rude human! What exactly is wrong with me?!]

Kiki was outraged at the insult, but Jean could only feel his tension drain away.

At least he probably didn’t have to worry about Vivian being branded a witch.

But… was this really okay?

“Um, about what you just—”

Jean began, trying to somehow smooth things over, but Anne waved her hands frantically.

“Ah! It’s okay! I’ll protect the fairies’ secret! Oh! You’re not going to have to return to the fairy kingdom just because a human discovered your identities, are you? Please tell me that’s not the case. I’m truly happy working with the two of you!”

Jean wasn’t sure whether she was saying all of this while completely in her right mind, but at least it seemed he didn’t have to worry about anyone dragging them away for being witches.

“Then you can keep doing what you were doing! Sorry for interrupting. You seemed to be growing a tree? What kind of tree is it? An apple tree?”

“It’s not an apple tree. It’s a banana tree!”

“What’s a banana, My lady?”

As Jean listened to the conversation between Anne and Vivian, he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten.

“Wait, Vivi. I think we need to stop here.”

“What? Why? I want to see the banana!”

“That’s right! I really won’t tell anyone!”

“No. That’s not the problem.”

Then what was it?

The eyes of the two humans and one divine beast all turned toward Jean.

“It’s because we’ll be moving in a few days.”

“Oh!”

“If it were a flower, we could replant it somewhere else, but a tree is a little…”

[Ugh. I was so happy thinking I’d be able to eat bananas soon. I suppose I’ll have to put that joy off for now.]

It was a simple and perfectly reasonable explanation.

Even Kiki had no choice but to accept it.

 

***

 

“We’re moving!”

Vivian opened her eyes to the morning sunlight and shouted the moment she woke up.

“But how do you move?”

[I have no idea. This great one has never moved before, either.]

Although she had no idea how moving worked, the fact that she was about to experience something she had never done before filled her face with excitement.

Of course, there wasn’t anything Vivian actually had to do on moving day.

All she had to do was change out of her pajamas and enjoy a delicious breakfast as usual.

“All right, Vivi! Get into the carriage. These gentlemen will move the luggage for us.”

“Okay!”

The workers Jean had hired for the occasion arrived at House Lambert and began expertly packing everything before loading it onto the wagons.

The portrait of Jean and Vivian.

The beautiful new clothes they had bought.

The banana sapling Vivian had grown.

Piece by piece, Vivian’s entire life was being packed up and prepared to move to their new home.

Sitting in the carriage and watching through the window, Vivian’s eyes sparkled unusually brightly.

“Shall we get going?”

“Huh? What about all that luggage? You haven’t packed everything yet!”

“I already had the furniture moved into the new house. We’re only taking the things that are really, really important.”

That way, perhaps he could finally shake off the nightmares of the past—or the future.

Jean gently patted Vivian’s head as she bounced her short legs in anticipation, then set the carriage in motion.

As he listened to Anne chatting with Vivian about this and that beside him, Jean closed his eyes.

The sight of House Lambert engulfed in flames clung stubbornly to the backs of his eyelids.

 

***

 

The new home of House Lambert was a mansion with an impressive pastel-blue roof that reminded Jean and Vivian of their eyes.

Its body was built from pristine white stone, giving it an elegant appearance, while the stone path stretching from the entrance to the gate added to its bright, welcoming atmosphere.

Most importantly, it had a large garden and rear garden where Vivian and Kiki could run and play to their hearts’ content.

Vivian’s jaw dropped when she saw the new house for the first time, as though a butterfly could fly right into her mouth.

“Wow! Whoa, woooow!”

[It is still rather shabby, but it does seem slightly more suitable for housing this great one.]

To a divine beast from the Imperial Palace, the mansion was still lacking.

But to Vivian, this place was no different from a palace where a princess lived.

“Vivi! Be careful!”

The moment the carriage door opened, Vivian jumped straight down without even using the step. Jean cried out in alarm.

“Wow! Is this really our house? Really? Really?”

Oblivious to her anxious father, Vivian ran along the smooth stone path, which had been carefully maintained so she wouldn’t trip.

The path from the entrance to the gate was so long!

She could probably even have a race with Kiki here.

How big would the inside be?

And how beautiful?

Vivian was so excited that she couldn’t slow herself down in time and was just about to slam straight into the gate.

But the gate opened smoothly before she could crash into it, without so much as an unpleasant creak.

“Huh?”

“Welcome, My lady.”

A deep, dignified male voice greeted Vivian.

Vivian slowly opened the eyes she had squeezed shut in anticipation of the impact.

“W-Who are you?”

Inside the gate stood an elderly gentleman dressed in a formal suit, two women in maid uniforms, and a middle-aged woman in neat clothing. They had been waiting for them.

“Princess, what are you doing running off like that?”

Jean, who had hurried ahead after asking Anne to excuse him, picked Vivian up and met the eyes of the waiting servants.

“These are the people who will be taking care of various duties in this house. This is Mr. Martin, the butler.”

“It is a pleasure to serve you.”

The elderly gentleman bowed politely.

“And this is Miss Kallen, who will prepare delicious meals for us.”

“Just tell me what you want! I can make anything!”

The middle-aged woman spoke in a hearty voice. Overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, Vivian hurriedly nodded.

“And these are Miss Julie and Miss Lea, who will take care of the cleaning and other duties.”

“Nice to meet you!”

The two women, whose hair was styled identically like twins, lightly lifted their skirts and bowed.

“H-Hello!”

With all the unfamiliar adults looking only at her, Vivian was so nervous that she stumbled over her words.

The servants’ faces immediately softened.

What an adorable and well-mannered little lady!

They were already familiar with Jean’s character from his interview.

The difficulty of working in a household could vary greatly depending on the nature of one’s employer, but they felt they could remain at House Lambert for a very long time.

“We look forward to working with you.”

Jean, too, carefully watched the expressions of the servants as they looked at Vivian.

Each of them had passed his strict standards, sharpened by everything he had learned about judging people while working under the great merchant Eduard.

To make sure nothing like what had happened with Ron and Mary ever happened again, he had deliberately chosen people without families of their own and thoroughly investigated their reputations.

Seeing the warmth in their eyes as they looked at Vivian, he felt that the first step had gone well.

All he could do now was hope that Vivian would adjust well to her new life, in a new house surrounded by new people.

“All right, Vivi. Shall we go upstairs and see our princess’s room first?”

“Yes, yes!”

With Kiki already perched on his shoulder, Jean carried Vivian upstairs.

Beyond the pristine white staircase, the second floor opened into a long, spacious hallway that welcomed the father and daughter.

Warm sunlight streamed in through the large windows.

Vivian gasped in admiration at the soft carpets and flower vases placed beside each window.

With a proud smile, Jean opened the bedroom door.

“All right. Starting today, this is our Vivi’s room.”

“Waaaaah!”