The flower petals looked exceptionally vibrant thanks to the excellent care they received.
A droplet of water clung stubbornly to the tip of one leaf, waiting and waiting for an insect prince to come rescue it, but no such savior ever appeared.
In the end, it could hold on no longer and helplessly fell, smashing against the earth and scattering into countless pieces.
Of course, even if an insect prince had come to rescue it, the droplet would probably have just been swallowed and turned into nourishment for the insect’s survival.
Zofia and Margaret were crouched together in front of the flower, watching the previous droplet fall while eagerly waiting for the next one to gather.
Every time it happened, the two of them even went, “Oh!
Ooh~” together.
It wasn’t morning, so naturally there wasn’t any dew dripping from the leaves.
Clarus was simply watering the flowers.
Zofia had brought Margaret over and the two of them were now crouched there watching.
Whenever a droplet rolled off a leaf, they would let out another strange little cry of amazement.
It was one of the simplest joys a child could have.
Children were endlessly curious about the world, and something this trivial could entertain them over and over without ever getting boring.
What surprised Clarus a little, however, was that Margaret, despite being only a year old, could already run around steadily behind Zofia without stumbling.
Was this some kind of racial talent unique to Kuranta?
Well, horses were supposed to be fast.
His mother had told him that he’d learned to walk quite early himself, but there was no way he’d been able to run around as steadily as Margaret could at her age.
Margaret really was a genius.
Or so Clarus thought.
Zofia herself was only two years old, yet her thoughts were already remarkably clear and her speech was articulate.
Clarus honestly felt that, at her age, he probably hadn’t been as impressive as she was.
Once he finished watering the flowers, two tiny heads popped out from behind the same blossom, their eyes sparkling.
“You’re really different,” Zofia said, tilting her head.
“When other children play with us, they always fight over who gets to play with us.
But you don’t have that kind of…
that kind of feeling that makes me uncomfortable?” Zofia wrinkled her tiny nose and frowned, struggling to find a word that properly described it.
Clarus sighed and set down his little watering can.
“They’re trying to curry favor with you.
They’re sucking up to you, right?” “Yes!
That’s it!” Zofia’s eyes lit up.
“You know so many things!” “Play!
Play!” Margaret waved both of her tiny hands, smiling happily.
“Let’s play a game!
Your name is Clarus, right?” Zofia took little Margaret by the hand and ran toward the middle of the courtyard, giggling happily.
Clarus followed them with both hands tucked into his pockets.
“Yeah.
What do you want to play?” “Let’s play Princess and Knight!
You know so much, so I’m sure you’ll be able to protect Margaret and me!” Zofia spun around in place, laughing brightly.
“Princess and Knight?
That sounds pretty fun!” Clarus was interested too.
“Knight!
Knight!” Little Margaret immediately began bouncing excitedly.
Then, entirely on her own, she turned toward a nearby flowerpot and assumed an awkward little fighting stance.
“Fight!
Fight!” “Margaret wants to be a knight too?” Zofia’s eyes sparkled.
“Oh!
Now that you mention it, I want to be a knight too.
Who in Kazimierz doesn’t want to become a knight?” But once her excitement settled, Zofia frowned again.
“Then we’d have three knights…
What do we do?” “How about this?” Clarus smiled.
“I’ll be the Demon King.
Zofia can still be the princess, and I’ll be the evil Demon King who comes to eat Princess Zofia.
Rawr~!” “Waaah!” Zofia giggled and immediately hid behind Margaret.
“Knight Margaret!
Hurry and protect me!” Despite being only a year old, Margaret somehow managed to put a trace of determination on her tiny face.
She spread her short little arms wide and firmly shielded Zofia behind her.
“Demon King!
Bad!
Margaret…
fight!” “Rawr~!
The Demon King is going to eat Margaret too~!” Little Clarus charged toward Margaret while making ridiculous monster noises.
“Bad!
Fight!” Margaret’s tiny face was tense, and even her little fists had clenched tightly.
Clarus ran right up to her, intending to shove his face close and scare her.
But Margaret didn’t react like most other little kids would have—Zofia, no one was talking about you—and hurriedly run away.
Instead…
a look of absolute resolve appeared on her tiny face.
Clarus’s vision suddenly went black.
Then the entire world spun around him.
And the next thing he knew, he was staring up at a vast blue sky.
Clarus lay flat on the cold ground, utterly bewildered.
Zofia had already fled behind one of the pillars near the entrance to the house.
The moment she finished hiding, she peeked around the pillar— only to find Clarus lying flat on his back while Margaret crouched nearby, clutching her head and wailing at the top of her lungs.
Zofia: ?
The tiny brain of a two-year-old clearly wasn’t equipped to process this much information at once.
Zofia had absolutely no idea what had just happened.
Fortunately, that same two-year-old brain quickly provided her with another solution: If you can’t process it, then don’t.
And so Zofia chose the easiest possible response— she started crying too.
She had no idea what the other two were crying about, but if she cried along with them, surely everything would be fine.jpg The chorus of crying immediately alerted the group of sharp-eared experts inside the house.
A whole crowd came rushing outside to see what had happened to the children.
Yolanta was the first through the door.
The moment she spotted little Zofia wiping away tears beside the entrance, she hurried over, picked her up, and softly asked what had happened.
Kirill and Grandfather Henry emerged together.
The moment they saw one child lying on the ground and the other crouching beside him in the courtyard, both old men immediately rushed over.
Kirill dropped to one knee and gently supported Clarus’s head, helping him sit upright.
Henry, meanwhile, crouched protectively beside little Margaret and began examining the top of her head, which she stubbornly refused to stop clutching.
Kirill and Henry exchanged a glare before turning their attention back to checking the children.
The others had it much harder.
Both old men were protecting the other family’s child, leaving everyone else unsure whose side they were even supposed to stand on.
In the end, they simply hurried over and formed a loose circle around them.
Młynar had it especially bad.
He had come out right behind Yolanta, but apparently age and experience still counted for something.
The two old men had started later and somehow still managed to beat him to the children.
Once everyone finished checking the injuries…
their expressions became rather strange.
The top of Margaret’s head was slightly red and swollen.
Beneath her fluffy golden hair, a tiny bump had even formed, and the slightest touch made her burst into another round of loud wailing.
As for Clarus…
he was still sitting there in a daze.
Except his chin had turned a rather impressive shade of purple.
Hmm…
Surely no one would deliberately choose to attack the top of someone else’s head with their own chin, right?
Between sobs, Zofia finally managed to explain what had happened, which only made the adults’ expressions grow even stranger.
“So, in other words…
you were playing a game.
Clarus was pretending to be the Demon King, while Margaret was the knight.” “And the moment you turned around…
they ended up like this?” Zofia sniffled and nodded.
Slap!
A perfectly synchronized chorus of palms hitting foreheads echoed through the courtyard.
“Ahem.
A misunderstanding.
That’s all it was.” Kirill coughed twice.
“Boys will be boys.
Taking one headbutt isn’t a big deal…” Henry immediately exploded.
“You shameless old bastard!
My grandson’s chin is purple!” Kirill chuckled awkwardly.
“Well, my granddaughter’s got a bump on her head too, hasn’t she?
Hehe…” Henry stared at him in disbelief.
“So what, I’m supposed to blame my grandson for attacking your granddaughter’s head with his chin?!” The old Pegasus actually gave him a bashful smile.
“Well…
I wouldn’t say that’s entirely unreasonable…” Henry flew into a rage.
“YOU OLD BASTARD!
I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!” …
TL: …
lol