■ Stepmother □
The stepmother came into the house carrying a basket and, upon noticing us, widened her eyes in surprise.
“Who is this?”
Upon hearing this, Father was the first to speak up.
“It’s my son.”
“Ah! Isn’t this the one who went to the capital?”
The stepmother’s expression turned startled as she approached me and bowed her head slightly.
“Hello. My name is Fiona.”
“Ahh, yes.”
I awkwardly acknowledged her greeting.
When I had seen her earlier dealing with the neighborhood kids, she didn’t seem like a bad person.
But why would someone like her marry an old widower?
With that question in mind, I asked, and Step… Fiona smiled as she replied.
“My husband saved my life.”
“Saved your life?”
As I looked at her with an expression seeking clarification, Father scratched his cheek and responded.
“I first met Fiona about five years ago.”
“Five years ago? That was when the Human-Demon War just ended, right?”
“Yes. It happened after you last visited home.”
Father said this while wearing an expression lost in reminiscence. Fiona was a refugee who had lost her hometown due to the Human-Demon War.
She arrived at our village alone, without family. When she knocked on our door trying to buy some groceries with the little money she had, that was our first meeting.
Back then, she looked nothing like she does now—she was dressed like a beggar and had short hair. Later, she told me it was because she wanted to preserve her purity.
Anyway, thanks to the money you regularly sent, I was living rather comfortably at the time and offered her free meals.
However, despite having only a few coins, she insisted on paying.
So, I asked her if she had anywhere else to go.
Fiona shook her head and said she planned to head to the capital to find work.
At that moment, I thought of you and suggested, “Why don’t you go work for my son who lives alone in the capital?”
Fiona repeatedly asked if it was really okay.
I told her I felt sorry for a girl so young having to endure hardships, so I recommended it.
Then Fiona said she would go to you.
“But you never came, did you?”
I’m about to tell that story, so please be quiet for a moment.
“Understood.”
After the group of refugees that had come to our village left and while I was writing a letter to send to you, Fiona stayed at our house for a few days, eating and sleeping there. She helped out with various chores around the house, saying she wanted to pay for her meals. Thanks to her help, I got to eat warm meals for the first time in years and could go farming with peace of mind. To be honest, I initially thought of her as a potential daughter-in-law.
“But why did you end up marrying Father?”
…Well, there was a reason.
Because Fiona’s health wasn’t good after such a long period of fleeing, I couldn’t send her directly to the capital. So, I kept her at home under the pretense of waiting for her health to improve. I also looked for a caravan to escort her safely. However, perhaps because of my age, I overexerted myself and caught a cold. I was bedridden, and Fiona took great care of me.
While nursing me, she said, “It seems the one who needs help now is you, not your son. Could I stay here and work as a maid instead?”
I could see the sincerity in her eyes, so I eventually accepted her request.
Since I was living alone anyway, I thought it might be nice to raise her like a daughter in place of you.
“Did you two fall in love while living together, and since Step liked Father, you ended up getting married?”
Yes.
“Wow, must be nice for you to remarry.”
Yes.
“…Let’s stop talking about this.”
Right. You’re thinking too much.[[[#]]] The ladies were all moved by the love story of Father and the stepmother.
But when I learned that there was a twenty-year age gap between them, I couldn’t understand it.
Isn’t it usually the case that men like him are called “thieves” when they marry younger women?
When I mentioned this fact, Vanessa quickly jumped in beside me.
“I think age doesn’t matter in love. In fact, isn’t love enough on its own?”
“I agree.”
“…This time, it was Caldlasth’s fault.”
W-was it?
Listening to her, I realized I may have been too narrow-minded.
Thinking about it, most of the women in my household were older than me anyway.
Among them, only Dorothea and Sophia don’t fit that criterion.
Anyway, while we were exchanging stories, it seemed that Step had already unpacked the groceries she brought from the market.
She cheerfully asked,
“Are you all going to have dinner?”
Vanessa immediately stood up reflexively.
“I’ll help you, Mother.”
“I’d also like to help.”
Camilla also joined in.
Though both were using polite language, considering their actual ages, it was quite absurd.
Not to mention Vanessa, who had lived even before the kingdom was founded.
I wondered if I was being overly conservative, but I knew Vanessa would definitely get hurt if I pointed out her age, so I wisely kept my mouth shut.
As Vanessa and Camilla entered the kitchen with Step, Father approached Ozma and Dorothea, who were still left behind, and started a conversation.
“Do you want to hear stories about that guy’s childhood?”
The gleam returning to their eyes wasn’t just my imagination.
I asked Sophia, who was the only source of comfort, to brew some coffee I had brought from the capital.[[#]] Though the two helped, fundamentally, Fiona’s cooking skills were top-notch.
She originally lived in a mountain village with her parents and three younger siblings but apparently lost everyone during the Human-Demon War, leaving her as the sole survivor.
Hearing Fiona’s tragic backstory, Vanessa teared up, and Ozma wore an uneasy expression.
Even though she hadn’t directly ordered it, there was still a close connection to the war.
Fortunately, she currently uses polymorph magic to hide her demon characteristics, so she looks like an ordinary human. If her true identity as a demon were revealed, no one knows how she would react.
That goes for the others as well.
After eating, we gathered in the living room to finish our conversation.
“So, you were twenty-two when you married Father?”
“Yes.”
As Fiona shyly nodded, Father fidgeted uncomfortably on the sofa.
“If you’re going to keep bringing up uncomfortable topics, why don’t you just go back to the capital.”
“No way. After coming all the way down here today, how can you say that, Uncle? It makes me feel neglected.”
“Am I the only one not feeling neglected?”
I had a lot to say but held back.
There were too many witnesses, but it’s also true that if I had visited more often, this situation wouldn’t have arisen.
So, I quickly changed the subject.
“Why is the house so big? It’s just the two of you living here.”
Then Father cleared his throat.
“If you visit from the capital, you need a place to stay, right? And if we have children, we’ll need even more rooms.”
“Honey…”
At this, Fiona blushed and lowered her head.
She seemed unaccustomed to such talk.
“You’re planning to have kids too?”
“Your father isn’t dead yet.”
“But… considering his age…”
Father is forty-five right now.
Even if he had a child immediately, by the time the child turned ten, Father would likely be bedridden and near death.
When I expressed these concerns, Father shrugged and said,
“Anyone listening would think you’re praying for your father’s death. Besides, what’s worrying about it? You’re doing well in the capital, so surely you’ll take care of your younger sibling.”
“Wow, sounds like you’ve got a comfortable future ahead, Father.”
“Hahahaha! All thanks to having such a successful son!”
As I teased him, Father laughed heartily and decided to confront it head-on.
Well, our family isn’t poor, and it would indeed feel strange to have a sibling with a thirty-year age gap, but if the two of them are happy, isn’t that all that matters?
I decided to think positively as much as possible.
“By the way, where will we sleep? There is an extra room, but it’s not big enough for all five of us.”
Hearing this, I looked at the room Father pointed to.
It was indeed small.
If six people were to sleep there, a few would have to sleep on futons on the floor.
And there was a good solution for this.
“Then we’ll stay at the inn. I was planning to have a drink with Timmy anyway.”
“Oh, you ran into Timmy?”
“Yeah, I bumped into him at the inn when I went for lunch.”
“Timmy’s a great guy. You should hang out with him more.”
“That was my plan.”
As I said this with a wry smile, Father suddenly remembered something and said,
“Now that I think about it, did you see Helen? You two used to be so close.”
“Helen? Didn’t she get married and leave the village?”
I was slightly surprised by the name that slipped out of Father’s mouth.
After all, Helen was my childhood friend who helped me lose my bachelor status.
