194 Laughter Galore 2.0 (3,000 Words)
“Dad hasn’t been around for many days.”
“Mom hasn’t either.”
“Sister, I think… it’s time!”
“Moon, this is a serious matter. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“Absolutely! I can’t wait any longer!”
“Alright, I’ll go prepare.”
“Mhm, then I’ll prepare… steaks!”
“What did you say?”
“Ah! Nothing! I meant… to prepare clothes!”
One hour later, in the backyard of the Silver Dragon Temple, the maids were gathered by Noia and Moon.
They had no idea what the two little princesses were up to.
Was it because Your Majesty and His Royal Highness were out for a few days, and no one was there to play with them, so they felt lonely and came to find them?
Making the princesses happy and playing games was certainly within the maids’ duties, but that pile of bonfire in the yard and the steaks in Moon’s hands were stirring up some… rather peculiar memories.
They recalled that last time they made such a fuss, it was to “mourn” His Royal Highness.
The princesses had said that His Royal Highness was gone, departed, and would never return, then held a grand—funeral.
So, could this time… they be pulling the same stunt again?
Milan quietly leaned over to Anna and whispered, “Are we going to cry later, Head Maid?”
Anna crossed her arms and sighed, “We’ll follow the princesses’ arrangements.”
“…Alright.”
“What about the Third Princess? Is someone taking care of her?” Anna asked.
“Yep! Before we came out, I arranged for Sherry to take care of her. She isn’t part of the maid team, so we’re letting her look after the Third Princess for now.”
Anna nodded and looked up at the clear sky, “If I count the days, Your Majesty and His Royal Highness should be coming back soon.”
Milan raised an eyebrow, “Do you know what they went out to do, Head Maid?”
Anna shrugged, “Probably looking for a peaceful place to enjoy some couple time after the pregnancy. Just a guess, don’t tell anyone.”
Milan chuckled, “I know, Head Maid.”
As the two were chatting, they spotted Noia walking over.
“Your Highness,” Anna greeted respectfully.
“Alright, everyone can start crying now.” Noia’s little face was all seriousness.
At the sister’s command, before the maids could start, Moon couldn’t hold back and began to cry.
“Wah~~ Daddy, Mommy, why are you not back yet? Do you not want Moon anymore? Boohoo~”
Anna quickly nudged Milan’s arm, signaling her to join in.
Milan snapped to attention, but soon got into character,
“Ah! …Ah, umm, Your Majesty! His Royal Highness! You left so suddenly~~”
Under Milan’s lead, the maids began to join in.
Their exaggerated whines echoed through the courtyard.
Anna closed her eyes, sighing helplessly. She, too, wanted to find a quiet place like Your Majesty to escape.
“Your Majesty~ How could you bear to leave your three lovely daughters behind, Your Majesty~”
“With you gone, how will our Silver Dragon Race survive, my Queen~”
“……”
There were plenty of tears for Your Majesty, but fewer for His Royal Highness.
Though, there were still a few.
“His Royal Highness! You’ve done so much for the Silver Dragon Race, how could you just leave?!”
“We were waiting for you to help Your Majesty restore the glory of the Silver Dragons, His—Royal—Highness!”
“……”
One maid, a bit too into her role, was sobbing with tears streaming down her face, completely unaware of when two extra guests arrived beside her.
“I counted, and there are about twenty-three maids crying for me, but less than five for you.” Roswiser’s calm demeanor was hiding a hint of smugness.
Leon, the little bear, threw his hands up, “Is this really a thing to compete over?!”
Roswiser huffed, “I don’t care.”
Leon waved his hand, too busy to argue about that now.
The Dragon Maid overheard their conversation and quickly stifled her tears and the mournful “eulogy” that was about to spill out.
She glanced left, spotting a chuckling Your Majesty; to her right was a frowning His Royal Highness.
Oh~~~
Got it! Time for the next act—
“The princesses’ touching display has moved the heavens! His Royal Highness and Your Majesty have returned to life~”
Ah, such familiar lines.
Wasn’t I the one who said this last time? The Dragon Maid mused quietly.
Upon hearing that the two main characters of the funeral had been resurrected, the other maids instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
They dutifully made way for the two “resurrected” ones to step forward.
The couple exchanged glances, then, almost telepathically, stepped forward together.
Standing before their two daughters, the family of four stared wide-eyed at each other.
A hint of surprise flickered across Noia’s little face, but she quickly returned to her usual calm demeanor.
As for Moon, her performance remained consistent:
“Daddy.”
“Hmm?”
“Moon can eat your offerings again, right?”
“…Go ahead, but don’t eat too many fried things for breakfast. Just this once.”
“Yay!”
Leon turned to Anna, “Take Moon to the dining hall.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”
Anna stepped up, leading Moon away from the ‘funeral’ scene.
The other maids returned to their posts under Roswiser’s command, beginning their work for the day.
In the backyard, only Leon, Roswiser, and Noia remained, along with a heap of unburnt bonfire.
Leon bent down, hugging Noia close,
“Sorry, Noia. Your mom and I had some urgent matters these past few days and had to go a bit far. We didn’t let you know in advance, and I’m sorry for worrying you.”
The eldest daughter wasn’t as easily appeased as the youngest.
Certain things had to be explained, of course.
However, he couldn’t go into too much detail.
Noia frowned and shook her head, “It’s okay, Daddy. Did you solve the problem?”
Leon hesitated; his daughter’s question caught him off guard.
Noia certainly didn’t know he went back to the Empire to deal with traitors, as that would mean she understood her dad is a human.
So her question likely stemmed from his previous statement about having “urgent matters” and had no deeper meaning.
But while he might not mean it, she was already suspicious. Leon bit his lip, suppressing a fleeting panic, and smiled.
“Yep, all resolved.”
Noia was still young and often couldn’t tell truth from lies.
Even with countless questions swirling in her mind, after a brief moment of hesitation, she chose to trust her father.
Trust his honesty and his problem-solving ability.
“Then that’s good.” Noia nodded.
Roswiser walked over, and Leon gently handed Noia to her.
Noia nestled into her mother’s soft embrace, wrapping her little arms around her mother’s delicate neck.
The Queen nuzzled Noia’s fluffy cheek with her nose, “Thank you for taking care of Moon while we were away. And thank you for…”
She glanced at the bonfire in the yard, where a shelf held their photos.
Sigh…
From a professional standpoint, that funeral was surprisingly well done, even somewhat lavish;
But from the perspective of the two main actors, it felt a bit abstract.
Especially for Leon.
Attending your own funeral twice (and not getting to eat a single offering) almost beat out 99% of lifeforms worldwide.
Roswiser gave a wry smile and continued, “And thank you for putting together such a grand ceremony.”
The Queen must use elegant wording.
“Actually, it was to distract Moon. You’ve been gone for five days; if you didn’t return soon, she would start to miss you.”
And I would start to miss you too.
But that was a little too embarrassing for Noia to say out loud. Personality changes are a slow, gradual process, and it’s unreasonable to expect Noia to express her feelings as openly as Moon does.
However, she certainly resembled her parents in that regard.
“Noia really has grown up! She can come up with new ways to cheer her sister now!” Roswiser wasn’t shy in praising her daughter.
Even if that new method was… a bit too extravagant.
As long as the purpose was achieved, Moon’s attention was indeed diverted, and she hadn’t been clamoring to see her mommy and daddy.
After the praise, Noia’s little face flushed, and she pressed her cheek against her mother’s.
Most of the time, her mother’s face was cool to the touch, which felt very nice.
“I’m hungry, Mommy. Let’s go eat.”
“Mhm, okay.”
Roswiser glanced back at Leon, “Let’s go.”
Leon nodded.
The three of them headed towards the back door of the Holy Temple.
Roswiser held Noia in front while Leon followed behind them.
With her chin resting on Roswiser’s shoulder, Noia could see Leon behind them.
After walking a few steps, she slowly lifted her arm and reached out toward Leon.
Leon immediately understood and reached out, gently squeezing her little hand.
Leon thought this was just a warm and fuzzy father-daughter interaction, but when he looked up at Noia’s face, he noticed her expression was a bit complicated.
Distracted, worried, bewildered, even a little anxious.
But upon noticing Leon’s gaze, Noia immediately concealed her unusual expression and replaced it with a smile.
Yet, a kid’s eyes can’t be fooled.
Leon used to think that only Roswiser could communicate with him through glances, turning on their internal voice chat.
Yet now, he clearly saw a question in his daughter’s eyes:
You guys aren’t going to leave me, are you?
