----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Well, my Raimond. This is unusual. I don't think it's ever happened before that you wanted to see me?"
As soon as he entered the room, Father immediately spread his arms and picked me up, kissing me all over my face.
Stop it! You're getting me all sticky!!
"F-Father! I'm not a child anymore!"
However, I'm still a child, so I escape from Father's embrace like a child.
"......Father. Raimond has something to talk about, doesn't he?"
Father, who was being urged by my eldest brother Federico, who seemed to be helping with his political affairs, smiled gently and invited me to take a seat.
Surrounding a circular table, Father sat directly across from me, and Federico-nii-sama sat to my right, sipping tea.
"So? You had something to talk about? Why don't you tell your father?"
"Yes. To put it bluntly, please talk to Mother properly."
I thought I heard a scream from the cup Federico-nii-sama was holding, but let's ignore it.
How strong is this guy's grip?
However, Father's expression also hardened, so it seemed like the relationship between Mother and Father was a taboo topic.
"B-But... Maya doesn't, ah... think well of me."
I snorted at Father's sad, resigned smile.
"It's ridiculous, Father! To not understand Mother's tsundere, are you even the lord of a harem!?"
"H-Harem??"
I pointed my finger at Father sharply.
"Tsundere......?"
Both Federico-nii-sama and Father had blank, astonished expressions, which was kind of cute.
"That's right! You, you skirt-chaser!! How many women have you seduced!? Mother's tsundere is nothing compared to that!!"
"S-Skirt-chaser!? Seduced...!? Rai, where on earth did you learn such words!?"
"Hey! It doesn't matter where I learned them!! I'm envious! Surrounded by so many beautiful women! If you weren't my father, I'd cut you down as an enemy of women! I'm jealous, it's unforgivable!!"
"R-Raimond!?"
Ignoring Father's panicked voice, I half-climbed onto the table and sandwiched Father's cheeks with my hands.
"Mother! Is! Too! Fond! Of! Father!!"
Father's eyes widened in surprise, but I didn't care.
"Mother loves Father too much to get the words out. She's got a disease where she can't chat honestly when you look into her eyes! And you! An experienced!!! Father!!! Can't read that!? Have you ever thought about why Mother, who has no interest in power, began pushing me to become Crown Prince!?"
"W-Well... She likes, her home country, so,"
"Buzzer! Mother really likes Father. That's why she only sees me, with my black hair and Father's green eyes, as especially cute... If she pushes me to become Crown Prince, and if I really become Crown Prince, Father will come to see me, right? That's why Mother wanted me to become Crown Prince. Even if Father doesn't like her, she wanted an excuse to see him......"
It seemed that I had been looking down while I was talking.
When I raised my face as my hands, which had been sandwiching Father's cheeks, were taken, Father was smiling gently.
"Rai. Do you know if Maya is in her room right now?"
"Y-Yeah. She said she doesn't have any plans today, so, I think she's in her room."
"Then, shall we go see her together, Father? But, I'm still scared, so I want you to come with me, too. Is that okay?"
".........Yeah."
Even though it's just a child's babble, even if he's my son.
I can only thank Father for listening.
I thought he would just dismiss it as something a child would say.
"Federico. I'm going to see Maya, but what about you? Are you coming with us?"
".........No. Father tends to forget the time when it comes to family matters. I'll stay here and continue with the work first."
Did he get fed up with me? Federico-nii-sama sighed.
"Um, Federico-nii-sama. I'm sorry."
"............It's fine."
No, that's definitely not a "it's fine" expression.
Even if you say it's fine with a scowl on your face, it's hard to believe.
Still, it's nice of him to see us off.
Taking advantage of this, Father picks me up and kisses my head.
"Fufufu! It's been a long time since I've held Rai. He's gotten so heavy... I don't have any complaints about being in the position of King, but it's lonely not being able to feel my child's growth every day."
"Do you feel lonely, even as Father?"
"Of course. My wife... I thought Karina was enough, but Anastasia came, Sophia came, Maya came. Every time, the number of things that are important to me increases. The more I try to stabilize the country for them, the busier I get and the less time I have to see them. As a result, I'm overlooking things that are important to me like this. At those times, I sometimes wonder what I'm living for. Is that still too difficult for Rai to understand?"
I had thought of him as just a kissing maniac who kissed me every time we met, but it seems that I need to revise that opinion.
At least, kissing was one of Father's important forms of skinship.
He's not just a kissing maniac. Well, he might just want to kiss me.
"I like Mother more than Father. We've spent more time together."
"Y-Yeah, that's right......"
Heh heh heh. I kissed Father's cheek, who let out a dry laugh, and Father made a blank expression, as if he had been caught off guard.
"But I like Father too? At least, I know that Father is working hard for us, and I think I understand how hard it is."
"............My son might be an angel."
The arms of Father, who said that and hugged me tightly, were warm, and I wrapped my arms around Father's neck and hugged him as if to indulge in it.
If you think about it as the actions of an uncle in his late twenties, it's a pain, but fortunately, I'm a six-year-old shota now.
Hmm, no problem.
----------------------------
Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter
Comments
Post a Comment