…That’s what I thought until Sieglinde spilled three eggs in a row.
“Sieglinde, you…”
“I-I get it… Sorry… I know it’s wrong, I just don’t know how to hold back and…”
Thinking back, she was always clumsy. There were legends of her falling forward in class and smashing her glasses, and cutting her robe when cutting paper.
That should’ve gotten better when she became an adult, but unfortunately, it doesn’t look like she changed.
There are three eggs left. The stores aren’t open yet, and we don’t have time to wait. There is… no room for error.
“Come here. Stand here.”
“W-what…?”
I go around behind Sieglinde, take one of the uncracked eggs, and put my hand on Sieglinde’s.
“Wha… Wait, w-what are you doing!?”
“You’re gonna ruin it again. Just don’t move, I’ll show you how much strength to use.”
I cover the back of Sieglinde’s hand with mine, and gently hold the egg.
“First, you don’t have to put any strength at all. Understand? Hey, why are you ready to crush it!?”
“A-awawawa… N-no…!”
I told her to relax, but now not only are her hands stiff, but so are her shoulders, back, and feet. She’s going to crack before the egg. What’s she doing?
“Get it together. Actually, don’t. Loosen up, loosen.”
“Y-you say that, but… This is no big deal to you!?”
“Ah? I fry eggs for Ririi every morning. I can do it with my eyes closed.”
“That’s not what I mean…!”
“Just focus on your fingers. If you take too long, Ririi will wake up. And she’ll be hungry.”
“~~…!”
I manage to raise her hand, and slowly swing it down. There’s the nice sound of an eggshell cracking, and the feeling of the white falling on the frying pan is transmitted through her hand.
“That’s about it. Got it?”
“Y-yes…”
…People who get it don’t frown like that. What’s not to understand about something so simple? I don’t really understand, but I’m pretty hands-off when it comes to teaching. I’m not soft on Sieglinde like I am with Ririi.
“Okay. Try the next one by yourself.”
“…Y-yes.”
She takes an egg.
Her movements are clearly rigid, and the tips of her fingers are strangely white because she’s using too much strength, but I just have to trust her. I just taught her that it’s important to relax. It’s not that hard, so she won’t fail.
Sieglinde takes a deep breath and holds the egg up like she’s praying for some reason. I half believe in her success as I look up at the egg.
…No, why is she holding the egg up?
A vivid bad feeling passes through my chest.
“Ririh loves this!”
She says with her cheeks full of egg and bacon sandwich, and a big smile. It’s cute how she tries her best to bite it with her small mouth.
Many eggs were sacrificed in the making of this smile.
She doesn’t have to know, that’s for adults to worry about.
“…”
Meanwhile, Sieglinde is visibly dejected. She awkwardly holds the bread with a scrunched up posture, like she’s not a noble. There’s a strange atmosphere in our first breakfast together.
“Ririi, take your time eating or you’ll choke.”
I say while eating. Mine is the only one without egg, but it’s not bad. Sieglinde kept saying she’d take responsibility, but I told her to eat because she has to go to work. It wasn’t easy to talk her down, but I think that was the right decision.
“…?”
Ririi looks at Sieglinde with worry when she’s about half done with her sandwich. Then she pulls my clothes under the table.
I lean over wondering what it is, and she places a hand on either side of her mouth to whisper in my ear.
“Shiglinde is down.”
So she did notice.
In the end, I cracked the two eggs that came out right. Sieglinde didn’t manage one.
She failed less after becoming an adult. Experiencing a miserable failure after so long must have shocked her. Apparently she’s reliable in her workplace, too much.
“A lot happened this morning. How about you cheer her up?”
“Yes! Okay!”
She hops from her chair, runs over to Sieglinde… and opens her arms.
“W-what…?”
“She wants to be picked up.”
“P-picked up…?”
She looks at Sieglinde with serious eyes.
Sieglinde loses to them, and slowly reaches towards Ririi.
“Hold her from under her arms.”
“L-like this…?”
She picks her up and sits her on her lap.
Then Ririi reaches with her small right hand and pats Sieglinde’s head.
“There there.”
“Puh.”
I almost do a spit take.
Ririi is still a child, and apparently uses herself as the standard for everything. To her, that’s what cheering someone up is like. She likes it when it’s done to her, so she’s doing it too… How childish, and how kind.
“Better?”
“Y-yes… Thank you Ririi.”
“Yes!”
Ririi skillfully hops off Sieglinde’s lap like she’s happy with that, and comes back to me. I don’t hesitate to pat her head. Well done.
“Hehehe.”
She places her hand on top of my hand. Kids have warm bodies, and elves are no exception. Her warm hand is soothing somehow.
“You heard her, cheer up already.”
“…Yes. I can’t feel down forever. Can you help me practice again?”
“Of course. At this rate, we won’t have enough eggs.”
“What are you talking about?”
“About how we want to eat a tasty breakfast every morning. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes! Ririh loves daddy’s food!”
“Fufun.”
Ririi’s smile makes me smug. When it was just me, I just ate what I wanted, but I did a lot of trial and error after picking up Ririi. I’m glad to see my work has paid off.
“You changed, Weiss.”
“Have I?”
“You have. I never thought you would be such a doting parent.”
“Doting? Me?”
“You heard me. You used to have no interest in other people. But you pay attention to Ririi’s every action.”
“…Well, it’s soothing watching a kid eat bread and smile. What can I do?”
“Fufu, right.”
Sieglinde turns to Ririi.
She’s laughing while using her fingers to play with crumbs. It’s just for a few seconds, but the air around Sieglinde softens.
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