༺ Searching For Mother (3) ༻
Swoosh—
Cariote slipped her hand into her tank top, gripping her chest tightly.
Then, she pulled out a photo from somewhere on her torso.
Did she take it from between her breasts?
It was a hiding place of remarkable security.
Even if it were me, it would take quite some time to break through something that secure─ Cariote then said while looking at the photo.
“It’s a picture of my mother.”
Swoosh—
Cariote handed me the photo.
In the picture, a woman I had seen before was standing elegantly.
Because the monochrome photo was old and faded, it was impossible to discern the colors.
Perhaps her long, flowing hair was blonde, and her intelligent-looking eyes were likely blue.
“I was already thinking that she looked familiar when I first saw it. I wondered who she resembled, and it turns out she looks similar to you, Cariote.”
In my eyes, Cariote was a Barbaroi.
The Barbaroi of this world were nomadic people living in distant savage plains.
They were individuals with low bridges on their noses and broad, square faces.
You could say they had faces full of character that wouldn’t easily be forgotten after a single glance.
Honestly, words like beautiful or handsome didn’t suit them.
At first glance, they exuded the impression of strong warriors.
In that regard, Cariote’s face had a more Western appearance.
Her nose was high and her jawline was slender.
Her eyebrows were quite sharp and powerful, but she was a person who could be called a beauty.
Considering she was a Barbaroi, she had a rather beautiful appearance. But seeing her now, she appeared to be a mixed-blood rather than a pure-blooded savage.
Cariote was the daughter of Young Lady Leone.
The one who had supposedly disappeared 25 years ago.
And Cariote herself appeared to be around 25 years old.
“Assuming she gave birth to you right after disappearing, the timing roughly fits. So, you become the granddaughter of the Ragdoll family, huh?”
The old couple of the Ragdoll family believed wholeheartedly that Cecily was their granddaughter. In reality, their true granddaughter was Cariote, whom they didn’t pay much attention to.
Well, I don’t think anyone could have imagined that their granddaughter would be a Barbaroi with black hair and black eyes like Cariote.
Even I, after seeing the photo that Cariote had kept, didn’t think that the two of them could be mother and daughter.
Wait a minute.
Then what about Cecily?
It was true that Cecily resembled Young Lady Leone, enough for the elderly couple to mistake her as their own granddaughter.
But if Cariote was Young Lady Leone’s daughter…
Click— Clack— Click—
The gears in my brain were spinning in full force.
And I came to a single conclusion.
Could Cecily’s mother possibly be Cariote?
It made a lot of sense.
Based on the information and speculation I had gathered so far, I couldn’t come up with any other deduction.
So Cecily is Cariote’s daughter?
Honestly, there aren’t many similarities between us.
If Cariote were to become my wife, I would undoubtedly think she would be Naru’s mother!
I was getting increasingly confused!
Just as I had begun gathering my thoughts again.
“I hope you can keep it a secret from everyone, especially the old couple of the Ragdoll family.”
“Why? Wouldn’t they be happy to know that they have a granddaughter?”
“That’s not necessarily true. I, like you, am a Barbaroi. Judas, you should know better than anyone how we are treated in this world whenever we leave the Great Plains.”
“Well, I mean…”
There were restaurants we couldn’t enter.
Difficulties in finding jobs or employment.
Not being invited to parties.
Well, those were just a few examples, but there were countless ways we were discriminated against.
“But why is this an issue all of a sudden?”
“If I suddenly appear and say that I am the granddaughter of a Barbaroi, the elders would be greatly shocked. A sudden appearance of a barbarian granddaughter.”
It felt like Cariote, who seemed to have quite a bit of pride, still felt inferior because of her barbarian identity.
Could it be that she had a delicate heart hidden beneath her large, soft-looking chest?
Normally, I would have just thought it was someone else’s family matter and moved on.
The affairs of the elderly couple and Cariote were something they had to resolve themselves.
However.
I couldn’t just let it go now.
Cecily was involved!
So, I couldn’t simply conclude that it was just “someone else’s problem.”
It would quite probably become my problem too!
Why don’t I directly tell her?
“In fact, Cecily is your daughter and we will get married in the future. So, you have to marry me. And we have to have a baby on the right date.”
Then, Cariote would scrunch up her face and ask, “Are you possessed by a demon?” and chop my head off with an axe.
That’s how it would go.
I had a lot to say, but I had to choose my words carefully.
“Do you have something you want to say to me?”
But Cariote was perceptive.
She could tell when I was hesitating.
I decided to beat around the bush.
“So, how is your mother? Is she doing well?”
“She’s dead. Along with my sister. They were killed by a demon with four horns growing out of its head. I buried both my sister and my mother with my own two hands, so I’m certain.”
Oh, holy shh…
I shouldn’t have asked.
“That’s truly regrettable. Your grandparents from the Ragdoll family would also be quite saddened to know this. But, why did you accept the search request knowing that Young Lady Leone is already deceased…?”
“Because of Cecily. That brat looks so much like my mother. She talks and acts just like her. My mother always emphasized noble manners.”
“Hmm…”
I thought about Cariote receiving an education in noble manners from her aristocratic mother.
Perhaps Cariote’s proper behavior and etiquette at the Ragdoll family dinner was the result of a strict upbringing in her own household.
Cariote spoke.
“Maybe my mother was alive until six years ago and gave birth to another sister of mine. Even though I dug her grave and buried her myself.”
“I see.”
“Just so you know, I have a good intuition. When I see Cecily, I feel something strange. It’s a similar feeling to when I look at my sister or mother…”
Cariote couldn’t explain it well.
She preferred being blunt, so she wasn’t very eloquent when it came to her emotions.
But I had a vague idea of what Cariote felt towards Cecily.
* * *
“That was fun! Naru received a lot of cookies. Aunty Hilaris told me to come and play again next time!” (check)
Naru giggled as she walked out of the upscale neighborhood.
The bag of cookies in her hand must have made her feel good.
“I should share some with Brigitte and Uncle Baldy too! Tomorrow, when I go to school, I’ll share some with Elizabeth and Cecily too…”
Naru seemed to enjoy sharing what she had with others.
It was a bad habit to have if she wanted to become a great thief, but a good habit to improve her princess power.
At that.
Cariote asked Naru.
“Naru, you’re Cecily’s friend, right? Have you ever heard Cecily talking about her mom or dad?”
“Well…yes! Cecily said her mom and dad are incredibly amazing! And that they’re very impressive and dignified Aristocrats!?”
“Aristocrats, huh…”
Cariote crossed her arms and seemed lost in thought.
And for a moment, I was lost in thought too.
According to what I heard from the elderly couple from the Ragdoll family, Cecily suddenly appeared a few months ago.
And she couldn’t remember many things, as if she had amnesia.
Loss of memory.
That was something Naru experienced too.
It could be seen as a post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from coming back in time from the future through space magic.
The reason that Cecily couldn’t recall her parents’ faces was likely because of that.
But her mother and father being dignified aristocrats?
If my guesses were correct, Cecily’s parents are not nobles, but rather a thief and a hunter, right?
Even if I were to go up to Cecily right now and say, “I am your father,” she would probably scream and shake her head vigorously.
━Hieeek…! You two are not my parents…!
“……”
Strangely, I could vividly imagine that scene.
I knew very well how bewildering and difficult it would be to have someone appear and claim to be your family.
I was also extremely surprised when Naru suddenly burst out saying, “I found you Dad…!” one day.
Honestly, I couldn’t believe it.
It just felt like I couldn’t leave a child alone outside, so I brought her home first.
But as we spent time together, taking walks and having many conversations, Naru was starting to feel like my daughter.
Although.
I haven’t been married and am still a pure man.
It was a responsibility without pleasure, but it didn’t feel so bad.
“So, Naru made Molumolu do the math homework! Molumolu said he didn’t want to do it, but Naru gave him two strawberries and he agreed! Tomorrow, I’m going to make him do the science homework too!”
━Grrrrrr…!
“I’ll give you one more strawberry!”
━Meowww.
“Hehe!”
Naru laughed with glee.
Seeing Naru and her shadow, Cariote exclaimed in admiration.
“Wow, her shadow can talk. It’s fascinating. It doesn’t seem to be related to demons. It’s an animal I’ve never seen before. I bet it would sell quite well to some dilettante.”
I also looked at Naru’s new friend, Molumolu, and then spoke to Cariote in a subtle tone.
“Cariote, what do you think would happen if you suddenly had a family? If one day, a girl you’ve never seen before appeared and said she was your daughter?”
“What do you mean by that? I am a virgin. I can’t have a daughter or something like that.”
“No, I was just asking.”
“I’ve never thought about it.”
Was it because she had a rigid mind?
If I were to say that there was a high chance Cecily was her daughter─Cariote would definitely think I’m a strange person.
She wouldn’t believe it.
It would be better to have some sort of insurance beforehand.
“You probably already noticed, but I only recently found out about Naru too. At first, I couldn’t believe that Naru was my daughter. It was very confusing.”
“I see.”
“That’s right. But as we talked and went through various things together, I started to feel it. Ah, she’s definitely my family─that feeling. You probably feel the same way.”
“Are you talking about me and the old couple? If we have enough conversations, the old couple will suddenly accept that I, who appeared out of nowhere, am their granddaughter?”
No.
I wasn’t talking about the old couple, I didn’t mean to think about the relationship between the old couple and Cariote.
But thinking about it again, it seemed like Cariote had enough room to accept it from her perspective.
Thud—
Cariote suddenly stopped walking.
“It’s true that I hesitated about a lot of things. Dragging out things like this ain’t my style. And Judas, you seem surprisingly interested in other people’s affairs.”
“Is that so? I don’t think of you as ‘others’.”
After all, it was highly probable that she wasn’t just ‘others’.
As I swallowed those words, Cariote chuckled softly like a faint breeze.
“All Barbarois are family─is that it? To hear such words from a thief in a world where no one can be trusted. You’re quite unique, Judas. You said you’re from the Mokele Mbembe tribe, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve never heard of such a tribe.”
I haven’t heard of it either.
I made it up.
Cariote suddenly jumped up into the air.
“I’ll go talk with the old couple from the Ragdoll family.”
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