A Lakeside Family Outing
It would be nice if my future wife had a very healthy constitution. I was enjoying our usual teatime with my parents when Mother spoke up.
Ever since Ester arrived, my parents' energy levels had shot through the roof.
They'd always had a wonderful relationship, but now it felt even sweeter.
Ester watched them with sparkling eyes.
Then she squeezed my hand tightly.
It seemed the sight still made her a little shy.
Father couldn't contain his affection for Ester's cuteness and suddenly stood up.
He carefully lifted her high into the air.
Whew. A child's high-pitched laughter like that was absolutely lethal.
It felt like the burden of my nonexistent future wife was only going to grow heavier.
Twelve children really was the ideal number. What a shame.
Father gazed at Ester with eyes dripping with honeyed sweetness.
Ester beamed with pure joy.
And Mother was capturing the whole scene with an image orb.
I had no idea where she'd pulled that from, but it was the picture of a harmonious family.
That aside... a lake, huh.
I was a little worried. Would I be okay?
It was true that I used to love going to the villa.
Mother gently stroked my head.
Though the touch tickled, my insides felt a little uneasy.
The reason I'd died in my previous life was because I'd drowned.
Even after regaining my memories, stepping into a bathtub and submerging myself had been quite difficult.
Once I was in, it felt fine, but just putting my feet in was the hard part.
Whoosh—
Ester, having escaped Father's embrace and barrage of kisses, threw herself into my arms.
It was heartwarming how naturally she nestled against both my parents and me.
Though she had hugged me first.
...It wasn't like I felt any competitive spirit about it.
Anyway, I gently patted her adorable pink head.
If my little sister wanted to go, then of course we had to. That's what a good older brother does, isn't it?
...
The servants loaded our luggage, and we set off for the villa.
Although we traveled by carriage, we used a warp gate, so it wasn't particularly tiring.
The butler waiting at the villa welcomed us.
The servants behind him bowed their heads.
There were certainly fewer of them compared to the main residence.
As I scanned their faces, one familiar figure caught my eye.
A brown-haired man with a face full of freckles.
When our eyes met, his face turned deathly pale.
It reminded me of the first time I'd visited the villa before regaining my memories.
While my parents were out hunting, I'd been wandering around the villa grounds alone.
This guy had approached me and started talking.
His casual tone from the start had already rubbed me the wrong way.
Then, when I'd accidentally stepped on a flower, he'd grabbed my shoulder and sneered at me.
The natural use of informal speech was just the cherry on top.
I'd been ten years old at the time.
He'd probably looked down on me because I was just a child.
But I was a spoiled brat who didn't hold back my emotions.
I'd immediately shouted, 'How dare a commoner speak down to the eldest son of a ducal house!!' and kicked him in the shin.
Then I'd slapped him across the face while yelling, 'And you dare try to lecture me?!'
For reference, I'd been holding a sword since I was six and was quite the genius.
By ten, I could already handle a bit of aura.
And I was the kind of kid who used every tool at my disposal.
That meant I'd kicked his shin with an aura-infused foot and slapped him with an aura-infused hand.
At the time, I think I'd cracked his shin and knocked out one of his molars.
Then I'd told my parents when they returned from hunting, and they'd made him work as a servant without pay.
Even now that I'd regained my memories, I didn't feel particularly sorry.
After all, in a class-based society, he'd dared to look down on a ducal family.
Still, making him work without pay had been a bit much.
From the perspective of someone with memories of a previous life, I couldn't overlook that.
Before we left the villa, I should ask them to pay him the wages he hadn't received.
Along with some compensation for the injury.
That should be enough.
Our family immediately went to explore near the lake.
Since we'd arrived early, the sunlight glittering on the water's surface was breathtaking.
Beautiful as it was, breathing still felt a little difficult for me.
Seeing Ester smiling beautifully as she looked around made it bearable. This must be the power of an adorable little sister.
Father excitedly gave Ester a ride on his shoulders.
Ester giggled with delight.
Mother was filming the scene with her image orb.
Yes, seeing such a harmonious family put my mind at ease.
When I grew up, I'd want to give her shoulder rides too, but by then Ester would probably be much bigger.
It would be nice if Ester grew up just a little more slowly.
...
We had dinner in the spacious garden, grilling barbecue.
It was a beautiful night with fireflies dancing in the air.
Ester looked at each of us in turn.
Her jewel-like eyes were filled with shyness and joy.
After hesitating for a moment, Ester soon broke into a radiant smile.
Everyone except Ester melted on the spot.
It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
Yes, twelve children really was the ideal number for the future.
...
Since Ester loved eating outside, we had breakfast in the garden too.
The elegant atmosphere was quite pleasant.
The menu was light sandwiches and salad.
Ester kept sneaking glances while trying to leave the cherry tomatoes behind.
We couldn't have picky eating.
Ester pouted a little but opened her mouth.
Every time I fed her, she smiled bashfully.
What a sweet and adorable child.
My future wife might end up resenting Ester.
The reason the number of children kept increasing was entirely because of Ester's cuteness.
Ester slowly ate every last one of the tomatoes she'd left behind.
My parents captured the scene with their respective image orbs.
I had no idea when they'd grabbed those.
Anyway, after finishing the meal, we took a short walk to aid digestion.
Ester really loved watching the little birds flying around and chirping.
I should get her a bird next time.
She'd smile prettily then too, wouldn't she?
After our walk, we changed into riding clothes.
Ester looked adorable in her children's riding outfit too.
We all headed to the stables by the annex.
The horses had been brought from the ducal estate for the hunt and placed in the annex stables by the servants as soon as we'd arrived.
This must be Ester's first time seeing Mother's horse.
It was an elegant horse covered entirely in beautiful white fur.
Father looked a little disappointed as he glanced at his own black steed.
In my eyes, the black horse was more to my taste.
I met Father's eyes and gave a small nod.
Father called my name softly, sounding a little moved.
As expected, a man's romance always gets through.
My parents' childish battle of nerves had begun.
Ester was stuck in the middle, looking troubled.
They'd certainly feel happy riding with Ester.
But there was one big thing the two of them had overlooked.
Both their gazes turned to me.
Expressions full of dissatisfaction.
I knew that look.
It was the face that said, Are you really going to shove cold hard facts in our faces like a coward?
My still-young horse, Gray.
I'd named him that because he was gray, obviously.
Snort—
Gray let out a sound as if to say he could be trusted.
What a good assistant.
Adorable Ester came over and took my hand.
My parents looked incredibly disappointed.
Their eyes held a hint of resentment and a great deal of jealousy as they looked at me.
Oh dear, I just couldn't resist.
I wrapped my arms around Ester's shoulders as she made a V sign with both hands.
Startled, Ester flinched slightly.
I had absolutely no other intentions.
I just wanted to try it once.
After all, even though I had blond hair, I hadn't gotten a tan, so it should be fine, right?
My parents left for the hunt with clear reluctance.
It was a pretty good reaction. I felt like teasing them more often from now on.
I stroked Ester's hair as she sat in front of me.
Gray walked even more slowly than usual.
What a clever boy. I'd have to give him some sugar cubes later.
That was how we slowly explored the area around the villa with Ester.
We saw lush grass and flowers.
We saw pretty butterflies and enormous trees.
A white butterfly flew over and landed on the back of Ester's hand.
She looked up at me with a slightly flushed face.
It was a face as cute as a blooming flower.
Yeah... my future wife was definitely going to have a hard time.
It would be nice if she had a very healthy constitution.
After our leisurely walk, the moment I'd been dreading finally arrived.
Ester threw herself into Father's arms.
How could my fear possibly matter when she was this happy?
Seeing Mother filming the scene with her image orb helped calm my nerves.
Besides, the ducal family's boat was the size of those private yachts rich people had in dramas from my previous life.
The chance of it capsizing was practically zero.
I followed behind my smiling, happy family as they boarded the boat.
If I just kept my eyes closed as much as possible, I'd be fine.
With that slightly uneasy feeling, I stepped onto the boat.