Eve's First Smile
I didn't let it show, but I waited with my heart in my throat for Eve's reaction. The idea to get her a school bag had come from the elf teacher. Of course I didn't doubt her choice. Still, the one who ultimately had to be happy about the gift was Eve herself. No matter how wonderful the present, a single word of disappointment from her would sink me completely. The more I tried to think from her perspective, the more my head filled with anxiety. Would she like it? What if she didn't? Was the color off? Would the design I'd picked seem childish? Eve was so kind that even if she hated it, she'd probably carry it without complaint. ...What if my assumption that she wanted to go to school had been nothing but wishful thinking? No, it wasn't as if the bag could only hold books. I'd agonized over picking the color that would suit her best. If the teacher hadn't been there with me, I would have wandered the children's section for ages and probably gotten questioned by security as a suspicious person.
The moment Eve began unwrapping the package felt unbearably long. At last she held the school bag in her hands and stared at it with her mouth hanging open in a perfect triangle. I couldn't bear to watch the expression on her face as she examined it, so I turned my eyes away without thinking. I knew it was childish behavior.
"It's a bag, is what it is."
"Huh? Eve's going to school too? Did you all finish talking about it without me knowing? Lucia, do you know anything?"
"How would I know..."
"Waaah~ Our Eve, how nice~ You get to go to the school you wanted and everything."
Caramel spoke with a giggle and a knowing smile, clearly intending for me to hear. Nina whispered softly to Eve as well.
"It worked out well, Eve. Looks like we didn't need any special plan after all."
"...Yeah."
Eve hugged the school bag tightly as if it were something precious. Only then could I finally breathe a sigh of relief. It felt like I'd lifted at least some of the heavy weight from my shoulders. Eve trotted over to my side and I gently stroked her hair.
"Do you like it?"
"...Yes..."
Eve hesitated for a moment, then bowed while still clutching the bag to her chest. The weight threw off her balance and she nearly toppled over.
"Thank you..."
"Since you'll be going to school with your friends soon, I thought you'd need something like this."
"...Is it really okay for me to go?"
"I'd like you to go, but if you don't want to..."
"I want to go."
"Then I'm glad."
"Yes..."
......Eve smiled. Was it my imagination? No. It was brief, just a moment, but Eve had looked at me and smiled. In the past six months or so, I'd hardly ever seen her smile. There had been those occasional shy, bashful expressions children make when they're awkward or don't know what to say, but this was the first time she'd shown such a purely genuine smile.
I'm so glad she's happy...
Until the party ended, I kept turning that surging emotion over and over in my mind. It was hard to describe. It was the first time I'd ever felt this kind of feeling. Eve's first birthday. Somehow, I felt like I'd received an unexpected gift myself.
The cheerful birthday party continued until the children grew tired of it. Before the sun set, my role was to personally escort each child home.
"Farewell, Eve! When we meet again at school, I do hope you will have mastered etiquette from the fifteenth century through the modern era and become a proper lady, indeed!"
"Thank you for the gift, Lucia. I'll read it carefully."
...She really meant to read it. That etiquette book. The hardcover volume was as thick as a legal code; even a glance at the cover radiated sophistication. Giving an etiquette book to a former villainess... Well, she was still a noble, after all. Come to think of it, even as the villainess she had probably been flawless in matters of etiquette.
On the way back, the street lamps began lighting up one by one along the road. I handed Eve the remaining gifts that the teacher and Zeke had entrusted to me.
"First, this is the gift from Uncle Zeke. Hmm... he's not really old enough to be called 'uncle,' but given how he looks, let's go with Uncle Zeke for now. You remember who he is, right?"
She nodded.
"And this is a gift the school teacher secretly prepared. Remember the teacher you saw once during the school tour?"
Eve reacted to the word "teacher." Now that she'd decided to attend school, it seemed she was paying attention.
"I already thanked the teacher on your behalf, but when Uncle Zeke comes by tomorrow, you should thank him too. Got it?"
"............"
"............?"
"................................"
"...Eve?"
Her face went completely blank.
"...Did you meet the teacher?"
"...Huh? Ah... well. We happened to run into each other on the street. She helped me choose your school bag."
"................................................................"
"Eve?"
No answer? What was going on? As I waited quietly, Eve stepped closer and tightly grabbed the hem of my clothes.
"When I go to school... I want to greet the teacher myself."
Eve spoke while kicking at a pebble on the ground. Her voice had dropped unusually low. Though a little puzzled, I nodded. If she wanted to greet the teacher personally, there was no reason to refuse. Our polite Eve. ...She really was so sweet.
"...Yeah, that sounds good. Then I'll stay quiet. But this has to be a secret from your other friends. Do you understand why?"
"Because they might feel left out if they knew."
"As expected of Eve. You're so smart. This gift is something you received before starting school, right? So remember that the teacher gave it to you before she officially becomes your teacher. Okay?"
"Yes..."
Eve answered energetically. That evening, after returning to the studio apartment, Eve spent a long time with her gifts. She sat beside Caramel's giant doll, humming along to the music box Chris had given her. I had her sit still while I slowly brushed her hair. She'd asked me to tie it with the hair ribbon Nina had given her.
"...It's not working no matter how much I practice."
I let out a string of groans. I flipped through the pages of the book I'd bought at the bookstore months ago—"How the Cool Kids Do It: Catching Up with Trendy Hairstyles!"—trying to find something my fingers could actually manage. I'd never been good with this sort of thing, but after meeting Eve I'd come to feel it in my bones. ...Caramel could fix her hair perfectly in no time. Yet somehow, whenever my hands touched it, the result looked like a child who'd grown up with a father's rough, clumsy touch. It left me with complicated feelings.
Given her former villainess background, Eve still carried an air of nobility. This was something hard to accept. The problem was that Eve seemed to like it when I brushed her hair. Did she actually prefer this messy, sticking-out style...? I just hoped the other kids wouldn't tease her because of me.
"There, done!"
After about six attempts, I finally created something passable.
"Eve, take a look in the mirror. This time it came out really—"
In my excitement I raised my voice more than usual, then belatedly lowered it.
"...Oh. She fell asleep."
She was hugging the doll and breathing softly. She looked like an angel. The position seemed uncomfortable, so I carefully laid her down properly. The updo I'd worked so hard on would get in the way while she slept. It was my first successful attempt in months, but I swallowed my regret and loosened her hair. She would have really liked it if she'd seen it...
I smiled faintly and pulled the blanket over her.
Two months passed after the birthday. It must have been about eight or nine months since I'd met Eve. The loose, characteristic feeling of early summer had ripened, and the weather had reached the point where the slightest nudge would tip it into autumn. Looking at the sky with its noticeably heightened saturation, I could feel the season changing.
As for whether Eve had started school during that time, the answer was no. It wasn't an administrative issue. Registration was already complete and most procedures had been finished. The problem was timing. Unfortunately, we were near the end of the current semester, right in the middle of exam period. After exams came summer break, so the timing felt completely off.
After weighing everything, we eventually reached the conclusion to have her start next semester. Eve seemed eager to attend school as soon as possible... but this was one thing even I couldn't change. About a month remained until the end of break. I'd have to watch a slightly downcast Eve for another month.
That morning, as usual, Zeke came looking for a hangover cure. When I mentioned it casually, he burst into loud, hearty laughter.
"Haha, so that's why the young lady's been carrying her school bag everywhere lately even when she has nothing to do. Quite the cute little protest, isn't it?"
"Well... she definitely wants to go to school, but I think she also admires how Caramel carries her bag around. She probably wants to copy her."
"That's the age when kids copy every little thing. I was like that too."
Zeke shrugged. I tried imagining him as a child, but it wasn't cute at all.
"Anyway, school, huh... Once next semester starts, the teacher will have a hard time too."
"I don't think it'll be that difficult for me..."
"What are you talking about? Just waking up early every morning to pack a lunchbox is no small task."
My hands, which had been wrapping the hangover cure, suddenly froze.
"...Lunchbox? Isn't there cafeteria food?"
"Cafeteria food? What kind of nonsense is that? You think it's like military mess hall servings?"
"......"
"Especially among the kids, lunchboxes are a big deal, I hear. Eating is serious business whether you're a child or an adult. As a sailor, I understand that part better than anyone. If the food's bad, you drag yourself through the whole day looking miserable... Huh, teacher?"
My image of school was still stuck in my previous life's memories. Never mind everything else. To someone for whom cafeteria food was completely normal, the word "lunchbox" itself felt utterly foreign. A lunchbox... What kind of dishes go in those anyway? The only things I could make were simple soups or pasta...?
"So when does she actually start school?"
"...Tomorrow."
"Huh? Tomorrow?"
"......"
"......"
"...Haha! Why are you standing there looking so pale and stiff? It's not like you're enrolling immediately, so no need to take it so seriously. And when the time comes, you'll do fine, teacher."
Whether I was frozen or not, Zeke dropped his bomb and sauntered off. ...My burden had just increased by one.