Overnight Leave (3)
Freesia looked like she was about to faint from shock, but she desperately—truly desperately—racked her brain. Just how much did her aunt know? And how had she found out? There was one part she could guess at. It wasn’t certain, but maybe someone had been secretly guarding her during her leave. If the distant bodyguards had reported something like, “The young lady was drinking with some random punk,” then it made sense.
Still, even if a report had gone up that the chairman’s niece was drinking with some random guy, they probably wouldn’t have reported exactly what happened in the middle of it. It was her private life, after all. Please, let that be the case.
“W-we just drank, that’s all. I met him while I was out drinking with my friends, and after the main gathering ended he suggested one more drink, so I just bought him a cocktail. That’s it.”
Freesia tried her best to sound casual, as if it were nothing, but her face had already flushed bright red, like it was about to burst. Even someone completely oblivious—or a three-year-old child—would be able to tell that something was going on.
And Melanie knew far more than Freesia imagined.
“But you kissed him too, didn’t you?”
Clang!
The fork slipped from Freesia’s hand, and her pupils trembled wildly as if an earthquake had struck.
“H-how did you even— No! More importantly, who the hell reported that?!”
But her embarrassment lasted only a moment. The fact that even something so personal had been reported sent Freesia into a rage toward the unknown bodyguard. A report about who she was drinking with was one thing, but this crossed the line into invading her private life!
“Do you think I wanted to see that on purpose? I was already there first. Then you walked in and sat right across from me. What was I supposed to do?”
Melanie sounded genuinely wronged. She respected Freesia’s privacy as much as she loved her. While there were people guarding her from a distance just in case, they only reported if something actually happened to her safety. And that day, Melanie had been the one drinking at Marleu first. After all, she was the one who had introduced Freesia to the place.
So when Freesia came in, Melanie had been about to greet her—until she saw her with some young man. She’d simply pretended not to notice, sipped her drink, and occasionally glanced over.
“If I’d known you two were that close, I would have left right away. We had an agreement, didn’t we? That if you started dating someone, you’d at least tell me who you were seeing.”
“W-we’re not dating!”
They hadn’t met enough times to even call it dating. That night had been their first meeting. If they’d met right after her leave started, maybe things would have been different—but they hadn’t.
At Freesia’s reflexive protest, Melanie’s eyes widened. She felt a little sorry for her niece, but since they’d been sitting at the table directly across, her elven hearing had picked up every word of their conversation. How Freesia had initiated the seduction, where the two of them had gone afterward—everything.
Of course, Freesia wasn’t a child, so Melanie had no intention of lecturing her about her private life. Still, it was a bit surprising. The girl had never shown that kind of behavior before.
“N-nothing happened with him, really. We didn’t even exchange contacts. I just bought him breakfast in the morning and sent him off. Besides, there’s an eight-year age gap…”
Did this child even realize what she was saying? Saying they parted in the morning only implied they’d spent the entire night together. The way her eyes were spinning in dizzy spirals showed that embarrassment and panic had completely short-circuited her brain.
It was a rare sight. Melanie smiled mischievously.
“Then shall your aunt look into it for you? His contact information, I mean.”
“I don’t need it!”
Freesia’s face burned scarlet as she practically screamed, then stormed out of the room claiming she was hungry. Melanie let out a small laugh and finished her coffee.
Freesia wasn’t the type to act so recklessly without any interest. And besides, Melanie already knew the contact information. She had no intention of meddling in who Freesia dated or how, but she always made sure to check in advance whether the other person was truly a bad sort or not.
She had told Freesia one small lie, but it wasn’t a big deal. The boy wasn’t a bad kid either.
“Lizzie gets to meet nice men and enjoy herself, but what am I supposed to do with my own children?”
Unlike Freesia, who dated a few times and spent her youth meaningfully, her own son and daughter seemed to have had their dating cells completely annihilated. Just thinking about it gave Melanie a headache. She sighed, gathered her things, and checked the location of the restaurant Viola had reserved in advance.
Throughout lunch, their conversation remained light and casual. They asked about Grandfather and Grandmother’s well-being, and how their cousins were doing.
“The old man is as healthy as ever. Mother is the same as always.”
Old man. Come to think of it, her aunt had always called Grandfather that. Thinking back, her own mother had restrained herself in front of others but would occasionally slip and call him the same thing—though she would always gasp and correct herself right after.
“By the way, why do you call Grandfather that?”
“Ah, I suppose you children wouldn’t know.”
Freesia’s grandfather, Loctis, was an incredibly warm and doting grandfather to his grandchildren. Whenever he met Freesia—even though she was already over thirty—he would still slip her the same chocolate bars she had loved as a child. And it was the same for her cousins.
For Idian, who traveled around painting, he had assigned multiple bodyguard teams and spared no expense in providing every material the boy could possibly need. Michael, who would succeed her, received the family’s full support, and Grandfather was personally teaching him all sorts of things with special care.
But Melanie shuddered as if the mere thought was horrifying.
“That old man was incredibly vicious. To you children he shows nothing but the sweetest smiles and endless indulgence, but to me and your mother, he was a devil among devils. Half the times your mother cried was because of him.”
It was hard to imagine. All Freesia had ever seen was a wrinkled face filled with gentle smiles, saying things like, “Oh my, our Lizzie has come,” or “My little sweetheart, won’t you show Grandpa the wonderful painting you made this time?” or “If I teach one grandchild, he learns ten things.” A complete pushover.
“You still look like you don’t believe me.”
Not only had Melanie received direct successor training from Loctis, but even Lianne—who had lived a soldier’s life separate from the group—had been scolded by him more times than she could count. Melanie had a naturally strong personality and, after being scolded every day, had developed a tolerance. Later on she only listened to the parts that mattered and let the simple yelling wash over her. But Lianne couldn’t do that.
Completely opposite to Melanie, Lianne had a fragile personality. Even after turning forty, whenever Loctis scolded her, she would cry alone at night.
One time during leave, Lianne had been studying with a manual open. From Melanie’s vague memory, it had been a logistics manual. Her sister had often complained that she still found logistics work confusing.
The old man had smiled kindly at first, asking if she was studying even during vacation. But after listening to her sister’s explanation, his expression had twisted slightly as he roared.
He had known she was looking at the logistics manual to better understand her duties, yet he had still said that. Of course, now that Melanie had experience leading the group, she could see he wasn’t entirely wrong. But he could have said it more gently.
At the time, her sister had only been forty-three. The things Melanie had only come to understand after turning fifty while running this massive corporation—there was no way her sister, who was still serving in the military, could have grasped them at that age.
That night, her sister had cried until dawn. She had only been trying her best—why was he so harsh? What exactly had she done wrong?
Of course, as time passed and the old man mellowed somewhat, those harsh moments had mostly disappeared. But in Melanie’s memory, Loctis had always been a stubborn old man without blood or tears.
The fact that he barely interfered with his biological children—except when absolutely necessary—might have been a form of backlash against his own past behavior.
After hearing the anecdote, Freesia could only blink, unable to picture it. Grandfather had been that scary?
A few years ago, when Freesia had been a company commander and complained about how terribly the logistics director had acted, he had responded with, “The kid might not have known any better. Why make such a fuss? Just tell me who it was. I’ll go crush him right now.”
“You’re especially loved. Even so, Michael gets scolded quite a bit. Grandfather is still strict about anything related to the group.”
“Honestly, I can’t really imagine it. That Grandfather was such a scary person. He doesn’t show that side at all now.”
She was right. The old man these days didn’t show Melanie the same strictness he once had—not just toward his grandchildren, but toward her as well. Instead of suddenly roaring like in the old days, he now explained calmly and firmly where and how things had gone wrong.
It was probably her sister’s death that had changed him. Until then, their father—who had seemed to have neither blood nor tears—had wailed as if he had lost the entire world, saying he was sorry he couldn’t tell her he was sorry, that he loved her.
And toward Freesia—the only trace her sister had left behind—he poured all the love and care he couldn’t give Lianne, and more.
“Well, even the old man is getting older. If you’re done eating, shall we get going?”
And the same was true for Melanie. There was no end to the things she wanted to do for Freesia. Since she couldn’t openly say this child was her niece, she wanted to do even more for her.