Picked Up a Young Witch (3)
The next day, I dragged my heavy body to the dining room. As I opened the door, I spotted Edel sitting alone. Our eyes met, and she flashed her usual awkward smile. I greeted her carefully.
“Hi, did you sleep well?”
“……”
Edel just nodded up and down without a word.
“……”
“……”
Even amid the suffocating silence, she kept stealing glances at me.
Is she okay?
But whenever our eyes met, her head whipped away. I couldn't even begin to guess what state she was in. Was she angry? Why? Or what the hell was it?
This is tough…
Just then, the door opened, and Abela entered, setting a pot down on the table as she spoke.
“My apologies. Lunch is a bit late. Please, help yourselves.”
And so we began our meal.
“Lady Edel, you need to eat a bit of everything. Have some of this too.”
“Okayyy.”
“How is it? Tasty, right?”
“It's yummy. Hehe.”
Abela was still tending to Edel's meal first, and Edel seemed to follow her lead quite well. They'd already grown pretty close. I'd been worried she might not adapt here and want to leave, but seeing them together eased my mind a bit.
I seized a moment to slide some food from my plate toward her and casually struck up a conversation.
“This one's tasty too. Give it a try.”
But.
“……”
She just lowered her gaze and nodded, nothing more.
Another brief silence descended. Abela watched us both, then transferred the food I'd pushed over onto Edel's plate.
“Here, give it a taste.”
Edel speared a buttery piece of bread with her fork and brought it to her mouth. She chewed it slowly, glancing at me the whole time, swallowed, then looked away again.
“How is it?”
“It's yummy…”
Abela, having drawn out a response from her, gave me an embarrassed smile.
This isn't just avoiding me, is it?
Edel's attitude toward me didn't change the next day either. Even when we bumped into each other in the hallway by chance.
“Hey, where you headed?”
“To my room…”
Whoosh. She sped past without even meeting my eyes.
The day after that, at breakfast.
“Sleep well?”
Nod.
Even when she came to my room to borrow a book to read alone.
“Here you go. If it's too hard, just let me know.”
“Okay…”
She snatched the book and fled my room like she was escaping.
“Haa…”
If only I knew the reason, I wouldn't feel this frustrated. Who knew taking care of a kid would be this hard?
Next time I see her, should I just ask straight up?
As I pondered in a daze, lost in thought about what to do, Abela came by.
“Come in.”
She glanced around the room briefly before saying,
“I thought Lady Edel was with you, but she's not here.”
“She just went back to her room.”
“We must have missed each other… Excuse me.”
I called out to Abela as she turned to leave.
“Abela.”
“Yes? Is something wrong?”
And so I poured out my worries to her.
“Doesn't it seem like Edel hates me?”
“Lady Edel hates you, Master Theo?”
“Yeah. She was already a bit awkward before, but the past few days, she's been avoiding me nonstop.”
“Hmm…”
Abela listened quietly, then asked,
“Did something happen?”
I racked my brain, trying to remember.
“She got awkward after I revealed I was the Demon King.”
“That does seem to be when it started.”
“And after that, we read a book together once…”
Then it hit me.
No way…
“Her posture looked uncomfortable, so I sat her on my lap. Was that it?”
Thinking back, Edel had been a little off starting from then. Maybe I treated her too much like a little kid.
But Abela burst out laughing at my words.
“So that's what happened.”
Why's she laughing?
Composing herself, she continued.
“No need to worry. Lady Edel just needs a little more time.”
“More time, huh…”
“So just treat her like you normally would, Master Theo.”
But that's what led to this mess. Would it really be okay?
“……”
Still, since Abela had been watching over Edel up close, I decided to trust her word for now.
“Thanks for the advice.”
She gave a bright smile and left the room.
**
A few days passed after confiding in Abela, but Edel's attitude remained the same.
“How's the book I gave you yesterday? Readable?”
“Yeah…”
She'd glance at me nervously while answering, then look away. The same routine over and over.
But one thing had changed: I felt more at ease now.
“Good, enjoy it.”
Thinking about it, there was no need to be so anxious. No matter that we'd met before, she was just a little kid suddenly living in a strange place. My role was to patiently wait for her to adjust.
To begin with…
Wasn't hoping she'd warm up to me right away just plain greed?
I finished breakfast and was spending the morning reading as usual when—
Creeeak—the door cracked open, and Edel slipped inside stealthily.
I closed my book and approached her.
“What's up? Didn't like the book?”
She stood there, hands hidden behind her back, swaying side to side, and mumbled softly.
“The book from before…”
She hesitated a moment, then spoke up again.
“I wanna read it together again…”
I smiled down at her upturned face.
“Sure, let's do that.”
I went to the bookshelf, pulled out the book we'd been reading together, and handed it to her. Absentmindedly, I reached to pick her up—
Oh, right.
I stopped myself.
“Did you hate sitting on my lap?”
Edel tilted her head at my question, then seemed to remember something. Her mouth fell open, and she bowed her head deeply. Wiggling her toes, she finally answered.
“Didn't hate it…”
“Really? Then is it okay to do it again this time?”
Her little head nodded quietly.
I scooped up Edel, who stood there with her arms slightly outstretched, sat down in the chair, and settled her on my lap.
“Alright, shall we read?”
“Y-Yeah…”
She opened the book, and the bookmark fell out, flipping it open to the page we'd left off. But so much time had passed that the content felt a bit unfamiliar. Edel seemed to feel the same; she started flipping back to where we'd been but glanced up at me instead.
I spoke first.
“I don't remember the story well. Wanna skip ahead a little?”
She grinned and flipped forward a few pages, and we continued reading.
“……”
“……”
Just like last time, Edel held her stiff, unnatural posture for a long while. Even when I asked if she was uncomfortable, she just said she was fine.
She could just tell me honestly if it bothered her.
Maybe get a taller chair?
If my lap was uncomfortable, I could find one sized for her or add a cushion. As I mulled over options in a daze, I snapped back to the book—but we were still on the same page. Edel's hand had stopped turning the pages.
Taking a while.
Then her head dipped slightly. Once, twice. It bobbed up and down repeatedly until—
Jerky nod.
“Hic!”
She made a weird noise.
“Sleepy?”
“N-No!”
“You were dozing off just now. If you're tired, go back to your room and nap.”
“Wanna read more. Hehe.”
Edel smiled up at me, but dark circles had already formed under her eyes.
“You look like you need sleep.”
“I'm fine…”
She started turning pages again. But only briefly. Her head drooped once more, and her rigidly straight upper body tilted backward. The back of her head came to rest against my chest, and soon, soft breathing filled the room.
Stubborn little thing.
I gently stroked the head of the now-sound-asleep girl.
Was she finally opening up to me a bit? Her words and actions were still awkward, but at least I could feel she didn't hate me. That alone made me happy.
But then.
“Teacher…”
A mumble escaped her.
“Teaaacher…”
My hand froze.
“……”
As I gazed down at Edel quietly, Abela knocked and entered. I called her in softly so as not to wake Edel.
“Master Theo. Lunch today is… Oh?”
I raised a finger to my lips. Seeing that, Abela smiled and approached carefully.
“Shall we postpone lunch a bit?”
“Yeah, let's.”
“I'll take her to her room.”
“Thanks.”
Abela took Edel from me and slowly carried her out.
“……”
A hollow laugh escaped me. I'd been so worried over nothing—it felt foolish now.
All I wanted was for her to grow up happily doing what she liked.
After just a little time, I'd already been getting greedy.
I picked up my book again and resumed reading alone.
I hope things stay this good.
……
Time passed, and late lunchtime arrived.
Abela rushed in, shouting,
“Master Theo! Lady Edel, she…!”
Unlike my earlier hopes, Edel didn't wake even past lunch—straight through to the middle of the night.