Chapter 55

After playing "the spirit-carrying game" for a while, the room felt cramped.

"Will we get scolded if we go outside?"

"Woof"

Since there was no other choice, I ran around the room, throwing the spirits diagonally.

In response, Sara ran diagonally across from me.

Doing this made me start to sweat.

From halfway through, I started throwing multiple spirits in succession, which made me even more tired.

While I was running and throwing the spirits, Sara touched them one by one with quick movements without stopping.

Carrot, running alongside Sara, grabbed the spirits Sara touched and made them float up.

Then, Daru bounced the spirits with his nose and threw them back to me.

I caught the spirits thrown back by Daru and threw them again.

Kuro, floating in the middle of the room, watched over us.

Drenched in sweat from running around,

"Misses, dinner is ready..."

A maid came to call us for dinner.

The maid was momentarily stunned when she saw me, Sara, and Daru running around.

"Sara, it's dinner time!"

"Okay!"

"Huff, huff, huff"

Daru, upon hearing "dinner," started circling around the maid.

His tail was wagging furiously.

Carrot quickly climbed onto my shoulder, silently urging us to hurry to the dining room.

It seemed that both Daru and Carrot were hungry.

"You really are energetic, misses."

"Indeed. I wish we could run outside."

"It's dangerous outside."

"Indeed. There's no choice."

I held Sara's hand and followed the maid.

Sara was clutching her doll tightly.

"Where is everyone?"

While walking, Sara whispered to me.

The spirits and Kuro, who had been playing with us until just a moment ago, had instantly hidden when the maid appeared.

"Everyone hides quickly."

"Is that so?"

"It's always like this, don't worry."

"Understood."

Sara seemed anxious because the spirits had suddenly disappeared.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes, I'm hungry."

"What do you like?"

"Meat."

"Woof woof"

Daru was expressing that he also liked meat.

When we entered the dining room,

"Koruko"

For some reason, Koruko was there.

Koruko ran over to me when she saw me.

"Koruko! Why are you here?"

"Ko-ko"

Koruko pressed her body against me affectionately.

I hugged her tightly and petted her gently.

Mother, who was already in the dining room, said,

"Apparently, she was on the cart bringing the food, and wouldn't get off even when they tried to make her."

"Is that so?"

"Koruko noticed that Luria wouldn't be returning to the mansion for a while."

"Thank you for coming, Koruko."

"Ko-ko"

After being affectionate with me, Koruko tilted her head at Sara.

"Sara, this is Koruko! Luria's friend."

"Chicken?"

"Yes, a chicken!"

"Ko-ko"

"Koruko, this is Sara. Nice to meet you."

Sara petted Koruko.

"Ko"

Koruko closed her eyes contentedly as Sara petted her.

"Koruko, since you came here, you should have gone to Luria's room."

"Ko-ko"

"Koruko was patrolling the house and its surroundings."

Mother told me what Koruko had been doing.

"Is that so? You were patrolling?"

"Ko"

"Thank you."

"Here"

After petting Koruko, we all started eating.

Unlike usual, all the dishes were laid out on the table.

There was only one maid, so she couldn't serve them one by one.

"Luria and Sara... You're quite... sweaty?"

"We were playing. Right, Sara?"

"Right, we played."

Sara still seemed a bit nervous around Mother.

Her tone was a bit off.

"You might catch a cold, so you should really take a bath first..."

"I'm hungry!"

"That's true. The food will get cold, so let's eat first and then take a bath. Can you prepare the bath, please?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The maid went to prepare the bath at Mother's instruction.

Sara and I sat opposite Mother.

"Luria, Sara, the maids won't be doing everything for you today."

"Understood," "Yes."

"Do what you can on your own."

"Understood," "Yes."

I started with the bread.

"Delicious. It's good even without anything. Sara, jam?"

"Jam."

"Mm."

I spread jam on Sara's bread.

"Eat it. It's good with jam."

"Thank you... It's delicious."

Sara's tail swished back and forth as she took a bite of the bread.

"The bread... It's so good."

I couldn't tell if the bread was good because of the era or because it was from the Duke's household.

But compared to my previous life, it was incredibly delicious.

Today's bread was small and round.

The aroma of butter and wheat and a hint of sweetness filled my mouth.

"Kurowa is also good. It will come later."

"Looking forward to it. Hehe."

While Sara was munching on a small piece of bread, I had already eaten three.

One plain, the second with butter, and the third with jam.

"Sara, using this spoon makes it easier to drink the soup!"

"Okay."

When Sara spilled some soup, I wiped it up.

It was inevitable for a child to spill.

As an older sister, I had to take care of her.

Lydia-sama often did the same for me.

"This meat has bones, but you don't have to force yourself to eat them."

"Okay."

When Sara's mouth got dirty, I wiped it with a napkin.

It was a given as an older sister.

Once, I tried to crack a bone with my teeth to eat the inside, but I was told I didn't have to do that.

"Luria, normally, people don't try to eat bones by biting them."

Mother smiled as she said this.

"Woof"

After finishing his meal, Daru rested his chin on my lap.

"No! No bones for you."

"Whine"

"It's too salty!"

"Whine"

Daru was being affectionate, but I couldn't give him something he shouldn't have.

Once, when I tried to give Daru a bone, Mother told me not to.

What tastes good to humans is too strong for dogs.

Besides, there were plenty of unseasoned bones in the mansion.

Daru could eat those.

"Daru, you finished your portion, right?"

"Whine"

Realizing he wouldn't get any bones from me, Daru went to rest his chin on Sara's lap.

"Sara, be strong."

"Okay, I'll try."

After being affectionate with Sara for a while, Daru seemed to give up and lay down at my feet.

He looked a bit sulky for not getting any bones.

On the other hand, Carrot and Koruko, after finishing their meals, sat quietly and well-behaved at my feet.

Sara stopped eating even though she had only eaten about a third of her portion.

"Sara, you should eat more."

"Thank you, but I'm full. Hehe."

Was she really full? Was she being polite?

I wiped Sara's mouth while she was eating meat.

Sara, being young, got her mouth dirty quickly.

"Really, don't be polite. There's still more."

"I'm okay, thank you."

It seemed Sara was quite a light eater.

"Luria, a normal five-year-old eats about that much."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Lydia and Gilbert also only ate about as much as Sara."

"...Light eater?"

"More like, Luria eats a lot."

"Hmm"

Was everyone a light eater, or was I a big eater?

It was a difficult question to answer.

"Sara, you don't have to finish everything. Eating too much can make your stomach hurt."

"Okay."

"The portions are based on Luria's appetite, so it's natural if you can't finish it all. Don't worry."

"Okay."

"Hmm"

Under Sara's watchful eye, I continued to eat heartily.

"Sara, it's okay to leave some. I'll eat it for you, as an older sister?"

"As an older sister?"

Sara tilted her head, looking puzzled. She was so cute.

"Yes, as an older sister."

"Lydia never ate what Luria left over?"

"Hmm?"

That was a difficult question. I never left anything over.

So, perhaps Lydia just happened not to eat what I left over.

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