Matchmaking Baby Sister - Chapter 38

TL: Zimmings

“Papa?”

Tessa’s answer made me a little puzzled.

‘No, if you don’t know, who the hell knows?’

You’ve never liked someone? At the answer, I was at a loss for words.

“… … Papa, like!” (Uncle, you liked my dad.)

Oh, I wish I could talk a little bit better. Looking at Tessa’s frown on his face, it was clear that he didn’t understand at all.

Where is the only place I can turn to for help in this case? Deep in my heart, I called for Pupu.

‘Pupu!’

[… … .]

But there was no answer!

‘Pupu! Come out quickly! I’ll give you some chocolate.’

[… …]

Still no answer.

‘Pupu!!’

This despicable cat is now even mimicking a corpse!

‘Pupu! I’m going to ask my uncle to take out  Pupu himself.’

[Familiar only listen to their master’s orders! No matter how scary your uncle is, you can’t force me to come!]

‘You’re not listening to your master right now!’

Anyway, this familiar doesn’t help at all.

As I pouted my lips, Tessa’s sunken gaze was staring at me. I was startled and looked at Tessa again.

“Do you need your familiae?”

“Eh? Yes!!”

I couldn’t understand the words right away and tilted my head stupidly, then I answered in a loud voice. Tessa immediately summoned Langrissa.

“Langrisser!”

[Whoa, whoa!]

A fox with a fluffy white tail appeared and howled loudly. The sound of crying was so loud that just hearing the sound made my skin tingle.

“Get the familiar.”

[……]

Langrisser jumped over the table and in an instant, Pupu appeared.

“Pupu!”

It’s annoying, but seeing it crying because it was bitten, I felt pity.

I called out Pupu’s name and spread out my hands, Langrisser released Pupu as if spitting. Pupu stumbled, flew over, hugged me. and wept bitterly.

[I hate you all! I want to leave this place.]

It was pitiful seeing his bat-like wings that were trembling. I stroked Pupu’s soft, light blue fur with both hands.

‘Oh my, are you scared?’

[Isn’t it all because of you?]

Why is it because of me? If you came out when I called you, you wouldn’t have to face such a thing.

Pupu, who had been crying sadly for a long time, glanced at me secretly and said.

[What do you want to say? I’ll tell them right away, so please let me go.]

Oh, you’re smart. As Pupu asked, I quickly decided to use Pupu as an interpreter and release him.

‘My uncle liked my father, so ask him why he never liked anyone.’

[What? Don’t you like this kid’s father?]

‘Pupu!’

Pupu wasn’t a very good interpreter. He had to convey a message, but he changed my words. Upon hearing Pupu’s question, Tessa opened his eyes slightly and hardened like ice.

“… … Yes. I do like Lloyd.”

[Then why did you tell this kid that you like no one!]

“Pupu… … .”

Was it because Tessa quietly listened to Pupu? Pupu fluttered its tail and talked on its own.

[Not only that, you must have a mother too. There is no one who hates their mother. Now I see you are a liar.]

“Hey!”

At Pupu’s words, I took a deep breath.

‘You shouldn’t be talking about Tessa’s mother!’

Tessa was brutally abandoned by his parents. At the moment when he need them the most, he was alone.

‘Then what if he get angry and scold Pupu?’

[So, like your family… Hmpf!!]

I covered Pupu’s mouth with the palm of my hand. Pupu gets angry, but I do not let go of my hand.

‘Stop it, Pupu. You might die!’

[Let go of this! You bastard, you just ate every day and got stronger!]

‘What!!’

In the beginning, I closed my mouth to save Pupu, but later, I forgot the purpose and got into an argument with Pupu.

We were arguing with each other because he said I’m overweight and Tessa put an end to our quarrel with one word.

“You are right, cat.”

[Whoa!! I’m not a cat!

‘Anyone can see you are a cat.’

I looked down at Pupu with pitiful eyes, while it insisted that it was not a cat.

Pupu became calm when Tessa was looking at it.

‘Is Tessa that scary?’

I’m more scared of Langrisser laughing behind Tessa.

As I glanced into the white fox’s eyes, Tessa smiled languidly. Even though the corners of his lips were smiling, it was such a smile that gave me chills.

“Yes. I think so too. You were going to leave this place in the first place.”

“Papa?”

Me?

I tilted my head and looked at Tessa. Resignation, sadness, and anger flashed in Tessa’s eyes.

“Everyone around me became unhappy, so you were smart, didn’t you instinctively try to run away?”

……Uh, it wasn’t that serious of a reason.

It just broke my heart to see Lucinda being ignored as a commoner in the Imperial Palace. I never hated Tessa.

‘Yes, now I know. Tessa from the original story and my uncle Tessa are different people.’

But I couldn’t properly convey my words to Tessa. I looked at Tessa with a frustrated face.

Tessa, who had already finished organizing his thoughts, waved hid hand again with an expressionless face.

“I’ll release the princess so you can live far away from me. Whether you become a princess here, or a princess with a land, life must be similar.”

In other words, it was a blessing.

Of course, it could have been better for me to leave the Imperial Palace and live somewhere else. Then I won’t have to study as much as I do now, and I won’t have to be polite.

‘It would be more comfortable for Lucinda too. Rather than playing a tug of war between people in an unfamiliar palace.’

But at this moment, my mind said that it wasn’t the answer. The large man sitting in front of me looked smaller and pitiful than me at this moment.

‘You’re trying to push me away.’

Just because all the people he liked left him or became unhappy.

‘But what does life mean after giving up?’

Now I seemed to know. That Tessa in the original story pushed away everything that makes him happy.

The man who could not recognize love as love and knew only how to hurt others was him.

‘But my uncle met me.’

And now he wasn’t himself in the original. I concluded. My loud voice resounded in the garden.

“Papa like me.” (Uncle likes me.)

Don’t deny it. Don’t push me away.  My uncle is already starting to like me.

“How me, Papa?”

“What?”

Tessa frowned at my words. I frowned at the inaccurate words. At that time, Pupu, who was in my arms, laughed at me.

[What nonsense, human. There’s no way that person could get hurt without you.]

Without me, my uncle hurts.

What I wanted to say was that.

“Ariel… … .”

At the words he heard through Pupu, Tessa’s face darkened subtly. Seeing that face, I burst into laughter.

Admit it now, you ugly uncle.

‘You already think of me as a family.’

Why would an adult twice as tall as me get scared and run away? I reached out to him.

“Pwomise!”

Tessa looked at my fingers with a confused expression. I put my finger in front of him again.

“Hewe!”

“… … You want me to put your finger on it?”

“Uh!”

Tessa’s big finger reached out. I squeezed his finger with the palm of my hand. His hand was so big, even just holding his finger filled my palm.

The words I said next were delivered by Langrisser, not Pupu.

[Promise her not to give up.]

That’s right! That’s it!

‘It’s much better than Pupu. It’s a good interpreter.’

[What!]

At Langrisser’s words, I nodded my head satisfactorily. Pupu groaned at me, revealing a tooth the size of a little fingernail.

Langrisser looked at me and gently waved its tail.

I grinned at the confused Tessa.

“Pwomise!”

“Promise…”

Then Tessa understood what I was saying and muttered in a low voice. Then he frowned and said,

“I’m not good at anything. I have never saved anything.”

“Oh.”

“Actually, I don’t even know if I like you.”

“Me!”

“… It’s terrible.”

Why do you keep talking? I blocked Tessa’s words. In the end, it was me who won.

Tessa smiled bitterly and waved his hand lightly.

“I promise. Let’s do our best until the very end.”

“Uh!”

I nodded vigorously.

***

It’s been a month since I met Tessa in the garden. A familiar face came to the Pen Orchid Palace.

“It’s been a while, Princess!”

“Ah!!”

It was Alexander, who came out of probation.

‘No, did you only exercise during the probation?!’

Originally, he was an impressive man with wide shoulders and he was full of muscles, but when I met him again, his muscles were inflated like a balloon.

Alexander laughed as he awkwardly rubbed his slightly shorter hair.

“It’s only been a month, but you’ve grown a lot! Did you have fun without me?”

“No!”

“Princess!”

Alexander looked at me as I greet him with twinkling eyes. I reached out to Alexander.

“Choco!”

“Yeah? Chocolate? You weren’t waiting for chocolate, were you? I think your pronunciation has become more inaccurate.”

“Choco! Choco!”

“… … Princess.”

Alexander looked at me sadly. I burst into laughter because Alexander was funny.

Realizing that he was being teased, Alexander gave a slightly shocked expression, then shrugged his shoulders and answered about his recent situation.

“Sika were taken to the North. His Majesty has given him a new castle, and now his name is Sika Carmen.”

“Sika… … .”

He have left for the North. I put on a bitter expression as I recalled the pretty boy with red eyes and chocolate hair.

As I sank, Alexander patted his chest and replied bravely.

“Baron Bridman, who has decided to take care of him, is a nice man, so don’t worry. He’s the dean of the academy, and Sika would probably go to the academy naturally when he grew up.”

“Papa!” (Uncle!)

I was shocked when he said that Sika had been kicked to the north, but as Alexander explains, it’s all for a reason!

‘Anyway, my uncle doesn’t talk much. If he said that from the beginning, would I be angry?’

As I pout my lips when I think of Tessa, Alexander smiles softly.

“You had a good conversation with His Majesty. right?”

“Uh.”

I laughed bashfully.

“Uncle kwind. Pwomise.” (My uncle is kind. He promised me.)

“The princess must be the only one who says that.”

Tessa didn’t really understand what I was saying, but Alexander understood and nodded. I looked at Alexander, a little startled eyes, and then spread my hands toward him.

“Al too.”

“Me too, Princess.”

‘Alexander also likes me.’

Even if he was a bit strange, I could be certain of that fact.

Alexander, who hugged me tightly, muttered in a voice like a sigh.

“Please grow up slowly, Princess.”

“No.”

“Oh my gosh, how do you answer so well?”

Even now, I’m dying of frustration, so what do you mean to grow more slowly? I stick out my tongue. Alexander grinned and stood up, hugging me.

“Now that I’m here, shall we go for a walk in the garden? I will protect the princess so that no one can harm you.”

“Uh!”

I hung around Alexander’s neck.

I eat snacks every day, take a nap, go for a walk, and sometimes surprise my uncle.

Five years passed like that.