Well, Vincent had hoped a lot from Cedric’s words. Still, it was a relief that Cedric didn’t say things on his own without thinking. But suddenly acting nice to Vincent felt a bit awkward. Also, since Vincent followed Cedric a lot, it even felt like there was some hidden plan.
Tick-tock, tick-tock. The sound of the second hand seemed unusually loud. Cedric occasionally just watched me eat but didn’t say much. I also had nothing to say to him, so I stayed quiet.
“Eat more.”
I looked up at the sudden voice and saw Cedric looking at me. I glanced at the white bowl in front of me. It seemed like I ate more than usual.
“I’m full.”
I put down the fork, but Cedric kept staring at me. Feeling a bit uneasy, I turned my head away, but I could still feel his gaze.
“Revril.”
At the dry voice, I looked up, and he calmly said,
“Are you sure you finished eating?”
His voice sounded a bit provoking. His gaze was quite sharp. In the quietly forceful atmosphere, I had no choice but to pick up the fork again. I took one bite of meat and put the fork down.
Cedric looked at me for a moment, then immediately called a servant. The servant cleared the dishes and brought out dessert. Cedric didn’t eat the dessert. I didn’t plan to either, but Cedric looked at me as if I couldn’t leave the dining room without eating it.
I ate the vanilla-scented ice cream with a serious face. The smooth melting taste in my mouth was great, but my mind kept worrying about Vincent. And hunting, too.
It was already evening. I had heard there were wolves in the nearby forest, and even heard the sound of a deer being caught by a wolf.
I was sure Vincent would want to follow Cedric exactly, so I was worried.
Then Cedric stood up. I quickly put down the small spoon, stood up, and asked Cedric,
“Are you really going hunting?”
Going hunting this late seemed dangerous.
Cedric smiled lightly and looked at me.
“Are you worried about me?”
“No, I’m worried about Vincent. It’s night, and…”
“Don’t worry. There is a small cabin near the mansion. I will show him around there.”
“So you really won’t hunt?”
“It’s not hunting season now. I’ll just teach him the basics.”
“Vincent is still young to learn hunting?”
“I learned how to hunt at about that age.”
“Isn’t that too young? He’s only four years old.”
“If he learns now, he will know how to protect himself later.”
“But still…”
“Revril, Vincent is my child too.”
Cedric said this with emphasis. It felt like something he obviously knew but still sounded strange to me. I just watched him quietly with a complicated heart, and Cedric calmly said while staring at me,
“Nothing dangerous will happen to Vincent. You don’t need to worry so much.”
At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and a butler rushed in. He came straight to Cedric and said,
“Master, there has been a wolf attack at the Turden mine.”
Cedric’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, then he looked at me and said,
“Revril, wait here with Vincent for a moment. I will be back soon.”
Then Cedric left the dining room first. I went out through the open door to find Vincent. Just then, Sahel was at the mansion entrance with Vincent. Vincent seemed happy as he pointed at things around him and smiled. When I approached, Sahel stepped aside and bowed.
Lately, Vincent seemed to eat less, so I asked right away,
“Did Vincent eat well?”
“Yes, he ate everything without picky. And lately, he especially likes tomatoes.”
Vincent had also eaten tomatoes well earlier. I smiled naturally while looking at Vincent, but he kept glancing around instead of looking at me.
When I looked closely, Vincent looked up at me.
“Where’s Dad?”
I froze without meaning to. It seemed like now “Dad” was something natural to Vincent.
Unlike me, Vincent seemed very bothered that Cedric hadn’t come and looked around busily.
I smiled awkwardly and said,
“He’s a little late.”
“Why?”
“He had some work.”
“So he’ll come soon?”
“Probably.”
Since Cedric said he would come soon, I thought he really would. He was not someone who lied, just confusing.
Vincent’s face relaxed a little. While answering Vincent’s curious questions and waiting, after some time, Vincent frowned as if he couldn’t wait any longer.
“When will Dad come?”
“He’ll come soon.”
Even while saying this, I felt uneasy. The butler said there was a wolf attack at the mine, so it sounded serious. And Cedric, who said he’d be back soon, still hadn’t come after almost 20 minutes.
I tried to comfort Vincent by patting his back, but Vincent soon began whining as if about to cry. I was about to ask a passing servant if Cedric was coming.
Just then, Cedric was coming down the stairs. Vincent immediately ran to Cedric as if he never whined.
“Dad!”
Cedric smiled and hugged Vincent. I looked at Cedric with a reluctant face, then turned my head away. Cedric came close to me and opened the mansion door. His scent came strongly, but I tried not to care.
“Revril, aren’t you coming?”
Surprised, I turned around and saw Cedric waiting by the door. Vincent looked at me with bright eyes. Since I had promised Vincent, I followed. He stepped aside for me to go first, then followed behind.
I was worried, so I stood with a serious face. Cedric stood next to me.
“We will ride the carriage from here. It’s too far to walk to the hunting ground.”
A carriage was waiting nearby. The coachman faithfully opened the door. Cedric put Vincent in the carriage first, then got in.
Vincent stayed close to Cedric even inside the carriage. They chatted happily like they were closer than me.
Cedric listened to Vincent and answered kindly. Vincent seemed to like this attitude and leaned on Cedric’s arm. If Vincent was separated from Cedric now, he would surely cry or maybe even try not to go with me.
Feeling frustrated, I looked out the carriage window. It was completely dark now, and the surroundings were dim.
“Why did he have to promise to go hunting at night?”
I couldn’t understand Cedric’s reason. Maybe it was just because he had free time now. With a heavy heart, I looked out the window. Soon the carriage slowly stopped.
Vincent tried to get out first, but Cedric caught him and helped him down. When I awkwardly reached to hold Vincent, Cedric took my hand instead. Surprised, I looked at him, but he just held my hand tightly. In the end, I got out of the carriage holding his hand.
The first thing I saw was a small cabin. It was my first time seeing such a cabin at the Bestine mansion.
Vincent seemed happy in the new place and ran quickly. Cedric followed behind, watching Vincent. When Vincent almost fell, Cedric caught him skillfully and held him. Cedric opened the cabin door and looked at me.
Without meeting his eyes, I went inside. Cedric closed the door behind and showed Vincent around.
I just stood there, feeling out of place. The cabin was quite big. From afar, it looked like just a hunter’s house, but inside there were fancy paintings, and a long knife and a shiny gun were displayed.
Cedric held Vincent and explained about the gun. His gentle tone stuck in my ears. Vincent seemed to like Cedric so much, holding him tightly, nodding, eyes shining.
I felt awkward, wondering if I should have come. Also, it felt strange to be inside Cedric’s space completely.
Even when I married Cedric before, I never came here. It seemed this place was used when he went hunting. There were many guns and knives, and some papers scattered around looked like things he used to look at.
“Mom is here too!”
Vincent shouted loudly, so I turned my head and saw Vincent pointing at a picture frame.
