The Fat Aristocrat Waltz in the Labyrinth - Chapter 90
Chapter 90: The fat aristocrats play with children
“Hey Mitrof! You’re eating too much!”
Kou slammed the table, creating a knot on his forehead.
A young child sitting next to him imitated, “You’re eating too much!”
“I have a big body—It’s only natural for me to eat a lot.”
Mitrof replied with a serious expression and got himself another serving of stir-fried meat and vegetables from the large dish.
“Ahh!” echoed the other children gathered around the table.
“Mitrof got another serving! That’s not fair!”
And the boy, with his face wrapped in bandages, pointed his finger.
“I want seconds too!”
The girl with black snake scales on her neck leaned over the table.
Long tables were set up in the courtyard, and children and several nuns gathered there. Everyone from the church was having dinner together.
“It seems like you’ve formed quite a deep bond in a short amount of time.”
Grace’s eyes widened.
While Grace and Canule were helping with the meal preparations, Mitrof unintentionally began to interact with the children.
Mitrof was sitting absent-mindedly when Kou and Kai, who had climbed out of bed with sticks in hand, attacked him. He retaliated and defeated them, but the children apparently recognized it as play.
The younger children who were timid about Mitrof’s unfamiliar and aristocratic appearance gradually moved away, but the older children, led by Kou and Kai, became aggressive and started joking around, rolling around, and laughing. It seems Mitrof is understood not to be a dangerous creature.
He politely participated in the girls’ house game, read a book to a girl while listening, and even used a stick to fend off the boys’ swords. Before he knew it, it had become dusk, and dishes were lined up on the table.
“I’m sorry, Mitrof-kun—It must have been tough to handle our children.”
Saffron said apologetically.
Mitrof wiped his mouth with a napkin in his right hand while holding the young child’s fist with his left hand.
“What’s so difficult?”
“Well… being overwhelmed? My children are full of energy, you know.”
Saffron gave a wry smile, and Mitrof tilted his head.
“I haven’t done anything wrong—I’m just participating in the invited activity.”
Suddenly, a palm-sized piece of bread was sliced off and flew towards Mitrof, hitting his cheek and falling onto the table.
Mitrof picked it up and popped it into his mouth.
“…You might want to teach them better table manners.”
“Teh-ru-a-na-!”
“Right, you understand it well—let’s start by learning the difference between bread and a juggling ball.”
Canule, who was standing behind Mitrof, stifled a laugh at his words.
“You’re good at babysitting…”
“Do you not like Grace?”
To Mitrof, who tilted his head, Kou approached from the side and whispered.
“Grace is really scary—she gets angry quickly and speaks like an old lady.”
“Kou, I can hear you—if you want me to be that angry, I can do that for you, okay?”
Grace smiled, and Mitrof involuntarily backed away from her powerful presence.
However, whether Kou had grown accustomed to such expressions or was simply reckless due to his youth, he sneered and boldly declared it to Grace.
“You old hag.”
“——Well, well. Stay where you are.
As soon as Grace stood up from her seat, Kou leaped off his chair.
Then, a game of tag immediately began, and the stage was the large garden before their eyes. The children were always looking for fun. They quickly joined the game of tag, throwing dishes and bread aside.
“It’s a lively place.”
Watching the children run around with Grace, Mitrof nodded gently and took a round loaf of bread from the basket.
In the dim light, the sound of cheerful children’s voices could be heard.
Saffron stood up and lit the candlestick on the table, then collected the empty dishes.
“Mitrof-san.”
It was Grace’s sister, Lattier, who spoke calmly.
Walking over to him with her hand on the back of a chair, she came close.
White and with porcelain-smooth skin, the slender face in the candlelight. She had a more mature atmosphere than Grace, but the black fabric covering her eyes stood out.
“Lattier-dono, please take my arm.”
Mitrof stood up and extended his arm, and Lattier gently placed his fingers on it. There was a graceful elegance in his modest gesture.
Mitrof led Lattier to the empty seat next to him while following Lattier’s movements.
“I apologize for being late to greet you—my sister spoke very highly of you.”
Mitrof sensed a different kind of elegance in Lattier’s dignified posture, with her back straight and not leaning on the chair’s backrest, unlike Grace.
Meanwhile, Lattier’s delicate features, translucently white skin, and slim outline portrayed a fragile, glass-like beauty, even hesitating to touch them.
Mitrof sat down next to him and picked up a glass that had been placed face-down on the table, pouring water from the pitcher.
“I place the glass in the direction of 2 o’clock to your right—it should be within reach if you stretch out your elbow.”
“Thank you for your consideration—you seem quite accustomed to this…?”
Finally, Mitrof realized that his actions were not commonplace upon hearing the words.
“It seems that habits developed during one’s childhood tend to manifest naturally.”
Mitrof chuckled. There was a mix of nostalgia for the past in his expression.
“An elderly woman who had taken care of me had developed eye problems—I helped her out like this for a while.”
“I’m sure she was pleased.”
“Not sure about that—I was quite inadequate and may have just caused more trouble.”
Mitrof picked up on his childhood memories before returning to reality.
“Is there something you want to talk to me about?”
The voice mixed affirmation and indecision, showing that he had not fully made up his mind.
The laughter of children running through the garden echoed. Lattier turned her face towards the children and Grace with a smile on her lips, even though her eyes were covered by a cloth.
“…Grace has always been helping me since we were young—even after I came here, she would check on me whenever she came to the city. I was very worried when I heard that she was going on an adventure because of her duty in the village.”
“Come to think of it, Grace was staying at the inn.”
“She probably didn’t want the children and me to worry about her—while she was exploring in the labyrinth as an adventurer, she hardly showed her face here. It is said that getting injured or losing one’s life is not uncommon in the labyrinth. Those who were supposed to return didn’t come back… The children have experienced such things too much.”
“Does that mean Grace was prepared to die…?”
“She is a very serious girl; she probably couldn’t expect everything to go well. She took the inn alone to make sure she didn’t hurt the children even if she was gone.”
Mitrof imagined Grace alone in her room at the inn, thinking about her sister and the village while preparing to challenge the labyrinth.
What was it like to venture into the underground cave, despite having someone waiting for you and a place to come back to?
Mitrof could now sense what was in Grace’s heart, something that he had never thought of when they first met.
Even though Grace was bright and dependable and helped Mitrof, who was a beginner, she must have experienced fear and conflict.
Perhaps she sought Mitrof as a companion because of the terror of venturing into the labyrinth alone in the city.
Grace ran around the garden, catching a nearby child and embracing them.
The child screamed, “Kyaa!” with a smile on their face. Grace was also laughing transparently, like a child.
“They seem to be having fun.”
“Yes, really. After her father passed away early, that child took up the bow and became a hunter. She hunted beasts, drove away bandits, and finally even went into the labyrinth. Now, she protects this church and gets involved in conflicts… actually, she’s a very kind girl.”
Lattier looked at Mitrof. Somehow, Mitrof felt like her gaze was firmly fixed on his eyes.
“That child said she owes you a great debt—in any form, once this matter is settled, I think she intends to go to the labyrinth with you again.”
To that, Mitrof struggled to respond. He couldn’t say that there was no such thing.
Above all, Mitrof himself had naturally thought that Grace would come back.
He, Canule, and Grace would challenge the labyrinth again together. He felt like that would make everything go back to normal.
However, going to the labyrinth was not “normal” for Grace. She had her own life and a place to be.
It seems that such an obvious thing is now clearly understood.
“This is selfish of me—please, won’t you refrain from taking my sister to the labyrinth?”