~Chapter 18~
Once Khalid, Damian, Arwin, and Clover were all seated, freshly cooked dishes were brought to the table.
Most of the soft, mild foods were placed in front of Clover. Even the plain, fluffy white bread with nothing on it was set before her.
‘Daddy said he had something he wanted to do.’
Was it something after the meal? Or… was simply eating together the thing he had wanted?
Clover stared at Khalid the whole time as he cut a large piece of meat into tiny bites and set them on her plate.
“You can eat.”
Khalid picked up a piece with his fork and held it to her lips. Clover opened her mouth like a baby bird and took the bite.
Chew, chew.
Even though it was a small piece, she had to chew it for a long time. Her little mouth was packed full.
‘The taste of pure happiness!’
The meat Belze had always brought her to her room had been tasty too, but somehow, the meat Daddy fed her was even better.
Was there some kind of magic in it? Or was it just because she felt so happy right now? Either way, Clover didn’t care.
“Is it good?”
“Yeshh, it’s yummy!”
Clover beamed, and Khalid slipped another piece of meat into her mouth.
“From now on, you’ll eat like this every day. I’ll tell the head chef to prepare something delicious for you every day.”
“Gasp—only meat!?”
“No, vegetables too.”
“Ehh…”
Clover pouted. She hated vegetables.
But the very moment she opened her mouth in protest, Khalid skillfully popped a tiny carrot cube right between her lips.
“Oh…”
“Wow…”
Damian and Arwin stared blankly, impressed by Khalid’s smooth “parenting trick.”
They too had been tricked as children, swallowing vegetables they thought were meat. Remembering those days, Arwin got a little emotional and said,
“Dad, you’re a master con artist…”
“Arwin, stop talking and eat.”
“Yes, sir.”
While Arwin and Khalid spoke, Clover tilted her head suspiciously.
What she was chewing didn’t taste like meat. But since there was still meat in her mouth, it was hard to tell—the flavor was all mixed together. Something strange and not-so-tasty was hidden in there.
Clover frowned and whispered to Lucky.
“Lucky, this is meat, right?”
[…]
“It tastes kinda weird…”
But Lucky stayed silent.
Because for a growing child, eating a balanced diet was very important.
So in the end, Clover couldn’t figure it out. She swallowed the bite, meat and carrot together.
And just like that, Khalid slipped in another piece of meat with a carrot hidden beneath it. Clover chewed again, tilting her head.
This happened about ten times, and then the meal was over.
Khalid, who had fed Clover while finishing his own plate, glanced at his two sons’ plates.
Damian and Arwin had eaten less than usual. They’d been too busy watching their baby sister eat like a little bird.
‘Honestly…’
Still, they hadn’t eaten too little. Khalid decided this counted as a very fine meal.
Clover’s very first family dinner.
“It would’ve been nice if big sister was here too.”
Damian pointed to Sone’s empty chair. Khalid glanced at the spot.
“That’s true.”
Sone would have loved this. Despite her stern ways, she had always liked small, cute things. She surely would have doted on her baby sister.
But Sone was busy with exams at the academy and couldn’t come. Khalid had already written to her; once exams were over, she would return on her own.
With that thought lasting only about three seconds, Khalid wiped Clover’s mouth and lifted her back into his arms.
“Did you enjoy the meal?”
“Yes, I’m so full.”
Her tummy was completely round and tight.
If she ate just a little more, she might burst.
But Khalid only frowned slightly, as though it wasn’t enough.
“You’ll need to eat well from now on. You’re far too small. Your sister and brothers were twice your size at your age.”
“Gasp—twice…?”
“Even one-and-a-half times would be fine. But you need to eat well, Clover.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best! I’ll do my best at everything!”
Clover nodded bravely. Leave it to her.
Khalid chuckled softly. Clover, watching his face, lowered her voice and whispered,
“Daddy.”
“Yes?”
“Is your ‘thing you wanted to do’ all finished now? Was eating with me what you wanted?”
Khalid answered without hesitation.
“Yes. I’ve always wanted to feed you like this.”
To hold his child. To feed her.
To put her to bed, to read her stories.
For the past four years, Khalid had dreamed desperately of these things—things that had felt impossibly far away.
But now, here they were. Nestled warmly in his arms, with the gentlest expression in the world.
At that moment, Clover covered her mouth with her tiny hand.
“Gasp! I dreamed about this too… about Daddy feeding me every day. Our hearts must be connected, Daddy.”
She whispered softly,
“In my dream, you gave me yummy food like this. And then… then you said…”
“What did I say?”
Clover glanced nervously at him. She still had the habit of being cautious, leftover from her days in the Demper household. It was hard to say what was on her mind.
Thankfully, Khalid waited patiently. Thanks to that, Clover could finally let the words slip out.
“Y-you said you loved me…”
“…”
“And that you missed me…”
As Clover stammered her confession, Damian and Arwin couldn’t hold back anymore. They ran over, clinging to Khalid’s legs and wrapping their arms around Clover.
“Agh, I can’t take it! Clover, I’ll say it right now! I missed you, my little sister!”
“I missed you too, Clover. I love you.”
Hearing her brothers’ words, Clover’s face lit up like a clear summer sky.
Khalid looked at his two sons and his smiling little daughter. Then he reached out, gathered Damian and Arwin into his embrace too, and whispered to them all,
“I missed you, Clover.”
“…!”
“I love you.”
Clover’s eyes flew wide open at her father’s words.
And in that moment—she saw something mysterious.
It was like a faint mist, drifting in the air.
Soft, shimmering threads of smoke, floating between Khalid, Damian, and Arwin.
***
The next morning.
Even for breakfast, Khalid fed Clover with his own hands. But afterward, he said there was still something he wanted to do.
So he told Clover to get ready to go out.
Belze was thrilled as she dressed Clover up. She chose one of the newly tailored dresses, a size bigger than her usual, and topped it off with a lace bonnet tied snugly over her head.
Normally, Clover would have been so excited she’d be bouncing around the room. But today, she was strangely quiet.
“Young Miss, is something wrong?”
Belze, the sharpest of sharp maids, immediately caught on to the change in Clover’s mood.
Clover shook her head.
“No.”
It wasn’t that anything was wrong.
It was just…
‘It keeps bothering me.’
[What’s bothering you?]
Lucky drifted closer, tilting his head. Clover bit the inside of her cheek, thinking hard, and nodded.
‘What was that?’
Last night, when Daddy and her brothers hugged her, she had seen something.
A misty, flowing smoke.
It had swirled gently near Khalid and her brothers, almost as if it were calling to Clover. For a brief moment, her eyes had been locked on it.
But just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. Clover still had no idea what it was.
“Hmm… what could it be…”
She pouted seriously, lost in thought.
And then—
“All ready, my little lady! Time to go out now.”
Belze scooped Clover up with delight.
