Meeting Emily

The child who arrived with Margarida was the same little girl from before, who had waved to them but then hid when Sian looked at her intensely. She was no longer wearing the orphanage uniform; instead, she had on a beige one-piece dress with small brown details.

Without the hat she was using before, her race was now recognizable. She was a Dogkin, just like Ophilia. The resemblance between them was striking, with the only difference being the little girl's lighter and wavy hair, reaching her shoulders.

As Sian's attention shifted suddenly, everyone followed his gaze. Startled by the intense stares, the little girl became nervous, putting her tail between her legs and hiding behind Margarida.

"My apologies for the delay, My Lady. This is the child Lord Sian and his wife wanted to see," Margarida said, bringing the little girl forward.

With a smile, Charlotte placed one hand on Ophilia's shoulder, who was clearly anxious. "There she is."

Despite that Ophilia stood motionless, so Sian gently placed his hand on her back and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I'm here with you, no matter what happens."

Encouraged by Sian, Ophilia approached the little girl, who turned away and clung to Margarida's skirt, appearing nervous and afraid.

Gathering her courage, Ophilia said, "Hi."

But the little girl ignored her, burying her face further in margarida's skirt. From her shaking shoulders, it was clear that being ignored by her own daughter was painful for Ophilia.

Not wanting Ophilia to suffer any longer, Sian crouched down beside the little girl and spoke with a clear voice, "Hi, your name is Emily, right? I'm Sian, and this lovely lady here is Ophilia. We understand that meeting two strangers can be scary, but we have no intention of hurting you."

Emily looked shy, and fear seemed to dominate her amber eyes. Realizing this, Sian tried to calm her down. "We actually came here to find my old friend, Lady Charlotte. But on our way, we saw you from afar and thought you were so cute and beautiful that we decided to meet you. We even prepared some last-minute gifts for you. I'm sure you'll like them."

From his magic bag, Sian took out a red-haired doll dressed as a princess, complete with a tiara and an elegant green dress. He handed it to Emily, who hesitated but eventually accepted it.

"I still have one more present here," Sian said, taking a chocolate-covered cookie from the table. "Charlotte brought this cookie, and it's very tasty. Would you like to try it?"

Emily nodded shyly. Without delay, Sian brought the cookie to her mouth, and she took a small bite, followed by another and another, until she finished the whole cookie.

"Did you like it?" Sian asked.

She nodded in approval.

"If you give this lovely lady a hug," he pointed to Ophilia, "I'll give you as many cookies as you want."

Emily looked afraid, but after a brief moment of contemplation, she seemed to agree. Sian made space for Ophilia and gave her an encouraging smile.

Wasting no time, Ophilia knelt down and hugged Emily tightly. Not long after, tears streamed down her cheeks, likely from happiness. However, her tears made Emily, who was already nervous, almost start crying too.

Not wanting things to go wrong, Sian knelt beside them and gently stroked Emily's head. "You don't have to be afraid; she won't harm you. She's just happy to see a little girl as cute as you."

Seeing that Emily seemed to have calmed down, Sian offered her another cookie, which she happily accepted.

"Do you know why your doll wears a princess tiara?" he asked, pointing to the doll in Emily's hands.

Emily shook her head.

Sian smiled and explained, "It's because she's a princess herself. Her name is Biona."

"But..." Emily hesitated, "I never heard that name in class."

Surprised by her response, Sian looked at Charlotte, who simply shrugged. "I can't leave the future of the nation to children without knowledge."

"Well, I can't argue with that," Sian said, looking back at Emily. "Biona is the princess of a kingdom that is far, far away, which is why you've never heard of her in class."

"Re-really?" Emily asked, still unsure.

"Yes, I wouldn't lie to a sweet little girl like you," Sian said, playfully squeezing her rosy cheek.

By that time, Ophilia had calmed down a little, but her eyes were red, and tears were still streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. I'm just so happy to finally see you again that I couldn't hold my happiness," she said awkwardly, still hugging Emily.

"See? She's crying with joy at meeting you," Sian said, offering Emily another cookie. "Are you happy too?"

Emily nodded.

"Since we're all happy together, I have an idea," Sian said, giving her another cookie. "Why don't you come live with us and become our daughter? I promise you'll always have these cookies and many other delicious foods to eat."

Emily didn't respond immediately, so Sian reassured her, "We won't live far away. We'll stay here in Solaris, so you can visit your friends here and play with them whenever you want."

To support Sian's proposal, Charlotte approached Emily and said, "You can come whenever you want and even continue going to classes with your friends."

"Are you going to be my mommy and daddy?" Emily asked Sian timidly.

"Yes," Sian said as he gently stroked her head and offered her more cookies. "I promise we'll take good care of you."

A worried expression crossed Emily's face as she clutched her doll tightly and asked, "Aren't you bad people who are going to sell me?"

"Oh no, we're not bad people. You can ask Charlotte," Sian replied.

Emily looked at Charlotte, who reassured her, "He may seem scary sometimes, but he's a good person."

"Are you really going to be my mommy and daddy?" Emily asked again, seeking reassurance.

"Absolutely!" Sian said with conviction.

"Do you pinkie swear?" Emily raised her little hand and extended her pinky.

"I pinkie swear," Sian said, stretching out his pinky to interlock with hers.

"Now, Ophilia, you need to pinkie swear too," Sian said.

Ophilia released Emily from the embrace and also pinkie swore to seal the promise.

"Now that we're your mommy and daddy, we need to celebrate," Sian said, turning to Charlotte. "Can we have a big dinner here at the orphanage for all the children to celebrate?"

"Of course," Charlotte agreed.

After chatting for a bit, they said their goodbyes and prepared to return to the inn. This time, Emily would go with them, and in the late afternoon, they would come back to the orphanage for the celebration dinner that Sian would prepare.

Before heading to the inn, they decided to take a break and stopped by the fair to buy some clothes and other necessary things for Emily and Ophilia.

As Ophilia went out with Emily, Charlotte whispered to Sian, "When I look at both of you, I see a certain resemblance. Are you her father?"

"No, but I think I will be from now on," he replied.

"Are you sure you aren't? Your eyes are very similar," Charlotte observed.

"It's just a coincidence," Sian said with a shrug. "As I mentioned before, I met Ophilia just over a day ago."

After bidding farewell to Charlotte once again, Sian followed Ophilia and Emily.