338 Family Matters - 2

-----Yui's POV

Iris: "So, you have to remain at Fabian's side while he's in Yarene?"

Kaede: "Yes."

It's a bit past noon so we opted to move into the dining room to continue the conversation. The kitchen is filled to the brim with maids and butlers, all scurrying to prepare something light to eat and drinks for us.

Fabian: "Apparently it was Ilfa's demand for accepting the peace treaty. She doesn't seem to trust the queen of this place."

Kaede: "I agree. When I was there with the two of them, it was blatantly obvious. The queen was also skeptical of Ilfa."

Iris: "I don't blame her. She's making a deal with a demon. I think anyone would be cautious."

The tea was then brought over by the maids as Priscilla wears a giant grin on her face as she pours Fabian's tea. Natalie of course poured mine while the head maid poured my mothers. Kaede was instead poured a glass of wine by another maid. Fabian was the first to take a sip as he looked up at Priscilla who seemed to be waiting for a response.

Fabian: "It's perfect."

Priscilla: "Thank you very much!"

My mom and I then went ahead and started on ours. I never voiced my preferences towards tea, but it seems as though Natalie has honed in to what I like the most. The citrusy flavor is just right as I feel my chest growing warmer with every sip.

Yui: "It's lovely."

Natalie: "I know."

What? Where's the whole "Thank you very much" that Fabian got? Since when did Natalie start to get full of herself? Seems like I need to spar with her again one of these days.

Fabian: "It's been a long time since I've had tea like this."

Yui: "Well you were stuck in Inasdale for the longest time."

Fabian: "Not just about that. But even before. It feels like we never did this even before everything that has happened."

It's true. Sure we'd always have breakfast and dinner together, but around noon we'd all be busy with our own things. This is definitely a rare sight for us, having tea like this.

Iris: "Well we'll have more chances for this starting from now."

Fabian: "Mm. I'd love that."

The only person missing would be our father. I am curious if Fabian ever did see him while he was at Inasdale, but I feel like bringing him up now would ruin this good mood we have, so I refrain from doing so and instead take another sip of Natalie's tea.

Yui: "How long do you think you'll be staying for?"

It was then that Fabian looked over at Kaede who seemed to have already finished half the glass of wine.

Kaede: "Ilfa said as long as he's back before nightfall, then he can stay for the day here."

Iris: "Wait... You're saying that he cannot even sleep in his own bed?"

Kaede: "That's the deal that they made."

Iris: "That's!-"

Fabian: "It's fine, mom. I honestly think this arrangement is perfect."

Iris: "What do you mean by that?"

Fabian: "I don't think I'd feel comfortable leaving Ilfa alone."

Woah. I've never seen Fabian like this. His face is visibly flushed. Normally he'd be all stuck up and strong, but now he's showing a lot of weakness. This only makes me want to meet Ilfa even more.

Iris: "Then I also have a demand! I'd like to meet this Ilfa person myself."

Yui: "Pfft, hahaha. I was thinking the same thing, mom."

Fabian: "W-well... Just wait until things are better between Ilfa and the queen."

Yui/Iris: "Fine~"

Mom and I chuckle together once more at how in sync we are. I guess we're just loosening up now that Fabian is back. Seeing mom smile like that... She looks to be at peace as her eyes wander back over to Fabian. Seeing mom like this makes this tea that much more enjoyable as I soon find myself finishing my cup. And almost immediately, Natalie went and grabbed my cup, refilling it with more of the tea.

Natalie: "Here you are~"

Yui: "I didn't even ask for another."

Natalie: "Yes, but you wanted more, isn't that right?"

Yui: "Tomorrow. Get ready. I'm going to make sure you're unable to pour that tea."

Natalie: "G-go easy on me, please."

Fabian: "Huh? Ellen. You know it's rude to threaten a maid like that."

Yui: "Ah, No. I was talking about my sparring sessions with Natalie. I'm training her to become a battle maid!"

Fabian: "Really?"

Alice: "Yes. Natalie's actually becoming quite skilled due to Ellen's training."

With Alice joining the conversation, singing my praise, I take a moment to take a victory sip of the tea. Wait... Maybe Natalie is getting more full of herself because of her improving... I guess that's a good thing, being more confident and stuff. Ah, who cares. I enjoy training Natalie, so what's the harm. Plus I kind of like seeing Natalie more confident like this. Makes us feel more like friends rather than her being just a maid.

Fabian: "I see Ellen is still as ruthless as ever."

Yui: "Good idea! We could spar after lunch if you like!"

Fabian: "Wait, did I say that?"

Yui: "You kind of did."

Fabian: "Well... I'd like to. But I'm not sure how well I'd be. It's been a long time since I've held a sword... Plus-"

He casts his eyes down to the floor, underneath the table.

Fabian: "I don't think my ankles could take much."

...

At Fabian's words, everyone was alarmed as we moved away from the table to see what Fabian was talking about. Moving back to the couches, he pulls up his pants, rolling down his socks to reveal his ankles. But something definitely doesn't look right.

Iris: "W-what happened to your feet?!"

The color around his ankles are much different than his legs, and after looking closer, his ankles seems to be caved in, almost like it's just skin and bones with barely any flesh. It almost reminds me of Lilith's back in a way. And the scarring also makes it looks like his ankles were restrained in some way.

Fabian: "I was originally chained up, having shackles around my ankles."

Yui: "But that wouldn't leave your ankles like that."

Fabian: "Mm. Actually... Prince Leon and I actually escaped the first time. It almost resulted in our deaths, but we managed to survive. However... I needed to melt the chains so I could run. So I... Ended up using fire magic to do that, which ended up melting the shackles to my ankles."

This is eerily similar to Lilith's crest...

Iris: "You're saying you ripped the shackles off of your own ankles?"

Fabian: "Actually... The prince and I ended up finding Lucien. We followed him back to Inasdale and... Well, it led to our failure. It was actually Ilfa who ripped the shackles from my ankles."

Yui: "What the... And you're in love with Ilfa? Are you a masochist or something?"

Fabian: "Hahh~ Do I really seem like one?"

From the sounds of it, it seems like this isn't the first time he's heard that. I was hoping to joke about it to lighten up the mood, but now I'm starting to think my brother is a legitimate masochist.

Fabian: "Anyways. Ilfa then took care of me, leading to my recovery, and also me being here."

Iris: "You're definitely bringing her here so I can meet her. I don't care if she's a demon queen. I need to see this person with my own eyes."

Yui: "I second that!"

Fabian: "I'll... I'll see what I can do."

Kaede: "Fufu. I like it. We can talk about it with Ilfa when I take you back then."

Fabian: "M-mm."

I guess we're completely ignoring Fabian's request to wait for things to calm down. But now that I'm thinking about it, maybe getting Ilfa to come here is more difficult that we make it out to be. She's a demon queen... She's sure to raise concerns for being here, but also she might also feel uncomfortable being surrounded by humans. But then again, Rina and Alenia seem to have adjusted decently, even though they are isolated right now in that cabin. Wait. We could have Ilfa meet us there instead. Both Rina and Alenia serve Ilfa, so I can only imagine how comforting that'll be instead of being surrounded by strangers.

Yui: "Then we can meet her at the cabin!"

Iris: "I was thinking the same thing."

Kaede: "True. It's far enough away that it might not alarm anyone."

Fabian: "A cabin?"

Yui: "Mm. It's where Kaede's mother is."

Kaede: "It's where I brought Rina and her mother. Although I'm not sure how long it'll be for them to finish..."

Fabian: "...Uhm! Maybe we can go somewhere else?"

Yui/Kaede/Iris: "...Eh?"

Weird. I would've thought this would be okay, but now Fabian looks to be uncomfortable about that idea.

Yui: "Do you perhaps not like cabins?"

Fabian: "No."

Iris: "Then could it be about dark elves being there?"

Fabian: "...No."

Liar. You're too obvious, brother. It's definitely about the dark elves.

Kaede: "Then why don't we use my place? It's already the monster home, so why not throw a demon queen into the mix?"

Yui: "Pfft. You're not a monster though."

Kaede: "Thanks."

We smile as both Kaede and I look around to see how everyone feels about that idea.

Iris: "Sure. Means less walking around as well."

Fabian: "A-as long as Rina won't be there, then-"

Yui: "Oh?~ So it's specifically Rina that's the issue?"

Fabian: "Sh-shut up!"

Oh my. Seeing Fabian flustered is a whole new experience. Makes me just want to tease him more about it. But I do wonder why. Rina is so cute and very helpful. I don't see a reason as to why Fabian would have an issue with her.