6 Chapter 5: Family

"{Cough, Cough} Ack! Suzuki!" she calls the elven maid with her sagging face that struggled to crumple.

"Here we go again." Uncle Prith sighed, he stood beside the old lady with a tired look.

[Oh, this is gonna be ENTERTAINING-]

The elf came with a graceful genuflect.

Upon hearing the name of his first love, Adam decided to watch.

"I heard thee, my lady. Prithee, do tell your-"

"You gave me the wrong blend of tea again. I told you, did I not? I don't drink grass! This ashitaba tea you gave me will kill my tongue!" she scowls at the sight of her.

"But my lady... I mean- {cough} My deepest apologies. I shall come back with-"

"Eh, no matter. I am starting to get used to your clumsiness. This shall do, but do better next time. Now get out of my sight!" her hand gestured her words.

"… Thank you and I am deeply sorry, my lady. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Adam didn't like how she was scolded so harshly. Still, he couldn't help but wonder why the elf left with such a refreshed smile.

The old lady stared at the cup of tea for a good while before taking another sip-

"Ugh, it still tastes like grass. But it grows on you. Forget the little argument that you saw just now. Your name is Adam right?" she asked him with a hint of warmth.

Everytime she would ask the boy a question, she would lean forward more and more.

"Yes." He answered bluntly.

"Did you come here with a mount?"

"No."

"What? Did you go here with somebody else then? A companion perhaps?"

"No."

"Then you ventured here on foot?"

"Yes."

The shocked old lady touched her chin and glanced far away, as if to think.

"Fascinating. Atleast that bastard Dave taught you well. So what brings you here?" the lady took another sip of the tea.

"… I came here to seek help." Adam hesitantly brought his pendant. After seeing it, the granny grabbed her bell.

"Very well."

{Ti-nga-li-nga-ling!}

At the chime of the hand bell, a group of maids entered the room.

"Fix him." she commanded with stern demeanor.

"Wait, I wasn't-" Adam didn't like how they looked at him like they would at a stray puppy.

Forcefully, the boy was dragged by the maids. He was given a warm bath first, but it made him rather uncomfortable for the excited maids joined him. Naked. As they took a bath, he desperately hid his small 'little light' from the maids who tried to toy with it, calling it 'cute'.

"You're so cute!"

"You look like a girl."

"You're small like your-"

And many more remarks about his body from the maids.

They did his clothing too. He strongly insisted that he could do it by himself, but the thrilled maids were just as insistent. And to make his mood even worse, his garments were uncomfortably flashy.

Adam felt like he was a brand new dress-up toy at the hands of excited little girls, with the only difference was the 'excited little girls' had grown up bodies.

He has never felt so violated… And pleasant. Gilgan wasn't much of help- no, she was of no help at all. In fact she added salt to his wounds.

The boy was sent back to the Headmaster's room looking like he just had a long day.

"This wasn't… the help… I had in-"

"Your room will be just beside Prith's. And did you know? It was my daughter's when she was still living here." she desperately interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

The innocent Adam took the bait.

"Really?"

"Yes. Go check it."

Just as he was about to go out the door, he stopped for a moment to think. Then, he approaches her grandmother with the innocence of a child-

"Can you come with me? I don't know where it is."

"Oh, r-right. Of course you don't. Come then." Grandmother stood up.

When they were in front of the decrepit looking room, she faltered on opening the door knob. Quickly, the boy grabbed her fragile arm and went inside.

It was full of webs and dust, but one can feel the history. Adam closed his eyes and sighed, for the room's fashion was indeed her mother's. As he opened his eyes, his grandmother was in tears.

"Oh, I'm okay now. I… I can clean the room by my self. You must absolutely not call those maids!" He pretended not to see.

The poor old lady wiped her tears discreetly before leaving without a word.

[That lady is cold and annoying, but there is always a reason for something. I just wonder what that reason is.] Gilgan said with empathy.

(Some cleaning later~)

{Crack}

After bending his body, the boy leaped immediately into the soft bed. That warm bath made his eyelids fat. Perhaps it was because Adam was used to sleeping on the hard ground for years, or perhaps he felt his mother's embrace through the soft fabrics. Whatever the reason is, he slept soundly until dawn.

He stayed in the mansion for about a week, and below was his routine.

As he woke up, he was greeted with a group of maids with food already in hand. He insisted that he eats by himself, but we all know the maid's persistence by now.

It was still early in the morning, but Adam was weary already. 'Fortunately', he got used to it as time passed.

After going out of his bedroom, he would be told to come to his grandmother's room. They would speak a lot about his mother Evelynn. Adam would talk about her life in the outskirts, and Grandmother would talk about her childhood with tea and desserts.

They talked about how her mother's bread was the most delicious in town-

How her Adarnas filled the air of their house-

How she would get scared of thunder and hide behind her oldest son Cain (He didn't say Dave for reasons obvious)-

And how her lovely smile calmed them down during the worst of times.

But, it didn't stop at just her. Grandmother also asked about his siblings.

About how Cain was popular with the ladies and how obsessed he was with Bela and Eve,

About how Bela was, likewise to Cain, popular with the boys but obsessed with Adam,

And how Eve looked exactly like her mother Evelynn, her lovely little smiles gave warmth to everyone who would see it.

Looking back at it, their family was popular. It was only now that Adam realized it.

They talked about all these everyday, and it was only during these times that the grumpy old lady would show a faint smile.

{Crack! Roar!}

Lightning. Lightning and thunder filled the skies.

When Adam entered the room of his grandmother, she wasn't at her usual spot. Instead, she was sleeping on the bed. Adam sat beside her and stared at the rain.

{Roar!}

Thunder struck one again. Surprisingly enough, his grandmother crouched at his hand, clasping it tightly with a troubled look. Adam chuckled, and caressed her head to calm her down. That day's downpour was hard, but it was warm.

"Prith? Is that you?" she asked with teary eyes. She noticed their hand-holding and immediately distances her hand away from his.

"It's me grandmother." Adam spoke.

"Oh, Adam. It was you. Of course it's you." She pressed her chest.

For a moment, no one spoke a word. No one, except the mighty rain.

"Adam." her grandmother called him. She was fidgeting her hand.

"Yes?"

"This past week, was I a good grandmother?"

"… I don't know. I've never knew how a grandparent is supposed to act. I do know a parent's job. It is to look after and support their children until they grow… though my father said this in one of his stories-

"A grandparent doesn't have a job, but a privilege."

I heard this when I was still young, so it didn't make any sense to me but I think I have the gist of it now."

"What do you think was the meaning?" Grandmother looked at Adam's face with curiosity.

"The meaning? For me, it meant that grandparents didn't have a job but a privilege simply because they already finished their jobs long ago."

"They did?"

"Before grandparents become the way they are, they are at first, a parent, right? The moment that their children bears a child of their own, don't you think that the parents already fulfilled their grand goal? After all, you can only ever have a child once you're already mature.

However, as the child grows older, then so does the parent. Their bodies would eventually weaken, unfit for working. It is then that the job dissipates to a privilege."

"What is the privilege?"

{Roar!}

Thunder struck once again, but grandmother didn't clutch her grandson's hands this time. With a smile, Adam was the one who took the initiative.

"To be taken care of, just as they have taken care of their children." Adam's grin and the warmth of his hand soothed his grandmother.

"You… went through so much for someone so young, didn't you? Otherwise I wouldn't be hearing this much wisdom from you." She tears up at his heartfelt narrative.

"However, I wasn't a very good parent."

{Roar!}

Thunder struck as the rain intensified, but this time she was unfazed.

"Your mother was the flower of the Fray family. Many suitors from all around the Kingdom asked for her hand. Seeing this, I was happy. (My daughter's future is so bright) I thought, and built a statue just to flaunt her image even more. She loved the smell of Adarnas, so we grew lots in our garden. Everything was colorful back then-" She smiled as she talked. Afterwards, it turned grey.

"Then, somewhere along the way she just suddenly walked up in dinner with a dark young man of unknown background. We were surprised to see her look so happy, in fact it was the only time since she was a child that we've seen her THAT happy.

Naturally, I forbid it. Me and my husband did everything in our power to separate them. But one day, like that one night she suddenly walked up to us with the young man. She looked so angry. Once again we saw a face we didn't knew she could make. I... was scared of her.

The next thing I know, she was gone. Everything was, with only her room as the exception. Looking back at it, I didn't actually love her but the gifts her suitors would bring her.

I was a bad parent, don't you think?" She looked at Adam with regret in her eyes.

"… I don't think so."

"Why?"

"Because you actually looked for her."

"!!!"

Adam took a deep breathe and tightened his hold of her hand. It made Grandmother feel assured somehow.

"For the week's span, you would always call me to your room. Looking inside, there were many luxuries, but I saw things that looked rather… out of place. You see, when a certain neighbor would pick on us every morning, my mother would give her the same bouquet of flowers and the same basket of bread.

I said that she grew Adarnas but she actually grew others too. I've always wondered why the bouquets always contained flowers that were from her own garden. Madam Paprika always had been a shady person, but turns out, this is where they would go."

The door creaked for a little bit. Adam knew someone was watching.

"Y-you... Just from that?" Grandmother trembled in surprise.

"There were many times that she would talk about you. She said that you were always smiling just as she does whenever she would talk about you, so I was skeptical of believing that you were actually my grandmother at first.

But when you started talking about her and hearing about her from me, you looked just like her. Lovely. Very lovely.

Grandmother, earlier you asked me if you were a good grandparent. I might not know the answer, but I do know through those smiles of yours that you loved my mother dearly just as she loved you. And for me, it is more than enough proof that you were a good parent."

After hearing this, Grandmother had burst into tears like an infant would. Adam embraced her with a warm smile.

At first, he just went with them to seek aid for a single purpose. However, for a week, he felt something that he forgot as time went by-

The warmth of family.

[You have an excellent way with words don't you? Color you Elder Sister impressed.] Adam heard claps in his mind. But he could also feel her tears.