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"Carol!" Theresia took her friend's hands and smiled conspiratorially. "We need to have a girls' day!"
Theresia was determined. They hadn't had one of those days since Carol gave birth to her adorable daughter — Raksha — about six months ago. Taking care of the baby took a lot of energy, especially considering that the Royal Guard had been overwhelmed with work lately, and the two women had to look after the little one almost single-handedly.
But today was special. Perfect for a walk. The weather was warm and sunny, the Royal Guard's problems had been resolved for a few days now, and Theresia had already planned everything!
"Y-you think so? Today?" Carol was a little flustered by the onslaught.
"Yes! A hundred percent, yes! We'll go to a café, then go shopping, to the sauna, and I even found a place with a chic view!"
"Your favorite flower field, Lady Theresia?"
"Nope! Something new." Theresia winked conspiratorially at her friend.
Carol hesitated for a second, then felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she met the smiling eyes of her dear husband. He gently pushed her towards Theresia, shaking his head.
"...Well, I suppose you two are right. It's time to relax."
Walking down the hallway, women chattered until they heard the quiet sound of children's footsteps approaching from around the corner.
"Cute, he's getting better and better." Theresia whispered.
And she was right. In a manor populated by skilled warriors, there was no one who couldn't notice Heinkel when he was sneaking around like that, but outside the manor…
"You're certainly right, but hasn't he gotten up to some mischief again?"
Just then, the object of their discussion came around the corner and froze. He was carrying Raksha in his arms, and both children were covered in paint.
Well, that explained why Heinkel was trying to be as quiet as possible.
But how did the kids even get to that point?
Well, after returning from his morning training, Heinkel took his wooden horse with small wheels and began playing with Raksha, rolling the toy around the little one.
"Neigh, neigh, neigh! I'm a horse!" He played, bringing the toy closer to the child.
Raksha watched attentively, laughing. If she could already talk, and not just make individual sounds, she would definitely say: "Give me! Give!"
A second later, she got on all fours and crawled towards her goal, which was what Heinkel wanted. He smiled, holding out the coveted prize to the little one. She happily grabbed the toy and waved it around.
"Neigh, neigh! You caught me!" Heinkel exclaimed, which made the little girl laugh.
She moved the toy around on the floor a little, like the older child before her, and then threw it away, laughing. Heinkel caught the horse before it could hit the floor.
"Oh, your favorite game, Raksha? Okay, okay, let's play." He said, returning the toy to the baby's hands.
She threw it again, this time further, but Heinkel caught it again. But the next time, he had to jump, clinging to a bookcase that swung precariously. Heinkel looked warily at the piece of furniture he was hanging on like a monkey on a tree.
"Please don't fall, I'm getting off!"
The bookcase listened to the boy's words and really didn't fall. The redhead sighed in relief and ran to the one he considered his little sister.
Raksha loved to throw toys, but she quickly got tired of it. Right now, the girl was looking at the horse with bored brown eyes. And if she was bored, she would start to cry. Heinkel quickly dashed to his bedside table and began rummaging through it.
"Raksha, wait a little bit! I have a great idea! You're definitely going to like it!"
The girl dropped the horse and crawled towards Heinkel, who was enthusiastically digging everything out of the bedside table until he found what he wanted.
"Here it is!" He turned to the little one with sparkling eyes. "We're going to paint!"
With those words, he pulled out small jars of paint from behind his back. He dumped the jars into the hem of his shirt so he wouldn't leave the baby next to the temptation to lick them, and quickly jumped to the other side of the room to grab some paper.
He placed a white sheet of paper in front of the girl and opened one jar, dipping his finger into it and then drawing lines. Raksha watched with interest and babbled. Soon a slightly crooked green frog appeared on the paper.
"It's a frog. It does something like..."
Heinkel squatted down and croaked convincingly. Still in the frog pose, he jumped over the little one and landed behind her, then jumped back.
This caused a very happy babbling. Sitting, Raksha pulled her arms up, and Heinkel immediately picked her up. The two of them were now jumping around the room.
A few minutes later, Raksha was focused on smearing paint on the sheet of paper in front of her. Heinkel was sitting over his own drawing, constantly watching out of the corner of his eye to make sure the little one didn't pull the paint into her mouth.
"Whew, I think we're both done."
Heinkel said, looking at his yellow flowers and the many lines, blots, and handprints of all different colors Raksha had made.
The girl made a joyful sound and only now, looking at her, did the boy fully realize how dirty she had gotten. Glancing at himself, he realized that he was only slightly cleaner.
"Oops, we need to wash all this off before we get caught. Let's go!"
He picked up the baby, who in turn grabbed both drawings. Heinkel thought about taking them away at first, but then realized it was a doomed idea and left everything as it was.
Heinkel would have liked to wash away the traces of the mess and remain unnoticed, but that was not to be, because he ran into Mother and Aunt Carol.
"And what happened here?" Carol asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Ma! Ma!" Raksha waved the drawings.
Heinkel nodded proudly, showing the world his yellow-smeared cheeks.
"This is for you!"
In response to this, Carol couldn't be angry anymore and simply took the drawings, smiling as she stroked her daughter's hair.
"Awwww, thank you!" Theresia ruffled her son's red hair, trying not to touch the slightly greenish ends. "We will keep it dearly! But next time, try to be more careful."
Receiving an affirmative nod in response, the women walked on, and the boy, holding the joyfully babbling girl, ran towards the bathroom.
"Lady Theresia, what do you think it is?" Carol asked thoughtfully, gently holding the drawing of her young daughter.
"Hmm, isn't it you and Grimm?"
Carol turned the picture over and peered at the two largest colored spots. One was yellow and the other purple. Well, her friend might be right.
After breakfast, Theresia crouched down in front of the now clean Heinkel and said seriously:
"Aunt Carol and I are going to be gone all day today. Take care of your Father, okay?"
The boy nodded firmly, accepting this important task. He was just like a real knight receiving an order from the King! He would do everything in the best possible way!
The opportunity to fulfill the order came to him quite soon. Lying on the grass after a duel with Father, he didn't take his eyes off his parent.
"Grimm is busy with the baby, so I'll buy the groceries myself, and I could also cook something for Theresia's return..." Wilhelm muttered to himself.
"Father, I'm with you!"
"Hm? Aren't you supposed to study today?"
"But a surprise for Mother is more important, isn't it?"
Wilhelm smiled and nodded, fully agreeing.
"Yes, you are absolutely right. You don't need anything besides a sword anyway."
Heinkel knew that if Mother heard about Father talking about his education like that, the man would again have to run around the house from an angry wife armed with a rolling pin. And he would sleep on the couch somewhere in the guest wing after. But Mother wasn't here today.
Wilhelm put his son on his shoulders and set off towards the market. Heinkel at this time was entertaining himself by braiding Father's hair.
They needed vegetables for the side dish. Wilhelm stopped at the first stall he came across and was about to open his mouth to speak to the vendor, but then he was gently tapped on the head.
"Heinkel?”
"Mother and Aunt Carol usually don't shop here.” Whispered the child, who often went to town with the women.
"Really? Then lead the way."
And without a qualm, Wilhelm turned away from the vendor and followed his son, who deftly jumped off his shoulders and was now running ahead.
Already with a full bag in his hand, the products in which were correctly stacked so that the heavy and large items were at the bottom, Wilhelm thoughtfully stared at the pork shank.
"How much?"
"Three gold coins."
When Wilhelm absentmindedly reached for his wallet, a child's voice rang out:
"Two!"
Heinkel's intonations now were strikingly similar to Carol's. He was... bargaining?
"Two and five silver!" The vendor exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Two and two!"
"Robbery! Two and three! And that's my final word!"
"Deal!"
Heinkel turned his big blue eyes to Wilhelm and smiled proudly. The smile, for some reason, was extremely reminiscent of Carol's.
"...Good job, little piranha of business."
"Hm? What is a 'piranha'?"
"It's Carol when she's angry."
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Capital's sauna, Carol narrowed her eyes.
"Don't frown!" Theresia laughed, splashing water on her.
"Lady Theresia!" The blonde covered herself with her hands.
In the next second, a small wave crashed down on Theresia.
Returning home, Wilhelm took out the cookbook and found the recipe he needed. His wife had already cooked this once, and it had turned out incredibly delicious, and he would like to please her with something like that.
Of course, his cooking had a strange property of making people's faces contort as if he had poured lemon juice mixed with dirt into their mouths, but that was just because he didn't follow any recipes, and people were too dramatic. But if you do everything as it says in the book, it should turn out good so that not only he will be able to eat the resulting dish.
Wilhelm began to meticulously peel the vegetables, and Heinkel chopped them, skillfully handling the knife.
"Am I doing it right, Father?"
Wilhelm glanced at the chopped pieces and looked at the cookbook. According to the recipe, the pieces should be a little thinner. Wilhelm himself could not grasp the subtle matters of culinary knowledge to say why the hell, but if it is written, then it is necessary. To speed up the process, he switched places with his son and began slicing himself.
When the vegetables were loaded into a large-looking pot, Wilhelm sighed in satisfaction. Well, while it's cooking, he can take care of other things necessary to impress Theresia.
“Watch for it, please? And I'll do the cleaning."
And with that phrase, the legendary swordsman disappeared, leaving his son alone with the cooking. Heinkel blinked and frowned worriedly. How can he look after Father if he isn't nearby?!
He was distracted by the sound of fingers tapping on the wall. It was Uncle Grimm! It seemed he had put the daughter down for a nap, and came to the kitchen for a snack. The man glanced at the pot, then at the boy, and raised an eyebrow.
"Father wanted to clean up... Can you watch the food, please?"
Grimm and Heinkel both understood that the Sword Demon should not be left alone with servant tasks for the well-being of the mansion. And for the well-being of tonight's dinner, a six-year-old should not be left in charge of the cooking. Grimm sighed, hoping that by the time Carol and Lady Theresia returned, the mansion would still be standing.
Heinkel sincerely wanted to help Father surprise Mother. He rolled up his sleeves. The next moment, he ran after the enterprising brunette, who had disappeared around the corner.
Thanks to the Dragon, the general cleaning hadn't been so long ago. There weren't that many places in need of cleaning right now.
One of them was the lower hall.
"Well, let's get started."
Wilhelm placed a bucket with water next to him, dipped the mop in it and-
"Father."
"Yes?"
"We should finish at the door, not start, so we don't step on what's already been washed."
"Oh, you're right."
While his Father washed on the right, Heinkel ran around with a rag on the left. The boy was uncomfortable with a mop twice his size, so he just got on all fours, took a rag in his hands and ran like that.
After a while, Heinkel exhaled. The floor sparkled with cleanliness. Well, his half for sure. There was too much water on Father's half. He didn't wring the rag? Well, never mind, it'll all dry up later. And then he noticed out of the corner of his eye how Father pensively stopped at the fireplace.
"Yeah, the chimney needs to be cleaned."
And with those words, the man disappeared into the chimney. And a second later, a cloud of black soot erupted from the fireplace.
Heinkel sadly watched the dirt settle on the floor, which had recently been crystal clear. Now it needs to be cleaned again... And why couldn't Father remember about the fireplace before washing the floor?
Around this time, he heard an infant's cry, and he was swept away by the wind from Grimm rushing down the hallway. After a while, the man was already walking back, carrying a very happy child in one arm.
The man glanced into the hall and saw only Heinkel sitting on the clean floor with a melancholy look. The boy looked at him and pointed at the fireplace, anticipating the question.
Grimm covered his face with his free hand.
After a while, when the satisfied and soot-covered Wilhelm climbed out of the chimney, the floor was washed again, and with it all the other surfaces that the man considered as needed cleaning.
When he then looked into the kitchen, he found Grimm sitting with a babbling child in his arms. The intensity of the magical fire under the pot was less than what Wilhelm left behind, and the meat was already marinating. Grimm shook his head.
"..."
"Of course the mansion is still standing!"
"..."
"Ah, shut up."
"Wi!" Raksha exclaimed unhappily, catching the disrespect for her Father.
Grimm smiled and tickled the child.
As a result of the dialogue, it was decided that Grimm would cook today (which wasn't anything unusual) to avoid accidental poisonings.
And Wilhelm went towards the laundry room, carrying a plate with sliced fruit in his hand. Wilhelm himself snacked on several appas, which he ate whole and in a few bites. But when it came to the child... Well, somehow all sword users of the mansion decided to participate in an unspoken competition 'who has the most beautiful fruit figurines'.
...This time, he lost to his wife again. You see, his figures didn't turn out cute enough.
Somewhere in the Capital, Theresia was buying herself and Carol new dresses, feeling strangely victorious.
Heinkel was methodically washing someone's shirt when he saw a terrible sight out of the corner of his eye. Father was about to wash white clothes with black. Fortunately, thanks to his intervention, a tragedy was averted.
While washing what he recognized as his own shirt, Wilhelm felt something minor approaching. When he turned, a soap bubble touched his nose and then burst immediately.
Heinkel continued to wash, hiding a smile. The bubble came from him, obviously. Wilhelm quietly put his fingers in a ring and dipped them into the soapy water, and then blew a whole swarm of bubbles at his son.
"Phahahaha, do it again! Do it again!"
The bubble battle was stopped when they realized they had spilled almost all the water, and laughed.
After doing a few more small things, like watering the potted plants, which Wilhelm almost flooded, they returned to the kitchen.
Grimm was washing the dishes while Raksha slept in a baby carrier on his back.
Next, they washed the dishes together: Grimm casually, Heinkel very focused, and Wilhelm twice, because he always missed some spots.
The sun was setting, and the trio were setting the table. If they calculated the time correctly…
"They're coming!"
Exclaimed Heinkel, who had been sitting on the windowsill for the last couple of minutes, looking out the window.
"Wow, they have very beautiful new dresses!"
Through his right shoulder into the window looked Father, and through the left — Uncle Grimm. Both of them were smiling.
At that same time, Raksha woke up, crying and demanding her bottle. Which Grimm immediately produced from somewhere.
Heinkel was so happy to see his Mother again! He wanted to open the window and jump down to her, but he stopped himself in time. It wouldn't hurt him, but jumping out of windows was of extremely bad manners. And he didn't want to get a lecture. So the boy slipped off the windowsill and rushed to the front doors, across the entire mansion.
Theresia and Carol were happily returning home with several packages of new purchases in tow. It was always like this when they came back from their girls' days. The tradition went back to those distant times when Theresia wasn't the Sword Saint, but her uncle was.
As they stepped across the threshold of their home, chatting away, a red-haired whirlwind crashed into Theresia's legs.
"Mother! Aunt Carol! Welcome back! You're so beautiful! Look, we did so much today! We cleaned everything, and went to the market, and—!"
Heinkel gasped for air, and just at that moment, two men and an infant appeared behind him.
"Ma!" Raksha exclaimed and reached out to her Mother, lying in her Father's arms.
Carol freed her hands from the packages and scooped up her daughter, lifting her above her head like a bird, which caused the little one to laugh joyfully. And Grimm, meanwhile, kissed his wife on the cheek, welcoming her return.
Heinkel was distracted by them, and when he turned back to his mother, she was no longer in the same place. What, where-? And then something... metallic blocked his view. Without bothering to examine the thing, he tilted his head back and met his Mother's smiling eyes, her cheeks were slightly flushed. Shifting his gaze slightly to the left, he saw his Father, who was smiling quite pleased, like a cat. Oh, they must have been kissing while he wasn't looking.
"Well, what do you think?" His Mother asked playfully, pointing to the metallic thing in her hands, to which her son hadn't been paying enough attention until now.
And then Heinkel refocused on… No way!
"Aaa, thank you!" He exclaimed, snatching the new toy.
The toy was a mechanical beast, made in Gusteko.
Seeing the stars in her son's eyes, Theresia couldn't help but smile. Od, she loved spoiling her boy. Though, the same could be said about Carol and her little daughter.
While Heinkel was turning the mechanism over in his hands with genuine interest, Theresia turned her gaze to Wilhelm.
"He said 'we'. Were you two helping Grimm around the house?" She whispered in his ear.
"Well..."
The sharp ears of the Fauzens couldn't miss that, and Carol gave Wilhelm a skeptical look as they all headed to the dining room.
Grimm pulled a notebook out of the depths of his pockets and began flipping through the pages, showing them to his wife. After reading the contents, Carol shook with silent laughter. The notebook immediately passed to Theresia, and now she was the one trying to suppress her laughter.
"What's so funny?" Wilhelm drawled, grabbing the notebook.
After running through the lines, he turned to Grimm with a betrayed look as if saying: "You're a jerk!" He would have said it out loud and with stronger words, if it wasn't for little Heinkel, who was walking next to them, paying attention to nothing but his new toy.
The pages of the notebook described all of Wilhelm's housekeeping adventures today, with descriptions of all his failures, interspersed with encouragement or sarcasm. Grimm smiled broadly, covering his mouth with his hand. Perhaps he wouldn't hint that part of the comments in this notebook were inspired by Heinkel's face when he watched his Father in the role of an improvised butler.
Wilhelm didn't escape the teasing, not at dinner, nor when the residents of the mansion carried the sleeping children to their rooms, nor even the next day.
He still got his hugs and kisses, of course.