"Hmm, what's wrong?" Clyde asked again, in response to my silence and my weird expression.
…Can I ask for a time out??
"Come on, just tell this uncle~"
I gulped. Whoa, now I'm sweating.
I wish life is similar to visual novel games, where I now should be able to see some options that I can pick as my answer…
Because I'm drawing blank here.
"A…"
Just as I was about to tell whatever pops to my mind…
"Huh, Lyra, Clyde, what are you two doing over there?"
…Dad's voice!!
Ohhh, he's coming here!!
My savior!!
I decided to run towards my dad and gives him the best jump plus hug combination I can give him.
Obviously, my dad is surprised by my unusual behavior. Yes, I never ran with all I had and leaped to hug him! Usually, Dad would be the one to walk quickly towards me and proceed to hug and carry me around.
"Uwooo, my Lyra is acting so cute!"
I can hear Dad's whisper close to my ears as he cradled me in his arms. He looks slender but his arms are unexpectedly sturdy, as he didn't even falter due to my full-speed ambush!
"Ahaha, hi there, Cyan-san! She was wandering off all alone, and she was so easy to spot being the only child below 6 years old here, so I thought I should be greeting her. When she turned around, I realized that she's indeed the rumored daughter of Hartmann family!"
"Oh, right. Putting aside the fact that Lyra wanders off alone, I think introduction should be in order then. Clyde, this is my daughter, Alrescha Lyra Hartmann. We usually call her Lyra. Lyra, this young man here is Clyde Horace Loera."
Clyde Horace what?!
Loera?!
Since when…?! How...?!!
I don't have to use a mirror to see what kind of expression I have right now. My confusion is evident enough. This is a major fact that totally contradicts what I know in my past life!
Is this really a parallel world, then? There have been so many similarities I thought this was the same world!
"Ahaha, as I thought. Cyan-san, your daughter asked me before regarding why was I wearing Loerthemed clothes although I was from Grabberton house."
"Huh? Is that so?"
Now, Dad is also looking at me in confusion.
Uh-oh…
"Hmm… have I ever told you about Clyde? Is that why you know that he was from Grabberton family?"
Oooooh!!
Dad, you sparked a good idea to me!
God, Thou hadn't forsaken me yet!!
Thank you, little spectre of light!!
"Uhm… yeah, but you didn't tell Lyra much… so Lyra… ish confused?"
I tried to act as cute as I can and tilted my head. They say that women or children who tilted their heads in particular angle would look cuter than they usually are… so…
"Khhhhh!!" Dad is somehow holding back from his usual spoiling responses. Could it be because we're in public, and Clyde is watching?
"Ah, so you have ever told her? No wonder she knows! I am so surprised that it was the first thing she asked of me! And she also knew my first and middle given names!"
…Clyde, please, please be merciful to me and stop making my dad more confused!!
He never really told me anything about you, and that is a given why he cannot remember he has ever told me about you!!
"Whoa, you really can remember all that, when I can't even remember what I have told you! You're so great, Lyra!" Dad patted my head.
Somehow… I feel guilty?
But I gotta shake it off and smile! Laugh!! Your big brother can laugh almost all the time, so as his sister, you should be able to do it, too, Lyra!
…perhaps my smile came out awkward, but whatever.
…Now that all the tension has left me, I can feel another sensation. Yes, I wanna pee… if I were an ordinary 3 years old, I'd wet myself at this moment.
Then again, a 3 year-old normal girl wouldn't get caught up in this kind of situation in the first place.
"Pleased to meet you, Clyde-san!" I bowed my head in a hurry, so that he won't see my awkward smile and doubt me again.
"Ah, nice to meet you, Lyra. As they said, you are really adorable!"
Dad's hugs got tighter in that instant. I can feel he kinda tensed up but I can't figure out why, since there doesn't seem to be something wrong with Clyde's words, except I must admit that he flattered me.
"Uhm, so, how did you…?" I timidly voiced my question.
After all, I still want to pursue answers!!
"Ah… it's true that I was from Grabberton family. But, I am not the heir of the family. My younger half-brother, Domi-kun is the heir. Also, as to why I become Loera… It's because I married the only daughter of the Loera's main family. As they still had no heir at that time, I was adopted as the heir, so they didn't need to adopt someone from their main family and the likes. Therefore, I adopted their surname instead, while my wife still has her maiden surname intact."
In cases of a noble family only having daughter(s) as their only children, to keep the surname going, they need to have one of their son-in-laws to adopt their surnames instead. It's not that women are never an heir to a family, but since there is a tradition that surnames are passed from males, it would be quite troubling to have a female heir. That is why most females are at disadvantages in cases of competitions to be the heir.
.............eh, wait, what?
My half-brother is married?!
...It's not weird considering his age… but for me, it's still weird.
Last time I saw him, he was still 13.
Last time he saw me, I was his same age half-sister.
It doesn't feel so real to see him all grown-up like this.
And... the only daughter of Loera's main family? Isn't she… Cheryll Nicole Loera? Come to think about it, Clyde and Nicole were often seen together. I remember they were so friendly to each other… So, they were also close. Also… Nicole… often invited me out and talked to me, even when nobody else bothered to interact with me at school if it wasn't for any importance. Nicole often talked about insignificant things with me… She was a friendly girl. Now I get it. She was trying to get close to me because she was interested in Clyde…? She might have thought that she should also be close to me as his sister.
One mystery (regarding why Nicole wanted to befriend me) has been solved, yup!
Domi-kun is the rightful heir of Grabberton, so there shouldn't be any problem in marrying Clyde off to the Loera family. Instead, the Grabberton family would have a stronger connection to the Loera family. It's a win-win solution.
"So, did you come here with your wife?" Dad asked.
"Ah, no, Nicole is busy taking care of our son."
I gasped and looked at Clyde's face.
What is this? Clyde, he didn't only get married, but he's got a son?!
"Oh, that's right. Your son should be around one year old, right?"
"Haha, yeah. He is adorable. He takes after Nicole so much!" Clyde's expression turned gentle when he talked about his child.
Uh… compared to his condition... as for me... instead of having a child, I became a child myself!!
If I were still alive as Reinst, would I already have a child myself at his age?
But that is a future that I can no longer imagine.
"Come and see him some time! Oh yeah, what about betrothing my son and your daughter?" Clyde said, almost jokingly. But I sensed a little glimpse of seriousness in his eyes.
Naturally, I was surprised at Clyde's suggestion. At the same time, Dad hugged me closer and tighter. When I notice it, he is still smiling, but there's something else in that smile.
"Lyra is still 3. And your son is still 1." Dad said with a cold voice.
Whoa, hey there, Dad…?
I am positive he is just joking around...?
And that maybe Clyde would discuss the idea further if you were to accept his half-joking suggestion.
"Hahaha, I'm just kidding!!" Clyde laughed it off and approached us. I can feel Dad's tight hug started to loosen. He also didn't step back.
"Well, I'll make sure to come for your debut party as well, Lyra," he patted my head.
Back then, I never got to be patted by him. But now, I can tell that his adult hand is warm and comforting.
After Clyde has walked quite far from us…
"....that Clyde! There's no way I'd give Lyra away!!!!"
…Dad, you're totally being overprotective here! In the first place, you are supposed to be marrying me off to other nobles eventually…