Special Chapter. Now it’s not two, but three (5)
As Ludwig retreived his memory and moved on, he fortunately reached his destination safely.
As soon as she got there, Anis looked carefully at the glass window to see if the teddy bear she remembered was still there.
Anise’s pupils, which had been rolling around, stopped, and soon the pupils doubled in size.
In the far left corner of the showcase. In the same place as then, the teddy bear was still holding its place with its eyes brightly open.
Anise looked at the teddy bear again and again, just in case.
It must have been. The white, fluffy teddy bear that lingered in my memory and was still anxiously searching for Anise was right.
Anise ran straight to her father who was following behind her, reached out her right hand and grabbed him, then pointed at the display case with her other hand and twinkled her eyes.
“Dad! I have it! There is a bear!”
“yes? I’m glad you didn’t step in vain.”
“Come on, Anise. I know you’re happy, but can’t you make too much noise in the store?”
“yes!”
Emilia brought her index finger to her mouth and spoke in a relaxed tone. Anis smiled brightly and raised her hand.
“… ah.”
Paula, who was watching the innocent look, inadvertently tried to put her hand on her head, but staggered back.
Even if Amman Anise considered her like an older sister, there was something unacceptable as a servant.
“Welcome to. Are there any children you are looking for?”
The door of the doll shop opened with the sound of a jingling bell and the four of them entered. An elderly man with a white beard put down his tools and came out.
He would have recognized at once that Ludwig and his party were nobles just by looking at their clothes and Paula, who accompanied them behind them, but they did not come out too low-key and had a calm tone.
‘It looks like something this person made.’
Staring at such an old man, Ludwig was able to recognize at once that the dolls displayed here were handmade by him.
Merchants who just brought in dolls and sold them would usually have used a tone that seemed to treat dolls as objects.
If this is a kind of craftsmanship, then it must be a craftsmanship.
“Yes, I would like to buy the white teddy bear that is displayed out there… Is this the child the elder made himself?”
“That’s right. All the children in this store have passed through my hands.”
Even though he didn’t say much, Ludwig caught a glimpse of a craftsman’s pride in him.
Certainly, it seems that those who have spent a long time in any field usually have a similar atmosphere.
At least, among those he saw, everyone was like that, except for extremely exceptional cases such as the swordsman.
“I will show you the child you are looking for. Please wait a moment.”
Nogu approached the display case, opened the side cover, took out the teddy bear that was on display inside, and returned.
Despite the pure white appearance, it was a part that showed how carefully the appearance was not stained with dust.
“Wow!”
Cheers erupted from Anis’ mouth as the teddy bear, which had been watching through the glass window, approached and revealed the real thing.
It was cute enough even from a distance, but when I saw it up close, I felt the texture of the fur more tangible, so I was even more satisfied.
“Do you like it, Anise?”
“Yeah! You are so cute, Mom!”
In Emilia’s eyes, her daughter was only cuter, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it, and only sent her adorable eyes.
“I’m glad to see you looking cute. Would you like this child?”
Nogu did not speak while looking at Ludwig or Emilia, but asked while keeping eye level with Anise, who was expected to be the owner of the doll.
It was an act without hesitation at all, even though it would be quite uncomfortable to bend down because of my age.
“Yeah! But grandfather, what is this child’s name?”
“I want the princess to build it herself.”
As if she hadn’t expected that far, Anise hesitated for a moment at the sudden request, and began to think about the name of the teddy bear.
At first, I thought that someone would come forward and help, but I took back a helping hand, thinking that this would be the pleasure of buying a doll.
“Ugh… Then I’ll do it with Ellie!”
When Anis, who had been agonizing over and over again, spat out a cute name, Emilia quickly guessed the reason for the naming.
“Did you name Ellie because your hair was white? anise.”
“hehehe, that’s right.”
Elisium.
It is one of the baptismal names meaning white light, and many believers who worship the goddess Hypresia use this name.
If you use it as it is, it might be a bit against the rules, but if you change it a little and give the doll a name, there shouldn’t be any major problems.
Saying that Emilia is a well-made name, she gently stroked Anise’s head, grabbed the teddy bear’s arm, and shook it lightly.
As if imitating the teddy bear playing with Anise.
While Ludwig finished the calculation, Anis turned around with Ellie in her arms.
At first glance, it felt like he was twisting his body in embarrassment.
“How are you, Paula? Is not it cute?”
“Yes, it is very cute. You’ve made a new friend, too.”
“yes! I will introduce you to Enya later.”
Enya spoke of a girl who was Anis’s friend.
If there are times when Anise shows a more mature side than her peers, Enya’s personality itself belongs to the quiet and static side.
Usually, when the two meet, it’s just a relationship where Anise is excited and chatters, and Enya only responds moderately to this, but even so, the compatibility is really good.
That’s why Anis always said something like a report to Enya, but this time, too, she intended to do so.
“Now, here!”
“Yeah? Why did you give me this child… … ?”
When Anise suddenly pushed Ellie to her, Paula panicked and tried to say ‘this’ but changed the word in haste.
“Hug Paula too. It is very soft.”
“okay. exactly… … .”
Paula had no choice but to hug Ellie, feeling that Anise’s face would turn into tears again if she refused.
As she said, it must have been made of good material, and the fur was quite soft and pleasant to the touch.
“Paula, if I go to the clothing store, will there be Ellie’s clothes?”
“A clothing store probably doesn’t carry such small clothes. It looks like you want to dress Ellie too.”
“Yes… It looks too cold.”
Usually stuffed toys have this appearance, but it seems that young Anis felt quite a bit of pity in her heart.
Unfortunately, however, when she heard that the clothing store had no clothes suitable for Ellie, she was about to die at once.
Nogu, who had been staring at it from a distance, smiled happily as if he were seeing his granddaughter, and sneaked forward to talk to Anis.
“You said her new name was Ellie, right? princess.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“hehehe, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone who cares for a child in our store this much, so the old man will give you a present as well.”
Sneaking open the cupboard behind him, he barely straightened his half-bent back and rummaged through something.
The sound of something like cloth rubbing echoed continuously, and then his hand stopped abruptly.
Soon there was a piece of cloth in Nogu’s hand, who slowly returned to the anise with something in his hand.
“This is not something I made, it is something my daughter makes as a hobby… It is not yet ready for sale, so I would like to give it to my daughter as a gift.”
“Thank you. Your daughter will be very happy.”
When Ludwig took a closer look at the handed item, it was a small piece of clothing designed to be worn on a doll.
Not even one, but more than five pieces of clothing that were embroidered in detail.
From Ludwig’s point of view, it seemed like there wouldn’t be much of a problem even if he sold it for money, but it was probably not enough in the eyes of a craftsman.
“Come on, Anise. Should I say thank you to Grandpa?”
“Thank you-!”
“I have to give thanks. Please take good care of it.”
Anis greeted her belly button and thanked her, and immediately got excited and decided to try on a piece of clothing for Ellie.
At first, he struggled a bit, but with Paula’s help, he was quickly able to change his clothes successfully.
“Paula, look at this! Ellie is warm now too!”
“That’s good, lady.”
For Paula, it didn’t matter if the doll was dressed or not, but the fact that Anise’s bright smile had returned was what mattered.
Paula inadvertently tried to stretch out her hand again at Anise’s cute appearance, which was close to magical power, but hesitated.
It was the first time in her life that she thought that she wanted to pet something so violently.
“Paula.”
“Yes Yes? Did you call, ma’am?”
Paula, not knowing where to put her hands, stood stiff at the sudden call.
I felt like I had committed something, even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Don’t do that, try stroking it. I’m sure Anise will be happy too, right?”
“Ah, maybe that’s a bit presumptuous… … .”
“What is it like? Wouldn’t it be nice if it felt like an older sister stroking her younger sister’s hair?”
“However… … .”
Paula pursed her lips at Emilia’s subtle suggestion, then looked down again at Anis, who had bright eyes.
Even though it was her mother’s permission, she hesitated about whether she could really do it, but that thought didn’t last long.
“E-madam!?”
Suddenly, Emilia grabbed Paula’s wrist and brought it to Anise’s head.
However, it would be rude to Emilia if she let go of it in this state, so Paula couldn’t bear to do that.
How many seconds had passed like that?
Turning to Anis who was being petted without saying anything, Emilia asked her impressions with a soft smile.
“Annis, how do you feel when Paula strokes you?”
“hehehe, good! Unlike Mom and Dad, Paula never petted Anise!”
“Look at that, Paula. Since ancient times, children have to be cared for like this.”
‘Did you learn a lesson?’ Emilia, who smiled, let go of her hand and headed towards her husband.
Compared to Anise’s liking for Paula, Paula didn’t want to go too close to her, so she pushed her back slightly, but the effect seemed to be quite good.
In the future, when Anise grows up, Paula may become her nanny, so it would be okay to build more rapport early on.
So today, the relationship between the servant and the princess, who had been distant, became a little closer.