With dark circles under her eyes, Anya dawdled over to the dining table, picked up her knife and fork, and began chewing food that might as well have been cardboard.
Expressionless, Twilight headed straight for Richie's room.
When he reached the door, Twilight knocked first. "Richie, Richie, time to get up and have breakfast. If you don't get up now, you'll be late for school."
Twilight called Richie's name as he knocked, but even after all that noise, not a sound came from inside the room.
Twilight applied a little pressure to the handle and opened the door.
A bubble was still puffing out of Richie's nose. Twilight gently shook him as he lay deep in sleep.
"Richie, Richie, wake up. Wake up." Twilight gently nudged the little arm sticking out from under the covers.
Still asleep, Richie frowned, rolled over, and mumbled, "Let me sleep a little longer. Mmm..."
Twilight knew Richie had always been sleepy and particularly low on energy. He had even secretly given Richie a physical examination, but unfortunately, every reading had been perfectly normal, apart from some malnutrition.
Twilight sighed softly and laid his large hand over Richie's little forehead. His temperature was normal, so he probably wasn't sick.
Since he wasn't sick, Twilight continued trying to wake him.
The cold-hearted spy was now a doting father. His low voice brushed back and forth against Richie's ear like a cat's paw.
Richie sat up with his eyes closed, rubbing them hard with his little hands.
He finally managed to squint and see that Twilight was calling him, only to flop straight back down like a zombie.
Twilight's brows knitted tightly. He was truly at his wits' end. "Richie, being late on your very first day of school wouldn't be good!"
Twilight pressed a hand to his forehead. Not only did Richie show none of the guilt Anya felt when she did something wrong, he was perfectly at ease and sleeping soundly.
Richie kept snoring away, without the slightest intention of waking up.
Twilight had no choice but to pick him up, cradling his little body in the crook of his arm and carefully carrying him to the bathroom.
Despite being the older brother, Richie had none of Anya's ability to take care of himself. They had both grown up in an orphanage, yet Richie couldn't even manage the basic task of tidying up his things.
What Twilight didn't know was that Richie had been carefully pampered by his parents at home since childhood. They only required him to get good grades and wouldn't let him touch anything else, leaving him unable to take care of himself.
He was no longer the Richie who had grown up in the orphanage at all.
Holding Richie in his right arm, Twilight wet a towel with his free hand and wiped Richie's face, then put his toothbrush, loaded with toothpaste, into his mouth and brushed his teeth for him.
Richie was awake. When Twilight brought the cup to his lips, Richie took a sip without missing a beat, rinsed his mouth, and spat out the toothpaste foam.
There was no telling how many mornings Twilight had spent holding Richie and washing him like this.
By the time Twilight carried the freshly washed Richie to the dining table, Anya and Yor had already eaten most of their breakfast.
The dark circles under Anya's eyes made it obvious she hadn't slept well.
She mechanically ate her omurice with a spoon. "Anya messed up at school. Sorry."
"Don't dwell on what's already happened. It's all right." Twilight took a bite of bread and turned his gaze toward Richie.
"Richie, remember not to hit people anymore," Twilight reminded him.
Richie's head wobbled as he held a glass of milk, still too groggy to think clearly. There was no telling whether he had heard Twilight.
Twilight changed his tone. "All right, let's give your spirits a boost. Classes start today."
Spirits: So you're done beating up Damian, the second son, and now you're beating me up instead?
Hearing Twilight's encouraging words, Anya couldn't help perking up.
Richie remained just as he was, half asleep.
Yor couldn't help saying, "Loid, you're so gentle."
Richie thought nothing of it. That's called throwing one punch to keep a hundred more from coming.
Besides, that second son deserved a beating.
Richie had little appetite for breakfast and barely managed to drink half a glass of milk.
Twilight didn't blame either child in the slightest. He was used to planning everything out. Rather than dwelling on mistakes, I should focus on planning for the future.
That's the most effective approach. If the two of them start hating school and refuse to go, it'll be trouble.
So they need to have a smooth, trouble-free school life.
Richie's eyes were closed, but his ears picked up every word of his dad's thoughts. Dad really is Ostania's top spy. Learn from the past to guide the future. What's done can't be changed, but there's still time to shape what comes next.
Amazing. I really admire Dad. He's practically the father of my dreams.
Richie hastily swallowed a couple of bites of omurice. There was hardly any time left, and Twilight and Yor bundled him onto the school bus while he was still groggy.
Once aboard, Richie leaned back in his seat and went right back to sleeping soundly.
Anya opened the window, and Twilight reminded them, "Oh, and make sure you both apologize properly to Damian when you get to school. Understood?"
Anya rested her little hands on the window frame and nodded gently. "Okay."
Richie heard him but pretended he hadn't. Apologizing was a major event in Anya's life. He couldn't let the second son fall in love with him.
Anya said goodbye to Twilight and Yor. "I'm off."
At that moment, Richie opened the eyes he had kept closed all morning and waved to Twilight and Yor.
The school bus drove off. Twilight and Yor watched it for a long time, still calling after them, "Be good and study hard!"
Even after the bus had disappeared into the distance, Twilight and Yor remained standing there. It was the children's first day of school, and they were so worried.
Chapters 48-55 feature Richie's romantic pairing storyline, so please read them at your discretion. Sending you a heart.
Before you continue