“I’m not Peanut…”
“Be honest.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
When someone asks, you’re supposed to answer.
So I rubbed my sore butt and sat up straight.
Then I put my hands together nicely and looked up at Uncle, ready to listen.
“How much did the old man promise to pay you?”
Uncle always called Grandpa “the old man.”
No wonder Grandpa kept calling Uncle a reckless brat.
“Huh?”
“How much did he offer you to team up with him?”
Uncle looked really serious.
It was the same face Mom made when she worked on papers late at night.
Except with shorter hair, he looked just like her.
“What’s ‘team up’ mean?”
What is he even talking about?
“Did the old man not feed you?”
“Nope. I ate five meals a day! And snacks this big!”
I stretched my arms wide to show the biggest circle I could.
“Did he nag you a lot?”
“Mm-mm. Grandpa said I was the prettiest.”
“Did the servants there treat you badly?”
“No…”
Actually, the maids even called me “princess.”
And even Uncle’s servants here had been really kind to me.
I just fidgeted with my fingers and answered quietly.
Uncle let out a few long sighs like he was trying to calm down.
“Then what’s the problem? Why leave that comfy place where they treat you like a precious princess and come here to drive me crazy?”
He growled, trying to scare me.
But that wasn’t it. Not at all.
I was frustrated because I couldn’t say anything—
all because of the secret promise I made with Mom.
“Uncle, am I a pain to you?”
“What?”
“Do you really really hate me?”
“Hey, who said I hate you?!”
He suddenly shouted again.
I mean, couldn’t he just talk calmly?
Mom said angry people live shorter lives. I was starting to worry.
And if he doesn’t hate me…
“Then do you like me?”
I blinked at him and asked, but his face twisted again.
“Are you crazy?”
“…But I kinda like you.”
I dropped my head and muttered.
After a while, I heard him sigh softly above me.
“I’m not your mom. I’ve never raised a kid before. How am I supposed to take care of one? Just go back.”
His words said “go away,” but his voice didn’t sound completely cold.
I lifted my head and mumbled again.
“Uncle.”
“See? You changed your mind, right? Want me to take you back to Grandpa’s? You can tell him yourself that you don’t want to stay.”
He sounded way too ready.
But I shook my head firmly.
Uncle just didn’t get it. I already told him—I’m not going back.
“Uncle, people are good at adapting. That’s what makes us human. Even if something’s hard at first, if you keep doing it, you can do anything.”
Uncle looked stunned.
“Your mom said that?”
“Yup! My mom was super smart.”
“Were you born just to worship your mom or something?”
“I’m not worshipping—she really was that smart…”
Uncle mumbled like he was complaining about Mom again.
He scratched his head and sighed a lot.
I glanced at the clock.
He looked tired, so maybe he really wouldn’t go out today.
And I didn’t see anything bad in the dream for tomorrow either.
“Uncle.”
“What now.”
“I miss Mom.”
“….”
“I miss her every day, but I can’t see her anymore. Grandpa said she can’t come back.
So now I miss you every day. Can I just stay here? I’ll only bother you a little.”
“You’re supposed to say you won’t bother me at all.”
“But if I say that, you won’t even let me be near you.”
Uncle froze and narrowed his eyes at me.
The room got so quiet, I could hear the birds chirping outside.
I kept watching him, just in case he tried to leave.
I was ready to chase after him right away.
After a long pause, Uncle finally opened his mouth.
“Do whatever you want.”
“Huh?”
Uncle messed up his already messy hair even more.
“Do whatever. Roll around the house, run around screaming—whatever.
But if you get in the way of my work, you’re dead. Got it?”
“Really?”
“You don’t believe me?”
I do believe people.
Just not Uncle so much…
Still, I was really relieved.
And just to be safe, I decided to make it official.
Mom always said if you get the chance, you have to grab it tight.
“Then… Uncle.”
“What now.”
I pulled out the paper I had hidden inside my dress.
“Sign here.”
I gently unfolded it on the bed and smoothed it out with my hands.
“….”
“Uncle, press your finger here.”
“….”
“Hurry. Come on, press it.”
Uncle stared blankly like he was in a daze.
Mom always said promises should be clear.
And the clearest promise is a written one.
She said words can change, but records don’t.
So I learned from her to always write down important things.
“Come on!”
“….”
Honestly, it wasn’t much.
I wrote it carefully, but now that I looked at it, the letters were a bit wobbly.
I had kept it safe, but after hanging on Uncle all day, it got wrinkled.
I should’ve put it in my pocket…
Anyway, it was just a simple promise.
I thought Uncle might change his mind later, so I needed proof.
Mom said real men don’t go back on their word.
But Uncle looked like he might take his words back ten times.
I already got Grandpa’s fingerprint, so if Uncle signed it, the deal would be done.
“Uncle, hurry up.”
I stared at him and pushed.
“…You really are Seria’s daughter.”
He muttered as he stared at the paper and gave a small laugh.
“Of course. I’m my mom’s daughter.”
Then Uncle pressed down on my head with his huge hand.
It was so strong, I almost face-planted into the bed.
“Stop iiiit!”
“Tiny little thing.”
“I’m not tiny! I’m Aika.”
“Yeah yeah, you’re amazing.”
I struggled to lift my head to glare at him.
If he let up even a little, my head would’ve dropped straight into the sheets.
His hand was that heavy.
“Uncle, so you’re really not going out today?”
I looked up at him with the saddest puppy eyes.
Just like when I begged Mom for two snacks instead of one.
That always worked well.
“…I’m not going.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I needed to hear it again.
I shoved the paper at him once more.
“Then Uncle, press your finger here.”
“I miss Mom.”
“…….”
“I miss her every day, but I can’t see her anymore. Grandpa said she can’t come back.
So now I miss you all the time. Can I just stay here? I promise I’ll only bother you a little.”“You’re supposed to say you won’t bother me at all.”
“But if I say that, you won’t even let me stay near you.”
Tiny thing’s too damn clever.
Cassel stared in disbelief at the paper.
It was messy, the letters were crooked, and it was all crumpled—
yet she called this a contract.
And it was being shoved at him by a seven-year-old niece.
She was barely seven, though her tiny body made her look more like five or six.
She even stamped her own fingerprint at the bottom.
“Uncle, press your finger here.”
“….”
“Hurry! Come on, just press it!”
By “press your finger,” she obviously meant “sign it.”
Unbelievable. A kid barely out of diapers showing him a written contract?
She had long hair tied with a flower headband, plump cheeks, and thick eyelashes.
And her mouth never stopped chattering.
Was she a bird or a child?
How in the world did his sister raise her?
Didn’t take long after birth before she started playing with gold coins…
and now she’d grown up way too clever.
