When Veirya went to contact Lucia, I spun around and crouched down to look at Leah. I softly whispered in her ear, "Leah, Papa needs your help. Go to the chapel and bring Angelina here."
"Sister Angelina?"
As soon as I heard her refer to Angelina as 'Sister Angelina', my mouth twitched. However, I resisted the urge to smile. I looked at my daughter and touched her head, "Be careful, Leah. It's already dark outside. Papa can't call Angelina over, so Papa needs to entrust it to you."
"Uhm! Got it, Papa!! I'll make sure to bring her!!"
Leah seemed very excited. She was very excited about running an errand for the first time. She gave me a firm nod. I touched her head with a smile then grabbed her clothes and helped her wear it on. Leah than wrapped her scarf around her neck. She looked at me with her excited red eyes and happily said, "Got it, Papa! I'll definitely complete my mission! I promise!"
"Okay, okay, okay, Leah, I trust you."
I stroked Leah's head with a smile. She opened the door and went out. It was dangerous to let Leah go out alone at night, but it was a fact that I couldn't go look for Angelina. If Verya knew that I went to call Angelina over for dinner, Veirya would very likely punish me.
Lucia was all right, but Angelina was a big no. Her relationship with Vierya had always been beyond poor. Veirya didn't want to have anything to do with Angelina; but nonetheless, the biggest issue right now was that I needed Angelina. I needed her to meet with Veirya without them knowing. Both of them might have the same brain, but they weren't very skilled at dealing with abrupt situations. All I needed was for them to indistinctly slip me some news.
"I've contacted her."
Veirya came over with a medal in her hand. I lingered for a moment before responding, "I thought you left to go find Lucia."
Veirya shook her head, "Lucilia… can't be found. I can contact. Her with this medal. She'll be here soon."
"Your medal has that function?!"
"Yes. Magic."
Veirya's reply was very simple. By the sounds of it, magic existed in this world, but it didn't look as though humans could use it, unfortunately. It must've been an innate ability for elves. The medal was made with the combined efforts of dwarves, elves and humans. It allowed adventurers to contact each other.
"All right."
Veirya didn't say anything else. I went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. There were going to be a lot of people at dinner for the first time, so I needed to prepare properly. I went through the cupboards to grab some food. When I was about to prepare it, I felt something warm behind me. Startled, I turned my head around to see Veirya standing behind me with an expressionless face. Her body was firmly pressed up against mine due to the kitchen being squishy. She silently looked at me. I waft her scent. My heard began to race at the sight of her pretty face. I blankly looked at me, and she looked back at me.
I gulped my saliva. I tried to suppress my racing heart and bring my emotions under control. I looked at Veirya and softly asked, "Wh-What's the matter?"
"Teach me."
Another very simple response from Veirya. She was very calm as she looked at me. She then pointed to the vegetables and bread next to me, "Teach me to cook."
"Why do you want to learn to cook all of a sudden…?"
I looked at her with an astonished look.
'Why does Veirya want to learn to cook out of the blue? The thought never crossed her mind before.'
As I pondered to myself, Anna came downstairs. She wiped her hands that she just tidied the house with as she came to the kitchen. As she walked, she said, "If guests are coming tonight, I shall h-, ah…"
Veirya and I turned our heads to look at her at the same time. When she saw the two of us pressed up against each other, she gave us a stunned look then swiftly turned her head around. She awkwardly laughed, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't think you were there. It seems that you don't need my help with preparing dinner. Give it your best! I shall take my leave now!"
Seeing swiftly Anna run off in the immediate path that came to mind, Veirya looked at me with bafflement, "What's wrong with her?"
I dryly chuckled then helplessly smiled, "Probably… misunderstood something…."
Still baffled, Veirya pressed on, "What did she misunderstand?"
"She probably thought we were having an affair, wait, no. What affair? What am I even talking about…?"
I made a careless slip of the tongue.
I, too, thought that we looked as though we were having an affair from the position we were in…
My response sounded so shameless that my face started to burn up. Veirya was even more baffled after my answer. She tilted her head and looked at me, "Your face is so red. What's it got. To do with having an affair? Also, what's an affair?"
"No, no, no, don't ask, don't ask. Don't worry about it… Mm… If you want to learn, I'll teach you later on. For now, I need to prepare dinner. We have quite a few people this time, so I need to hurry."
Veirya's straight pitch left me at a lost for what to say. I virtually couldn't speak. I quickly had Veirya leave. She obediently nodded, and then left the kitchen to return to her territory, also known as the dining table. I took in a deep breath to calm myself down.
It had become harder and harder for me to look Veirya straight in the face. I was okay in the past, but whenever she came near me now, my heart would race at the sight of her blue eyes.
I looked at my hands that were slightly shaking. I couldn't calm down. Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. Veirya went over and opened the door. Lucia cheerfully came in. She looked at Veirya with joy, "I heard there was dinner?"
"Uhm."
Veirya simply nodded then made way and went back to the dining hall. Lucia entered with light steps and dashed into the kitchen. She looked at me. She doubtfully asked, "Your face is very red. Did something just happen? Also, I don't see Anna. Is Anna not here?"
"She is."
I nodded and dodged the first question.
"Anna left. After she saw us having an affair."
"Pffft!!!!!"
The fright almost led to me throwing the pot in my hand away. Veirya turned her head to look at us with an innocent look. She very calmly put the word she just learnt to use. Lucia's expression stiffened up; then she looked at the two of us before smiling in a very mischievous way.
"No!! No! Lucia! That's not what it was!! It wasn't! That's a misunderstanding! It really is a misunderstanding!"