CHAPTER 145: EMMA AS A CHILD

The family of four had gathered around the dining table for dinner.

After the small episode earlier, Vitori had chosen not to follow his daughter around as she showed William the various corners of the Tower. Instead, he gave her the space she needed, allowing her time to cool down on her own.

Now seated at the table, Vitori occupied the head position. Emma sat to his left, with Nana beside her, legs dangling as she excitedly looked around. Across from Emma sat William, his posture relaxed but attentive, quietly observing the atmosphere around him.

No servants came to serve the meal. As William glanced between Emma and Vitori, he quickly realized that this was normal for them—they were accustomed to handling such matters themselves. There was a certain simplicity in it, one that spoke of routine rather than neglect.

He didn’t mind in the least. The two years he had spent at the academy had taught him many things he would never have imagined learning as a noble. Tasks he once considered beneath him had become second nature.

Following their lead, William reached for the bread and soup, serving himself without hesitation.

Emma leaned toward Nana, carefully placing a portion of vegetables onto the little girl’s plate. Just as she was about to continue, William spoke up, "I’ll dice the meat for her."

Emma nodded in approval, then gestured for Nana to finish her vegetables first.

Watching the two of them tend to the child so naturally, Vitori finally spoke, his gaze tender. "Have you truly adopted this child?"

Emma didn’t look up, still focused on convincing Nana to eat the peas she clearly disliked.

William answered instead. "Yes. She didn’t have a home. Rather than letting her be sent to an orphanage, we decided to take care of her."

There was no sharpness in Vitori’s tone when he continued, unlike earlier. "And her accommodation? Surely you aren’t planning to take her to the academy."

William glanced at Emma, waiting. After a moment, she spoke, "I’m thinking of giving her responsibility to Aunt Ness."

William blinked in surprise at the decision, though he held his tongue.

Vitori hummed thoughtfully. "She does have experience raising a child. But are you certain? She may need to leave the Tower on several occasions."

"We’ll come check on her every weekend," Emma replied calmly. "Just give me the permit for teleportation."

Naturally, East Wind possessed its own teleportation magic users. Because of that, Emma would only require half the usual amount of sum to travel between the academy and the Tower.

Vitori let out a low hum before warning, "Frequent visits to the Tower may raise suspicion."

From the way he said it, William sensed that the man didn’t truly object to Emma revealing her connection to East Wind. If anything, it felt more like Emma’s personal choice to keep such matters concealed.

Emma shrugged. "I don’t care much, Father. I’ve already attracted more than enough attention. Revealing this much might actually help keep people away from me."

William couldn’t help but smile at her reasoning. Only Emma would think of something like that.

Vitori nodded. "Do what you believe is right."

His gaze then shifted to Nana, who was struggling valiantly to push a pea into her mouth. "You could leave her here," he said softly. "Looking at her... she somehow reminds me of you."

That piqued William’s interest immediately. "How so?" he asked, genuine curiosity evident in his voice.

Vitori smiled faintly. "Emma was always a quiet child. She never ceased to surprise me—her intelligence far exceeded her age, and her sense of responsibility was... remarkable. I can’t even remember scolding her for anything other than overworking herself."

Emma flushed slightly at his words. She stuffed her mouth with bread, chewing slowly, pretending the praise hadn’t affected her in the slightest.

William smiled before asking, "Has she always been this blunt? The type who never hesitates to speak the truth?"

Vitori chuckled. "You should have seen how many of my inventors fled the workstation in tears after failing to meet her expectations. She has always been bossy—and a perfectionist."

Emma groaned. "How can you two gang up on me like this? When have I ever been bossy, Father? And what’s with that blunt remark, Will? Are you even listening to me?"

In truth, neither of them was.

William, clearly encouraged by the direction of the conversation, finally asked, "Do you have any picture books from her childhood? I’d really like to see them."

Vitori smirked. "Why would you think I don’t have pictures of my little fluff ball?"

William’s grin widened. "Then please show them to me later."

Watching the two of them bond so effortlessly, Emma let out a quiet sigh, muttering under her breath, "Weren’t they wary of each other just a few hours ago?"

....

After dinner, Emma brought Nana to freshen up and change her clothes so she could go to the bed.

The little girl was quite tired given she has been travelling for the past two days.

William told her that he would be on the backside of the Tower. He stepped out to take some fresh air and also to digest the food.

The day was quite chaotic.

First, that wound on his chest which still stung slightly whenever he touched the mark.

He had no clue what that mark was but somehow he felt that the bloodied being who previously took over his consciousness knew something about the wound.

William felt that he wanted to say something to William in the carriage but the pain was so overwhelming that William could barely hear anything around him.

Following that, as he expected, Emma’s father had not a good impression of him given all the suspicious movement he has shown in these past few weeks after Emma liberated him from the Curse.

He can’t blame the man for suspecting him. However, William wouldn’t let that doubt linger for long. If clearing the dungeon what it takes to clear his doubts and give them his blessings, then so be it.

Why does his approval matter so much? William just doesn’t want Emma to choose between him and her father.

That’s why, he was going to put extra effort to clear the dungeon next week.

"Are you here alone?" A voice came from behind before William turned.

Vitori approached him quietly and said, "I wanted to talk to you. Let’s walk."

Not many times someone could make him feel nervous without trying to.

But this man surely was one of them.

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