The Abandoned White Magician’s Tea Life - Chapter 78 : Happy Night (1)

Translator: Sunnyshies

[unedited]

Chapter 78 : Happy Night (1)

One night, Amalia rested her elbows on the living room table and stared blankly out the window.

“Mom, are you still up?”

Yugo peeked out from the hallway and was already getting ready for bed. The pompom of the nightcap Eva had made for him the other night was swaying softly with his movements.

Amalia smiled and nodded when she saw Yugo.

“I’ll wait a little longer. Is Yugo going to bed?”

“…I promise to say welcome back, so I’m still awake.”

“Just take it easy.”

As Yugo trotted over, she picked him up and put him on her lap, and Amalia looked at the old clock by the wall.

This morning, a letter from Leonardo arrived. It read, “I have completed my work successfully this time, and I will leave town by noon tomorrow.”

This letter is sent from Astera, which she had visited previously for an anniversary celebration. It takes about half a day by carriage from Astera to Polk.

Assuming that the letter was sent yesterday evening, if he left town before noon today, he should be back by nightfall. With this in mind, sje cooked dinner for Leonardo, but he did not return until close to midnight.

Although Yugo could have gone looking for him, it was not a good idea for a six-year-old boy to be out walking the streets at night. He can even crush monsters with “Eh!”, so she was not worried about him being injured, but rather, it will be troublesome if a traveler sees such a scene.

She did put the lid on Leonardo’s dinner and dimmed the lights in the living room to a minimum. Then they decided to wait until around midnight.

Amalia and Yugo snuggled up together as the clock ticked away the time.

Although it was spring, it was still cold at night, so they added wood to the fireplace and wrapped Yugo, who was on her lap, in a blanket to share the warmth between them. Yugo is a dragon, which means that his ecology is similar to that of reptiles, but now that he is in human form, he is warm to the touch, perhaps because of his childlike body heat.

Suddenly, Yugo looks up. Seconds after, there was a whisper, “I’m home,” then they heard the faint sound of the front door being opened and closed.

When Leonardo eventually entered the living room, he looked surprised to see Amalia and Yugo sitting on the sofa. His coat is unbuttoned and has one sleeve about to come off.

He must have come back in a hurry, his soft golden hair was disheveled by the night wind, and his clothes and skin looked somewhat dusty. Perhaps it’s the filter of being in love, even his slightly exhausted figure looks good looking to her.

“A-Amalia-san? You’re still awake?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to say welcome back.”

“Hey, Leonardo. I’m here, too.”

“…is that so? I’m sorry, I came home later than expected…I’m back now, Amalia-san, Yugo.”

“It’s okay…welcome back, Leonardo.”

“Welcome back…then I’m going to sleep.”

After casually greeting Leonardo, Yugo jumped down from Amalia’s lap and yawned loudly. He kissed Amalia on the cheek and walked out of the living room, swinging the pompoms of his nightcap.

Amalia chuckled and stood up, noticing that Leonardo was looking a little awkwardly at Yugo’s little back.

“Despite that attitude, Yugo was trying to resist his sleepiness just because he wanted to say welcome back to Leonardo.”

“…haha, it seems so. Then I’ll talk to him tomorrow morning.”

“That’s right…did something unexpected happen today?”

As she asked, she walked to the kitchen, planning to bring in the covered dinner and a pot of cold tea. Leonardo, who had removed his jacket and protective gear, thanked her and nodded as he sat on the couch and hand-combed his messy hair.

“I was about to leave town, and there was a little trouble at the guild. Oh, it was nothing serious. But because of it, I couldn’t leave the guild and ended up being stranded…I tried to hurry home as much as possible, but I’m sorry to worry you.”

“I’m glad you made it back safely. Now, you must be hungry. It’s a little cold, but here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Amalia served, and Leonardo, after wiping his hand briefly, he then happily took his dinner.

Today she decided on a hearty meat dish for him, as he would be coming home tired. She made sauteed chicken with gwan sauce as the main dish, and served it with soup made by boiling sweet and sour vegetables called pinelli with bacon. For an accompanying drink, she made a tea with a small amount of murum and ravi, which has an anti-fatigue effect.

Leonardo’s cheeks relax with relief as he puts the sauté in his mouth and murmurs, “It’s delicious.”

“I always think, Amalia-san, you are a really good cook. I am so lucky to be able to eat your home-cooked food.”

“Yes? I’m glad to hear that, but I can’t make anything that elaborate either.”

“I like the food that Amalia-san works so hard to prepare for me.”

“…thank you.”

Sitting on the sofa across from Leonardo, Amalia is somewhat embarrassed to see his sparkling smile and turns her head down.

Leonardo finished his meal, so the two washed the dishes side by side. Neither of them backed down, saying, “You must be tired, so I’ll do it,” and “No, I’ll at least do the washing up,” so they agreed to wash the dishes together then.

The sink is narrow, so when two people stand side by side, their shoulders inevitably bump into each other and their arms touch each other. When she reached out to wash the fork, Leonardo seemed to be thinking the same thing, and both their fingertips touched eah other a little, and then they quickly withdrew their hands from each other.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, no. I’ll wash the rest.”

“…yeah.”

While wiping the washed dishes with a towel and putting them back in the cupboard, Amalia sighed secretly without Leonardo noticing.

It has been a few months since they became lovers. 

Leonardo is often away from home because of work, so the number of days he could spend with her was rather small. And since Yugo was usually in between the two of them, there were very few opportunities for them to be completely alone.

Because of this, on the rare occasions when she was alone with him, she couldn’t help but act awkwardly. While Yugo was with her, she can be natural, but when the mischievous dragon cub was gone, they instantly became awkward with each other, even making eye contact is nerve-wracking.

Glancing back, she saw Leonardo’s back as he washed the dishes. When he removed his jacket and protective gear, and was now shirtless, the shape of the muscle of his shoulders and arms, the line of his muscular back, and his neck, which is visible through the gap in the back of his hair as he moves, are clearly visible.

…seeing it clearly, that alone makes her feel restless and hot in the depth of her body, and her cheeks heated up.

The boy whom Amalia once gave a piggyback ride, changed his clothes, and washed his body has grown into an adult with such a magnificent back. And Amalia still finds it hard to believe that he is now her lover.

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Botanical Dictionary (11)

Pinelli (ピネリ – /Pineri/) -tomato-like plant. However, it is orange in color and is also used in this world as an expression like “pinelli color”.

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