Vol 3 Chapter 47 – We’re Family!【Vol 3: Torte the Dog-Eared Girl Ar】

The market. The riverbank. The town square.

Eclair and I tore through every place she could think of—but Torte was nowhere.

With those distinctive dog ears and maid uniform, she should have stood out anywhere. But there wasn’t even a single sighting.

“Eclair… can you think of anywhere else?”

I asked between ragged breaths on a riverside path as the evening light began to fade.

But Eclair had gone completely still. The side of her face was sunken with despair.

“…Hey, Theo.”

Her voice came out quiet and trembling.

“Did you know Torte came from a different village than the rest of us?”

“Oh—yeah. She told me herself. That Milfy-san’s father saved her from a monster attack.”

“Right. …When she first came to the village, she was frightened all the time. Always waiting to be yelled at. Always waiting to be thrown away. She was scared every single moment.”

Eclair wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the surface of the river.

“So Mil-sis and I—everyone in the village—we all decided. We were going to protect her. Playing together, eating together… slowly, piece by piece, we taught her how to smile.”

Tears slipped down from her violet eyes.

“I think of Torte as my real little sister. She’s family—someone precious I never want to let go. …And yet.”

“That’s exactly why this isn’t your—”

“No it is!”

Eclair’s voice cracked into a shout. She crumpled where she stood and pressed her hands over her face.

“I had this thought, somewhere deep down… that I wanted Theo all to myself. I knew Torte needed the treatment too—I understood it in my head—but when I heard Theo had treated her, something twisted up inside me. This dark, ugly feeling…”

“Eclair…”

“I love her—I do—but I… for just one moment, I actually thought… I wish she wasn’t here…! What kind of person does that?! I’m horrible—!”

She was sobbing like a child.

I crouched down beside her and pulled her trembling shoulders tightly against me.

“That’s not true.”

“It is, I thought it—!”

“Then why are you running this hard? You know every place Torte might go better than anyone. Someone who truly wanted her gone wouldn’t be doing this.”

“…Theo…!”

“This isn’t the time to be punishing yourself. Let’s go bring your little sister home.”

At my words, Eclair scrubbed roughly at her eyes and lifted her face.

“…Yeah!”

We started running again.

But even as night fell—Torte was nowhere to be found.

We made our way home with heavy feet through streets gone dark.

“Let’s go back, grab a lantern, and try the forest.”

“…Okay.”

I kept a hand on Eclair’s exhausted back and pushed the front door open with my other hand.

And then—

“Oh, welcome home! Master, El-sis!”

A bright, cheerful voice—and a dog-eared maid came bounding toward us with her tail wagging furiously.

“…What.”

Eclair and I stood side by side with our mouths hanging open.

“T-Torte…?”

“Yes! Ehehe, you were out so late!”

“Why are you—how are you—here?”

Torte tilted her head at our dumbfounded expressions.

“Hm? What do you mean? This is Torte’s home.”

“But—but—!!”

Eclair shrieked and yanked the wooden board from her pocket.

“This! You left this behind and disappeared!”

The board with its unsteady handwriting. Goodbye.

Torte looked at it and lit up with recognition.

“Oh! That’s from my writing practice!”

“…Your practice?”

“Yes! Master’s name, El-sis’s name, ‘I love you,’ and then ‘goodbye‘ as a parting phrase. …Did I write it neatly?”

She beamed at us.

Eclair and I both folded slowly to the floor.

“That was way too easy to misread……”

“You took years off my life… you little dummy…”

Torte looked between us in a panic.

“Wh—what happened, you two?!”

“Torte, we thought you’d run away from home. We’ve been looking for you all day…”

“What?! I’m so sorry! Torte thought Master looked worn out, so she wanted to make something nutritious, and she went all the way to the far market this morning to get ingredients…”

She gestured toward the dining room. A spread of steaming, elaborate dishes covered the entire table.

“Torte was going to say so last night, but… Master looked so tired she didn’t think he’d hear her, so… ehehe…”

“Oh, come on… give me a break…”

Eclair exhaled a long, shaking breath with fresh tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

Thank goodness. It had all been a misunderstanding.

I started to push myself up off the floor—

And Torte’s smile quietly dimmed.

“…But.”

The small voice dropped softly between us.

“The truth is… I did think about leaving. For just a little while.”

Eclair and I both looked up at her.

“Torte…”

She looked down, fingers twisting tightly into the hem of her skirt.

“Because Master collapsed because of Torte… she thought maybe it would be better if she wasn’t here. That part is true.”

Her emerald eyes wavered.

“But… she still wanted to stay. With Master, and El-sis, and Mil-sis. Even if Torte’s a bother—she wants to laugh with everyone, and eat dinner together, and…”

A single tear broke free and rolled down her cheek.

“Can Torte… still stay in this house?”

Her voice shook with the question.

Eclair and I looked at each other—

And lunged at Torte at the same time.

“Of course you can!!“

“Obviously, you absolute dummy!!“

“Wah—fweeh?!”

All three of us crashed to the floor in a tangled heap.

Eclair sobbed and pinched Torte’s cheeks. I threw my arms around both of them.

“Ow, ow, that hurts, sis—!”

“You scared us half to death—! Who’s going to cook if you’re gone?! Who’s going to clean?!”

“Ehehe, that’s true! Without Torte, this house would turn into a trash heap!”

“That is one word too many!”

Eclair crying and laughing at the same time. Torte wiping her own happy tears away.

Looking at the two of them, I felt something spill over in my own eyes without warning.

“Thank goodness… I’m so glad…”

“Master is such a crybaby!”

“Ahaha, I guess I am. Just like Torte.”

“…Yes! We’re a crybaby family!”

Torte’s face broke into the widest, most radiant smile.

The scent of warm soup and the warmth of people who mattered to me filled every corner of the room.

In the middle of all that warmth, Torte looked up at Eclair and said:

“Oh! El-sis. I have a favor to ask.”

“Sure, I’ll hear anything—anything at all.”

Eclair dabbed the last tears from the corner of her eye and smiled gently.

Torte’s face lit up like a sunrise and she announced with full enthusiasm:

“Torte wants to repay Master together with El-sis!”

“…………………Huh?”

Time stopped.

The tears still on Eclair’s cheeks—and on mine—evaporated completely.