Hiiro (12)
I received a porridge for the evening meal for Naruhito and was told to deliver it by Otoha. She insisted that I had to be the one to bring it to him.
It seemed he hadn’t eaten lunch. Ikumatsu said there was nothing abnormal with his body.
Entering the room, I saw him sleeping on the sofa.
Wasn’t he sleeping when Sai came to check on him earlier? Placing the porridge on the table, I gently lifted him up. His cold body was still thin as ever.
“If you don’t eat, you’ll die, you know.”
As I said that while shaking him awake, his right eye slowly opened. He looked surprised.
“What’s wrong? Does something hurt? Are you in pain?”
Seemingly understanding, he smiled faintly. His expression had become more expressive, and I gently rubbed his thin cheeks.
“I’m fine.”
A hoarse, slightly high-pitched voice answered. His voice had returned. He hugged me happily.
“If you don’t eat, you won’t get better, you know.”
I adjusted him on my lap on the sofa, brought a cup of water to his lips, and he drank it steadily.
He also ate the porridge happily with a spoon.
“You can eat now. That’s good. Will you eat on your own from now on?”
He nodded, so I handed him the spoon, but he showed no sign of eating. Turning around on my lap, he looked back at me, smiling happily.
“Do you want me to feed you?”
When I asked, he tilted his head. No, I’m the one who doesn’t know. I picked up the spoon and brought it to his mouth, and he ate again.
Is he acting spoiled?
“Master Hiiro, are you still here?”
A knock sounded, and the voice of Hitachimaru came through. I replied, and the door opened.
Staring closely at Naruhito eating on my lap, he sighed.
“Why are you spoiling him so much?”
“If I do this, he eats. He won’t eat when I give him the spoon.”
“Naruhito, Master Hiiro is busy. Don’t trouble him.
I could see him nodding. So he’s not acting spoiled?
“Anyway, he’s almost done, so let me finish feeding him. It seems he hasn’t eaten lunch. He has been dozing off on the sofa all the time.”
“… Come to think of it, is this the first time he has been alone at home? I wonder what he has been doing during the day.”
“Lately, it seems he has been cleaning with Otoha.”
“Well, indeed~ he used to watch people moving about with interest before. He was watching Otoha all the time~”
“I see. It’s not like he can read a book or something, so he must have been bored. If he can’t read words, we could at least bring him a picture book or something.”
While feeding him, I talked to Hitachimaru. Naruhito’s right hand was grabbing my clothes tightly. Maybe he was acting dependent after all.
After he finished eating and even had some water, he still didn’t let go of the hand holding my clothes.
“Naruhito, cut it out. We have been making the guest wait for a while now.”
Naruhito nodded slightly to Hitachimaru’s words. He gently opened the tightly gripped hand.
“Sorry. I’ll be back soon. Wait for me.”
Saying that, I lifted him from my lap to the sofa. I patted his head and left the room.
His head was lowered, so I couldn’t see his face.