Chapter 115
"I wonder where everyone's gone..." murmured Luce, wife of Barkus, as she gazed thoughtfully out the window.
It had been several hours since her husband had left the house, taking their eldest son Nyx, their older daughter Jenna, and the youngest, Finley, along with him. Each of them had been armed with water guns, their faces lit up with the kind of excitement that usually spelled fun — and probably something not entirely in line with the household rules.
At first, Luce had assumed Barkus was finally going to punish Jenna for her recent antics at the academy. And to be fair, he had more than enough reason — after the last call from the headmaster, the whole family had been doing nothing but blushing from embarrassment. Yet, instead of anger, Luce had noticed a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Something didn't add up.
More than four hours had passed, and there was still no sign of them. Not a single child had wandered into the kitchen looking for a snack, nor had anyone sprinted down the hallway screaming or laughing. Even Barkus — who usually couldn't go an hour without making a comment about the house's cleanliness — had vanished without a trace.
"Maybe I should go look for them..." she said quietly to herself, her brows furrowing as she considered it.
While mulling it over, Luce began getting ready to head out. She'd already thrown on a light shawl and slipped into her shoes when she heard a familiar sound growing louder from outside — laughter, shouts, gleeful exclamations, and the unmistakable splashing of water.
She stepped onto the porch and froze in surprise: the whole family was walking back up the path toward the house — but they weren't alone. Two guests, Angelica and Lucy, were with them. Every single person looked like they had just leapt out of a lake: their hair was soaking wet and tousled, clothes clinging to them, and their faces glowing with a mix of exhaustion and joy.
"Okay, what on earth happened to you all?" she asked, eyes wide as she scanned them from head to toe.
"We... were playing," Barkus replied with a heavy breath. Water was dripping down his face, mixing with sweat, and his voice carried the tone of complete and utter fatigue.