By Zephyria 
Nathaniel was by no means the type of person to enjoy watching his younger siblings get scolded. At most, he was simply curious about what had happened.
Regardless, it was a rare occasion to spend time with the eldest son, so Koi didn’t refuse and followed him. As they walked down the long hallway, Nathaniel, as expected, didn’t utter a single word. Unable to bear the suffocating pressure of the heavy silence, Koi hurriedly racked his brain to come up with a topic of conversation.
“How is school lately? Anything difficult?”
“It is fine.”
“I think you’ve grown taller.”
“A little.”
“If there is ever anything you want to talk about, feel free to tell me anytime.”
“I understand.”
In less than five minutes, Koi was completely exhausted. In times like this, he felt fortunate that there were several children. How difficult would it have been if Nathaniel were the only one?
It felt as though Nathaniel didn’t particularly need Nana or Ash…
As this bittersweet thought crossed his mind, Ariel’s words suddenly came back to him. Glancing sideways, Koi tilted his head at the profile of his son, who was now nearly the same height as himself.
“Nathaniel, who do you think you take after?”
Once again, the answer that returned was simple.
“Father.”
“Oh, right, of course you would…”
Feeling awkward, Koi scratched his cheek. Giving up on further conversation, he walked in silence, only realizing as they nearly reached their destination that they were heading toward the second kitchen.
The sound of something clattering could be heard from inside. Fearing that the children might have hurt themselves while rummaging through the kitchenware, Koi grew anxious. While someone was always on standby in the first kitchen used by the cooking staff, the same wasn’t true for the second kitchen on the second floor. Since the small kitchen, stocked with simple ingredients for snacks and drinks, was usually empty, it was only natural that any response to an accident would be delayed. Given what had just happened with Chase, Koi felt a sense of urgency. He hurried past Nathaniel and rushed into the kitchen.
“Stacy, Grayson.”
When Koi called their names, they spotted him and their eyes widened. They must be glad to see him… right? Thinking this, Koi approached the children. Aside from Chase, it was incredibly difficult to read the other children’s emotions. Their expressions barely changed, and only their tone of voice shifted slightly from time to time, so he could only guess how they felt. He quickly checked the children, but no obvious problems were visible.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Koi finally relaxed and looked around. On the counter were several eggshells, bowls, and a milk bottle from which a considerable amount had spilled.
“What were you doing?”
When Koi asked inquisitively, Stacy answered.
“Cooking! There was something I wanted to make!”
They could have just told an employee…
The thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly shook his head. For the children, it was just play; there was no need to involve others. Besides, as they grew older, they should be able to do some cooking themselves. It wouldn’t be good to get them used to always having others do everything for them.
“I see. Was it fun?”
“No, not yet.”
Grayson shook his head.
“The fun part hasn’t come out yet.”
“Is that so…?”
It was hard to understand what that meant, but just as he was about to let it slide, thinking it was just a child’s way of speaking—
“I heard you were curious about the twins.”
At the voice from behind, Koi instinctively turned his head. Nathaniel was standing there, leaning against the panel, watching them. So Nathaniel was curious too. Koi gave an awkward smile and then turned his attention back to the twins.
“Actually, there is something I want to ask you two.”
“What is it?”
“What is it?”
Looking up at him with pure eyes, the children prompted him. Koi spoke in as gentle a tone as possible, pretending to be nonchalant.
“I saw Chase crying because he fell down the stairs earlier. Do you happen to know what happened?”
At those words, the twins looked at each other. That reaction solidified the suspicion Koi had been harboring.
“Grayson, Stacy. You must not bully your younger brother.”
Koi frowned and admonished the children. However, the twins had a different opinion.
“We were just helping Chase.”
At Grayson’s words, Stacy quickly nodded and added.
“That’s right. Chase isn’t very good at going down the stairs. So we helped him go down all at once.”
The children were utterly confident. But the more they spoke, the more Koi felt a chill in a corner of his heart.
“…How?”
Surely, it couldn’t be.
As Koi waited for the answer, feeling his heart beat wildly with fear, Grayson answered brightly.
“It’s faster if you roll!”
For a moment, Koi felt dizzy, but it didn’t end there. Stacy shouted immediately after.
“And it’s fun! Chase was so excited. He was even screaming!”
“Roll, roll, roll, roll.”
“Roll, roll, roll, roll.”
“Grayson, Stacy.”
At the twins’ reaction, which seemed genuinely excited, Koi urgently called their names. He had thought it was just a simple squabble, but to think they had actually pushed him down the stairs. At the dizzying imagination, Koi took a deep breath to calm his quickening respiration.
They are still young children; they don’t know right from wrong. Stay calm. Just teach them well now. Slowly, so they understand.
He tried his best to remain composed to make the children understand. In front of the twins, who were staring at him blankly, Koi took his time to speak.
“You must not push people down the stairs. If you do it wrong, they can get seriously hurt. Chase cried for a long time before he finally fell asleep.”
“But we were helping!”
“Chase went down so fast!”
The children continued to protest, unable to accept it. The twins seemed determined to be recognized for the fact that they had done the right thing for their younger brother.
I can’t do this alone.
Perhaps they would listen to Ashley better. Recently, he had been neglecting the children due to attending lectures, and Ashley usually spent a lot of time with them.
Deciding to discuss the children’s education with Ashley once he returned, Koi attempted to wrap up the conversation for now.
“Anyway, you must never do that again, alright?”
Setting aside the act of convincing them and simply giving a warning, the children looked at each other and then cautiously gauged Koi’s expression. Had they finally realized they did something wrong? Just as Koi felt a glimmer of hope, Stacy spoke.
“Then we can’t play with Chase?”
“We can never play with Chase again?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Faced with the twins’ consecutive questions, Koi found himself speechless again. At this age, shouldn’t they be able to distinguish between what they can and cannot do? No, they’re still young. He had to teach them every single time. In detail, so the children wouldn’t be confused.
“Hitting, pushing, or things like that are not ‘playing.’ As long as you don’t do those things, it’s fine.”
Koi looked at the children in turn and cautioned them.
“You must not use violence. Pushing someone down the stairs is very dangerous, understand? Don’t do that to anyone, not just Chase. No.”
As he emphasized the point repeatedly, Stacy was the first of the two to answer after glancing at Grayson.
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
Grayson immediately added.
“We only did it for Chase.”
He frowned as if he were being treated unfairly and asked back.
“Daddy always told us to help others. That’s why we did it?”
“Yes, now that you know, let’s not do it from now on.”
Koi smiled to soothe the children, but his mind was complicated.
What should I do?
Thinking about it, this wasn’t the first time things had been dangerous. The twins’ pranks were occasionally excessive. He had warned them every time, but he never imagined they would go as far as pushing someone down the stairs.
It was a relief that it wasn’t a major disaster this time, but what would happen if something uncontrollable occurred in the future?
If Ash finds out…
A bad premonition flashed briefly, but Koi soon shook his head to deny it. Ashley was a parent to the children just as Koi was. He had the right and responsibility to know everything and educate them together. He had only intended to talk about future education, but in this case, it would be better to tell him everything that had happened.
It’s about time for him to return…
“Daddy, Daddy.”
Koi, who had been looking at the clock on the wall, turned his head at the sound of the call. Grayson was holding out a piece of cake on a plate.
“I made this cake. Try it.”
So this was why the counter had been a mess. Koi smiled at the cake, which was utterly clumsy, just as one would expect from a child’s creation.