I stayed by Lily's side until sunset. The bedside service skill has nothing to do with whether I rest or not—strictly speaking, as long as I remain beside the target of the skill's effect, this skill stays in an active state.
Free from the invasion of nightmares, Lily slept very peacefully. I quietly wiped away the tear stains on her face. Until Lily overcomes her fear of nightmares, I need to stay by her side.
Rather, Lily taught me a lesson... I have no experience taking care of children, so I took everything for granted.
In the evening, Lily awakened from her drowsy sleep.
"Mmm... Anna... sister..."
"Yes, I'm here."
Lily became much more alert. Her [Fatigue] negative status had disappeared after an afternoon of rest and recuperation.
"It's already evening, Lily. So, what does Lily want to do now? Eat first? Take a bath first? Or perhaps...?"
*Grumble grumble~~~*
Congratulations to Lily's stomach—it's even learned to buzz in first.
This was understandable. Lily had only eaten breakfast this morning, skipped lunch entirely due to being overly frightened, and the [Starving] bright red negative status was particularly eye-catching in her status bar.
A maid cannot bring her own low emotions into her work, so I tried to act no differently than usual in front of Lily. But when I saw Lily devour the delicious food like a whirlwind, my mood indeed improved considerably, and I also had spare time to think about other problems.
Her sleep schedule was a bit chaotic, but that's fine—we can adjust it later.
A child's appetite is still that of a child. Despite forcibly turning from [Starving] to [Full], there was still quite a bit of food left over.
*Drip... drip...*
"Lily?"
Without warning, Lily's tears began falling pitter-patter. My first reaction was to wonder if the food didn't suit Lily's taste. While I can't make glowing, clothes-bursting cuisine, it definitely wasn't dark cooking to the extent of making a loli cry.
"Sister Anna... am I... causing Sister Anna a lot of trouble...?"
Lily sniffled while trying hard to make her tears stay in her eyes a bit longer, but unfortunately the tears were disobedient and kept flowing.
I took hold of Lily's little hand that was preparing to wipe away her tears and handed her a handkerchief.
"How could that be? Lily is a well-behaved good child."
"But I... don't have anything to give back to Sister Anna..."
"I'm not helping Lily because I want something in return. If you keep saying that, I'll get upset."
I deliberately put on a stern face. I really hadn't thought of seeking any reward from Lily—it was simply... seeing her collapsed in a pool of blood in the forest, I just wanted to save her.
"Li-Lily will be obedient!"
After eating her fill, Lily's complexion had recovered considerably. She was no longer the bloodless pale white, and her little face was gradually becoming rosy.
"There, I'm not angry. I appreciate Lily's kind intentions, but I'm sufficient to manage everything here by myself. Lily doesn't need to worry. Living here, Lily can feel just like she's living in her own home."
"Her own home...?"
Lily tilted her head in confused bewilderment, and my heart immediately sank with a "thud." Could it be that I stepped on some landmine?
"You mean that thing with a papa and mama, a warm home?"
"Uh..."
"Lily has never met papa and mama, so I don't really understand what 'home' means, but Sister Anna is warm, and I like Sister Anna. Does that count as home?"
"I... I suppose...?"
I responded hesitantly. But speaking of which, if Lily has never seen her own parents, that means she's... a street child? The game's worldview prohibits slavery, but there are always dark aspects, and children abandoned by their parents are one such example.
True, when I found Lily, her clothes could indeed be called ragged, so calling her a street child wouldn't be excessive. But who would seriously injure a helpless, lonely street child? I'm getting more and more confused.
However, Lily is much more talkative than before. The house is finally no longer just me talking to myself in empty loneliness.
I can wait until Lily's injuries heal before probing indirectly...
I made up my mind. To avoid getting entangled in topics that might touch forbidden areas, I quickly took out several small outfits I had personally sewn while Lily was asleep.
"Lily, how do you think these clothes look?"
"Waaah~"
Her water-blue eyes instantly became much brighter. As expected, it's natural for girls to be interested in pretty clothes.
Using the attire of noble family girls as my standard, I sewed Lily a complete set of cute dresses. Originally, this would have been work impossible to complete in half a day by myself, but because I possess max-level [Tailoring] skills, I was able to give Lily a surprise after she woke up. If there's one imperfection... I accidentally sewed bear patterns on the panties...
But Lily showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever. What a relief.
"They're all for Lily. Come, let me help Lily put them on..."
"I won't wear them."
"?!"
What simple, unadorned words those were.
Right now my mood is probably the same as a big brother whose little sister suddenly declares "I don't want my clothes washed together with big brother's"—whatever, my whole life has lost meaning.
"Sister Anna! I-I mean, Lily is very dirty right now... I might accidentally soil Sister Anna's thoughtfulness..."
"...You should have said so earlier."
You almost made me a hikikomori. (TN: Shut-in)
That's right. Although I had simply wiped down Lily's body with clean water and a towel, there really hadn't been a chance to give Lily a proper bath. Adding in that she probably didn't have time for cleaning before her escape, hygiene issues had probably reached the maximum tolerance limit for a girl.
"So! Sister Anna, let's wash together!"
"...........Eh?"