The butler walked over. "What are your orders, Family Head?"
"Digestive medicine."
The butler fetched the digestive medicine. Shawn Russell's voice was cold. "Give it to her."
There were only two other people present; it went without saying who the medicine was for.
Ruby Rowland seemed unable to believe it. She stared at her dad with wide, round eyes.
The butler handed her the medicine with a smile. "Miss, you can take a walk in the courtyard after taking it."
Overjoyed, Ruby took the medicine. She gazed eagerly at the man sitting impeccably across from her, who wasn't looking at her at all. "Thank you, Dad."
Her soft, milky voice was laced with joy. Even though the person across from her gave no response, she was still thrilled. Her eyes curved into sweet crescents, and her lips curled up to reveal neat, white teeth, with two little pointed canines that looked especially adorable.
After taking the medicine, Ruby didn't leave. Instead, she sat obediently in her chair to wait for her dad. As a soldier, Shawn always had a large appetite and ate quickly, yet his movements reflected excellent upbringing. He finished every last bite without wasting a crumb. Wiping his mouth, he looked at Ruby with emotionless icy-blue eyes. She immediately straightened her back and sat up perfectly straight, her heart pounding with intense nervousness.
Shawn said nothing. He simply stood up and headed straight to the study on the second floor. Little Ruby watched him intently. It was only when he disappeared from sight that she withdrew her gaze, a look of disappointment on her face.
"Don't be sad, Miss. The Family Head has always had this sort of temperament. He is the same way with the young masters."
Ruby nodded, her eyes curving happily again. "Thank you, Grandpa Butler."
Regardless of anything else, her dad had noticed she overate and even had Grandpa Butler fetch her digestive medicine. Just that alone made her incredibly happy.
In high spirits, the little girl prepared to take Mila outside for a walk to digest her food. Suddenly remembering something, she ran back upstairs to grab a glass jar. Cradling it in her arms, she hurried to the front door and opened the shoe cabinet. Inside were the shoes belonging to the rest of the household. There were military boots, leather dress shoes, and sneakers. She couldn't yet tell which pair belonged to whom. Her own shoes were placed on the very bottom shelf, making it easy for her tiny, chubby self to reach them.
Nested among the rows of large footwear was a row of incredibly adorable miniature shoes. They looked just like silly, soft white bunnies appearing in the middle of a pack of Fierce Beasts.
Changing into a pair of little leather shoes, Ruby slowly walked outside carrying a pen, a notebook, and the glass jar. The nanny robot, Mila, followed dutifully behind her. Her current home was massive. There were enormous lawns in both the front and back, and she could faintly see a vast, endless forest in the distance. Strangely, despite the sheer size of the garden, there wasn't a single flower or fruit tree. Ruby found it odd, but she didn't ask about it. Today, however, having nothing else to do around the house, she planned to plant some flowers.
Being stuck at home all day was far too boring, so she had begged Grandpa Butler to find her some seeds. The glass jar she was holding right now was filled with them. Several different types of seeds were jumbled together, and she couldn't recognize a single one. But that didn't matter. Four seeds in each little flower pot would be just fine! Grandpa Butler had mentioned, however, that these seeds might not survive being planted at home.
Ruby squatted in the garden, huffing and puffing as she used a little trowel to dig soil into the flower pots. By the time she finished planting the seeds and watering them, her clean, chubby little hands were covered in dirt. Fortunately, her clothes hadn't gotten dirty.
Cradling the little flower pots one by one, she moved them all back up to the balcony of her room. After running back and forth a few times, a thin layer of sweat broke out on her forehead. Next to her, Mila went on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Ruby is tired. Sit down and rest."
Ruby replied in a soft, squishy voice. "Okay. Thanks for your hard work too, Mila."
The floor-to-ceiling windows of the third-floor study directly faced the garden outside. At that moment, a tall figure stood before the glass, taking in everything the little dumpling was doing.
"Did you not tell her those seeds won't survive?"
The butler stood behind him and smiled. "Miss is too bored being home alone. It's quite good for her to find something to do on her own."
Shawn nodded and dropped the subject. "What about the school you found for her?"
"Miss is part of the Russell Family. Even if she goes to the First Military Academy, she has the right to attend. But... Miss's Spiritual Power Level is too low. I am afraid she might be bullied in the future."
Shawn's voice was ice-cold. "A child of my Russell Family... If she cannot even endure this little bit of hardship..."
Suddenly, he remembered how she had gotten teary-eyed and looked as if she had been horribly bullied just from being lightly bumped. He furrowed his brows. If she actually got bullied, she would probably just burst into tears. Suddenly realizing that raising a daughter was much more difficult than raising sons, he pinched the bridge of his nose and gave an instruction.
"Go make the arrangements."
"Understood."
After the butler left, Shawn continued standing by the window for a while longer. Seeing the little creature now sitting on a stone stool, sketching and drawing with a pen, he noted she was quite obedient and didn't cause any trouble at all. He turned and walked away. He didn't have that much time to raise a child—especially one that had appeared completely outside of his plans.
Mila went to the kitchen and brought out some fruit juice. Ruby, who had been leaning over the table drawing earnestly, lifted her head. Gripping the juice with both tiny hands, the little dumpling offered her polite thanks.
"Thank you, Mila."
"You're welcome." The nanny robot's voice practically rippled with joy.
Ruby looked at the robot with crescent-shaped eyes. Swinging her dangling short legs, she took small sips until the juice was finished, then resumed her online classes for the day. She loved to draw. She had loved it in her past life as well, but she never had the time or money to take lessons. She had always just squeezed out time to teach herself.
But now, she had so much time. Her beautiful eyes curved happily. She sat up straight, quiet and well-behaved, her sparkling eyes locked onto the drawing lesson projected by Mila. With her two little arms resting on the desk, her knees pressed firmly together, and her shoulders perfectly straight, her posture couldn't have been more ladylike. Even Mila, a mere robot, was thoroughly overwhelmed by how cute its little master was.
She followed along with the lesson, drawing and sketching in her blank notebook with a pen. She studied like this for two whole hours. It wasn't until Mila urged her to take a walk that she finally put her pen down. Looking at the figure she had drawn stroke by stroke on the paper, she was incredibly happy. If Shawn had been there, he would have instantly recognized that it was him, though it hadn't been colored yet and the artwork was still rather childish.
Ruby carefully put the drawing away into her small bag, planning to continue tomorrow. Now, she needed to resume preparing her gift for her dad.
As soon as she went upstairs, she saw the tall man coming down from the third floor.
"Dad!"
She called out to him in a soft, sweet voice. The man merely gave her a faint glance before his long legs hurried down the stairs and out of the living room. By the time Ruby chased after him, she only caught sight of a tiny black dot as the Hovercar drove away. She stood at the door, gazing wistfully at the departing Hovercar for a very long time.
Inside the car, Shawn noticed in the rearview mirror that the seemingly inconspicuous little figure standing by the door was growing further and further away, until she finally vanished from sight. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "To the military base."
"Yes. The route has been confirmed. Please take your seat, Marshal Russell."
Back at the Russell Family villa, the butler looked at the little creature standing by the door and sighed. "The Family Head is very busy. There must be an urgent matter at the Military Department requiring his attention, which is why he left in such a hurry. Don't worry, Miss."