“I mastered it in the past few days.” Zachary stared at the kids affectionately. “I spent two hours every day learning how to cook. I also researched recipes and learned one new dish every day to reach this stage. Do you guys like it?”
“Yes, Daddy. You’re the best!” The kids were elated.
“I’m glad you like it.” Zachary was pleased. “Ok, let’s eat.”
The family happily dug into their food.
The eagle on the balcony had fresh beef for lunch, whereas Little Fifi perched on the other end of the long table as it ate its lunch. However, Little Fifi couldn’t keep still as it kept staring at the kids’ plates.
“Little Fifi, stop messing around and eat your food,” Jamie scolded.
“Little Fifi, you’re not allowed to eat meat.”
Ellie reminded gently. She couldn’t bring herself to reprimand Little Fifi since she was about to leave while Little Fifi will be staying back to keep Jamie company.
“Hate this, hate this!”
Little Fifi squawked unhappily and continued to eat its food.
“Daddy, how are things at work? Have you taken care of everything?” Robbie asked Zachary.
“I’ve dealt with some of them.” Zachary evaded the question. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”
“You didn’t really attend Great-grandpa’s funeral. You should pay him a visit after everything is over and explain everything to him.”
Robbie was concerned about Zachary as he was about to leave his side.
“I know.” Zachary placed a piece of fish meat on his plate. “Erihal is a very cold country. I’ve prepared some warm clothes for you. Remember to put it on before getting off the plane.”
“Ok.” Robbie nodded. He didn’t dare look Zachary in the eye.
“I’ll visit you in two months.” Zachary patted his head. “You must carry on with your online lessons and study hard in the meantime.”
“Ok.” Robbie was filled with sorrow. “Take care, Daddy.”
“Don’t be silly, I’m not a kid anymore.” Zachary smiled. He then turned to Ellie. “Ellie, you still need to cooperate with the treatment when you arrive at Erihal. You have to get well soon, okay?”
“Ok, Daddy.” Ellie choked up as she spoke.
“Drink your soup, Ellie.”
Charlotte filled Ellie’s bowl with some soup and placed some more food on Robbie’s and Jamie’s plate. She tried to cheer the kids up by telling them more about Erihal.
“Erihal has large ice sculptures and snow. We can build a snowman, have snowball fights, and even go ice skating. It’ll be fun.”
“Mommy, is Erihal going to be cold all year long?”
Ellie’s curiosity was piqued.
“I stayed in a place called Xendale, capital of Erihal. It’s winter most of the time there. The warmest we ever had was around 10 degrees…”
Charlotte explained how Erihal was like to the kids.
“I live in a big house there and Uncle Dan rears a lot of pets. We even have a goose, Ellie.”
“Do you have lions and tigers?” Jamie asked excitedly.
“No,” Charlotte laughed. “Those are endangered animals, how could we keep them as pets? However, we do have some Tibetan Mastiffs and some snakes…”
Charlotte paused since Ellie paled with fright and her eyes widened like saucers.
“Don’t be scared, Ellie.” Charlotte quickly comforted. “I’m not living with Uncle Dan. We only have swan in my castle.”
“That’s a relief.” Ellie breathed a sigh of relief and asked, “Do you have penguins?”
“No, but we can get one if you like.”
Charlotte pulled out her phone and called the butler at Erihal to get some penguins as pets.
“Mommy, you know how to speak Erihalean?”
Robbie was pleasantly surprised. Even though he knew Charlotte was good, he had only ever seen her in action. He never had the chance to see how smart she actually was.
