Chapter 347

“Mother!”

While Emma and Leon were conversing, Little Elie, being very sensible, didn’t come over to disturb them, only occasionally glancing their way with longing.

After Emma finished her conversation and entered the garden, she could no longer contain herself and finally ran over. She gently tugged at Emma’s skirt hem, proudly presenting what was in her hands.

“Look, look!”

This is… holly berries?

After identifying the small orange-red fruits before her, Emma smiled softly and bent down to pluck a leaf hanging from Elie’s soft cap.

“That’s wonderful. I thought all the holly berries in the garden had been eaten by the little animals… Where did you find them?”

“Over there!”

Pointing toward a slightly parted bush, Little Elie, who had broken out into a fine sweat on her forehead and had a few specks of dirt on her nose, excitedly said: “Sister Melanie took me inside to take a look, and sure enough, these red little berries were growing there! And there were also many paw prints that looked like a puppy’s!”

Paw prints like a puppy’s?

Upon hearing this, Emma was slightly stunned and asked in confusion:

“Are there dogs in the garden?”

“I don’t know… but there are really a lot of small footprints!”

Little Elie shook her head, her eyes full of excitement as she said:

“I’ve looked at every corner of the garden so many times, but it’s the first time I’ve heard about puppies! William and the others are so amazing! They just took one look and found paw prints behind the bushes, and even discovered a secret passage!”

A secret passage? Is there a secret passage in the garden? “Really! There truly is a secret passage!”

Seeing Emma’s skeptical expression, Little Elie couldn’t help but exclaim anxiously:

“I’m not lying to you. After discovering the secret passage, Melanie wanted to crawl inside to take a look, but Aunt Anna wouldn’t let her. So William went around to the other side and climbed a tree, tricking… uh!

Not! It’s not… well… um…”

“…”

Got it. You two pulled off a feint maneuver to distract Aunt Anna while secretly sneaking in. Nice teamwork! Watching Little Elie accidentally spill the beans and hastily cover her mouth, Leon sighed inwardly, then quickly stepped into the garden and circled around to the front of the bushes.

Sure enough, a wiggling little bottom was stuck halfway in the bushes, with Melanie’s upper body already squeezed into what they called the “secret passage.” She was desperately twisting her hips while muttering, “It stinks! It stinks! Pull me out quick!”

“Whoa! The smell is killing me! Elie! Elie, save me!”

“…”

I knew it, you two were bound to cause some trouble!

Yanking apart the bushes forcefully, Leon pulled Melanie out from the “secret passage.” Looking at his sister who now resembled a mud monkey, he couldn’t help but scowl.

“What about yesterday’s promise? Did you forget?”

“Ahhh? Big Brother?”

Seeing Leon’s darkened face, the mischievous Melanie, caught red-handed, felt a pang of fear and broke free from the excitement of discovering the secret passage. She chuckled nervously and pointed behind her: “Well… there’s a secret passage! And there seems to be something inside. I even grabbed something! It might be treasure!”

Treasure?

Looking at Melanie’s hand eagerly extending towards him, Leon hesitated for a moment before reluctantly reaching out. But seeing her joyful expression, he allowed Melanie to place the so-called “treasure” onto his palm. Hmm… brownish-black, quite hard, somewhat flat cylindrical shape, about a centimeter in diameter, and it smelled a bit foul…

“This looks like badger tracks.”

After examining the “treasure” in Leon’s hand, Emma, holding her daughter, pointed at the footprints on the ground and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“The footprints on the ground don’t resemble dog paws; instead, they have five toes, and the front claws appear much larger than the back ones. These match the characteristics of badger tracks. Therefore, what they found isn’t a secret passage but rather a white-bellied badger’s burrow.

As for the treasure in your hand… well… would you like to wipe your hands?”

“…”

The treasure dug up from a badger’s burrow… isn’t that just dried poop?! After hearing Emma Senior’s judgment, Leon’s hand involuntarily trembled, and he hurriedly threw away the dry feces pellet. His complexion darkened several shades.

This contrast was indeed striking…

When Leon gave Melanie a glare for digging up such a prank, he wiped his palms vigorously with a handkerchief. Meanwhile, Anna, who had been “distracted,” pulled William along and rushed over, slightly out of breath.

“I knew it, you two must be up to something!”

Upon seeing Melanie covered in dirt, Anna immediately realized she’d been duped. Grabbing William’s ear, she gritted her teeth and said harshly to Melanie, who wore an awkward smile:

“The promised gift is gone! Next week’s allowance is also canceled!”

“Waaah! Nooo!”

Though they guessed the gift might be canceled, they never expected the allowance to be taken away too. Melanie quickly turned to her beloved big brother with pitiable eyes, hoping someone would step in to “uphold justice.” Unfortunately…

“You looking at me won’t help either!”

Recalling the feel of those dry fecal pellets, Leon rarely hardened his heart and said,

“Not a single mistake has been made! Allowance will definitely be deducted, and not just that. The clothes you dirtied today have to be washed by yourself! No asking Anna for help!”

“Ughh!”

…

After the small commotion caused by the “secret passage treasure,” Leon’s family, upon Emma Senior’s invitation, entered the small house beside the garden.

After brushing off the dust from the three children’s bodies, Emma Senior handed out two slightly damp towels, giving one to Anna, then hugged Little Elie and gently wiped her face.

Anna, on the other hand, pinched her naughty sister’s cheeks with her left hand and scrubbed vigorously with the wet towel in her right hand.

“Gentl… gentler! It hurts!”

“Hurting or not, deal with it! Can’t be gentle!”

“Then… hmm… just treat me like Sister Elie!”

“No way!”

With the towel, Anna scrubbed Melanie’s forehead with great force, turning her little head completely red. Irritably, Anna said, “Elie just had some surface dust on her face. Your sweat mixed with dirt has turned into mud. How can we clean it without applying some pressure?”

“But… it hurts!”

With her face held firmly, Melanie resisted her sister’s “brutality” while making a last-ditch plea: “What if you help William first? I can wait until Aunt Emma finishes with me…”

“Endure it!”

“Ow…”

Hmph, my foolish sister!

Seeing Melanie still trying to drag him into it at this point, William, whose face was equally dirty, couldn’t help but glance sideways at her with disdain. He crossed his arms arrogantly, feeling a sudden sense of intellectual superiority.

Even though having mud on his face was uncomfortable, since Sister Anna was in a bad mood, the first person to get their face wiped would surely suffer. So, I deliberately stepped back half a pace, letting her wipe your face first. Once Sister Anna calms down…

“William, come here!”

Seeing his sister and Emma Senior taking care of the children, Leon, standing empty-handed, felt a bit awkward. Thus, he retrieved a handkerchief from the Mirror World and beckoned William over.

“Don’t wait for Anna. Let me help you wipe your face!”

“Big Brother?” Hearing Leon’s call, William pondered for a moment and decided that having his big brother do it wasn’t bad either. He nodded coolly, walked over, and tilted his little face upwards to Leon.

“Eww!”

“Big Brother, your handkerchief smells a bit funny…”

(Chapter End)