"Are you going to leave then?" Ethea asked, her gaze drifting toward the front door.
"No, of course not," Soren replied immediately, shaking his head. "It's still early, and Auntie hasn't come yet. How could I leave you here alone?"
"Then..."
"Don't worry about it," Soren interrupted gently, setting the items down. "I already told the courier that I would go a bit later."
Ethea nodded, a subtle wave of relief smoothing out the tension in her shoulders.
"Right then," Soren chuckled, rubbing his hands together as he cleared a space on the table. "Let's see the gifts, shall we?"
He didn't just have President Craig's delivery. Remembering the unopened packages from yesterday, Soren also fetched the gifts Ryan and Seria had left with him. He brought them back to the living room and lined them up neatly on the table in front of Ethea, making sure everything was within her line of sight.
