Chapter 1825: Vacation
Chapter 1825: Vacation
"Sometimes, life being too smooth isn't necessarily a good thing."
After listening to Alice's concerns about the future, Isabella sighed inwardly.
"From my perspective, if you want to do something, just go for it. There's no need to agonize over it."
Katrina, in her swimsuit, handed Alice a coconut drink with ice and then lazily leaned back on a beach chair under a sunshade, glancing at Ian who was surfing nearby and then at Albert who was teaching Sophia to swim.
"If you really haven't decided what to do, you could try finding a boyfriend and falling in love."
Isabella glanced at Katrina, then at her daughter, and said softly, "Tell us what you're thinking!"
"Well... I was thinking, after I graduate from school... could I stay and help Dad with his work?"
Alice hesitated for a moment before voicing her thoughts.
The group exchanged glances. While they were a bit surprised, they could understand Alice's perspective.
However...
"You'll probably need to talk to Albert about this. We can't convince him for you", Isabella supported her daughter's decision, knowing that Albert had a lot to offer.
Whether it was knowledge or other things.
"Will Dad let me stay?" Alice murmured, looking at the familiar figure by the beach.
"He might prefer to see a fledgling spread its wings and have its own sky and clouds."
Isabella knew her husband well and wanted to see her daughter have her own future.
It's not that staying with them was bad; in fact, it was something many people dreamed of. But it also meant that Alice's future was already set in stone.
"But isn't the future of most witches just a few templates?"
For Alice, whether she took over Albert's connections and joined the Ministry of Magic, became a famous merchant with Daphne, or tried to be a homemaker, none of these options were as appealing as staying.
So, she wanted to fight for herself.
Whether it was the pursuit of knowledge or the desire for eternal youth.
Katrina watched Alice's retreating back and suddenly asked, "Do you think Albert will agree?"
"Probably... he will!"
Isabella had confidence in Albert. She got up from the beach chair and took over Sophia's swimming lesson, giving the father and daughter some space.
"Alice, I'm almost learning to swim."
Sophia pouted, looking at the two who had left. She had finally gotten the chance to be taught by Albert alone.
"Seems like too much admiration isn't always a good thing."
Isabella sighed inwardly, watching her youngest daughter and mimicking Albert's teaching method to guide Sophia in swimming.
As for Alice's problem, Albert would definitely handle it.
In fact, when the father and daughter returned from their walk, Alice looked visibly happier.
According to the law of conservation of happiness, if someone is happy, someone else will be unhappy.
"Are we leaving tomorrow? But I haven't learned to swim yet." Sophia looked visibly unhappy.
"Yes, we're going to France tomorrow."
Louise was in a good mood, planning to visit her son on the way.
"Are we going to listen to Miss Yanira's concert?"
Alice stroked her old cat, Old Tom, who had lived for over twenty years and was still alive and well.
"I remember you used to love her music."
"That was before. I don't like it anymore", Sophia said indignantly. "I didn't know Yanira was Dad's lover."
Alice glanced at the adults, noticing that no one seemed to care about this.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing her daughter's gaze, Isabella asked, puzzled.
"Aren't you upset?" Alice whispered.
"Not at all. Talented men are irresistibly attractive to most women", Isabella said calmly. "When Alice has someone she likes..."
"I think they’re leagues behind Dad." Alice knew that quite a few boys had a crush on her, like the little brat from the Potter family, her father’s nominal godson, who often invited her and her siblings over for dinner when they stayed at Avalon.
But to Alice, those boys were all just a bunch of kids!
So, it was really hard for her to develop any romantic feelings for them.
Alice figured her mother must have felt the same way back then; otherwise, how could she have fallen for a first-year student!
"I think if you keep this up, you might never find a boyfriend", Katrina said, handing freshly squeezed coconut juice to Ian, who had just returned with his surfboard. "Don’t end up as flirtatious as Albert."
"Ian’s relationship with Viktoria is very stable, and I only like her. We’ve already decided to get married after we graduate", Ian felt his mother’s worries were entirely unnecessary. He didn’t have the same charm as Albert, nor did he possess that mysterious quality.
Moreover, Ian believed that his father’s numerous affairs were partly due to Isabella’s deliberate indulgence.
As Albert often put it: “Better to let it flow than to block it.”
"I think you guys should worry more about Alice", Ian couldn’t help but chime in. "If she keeps this up, she might end up like Catherine and Valeria, living with their best friends. I think Daphne wouldn’t mind doing that."
Alice shot Ian a fierce glare, making him shrink back and stop gossiping.
Soon, Albert and the house-elf Kara brought a grill and a lot of ingredients from the boat. They planned to stay on the beach and have a barbecue that night.
As the night breeze picked up, the family gathered around the campfire, enjoying the grilled skewers and chatting about interesting topics.
Amidst laughter and conversation, the night grew deeper.
The next morning, they used the Floo Network to travel from the fireplace in their French villa. Louise planned to return home and pick up her son Matthew.
Matthew was a boy around Ian’s age, and perhaps due to his partial Veela heritage, his delicate features were even more handsome.
During the trip to Yanira’s European tour concert, everyone got along well, and Alice believed this was partly because Albert treated all his children equally. (Alice thought Albert must have met Matthew privately quite often.)
However, Yanira’s concert no longer gave Alice the same feeling as before. After the concert, Alice successfully helped Daphne get an autograph and unexpectedly met her half-sister, Irina.
Irina was a pale-skinned girl with a porcelain-like delicacy.
But the little girl seemed a bit shy.
To give the children a chance to get to know each other, the Andersons decided to stay in France for a few more days. (Alice thought Albert just wanted to spend more time with Yanira.)
During their stay, they visited a highly-recommended French restaurant, where the dishes were a hit with the children. Later, Albert took everyone to see a Muggle movie, which seemed to make the initially shy Irina more lively.
However, the children seemed to enjoy the thrilling Quidditch matches more.
So, they all agreed to watch the next World Cup together.
During a casual conversation, Matthew mentioned something.
The three major European magic schools seemed to be planning to hold the Triwizard Tournament again!
"Headmistress Maxime hinted at this to me. She seems to think I might be Beauxbatons’ champion."
As Albert’s son, Matthew, though not as talented as Alice, was still a renowned genius at Beauxbatons.
This made Headmistress Maxime believe he had a good chance of helping the school win, putting a lot of pressure on Matthew. He knew all too well how formidable his half-sister was.
A talent even their stepfather acknowledged.
"Are you going to participate?" Matthew asked tentatively.
"I don’t know, but by the time you’re old enough to compete, I’ll probably have graduated from Hogwarts." (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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