Translator: Nox

Chapter 39

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“Levon.”

Levon’s eyes widened at the sight of Kiriel entering with the two children cradled in his arms, both fast asleep in the carriage after playing outside all day.

It was unbelievable that this man, who usually avoided contact with anyone and rarely even stepped out of the Yudia ducal estate—let alone the Temple or his room—was now proactively spending his days and nights outdoors.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Levon took Allen from Kiriel and laid him down on the bed.

Kiriel placed Bunny beside him and spoke.

“I need to look into Bunny’s background.”

“Bunny’s, sir…?”

“Yeah… I need to know how she ended up at that orphanage, who she was with, who brought her there—everything possible from the time she was born until she came to the ducal family…”

Kiriel spoke in his characteristic languid voice as he took off his coat and handed it to Levon.

“I’ll check into it.”

“Good. How’s the progress?”

“It’s been neglected for so long that there’s a lot to fix, so we’re remodeling everything from the inside out. It should be usable by the end of this month.”

Kiriel nodded at Levon’s explanation as he finished undressing.

Levon glanced at Kiriel shedding his clothes, then pulled something from his inner pocket and quietly approached the bed.

Click. Click. Click.

When Kiriel turned at the sudden sound, he saw Levon taking photos of Bunny from various angles as she slept soundly, then snapping a two-shot with Allen, who was sleeping in the exact same position.

“What are you doing?”

Kiriel asked incredulously.

Levon replied without even looking at him.

“Taking pictures. Kids grow up so fast—you can only capture moments like this right now.”

“Why are you the one taking them?”

“You never take any anyway, Young Master. I was thinking of quitting because work was getting so dull, but now that you’ve got kids, it’s motivating.”

Kiriel’s brow furrowed instantly at Levon’s blunt words, delivered with an expressionless face.

He shot Levon a disbelieving glare and clicked his tongue.

“They’re my children.”

Levon paused at the out-of-nowhere declaration, blinking several times before shrugging and slipping the camera back into his inner pocket.

“You haven’t gotten custody yet.”

“I’ll head to the Imperial Palace soon and go through the adoption process.”

“What if I go to the Imperial Palace first and handle the adoption myself?”

“Are you trying to die?”

“No.”

Levon shrugged impassively, unfazed even by Kiriel’s icy tone.

“Still, you look good like this. At first, I thought, ‘What does this hopeless guy know about parenting, strutting around like that?’…”

“Levon. Your tongue’s not just light—it’s flying around. You really want to die, huh…?”

“Whoa, no thanks. Eek. Scary~”

Levon’s expressionless face belied any real sense of danger or emotion as he raised his voice to a soprano pitch.

Kiriel’s face grew cold.

“But… I’ve changed my mind a bit now. It seems people can change when they meet someone. It must be some grand fate that Bunny chose you, of all people, that day—instead of me.”

“You believe in fate now?”

“No. Just trying to sound dramatic.”

“……”

Kiriel waved him off with a tired expression.

Levon was also a member of the Yudia ducal family’s branch line. He had grown up with Kiriel in the House of Trials, almost like childhood friends.

While others avoided Kiriel, finding him creepy, unpleasant, and ominous, Levon would approach with his usual blank, emotionless face, brazenly pour out whatever he wanted to say, and then leave once he was done.

He’d always been the my-pace type, then and now.

“Go wash up and get out. I’m going straight to bed.”

“Yes. Oh, right. An invitation came for Bunny from the Imperial Palace.”

“Invitation?”

“Yes. They wanted to express their gratitude and asked her to visit once she’s recovered… It was personally written by the Crown Prince himself, and sent by imperial courier from the Emperor. What should we do?”

Kiriel narrowed his eyes at Levon’s words.

If he had his way, he wouldn’t let her go. She’d just get dragged into some pointless mess.

But…

“I’ll ask Bunny. If she wants to go, she goes. If not, she doesn’t.”

“Oh.”

“Something to say…?”

Levon picked up on the faint irritation in Kiriel’s voice, which had grown even more languid with exhaustion.

“I figured you’d say no. You hate getting caught up in storms, Young Master.”

“Bunny seems to like thrills.”

Kiriel snorted at Levon’s remark.

“And…”

Kiriel slowly lowered his gaze.

“I think parents should be guides for their children, not controllers. I’ll let them go where they want. If it’s dangerous, I’ll shield them and explain why they should stop.”

“……”

“I want these kids to do what they want, whatever that is… I want to give them options, not just the single path they’re handed at birth.”

There was a strange resolve in his languid voice—one Levon hadn’t heard in a long time.

With his shirt off, he walked leisurely over and lightly stroked the children’s hair.

“Your mindset makes you a fine parent—at least in heart. How long it’ll last is another question.”

“…What?”

“Kids don’t always go as planned. Even controlling parents have their reasons.”

Kiriel glared at him disapprovingly, and Levon bowed politely before backing away.

“I’ll take my leave.”

“Make sure you look into what I told you properly.”

“Yes.”

“And give me my photos too.”

Thud.

The door closed without a reply.

Kiriel clicked his tongue lowly. The guy he’d grown up with since childhood handled work perfectly, but the problem was he had zero fear of Kiriel.

After heading to the bathroom for a wash, Kiriel lay down on the bed where the children slept.

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“The left side’s open! Don’t break the formation! Are you trying to die?!”

Klein Yudia barked fiercely.

In the dark dungeon depths, the endlessly stretching path plunged into unknown depths.

“…Tch, how far does this go?”

They’d supposedly conquered to the innermost depths, but it was all bullshit. They’d just gotten lost.

The imperial subjugation team had only skimmed the surface before pulling out.

“That’s why I told them not to try subjugating without us so many times! Tch.”

The imperial side could claim all the byproducts, relics, and artifacts from the dungeons they cleared.

But if the Yudia ducal family joined, the imperials had to split everything half-and-half.

That was why they occasionally formed their own subjugation teams for these dungeons.

But what was a dungeon, really?

To put it bluntly, a den of demonic beasts and monsters.

And the power most effective against such creatures was holy power—the very reason the Holy Knight Order was dispatched so often to places like this.

Thus, most subjugations were handled by the Yudia ducal family, either in cooperation with the imperials or solo.

‘The imperials must have their reasons for forcing this one too.’

Klein Yudia clicked his tongue.

That was when it happened.

Sparkle!

The crystal in his hand suddenly glowed.

They’d finally reached some deep, unknown part of the dungeon, and now the crystal was reacting.

As faint light seeped from the crystal, Klein Yudia let out a rough breath, wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, and narrowed his eyes.

Haha.

A mix of ecstasy crossed Klein’s face as he let out a small chuckle.

“Looks like my prospective nephew’s pulled off another one.”

Staring at the dim light rising from the crystal, Klein murmured softly.