“Daddy makes my heart feel so warm,” the little girl said early to the Lord of Earth. “I love daddy so much, but sometimes, he is always w and not pying with me, how he do this to me?”

  “Is he always w?” Stokmar asked, sipping the sour wine, recalling who Rajin was, not upon seeing him, but upon tasting the alcohol.

  “Always w,” the girl replied, letting out a long sigh, running her fihrough her hair, utterly exasperated. “Daddy thinks I will five him because he is so handsome…” The girl blinked, rubbing her forehead, as though a worried mother. “Just this once.”

  Adam could feel the heaviness within his heart lighten. Seeing his daughter so fortable, even if it was due to someone else, brought him a joy. As long as his daughter and so better, it didn’t matter to him that it was because of a stranger.

  “Your father is… handsome?” Stokmar asked.

  “Daddy is so handsome,” Jirot replied, nodding her head sagely. “He is handsome, because he is my daddy.”

  “Mummy is beautiful too…” Little Jarot added.

  “So bootiful!” Jirot agreed with greater passion. “How she be so bootiful?”

  ‘Should I take them both as my own?’ Stokmar thought. ‘I should destroy the Order aurn to take them.’ Lord Stokmar thought of destroying the Order as if they were about to go for a stroll. Of course, Lord Stokmar was the Lord of Earth. ‘I will have to do it soon, in the few years, otherwise they’ll die of old age before I get my revenge.’

  “Mummy,” little Jarot called, before climbing down to make his way to his mother, who stood with some effort. Jirot also peeked up at her mother, pletely shirking the Lord of Earth.

  “Mummy o… pray.”

  “I go pray too?” Jarot asked, holding his mother’s hand.

  “Okay. Let’s go pray and bathe, shall we?”

  “It is not bath time, mummy,” Jirot said.

  “I would like to bathe,” Vonda replied. “Shall we bathe together?”

  “Okay!” Jirot held her mother’s free hand.

  “Don’t you want to talk to Lord Stokmar?” Adam asked.

  “If they wish to leave for a week or two, it does not matter,” Stokmar replied, before noting the look from the half elf. “Days?”

  “Jirot, Jarot…” Adam gowards his twins, who stared up at their father expetly. Adam wasn’t sure what to say to their adorable faces. “Make sure mummy is fortable, okay?”

  “I do it!” Jirot assured, before helping her mother away. Sonarot also followed, while Mirot remained with the Lord of Earth. She o remain here since her father remained, even if he was sitting in the er talking with Rajin.

  “Is that young woman their mother?” Stokmar asked.

  “She is,” Adam replied. “She’s my wife, Ray Vonda.”

  ‘Ray?’ Stokmar thought deeply. “Of White Rose?”

  “Life’s…” Adam paused. “Yes, I mean, no, it’s Life’s Rose.”

  “They worship the Mother?”

  “They do.”

  ‘Soza, wasn’t it?’ Stokmar closed their eyes, feeling the vibrations through the Iyr, of the nearby Iyrmen, that of the young woman, who was sidered old within the Iyr, as well as the number of, what did the Iyr call them? Grandmasters? However, it was that presehat bothered the Lord of Earth most.

  “I was blessed in this life to have such a beautiful wife, and such adorable children,” Adam said. “Even my brother is so handsome.”

  “…” Stokmar’s eyes fell down to the triplets to one side. Stokmar could definitely sense a familiarity with the triplets, although they were Adam’s by blood, the other half of the children were of that particur family. “Are all your children Iyrmen?”

  “We have yet to discuss the details, but for now, yes.”

  “Do you covet more from the Iyr?”

  “It’s not like that, it’s just… it’s not my decision to make.”

  “If not yours, then whose?”

  “I o discuss it with my wife, once my you is born.”

  “Are you worried for your unborn child?” Stokmar asked, suddenly feeling the intense pressure from the nearby Iyrmen, though not from the one who threatehe Lord of Earth most. “The child seems very healthy.”

  Adam stared at the Lord of Earth. ‘Just what kind of senses do you have?’ “Thank you for letting me know.”

  “Those children, Jirot and Jarot-,” Stan.

  “Lord Stokmar,” called one of the few voices who dared to interrupt the Lord of Earth. “Will you greet my son too?”

  Stokmar’s eyes fell to Jurot, before they dropped down to the boy, who stirred to life within his father’s arms. “What was his name?”

  “Damrot, son of Jurot,” Jurot stated firmly, his eyes remaining glued to the Lord of Earth. “He is my son, and he is the you cousin of my nied nephew.”

  “…” Lord Stokmar could hear it. There were few who could show such audacity to the likes of the Lord of Earth, and among them was the Iyr, which embraced death so eagerly. ‘I didn’t expect your children to st this long.’

  “Lanarot, do you wish to speak with Lord Stokmar too?” Jurot asked.

  “I do it?” Lanarot asked, her face lighting up. She rushed over to the Lord of Earth so fearlessly, eager to tell them of her family’s tales.

  Stokmar remai the estate, allowing the Iyrmen to speak with them. Such a time was only the blink of ao them, who had lived a life lohan any of them, including the crimson serpent who watched from afar.

  Stokmar wasn’t the only figure who wished to speak with the twins, as anure appeared during the noonval festival.

  “Jarot! Jirot!” the Iyrman called, dropping down to his knees as he embraced them both to his chest. He had doffed his armour while returning to the Main Iyr so he could bring them close to his chest. “I missed you so much.”

  “Baba!” the pair replied, ing their arms around Jogak.

  The Iyrman clutched the children close to his chest, not letting up for anyone. He could feel the warmth of their cheeks against his own, smell the st of the Iyr’s oils, ahe breaths of their giggles. Even now, he hoped that everything was but a dream. Perhaps he had been drinking too much? Did his memories fail him? ‘My Jarot! My Jirot!’

  Meanwhile, the pair of demons watched from behind, waiting for their turn.

  “You guys are back?” Adam asked, reag out to shake Lucy’s forearm, doing the same for Mara.

  “Yeah…” Lucy replied awkwardly, gng at the children, who were smiling so much for their grandu didn’t seem like they had been killed, but sidering the fact that Jogak had dared to threaten the Front Iyr Elder in order to return quickly, it definitely meant something had happened. ‘He’s…’

  Mara noticed the children wore their clothies once more, the woman closing her eyes, crossing her hands over her navel as she began to meditate, trying to calm herself.

  “I have brought you both gifts!” Jogak said, smiling wide, reag into his robes, drawing out a pair of daggers, eaall, the bde barely a finger’s length, the handle almost as long. They were sheathed within some simple leather, but as Jogak pulled the bde out, he revealed the patterns upoal. “Meteorite daggers, fed in Damikus by a Master Smith! I bought it for you!”

  The twins remained focused upotern of the bde, and the colours which swirled all through the bde.

  “What do you say to baba?” Adam asked.

  Jirot and Jarot both snapped out of it upon hearing their father’s voice. “Thank you!”

  “You do not o thank me!” Jogak sheathed the bdes and strapped the belts around their waist and their thigh, allowing the children to wear the belts for that day. “You ot py with the daggers, okay?”

  “Okay…” Jirot replied back, staring up at her baba.

  Jogak undid the belts. “I will give the dagger to yrandmother to watch over them, okay?”

  “Okay.” The girl pouted, almost defeating Jogak, but she was quickly distracted as the Iyrman lifted the twins up, embrag them once more.

  “You must thank kako too, because she paid for the daggers with the money she earned,” Jogak informed, keeping the twins close to his chest.

  “Okay!”

  Jogak’s eyes darted around, w where his fool of a daughter was. ‘How could you leave the two of them after they were…’

  Lucy had seen it a few times. She had seen it when Jogak had forced them to tio work. She had seen it when Jogak had found the bdes. She had seen it when Jogak threatehe Front Iyr Elder, ready to die. Jogak, who was certainly one of the weaker Iyrmen among his peers, and was sidered with a touch of foolishness, was an Iyrman too.

  “They really…?” Lucy whispered.

  “Yeah,” Adam replied, allowing the woman to think in her silence. “Some time month, my Xirot or Xarot is going to be born.”

  “Okay,” Lucy replied, having not heard that the named had been ged either.

  Jogak eventually surrehe twins, uanding he wasn’t the only one who had worried for them. He crossed his hands behind his back, trying to calm himself. He threw a look to Adam, before approag the half elf, pg a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently, before doing the same for Vonda. He wasn’t sure what to say even after thinking on his words for the entire month, so only squeezed their shoulders.

  “Lucy!” Jirot hugged her tight, while Mara held her brother.

  “Jirot!” Lucy replied, holding the girl close. “Did you bully your daddy?”

  “I did not! I did not!” The girl replied, huffing.

  “Why not?”

  Jirot blinked. “Daddy is always w, how I bully?”

  “You’re right! It’s all his fault!” Lucy held the girl close to her chest, brushing the back of her hair, as the tears slipped out.

  Mara held Jarot close to her chest too, brushing along his cheek tenderly, feeling how light the boy had bee. She threw a look to the side, noting Lokat, the Shaman, was around. ‘Jarot.’

  “If you want, you bully me all you want, okay?” Lucy said. “Since you’re the Demon Lord!”

  “Yes!” Jirot hugged Lucy tighter.

  Jogak caught his aunt’s eyes, and upon seeing her shake her head, he gnced away. He ched his fists together. ‘You ot deny me my rights, aunt.’

  Lavgak noted how tense her husband had bee, pg her own hand upon his. “Okay?”

  “Okay,” the Iyrman replied, still feeling the heat of the rage within him. He rested his jaw against his fist, digging it hard against his jaw as the anger tio radiate through him like an inferno. His eyes darted to the side to Larot, who was snoozing away so peacefully.

  “Daddy is always w, how I bully?”

  This is as funny as it is sad...