Chapter: 618
After offering prayers to Konstantina in the species protection zone and proving he wasn’t a loner up north, Tannian returned to the capital.
Just like it was polite to welcome the pilgrimage group into the empire, it was only right for them to be sent off as well.
“How was your pilgrimage in the empire? Was there anything lacking?”
“Thanks to your guidance and His Majesty’s kindness, it was an unparalleled pilgrimage.”
“Ha ha, that’s a relief.”
But unlike the warm welcome led by Ainter among the royals, this send-off had the emperor himself taking the lead.
Tannian had conducted worship directly in the capital last year, even offering prayers at the two pagan holy sites within the empire. From the emperor’s perspective, Tannian was enhancing the empire’s authority and stability. Thus, it was necessary to express appropriate gratitude and sincerity.
And the emperor stood alongside his beloved Crown Princess, thereby signaling utmost sincerity.
“Your Highness, our friends from the empire are leaving, so let’s send them off together.”
“Wung!”
The Crown Princess, nestled in the emperor’s arms, looked around with eyes full of curiosity and then raised a hand proudly.
“Bye! Come visit again!”
Her greeting was far from dignified or polite. However, nobody in the pilgrimage group felt offended or awkward.
“We too look forward to seeing you again, Your Highness.”
They were simply pleased by the bright and innocent farewell from the young child.
What a heartwarming scene it was. Normally, the powers of the secular world and the church collide, but since the days of the Great Emperor Amanca, the Kefellofen Empire has maintained a friendly relationship with the Dawn Sect. Thanks to this, it was possible for the mini Crown Princess and the next saint to exchange cheerful greetings.
“May your future be filled with divine grace.”
“Wung?”
Tannian, gazing at the Crown Princess for a moment, gently pinched her cheek.
It was a grave misstep to lay hands upon royal blood—especially the heir to the throne—but rather than being angry, the emperor smiled and looked pleased.
The one he touched was the next saint, after all. Plus, it was a touch meant to bless the Crown Princess.
“Thank you until the very end.”
“It’s only fitting for a dear friend of the sect.”
When I echoed something the emperor had said, he responded with an even wider smile.
“Then, dear brother, I pray we can meet again someday.”
Then Tannian approached me, offering a handshake for our farewell.
“Oh, could you also send my regards to Brother Erich and Sister Louise?”
“Of course. Don’t worry, travel safely.”
“Thank you.”
With those words, Tannian turned away.
Who knew when we would see each other again? It might be our last meeting.
But we had already talked numerous times over the past year, both at the grand cathedral and just recently at the species protection zone. There was no point in having regrets now.
‘…No way we won’t meet again.’
Besides, Tannian was the next saint, while I was a living blessed. Given that we had such a religious event, it was inevitable we’d cross paths again.
Frankly speaking, it wouldn’t be strange to meet again next year.
*
A few weeks had passed since Tannian left.
A few weeks might seem like an instant in our lives, but an enormous event erupted during that brief period.
“Da-da!”
“Yay! Daddy’s here!”
“Daddy! Daddy!”
The triplets toddled towards me, continuously calling for “Daddy.”
“Ooof…!”
“Good job! Come on, let’s cheer on Cecilia too!”
Cecilia, still getting the hang of walking, was burning with determination as she watched her older sister glide along effortlessly.
“Ar-whoof…!”
Meanwhile, Katlea, who had been sauntering behind Cecilia, plopped down and yawned.
In just a few weeks, the triplets were all up and walking on their own. And they did so almost simultaneously, as if they had coordinated it.
‘Is this heaven?’
The sight of angelic little ones waddling around flapping their ears truly resembled a heavenly scene.
Even if they were skilled walkers, one’s still clumsy, and another finds sleeping more important than walking, what did that matter? They all began to walk, which is the same in the end.
“Da-da!”
“Whoa, you’ve made it all the way over here already.”
As Maria walked straight towards me and climbed into my arms with a beaming smile, it filled my heart with warmth.
It seemed the eldest was quick to learn. She was the fastest among the three, whether it be walking or talking.
“Well done, our eldest.”
I gave Maria a light peck on the cheek, causing her to burst into giggles.
“Abuaa!”
Just then, Cecilia, cautiously approaching from behind, lit up with curious eyes and crawled her way over.
A brilliant strategy; if walking wouldn’t get her anywhere, she’d stick to what she excelled at.
“You’ve worked hard too, Cecilia.”
“Wung!”
After gently kissing Cecilia’s cheek, she too began to smile brightly.
Now, where was our youngest…?
“…Asleep?”
Katlea, who I swore was awake just a moment ago, had somehow ended up lying on the floor, enjoying a nap.
I gazed at Katlea for a while, and cautiously set Maria and Cecilia down before picking up our sleeping beauty.
Though she chose sleep over Daddy’s embrace for now, I believed that once she woke up, she’d come bounding over with a beaming face. All my daughters love their daddy!
“Daddy! Daddy!”
“Ahhh! Oh no!”
In that very moment, Maria and Cecilia, abandoned on the floor, reached out their arms towards me, babbling as if to ask for another hug.
I could hug them plenty, but alas,
‘Oh no.’
At that moment, a communication tool tucked in my pocket began to glow, forcing me to pull my arms back.
With my arms retreating, I sat in front of my now pouting daughters and took out the communication tool. No matter what the matter was, it couldn’t be more important than time with my girls, but it was necessary to at least know the reason.
“Is that you, Mother?”
However, from the other end of the communication tool, my mother’s worn visage showed up.
“Ueheeeeng!”
She sounded like a mighty warrior about to conquer the world, her loud wailing echoing.
“…”
“…”
“C-Can I visit Teresa just this once?”
“Of course.”
My mother didn’t explain the purpose of her call, but that was fine. There are some things that don’t need stating.
‘She must be struggling.’
For her to send a rescue request to her eldest son from behind the scenes…
Seeing her dark circles made me nearly tear up.
It would break my heart to tear my eyes away from my sparkling daughters, yet I had no choice; Grandma was sending an SOS, after all.
Of course, there was a way to take my girls along to show them off to Grandma, but dragging my other children to visit a mother overwhelmed with babysitting wasn’t the best idea.
So, I sacrificed my strategic weapon: our youngest, Jangsaeng.
“AAAACK! Why! Why always me!”
Jangsaeng, the heavenly tank absorbing all attention that had previously been focused on me.
I’ll never forget the agonizing wails of the Jangsaeng, who sacrificed himself for the sake of my mom and me. You’re the reason we’re all happy.
“It’s been a while since we’ve all seen each other.”
Thanks to the sacrifice of a blessed one, we safely arrived in Tailglehen. I should only feed Jangsaeng good food from now on.
“L-Lord!”
“Oh goodness, Lord! Why did you arrive so late?!”
The knights and attendants rushed towards me in disheveled appearances.
I was a little startled. Though they weren’t people who would harm me, they appeared like they’d just risen from the dead; somewhere between zombies and humans.
“What happened?”
“W-Well…”
After calming down the half-zombie crowd, the knights just kept flapping their mouths, while the attendants stared silently at the floor.
“Is it because of Teresa?”
The knights barely nodded at my question.
Teresa was my sister, the youngest daughter of the former house lord, and two of my siblings were still alive. Surely the knights serving the Krasius family wouldn’t dare to say, “We’re losing it because of Lady Teresa!”
That’s why I was even more worried. The more loyal they were to the family, the more they’d patiently calm her down, no matter how exhausting she became. They wouldn’t dare show signs of fatigue in front of me. Yet here they were, running to me in distress.
After all, Teresa was still a baby under six months old. How on earth is she managing to exhaust the knights?
“…She’s truly living up to the Krasius family name. She’s probably going to follow the path that you and Brother Erich took.”
The steward’s indirect report made me chuckle wryly.
Though it was nicely wrapped up, ultimately, it meant her overwhelming energy and shrieking cries were turning the knights and attendants’ sanity to dust. She must be quite the screamer.
…
Hold on a minute.
“By the way, where’s the nursemaid? Surely, she’d take care of Teresa as well?”
Now that I thought about it, I didn’t see the nursemaid among the knights. Even though she was supposed to be with the attendants, she was someone who always had to join them whenever they moved.
“The maid is with the lady and the matriarch… but…”
The steward, looking cautious, let out a deep sigh and continued.
“The matriarch and the maid have been with Lady Teresa all day, and that’s how things have turned out.”
I was left speechless by the unexpected revelation.
The experienced nursemaid, who raised my siblings, and my mother, overflowing with love for her daughter—all of that, and the situation had spiraled out of control?
“Where’s Father?”
“I haven’t seen him around for quite a while.”
In the meantime, it seemed Father had retreated to a secret place.
‘You chose present comfort over future suffering, huh?’
How bad must the present be to prompt such an escape…
“Alright, I’ll lend a hand. It’d be better for my dear sister to see her big brother often, after all.”
“Th-Thank you…”
At my words, the steward and the knights bowed deeply.
At this point, I was getting a bit scared. Just what hellish game was our little angel playing?
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