Chapter: 637
Among my children, there’s one who stands out—like a lone cookie at a cookie jar convention.
Now, Pedi’s the exception since he’s practically the Crown Princess’s personal playmate. Before she arrived, he zoomed around the mansion with Titi. But when the Crown Princess showed up, he’d rally the younger ones for a grand little march, full of pomp and pride. He’s far from lonely.
Maria and Cecilia can’t really be called alone either. Being twins born on the same day, they’ve got each other’s backs, darting around the mansion in search of Jangsaeng, who’s taken to hiding in every nook and cranny like a seasoned army vet.
Friedrich and Alina, on the other hand, are still too tiny to crawl and typically lounge alone in their crib. But thanks to the Crown Princess’s bright idea, they’ve begun to bond. Well, “bond” is a bit of a stretch—it’s mostly Friedrich poking Alina repeatedly.
Anyway, while Pedi, Maria, Cecilia, Friedrich, and Alina have their little pairs to play with, there’s one particular little one who often finds herself playing solo.
“Aww…”
“Did you wake up?”
That would be Katlea, the youngest among the triplets. She’s acquired the blessing of the Spirit King so effectively that she sleeps longer than all the other kids.
Even now, with her eyes still half-closed, yawn intact, Katlea remains our only little loner.
“Come here, my girl.”
“Yeah…”
Katlea, still in the grips of sleep, waddled over to me, her sleepy face melting my heart. I smiled softly as I patted her back. Sure, a wide-eyed, cheerful Katlea is adorable, but this dreamy version is just as cute.
“I really hope she digests all this blessing soon.”
Watching Katlea nuzzle against my chest, I let out a quiet sigh.
Calling Katlea a loner is a bit of an exaggeration. As soon as she wakes up, her spirited partners, Maria and Cecilia, are ready to play. And her big bro, Pedi, is always there to shower her with love.
Still, the fact that she sleeps alone while the other kids play can be detrimental to a growing toddler. At first, Maria and Cecilia wouldn’t dare leave Katlea’s side while she slept, but recently, they’ve started to wander off themselves when she’s napping.
“This is a dilemma.”
What if this trend continues? What if only the two sisters become close, while Katlea finds herself awkwardly apart from them?
Just the thought twists my heart. Imagining Katlea lonely and pretending to sleep while her sisters play brings tears to my eyes.
This catastrophe must remain purely hypothetical. If it ever became reality, I might just end up crying while holding Katlea tight.
“Two, maybe three years, right?”
As Katlea squirmed toward standing on her own, I put some thoughts in order, setting her down gently.
Fortunately, the Spirit King mentioned that Katlea’s napping phase should last 1 to 2 years. If it were 5 or 10, I’d be shaking the Spirit Kings for answers, but 2 years is manageable.
No matter how intelligent the kids are, they won’t retain memories from when they’re 3 forever. Even the most energetic child can only do so much with the tiny bodies of toddlers.
So, if Katlea sheds the “Sleeping Beauty” trait after she turns 3, then the triplets will remain united. It must happen; I have faith.
“Dad! Daddy—”
Just as I settled into my positive thoughts, Katlea, having plopped down on the floor, called for me.
“What’s wrong, our… daughter?”
And as I looked at her, my mind went completely blank.
“Look! Sparkly!”
Red and blue lights were twinkling around Katlea.
Like a bunch of fireflies!
‘What the heck is that?’
Did we even have those at home…?
I swiftly summoned Trixie, as she might know; albeit slim, there’s a chance these glowing things are a feature of the elf children.
“What’s that…?”
But Trixie stood there, blankly staring at the red and blue lights surrounding Katlea.
In fact, by the time she arrived, there were now green and yellow lights joining the mishmash, making it four colors!
“Is this your first time seeing this?”
“Uh, yeah. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Trixie mumbled with a puzzled tone.
Even Trixie, our last hope, was in the dark. I was secretly hoping she would say something like, “When elves are babies, fireflies come to be their friends!”
‘What the heck is this?’
Feeling a mix of confusion and concern, I watched the colorful lights hover near Katlea as she reached out and flung her little arms around them.
It’s baffling. They don’t seem harmful, but I can’t just leave mysterious things lingering around my child.
‘Where did these come from?’
What’s more alarming is that I wasn’t aware of these fireflies’ presence at all.
This is a personal residence of a noble and also a minister’s abode. It’s a protective home for my beloved wife and kids, and it’s a place where the Crown Princess can have fun. You’d think we would have top-notch security all around here.
And yet these things got into the mansion without anyone knowing? Unless they just spontaneously appeared out of thin air, someone let them in, and the guards missed it?
‘Is that even possible?’
Even if the guards missed it, surely one of the staff wandering around wouldn’t have. But these fireflies apparently evaded the eyes of both the guards and the servants.
It turns my stomach. Imagine if those seemingly harmless lights were harboring negative intentions! What if they encountered evil while my kids were playing in the hall or room?
‘Damn.’
My teeth clenched. First, I must figure out what these lights are and completely revamp the guard patrols around this place—
“Oh!”
A soft gasp escaped Trixie’s lips.
“Kal, doesn’t that light look familiar?”
“Huh?”
I glanced once more at the fireflies surrounding Katlea’s head.
…
Oh.
“Oh.”
Suddenly, a realization hit me. I distinctly remember seeing something like this before.
‘They’re spirits!’
On the fateful day the triplets received the Spirit King’s blessing, those adorable little spirits peeked out from the World Tree, eager to welcome Katlea, who boasts quite the affinity.
These fireflies resemble the lower-tier spirits that I saw at the World Tree. Just like the colors of the Spirit Kings, they were red, blue, green, and yellow.
‘But why are they here?’
At least I’ve confirmed the identity of the lights. They look like those spirits from the World Tree, and considering Katlea’s affinity, there’s no doubt they are indeed spirits.
But I have no idea why they’re found in our mansion when they ought to be wandering around the World Tree.
“Daddyyyy! Mammmmy!”
Just then, a slight headache rushed in, but I didn’t stay confused long.
Katlea giggled happily, with spirits resting on her head, shoulders, and hands.
“Should I go and say hi to Grandma soon?”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her adorable expressions; even Trixie couldn’t resist joining my grin.
The spirits aren’t going to harm Katlea—she’s blessed by the Spirit King. Even though it’s perplexing how these spirits ended up in our mansion, I could always just ask the Spirit Kings directly.
“…Wait, didn’t there seem to be more than before?”
“I thought there were only four earlier…”
And in the midst of all this, Katlea seemed to have doubled the spirits clinging to her.
Where are they all coming from?
A walking spirit display stand, Katlea had unknowingly become the superstar of the mansion.
“Sparkly! So cool!”
The Crown Princess, who had just descended from her mochi cloud, was now fixated on Katlea and the spirits.
Honestly, I wouldn’t blame her. Seeing colorful fireflies fluttering in the middle of the mansion—how could anyone resist? Especially when those lights are buzzing around an elf child.
“Sparkly!”
“Wow, so cool!”
Maria and Cecilia were also entranced by the spirits.
‘How phenomenal.’
The triplets and the Crown Princess—only those blessed by the Spirit Kings seem to pay this level of interest in the spirits. It’s just a marvelous coincidence!
“I want to! Can I touch them!?”
Meanwhile, the Crown Princess, her eyes sparkling with excitement, eagerly turned to Katlea.
How sweet. She’s asking for permission to touch instead of just diving in. The Crown Princess is such a naturally kind-hearted child.
“Yep. Go ahead.”
Katlea nodded cheerfully, already loving the Crown Princess as her little sister.
“Yay! Omph!”
But just as Katlea agreed, the spirits dodged the Crown Princess’s reaching hands.
It’s a familiar scene. Just like when we had those little fairies avoiding hands during the second-year school trip. It seems spirits aren’t exactly fond of people either.
“Waa! I wanna touch them!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I wanna feel them too!”
Seeing the Crown Princess flailing her arms clumsily made me chuckle.
“Your Highness, the spirits are still shy, that’s why they’re avoiding you. If you treat them like your little siblings, they’ll come to you eventually.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely! Have I ever lied to you?”
The Crown Princess’ eyes sparkled as she gazed at the spirits. Thankfully, it seems my words have convinced her.
‘In time, you’ll be able to touch them.’
Similar to fairies, spirits are family and friends for elves. It’s only natural the Crown Princess would scare them off since she’s a pure human. However, as someone blessed by the Spirit King, she’ll eventually capture their interest, no doubt about it.
That’s not just wishful thinking; it’s a certainty. The spirits swirling around Katlea, particularly the green ones akin to the Spirit King, have been sticking close to the Crown Princess.
“Do they want chocolates too!?”
“Nope! They don’t eat.”
“Aw…”
It seems forming a friendship between the Crown Princess and the spirits might take more time than expected.
I mean, I did tell her to treat them like siblings, but saying to treat them like people wasn’t part of the deal.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.