In Ileya’s memories, her second brother was quite the imposing figure when they were kids!
That must have been… around six or seven years old.
In her impression, her second brother was already quite tall back then, at least a full head taller than her eldest brother Oz.
He was the most upright and striking of the three siblings in their childhood!
She remembered one time when they went out to play near the castle.
She had been picking on some other kids, but with her tiny arms and legs, she was no match for them.
Just as she was about to be “counterattacked”… her second brother descended like a divine warrior, arriving just in time to save the day and beating those brats to a pulp!
From that moment on, he had planted a seed of admiration deep in the young girl’s heart.
It felt like as long as her second brother was around, no one could ever beat her!
So… young Ileya, compared to her wooden eldest brother who was always buried in books and training, much preferred clinging to this amazing second brother!
But… that impression gradually faded with time.
A large part of it was because Ileya no longer needed a helper when she bullied others.
Because as mentioned before, all the peers who grew up with Ileya had been taught a lesson by her, and even after being bullied, their parents would drag them over to apologize to the young lady.
It was around the time Ileya gradually lost all her friends and was branded with the title [Bloodblossom Demon]…
That Shire also suffered the greatest blow of his life.
At some point, he realized that his body… seemed to have stopped developing.
The height of one meter sixty that looked so imposing when he was little gradually went from towering to petite…
And at the same time… aside from his hair, this second young master had not a single strand of hair anywhere—not on his face, not under his arms.
When he was younger it wasn’t so bad, but by the time he was fourteen or fifteen, Shire—who had no youthful stubble on his face, whose features were too delicate and refined, whose skin was too fair and smooth, and who was dead last in height—…
had completely become what others called a “tomboy.”
This also turned “Big Shire,” a nickname he’d had since childhood, into a genuine joke.
Even now, at sixteen, Shire still hadn’t grown any taller.
This matter… dealt a heavy blow to this second young master and was the main reason he became a “homebody.”
Although he looked stubborn and could be quite fierce at times, in reality… Shire was extremely sensitive and somewhat insecure.
And of course, because of this personality, combined with how they’d always been together as kids…
Shire was the only one among the three males in the family who would actually argue and bicker with Ileya.
“You! We just got back and you already want to pick a fight with me?!” Shire’s face was red with anger.
What he hated most was others referring to him with feminine terms!!
“Of course not.” Ileya pursed her lips, waved her hand, and turned around.
“While you were all gone… I… actually kind of missed you guys…”
Huh?
That remark from the young lady wasn’t loud, but it once again left the three of them frozen in place.
Phew! The girl turned around again, a hint of blush spreading across her fair cheeks… She extended her jade-like slender thumb and index finger, pinching a… very small gesture.
“Just this much. Don’t flatter yourselves!”
Pfft!
Grosset was the first to laugh, followed by the other two sharing knowing smiles.
It felt like… Yaya had grown up a bit more than before?
Mm… just… a tiny bit?
But… the father and sons all simultaneously ignored the commoners’ praise of Ileya from just moments ago.
At this moment, there was only one thought in their minds.
Coming home… really is wonderful.
Anyway~
The esteemed Marquis [Grosset Batios] returned to his loyal Crystal Capital.
And this ice-cold Marquis, who remained stone-faced even when the King himself told jokes…
What was the first thing he did upon returning at this critical moment?
That’s right! It was tidying up… his appearance, then going to find his wife!
“Phew…” The stern Uncrowned King of the East took a deep breath.
Those crimson eyes that always seemed to contain flecks of ice were now rippling with a hint of spring water…
After adjusting his already immaculate collar, Grosset, holding a large bouquet of White Belias in his hands, strode into the garden where Shuderian was.
The slightly nervous look on his face… was completely unlike the Marquis who, just a couple days ago at the royal ball, had stood alone with a glass of wine and turned down fourteen noble ladies in a row.
“Lian! I’m back…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the expression on the man’s face rapidly stiffened, turning into something resembling petrification.
For there, in what should have been a picturesque and fragrant garden… it seemed to have been transformed into an open-air gymnasium…
And his gentle, delicate wife—who had always been soft and frail—was currently… wearing a tight tank top and super short shorts, a red headband tied around her forehead, lying on a strange bench, raising a barbell with iron plates on both ends above her chest.
This… Looking at the muscles already beginning to take shape on Lady Shuderian’s arms, Grosset felt like he…
Had he walked into the wrong place?
Was this still his own home? Why… was his wife, who used to pant heavily after running just two steps and was soft and fragile, lifting iron plates in the garden??
“Whoosh—!” Letting out a long breath, Lady Shuderian set the barbell down and looked toward where the sound had come from.
“Darling?!”
In an instant, Shuderian’s light blue eyes lit up!
Her gaze was filled with joy…
Ahem! Although the way she appeared felt a bit off, this was indeed his wife!
Whoosh!!
Grosset adjusted his expression and smoothly caught his wife as she flung herself at him, pulling her into his embrace.
After the two of them cuddled for a while, the Marquis looked at the exercise equipment in the yard with some confusion.
“What are these things? Have the noble ladies of the East Capital stopped drinking tea… and started getting into these instead?”
“Huh? Ah… no, that’s not it. This was designed for me by a girl named Holly, one of Yaya’s companions. She said it could help exercise the body more systematically… um… dear, do you know what [systematically] means?”
Hearing his wife’s words, Grosset was also completely baffled.
“It might be some young people’s slang. But Lian, what made you think of starting to exercise?”
“Well, you see…”
Since Yaya already knew, there was no need for her to keep it a secret anymore.
So the two sat in the empty garden, and Shuderian told her husband, little by little, everything that had happened while Grosset was away.
And so, the two chatted from afternoon until evening, with the Marquis constantly sighing and pondering throughout…
“So the real history… was like that?”
“Your family, the Sereton Family, is actually descended from the Risereton Family… the legendary Saint Witch…”
“So that’s what happened with Aleris… sigh…”
“But still… Yaya’s changes are truly remarkable…”
Grosset stroked his chin as he marveled.
“That’s because you all left! My Yaya… wants to protect me.”
Lady Shuderian hugged her knees like a little girl who hadn’t grown up, a content smile on her face as she swayed her body side to side.
Watching his smug wife, the Marquis couldn’t help but smile gently.
“Hehe~ Indeed, in the blink of an eye, even Yaya has grown up…”
The couple leaned against each other, and Shuderian summoned her courage…
“Hey, dear…”
“Hm?” Grosset tilted his head, looking at his wife beside him.
Those clear blue eyes of hers… after all these years, they seemed to have never changed.
Clear as a mountain spring in a secluded valley… completely without impurity.
“There’s something, um… actually two things, I want to tell you…”
Shuderian was being unusually shy and hesitant, which Grosset found… rather novel.
She first told him about Reliel.
“Is that child… doing well?” Grosset’s expression was complicated.
He had witnessed that night’s events firsthand, and he also knew… that his second daughter was no ordinary girl.
Based on what Yaya had investigated before, their decision back then had been the right one.
If the royal family ever learned of Reliel’s existence, no matter how hard he fought back, he might not be able to protect her.
It was just… as parents, they truly had failed.
Even if there were reasons for it… they were still inexcusable.
Neither of them brought up the matter of having Reliel return to the family name.
Because now wasn’t the right time. Although Grosset could raise an army to pressure the royal family into grudgingly tolerating it…
But what about afterward?
The trouble would be endless. Such a selfish act would only harm her.
Right now, staying by Yaya’s side was the best choice for their youngest daughter. As for formally reclaiming Lili…
Perhaps they should wait for a more appropriate opportunity.
“Speaking of which… since Lili was affected by the [Saint Witch] bloodline, what about you and Yaya…”
Grosset truly lived up to his title as Marquis—his mind was sharp enough to connect the dots almost instantly.
“This is actually the second thing I wanted to tell you… the truth is, I’ve also been affected by the Saint Witch bloodline.”
“What?!” Grosset shot to his feet instantly, his eyes wide as he stared at his wife, who was playfully sticking her tongue out at him.
“Then… are you alright?! Can your body really withstand transcendent power right now? Why did it suddenly awaken? Do you feel anything wrong? Wait, I’ll go find someone right now…”
The Marquis rarely lost his composure, pacing around like a headless fly, completely at a loss.
Phew! It was Lady Shuderian who stood up and forcibly pressed the frantic Grosset back into his seat.
“I know you’re worried! But hear me out first!”
Looking at the Marquis, who was as nervous as a young lad, Lady Shuderian smiled helplessly.
“About this matter… Yaya has actually already helped me resolve it…”
Then, she didn’t mention the pain she’d endured every day before. She only said that an old man named Arthur, whom Ileya had brought back, could suppress the bloodline within her body.
The reason she was exercising was also Yaya’s idea, to strengthen her physique and build a body capable of bearing transcendent power.
“Hm… that’s true, it’s one way.” By now, Grosset had calmed down, though his voice still trembled slightly as he spoke.
He would never… leave Lian for such a long time again.
Yaya had managed to resolve the matter for now. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if Lian had gotten hurt while he was away…
What he might have done, or what kind of despair he would have faced.
Thankfully… nothing had happened to any of his family.
Truly, thank the Supreme God… no, it should be, thank his daughter.