Now known as Duke Delacroix, Zen had taken on the role of uncle to Lumiere, showering her with extravagant gifts from the time she was an infant.

Thankfully, Zen’s wife, Shelbery, adores Lumiere. Otherwise, it could have led to some awkward situations. It’s somewhat unusual for a husband to spend so lavishly on someone else’s daughter, not even his own niece.

“I can’t wait to see Auntie Shelbery.”

“You should say Duchess Delacroix.”

“But Auntie Shelbery told me to call her Auntie.”

“…”

This wasn’t just Zen’s problem anymore. Shelbery also seemed to excessively dote on Lumiere. It’s as if our daughter had a charm that enchanted people.

“Auntie Shelbery said that when she has a son, she wants him to marry Lumiere.”

“That’s not happening.”

Before I could respond, Theodore flatly refused. His eyes narrowed in a sinister way.

“Shelbery Delacroix is up to her nonsense again…”

“Theo, mind your language in front of the child.”

As Theodore grumbled menacingly, he promptly closed his mouth. He quickly softened his expression and turned to Lumiere with a gentle tone.

“Our daughter, what did you say your dream was?”
“A Duke of Valentino.”

“Right. So marrying into the Delacroix family isn’t an option; we would have to bring in a son-in-law.”

“What’s a son-in-law?”

“I’ll explain when you’re a bit older. Anyway, Delacroix is off the table.”

“Hng…”

Lumiere pouted. She seemed to have not fully understood Theodore’s decision. But it was a complicated issue to explain to a six-year-old. There’s no helping it. The matters of noble titles and marriages.

But this much was a story Lumiere could grasp.

“Lumiere, Dad just doesn’t want you going far away.”

“Is Lumiere going far away?”

“If you said you will marry Uncle Zen’s son. Then the one who would become the Duke of Valentino would be Lumiere’s younger sibling.”

“I don’t want that. I want to live with mom and dad forever.”

Lumiere pouted, hugged me tightly, and then scampered over to Theodore. She then hugged Theodore tightly too.

“….!”

Theodore was overwhelmed with great emotion and got speechless. Typical of him to be so sentimental…

Thanks to Derek’s travel magic, our journey to Dornak was quick. After a 20-minute carriage ride from the southern coastal city, our beachside villa finally came into view.

“Wow!”

Lumiere exclaimed as she looked out the window. Despite my repeated warnings about the dangers of sticking her head out while the carriage was moving, she hardly listened, keeping us on our toes the entire journey.

Neither Theodore nor I could take our eyes off her for a second, fearing she might get into some mischief.

“Mom! There’s a bird on the roof!”

After arriving at the villa and disembarking from the carriage, Lumiere pointed up to the roof, where indeed a few birds, likely seagulls, were gathered.

“Daddy seagull, mommy seagull, baby seagull.”

Lumiere pointed out each of the three seagulls, conveniently three in number. Whether they were actually a family was another question. I chuckled and commented.

“Looks like the seagull family is on vacation too.”

“We’re on vacation too.”

“What do you want to do today, Lumiere?”

“I’m going to catch crabs.”

“…?”

Crabs….?

I blinked in surprise and then asked again.

“What will you do with the crabs?”

“Cook them.”

“Cook them? How?”

The question made me laugh without realizing it. Theodore was also laughing beside me. However, Lumiere was serious.

“We’ll make a fire with Seraphim…”

“….I think Seraphim might feel a bit humiliated by that.”

“No… Seraphim listens to Lumiere well.”

Right after Lumiere was born, Seraphim had marked her as its future contractor.

Caligo, Frigga, and Somnia also wanted to make Lumiere their contractor, but Seraphim’s reluctance to accept the trio made it complicated.

Among them, Somnia showed the most promise because. While Seraphim was often prickly towards Caligo and Frigga, it seemed to get along better with Somnia. Perhaps it’s because cold and darkness are natural opposites of fire, but ‘dreams’ are not subject to the same constraints.

Considering how Seraphim had once been very wary of Somnia, their relationship had indeed come a long way.

“If Lumiere catches crabs, I’ll share them with mom and dad. I’ll cook them really well!”

“That’s great… thank you…”

“Hihi.”

By now, I was genuinely worried Lumiere might actually catch wild crabs and try to cook them. It seemed she was quite serious about it.

__