"You leave in the afternoon to take a walk, and return in the evening with a baby." Celine mischievously hugged his arm. "Who's the mother, Keith?"
"A beautiful lady with white hair." He smiled at her. "She left with her husband."
"They abandoned her?" Qingyue, who was holding Thea in her arms, furrowed her brows.
"No. I snatched her away from them." He chuckled, and then teasingly raised his brow at her when she threw him a glare.
"He's not kidding." Helena, who was enjoying the drama, poured some oil to the fire, and the grey-eyed Eldeilyon did not know how to take her words and what to say to her husband.
"Rebecca was right. You are a big bad wolf," Celine nodded her head to herself, and then curiously walked over to Qingyue to take another look at the baby in her arms. "What's her name?"
"Thea Solaris. She's the daughter of Jaun Solaris and Zala Orayen." He informed her and walked over to stand by her side.
"Solaris? The Royals of Solaria?"
"Yes. But her Grandfather was an illegitimate child, and theirs is a Branch Family."
"And her Mother is an Orayen?" By the side, Amelia, who was sitting at the table, raised her brow.
"She is," he nodded his head. "And both her parents are quite talented individuals. Even her half-brother is very talented, born with a Sword Bone."
"Why did you take her away from her parents?" Qingyue straightforwardly asked, looking him in the eyes.
"Because she is the Living Key to the Prison Realm, and she would be in danger if left with her parents," he informed her, and her brows visibly eased. "I saved their lives, cured her half-brother, and I named her as the price."
"That's cruel, Keith."
"It's cruel on her mother, yes, but this way, she and her family will have a chance to survive. And the girl will live." He smiled at her. "They are people already targeting them for the Key. If they learned that this little girl is the Living Key, what do you think they would do?" He curiously asked her.
"They would sacrifice her to enter the Prison Realm to their desired location," it was Venessa who answered, still busy combing and braiding Minami's hair, the soft strands slipping through her fingers.
Qingyue tensed up after she heard those words and then pitifully looked at the child in her arms.
However, soon a smile broke on her face as the baby looked into her eyes and giggled.
Little Thea had very pretty violet eyes.
"She's cute."
"Gigi thinks otherwise. She says she has funny hair." Helena playfully informed her and then laughed together with Celine.
Looking outside the window, they saw the little girl in question sitting on the shoulder of her Magical Beast, playing around with the rest of the family, and she seemed extremely happy today.
"Her hair is pretty." Qingyue took an immediate liking to the baby and cooed at her, making her giggle some more.
Keith kept watching her play with the baby with a smile on his face, and a few other ladies in the room were meaningfully looking at her as well.
"Do you want her?"
The sudden question froze the grey-eyed Eldeilyon, but only for a moment. When she heard the baby giggle again, she smiled.
"Didn't Gigi say that Thea was her little sister?" She playfully said. "I will take her with me to the Central Continent."
"So, you are going to take Sisi and Gigi with you." Celine surprisedly looked at her.
"Rebecca asked me to take care of them," she informed the people in the room.
"Wouldn't it be better to let them stay in Aerzar? Let them stay, and I will take care of them. Sebastian's kids are staying here as well, and the two will also be able to make great friends with the Hubo Family."
"No, it's fine." Qingyue shook her head, refusing Celine's suggestion. "They will be safe at the Academy."
"She's the Key to the Prison Realm, Yue." Amelia frowned. "If people find out about it, they will come after her."
Hearing her sister-wife's words, she frowned, and without answering anyone, she turned to look at her husband.
"May I keep her?"
"If you promise to take care of her, sure." He said and watched her smile at his words.
"I will take care of her." She promised.
Amelia raised her brow at him when their eyes met, but he just smiled at her before leaving the cabin.
"Brother, come play with us!" Amira called out to him, asking him to join their game of tag, but he excused himself and headed towards the cabin that belonged to Zoey and Nana.
The two of them were sitting together with Ayesha, studying the Map of Amaya and reading a book that contained general information about the world.
And all three of them were so deeply immersed in their study that they did not pay attention to him when he entered the room and stood right behind them.
"Hey." He gently whispered next to Zoey's ear, and she nearly screamed in alarm.
"Keith!" She pouted at him and then laughed at her own silliness. "It's not dinner time yet."
"I can't come to see you?" He raised his brow at her and she rolled her eyes.
"You are always too busy..." She tried to tease him but blushed when he sealed her mouth and kissed her.
"Come to my room after dinner."
As brave as she was, she felt very flustered when Ayesha and Nana meaningfully smiled at her, and then she meekly nodded her head.
"Okay..."
"Good girl." He chuckled as he teased her and then greeted Nana and Ayesha with kisses as well.
"I have a present for you." He said to the brown-haired girl, who was still wearing her glasses, even though she had no need for them.
"Let me guess, a Magical Beast?" She asked, and he feigned surprise.
"How do you know?"
"It's obvious." Ayesha rolled her eyes and both Nana and Zoey laughed together with him.
"Do you want it or not?"
"Of course, I do." She said and then excitedly waited for him to show her the present he had for her.
"Here." Keith took out an Egg from the Storage Ring and offered it to her.
All three of them curiously looked at the golden and brown Egg, which had soft scales on it. It felt quite warm to the touch and was very pretty.
"The Beast inside this egg will come out in a week or two." He informed her. "It's better to keep it as a Contracted Beast for now."
"What Beast is it?" Ayesha curiously asked.
"It's a Roc with a Mystic Grade Bloodline. The Mountain Roc." He smiled at her. "I got this Egg from the Auction."
Ayesha smiled at him and lovingly caressed the egg with her hand.
She never said it, but she wanted a flying Mount, and a Roc was perfect for her.
Unfortunately, the baby Roc would take some time to grow big enough to serve as her mount.
"I also have another present for you." He said to her, grabbing her attention. "Here."
Ayesha curiously looked at the Beast Ring, and when she scanned what was inside it, her eyes widened in surprise.
"I love you!" She jumped from her chair and tightly hugged him, planted a kiss on his cheek and then kissed him on his lips.
"What is it?" Zoey impatiently asked, growing quite excited, and it was the same for Nana.
"Come, I will show you." Ayesha happily said and rushed out of the cabin, attracting the attention of the other girls, who were busy playing tag.
She smiled at them and then summoned the Beast out of the Ring, and as soon as it came out, a shrill cry resounded in the vicinity.
It spread its beautiful blue, golden, and silver feathers, and with them, the sound of crackling electricity was heard. Its head was blue, its beak was golden, and it had very sharp silver eyes that were vigilantly looking around.
"It's a Lightning Hawk!" Kiara exclaimed, having seen the images of this Beast, and soon everyone surrounded the large bird, which was becoming more and more nervous, having sensed that these people were not Ashaya.
"Wow." Zoey was simply enchanted by the beautiful bird, and then pouted at Keith, letting him know that she was quite envious of Ayesha now.
It was the same for some other girls too, and Helena, who was standing at the door of the Main Cabin, pouted as well.
"It's still young, less than a decade old, but it is already a Four Star Martial Beast, about to become a Five Star Martial Beast. Its speed is already faster than any normal Martial Tyrant, and once it enters the next Realm, it will even leave some Martial Princes and Kings in the dust," Keith informed his beautiful lover and then grabbed her hand to lead her close to the bird. "Behave." He warned the Beast and his eyes briefly flashed in their Amethyst shade, freezing it in its place.
The Bird immediately bowed to him, not daring to look him in the eyes, and trembled a little when he gently caressed its head.
"I know you were forced into a contract by that man, so, I will give you a chance to decide your future." He gently said, and the bird chirped in a complaint.
Even without understanding everything that it was saying, Keith could tell that it was a complaint about its former Master.
"She will not mistreat you." He said and then placed Ayesha's hand on its head. "And I want you to protect her."
The bird chirped again, and Minami, who was standing away, giggled.
"What did it say?"
"He agrees but requests you to find him a mate. He is saying that he will go crazy if he does not give babies to the beautiful birds out there."
As soon as they heard her words, they burst out laughing in shock and surprise at the sheer hilarity of this bird's nature.
"You found me a perverted bird." Ayesha controlled her laughter and playfully narrowed her eyes at him, and he could only sigh and shrug at the accusation.
"You can't call a Beast a pervert just because it wants to further its line."
"Right." She rolled her eyes and then smiled at the Lightning Hawk. "I will find you a beautiful Lightning Hawk, maybe even several of them."
As soon as it heard her words, the bird chirped excitedly, and Minami giggled again.
"He's happy."
"Of course, he is." She rolled her eyes again but kept running her fingers through its feathers.
"Well then, it's settled. Shall we start with the binding ceremony?" Keith asked, and Ayesha happily nodded her head and followed his lead to create a Binding Spell.
"I will call you Blue." She said, and the Beast happily accepted its new name.
The Contract was formed without a hitch, and then she eagerly climbed on the back of her new mount, ordering it to take her to the skies.
He laughed when he heard her excited cry from the sky, the sound echoing across the lake, and then lowered his eyes to meet the gaze of Qingyue, who was looking his way.
"Thank you." She whispered, but he heard her words clearly.