Free and Unfettered 104 Huh? You... You're What, Now?

Other than her own people, she did not trust anyone else!

Mephisto chirped, which briefly made Nine wonder why a spider to chirp at all but listened closely to the transmitted message from her familiar.

Helce, servant to the High Elf of Lapheria, Zephyr. Since the darkness magic that lingered on her was so strong, it had been easy to find her through the use of Mephisto's minions, whom as a species, were familiar and sensitive to darkness as a whole.

Nine commanded for one of the more conspicuous Toxic Spiders to attach itself to her, and according to what Mephisto said, there was no problem. The little Toxic Spider had not been discovered, since it blended it perfectly with the darkness lingering on her body.

Nine nodded with satisfaction, patting Mephisto. She fed her familiar more of her magic, causing the Toxic Spider to shudder in happiness, letting out a series of chirps. She placed Mephisto on top of Rainier, who happily moved around the room with a stationary Mephisto on top of him, long used to it.

It was in the afternoon, when she was still meticulously working on the spell to be used to track down the Elf that her father knocked on the workshop windows. Behind him stood Deltan, who was, for once, wearing a rather emotionless expression. Though his mask was flawless, Nine could feel from his magic that he was a mix of complicated emotions. Restless, happy, scared, anticipatory, worried.

Sensing this, Nine had a faint premonition in her heart, but waited for them to speak first.

After the privacy wards and spells had been set up, her father's rather expressionless face slowly melted as they were finally under the security where no one else could see them. If you couldn't call his expression beaming, then there was no other description for it. The emperor swept his daughter up in a hug, squeezing her tightly before letting go and sitting back down on the couch.

He didn't know why his eldest son had called him here to give him news together with Nine, but he felt a great deal of affection for the both of them, so he didn't mind. Gone were the days where he only felt indifference looking at his son's face.

Deltan's flawless mask stayed on his face for a few minutes longer, before likewise to his father, it suddenly slid off without any problem. He struggled with himself, not sure how to phrase it.

Nine and their father didn't rush him, silently waiting for him to get his nerves together.

Deltan silently appreciated them giving him time to put himself together. Even though he knew what he was in for before using the spell, he hadn't anticipated that it would impact him this much. The moment it *really* hit him, he felt like his entire worldview had shaken. He wondered if this was how his Imperial Father had felt.

Deltan struggled to put the words together, before taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Imperial Father, Fourth Brother, I'm pregnant," he blurted out at last. The words seemed to take a great deal of strength out of his body, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel anticipatory, as if a great burden had been lifted off his chest.

Nine let out a rare gentle smile that was only reserved for those she held dear, causing their father and Deltan to both feel dazed. The difference from the indifferent face to the one she showed here was too stunning on contrast!

"Congratulations, son." Emperor Destan's face was full of smiles. Nine had thought the smile on his face earlier was wide, but she didn't think that it could actually get bigger!

"Congratulations, brother," she said, hugging him. She looked him in the eye seriously as she asked him. "You're not doing this because you think something might happen to you in the battle, right? Or are you doing this because you think you're being forced to?"

Deltan shook his head, heart feeling both sweet and sour. Seven years ago, if anyone asked him whether or not he would ever be on good terms with his Fourth Brother, he would have laughed in their faces. "I just think… I do want kids. Or rather, kid."

Nine nodded, reassured. "Dare I ask who's the father?" Nine teased.

Deltan's face pinked in embarrassment, waving his hands in a flustered manner. He struggled to get the words out once again, choking on them. His face steadily got redder and redder.

Nine silently raised an eyebrow as she resisted the urge to bully him more. She had assumed that her elder brother would go down their father's route and use his DNA alone, but it seemed like her elder brother combined his with someone else's. Or multiple someone's?

"-ciel, Brooke, Eden and Lucien," he mumbled out, burying his face in his hands out of embarrassment. Doing so did nothing to hide his red-tipped ears from his father and brother.

Nine expertly hid her stunned expression, feeling mildly impressed. Wow, her elder brother sure went for the homerun! Four other people! Though it was likely that at this stage, their relationship was still platonic. At least it was people she knew and trusted. She didn't know what she would do if he randomly found someone off the streets and pulled them in.

Avner Destan, emperor of the thriving Cosmos Empire, thought deeply as he rubbed his chin. Did this mean that he now had four daughter/son-in-laws just from Deltan alone? His eyes darkened as he thought about how he should test them to make sure they were worthy of being his son's baby daddy/mummy.

When Deltan saw the matching looks on his younger brother as well as his father's face, he looked helpless, and felt it just as deeply. They were acting like overprotective family who's daughter/sister suddenly got pregnant (though he really did spring the news on them). He would have to give the four of them his head's up about the trouble coming their way…

See, this was why he didn't say it when his brother hadn't asked! He just knew this would happen. They could look forward to a particularly intense training session as his father suddenly dropped by and gave them scrutinising looks.

"So, are you going for a specific gender?"

Deltan hesitated briefly but nodded. "Male. For my heir. Since I don't know if I want to carry again," he said, unconsciously placing a hand on his stomach region.

Nine and Avner's eyes followed his hand, exchanging looks. The two felt like they were on the same page. That child was to be protected from any harm.

Deltan was feeling rather happy. This went better than he thought it would go down. Though he didn't know what to expect for their reactions, the complete and utter acceptance and support that he received from his family made him feel happy.

By the time he came back to himself, he found his younger brother and father whispering conspiratorially to each other, causing him to feel helpless again. Somehow, he could feel that between his father, brother, as well as his four friends, his child was going to end up rather spoiled, and he may or may not join in the spoiling as well.

"-assign half of the Hidden Guards."

Nine nodded seriously, eyes flashing. "I'll put up some lethal warding stones that will only allow passage for those already keyed in. No one else who tries to get in will be getting out alive."

Deltan sweated. Wasn't that getting a bit excessive!

Chapter end