Chapter 54: The best present
Although Alex couldn't tell whether Sara was happier for her daughter that he was back, he had an inkling that Sara was also relieved.
He took a seat with a smile.
Next to him, Celia took her seat, "We did it, Alex! It was a good surprise… But how come mom's surprise scared you this much?"
Alex coughed, "It was utterly unexpected. That's all."
"Okay!" Celia nodded.
After a short break, Sara came with the dishes.
Because five individuals lived in the Deathwill Castle, Sara had prepared enough meals for everyone. Of course, it used to be four, but Sara didn't mind making a little more. Anyway, most of that food would be used tomorrow…
That was because bringing Stella for dinner was a miracle. The same went for Schnee, but this cat probably had her own plans… But as Sara had already received some love from Schnee, she knew that her sister was likely cultivating the lucky box again.
Therefore, it mainly was Sara and Celia enjoying the food together. But now, two more precious friends had joined the table.
Well, Ubo was on the ground.
"Mom knows how to cook, right?" Celia brightly smiled; her face was messy as she ate fast and carelessly.
Alex brought a handkerchief and wiped her lips, "It's not the first time I have tried your mother's food, right?"
Celia nodded, letting out little dullahan noises as she had too much food on her face, "Why all heroines don't know how to cook?"
"Hmmm… Maybe because authors don't know how to cook…" Alex theorized openly.
His words gave enlightened Celia, "I see!"
While these two talked and slowly ate her food, Sara hovered her eyes on them. She was a little surprised by how cheerful her daughter was. It was impossible to not see how much happiness Celia eluded.
It was perhaps due to Alex's return. Sara highly believed in that as there was no other reason. But if she knew the real cause and her daughter's thoughts, Sara surely would be at a loss of words.
After the dinner, Alex offered help, "I will help you wash the plates."
"We will take a nap!" Celia thanked Alex and escaped with Ubo to her room.
These two ran away as if escaping from a punishment…
Sara glanced at their backs, then turned her eyes toward Alex, "It looks like you have something important to talk about. Otherwise, I would've already received a present, right?"
"Yes… And I couldn't give one to Celia as she already escaped," Alex sighed.
"She's taking too many naps lately. All because of Ubo," Sara chuckled.
Talking about her daughter would always bring out her earnest smile. It was such a nice smile that Alex could talk about Celia for a long time.
"They play so many games this wolf must nap more than your usual wolf," Alex chuckled.
But he naturally had more important matters to talk about.
He offered to help wash plates, even though the magic stones could take care of it like a dishwasher.
Sara didn't mind saving some magic stones, so she agreed wholeheartedly.
And now, it was just two of them.
"Remember that demon goblin?" Alex had talked about his outer world journey during the dinner.
He omitted a lot of details since Celia was too young.
But now, he would talk about them with Sara.
She replied, "I do. Was he perhaps the hungry demon?"
"Yes," Alex nodded, "He was looking for Remia… Maybe they had intel that she was around those lands, or it was just a coincidence… Anyway, they look for former Deathwill Kingdom officials so that they can find this place."
A time froze.
At least, it felt like time had stopped.
During that, Alex didn't let out a sound. He carried on with washing, his hand silently moving. He inwardly knew what went through Sara's mind, though.
Even if his thoughts were inaccurate, he believed he was more or less correct.
After all, Sara had to run away from the dullahan kingdom. They chased her and her daughter.
Other than the Deathwill Castle, where else would she find a place to protect her from others?
The Deathwill Castle was empty, but it was in the mysterious lands with undead and vile monsters.
No one could find this place easily. The castle also had powerful mechanisms…
If Sara wanted to find a life somewhere else, she would have to deal with people who hated Deathwill and the dullahan kingdom at the same time. And living somewhere else wasn't as easy as it sounded.
She didn't want to draw people into her conflict. And if she became close with some other tribe, it would take years for her to develop a close relationship with them. Naturally, as a woman, she had a simple way of building a relationship. Still, Sara would never do it unless Celia's life was at stake.
"Should I… kill them?" Sara whispered; her voice was cold and sad.
The more she thought about conflicts, the deeper her killing intent became.
If she joined some other clan or kingdom, she undoubtedly would draw innocent people into her conflict.
But if she were to kill all people associated with the Deathwill Kingdom, she would keep the castle safe from the hungry demon's main group.
"Why do you sound like you have no other choice?" Alex suddenly spoke.
Although her tone was cold and filled with killing intent, Alex felt her sadness more. She wasn't a lady who would kill innocent or other people without reason. Of course, Alex believed she had killed people before.
Because he had already seen how twisted this world was… Some hoodlums had been ready to kill him just because he had more money than others…
People had their reasons to kill. It was way easier to kill here and not get punished…
"I… I just…" Sara clenched her hands and looked down. Pain and helplessness twisted her beautiful face, making her look worse than usual.
Alex stared into her eyes, then whispered, "It's because of Celia, isn't it? You don't want to leave her alone or risk her life, so you are looking for the easiest choice."
Although it was not comparable, Alex had also become blind because of love. His girlfriend often cursed and used her fists more than words… Sometimes, he put a blind eye to it just because he knew how agitated Olivia could get.
For her friends, she would punch anyone!
Therefore, Alex more or less understood Sara.
"But you know… This castle… We stay here safely… We have the treasury… We have other powerful mechanisms here… All of this has been delivered by sacrificing countless civilians," Alex spoke about The Lost Kingdom.
That pitch darkness that had swallowed citizens of her kingdom…
Sara stood shocked and absentminded.
Tears flooded her eyes, tumbling down her cheeks.
Alex continued gravely, "The Deathwill has already committed a mistake… We don't know if the citizens' lives are lost or not, but they have been undoubtedly wounded. They lost valuable years of their lives because of us.
As the master of this castle, I will take the brunt of this burden," Alex said.
He grasped Sara's soft hand tightly and deeply stared into her eyes, "But we can't commit the same mistake. We can't kill innocent. Unless former Deathwill Kingdom's officials became the worst of the worst, we also shouldn't aim for their lives."
As the tears melted her cold thoughts, Sara nodded. She tightened the grasp around Alex's hand and reciprocated his gaze.
Alex smiled faintly and lifted his hand. He wiped off her tears, but even after this much talk, Sara kept crying.
She felt too wounded by her thoughts and naiveness.
"The solution is to keep working hard. Let's level up and build the Deathwill Castle anew. We can gather so many people here, can't we? And then, we will bring this castle to a better land where the sun shines, and everyone can safely live," Alex chuckled.
He was relieved that he hadn't mistaken Sara. He no longer felt coldness in her blue eyes but warmth and hope. That contributed to his genuine smile that drew Sara into his embrace.
Before Alex noticed, Sara was already hugging him, "My father made a dozen mistakes. He is known as a liar but choosing you as a successor wasn't a mistake. Thank you for coming here… Thank you for guiding me… Thank you for being Celia's friend…"
"Thank you for believing in me," Alex said softly; he gave Sara a head pat that Stella liked.
The dullahan momma sobbed into his shirt.
Both stood in an embrace for some time.
[Your relationship with Sara Deathwill has increased.]
[Sara Deathwill has developed an affection toward you.]
[Alexander Deathwill has developed an affection toward you.]
[The Deathwill Castle's Royal Bath has been opened to you.]
[The Deathwill Castle's Barracks have been opened to you.]
Those messages hadn't flashed in Sara's and Alex's eyes. The system again minded the mood, not alerting them of the relationship progress or Alex about the Deathwill Castle's facilities opening.
Other than Royal Bath, Alex probably wouldn't be able to use the barracks yet. But that was a good step toward a more fantastic future where everyone from his side would enjoy the game thoroughly!
At the same time, Celia returned to the kitchen.
She forgot to ask Alex for a present! No, she just remembered about them! And thinking about the present excited her little heart.
But as she opened the doors and noticed Alex and Sara hugging each other, Celia's eyes widened.
Her beautiful eyes didn't twinkle. Instead, they reflected on what Celia had been looking at.
Celia engraved that picture into her heart…
She turned around with giggles, returning back to her bed real fast!
That probably was the best present she could've gotten from Alex.
No book would top the scene she had just seen.
