There was a very strange atmosphere in the house when Keith arrived. He was expecting the girls to express their excitement and happiness at having him back, but the greetings he received from them seemed rather restrained.
It was so obvious that something had happened, and the absence of Amelia, Rebecca, and Qingyue made him presume that it had something to do with the three of them.
He had already informed the girls about Ginara, and after everyone cordially greeted her, his mother took her and Minami away for a chat.
"What happened?" He asked after he excused himself away, and Kiara followed him, having picked up on his subtle gesture.
His little sister curiously looked at him, which made him smile, and it was only after he wrapped his arm around her shoulder that she giggled and smiled brightly.
"Rebecca and Amelia asked Mother for a spar." She informed him and giggled some more as she watched him sigh at her words.
"And she did not go easy on them, did she?"
Keith knew very well how talented his mother was, and she had decades of experience in her arsenal. She was already very talented, but after he bestowed her the Divine Physique and his Bloodline, she was even more outrageously talented now.
"No, she did not. She made all nine of us come at her together. And things got very serious."
He raised his brow at her words and Kiara then told him about how Venessa toyed with them before Rebecca and Amelia resorted to using their other Powers.
"Mother was not pleased with being put under an illusion."
"I see." He understood her words and smiled. "So, what happened next?"
"Mother gave all of us another round of beating after that." She pouted. "Since Amelia and Rebecca lost, they were tasked to do the dishes after lunch, and they are also responsible for preparing Dinner tonight. Mother forbade all the maids from helping them."
He could imagine how his dear wives must be struggling right now. Rebecca did not like cooking at all even though she was not bad at it, but Amelia was a disaster in the kitchen.
Surely it was a sight to behold, so he changed directions and headed toward the kitchen to meet them and poke some fun at them. It was not something he wanted to miss now that he had a chance to see it.
"And Qingyue?"
"Grandma was quite curious about our depressed mood, and Yue ended up spilling the beans to her over lunch about how we all lost to Mother. She did not give away details, but Grandma understood that Mother had not gone easy on us, and she complained about it to her."
"Ouch." He chuckled as he knew exactly what happened after that.
"Yes!" She giggled. "Mother sent Yue to the kitchen too."
"And what's on your mind, dear Sister?" He asked as he smiled at her, and Kiara tightly hugged his arm, looking right into his eyes.
"When Mother broke through those chains and illusions, her eyes turned to the same amethyst shade as yours..." She trailed off, hoping that he would give her an answer, but Keith just nodded his head.
"I see."
"And we all felt a weight on our hearts, Keith. It was as if a God had descended, and our mind was screaming to us to kneel. Nana and Ayesha did drop down to their knees, and the rest of us lowered our heads too. We just could not keep looking at her." Kiara seriously said but saw no change in his expression, which was quite indifferent to her words as if what she had told him was something very normal. "Nana and Ayesha are scared."
"And so are the rest of you." He lightly said, and his little sister lowered her head, not denying his words. "Did Rebecca tell you what Illusion she used?"
"She said that the Illusion was meant to either make the target experience something they feared or make them experience something that they desired. We don't know what Mother experienced, Rebecca does not know it either, but we all saw the rage flicker in her eyes when she broke out of the Illusion."
"So it was not anything bad." He smiled, and his little sister frowned at his words.
"What?"
"She did not experience something that she feared." He told her. "Had it been the case, she would have been a lot colder to all of you."
"I guess." Kiara felt like a weight had been lifted off her heart, and she wanted to rush forward and tell Rebecca about it.
She was sure that her sister-wife was fretting over it, and she wanted to bring her out of the depressed state that she had been in before Mother had sent her to the kitchen.
Keith saw right through her and smiled at how much she cared about everyone around her.
But he also knew how adorable of a fox she was.
"Don't tell her that." He said, and Kiara obediently nodded her head.
"Okay."
He leaned in a planted a kiss on her head right before entering the kitchen, and he could not help but grin as he looked at the depressed faces of his wives.
"Hey!" He brightly greeted them, and Qingyue was the only one who managed to flash her brilliant smile at him.
"Keith!" She rushed right into his arms, and he comforted her back, planting a kiss on her head.
"I missed you." He told her and felt her body relax in his arms.
"I missed you too." She closed her eyes and just stayed there in his embrace, holding him back tightly.
Keith smiled at her reaction and then raised his head to smile at his wives who were still standing behind the counter.
Amelia managed to smile back at him, but Rebecca shied her eyes away.
She was worried that he would not be pleased with her after learning about what happened earlier today, and though he was not pleased with it, he was not displeased at it either.
It was not that anyone did anything wrong.
Venessa agreed to spar with them, and she even forced Amelia and Rebecca to use their special powers. So, the blonde was not really at fault here.
What she was worried about was that she had made Venessa experience something dreadful in that Illusion, even though it had only lasted for a few seconds.
"You look to be doing much better than I was expecting." He commented when he saw that the three of them were not struggling at all.
"It's because I am here." Qingyue took the credit, and Rebecca did not scoff at her words like she would have usually done, and it made the grey-eyed girl feel a little odd and she turned to look at her sister-wife, who was seemingly focusing on stirring the soup.
"I can tell." Keith smiled as he knew that Qingyue was speaking the truth.
With her there, Amelia could stick to menial tasks, and Rebecca could focus on things she was good at.
"So, curiosity killed the cat, eh?" He teasingly said after he approached them, and Amelia lowered her head at his words.
Keith planted kisses on their cheeks before wrapping his arms around their waists. And then he took a whiff of the soup.
"Smells nice."
"Thank you." Rebecca lightly said with a smile, but she still refused to meet his eyes. "I did not mean any harm, Keith."
"I know." He squeezed her waist. "We will talk about it later, okay?"
"Mhm."
"Give me a kiss." He said, and she immediately raised her head and kissed him on his lips, finally giving in to her desire to do it after feeling much relieved in her heart. "Good girl." He playfully said as they separated, and Kiara could not help but giggle at it, prompting the blonde to pout at his comment.
"I will see you at the table." He told them before he left the room together with his little sister, and Kiara hugged his arm again, finally throwing question after question at him about the two months he had been away from home.
She had already been keeping in touch with him over calls and messages, but she wanted to hear these things from his mouth now.
Kiara only realised where they were headed once she found herself standing outside Venessa's room, and she pouted at Keith for bringing her here.
"Come." He smiled at her before he knocked on the door and opened it, pulling her inside with him.
Venessa was sitting at the coffee table with Minami and Ginara attentively standing before her.
"Mother." He smiled at her before approaching the table and planted a kiss on her forehead. "What were you been talking about?" He asked as he took his seat and smiled at Ginara.
"About the Sect of Dusk, her life, and how you met each other. " Venessa replied to him before she nodded to Ginara, and the timid girl, who was seemingly quite fearful of his mother, glanced at him for help but only received a smile in return.
Ginara understood that Keith did not mind her revealing anything to Venessa, and finally feeling relieved in her heart, she spoke about the day Kylian Dusk had arrived outside his cottage to engage him in a Duel for Honour.
Venessa's expression remained indifferent, but she briefly glanced into his eyes and understood that the disrespectful lad was gone for good.
"So she is going to be an assistant maid to Minami?"
"For now, yes." He nodded his head.
Ginara was quite talented, and he wanted to nurture her under his care before tasking her with the care of one of his wives.
Qingyue did not even have a Shadow yet, and except for Amelia, who had chosen Viola as her personal maid, none of the others had one of their own.
There was not really any need for it in this world, but they would eventually have to find the right people for those spots. It was part of the reason why he decided to keep Ginara.
She was perfect to serve as a loyal handmaiden in his household.
"Please excuse us." Venessa suddenly said, and then smiled at Kiara. "Show her around the Manor."
"Yes, Mother." Kiara obediently nodded her head and then happily grabbed Ginara's hand, taking her out of the room.
She was quite eager to get to know the girl better, and Minami too followed after them after bowing to Keith and Venessa.
"Yes?"
Keith smiled at the question and looked right into her eyes.
"What did you see, Mother?" He curiously asked, and leaned forward, placing his arms on the table.
"Do I have to answer the question?"
"No." He shook his head. "I am just curious."
Venessa kept looking him into his eyes, and for the first time in forever, he saw her feel nervous about something.
"I saw a baby... Ours." She lowered her head and whispered. "And I heard the voice of a little girl."
Keith smiled at his words, not really surprised as he could already feel her desire for it.
"You know, one of her Powers is to see and show someone glimpses of their past and future. She is not aware of it yet, but maybe she accidentally triggered it when she put you under an illusion..." He meaningfully said, but Venessa narrowed her eyes at him, sensing that he was trying to tease her.
"Is that the power of Divination?"
"Not exactly. It is more profound and truer. It has to do with the Law of Time." He informed her.
He was indeed trying to tease her, however, he had not lied to her either.
Rebecca did indeed possess such a power, but he was not sure if she could already tap into it or not.
Besides, reading Venessa's future through the Power of Divination was not exactly feasible since her Fate was Black like his. It was almost impossible since the Plans of Destiny were void. But the Law of Time was different.
"So, have you thought of a name for her?" He bluntly asked, and his mother felt heat rush up her cheeks.
"Get out." It was a threat, and Keith wisely stood up before planting a kiss on her head.
"I love you." He told her with all the affection he held for her in his heart, and Venessa's body lightly trembled at his words.
"I love you more." She smiled and then grabbed his collar before pulling him into a kiss. "And yes, I have a name in mind if the day ever comes." She told him, making him smile against her lips.
"I know you do..."
