Navia, unaware that the two were engaging in a silent battle over her, gently patted Lark.
"How wonderful it would be if I had the power to stop time?"
Both had their share of pain and troubled pasts. Just unraveling those stories could take ages.
But Navia had much to do.
"There's now so much to protect."
So, she couldn't afford to waste even a little time.
Yet, no matter how busy, she seemed to know what really mattered.
Loving someone as much as they scare you.
That was important.
"Put me down, Daddy."
Lark, after a fierce silent battle with Creed, gently set Navia down.
"Creed, I'll trim your hair. Don't worry, it's safe."
Navia soothed Creed as she prepared to cut his hair.
Creed let her do as she wished, seemingly reassured by her constant presence.
His noticeable change in attitude left Lark astounded.
"Huh, acting like a tame cat."
Navia started to snip Creed’s hair, carefully shaping it.
Lark watched them from the side, occasionally stirring up trivial disputes, to which Navia calmly responded or chuckled.
A light-hearted and playful atmosphere filled the annex.
Lark was immersed in indescribable feelings as he watched every movement of Navia.
A mysterious flame born between him and Camilla, carrying numerous pasts.
'Navia Eseled. My poor and special daughter.'
The five days Navia lay unconscious differed from the nine years Lark spent realizing Camilla had left him.
He thought he had tasted enough of hell, but this brought a whole new level of despair.
In Navia's healing, Lark felt a strange yet familiar sensation.
'Divinity.'
It was neither magic nor a rare ability among humans. It was divinity.
That meant Navia was the incarnation of a deity.
Lark had only thought of Navia as an incarnation like himself.
But, there was a variable.
'Camilla must have made the child an incarnation of another deity.'
Lark was currently trying to determine which deity it was.
With the most recent case of an incarnation being 1500 years ago, Lark had to rely on his own studies.
"Creed, stay still."
Creed, seemingly happy, kept trying to look at Navia, almost ending up with a botched haircut.
Eventually, Lark had to fix Creed's face with his shadow.
"Navia…"
Creed quietly called Navia as she approached to trim his bangs.
'Does Creed know that Navia is my name? Why does he call me that?'
Navia was curious but knew Creed couldn't answer her questions. So, she scolded instead.
"If you open your mouth, hair will get in, Creed."
Lark was surprised to hear Creed utter a proper word.
"What? Why is he calling your name?"
"It's not 'he,' it's Creed. And I don't really know why he's calling my name."
Lark stared wide-eyed at Creed, who was looking at Navia like a loyal dog, then glared at him.
'This unsocialized guy, what does he know about already playing tricks on my daughter?'
He worried if this continued, she might actually get married at fifteen.
Meanwhile, Navia finished the final touch and gazed pensively at Lark.
Lark frowned as Navia suddenly looked tearful.
"What's with that look?"
Navia remembered the magic Lark used at 'Navia's Barber Shop' to instantly clean up the hair.
"Remember the magic you used at the barber shop before? Could you do that now?"
She asked with a sly, endearing smile.
Who could refuse when their daughter looked like that? Lark shook his head, snapped his fingers, and the hair was neatly cleaned up.
Navia stroked her neatly trimmed hair and showed Creed the handheld mirror she brought.
"You look handsome, Creed."
Creed replied,
"Navia."
"Hmm. The answer is strange, but it means you like it too, right?"
Lark thought to himself, watching the two children,
'Soon they will be holding hands and getting married, won't they?'
He said to Navia with a mischievous expression.
"Let's go to the main house for a birthday party."
'Birthday party?'
Navia tilted her head in confusion and asked.
"Whose birthday party is it?"
"Yours."
Navia then remembered Lark had once declared every day would be her birthday.
...Could it really be true?
Navia had always taken that remark as a mere joke.
But Lark was serious, and before Creed could react, he snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Suddenly, they were in the dining hall.
Navia got out of Lark's arms, looking bewildered.
The dining hall was prepared with not only cake but also delicious food.
"Happy birthday, Miss!"
"When did you prepare all this...?"
The party was neither grand in scale nor extravagant like a banquet but had flowers and music.
But there were no musicians.
"Where is the music coming from without any musicians?"
Music is usually heard when someone is playing an instrument.
Yet now, string music filled the dining hall without any players.
Lark spoke as if it was nothing extraordinary.
"In Eseled, things you can't imagine can happen."
Lark nonchalantly pointed to a box with a horn-like attachment.
"That's it. A magical device that plays recorded sounds."
Navia had heard rumors that the Eseled family, teeming with magic scholars, possessed magical devices far advanced than the empire's magic.
She knew too well how much art, especially music, was loved by the public and closely related to noble life.
If there were machines that could play excellent music anytime without musicians, it would certainly cause a sensation.
Navia felt disheartened.
'No matter how good my business plans are, they're nothing compared to Dad's magical devices.'
However, Lark seemed to have no intention of releasing the magical devices outside.
'The advanced magic of Eseled could overturn the world's order, which he was cautious about.'
In a way, Lark was a true guardian of world peace.
"Come on, sit down."
Navia, led by everyone's hands, wore a cute golden party hat and clapped her hands to the birthday song.
Then, when she saw the eight candles on her birthday cake, she momentarily pursed her lips.
"Make a wish."
A wish.
Navia looked at the golden flames twisting restlessly, burning quietly.
'Actually, this was my wish.'
Having a birthday celebration with candles and congratulations was a wish Navia had always harbored.
Eseled was a miraculous place that fulfilled her tucked-away wishes one by one.
Navia closed her eyes and thought of a wish.
But then she almost chuckled at how cliché her wish was.
'Please make everyone happy.'
That was a wish only a beloved protagonist in a storybook would make. Yet, incredibly, she was making that wish now.
But she truly wanted nothing more than everyone's happiness.
Navia was about to blow out the candles when she suddenly made another wish.
'Let me meet my mother.'
She was curious about her mother and wanted to meet her.
But more importantly, because she was the person her father loved.
The reason he didn't return and guarded the mansion was all to wait for Camilla's return.
'So please, let Dad meet Mom...'
Navia blew out the candles.
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