"You've grown a lot, kiddo."
Creed finally noticed Lark.
Standing face to face, they were about the same height.
Lark, sharp and delinquent-looking, contrasted with Creed, who appeared sleek and upright. Their auras were distinctly different.
Yet, there was a strange resemblance between them. Perhaps because Lark looked so youthful, he almost seemed like an older brother to Creed.
"……You're back?"
As Creed greeted him hesitantly, Lark let out a deflated laugh.
To Navia, both Creed and Lark, despite their size, still looked childishly small.
Maybe to him, they would always appear that way.
"Right."
And Creed, who had taken away his daughter, wasn't entirely to his liking, but he was someone she had nurtured and cared for herself.
Yes. He was also a guardian to Creed.
"Come here."
At those words, Creed's eyes widened slightly.
Lark, with his arm outstretched and his characteristic playful attitude, seemed to be offering a hug.
Recognizing this, Creed approached awkwardly, and Lark hugged him tightly, messing up his neatly styled hair.
"You've done well."
It was a rough but affectionate touch.
Creed, unaccustomed to such affection from an adult, blushed quickly.
Somehow, it seemed like the unruly Duke could have such a proper daughter like Navia.
Although Lark had childish aspects, he was undoubtedly an adult. A solid and unshakeable one, like a giant mountain.
That's probably why he had admired him since his childhood.
Watching this, Navia's heart swelled with emotion.
The fact that the whole family was gathered brought her uncontrollable joy, and she ran to hug them both at once.
"I'm so happy everyone's back."
Just then, the reality hit them again.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
Due to Lark's actions, Ares and Diana, tied up and gagged on the floor, brought them back to the situation at hand.
Although their reunion was brief, dealing with the situation was the priority.
"Let's get things sorted out first."
Navia nodded and looked at Ares and Diana, tied up on the floor with golden cloth, resembling figures bound by cloth.
"Should we leave them like this, Dad?"
"Yeah. Unless it's a considerable deity, they can't untie that. Plus, the deity inside him is far inferior to me."
"That's a relief. We can handle things more smoothly."
The Emperor was certainly dead.
His end was pitiable, but he reaped what he had sown.
Diana and Ares, who had killed the Emperor, had also killed over a thousand humans.
'No matter how much they were influenced by an external deity, it's unforgivable.'
Navia recalled what Lark had said.
"They prey on the chaos in people's minds, searching for humans who desperately want to use them."
Fortunately, Diana hadn't involved her brother, Duke Lucia, sparing the Lucia family from severe consequences.
'Still, being the birth family of a traitorous and murderous Empress, they couldn't escape condemnation.'
The Lucia family would have to shed their old image and embrace a new one, like the emergence of a new politician, Sara Lucia.
"Let's head to the banquet hall."
Nobles were gathered there, and something significant must have happened.
Then Creed spoke.
"I'll just finish up here and follow. Go ahead with the Duke, Noona."
Navia looked at Creed with a sudden realization.
'It must be hard for him with Father gone...'
She held his hand with a sympathetic expression.
"Are you sure you'll be okay alone?"
Creed, understanding her thoughts, gave a faint smile and brushed back his silver hair.
"Yes. I think I'd prefer to be alone."
'If I'm going to deal with that brat Ares properly, it's better to be alone.'
Contrary to Navia's thoughts, Creed felt no regret over Yulrich's death. His intention to stay was to handle Ares until the brink of death.
"Hmph."
Lark, seeing through Creed's act, found his pitiful pretense ridiculous.
'Trying to look pitiful in front of Navia... that sly fox.'
Lark didn't consider that he was doing the same.
"Well, see you later then. I'm worried about the people at the banquet hall."
"Okay, be careful."
"You too."
As they shared a tender glance, Lark quickly approached, grabbed his daughter's shoulder, and spun her around.
His red gaze, filled with displeasure, glared at Creed, then he muttered under his breath.
'Keep it in check.'
Immediately, Creed's face turned expressionless, and he tilted his head.
'What do you mean?'
'This insignificant thing.'
'Is it okay to do that in front of Noona?'
'Are you threatening me?'
Creed just shrugged his shoulders.
"Well."
"That fox-like…"
"…?"
At that moment, Navia lifted her head in confusion.
"Dad?"
Lark, holding onto Navia, strode forward.
Navia, puzzled, followed Lark and soon thought of the people who would be at the banquet.
'Is Uncle Erkin safe?'
What about Sara? Monica?
As she thought of those whose safety concerned her, she felt a bit anxious.
She had come to cherish many people dearly, which brought about fear. But it didn't feel uncomfortable.
"Your mother used to say, 'Preciousness and fear are the same. It's because it's precious that it's scary.'"
From the day she heard those words, Navia was no longer afraid of cherishing things. After all, they were the same thing.
That's why the precious things became even more precious.
'I hope everyone is safe.'
Navia went down to the first floor with a worried look.
Below, the fog was thick, like the dirty smoke rising from a factory, making it hard to see.
Lark waved his hand, and the fog cleared a little, but it didn't disappear completely. He frowned and said, "Deception works especially well in the human world. It seems that bastard has prepared thoroughly, hasn't he?"
As Lark said, thick deception filled the air. Navia had to cover her mouth from the foul smell.
But that wasn't the only problem.
"Ugh..."
"Keugh, kugh..."
Nobles, consumed by a sinister and gloomy aura, were all collapsed on the ground, occasionally trembling or convulsing.
Lark sighed deeply.
"This isn't something for my realm."
If it had been a problem of monsters from another world invading, he would have swept them all away and ended it.
'Or maybe it would be better if these creatures were just killed off when they mutate due to deception.'
His daughter probably wouldn't agree, though.
Lark walked leisurely, nudging the things scattered around him with his toes.
"Well, it'll be alright, won't it?"
"Why? Do you have a plan, Father?"
Lark looked back at his daughter, who was following him closely with a worried expression.
"Because you're here."
"Me?"
As Navia tilted her head in confusion, Lark was about to explain when suddenly...
"What is all this...!"
Erkin entered the banquet hall, unable to hide his astonishment.
"Uncle!"
Erkin, hearing his niece's voice, looked around wide-eyed and spotted Navia.
"Navia! Are you alright? I have no idea what's going on!... Huh?"
At first, Erkin thought the man standing with Navia was Creed.
But then he turned his head and saw Lark, looking just as he did in his memories, a distance away.
Erkin's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Duke, is that really you? Finally, you've awakened!"
He rushed to Lark with a face full of pure joy and hugged him tightly.
Lark, slightly disgusted, awkwardly returned the hug.
"Long time no see."
"You have no idea how worried I was! Navia must have been worried sick, too. And you haven’t aged a day, have you?"
"Yeah, yeah. Now, you must have come back here for a reason after running out so quickly?"
He gently tried to calm down the excited Erkin, pointing to the rabbit doll, Cesare, in his arms.
"Oh, right. This is... well..."
Erkin looked down at Cesare cautiously.
Just then, Cesare's eyes glimmered with light. Nyx had descended.
- I didn't expect to meet you so soon again, detestable as you are.
As Nyx spoke with displeasure, Lark retorted.
"Who's talking?"
Navia joyfully hugged Nyx.
"Nyx!"
- Ah, my child! To think the little one has grown so much...
Nyx, unable to hide her pride, reached out her short, chubby doll arms to pat Navia.
- Did you get a shock with all this happening where you are? Are you alright?
"Yes, I'm fine. Father came to help when it was dangerous."
- Good. I just descended to the human world and ran into that human, so I was able to get here quickly.
Erkin said he had left the lounge right after the incident and managed to escape the influence before Ares could act.
He had visited the duke's house to inform them of the news and found Cesare blocking his way.
"What exactly happened?"
Erkin frowned deeply, glancing around.
He tried to grasp the situation first, but it was not easy to ignore the surroundings in this bizarre situation.
Navia opened her mouth with an expression as if to say, 'Tell me about it.'
"It's a long story if I explain now. Simply put, there was divine intervention, and Ares was involved."
Nyx scoffed with disdain, as if guessing the situation.
- As usual, our child is so special that even creatures from another world recognize it. Hiding in human bodies, despicable creatures!
Nyx cursed
Navia instinctively realized what she had to do.
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