"What's taking him so long?" Qingyue frowned as she looked at the clock and saw that it was already past two in the afternoon.
They were supposed to be at their lunch table right now, but Keith and Venessa had still not arrived home.
"They are at Noxville," Amelia informed her as she entered the room, and then took a seat on the couch right next to her sister-wife. "They have been in Sameran for a day now."
"What?" Qingyue surprisedly looked at her but then frowned.
Since Keith did not come home yesterday, and neither did Celine and Venessa, it meant that they were busy with something.
"Do you know what they are doing?"
"No. I was just informed that they were sighted entering the Tower of Nox." Amelia shook her head. "It probably concerned Nyx, and Rebecca might know what it is about."
"I will go and ask her." Qingyue nodded to her and was about to stand up when Amelia shook her head.
"Rebecca has gone out to visit the ranch with Kiara, Alana, and the twins."
"And Zoey?" Qingyue curiously asked.
"She's with Grandmother and Nana." Amelia smiled at her. "We need to talk."
Seeing the smile on her sister-wife's face and the seriousness in her eyes, Qingyue felt a little uneasy in her heart.
"Yes?"
"You and Rebecca had a chat in the morning."
"She told you?" The grey-eyed girl narrowed her eyes but frowned as it was not like Rebecca to share private talks with other people, even if they were family.
"No. She did not tell me everything but asked me to have a chat with you about your plans." Amelia lightly said and waited for Qingyue to nod before she continued. "You have been reading stories from the storybook you borrowed from Minami, right?"
"Yes." She could not guess what this was going to be about, and she was not exactly thrilled to have this chat.
"We both know that you are not the girl who would rely solely on Keith or follow his every lead." There was a certain confidence in her words that eased her nerves. "You are someone who wants to stand by his side and provide him with your support."
"Yes." The grey-eyed girl did not deny her words and nodded her head.
"And do you know what it would require?" Amelia asked and watched a frown appear on her sister-wife's face.
There was a silence that reigned between them for a good minute before Qingyue took a deep breath and nodded to her.
"I won't be able to stay by his side all the time."
"Even if you wanted to, you would not be able to stay by his side all the time." She nodded and smiled. "He always has his goals set, and as you can already see, he can not always stay at home."
"Amy, I don't like the idea of slavery..." Qingyue knew where this conversation was headed, and she lowered her head.
"Why?"
"What do you mean why?" She frowned and raised her head to look at the emerald-eyed girl. "It is wrong!"
Amelia looked into her sister-wife's eyes and stayed quiet for a while.
"Amy, I can't."
"You have lived in this house for years now. Did you see any of us treat Yingying, Marianne, and Ingrid in a manner that did not sit well with you?" Her question was very serious and her stare was even more. "Have you found them unhappy with their lives?"
"They don't count." She shook her head. "They are different."
"Then why don't you find yourself one like them? Or maybe ask Keith for one?"
"Amy, I..." Qingyue wanted to say that it was not something she wanted to do, but she could not say those words under Amelia's stern gaze.
"Victor is Keith's slave, Yue." She suddenly said, making the grey-eyed girl very uneasy. "He will kill himself if Keith asks him for his life. He will do anything Keith asks him to do. Does he look like a person who is unhappy with his life?"
Qingyue lowered her head and thought about the time she had spent with Victor by her side.
Victor was practically her bodyguard now, and he had been serving by her side for years under Keith's order ever since he had left for his Military Duty.
She had seen and observed how the muscle head behaved, and she had never seen a day where he had not genuinely smiled, even on the days when he was beaten to a pulp at the hands of Ryou in their gruelling training sessions.
He was happy with his life. There was no denying it.
"It's how you treat the people who belong to you that counts," Amelia told her with a smile. "Nothing you can do will change the order the life works under. Some people are born to serve, some are born to rule, and most are born without a purpose and fail to find one all their lives. Such people end up at the mercy of the strong anyway."
She stood up after saying those words and waited for Qingyue to raise her head and meet her eyes.
"You can choose to become someone who can serve, or you can choose to become someone who can rule. There is no place for people without a purpose in this household. If you remain undecided by the time we have to leave this world, you will end up harming yourself."
The seriousness in Amelia's voice caught her off-guard.
She had never before heard the emerald-eyed girl speak so decisively and coldly, and it was the first time that she felt a little fearful of her.
For some reason, she felt threatened by Amelia's words.
"Come. Keith's here."
"What?" Qingyue surprisedly asked and then followed Amelia's eyes to look at the sofa in the corner of the room.
It was empty, but she knew that it was being occupied by a certain beautiful black cub, who usually slept on it and was still there a few minutes ago.
"Void woke up and rushed out as fast as he could." Amelia smiled. "He's only that excited when Keith and Minami return home." She said and then turned to look at the Kurdish girl, who was sitting on the other couch and had been silently listening to their conversation.
Ayesha, as always, minded her own business and never interfered when people around her were discussing something. She was a very keen listener, and it was something that almost everyone in the house highly appreciated.
Amelia could see why Keith chose her to stay by Qingyue's side. The grey-eyed girl needed someone like her by her side, who would not influence her in any way but would still make sure that things stayed in order and would keep a close check on her for Keith.
The three of them walked out of the lounge, and Qingyue was lost in her thoughts as her mind revolved around the talk she just had with Amelia.
It was not until they walked out of the front door of the manor that she raised her eyes and smiled again. What she witnessed was just too heartwarming for her to not smile at it.
There, sitting by the side of the Aquarius Fountain was her beloved husband, and a certain black cub was sitting on his left shoulder and licking his face happily.
Watching a cat behave like a dog was always a funny sight.
"Keith!" She happily called out to him and then rushed forward.
The people surrounding them watched in surprise and smiled as Qingyue sat on his right side and started planting kisses on his face whilst Void showered his love on the other side of his face.
"Interesting." Keith playfully chuckled as he turned to look at her blushing face, and then leaned in to capture her lips. "Never knew that serpents showcased their love in such a manner." He commented and paid no heed to it when Qingyue shoved him away and started walking inside the manor, stomping her feet hard on the ground.
She hated when he teased her by calling her a Serpent, a name he had given to her because her Aura Soul was a serpent.
"Yue."
"Don't talk to me!" She told him and then sent him a glare before she entered the manor.
"That was mean." Amelia giggled as she approached him, and then curiously watched him feed the black cub with his Aura and Mana.
"Did not expect her to be in a bad mood." He shrugged and then smiled and nodded at Ayesha, who hurriedly walked over to him and sat by his side to hug him.
"Kiss me." He asked her, and Ayesha obediently planted her lips on his, finding some relief in the taste of him.
"Mother?"
"She's taking a look around Noxville. Yingying and Minami are with her as well."
Amelia nodded to him and then curiously looked into his eyes.
"Did you have something to deal with at the Tower of Nox?"
"Yes." He was not surprised that she knew where he was.
After all, his visit was not meant to be a secret affair.
"I had a meeting with Nyx and Hermes."
"Anything interesting?"
"A lot." He chuckled. "Qin Feng sent me a gift through Hermes. A token of his goodwill and a move to get on good terms with me."
"I suppose it is something special?"
"Just a pot of gold." He shrugged and then stood up, handing the Black cub, who had eaten to his fill, over to Ayesha. "What's up with Yue?" He asked as he pulled his dear wife into a hug.
"She's getting curious and needs to find some answers," Amelia told him, burying her face in his chest.
"And what's the root of her curiosity?" He inquired.
"Zoey, Amira, and Reina." She smiled. "Alana too."
"I see." He sighed and then shook his head. "The girls?"
Just as he asked the question, he sensed a pair of sisters rushing out of the Manor and then smiled brightly as a little auburn-haired girl approached him at a terrifying speed.
"Hey." He smiled at her when she came to a stop by his side.
"Hey." Ingvild brightly smiled back at him, and as soon as Amelia separated from his arm, she lunged into his embrace and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I missed you."
"I know." He nudged his nose with hers before planting a kiss on it, which made her giggle.
Though she did not want to leave his arms, Ingvild gave way to her older sister when she approached them.
It was only the start of the round of hugs Keith had to give and receive today, and as tiresome as it would have seemed to someone like Rebecca, he did not mind it and was looking forward to greeting everyone.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l