Chapter 76: Daily Life of Father and Sons

"Of course, they will, Master!" Sveta replied confidently, then cleared his throat and announced, "Everyone, please quiet down. Let's welcome the master of Deep Rock Castle, Lord Rhett, to give the opening speech for the barbecue."

The crowd fell silent, with only the crackling of the fire and the occasional pop of dry wood breaking the quiet. Rhett remained calm and decided to keep his speech short. "As this is the first spring since my return to Falcon Town, it's a blessing to have you all here with me."

"Tonight, let this be a celebration of the new year! Everyone, enjoy yourselves!" Rhett raised his voice to finish his speech and then turned to the slightly plump woman by the grill, smiling. "Madam Maru, please start grilling the beast meat. My men and I can hardly wait."

"Thank you, Lord!" the crowd echoed behind him, their gratitude heartfelt.

Rhett couldn't help but smile as he listened to the cheers. How did he know their gratitude was genuine? Well, since the simulator didn't show any anomalies, he assumed that everyone had a deep sense of belonging to the territory.

Even though the servants were ordinary people and might not provide much in terms of combat strength, Rhett didn't belittle them. In Deep Rock Castle, everyone had their role, and each played a part in keeping the territory running smoothly. As the lord, Rhett enjoyed the rights of leadership but also bore the responsibilities that came with it. He led Falcon Town, a shared destiny for them all, towards a brighter future.

The outdoor barbecue stirred everyone's enthusiasm, with laughter echoing through the night at Deep Rock Castle. As the evening grew late, most people began to leave. The servants needed to rise early the next day to clean every corner of the castle and tend to the flowers and plants that were awakening with the arrival of spring.

The knights and squires also had early training sessions, especially the apprentice knights and those with ordinary physical abilities; staying up late wasn't a good habit for them.

Meanwhile, Tuck was still busy devouring food. A pile of bones and skewers lay before him, but his stomach seemed bottomless as he continued to tear into the beast meat with the determination to fight to the last bite.

"Tuck! How much longer are you going to eat? Dick is so tired he can't even keep his eyes open!" Vanessa, sitting next to Tuck, scolded him angrily.

Tuck paused and glanced at his chubby son. "It's my fault! We should head back to rest."

With that, he wrapped his arm around Vanessa's waist and hurried toward the castle.

Kurs and Tadell, each holding a leg of meat in one hand and a beer mug in the other, clinked their mugs together with a loud clang. Only after Tuck had entered the castle did they finally set their mugs down and share a knowing smile.

Turning their attention to a man and a woman quietly enjoying wine at a nearby table, Tadell teased, "Hey, Frano, Laurin, when are you two planning to have kids?"

"Yeah," Kurs added with a grin, "it's not like before when we were always on the move. Now's the perfect time to start a family, don't you think?"

Rhett, overhearing the conversation, couldn't help but smile as well, glancing at the quiet ranger couple.

"Uh..." Frano, who preferred peace and quiet, was caught off guard by the question and momentarily froze.

"Ahem, having children is inevitable, but there's no need for you two to worry about it," Frano retorted after recovering. "Why not focus on yourselves and think about when you'll get married?"

"Just recently, I heard that there's a pretty widow in town looking for a match. Should I introduce her to you both?" he countered with a smirk.

Laurin stifled a laugh, taking a sip of wine to hide her amusement.

"Ha, Tadell won't get married, and neither will I," Kurs said nonchalantly, taking a bite of roasted meat.

"Who's afraid of who? I'll wait for Kurs to get married first!" Tadell shot back, not willing to be outdone.

The lively and harmonious scene before him made Reilly smile silently. As a gust of night wind ruffled the wine in his glass, a certain figure suddenly appeared in his mind—a figure with a skirt swaying in the breeze.

Reilly froze for a moment, then shook his head, trying to dispel the thought. "Why am I thinking of her...? I must have had too much to drink."

"Wait, what's today's date again? Is it the 23rd?" Reilly's body suddenly tensed as he realized that tomorrow was the agreed-upon date.

He stood up, intending to retire for the night. More precisely, he needed to calm his mind, organize his thoughts, and plan for tomorrow.

After bidding farewell to the others, Reilly walked across the grass toward Deep Rock Castle. As he looked up, he noticed that the lights on the second floor were still on.

"Hmm? No wonder Tyles left so early. He must be staying up late to read his novels," Reilly muttered, shaking his head. It was already past midnight—definitely the dead of night for ordinary people.

Reilly waved his hand, sending a water ball flying toward the window.

Under the bright light of the lamp, Tyles lay on his bed, propping up his cheeks as he read a thick book. He was so engrossed in the story, his face slightly flushed with excitement, that he didn't notice the passing of time. His smile grew and shrank with the turning of each page.

Suddenly, a splash on the window startled Tyles. He turned his head and saw the water droplets on the glass, blinking as he realized what had happened.

"Huh? It's that late already?"

Tyles checked the time, seeing that it was indeed the middle of the night. He recalled his promise to his father and Reilly's earlier warning. With a reluctant sigh, he closed the book and turned off the light before crawling back into bed.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he stared at the ceiling but found that he couldn't sleep.

"Darn, I slept too much during the day. Now I can't fall asleep!" Tyles thought with a frown.

A few minutes later, unable to resist, he carefully pulled back the blanket. With no trace of sleepiness, he crept to his dresser, took out a glowing crystal lamp, and crawled back under the covers.

The crystal was a birthday gift from Reilly, bought in Twilight City the previous year. It was an alchemical creation that even ordinary people could use. With a simple switch, the lamp consumed the light element within and emitted a soft glow.

Hiding under the covers, Tyles grinned as he reopened his book.

"Wait... why is there a faint fluctuation of light elements on the fourth floor?" Rhett wondered, glancing suspiciously at Tyles' room. After a moment of thought, realization dawned on him, and he chuckled softly. "Trying to pull a fast one on me? Dream on..."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Tyles, I know you're under the covers... reading a novel!" Rhett's voice came from outside the door.

Startled, Tyles quickly closed the book and hastily turned off the crystal lamp. His heart pounded as he deliberately waited a few seconds before responding in a sleepy voice, "Hmm... what? Father, I was already asleep... I wasn't reading a novel."

Outside the door, Rhett found the situation amusing. It reminded him of when parents on Earth would catch their children playing on their phones late at night, only for the kids to deny it and pretend to be asleep.

"Do you really think you can fool me? Tyles, you'd better be an honest child, or else..."

Hearing his father's stern tone, Tyles panicked, fearing that his wool blanket might be confiscated. Knowing he couldn't keep up the act, he quickly confessed, "Father, I was wrong. I shouldn't have secretly read my novel. I promise I'll sleep right now!"

He hurriedly put the crystal lamp back in the drawer, placed the book on his desk, and sprawled out on the bed in a "big" shape.

Outside the door, Rhett stood for a full ten minutes, feeling like he had aged from the effort of managing his children. Only when he sensed that the element fluctuations inside the room had stabilized did he smile, shake his head, and walk away.

Listening to his father's footsteps fade away, Tyles stared at the ceiling, trying to resist the lure of his novel. After a moment, he sighed and forced his eyes shut.

"Anyway, I'm almost done with the second volume. I'll enjoy the grand finale tomorrow afternoon, basking in the sunshine on my wool blanket!" Tyles comforted himself with the thought, feeling a little better.

Then he wondered, "Hmm, I wonder if there's more after the second volume? The author of this fantasy novel is amazing. When they release the next one, I'll definitely subscribe to the official version!"

...