Chapter 3: Duke Carlton (The Original)

Carlton's eyes fluttered open, the luxurious ceiling of an unfamiliar room reflecting in his blue irises. As he shifted slightly, a man's voice broke through the silence.

"Finally you wake up..."

Turning to the sound of the voice, Carlton saw that it was Alaric, his best friend. He held Carlton's hand tightly with a worried expression etched on his face. Despite feeling groggy from just waking up, the observant Carlton couldn't help but notice something different about Alaric, he looked older than before although not by much.

Carlton nodded to him wordlessly as his expressionless gaze remained fixed on Alaric, as if searching for answers within his friend.

"Did you find me unconscious in the maze? Have you checked the situation there and found anything?"

Alaric looked taken aback by Carlton's cold attitude, but dismissed it as mere grogginess from waking up. He held onto Carlton's hand tighter witha worried expression.

"You were separated from the children for a moment. When they found you, you were already lying unconscious. The royal guards found nothing there other than you who was unconscious. Fortunately, Lucas said you were okay..."

Carlton felt goosebumps rising on his skin as he saw Alaric's loving gaze directed at him. He wanted to pull away his hand from Alaric's grasp but it only made the grip tighten more.

His attention then shifted towards Alaric's words and he furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Children Whose children? Why were they there at night?"

Carlton's tone turned cold as he felt that whoever brought the kids into the maze late at night was not being responsible enough as a parent. What if something had happened to them? They could have gotten lost or worse yet, disappeared without anyone noticing.

Alaric's soft laughter echoed in the room as he gently kissed Carlton's hand. "Did you forget about yesterday, darling? Of course I mean our children. Last night they said they would only go to bed if you took them to the maze for a while. I regret not accompanying you then..." Alaric brought Carlton's hand to his cheek, rubbing it against his skin affectionately.

But Carlton barely heard Alaric's words, the touch of those soft lips on his hand made him feel cold all over. His murderous aura seeped out of him, causing the air around them to turn icy. And even though Alaric was joking, he didn't appreciate that kind of humor.

"Don't touch me like this." He snapped at Alaric, pulling away from him with a look that could freeze anyone in an instant.

Alaric was taken aback by Carlton's sudden change in demeanor and looked at him with confusion and hurt.

"My love, are you angry with me? Is it because I didn't accompany you when you fainted? Please forgive me..." Alaric pleaded as he climbed onto the bed and hugged Carlton tightly.

Carlton tried to control his anger and hold back his impulses. If Alaric wasn't his best friend or the crown prince, he might have already killed him for touching him like that.

"Let go of me..." Carlton demanded, struggling against Alaric's embrace. But then there was a sound of a door opening and footsteps approaching them.

"Father Emperor, is Daddy awake?"

The seven children approached the bed, seemingly unconcerned and used to seeing the two men cuddling together. Alaric didn't let go of his embrace on Carlton but shifted his body slightly so that he was half lying next to him.

As Alaric's body moved out of the way, Carlton could finally see all seven children clearly. He was surprised at how much they resembled both him and Alaric, some had Alaric's black hair with Carlton's blue eyes, while others had golden eyes like Alaric with dark blue hair like Carlton. The three smallest ones, who were about two years old and held in their older siblings's hands, appeared to be triplets.

"Daddy..." One of them said as they climbed onto the bed with the help of mini Alaric, who seemed to be the oldest child.

"Sob... dad...dy..." Another one added, looking up at Carlton with sad eyes.

"Daddy, are you okay?" The third triplet asked in a small voice.

The three of them immediately hugged Carlton tightly as soon as they reached him. One of the triplets, a little girl with sleepy eyes, was already crying profusely. Carlton remained silent as he tried to process what was happening. He started to believe that something was wrong at this point. Alaric stroked the hair of one of the triplets to comfort her.

"Don't worry, your daddy's okay..." He said softly to Cristina, who continued to cry on his shoulder while her siblings clung onto Carlton for dear life.

Carlton's brain tried to connect every piece of the puzzle, trying to make sense of everything that had happened since he woke up earlier. He looked at the three tiny creatures sitting on his body, hugging him tightly, as well as the four children standing next to the bed looking at him with confusion and worry. They all called him daddy while Alaric was referred to as father emperor - title that Carlton knew should have been reserved for when Alaric became king.

Then finally Carlton turned towards Alaric, who was looking at him with a worried expression etched on his face. As Carlton studied Alaric more closely, he noticed that this version of Alaric appeared older than what he remembered, perhaps in his late 20s or early 30s, when the Alaric he knew was still 21 years old. Carlton decided to ask a question to prove his suspicions.

"When did the 2-year war end?"

Alaric was even more confused by this random and unexpected question, but he answered nonetheless.

"It was about 11 years ago. What's the matter, my love?"

Carlton felt dizzy hearing that, his guess had been right all along. He then pointed towards the children who were hugging him tightly.

"And these children... who gave birth to them?" His voice sounded different from his usual cold and haughty tone, it was soft and filled with emotion.

"You did, my love." Alaric replied gently as he watched Carlton closely for any signs of distress or confusion.

Carlton kept his stoic expression intact but various emotions overflowed inside him. He held back all those feelings because there were children around them. But unconsciously, he couldn't hold it anymore, his head drooped back as he fainted from too much emotion.

"Darling!!!"

"Daddy!!!"

The palace was filled with screams of panic as everyone tried to figure out what had happened to their beloved empress and daddy. It was an exciting day indeed for everyone in these two worlds...