48.

We were currently on our way back to Lucis on the skyship, I have sent back a shadow member in advance to inform the family of our return and what happened.

To be honest, Aria's punishment might seem light but considering that all she did growing up after being spoiled? I don't even know if she could light up a bonfire on her own. Its not a satisfying punishment for those who were wronged by Aria but it was the lightest punishment Marley could give Aria. No matter what happens, she's still his daughter and her youngest child.

I'm satisfied as long as she's punished under Minstrel's law, albeit a soft punishment. I'm not a psychopath who would kill those who tries to sh*t on me, but... if my daughters were involved, its another story. Also I have already promised not to make a move and I don't plan on reneging my promise. If she ever tries to take revenge on my family, its also another story.

Somnus decided to bring the kids with Helen and transfer them to a church orphanage back at Lucis since Lucis can bring them a better future.

I have learned about the name of the 5 kids. There are 3 girls and 2 boys with a boy being the oldest. All of them have a role within their family.

Liam is the oldest who is the brain of the family, followed by Emma who always make back-up plans, third is Noel who is the muscleman of the family, he is also the one who stole money from Somnus. The fourth kid is Olivia who likes to make make-shift traps. Lastly, Ava who is the lookout of the family.

They proudly told me that they would make plans against the gang harassing them. They've dug several holes in their house for Helen to hide whenever they came to harass them. Olivia would make traps to delay the gang until they completely hid Helen from their eyes. Overall, when they were together, they were like a skilled criminal group and can complete a vault robbery and get away with it without any of them being caught.

'Maybe its not bad on investing on them since their future could be bright if taught correctly.' I thought

They are not as hostile to me as they are with Somnus since I shared them the food I made and they were happy with the taste of my food. Really, my food can conquer a bunch of angry kids.

When the skyship anchored itself to the port, we started packing our belongings and was kind of surprised to see Irene and the kids waiting for us.

The kids were restless when they heard me going back and pulled Irene to wait for me at the port. Seeing me, the kids rushed up and immediately tried to climb on top of me. As usual Pitou took the spot on my nape while I carried the two in my arms.

"Father! We missed you!" Kagura said while I chuckled hearing them.

"You just missed me for my food, right?" I said

"Hehe." Kagura chuckled while looking embarrassed as I laughed seeing that she was already caught.

After that, Somnus, Helen and the kids got down and Irene asked me while staring at Helen.

"Is her scars that bad?" She asked.

"Yeah, the scars are really deep and its impossible to heal it with conventional ways." I said as I saw the chipmunks introducing themselves to the kids.

Helen was surprised to see that I already have children and my wife is a beauty compared to her eldest sister who has a muscular frame. Meanwhile her self-confidence took a hit after seeing Irene and Somnus noticed it and consoled her. There was nothing Somnus can do but wait for me to find a cure.

When Somnus came down, he greeted Irene while Helen found out that Irene was staring after her which made them curious while I had an idea of what Irene would probably do.

"Do you want to lose the scars temporarily? The scars will remain until someone finds a solution but I can make it disappear temporarily with illusion. Do you want it?" Irene asked as Helen nodded.

Irene waved her hand and a rune flew towards Helen before merging with her body. The scars started dissipating quickly as if her skin doesn't have any scars to begin with. Somnus then removed the bandages on her head and Helen's beauty was revealed to the world.

"An 8 huh." I said while nodding my head like a sage and only Irene was able to hear it and she felt that her husband was thinking something bad so she pinched my side.

"What?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Nothing. I just felt that you're thinking something weird about her." she said

'Women's intuition really is something.' I thought before hugging Irene's waist and gave her a light kiss.

"I've missed you, my love." I said as it caught Irene off-guard and she beat my chest with her tiny fists.

"Welcome back, meanie." She said sweetly as I chuckled

Meanwhile, Somnus offered her a mirror and she saw that her face got rid of the scars but when she touched it, she felt the scars and remembered that it was just an illusion but she felt satisfied with this.

We returned back to the castle to start preparing for a dinner and to prepare for Somnus' coronation.

Meanwhile, I had different preparations and plan that I need to complete as I also had my parents join in on the plan.