37. Preparation

The evening has arrived. There are only a few hours left before the party begins. The members of the royal family were already busy getting ready.

Except for a baby, who refrained from letting out a long groan.

'Leave me alone.'

Arion was in Natalie's arms while Nova ordered the servants to move faster. Really, he just wanted some peace.

Natalie was busy soothing Arion, who had been a bit rebellious and made protesting noises when she or Nova would change his clothes for tonight's celebration.

When Arion started to close his eyes to pretend to sleep, Natalie immediately patted his cheek gently to wake him up.

"Come on baby, don't fall asleep again. We have to get ready." Natalie gently coaxed.

This was the first time she had ever seen Arion rebel so long. Usually, when Arion was in a bad mood, he would only rebel for a short time, not even five minutes.

It seemed like the baby was uncomfortable right now with all the bustle around him. Natalie began to think that she should stay away for a while and calm Arion down first.

Arion grumbled to himself, 'I'm already starting to hate tonight.'

Without realizing it, his eyes started to glaze over. He really felt uncomfortable now. He wanted to stay under the blanket for the rest of the night.

But Arion didn't want to cause any more trouble. So he forced himself to be quiet and obey what his mother wanted.

When Natalie felt Arion begin to calm down, she gently kissed her baby's forehead, "Here comes a very good baby Mommy. Don't cry, sweetie."

Arion gripped Natalie's clothes tightly, 'I'm not.'

Natalie led Arion away from the few servants who were still busy. She believed Nova could handle it.

Natalie rocked her baby's body and hummed quietly. If Arion fell asleep again, so be it. She couldn't stand to see her baby fussing like that.

"Is the little prince still fussy?"

Natalie turned her head to look at Nova who was standing nearby with a worried expression on her face. She looked at Arion, who remained silent, clutching his mother's clothes.

Natalie made a small grimace, "Yes. Looks like he's not too happy about me disturbing his sleep."

Not that it was her intention. She had planned to dress Arion while he slept because she couldn't bear to wake him.

But Arion woke up as soon as Natalie picked him up. Maybe she should have kept Arion away first before she had the servants get to work preparing everything for her and Arion.

Nova shook her head gently, "No one would be happy to have their sleep disturbed, Your Majesty.''

Especially since the one being awakened was a baby who tired easily and slept a lot. It was a miracle that Arion didn't cry and only fussed for a moment.

"What about the twins?" Natalie asked with a hint of guilt.

She thought that taking care of Arion would be faster, so she took care of him first. She hadn't considered that Arion would be so fussy.

"I've assigned a servant I trained directly to deal with them. No excessive screaming, no cheek pinching." Nova explained firmly.

"And I've made sure the twins know the reason for your absence," She continued, trying to allay her niece's concerns.

Just as Natalie was about to ask another question, Nova immediately cut her off, "His Majesty Arsen is already being attended to by Reiga."

Natalie blinked a few times before giggling, "Thank you, Auntie."

Nova just sighed and shook her head, a sign that Natalie didn't need to thank her. After all, it's her job to make sure all members of the royal family are ready for the party.

"Now, how about you start getting ready and let me take care of Prince Arion?" Nova's offer was met with a shake of Natalie's head.

She gave a small smile, "In a moment. Arion is still a bit upset."

Natalie looked down at Arion who still held her shirt tightly. His forehead was wrinkled and there was a small pout on his lips.

Natalie laughed softly and kissed her baby's forehead and cheeks. It seemed to take more time for Arion to stop sulking.

Arion stopped himself from snorting in annoyance, 'And this annoyance will last all night.'

After an agonizingly long time, Arion finally finished getting ready with Nova's help, so Natalie could get ready as well.

Natalie grabbed Arion and rewarded him with a soft kiss on the forehead. Arion remained silent and once again took hold of Natalie's clothes but carefully, afraid that he would ruin his mother's appearance.

'I'm tired...'

Natalie immediately went to the twins' place, followed by Nova. She couldn't wait to see Eric and Hana's appearance.

Once there, Natalie stifled a squeal of delight at the sight of her children. They looked handsome, beautiful, and cute too!

Arion blinked, 'Genes don't lie.'

Hana, who had been the first to notice Natalie's presence, immediately approached her happily. Eric followed his twin sister with a sigh of relief.

"Mom!"

Natalie knelt in front of them, careful not to damage or stain her dress.

"You guys are so cute!" Natalie praised them with a happy smile. It was worth it that she had prepared all those clothes for her babies. They looked absolutely adorable!

Hana smiled happily while Eric frowned unhappily, a bit put off by his mother's remark. He didn't like being called cute. He's a boy, he should be called handsome.

But Eric remained silent and didn't protest. He just nodded in response to his mother.

Natalie, who realized Eric's thoughts, just chuckled, "My Eric looks so handsome today!"

Eric blushed slightly and looked down, embarrassed by his mother's praise. Natalie smiled and gently stroked Eric's hair, careful not to damage it.

She turned to Hana and her smile grew wider, "My Hana is also very beautiful and shiny today!

Hana laughed happily, "Thank you, Mom!"

Although hesitant, Eric whispered, "Thank you, I guess."

He wouldn't lie that he was pleased with his mother's praise. But he was embarrassed to say it out loud.

Natalie restrained herself from squealing out loud. Her kids looked like little angels! Her heart could hardly contain it!

Hana elbowed her twin brother with a smile, "You're cooler than usual, Brother."

Eric snorted and glanced at her, "You're not too bad either."

"Hey!" Hana shouted in disapproval.

Without answering, Eric turned to ask one of the servants for something, who promptly complied.

When he returned, Eric was putting something in Hana's hair, who looked at him in confusion.

Eric looked at his handiwork with satisfaction, "Now it's perfect."

Hana fumbled at the thing Eric had put on her in confusion. Nova quickly brought a small mirror so the little girl could see it.

There is now a flower pin neatly attached to the right side of her hair. Hana looked at it admiringly.

Hana hugged her older brother happily, "Thank you, Brother!"

Eric just cleared his throat and nodded, but there was a small smile on his lips. He patted his little sister's arm, asking her to stop hugging him.

Hana let go of her hug. Her happy smile still hadn't faded. She turned her head to see Arion in her mother's arms.

Hana's eyes sparkled, "Arion is so cute!" She squealed with delight.

It was the first time she had seen her baby brother in more formal attire. It turned out that Arion was always cute no matter what he wore!

Eric nodded proudly, "As expected from my little brother."

Arion buried his face even deeper in his mother's arms. His expression looked very tortured, '...Please just finish me.'

Natalie giggled amusedly and stood up, "Then let's go see Daddy."

She held out her hand, which wasn't holding Arion, for one of the twins to take.

Hana immediately took her mother's hand and her other hand took Eric's. They walked hand in hand until they could see Arsen's silhouette in the distance, with Reiga standing behind him.

"Dad!"

Hana's call made Arsen and Reiga turn their heads. A small smile appeared on Arsen's lips when he saw the charming appearance of his family.

Arion looked at the man he called his father with admiration. With more formal-looking clothes and a cloak on his back, coupled with his hair styled so that his forehead was slightly visible, Arion almost didn't recognize him.

'He doesn't look like a father of three kids.'

"Dad! You look so handsome!" Hana praised him enthusiastically after they arrived in front of the two adult men.

Arsen smiled a little and rubbed their head gently, "You guys look very handsome and beautiful."

"Hehe!"

Arsen turned his head to look at his wife who smiled softly at him. He returned it with a small smile and held out his hand.

"Natalie."

Natalie giggled and took her husband's hand. Arsen looked at Arion who was still comfortable hiding himself in Natalie's arms.

He gently rubbed Arion's cheek before returning his gaze to the twins who were joking with Reiga, "Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Then let's go."

Hana exclaimed happily and took Eric's hand again, who protested slightly. They left first, accompanied by Reiga, after Arsen had given the signal.

Arion sighed resignedly, 'I don't want to go...'