Chapter 10: Parenting?

From another room, Anette walked in with a tray of warm milk tea and freshly baked snacks for the guests she had personally made.

While distributing, she relished the praise from their delighted exclamation.

"This is so good~"

"I simply love it, Anette. You have outdone yourself!" 

Many praises resounded in the room even before she sat beside Bianca.

"These are simply delicious Anette," commented Bianca. 

She could not help but savor the blend taste of sweet and sour snacks with the smooth hot milk tea Anette had served. Anette had improved so much in such a short time. 

Bianca could not help but chuckle when she thought of her taste of Anette's first-made meal. She could hardly swallow it let alone take a bite. Although she said nothing negative at the time, Anette had taken the initiative to swear to make her love her cooking. Anette had kept her promise months later!

"It's average but thank you," replied Anette.

Her voice was cold as usual. 

"How are the children? Have they started eating meals?" asked a woman in the group. 

"Yes. They are mainly having milk but we try to feed them soft meals once a day or more whenever the chance arises. Is this enough? I am worried about how I should balance the two," inquired Bianca. 

Bianca's voice waved a bit but was not noticeable by the rest. Bianca expressed her worries openly to those with more experience.

"That should be fine. Huhu~ You aren't doing this to cut off their milk but to reduce the pressure on you. It is to give your body a chance to stop the lactation period. However, getting them used to food is good too." A cherry elderly lady commented.

Her face was all smiles, a warm atmosphere around her with eyes full of love. She looked at Bianca like she would a grandchild. So giving advice and comforting Bianca came naturally. 

"Yes, well said. Just do it at your own pace. You will notice the changes since you are with the child more. Every child is different in this aspect," she paused for a second before continuing. "Some stop breastfeeding on their own early on while others want to continue even after a year or two. It varies." She nodded while making hand gestures, saying this. 

It could be seen she had a lot of experience. She had three kids after all.

The atmosphere was cheery as they exchanged opinions and added some village gossip. This went on until the end of the gathering. 

Bianca and Anette had just finished cleaning up after their guests. It was around this time Merlin walked in.

"Welcome home honey~" Bianca said with a welcoming embrace. 

He nodded and led her in.

"How was hunting?" she asked out of courtesy despite being uninterested in such matters.

"Fine. You?" Merlin asked. 

Only Bianca and Mitchell could understand his talking habits. It translated to; 'Nothing interesting happened. It was just fine enough. What about your day?'

"Nothing much. Just the usual gathering. It was splendid!" Bianca exclaimed excitedly.

 She didn't seem to notice the contradiction in her words. 

"I see." Merlin studied the room. 

A frown formed as his eyebrows creased together.

He was especially sensitive to disorder, and contact with strangers. He had a very self-secluded nature. He would have remained so if not for Bianca's countless nagging to interact with others for years.

"Honey?!" Her voice was a few notes deeper than usual. Her gaze became sharp as she waited for any complaint. 

'I dare you!' was the meaning of her stare.

"Nothing!" He gave up even before he started. 

Bianca was both that much loving but also that much scary. He wouldn't test his luck on her mood swings. 

"Need anything?" Merlin looked into her eyes when her gaze softened suddenly. 'Scary!'

"Of course. I want some 'US' time with my friend. So give us some time, Will you?" she asked coquettishly. 

Merlin was speechless but he didn't dare answer carelessly. He wasn't scared at all, he just knew there was no way to predict her reaction to either answer. It was like a rock and a hard place. 

"Waahhhh!!" "Sniff, Waah, Waah!" 

Children's weeping was heard in another room. Merlin inwardly sighed with relief. 

Bianca became restless and rushed to the room. Anette who was watching from the side looked at Merlin pitifully before going to the room right behind Bianca. 

'Aah! Even she pities me,' Merlin lamented his fate and could not help but stare at where Bianca had disappeared from his sight. 

He turned and left the house to find Mitchell, wherever he was.

…

Bianca went into the room and walked directly towards Little Lucien's voice. Bianca studied little Lucien before picking him up. The children were now around 180 days old. It had been half a year since their birth. 

Lucien's hair had grown out a bit showing its platinum blonde and unique softness. It was very fine, delicate, light-colored hair; similar to platinum and blond but neither at the same time. He hadn't picked up his father's, Merlin's, silver-gray hair. His ocean blue eyes like zircon jewels resembled his mother's, Bianca. His soft chubby features were hard to distinguish resemblance of either parent. 

Lucien was a quiet child, who didn't make much of a fuss when he was clean and fed. His crying right now meant he was either, hungry or had gone potty. While weeping, his little milk teeth paired at the bottom of his gums were more visible. This made him more dorky than at other times. Bianca thought it was quite adorable. 

"There there, Lulu~ Don't cry, Mommy is here," said Bianca while sniffing him, "You must be hungry, right? I will get you some milk~"

Pacing around, she went to find a bottle ready filled on the shelves slightly cool. 

Anette took Mikaela in her arms. Surprisingly, he stopped crying and giggled in her arms. 

"Ahh! Ma-uh-ma-bah!" His voice resounded in the room. Anette silently observed the child. 

Mikaela on the other hand, took after his mother a lot. His ruby eyes and jet-black hair resembled hers. Anette analyzed that he took after his grandfather's, Sagar Howell's wavy hair. 

He was a bubbly child, all smiles whenever he was awake.

'He must have gotten that from Mitchell!' She concluded.

Mikaela rarely cried first. Only when he was starving, would he be restless and whimper. He cried most of the time only when Lucien cried. So it was always the two children crying together most of the time.

Anette realized the child must be hungry since he was still clean in the cloth diaper. She found Mikaela's milk bottle on the shelf. 

The children had a room to stay together during the day where they would play and rest. It was filled with toys and blankets within a large enclosed resting area. A children's room, the room the four currently were. 

"Are children always like this?" asked Anette suddenly.

'So obedient and in sync?'

Bianca was silent until she understood what Anette was referring to. 

"I wouldn't know. From the villagers, children are generally not like ours. Remember, we joined their fates. This is the first time such a thing has happened. I don't know what side effects it has but this should be one I guess," said Bianca.

In the passing, picking up a ready-prepared milk bottle and warming it up with her magic. She did the same remotely to Anette's bottle as well.

Anette nodded and said nothing else. She smiled looking at the child waiting eagerly in her arms.