Chapter 22
Sachin entered the room, holding Celia in his arms while clearly showing it in front of the family, who claimed they were her parents. There were some slight resemblances, but a few appearances had likely changed with the mutation within Celia. "Duke Harold. So, you both say that you are her parents?" The lion kept his upholding and frightening face, keeping his hold on Celia while staring at the two other adult humans to get it started.
"Y-Yes, we are her parents. We were looking for her, but there had been no news about her for two years. Once we heard about the case, then we knew that one of those children must be her." Duke Harold gulped down, trying not to be nervous while looking at the girl who kept hiding her face in the Lion's chest. "P-Please will you let us take care of our daughter again?" He only sweated more, knowing that his child there was said to be a beast. Duke Harold's wife would pretend to cry off to the side, holding her handkerchief and trying to wipe nonexistent tears—sitting on the main hall sofa.
"Yes, will you please let me be a mother to her once more and buy her all the dresses and jewelry that she could ever ask for." Duke Harold's wife only tried to get more sympathy from Sachin and soften the lion's heart.
'Why does it only feel more stupid listening to you both?' Celia, the girl, was only feeling annoyed that she chose to go and listen to them. It was a load of bull from what she knew when Duke Harold just stuttered. He did not stutter but would only stutter around those with much more power than him. 'How did this guy get the title Duke anyway?' Clinging onto Sachin, she still kept her face hidden away from the two people who labeled themselves as 'her parents' when there were nothing but bad memories.
"Why did it take you both two years to find her? Do you even know your daughter's age? Know what she likes to eat? Accept her if she is no longer the same daughter that you know?" Sachin asked. His gaze and expression did not change, and he did not want to let the two people off the leash. He did some quick research, knowing long ago that they were her parents, but he did not care. They were in debt, and he knew they would come running to his mansion and try to gain money from them or sell Celia to get more.
"A-Archmage, you understand that with my current state, then I cannot afford to search for her without payment, so there was only so little that I could do. My daughter should be about almost five or six years old now. She has been missing for about two years, so it has been too long, and with our grieving, then we tried to forget. I know that we will be able to accept her with time since she is our flesh and blood." Duke Harold tried to answer with what he assumed was right.
Sachin did not seem pleased. "Your answers only sound ridiculous to me. You would have still sought out your daughter with or without payment. You would have done all you could, even when you were penniless. What parent stops looking for their child? I have also done some work and found that you both never even attempted to post posters about her. Every parent with a missing child puts up a poster about their child. For her age, she should be six years old, and no parent ever tries to forget about the child to whom they gave birth. You need not be flesh and blood to be considered parent and child." Sachin explained all of that to both of them.
"Oh please, let me see my child! I am the one who gave birth to her! How can you not let a mother meet her daughter once more?" The duke's wife had then gotten up and gone over to Sachin. Stretching her hand out to see Celia.
Sachin only held more onto Celia, not knowing if she was still too afraid to go back to them. He would protect her at all costs, knowing how much she had already gone through. Right when he was about to say something, Celia finally turned her face around and growled. Her eyes were sharp once more like a beast, with her sharp teeth there for her so-called 'mother' to see.
"Ahhh!" The duke's wife screamed in fright, falling back as she landed on her bottom. She had crawled back, breathing heavily to see what type of monster their daughter had become. It was like the rumors had said. Duke Harold was shocked and stepped back, seeing the girl's eyes, teeth, ears, and hands.
Sachin felt pretty proud of Celia, who bared her teeth at the people; they did not even look close or related in this situation. "So, do you both think that you can still accept her for who she is? She does not like people that she is unfamiliar with and does not hesitate to bite and rip off any fingers." Sachin smirked, patting Celia on the head as if praising her for her actions.
'I did not do this to make you happy. I did this so they could see that I was no longer a weak or pathetic kid.' Celia kept those words in her head, looking at the couple again while clinging to Sachin. No sign was that the two humans could care for or handle her. There was just no way; they would surely want to sell her off to the slave market again.
"Y-Yes! We would still be able to take care of her. We still have the custody of being her parents." Duke Harold tried to shake off the shock and fear, but he was just too easy to read. His aura was weak and frightened as well. Sachin and Celia knew that he would not be able to hide it. Duke Harold's wife did not even know what to say; she did not want to be known as the woman who sold her child to slavery, nor did she want rumors to spread around that she was unfaithful to her husband, birthing a beast's child. At this point, she was not going to help her husband since she did not want anything to do with the child, who was now a beast. It would damage her reputation in society more than help. 'Why are you giving up so easily?!' Duke Harold had been sending darted eyes at his wife to help him, but he knew early on that his wife would not assist.
His wife was trembling and shaking, still on the floor while trying to process that she could not be that girl's mother. 'That girl is not my child. It is a monster, like they said. This will only tarnish my image rather than help it. I will not accept that thing into my home.' She was not going to change her final decision. She had gotten up, tried to compose herself, and started walking out. "I-I will wait for you in the carriage." It was a quick defeat for one out of two. The butler was relieved to see that they would not take the little girl away. He had been there for quite some time now, but he was never asked to leave—it was the main hall, after all.
"How is it fair for us? You had all the time in the world to spend with her, so how will she know her real parents!" Duke Harold tried to make some excuse to be still able to take Celia back with him.
"Do you think so? Duke Harold, you had about four years with her, and I only had about three months with her. Any child would be able to connect or feel comfortable around those that they love and cherish. If you are able to get this little girl to your side right now, then I will let you take your daughter back." Sachin patted Celia's head once more before placing her down on the floor and placing her in the middle of the room. Celia was put between the two gentlemen, letting her decide which one to go with. Either stay with Sachin or go with Duke Harold.
Celia did have some thoughts: 'Should I stay here? Or should I find out what happened to this girl living with her real parents?' She was curious.