Chapter 67

Kalia blushed bashfully, leaning on Simon then looked at Kaleksia again.

Kalia felt like she had done something wrong.

How could she have been so mesmerized by Simon that she forgot that Kaleksia was there?

"Haha….."

He looked at the two with an expression where one can't tell if he's smiling or frowning. His expression looks subtly disturbed. "This is confusing."

The Fairy King lived secluded from the rest of the world.

It is said that he has lived for hundreds of years, yet there wasn't a single wrinkle on his face.

Nevertheless, one could see that his eyes were filled with many experiences.

Sensing a strange energy from the room where Sasha was sleeping, Kalia got up immediately and ran towards the baby's room.

When she entered the room, her eyes met Simon's and she became so flustered that she didn't notice that it was Kalekshia's energy.

'A human named Kalia Tacskate… How could you be part of my bloodline?'

I heard the Fairy King's voice ask while I was in labor.

'How could you be part of my bloodline?'

I had the Fairy King's blood?

Wouldn't that mean that there had to be fairy blood from his mother or father's side? And from the Fairy King's family… But how is that possible?

If it's true, then shouldn't he have a spirit stone and a fairy's energy?

However, it was difficult to find an answer just by looking at his eyes.

The King, instead, said something else.

"A newborn fairy can be blessed by the Fairy King only once in their lifetime."

"The Fairy King's blessing?"

"That's right. All fairy children are blessed by me. Each and every one of them… For parents who simply want their children to grow up healthy, they welcome this blessing.

Kaleksia gave a firm smile and looked down at Sasha.

Looking at the baby with warm eyes, he began to recite the language of the ancient spirits under this breath.

[Noa Rium d'Zarcar.]

As the warm yellow light wrapped around the child's body, Kaleksia caressed the baby's round cheeks with his palm and said,

"When you reach for your desires, your limbs will never tire. Your brilliance shall not be clouded by the fog of ignorance as wise eyes see through its essence(*1). May you have a voice as lovely as a songbird's. And ears not easily swayed by sweet words."

Wooosh!

The light made by Kalekshia's power gradually condensed and centered on Sasha's forehead. The golden light transformed into the shape of a leaf between the baby's eyebrows.

Sasha, who was quietly sleeping, wriggled and pursed his lips as he felt the warm energy.

Kaleksia, with his lips on the baby's forehead, whispered,

"And lastly… Never become unfilial, leaving your parents behind, child."

The moment he lifted his lips, the leaf-shaped golden light turned green.

Surprised, Kaleksia stared at Sasha with narrowed eyes, as the light faded back to gold.

At that moment, Sasha opened his eyes and looked at Kalekshia.

It was too early for a newborn baby to open his eyes. Since their eyesight wasn't fully developed, they wouldn't even be able to focus.

But Sasha is different.

The baby's eyes, glinting with intelligence, looked at Kaleksia. His eyes glistened like the clear sky, his lips opening and closing as if he wanted to say something.

Kaleksia stared at the baby, as if entranced.

The child struggled to pull his hand out of his wrap, then placed it on top of Kaleksia's. He fumbled around to see if it was difficult to keep his arm in control, but… That hand, smaller than a rock, yet soft and round like a cotton ball, touched Kaleksia precisely on his cheek.

As soon as he saw the baby smile, Kalekshia's chest tightened and skipped a beat.

'Oh, dear…!

The child's eyes, a beautiful light green like his mother's, lit up as his plump cheeks rose with a smile, and the Fairy King's heart melted.

The child was so cute that 'adorable' could not fully describe him.

Kaleksia watched the child's face(*2) with a foolish expression that the world had never seen before.

"My word… I've never seen such a perfect child."

Kalia and Simon were moved by those words that were addressed to them.

As if overwhelmed by the rising emotions, Kalekshia reached out with shaking hands and lifted the child.

Kalia watched silently as he carefully lifted Sasha.

"Aboo, abooo….."

Without fear or worry, Sasha babbled innocently, moving clumsily in Kaleksia's arms.

If Allen had seen this, he would have been surprised.

A child just a day after being born, able to open his eyes and babble.

It seemed as soon as Sasha was born, he could be the genius of the century.

Far from his beast-like impression, Kaleksia smiled kindly as he hugged the child several times.

The baby smiled back while in his arms, but soon began to whine as if something was bothering him.

"W-waaaaaaah!"

Hemming, who had dozed off in a chair next to the baby's bed, opened her eyes as she heard Sasha cry.

"H-huh…..? When did you guys get here?"

Hemming's face turned red when she saw Kalia, Simon, and Kaleksia.

"I-I didn't mean to doze off…"

"Waaaaaahh! Waaaah!"

Ack. Young master! Why are you crying? Ah! You must be hungry! Sir Allen said that the baby needs to eat once every two hours!

Kalia quickly took Sasha in her arms as soon as she heard Hemming's words.

"Then I'll bring Sasha to my room."

In the meantime, the baby's crying grew louder, and Kaleksia paced with an awkward look on his face.

As she was about to leave, Kaleksia stopped Kalia, asking urgently.

"Can I come back to see him?"

The Fairy King felt bashful for the very first time in front of the three people before him.

Kalia, who was clearly looking at him, cleared her throat and nodded slightly.

"Do come back again."

With this short answer, she quickly left the room as Simon followed her.

Hemming left, saying he had something to prepare. Kaleksia, alone in the room, felt relieved as he shrugged his wide shoulders to ease the tension.

Recalling the baby's smiling face a while ago, he smiled a little.

Soon, however, a shadow appeared and settled in the darkest corner of the sunlit room.

He reached out towards the shadow, which was not moving as if it were dead.

"Come out."

After a few moments of staying still, the shadow began to slowly move towards him.

The darkness was dragged towards Kaleksia's hand, as if possessed.

"You were watching this whole time, weren't you?"

Rolling like a ball on Kalekshia's palm, the shadow quivered as if answering his question.

Kalekshia smiled cunningly and spoke to the shadow.

"Well then, let's try this." Kalekshia's fingers glistened, holding the light and scattering it like a fog.

The darkness, which had been balled up, engulfed one of his fingers without responding

The light of the Fairy King permeated through the darkest corners.

Soon after, the shadows disappeared as a bluish light emanated from the Fairy King.

"From now on, you will become my hands and feet."

One of Kalekshia's fingers instantly disappeared, but he didn't seem to care at all.

He was, in fact, disappointed that it had only taken one finger.

Though it would take decades to recover, it was only a chunk of flesh that would regenerate anyway.

"Now go back to your previous master, the one who sent you. Tell him what you saw in detail, except for this moment."

The quivering shadow fell off his hand.

It left quickly out the window, towards the dark magician waiting for it.

Kaleksia, watching it, turned around with a faint smile.

In the blink of an eye, the room where the King had stood was now empty.

***

Geurgh.

A cute burp came out of her mouth after drinking all the milk.

After leaning Sasha on her shoulder as Allen had taught her, Kalia, who was patting the baby's back, looked up at Allen with a surprised look on her face.

"You did well. After giving her milk, you have to pat her back to make her burp. If they aren't able to, babies often spew up what they previously ate."

"I see. Babies really are wonderful."

Kalia looked closely at Sasha, who was leaning on her shoulder. No matter how many times she looked at him, she was in awe.

I couldn't believe I gave birth to a baby. And one this pretty, too.

How could his eyes, nose, and mouth be this cute?

Entranced by Sasha's face, Kalia called out excitedly to Allen.

Allen! Look! Sasha made a weird expression!"

As he was full and in a good mood, Sasha puckered his lips and made a face, as if saying "oh".

He wasn't showing a smiling face, but rather one with a slight frown. It was a strange, yet cute expression.

Allen, who was watching them, burst into laughter.

"Newborn babies will sometimes make this expression when they feel good. You won't see it anywhere else except on newborns, so you'll have to watch him a lot."

"Do they really make this face when they're happy? My goodness… How could he be so adorable?

Kalia eventually burst into laughter. How can they make this expression when they're happy?

His cuteness was lethal. I could die from my baby's cuteness.

As Allen and Kalia were laughing at Sasha's strange expression, a knock came from the door.

Even before asking who it was, she heard the other person's voice.

"It's me, Kalia. Can I come in now?"

It was Simon. He was waiting for Kalia to finish breastfeeding.

To Be Continued…

TL Note:

1: In philosophy, essence is the attribute (or set of attributes) that makes a thing be what it fundamentally is. It is often called the "nature" of a thing such that it possesses certain necessary, metaphysical characteristics or properties in contrast with merely accidental or contingent ones.

2: The Korean used the word WALL which is a term for the twitching of a newborn baby's face while asleep. (to give a more detailed imagery)