Chapter 25: The Seed of Chaos

  The first thing that greeted me upon waking was not the sunlight, but the feeling.

  A warm, heavy, and comforting sensation resting on my chest, harmonizing with the rhythm of steady breathing that sent a gentle warmth onto my skin. I slowly opened my eyes, and was greeted by the scent of Clara's hair, a unique blend of rain and wild flowers that had clung to her from our garden yesterday.

  She was sleeping deeply, her head resting in the hollow of my shoulder, and her peaceful face in sleep erased all traces of the anxiety I knew dwelled within her.

  In that moment, in the quiet of the early morning, I wasn't "Deo, the Star of Change," nor was I the "Devil's Servant." I was simply the husband of the woman sleeping beside me. And I was happy. A calm, continuous happiness, as if I were floating in a sea of tranquility. For the first time in my life, there was no cold void at the center of my being upon waking. It was filled. By her.

  I gently woke her with a kiss to her forehead. She mumbled something incomprehensible and opened her dark eyes, which were momentarily hazy with sleep before clearing and granting me a small, sleepy smile that shook my world. "Good morning," she whispered.

  "Good morning, my star."

  When I went downstairs, the beloved chaos was waiting for us. It was like a daily play that started every morning. The strong smell of coffee, which carried a distinct hint of burning, filled the air, mixed with the sound of Alessandro yelling excitedly from the living room: "Kairo, you fool! The twenty-sixth installment of 'Soccer for Legends' came out yesterday! Come on, let's play!"

  "Shut up! I'm trying to prepare a breakfast fit for kings!"

  We entered the kitchen to find Kairo standing in front of the toaster, his face grim as he contemplated a piece of bread charred with artistic precision. Beside him, Leonardo sat silently at the kitchen table, sipping from a massive cup of tea almost the size of his head, a slight, rare smile gracing his face as he watched the scene.

  "I swear this machine hates me," Kairo muttered, throwing the burnt piece of bread into the trash.

  "No, you're the one who hates following instructions," Eva said, hitting him on the head with a wooden spoon.

  "Ouch! Why the violence?"

  I held Clara's hand under the table as she sat beside me. This is my routine now. This is my world. Noise, chaos, and the smell of burnt toast. And it was perfect. I compared it in my mind to the silent, cold mornings in the "Van der Wood" mansion. Here, screaming was part of the music of life.

  Alessandro entered the kitchen, sat down, and began devouring a massive plate of eggs. Isabella followed with her usual coolness and sat down elegantly.

  As for Isabella... I thought to myself as I watched her. She had reconciled with her father after that night, and strangely, he had agreed to her independence and her work in the Central Government. She finally left our house... but if you ask me why she is now having breakfast with us every morning, I'd say I don't know. And I don't want to talk so she doesn't kill me.

  Her constant presence made me notice the presence of someone else who hadn't left. I looked at Alessandro.

  "Alessandro, what is it, my rival?" I said to him. "Don't you want to go home? Don't you think your visit has dragged on?"

  Alessandro laughed his booming laugh. "Your house still lacks a proper training hall, Deo. How do you expect me to leave before you build one?"

  "I agree with Deo," Isabella said, sipping her tea. "Your father agreed to you staying with Deo, but not to this extent. You eat enormous amounts of food, you sleep, and you mess up the place. You're a fool and you do nothing. You're living as if you're in your father's house."

  I looked at her in shock. I don't believe this. Look who's talking. But to protect myself from her sharp tongue, I decided not to say anything.

  "Fine! I'll pack my bags tomorrow!" Alessandro announced, his mouth full. "I wanted to stay longer in my rival's house, but manners are manners."

  Clara looked at him with a warm smile. "No, stay, Alessandro. You're not a nuisance."

  I looked at her in shock and motioned with my eyes not to say anything, but it was too late.

  "Can I really stay?" Alessandro said with childlike excitement, looking at me.

  I felt Eva's sharp gaze piercing me. She grabbed my ear tightly. "You idiotic groom! Are you kicking out a guest? Huh?"

  Ouch! Eva, I'm not kicking him out! If he wants to stay, let him! But my ear!

  "Yes, of course you can," I said reluctantly while Eva was still holding my ear. "Stay forever, I don't mind."

  Eva looked at Clara, who quickly turned her face and started eating her food, trying to hide her laugh.

  After I submitted to Eva and agreed to Alessandro's stay, the daily battle—or what we call "life"—moved from the kitchen to the lounge. The lounge was spacious and elegant, with dark leather furniture and a thick rug, but we managed to turn it into a messy, comfortable den.

  Alessandro jumped onto the sofa next to Kairo, who had already claimed the remote and started flipping through the magical channels that showed everything from fighting matches to silly drama series.

  "Turn on the game!" Alessandro yelled, trying to snatch the remote from Kairo.

  "Wait your turn, barbarian! I'm watching 'Secrets of the Jade Palace'!" Kairo replied, clinging to the device as if it were his life.

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  Clara and I sat on a separate sofa, and I held her hand. These were the rare moments of peace. Across from us, Isabella sat, maintaining a safe distance from the chaos, and began browsing a magical tablet displaying her work reports.

  Clara looked at her curiously. "Isabella, what happened with your work in the Central Government?"

  Isabella lifted her eyes from the tablet, looking satisfied as she spoke. "They definitely accepted me. They would accept a Fourth Circle Sorceress like me from the Rifemont family. I'm working in the Order Enforcement Division now."

  "I don't understand what you guys even do there," I said honestly.

  "We work on various tasks," Isabella said in a formal tone, as if giving a lecture. "Order enforcement as an example, investigating magical crimes, balancing the influence between families... things you wouldn't understand." Then she paused for a moment and added in a quieter voice, "I want to help people. I know it's a silly reason..."

  "It's a reason befitting a fierce monster!" Kairo laughed as he finally succeeded in changing the channel to Secrets of the Jade Palace.

  Isabella shrieked and a new argument started.

  Eva, who was gathering some clothes thrown on a chair, sighed. "As for this fool," she said, pointing sternly at Kairo. "I advise you to kick him out quickly. He eats potato chips and messes up everywhere while watching TV."

  "I am not moving from this house!" Kairo yelled, parrying Isabella's attack. "It's my house, not yours! I don't believe this, they want to kick me out of here!"

  Clara looked at me calmly amidst the commotion. "Deo."

  "What is it, Clara?"

  "You need a job, as you know, instead of sitting all day in the house like a useless fool."

  "How about you work with Isabella in the Central Government?"

  I looked at her. Me? Work? Impossible. My life is wonderful as it is, and the money is enough for the next five years, if not more.

  Clara gave me that look, the look that could read my deepest thoughts. "I'll tell Eva if you refuse."

  I sighed. "Work it is. Let's go to work! Isabella! Help me apply for a job!"

  "Deo, do you really want to work?" Isabella asked me. "I feel like you're being forced."

  "I'm being forced?!" I said, standing up and theatrically beating my chest. "I love work! I'm a family man and I must work!"

  Isabella gave me a look of "I don't believe you but I'll proceed anyway." She stood up and said seriously: "Alright then. Since you're so excited, we won't waste time. Let's go now."

  "Now?!" Kairo and I shouted at the same time.

  "Yes, now," she said, heading toward the door. "Put on something decent, Deo. You can't meet people in pajamas that reek of burnt toast."

  I sighed and resigned myself to the reality of the situation. Ten minutes later, I was standing at the door wearing elegant black clothes, while Isabella waited for me impatiently.

  "Goodbye, my family!" I yelled as I left. "The family man is going to work for you all!"

  "Bring back some cheese-flavored potato chips on your way back!" Kairo shouted from the lounge.

  Isabella's flying car was the complete opposite of my old car. It glided through the sky of "Lutetia" silently and elegantly, its luxurious leather interior isolating us from the noise of the outside world. I looked out the glass window at the white and gold towers of the capital piercing the clouds, and the hanging gardens dangling like green waterfalls between them.

  The city was a poem of stone and light, but all I could think about was the warm bed I had just left.

  The car quietly landed on a private pad atop a massive building of glass and steel, a cold, modern landmark that screamed of impersonal power and bureaucracy. When we entered, we were greeted by wide, silent corridors, and polished white marble floors that reflected the cold neon lights. The echo of our footsteps was the only sound. I felt alienated by this sterile environment compared to the warmth of our home.

  I noticed that we weren't heading toward crowded reception offices or waiting halls. Instead, Isabella led me through heavily guarded side corridors, and we went up in a private elevator that required her handprint to operate.

  "Where are you taking me, Isabella?" I finally asked, a hint of suspicion creeping in. "This doesn't look like Human Resources."

  Isabella looked at me with a confident smile. "Didn't you want mediation to be accepted quickly? I'm taking you straight to the top." The elevator stopped, and its doors opened onto a luxurious, quiet hallway. "To Louis."

  I froze in my place for a moment. The name echoed in my mind like a giant bell toll. Louis? Louis de Valois himself? The President of our world's Republic... for four consecutive terms? The old fox all the Great Families whisper about? I thought we were just meeting a department manager... This woman is crazy.

  "Don't worry," she said, noticing my shock. "My father and he may not agree on everything, but there's a certain level of respect between them. He'll grant me a short interview."

  We reached two massive, polished ebony doors, guarded by two guards wearing gleaming silver armor. They bowed silently when they saw Isabella.

  "Get ready," she whispered. "And don't say anything stupid."

  Louis's office was on the top floor, overlooking the entire city through a massive glass wall. He sat behind a simple black desk, looking tired and wise at the same time. Now that I knew who he was, the weight of the whole world seemed to rest on his shoulders.

  "Isabella," he said, rising to shake her hand. Then he turned to me. "Deo. I've heard a lot about you."

  "I hope it was good things," I said, shaking his hand, feeling that his hand held a quiet strength.

  "Some of it is good, and some of it is... controversial," he said with a faint smile. "Sit down."

  The meeting wasn't so much a job interview as an assessment. He looked at me, not as a young man seeking a job, but as a new and unexpected chess piece that had appeared on his complex political board. He asked me about my duel, my family, and my ambitions.

  "Your talent is unique, Deo," he finally said, leaning back in his chair. "And unique means either extremely useful, or extremely dangerous. I'll give you a chance." He looked at Isabella. "He will work directly under your command in the Order Enforcement Division. Monitor him closely."

  "Certainly, Mr. President," Isabella said respectfully.

  Louis pulled a contract from the drawer. I signed it. I felt as though I wasn't just signing a job contract, but a deal that would change the course of my entire life.

  When we left, the secretary stopped us. "Mr. Deo," she said shyly. "Can I... have your number?"

  Before I could answer, Isabella intervened with icy coolness. "He has a wife. Do you need anything else?"

  The secretary's face flushed, and she quickly apologized. Isabella laughed when we walked away. "Looks like I'll be your personal bodyguard too."

  "Thank you," I said sincerely. I felt that I had entered a new and complex world, but at least, I wasn't alone in it.

  When I returned home, the beloved chaos was the first thing that greeted me. Kairo and Eva were fighting over the remote control. Alessandro was training in the garden, and I could hear the sounds of his fists impacting the punching bag.

  But I wasn't looking for them.

  I went straight up to our bedroom. I found her there. Clara was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking out the window, looking preoccupied and worried.

  "Clara?"

  She turned to me, and tried to smile. "Welcome back. How did it go?"

  "I got the job."

  "That's wonderful!" she said, but her enthusiasm seemed forced.

  I sat beside her and took her hand. "What's wrong?"

  She looked at me directly, her dark eyes a sea of emotions I couldn't read. "Deo... I'm pregnant."

  Silence.

  The world stopped. Then, something exploded inside me. A huge, overwhelming realization. Now, everything made sense. My desire to stay, my decision to go out... they all led to this very moment. A deep and touching joy, mixed with a new and heavy awareness of responsibility.

  I hugged her tightly and whispered: "Now... we have a real reason to build everything."

  She looked at me, tears glistening in her eyes. "Are you scared?"

  "Yes," I admitted. "And you?"

  "Very."

  "Good. Then we'll be scared together."

  I hugged her again, feeling her in my arms, and the seed of our love growing inside her. I realized that the routine I had come to love was not the end. It was just the beginning. The beginning of everything.