Chapter 26: Last Moments of Happiness

  "Listen to me closely, you lazy bums."

  My voice carried a manufactured seriousness, cutting through the usual morning clamor in our house. I stood before Alessandro, Kairo, and Leonardo, who looked at me with expressions ranging from curiosity to boredom. Clara was pregnant, and that meant the rules had changed.

  "I am going to that damned job, and you will stay here, jobless and idle. This means you have one mission: Clara."

  Alessandro shouted excitedly: "Understood! We will certainly take care of her!"

  "She is a stubborn woman who doesn't like to eat," I continued, pointing my finger at them. "If she says 'no' to food, force her. If she refuses, threaten her with Eva."

  Leonardo nodded seriously, which was rare. "Certainly, young master. I will make the best types of food, from meat to vegetables and fruits."

  Then I turned to Kairo, who was half-asleep on the sofa. "And you, leave your cursed love affair with the remote control. I don't want any problems, or you will all be kicked out. Do you understand?"

  "Deo, it's not that serious," Clara said, laughing from behind me. "I can take care of myself."

  I looked at her with exaggerated seriousness. "Did you say something? I heard a baby's voice. I heard a kick. Clara says he's less than a month old, how does he kick so quickly? Food! Food! He wants food!"

  Clara laughed, but I saw Leonardo immediately get up and head to the kitchen. Moments later, he returned with a meticulously cut plate of fruit in his hand. He knelt on one knee in front of Clara and offered it to her. "Madam, please eat."

  "I don't want to eat now..." Clara started to say.

  "Eva!" Leonardo yelled in a low voice.

  Clara quickly grabbed the plate and started eating. "Very good. That's how I want you. Nothing works but threats with the female gender."

  I smiled, feeling something akin to paternal satisfaction. "I'm going to work now." I went out and opened the door of my new car that I had bought. The smell of leather and newness was wonderful.

  I arrived at the Order Enforcement building, and walked directly into Isabella's office. She was speaking through a magical communicator when she saw me. "Deo, you have a mission." She said quickly and ended the call. "A robbery operation in the city center, on 'Golden Star' Street. A magical tools shop. There is a hostage threat. A Blacksmith Craftsman and a Third Circle Sorcerer. Go quickly."

  I reached the location in minutes. Some of the Order Enforcement units of Blacksmith Craftsmen had already arrived, gripping their magical weapons and surrounding the area. "Back off!" one of them yelled. "He's threatening to kill them!"

  "Deo!" the unit leader shouted when he saw me. "They are inside."

  "Leave it to me." I stood in front of the shop and took a quick look. The Blacksmith Craftsman, powerfully built, was holding a small girl as a human shield, and his weapon was an energy axe of the 'Hammer-7' model, its weak point being the energy joint at the handle. A simple tactical problem.

  I didn't wait any longer. I moved. I was faster than the eye could see. In an instant, I was in front of the Blacksmith Craftsman. I struck the joint of his axe with my sword, 'Sword of Life,' and the weapon malfunctioned. Before he could process what happened, my fist had struck his temple, and he fell unconscious without harming the girl. I turned towards the sorcerer who had begun casting a water spell. I didn't give him a chance. I manipulated the moisture in the air around him, and his spell turned into harmless mist. I reached him and struck him hard, and he fell next to his partner.

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  The criminals were bound, and the hostages rescued. A woman ran towards me, crying and thanking me for saving her daughter. I felt that strange feeling again. A sudden, confusing warmth. Is this the happiness that comes from helping others?

  But my gaze fixed on the ground. A dagger. An advanced design made of Void Steel, bearing an unmistakable mark. The mark of the "Jacobins."

  My expression changed. I grabbed the neck of the Blacksmith Craftsman, who was starting to regain consciousness. "Where did you get this dagger? Speak quickly before I kill you."

  The man screamed in terror: "From the black market! It was at an auction! I swear I don't know anything!"

  I calmed down. The Jacobins wouldn't benefit from robbing a shop. Their goals are bigger. And this man doesn't dress like a clown. He was just a fool who bought a weapon he didn't know the value of.

  "A Jacobin dagger?" Isabella said, examining it in her office, the coldness gone from her face, replaced by concern.

  "Yes. He said he bought it from the black market. I want you to interrogate him. Extract the information by force or by love, it doesn't matter."

  "We will certainly do that," she said, placing the dagger in an evidence box. "Alright, it's late. Go."

  I laughed. "Thank you, Commander."

  "Shut up, you rascal, and get lost."

  When I arrived home, it smelled pleasant as usual. I saw Leonardo from a distance throwing full cigarette packs into the trash bin. That bastard. He stopped smoking for Clara's sake.

  I went to him and hugged him from behind. Leonardo was startled. "Young master! What are you doing?"

  "Nothing, you damned bastard. Did you know that I never thanked you and Eva once for taking care of me all that time? Thank you."

  "Didn't I tell you that you were forced on us?" he said with a rare smile.

  "What? That day... you were awake then and you made me carry you all over the mansion, you scoundrel!"

  Leonardo laughed a deep, muffled laugh.

  I entered the house. It was surprisingly clean; even Kairo was throwing his potato chip trash into the bin. I found Clara in the kitchen, her stomach looking bloated from overeating.

  "Deo, I beg you," she said in a tired voice. "Tell them to stop feeding me. I am not a machine."

  I looked at her. I felt she had slimmed down a little. I opened the fridge, took out an apple, and placed it in front of her. "There's a sugar deficiency. I feel a sugar deficiency in your blood. Eat."

  Clara ate the apple with a tear in her eye. "Very good."

  That night, I was sleeping next to Clara in bed, hugging her tightly. "Deo, I won't be able to sleep well like this."

  "I don't care. I want to hug you."

  "You're more of a child than the one in my stomach."

  I laughed. "Looks like he has stiff competition."

  She laughed and kissed me. And we slept, hugging each other.

  "Clara! Wake up quickly! We're late for the doctor's appointment!"

  The next morning, the calm had turned to chaos. We woke up late. Clara quickly put on her clothes and cloak.

  "I'll carry you! I won't let you run!" I said, lifting her in my arms and carrying her down the stairs.

  "Are you practicing carrying the baby?" she said, laughing.

  "I don't believe this! Not the doctor's appointment! I slept more than usual!" I placed her in the car seat and we drove off.

  We barely made the appointment. The doctor, a kind old man, was examining Clara. "Look at the screen. This is your baby."

  I looked. It was just a small dot on a blurry screen, but it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I wanted to hug him right now.

  "You are in your third month," the doctor said. "No problems so far. Do you want to know the gender of the baby?"

  I looked at Clara and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, definitely!"

  "It's a boy."

  A boy. My first son. I will make him the elder brother who protects his younger siblings.

  "You want more than one already?" Clara laughed.

  "Yes, I want an army. I'll wear you out."

  She laughed too. I was happy. Very happy.

  That night, after returning from the doctor, and after Clara had fallen asleep, I stood by the massive glass window in our bedroom, looking at the twinkling lights of "Lutetia." My son is coming. My family is growing. My old dream of making everyone accept me... what does it mean now? Is the peak power? Or is it building a safe world for this child?

  I remembered the prophecy. "The Magical Swordsman... the harbinger of the world's destruction." How can I be a harbinger of destruction and a father at the same time?

  Then, out of nowhere, an image appeared in my mind. The image of a small child with red hair and dark eyes, smiling at me. Louis. My brother whom I had only seen once. My brother whom I had promised myself to protect from demons. Have I now become the demon that he needs protection from? I felt a pang of longing and responsibility towards him.

  I sighed, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. My happiness was not simple. It was a fragile happiness, surrounded by shadows, and tied to the threads of a destiny I did not yet understand.