"Thank you!" Nana happily grabbed his hand and skipped like a little girl as they headed back to the lake.
It had been a while since they last went out on a date, so she was very happy that he had accompanied her the entire day today.
"We can stay here for the night." Keith teasingly said and watched her fair cheeks burn in a furious blush.
"No, I think we should get back. Everyone must be waiting for us." She nibbled her lower lip and shook her head.
"Fine."
A tinge of disappointment weighed on her heart at his response, but soon she was cursing herself in her mind. Had they not already spent most of last night and the day pressed against each other?
The reminder also made her aware of the stiffness she felt in her lower body, and subconsciously, she squeezed his hand even more.
"I love you." She whispered, not really expecting him to say the same to her, but when he suddenly pressed his lips on her cheek and whispered it back, her mind went blank for a moment.
"I love you too."
A sweet smile adorned her face, which a lot would have called a silly smile, and Nana was certain that nothing could make her day any better than it already was.
But it certainly turned out to be even more interesting when they arrived at the campsite.
As soon as they passed through the Formation, he heard the whispers, chit-chat, and sensed the strange atmosphere.
The bonfires were lit up, casting flickering shadows across the ground, and all three campsites were seemingly in a very bad mood.
It was not something that they seemed particularly bothered about, but everyone just seemed a little unhappy.
"What's wrong?" Nana curiously asked as she blurred from her position and arrived to sit by Amira and Reina's side, who immediately created a wooden stool for her.
"Just a fool who thought very highly of himself," Reina replied, prompting her to curiously raise her brow, and soon the twins started telling her what happened today.
Keith, on the other hand, walked over to sit next to another bonfire, where Qingyue was sitting, having a serious discussion with Amelia and Kiara.
"May I?" He smiled and asked after taking his seat, and she happily handed over the bundle of joy in her arms.
Little Thea was awake right now. Her beautiful soulful eyes stared at him, immediately enchanted by his beautiful Aura, and when she let out the cutest giggles possible, his wives subconsciously smiled.
Qingyue, Amelia, and Kiara were quite amused by watching him play with the baby, but they continued with their talks as it was quite important.
It only took a minute for Keith to understand what happened here today.
After their discussion in the morning, his dear wife was very quick to make her pick when choosing the Second Concubine for Victor. It was almost as if she already had eyes on the girl, and by her own admission, she had considered taking her in as her maid.
The girl whom she had chosen was the sixteen-year-old Reha, who was a prodigy of the Nemeron Family, possessing a Blue Talent for Cultivation. And she was very beautiful, so beautiful that she easily stood out amongst all the other ladies of her family.
Importantly, she was Elsa's niece and the granddaughter of the Nemeron Patriarch. So, she was a great candidate to bind the Nemeron Family to Victor, and in turn, to them.
Sylos Nemeron was more than happy with Qingyue's proposal when she asked for both his daughter and niece to be given to Victor as his Concubines.
The Noble Houses always trusted unions based on marriages rather than some verbal promises, and it was no different for their family.
The Zurks had seen Muscle-Head train and had even interacted with him. And given his nature, there was hardly anyone who could dislike him. It was the same for the Old Man, who had no objections to having his daughter and niece wed to this simplistic and good-natured man.
Sylos was quite perceptive and could see that Victor was very important to the Demiliore Family. It was not just his talent, but also the fact that he was closer to them than their other servants. Perhaps, at the same level as Sebastian, who was in charge of the Blood Guards.
This made him a very suitable candidate to form ties with.
His only worry was that Reha might not agree to it. She had always been a little wilful. And given what they had been through recently, he was hesitant to make any promises on his behalf.
The girl was still traumatised after watching the heinous side of men, where the ladies of their family had been raped, forced to comply if they did not wish to see their children beheaded.
She was one of the few who were lucky enough to be saved before their turn came, but witnessing the sight had already scarred her mind.
The girl had lost her brothers, parents, and even her younger siblings. And she was still mourning their loss.
It would indeed be cruel of him to push her to be married for the good of the family right now, but he still promised to have a chat with her and give an answer by lunchtime.
When Reha learned that she was going to be married off, she was seemingly very disheartened, and it nearly broke Sylos' heart when he saw the tears leak out of her eyes.
Even before he received her answer, he was already in a tight spot, but when Reha asked to see Qingyue, he felt even more conflicted.
Nonetheless, he brought her along to see the Demiliore Princess right before lunchtime.
She was watching Kashish train Harud when they arrived to talk to her, and the very first words that Reha spoke stunned every one of them.
"I want to marry him," she said, pointing at the young boy, who was panting heavily as he defended against the attacks of his older sister, and he immediately tripped when he heard her speak.
Luckily, Kashish stopped just in time or she would have broken his nose with her punch, and then she curiously turned to look at the young Nemeron.
Qingyue inquisitively raised her brow at Harud, who immediately shook his head, telling her that he had no clue about what was happening.
"Why?" The grey-eyed Eldeilyon asked the girl, who then gave her a very simple answer.
"I want to choose whom I spend the rest of my life with. It is a tradition in our family where a female picks her husband. My mother chose my father, and I want to choose the father of my future children."
"Yes, but why Harud?" Kashish frowned and heard Sylos audibly sigh at what his granddaughter was doing.
"No reason other than that he is my chosen mate," Reha answered and lowered her head.
Everyone fell silent after her words, and Harud was the one who was growing nervous with every passing second.
"Forgive me, my Lady. She is a little wilful." The Old Man embarrassedly said, and Qingyue immediately shook her head.
"It's fine. If she does not want to be with Victor, I won't force her." She told him. "However, I am not going to make any decision for Harud."
Sylos understandably nodded his head and then grabbed Reha's hand to lead her back to their camp.
"Can you ask Emra to come and see me?"
The Nemeron Patriarch surprisedly looked at her before he smiled and nodded his head.
Emra was Reha's cousin, and even though she was not Sylos' grandchild, she was his late brother's grandchild and belonged to the Main Line of the family.
The girl was not worse than Reha when it came to talent, but unlike her cousin's delicate appearance, she had a much more aggressive personality, which she always wore in her serious expression.
Emra was twenty years old, taller than most girls her age, and even the older ones in her family.
When she came to see Qingyue, she seemed to have already been told what it was going to be about, and she embarrassedly lowered her head.
"I have been defiled, my Lady." She honestly said, and her voice, devoid of any emotions, was truly heartbreaking.
"Would you have an objection to it if Victor agrees to take you as his concubine?"
"No, My Lady." She replied.
Qingyue quickly called Victor over, and she asked him if he wanted to marry Emra.
She did not hide from him what happened to the girl after the War, where she was raped by the Commander of the Golden Army, but the Muscle-Head simply did not care about such a thing.
He just looked at the girl, and after their eyes met, he nodded his head with a smile.
"I like her."
Once he agreed, everyone was happy; however, during lunch, a fight broke out in the second Campsite, where the Blood Guards were stationed.
It was Zor, who had challenged Victor, and both of them seemed quite mad when Qingyue, Kashish, and Ayesha arrived at the scene.
As it turned out, Emra was the girl whom Zor had been holding bad intentions for, and when he learned that Victor was getting married to two Nemeron girls, including the one he had his eyes on, he lost it and openly challenged him for both their hands.
In his own words, he deserved some of those red-haired bitches as well.
And it was something that pissed the Muscle-Head off.
Everyone who was present there, including the Blood Guards, considered Zor in the wrong. And after Sebastian tried to mediate things and tell him how ridiculous he was acting, the former member of the Phoenix Cell grew even more rebellious and bluntly told the Butler of the Demiliore Family that he was not his subordinate, and thus, was not obliged to listen to anyone present there.
After saying those words, he glanced at Qingyue and Kashish before attacking Victor, and as expected, ended up getting beat to a pulp.
The Young Mir, who was not pleased with how Zor acted disrespectfully towards Qingyue and Kashish, froze the unconscious man into an Ice-Coffin, and the Esper was still in his frozen state.
"Harud said that he won't die even if he stays frozen for a week, and no one wants to see him again. If I see him again, I will kill him." Kiara bluntly said, and Keith nodded his head with a smile.
"I will throw him in Aerzar and you won't see him again," he told them, still playing with the baby, who kept giggling as she watched miniature creatures of light dance in the air, their soft glow reflecting in her wide, wondering eyes.