Page 201 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“Look who is here,” she gently told Lumie.
The little one swept her head to her, but as she did, her gaze spotted Kassein, and immediately, her pale eyes fixated on him and she broke into a big smile. Kassein’s heart did a leap.
He couldn’t remember the last time someone had shown this much genuine, unbridled happiness at the sight of him, and he couldn’t help but respond with a smile of his own.
He hadn’t smiled in such a long time that the muscles almost felt stiff in his cheeks, but Lumie giggled all the same.
The little girl dropped her hands off the stool to get on all fours and crawled to him at full speed. He crouched down and opened his arms, letting the baby girl close the distance by herself.
When she did, Lumie frowned and, after a hesitation, grabbed his hands to hold onto for support and, with a serious expression, lifted herself on two legs.
“She can walk?” Kassein asked, although his eyes were riveted on the baby girl.
“She should be able to if she’s the age I think she is,” Lorey said, “but it looks like she’ll catch up quickly.”
“Is that right?” Kassein whispered for Lumie to hear.
The little girl giggled at his voice and then began to inspect his hand, particularly a streak of orange scales that ran up his forearm from the earlier battle.
With a serious expression, she began to slap it, although her hand was far too small and soft for Kassein to even remotely feel any pain. It was more like her little hand was bouncing on his huge forearm.
“Are you having fun?” he asked.
As if in response, Lumie gave him a giggle.
He smiled back, letting her inspect his arms with that cute pout of hers while her other hand still tightly held onto him to keep herself standing. Even with him crouching down, she didn’t quite reach his chin, so Kassein decided to sit down on the floor with her.
“She’s so adorable,” Lorey said.
“We were wondering where you would like us to prepare a room for her,” Nebora said. “...And for yourself. Lorey filled me in on what you have been up to, Kassein. You didn’t think to send a message that you would be moving back here? Do you know how long this castle has been abandoned?”
Kassein gave her an annoyed glance, but far from being intimidated like everyone else, including grown-ass warriors, Nebora raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t give me that glare,” she scoffed. “I’m not going to be intimidated by a boy whose diapers I washed, Kassein.”
Lorey let out a giggle, but Kassein merely rolled his eyes, ignoring both women to look back down at Lumie, who was staring right back at him. Now, the toddler seemed curious about his face, which had come within her hands’ reach, and she began to pat the beard on his cheek.
Kassein hadn’t shaved since Alezya’s departure, and the spiky texture seemed to entertain her plenty.
“So, which rooms do you want?” Nebora asked. “I’m happy to see this place inhabited again, but you need to give me time to hire some maids. This place is far too big for me to take care of by myself. Not that it would take long; plenty of youngsters are looking for work and would be happy to take that on. Should I put you in your parents’ room?”
“No,” Kassein immediately said.
Even if he took the Onyx Castle, he didn’t want to touch his parents’ room, at least not without their approval. That room felt somewhat sacred, and he wouldn’t dare touch it or take ownership without asking them. He was even reluctant to touch any of his siblings’ rooms in case any of them came back.
He meant what he’d told Kassian: this would always be their childhood home, and he would always welcome any of his siblings back.
But, realistically, their family of ten had outgrown the Onyx Castle a long time ago, and there would need to be some changes if he wanted his family to be able to stay while having his own here with Alezya, if she wanted it.
Suddenly, owning and taking care of their childhood home felt like a duty and an honor he was proud to take on. He took a deep breath just when Lumie pinched his chin with a giggle.
“...Prepare the nursery for Lumie,” he said. “She can sleep in the cradle. I’ll use Darsan’s room for now. He’s the most unlikely to come and stay here these days, and his room is near the nursery too.”
He knew taking Darsan’s messy room would give Nebora some work, but he didn’t feel like using Kassian’s room or his parents’.
Truthfully, his sisters’ large bedroom was the one that would be the most fitting for him and Alezya to take over, but he needed all three of his sisters’ approval for it. Once he did, he could always turn Kassian’s and Darsan’s rooms into guestrooms for his siblings, and this way, he wouldn’t have to touch his parents’ either. There were a few more rooms that had been abandoned or used for random storage and never touched by his parents that he could potentially look into as well.
Kassein realized how much he could imagine a new version of the Onyx Castle, one that would behishome but still be able to welcome his family at any time. He was nervous about touching anything, but the truth was, that castle had been abandoned for years and wouldn’t come back to life without some profound changes.
