The name had been given, so the next task was clear: to properly understand Ariel and provide her with basic education until it was time to return.

For now, what I knew about Ariel was that she was a hybrid angel, not a pure one. She could read minds and recognized Arwen and me as her parents.

Beyond that, she appeared to be about four or five years old, and, frankly, her cuteness was so overwhelming it could cause heart palpitations.

Especially when she exclaimed, "Daddy!" with her lisping voice, my heart would throb. Is this what it would feel like when Lily grows up and calls me "big brother"?

'By the way, what should I do about Lily?'

I glanced at Ariel, who was receiving lessons from Arwen. Arwen was teaching her words one by one, and Ariel was doing her best to repeat them.

Ariel saw me as her father, and Lily as her little sister. I recalled Mary jokingly saying once, “If I get pregnant, won’t our family tree become tangled?”

That very phenomenon had appeared in an unexpected form, leaving me perplexed. Who knew how Ariel would grow, but in terms of the family tree, she was both an aunt and a niece.

"Repeat after me. 'I went to the sea.'"
"'I, went, to the, sea.'"
"The sea was blue."
"'The sea, was, blue... bluish.'"
"Well done, our Ariel."

Even as this went on, Ariel was rapidly absorbing the language of this world. Perhaps because of her angelic lineage, which only existed in myths, it took her less than thirty minutes to learn basic words.

Now, she just needed to learn words for referencing specific objects. She was absorbing them at an astonishing speed, like a sponge soaking up water.

When a student excels, the teacher feels proud. Arwen genuinely enjoyed Ariel's incredible learning speed.

"Who did Ariel inherit her brilliance from, I wonder?"
"Daddy!"
"Can’t you say 'Mommy' just this once?"
"Daddy!"
"..."

At times, Ariel’s bright responses could scratch the surface of someone’s heart. Arwen, who had remained unshaken despite countless attempts by the Senate to undermine her, seemed to have her mental fortitude shattered like glass by Ariel’s reply.

"Is Ariel a bad girl?"
"Huh?"
"Mommy is angry?"
"No, no! Mommy’s not angry."

This was where one needed to be careful—mind reading. As you can see, Ariel could read thoughts, so even stray ones needed to be kept in check.

I lay on the bed, watching the cheerful interaction between the mother and daughter, before quietly approaching them.

It was important to educate her, yes, but I felt it would be better to resolve the most crucial issues first.

"Ariel?"
"Daddy!"

As soon as I called her, Ariel sprang up and flew toward me. Let me clarify: she didn’t run—she flapped her wings and flew.

Her wings, which had begun to take shape, weren’t just ornamental. Structurally, they were far too small for flight, but this was fantasy, so I let it slide.

I carefully embraced Ariel and smiled warmly as I spoke.

"Have you been learning well from Mommy?"
"Yes!"
"What words did you learn today?"
"Mommy, Daddy, and... red, yellow, blue..."

Ariel ticked off the words she had learned today, counting them on her little fingers. It was so endearing it was almost impossible to describe.

Even though she wasn’t a child born from the women I loved, looking at her face, which resembled mine so closely, made fatherly affection spring up naturally.

Moreover, Ariel exuded an atmosphere that made my heart feel warm and fuzzy.

"Daddy. Daddy."
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"I'm hungry."

Hearing her say she was hungry, I looked at her. Ariel placed her hands on her stomach, indicating her need.

Though she was an angel, being a hybrid seemed to mean she had basic needs. She needed sleep at night and regular meals during the day.

While meals could easily be arranged through Arwen’s attendants, sleep presented a unique challenge—not the act of sleeping itself, but the timing.

Newborns usually started sleeping through the night around 50 days, but Ariel was closer to four or five years old.

Though she could sleep through the night, sharing the same room meant I couldn’t engage in any nightly activities.

And soundproofing magic? The moment I cast it, she would wake up instantly.

As I’ve often mentioned, elves are the descendants of angels, and Ariel carried angelic blood.

She was inherently sensitive to mana, so even while asleep, magic would wake her immediately.

'Let’s feed her first.'

Hearing Ariel say she was hungry, I glanced at the sprout on her head. The once upright sprout was now drooping, a clear sign of hunger.

The sprout was incredibly convenient for gauging Ariel’s state. When she was hungry, it drooped; when tired, it became limp and floppy.

'How long will she keep that sprout?'

I pondered the sprout’s future while looking at Arwen. Understanding my gaze, she nodded and lightly snapped her fingers.

Snap!

At Arwen’s gesture, a table laden with food materialized in the air.

The table was filled with a variety of delicacies, each dish radiating warmth as if freshly prepared.

 

The queen’s chambers were Arwen’s private space, and even meals were transported here magically.

Of course, they weren’t always transported this way—usually, meals were delivered directly. However, to preserve the intimacy of our private space, magic was used in moments like these.

'Magic is really convenient at times like this.'

And there was no need to worry about the food being poisoned or tampered with. As I’ve mentioned before, the Elodia household, apart from the queen’s chambers, was under the constant watch of the gods.

With the gods actively observing, no one would dare to do something foolish. If they tried, they’d be struck down immediately.

Eyeing the delicious-looking spread, I licked my lips and walked over to the table at a leisurely pace.

Living here, the thing I liked most after Arwen was undoubtedly the food. The variety of dishes served here constantly brought joy to my taste buds.

Helium’s cuisine had its merits too, but it was rather limited. Considering they had been in near-isolation until recently, it was understandable.

"Shall we have a meal, Ariel?"
"Yes! Yes!"

Oh, and one more thing.

"Nom nom nom nom!!"

Ariel had an incredible appetite. Rather than eating her food, it was more accurate to say she inhaled it.

Even though I regularly worked out and could easily eat enough for three people, Ariel seemed to outpace even that.

Not that I had any intention of stopping her. A child eating well is always a good thing. But there was one behavior I couldn’t overlook.

"Ariel."
"Huh?"
"Let’s use utensils instead of your hands. Try copying Daddy, okay?"

The one thing I had to prevent was her eating with her hands like some kind of barbarian.

Her hands and face were already covered in sauce and bits of food, but it wasn’t too late to teach her proper manners.

After all, Arwen could use magic to clean her up instantly afterward.

"Nom nom nom!"
"…Take it slow, okay?"

Of course, my words had little effect. Teaching utensils to someone like Ariel was akin to handing a stone knife to a seasoned barbarian.

Still, watching her eat so eagerly brought a smile to my face.

I began to understand parents who said they felt full just watching their children eat.

'Parents, huh...'

The thought of parents brought memories of my past life. My parents had taught me the value of family and its importance.

They were ordinary parents, the kind you could find anywhere, yet their memories were crystal clear. Despite our modest circumstances, they never complained and showed me endless love and devotion.

It was because of them that I could be grateful for being born into this world and had no lingering regrets from my previous life, especially after their tragic accident.

As Ariel continued to enjoy her meal, I reached out to her with a hand.

Swipe.

"Huh? Daddy?"
"Daddy told you to eat slowly. Look, you’ve got food all over your face."

Instead of a napkin, I used my fingers to carefully wipe the food from her face, then popped the crumbs into my mouth to clean up properly.

While Ariel stared at me curiously, I picked up a piece of food with a fork. It was a dish made from one of the rarest mushrooms, truffle.

"Would you like to try this? It’s a very delicious mushroom."
"Yum!"

The moment I offered it, Ariel eagerly bit into it as though it were prey. She chewed with her cheeks puffed out like a hamster.

She was so adorable and lovable it was hard to put into words.

"Is it tasty?"
"Yes! It’s delicious!"
"That’s great. Then…"

I pulled the fork from her mouth, but something was strange.

The metal fork, which should have been intact, now had its entire front section bitten off. Ariel’s bite marks were perfectly visible.

Seeing this, I was left dumbfounded. Come to think of it, she had chewed on the World Tree’s Seed, which was as hard as steel, when she was hungry.

Suddenly concerned, I looked at Ariel, whose food was nearly all gone.

"Ahhh~"

Realizing her short arms couldn’t reach the remaining food, Ariel grabbed the plates themselves with her hands. She even stacked several of them together.

For a moment, her posture resembled someone eating a hamburger, and my mind froze. Then, I quickly regained my composure.

"Wait, no! You can’t eat the plates!"
"Here, there’s more food right here!"

Thankfully, the disaster of Ariel eating an entire plate was narrowly avoided. However, the whole situation reminded me of Leona, who used to gnaw on bones.

Still, even Leona didn’t consider plates to be food. How strong were Ariel’s teeth for her to even attempt such a thing?

No, more importantly, what kind of logic made her think plates were edible?

It hit me—Ariel was essentially a newborn, so she likely had no concept of plates not being food.

'There’s still a long way to go...'

I had been focused on teaching her language, forgetting that basic common sense needed to come first. After all, Ariel was essentially a newly born child.

Finally, after a tumultuous meal, Arwen used magic to clear the table entirely.

Ariel, clearly satisfied with the meal, let out a small burp and leaned back, enjoying her fullness.

"Did you enjoy your meal?"
"Yes!"
"That’s good to hear. Then…"

What should we do now? Ariel’s presence had significantly restricted our actions.

Taking her outside would inevitably attract everyone’s attention. Keeping her indoors felt too limiting.

I wanted to take her out, but I couldn’t predict the consequences. Her influence would undoubtedly surpass even Zenon’s Biography.

And leaving her behind while I went out was absolutely not an option.

'Perhaps we should leave her with someone trustworthy...'

As I pondered this, a knock suddenly echoed through the room.

Knock, knock, knock.

Startled, I turned toward the door, and so did Arwen. I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was.

If Ariel’s presence were revealed now, the headache would be unbearable.

The attendant behind the door finally spoke softly.

"Your Majesty, there are guests who wish to meet you and Zenon."

This voice... Could it be Keir? Having met him often, I recognized it clearly.

Keir was currently one of Arwen’s escort knights and secretaries. Only someone like him could knock on the queen’s chamber door.

"Gu-guests? As you know, I’m currently spending quality time with Zenon. Guests, you say?"

Though initially flustered, Arwen quickly responded in a calm tone. She was right; Keir should have known we were spending time together.

For him to knock despite that, the identity of these guests had to be unusual.

"Zen-Zenon?"

Meanwhile, Ariel mumbled softly with her lisp. Worried she might act out, I held her securely in my arms.

"Yes. Normally, I would have sent them away, but they’re people I cannot turn away lightly… They also came out of concern for Your Majesty."
"Could you tell me who they are?"

Keir hesitated briefly before replying in a cautious tone.

"Lady Lecilis, your fiancé…"

I was doomed.

"And Princess Cecily of Helium…"

I was utterly doomed.

"Do-doomed?"

Yes, Daddy is doomed.