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Lilia Vanrouge has always been a mysterious character. Everyone on the land only knew him as a loyal servant to the Lord of the Valley of Thorns and an unbeatable soldier who had risked his life numerous times on the battlefield.
But despite the fact they knew close to nothing about the seemingly young man, they all highly respected and admired him, even the Lord of the Valley of Thorns placed her entire trust on him and rewarded him greatly for his serves.
Lilia however, despite appreciating the respect he was given by everyone, thought that his works weren’t something to be praised for. He only did what he believed was his duty and thought anyone would have done the same in his position. (Though no one truly believed him on that)
And because of his accomplishments, Lilia had become quite close to the monarchy of the Valley of Thorns and was even appointed as the guardian for the new born prince. Lilia didn’t object to the role and even if he did, he couldn’t refuse it as it was favor from the Lord herself.
The first time he saw the young prince he was lying in a crib with an eggshell on his face and stared up at him with glowing green eyes that had an intensity that surprised even Lilia. Lilia could tell that this child was born with tremendous power despite being a newborn and knew there would be many great things about him in the future but as of now, Lilia couldn’t help but think of him as ‘cute’.
And after taking care of the prince for a while, Lilia couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to actually raise a child of his own.
He didn’t expect to have his question answered so soon.
Lilia stared at the crying infant in his arms as he stood in the middle of the forest. Lilia was doing his daily patrol until he heard the faint sound of crying in the distance. As he approached the source, he found a tiny baby wrapped in a white blanket, surrounded by the forest creatures as they nuzzled and sniffed the child as though to comfort him.
Lilia walked over the child, causing the creatures to scamper back into the woods, and here we are.
Lilia was confused as to why such a small creature was here in the dense forest and looked around. Since there wasn’t a single soul besides them, it was obvious that this child was abandoned.
Lilia wasn’t sure what to do with this child and just gently soothed him, rocking him gently in his arms. Seeing as the child couldn’t stop wailing, Lilia had no choice but to sing a lullaby. Before he could reach the middle of the song, the baby fell asleep.
As the crying finally stopped, Lilia took a moment to take in the infant’s appearance. He had soft silvery hair, chubby cheeks, a tiny button nose, small lips. From the looks of it, he was probably born a day or so.
He wondered what type of parents would leave such a defenseless child like this in the forest- what’s more, a human child at that.
Lilia obviously couldn’t leave him here so he promptly decided to take the child back with him. He teleported to the castle with the child in his arms while ignoring the confused stares of the people who recognized him as he walked through the halls.
He entered a room, where Malleus was sitting on a chair, quietly reading a book. He looked up and calmly raised a brow at his guardian. “What do you have there, Lilia?” He softly asked as he closed his book and placed it onto the table in front of him.
Lilia smiled at him. “Well Malleus-sama, it appears I found an infant in the forest.”
“Oh?” Malleus stood up and approached him. Lilia slowly craned his neck back in order to meet the prince’s gaze. Over the years, Malleus had already towered the majority of people in the kingdom. Even without the pitch black horns on his head, he was taller than anyone in the Valley of Thorns which often times frightened the people around him.
Malleus peered into the blanket as the baby slowly began to awaken from his sleep and whimpered.
“It seems it was abandoned. If I had not come, who knows what would happen.” Lilia curtly explained as the child began crying in his arms.
While Lilia lightly rocked the child in his arms, softly comforting the child, Malleus tilted his head and stared at the baby as it calmed down. “It’s a human child. How rare.” He noted as he lifted a finger to the child who then immediately grabbed it and began cooing which softened Malleus’ gaze.
Although humans are not rare in the Valley of Thorns, it was rare for any human to be able to approach the royals, especially Malleus who’s very presence intimidated everyone around him.
“What do you plan to do with this child of man, Lilia?” Malleus questioned as he took back his hand and gazed down at him. Lilia hummed in response. The most logical thing would be to search for a new home for the child and leave him there but…
Lilia glanced at the infant as he giggled and whimpered at him. His innocent silver eyes stared at him which softened Lilia’s form and he slowly smiled. “I was hoping we could adopt this child, Malleus-sama." He finally decided.
“Oh?” Malleus muttered in surprise before an amused smile stretched on his lips. “You wish to adopt this child of man?”
“Yes. I believe I’m capable of raising a human child. After all, I managed to care for you, Malleus-sama." He teasingly pointed out. Malleus softly snorted but did not dismiss the look of amusement on his face. “Very well, do as you wish.” He chuckled. “If you wish, shall I help you care for the child?”
“Kufufu, it would be an interesting sight to see the prince take care of an infant.” Lilia snickered, not at all surprise that Malleus wanted to participate. After all, it was rare for humans to be close to someone like Malleus.
And thus, this was the start of Lilia’s role as a ‘father’.
Raising a human infant wasn’t as easy as he had expected. He had to admit there were some unexpected things when taking care of a human.
Lilia was no stranger when it comes to caring for children, after all he practically raised a certain young prince himself but human children were more fragile and smaller.
And they grow up faster than anything Lilia has ever seen.
And before he knew it, ten years have passed.
“Father.” A soft voice called out. Lilia looked down at the child that tugged on his sleeve as he looked up at him. “Can you teach him how to sword fight?”
Lilia smiled and patted the silver haired boy on the head. “Maybe another time, Silver. I got somewhere to be first.”
The child, whom Lilia named Silver, pouted but nodded obediently. “Okay.” He said. Lilia chuckled. “How about I make you some mushroom risotto when I get back?”
Silver brightened when he heard ‘mushroom risotto’ but then he froze when he realized Lilia was making it and he cringed. “No need, Father. Just come back safely.” He immediately said.
“Oya? You really don’t want my cooking that much?” Lilia asked, clearly amused by Silver’s reaction. Silver didn’t respond and Lilia simple laughed. “Kufufu, I’m just kidding. I’ll buy you some when I get back alright?”
Silver looked up at smiled brightly. “Okay.” He grinned and Lilia nodded before he patted him on the head one last time and made his way to the door. “Remember not to open the door for strangers.” He reminded and Silver nodded. “If Sebek-kun comes by, don’t make a mess while I’m gone.”
With that said, Lilia finally left the cottage and made his way through the forest. When Lilia decided to adopt Silver, he decided to retire as a soldier as well and focus on raising the boy in a cottage in the forest close to the castle.
At first, a number of people had objected to his retirement but the Lord of the Valley of Thorns had given him her permission to leave and awarded him one last medal for all his serves.
Lilia who had long thought that it was time for him to retire, was grateful for his master’s understanding and promised to still be at her beck and call whenever she needs it.
Since then, Lilia had raised Silver to the best of his abilities. Malleus would once in a while come by to help care for the silver haired child to which it amused Lilia greatly.
Of course, Lilia knew that he and Malleus’ presence were not enough for a growing child such as Silver and so he had introduced him to a young fae close to his age named Sebek Zigvolt.
Lilia thought the boy was very amusing. Unlike Silver’s calm and level headed nature, Sebek was the complete opposite. Loud, energetic, and so naive that it entertained Lilia to no end whenever he pranked him from time to time.
The two barely had anything in common, except their strong admiration for Malleus. Often times, he would overhear the two declaring that they would be guards to the prince and protect him from harm, which brings a smile to Lilia’s face.
Since Lilia traveled around a lot, he would often bring back souvenirs for the children and would keep track of the ever changing trends of the outside world, not just for his enjoyment and curiosity but to also to introduce them to the children.
Lilia often times wondered if Silver was okay on his own whenever he felt the need to travel. Silver had a terrible habit of sleeping in odd and open places and fall asleep at random times of the day without warning. Although Lilia already casted many spells for his protection, it was still worrisome as Silver was left all alone, not to mention he was the only human around and was just a boy.
Even Silver himself, complained that his habit of sleeping wasn’t something he did willingly and even wondered if there was a cure for this habit.
Lilia didn’t have an answer for that so the two of them simply left the matter be and hoped that it would eventually disappear with time.
Over the years, Lilia observed the little things about Silver.
Silver seems to love training, especially in fencing, the forest creatures, specifically birds and squirrels, seem to be fond of him as Lilia observed them flocking around him once in a while, and Silver is quite airheaded which Lilia finds both amusing and worrisome.
Perhaps it was because Silver lacked actual experience with the outside world. Even with Lilia, who travels so much, were to teach him about these things, Silver didn’t truly have much life experiences.
Lilia hoped some sort of opportunity would come to give Silver a chance for the outside world.
But who would have thought that such a chance would come a few years later.
Lilia was quite proud when Silver entered Night Raven College for the first time.
Seeing their child enter a prestigious school would make any parent proud and that was how Lilia felt as he watched Silver be sorted into Diasomnia where he and Malleus were.
He almost couldn’t believe his ‘son’ was already a young man. He was taller now, more lean, and outgrown the child-like features on this face.
Lilia almost couldn’t believe that this was the same child he picked up all those years ago. Humans truly grow up fast unlike his and Malleus’s kind who ages ever so slowly…
During the time they spent in NRC, Lilia quietly watched as Silver interacted with those around him. Despite the fact Silver barely had any interaction with his kind, many students within Diasomnia seem to relay and trust him- something which relieved Lilia.
And when Sebek finally entered NRC, Lilia couldn’t help but find the days even more amusing while watching Silver and Sebek argue and chatter like they use to as children.
The days that went by were so peaceful and calming. Lilia for a very, very long time had never known there could be such a peaceful time like this. With that in mind, Lilia indulged himself with the modern trends. Gaming, music, things he never was able to experience in his long forgotten youth.
Occasionally, he try to influence Silver with his new hobbies to which Silver would simply listen and give an occasional remark here and there as Lilia rambled on about the things he had found interesting.
Lilia never really thought he would experience a ‘parent and child’ moment like this with him in school. Spending time with his ward was always a treat to have.
And sometimes, he hoped things would never change.
“Old man.” A calm voice called out. Lilia looked up from his game and saw a certain silver haired teen walk over to him. Over time, Silver had stopped calling him the formal title of ‘father’ and instead began casually calling him ‘old man’.
Lilia wasn’t displeased. In fact, he liked being called ‘old man’. There was a certain ring to it, being called something that was true enough.
“What is it, Silver?” Lilia questioned as he paused his game. Silver frowned lightly and sighed. “You messaged me to come see you.”
“Oh! That’s right, I did.” Lilia then chuckled. “Kufufu, it seems my old age is slowly catching up to me.”
“You’re not that old…I think.”
“It’s true that my cute appearance may seem deceiving to others but my age says otherwise. Although I am quite proud that I still remain cute after all these years.”
“If that’s what you say, old man.” Silver sighed. Lilia snickered softly before he reached up and gently patted his head. “Old man?”
Lilia didn’t respond and just continued patting the boy’s head. Lilia thought for a moment about what he said. For the next few years he would probably still remain the same while Silver would age, and someday he might he look old enough be a grandfather.
It was an uncomfortable thought for Lilia and sometimes worried him but every time he caught a glimpse of those silver eyes that look back at him just as they did when he picked him up in that forest, his thoughts just went away.
He can worry about those thoughts another day. For now, he should just live in the moment and cherish his time with him.
Lilia smiled. At first, Lilia wasn’t sure exactly what he was getting into when he decided to adopt a human infant but he knew one thing for sure that it was the best decision of his life.
“You know Silver, I just recently found this new RPG game and thought we should play it together.”