Besides, he had no intention of taking Paulo’s side and risking being disliked by Lian or Qiong Xing.

"That guy is always so— hmm? Lian?"

At some point, Lian had climbed down from Qiong Xing’s lap and walked over to them.

"Lian likes Grandpa and Grandma."

...?

Sarin looked at Qiong Xing in confusion, and Qiong Xing responded with a wry smile.

"It seems she prefers you two over Mr. Paulo. I think having both of you here is enough for her."

What was that?

That was far too adorable.

Without thinking, Sarin picked her up and nuzzled his cheek against her.

Katarina quickly reached out as if saying she was next, and when he handed Lian over, she hugged him tightly.

"...Are you two really not related by blood?"

"Unfortunately not."

Even so, Sarin felt like declaring out loud that blood ties did not matter.

To them, Qiong Xing and Lian were already family. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Would you like to hold him for the occasion?"

What kind of occasion was that supposed to be?

Qiong Xing looked at Sergei to see what he would do, and saw him fall silent, a deep crease forming between his brows.

"Hehe, she will not bite you."

He was clearly being teased.

Sarin and the others had already been surprised enough by the changes in Sergei since they heard he had started raising a wolf pup, but this was something else entirely.

"...May I?"

Seeing Sergei extend his hands, Sarin looked at Qiong Xing in surprise, but Qiong Xing only smiled and nodded.

When they looked at Lian, she e simply blinked her eyes in confusion.

"He wants to hold you because you are cute."

"Okay!"

Lian nodded immediately and raised both arms as if saying, go ahead.

Is this really alright?

Sarin watched nervously, but then...

"...That is not how you hold her, that is lifting her up. Support her with your arms... yes, like that."

Sergei had lifted Lian under the arms and then froze, prompting Qiong Xing to patiently teach him how to properly hold a child.

The overly serious look on Sergei’s face made it hard not to laugh.

Sarin had to hold it in as his stomach started to hurt.

"He looks just like you, Sarin."

"You mean his face? Or his personality?"

"Both."

"...Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Who knows."

Sarin and Katarina were surprised to see the two of them speaking so familiarly, but when they looked at Sergei’s expression, they could tell things were moving in a good direction, and both of them felt a sense of relief.

...

After finishing the meal, they headed to the training grounds to meet Captain Narka.

"You have always been like this. You do not listen to others. You say only what you want to say. You leave the difficult things to others. You are already an adult."

"...Yes."

Amazing.

That captain was being scolded while sitting formally on his knees.

It had already been an hour.

Qiong Xing thought it might be about time to stop, but someone prevented him from interfering.

"I wonder why. I feel very refreshed today."

"What a coincidence. I am also in a very good mood today."

Rohen and Sergei watched Captain Narka being scolded with amused grins, clearly enjoying the situation.

It was as if they were venting all the frustrations they usually endured because of him.

Since those two showed no intention of stopping it, Qiong Xing could not say anything either.

Lian seemed bored, so he let her play with Rohen instead.

As for how things had turned out like this, it was because on their way to the training grounds, they had once again been abducted, and to make matters worse, Narka had said to the crying Lian, "Hey kid, men should not cry so easily."

"In what way does she look like a boy? She is this cute! And the reason she was crying was because you kidnapped Qiong Xing, you idiot!"

How long was this going to continue?

They had only come today to introduce Lian, so it might be fine to just leave, but Qiong Xing was unsure what to do.

"...Grandma."

"What is it?"

When he looked at Katarina sitting beside him, she was watching the scolded Narka with a bored expression.

"Um, could you help choose something girly for Lian and Yue?"

"Hm?"

"Neither I nor Elias really have much interest in those things, and we do not use them either. But Lian is still a girl, so I thought it might be nice to get something cute, like a hair accessory."

As a man, Qiong Xing did not feel much need for accessories, but he believed that women were always women, no matter their age, and he wanted to do something for them even while they were still young.

He could choose something himself, but his standards would likely lean toward practicality or his own preferences.

He thought that Katarina, being a woman, would understand Lian’s feelings better and help choose together.

"Of course, I will pay you back later, so if you could—"

"Of course! Lian, come here. Let us go out with Grandma!"

"Okaaay!"

Katarina’s previously bored expression instantly turned into a bright smile as she picked up Lian and hurried off.

She must have been very happy.

"I have never seen Lady Katarina look that happy before."

Not only Rohen, but even Sergei and Narka looked surprised at her reaction.

"Katarina has always wanted to buy various things for Lian and the others too. But I usually end up buying things first, and she could never bring herself to say it, so she was always fidgeting about it."

It seemed the lecture had finally ended.

Sarin who had taken Katarina’s place and sat down beside him, gently patted Qiong Xing’s head.

"Recently, she sometimes dresses Lian in the dresses I bought and takes her out shopping. It is thanks to you."

"I am glad if I could be of even a little help. I feel bad always relying on you."