“Welcome back Lilia.”
Marcus having waited at the gate was there when his little sister arrived early in the morning.
For Lilia’s part she was a bit surprised to see Marcus just sitting at the guard station but was also incredibly happy.
“I am home.” She said as she gave Marcus her normal back breaking bear hug.
It had been a long time since the last time they had seen each other and for a good couple minutes they just stood there in each other’s embrace.
“Now we should get going. I already had Alaric woken up and he is currently getting ready to see you again. And in that regard, is there anything you want to do before seeing him again, like taking a bath?” Marcus asked.
Shaking her head, Lilia just smiled, and said, “No I took one at school before coming over. I am ready to see him again and gauge his progress.”
With that the two of them walked up the road that led to the main estate and made their way to the parlor where the caught up while waiting for Alaric to arrive.
Around thirty minutes later, the half elf boy came downstairs with an ecstatic expression on his face.
When he saw Lilia, he seemed happier than Marcus had seen him in the entire time they had been training.
Looking towards Marcus, Lilia asked with her eyes for permission to get up, and he nodded with a slight smile on his face.
In the next instance Lilia got hurried over to Alaric and gave him quite the hug that was almost as strong as the ones she gave Marcus.
Luckily, she did hold back a bit. Otherwise, it is likely that Alaric’s spine would have cracked even though he had leveled up quite a lot.
“Wow, you really are strong Lilia.” Alaric said as he rubbed his back.
Still, the slight amount of pain he felt did not dampen his mood, and after the two of them asked for permission, they went off on their own to talk about what they had both been up to for the past months.
‘I guess I should help get things prepared for lunch.’
Keeping himself busy, Marcus went to the kitchen and helped out Stella and Violet who were working there.
Of course, they did try to stop him as usual, since it was not technically proper for the master of the house to be doing work. But he managed to convince them by saying that with his cooking skill he would be able to prepare the best food for their guests who included royalty and a foreign duchess.
Another three hours quickly passed by as Marcus prepared an impressive feast alongside his maids in preparation for everyone’s arrival.
“Lady Irene, a carriage bearing the royal family’s crest is heading our way. I believe that Princess Mrazivy will soon arrive.” Clara said, informing Marcus.
“Thanks Clara. I will clean myself up swiftly and go to greet them.”
Putting down the frosting that he was using to decorate a cake, Marcus asked that Stella take over and moved to the nearest bathroom to clean up.
Except instead of using any water, he simply went into his ghost form to allow everything to fall off of him and changed into a new set of clothes.
Then he headed out to the front entrance and waited for his fiancée and friends to arrive in order to act as a host.
“I am glad that all of you have been able to make it. My maids have been working tirelessly to prepare an amazing lunch for all of us since this is our reunion after many months apart.” Marcus said as he began leading the way into his mansion like a proper host.
Though as they started walking towards the parlor, he leaned back, and said, “I actually worked on lunch myself as well, so expect something special.”
Hearing this the three of them perked up, as they knew how good Marcus’ cooking was thanks to the effort he had put in to level the skill up.
Once they arrived at the parlor and tea and snacks were served, Marcus, Lyra, and Mrazivy all dismissed their servants so that the four of them could be alone.
“Whew, now that we do not have to adhere to any etiquette, we can finally have a proper reunion.” Mrazivy said as she stood up and walked right over to Marcus.
Understanding what she wanted, Marcus swiftly changed over to his original form and properly greeted his fiancée.
When they separated from each other, it was clear that Quillon and Lyra were a bit embarrassed by their passionate display.
“There, I would say we are pretty even for what I saw while we were in the dungeon.” Mrazivy said with a smirk while looking towards Lyra and Quillon.
This made their already red faces even more flushed, and Quillon closed his eyes and Lyra looked down.
‘What is going on here?’ Marcus thought seeing this odd display.
“Mraz, would you care to explain?” Marcus asked with confusion written all over his face.
“Yeah. One day when I came back from patrolling the area, I found these two kissing in the middle of the camp while we were in the dungeon. It was quite the shock to suddenly come across.”
“Mraz! Did you have to say it so bluntly!” Lyra said as she stood up in a fluster.
Quillon for his part just continued to sit there in silence and was just trying to ride things out.
‘Wait. Huh?’
His mind being suddenly assaulted with something so unexpected out of the blue, Marcus temporarily shut down.
However, this moment of bewilderment did not last long, and his eyes went wide as he looked between Lyra and Quillon.
Neither of them had denied that they had indeed been caught by Mrazivy kissing in the middle of a dungeon.
“How? Why? When did this happen?” Marcus eventually said once he had recovered a bit.
Still extremely red in the face, Lyra began answering Marcus’ questions.
“It all really started around a month and a half ago when we were fighting in the dungeon. We just began to get closer together, and I don’t know, but it is hard to explain. There are just not many guys in my life that treat me like an equal, and he is really reliable. And kind of handsome.” Lyra said in a poor attempt to explain her feelings.
Seeing that he was not really going to get much out of Lyra, who was pretty much completely flustered. Marcus turned towards Quillon who was sitting silently and hoping to get by without saying anything.
However, he could feel Marcus’ gaze boring a though him, and eventually sighed, before explaining his side of the story.
“It is not that complicated. We spent a lot of time together and got closer. Anyone who is compatible will start to develop feelings for each other when alone together so often like we were. Also, she is strong. I do not think I could ever be with anyone if they were not close to my strength, and I doubt I would ever meet anyone else like her again. Plus, she is cute, and her tails are soft.” Quillon said, though he mumbled the last part.
Nevertheless, everyone heard him clearly enough, and Lyra’s ears twitched, and she covered her face in embarrassment.