Perhaps it was because she had become a mother—having to constantly supply her own stored natural magic to nourish the baby made her inevitably weak and drowsy. It was far more tiring than the life of an ordinary elf.
In total, the entire elf clan had barely 300 members. The only ones Celia could really talk to were younger elves like Karl. But right now, Celia had no energy to go play with Karl or the others; she had been sitting at the door for the entire afternoon.
Occasionally, two or three elves passed by. They would greet her in surprise, chat briefly, then leave in a hurry because they were busy.
As time trickled by, Celia could no longer sit still. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. She simply stood up slowly, planning to go back to her room to continue hatching the egg.
But just then, footsteps came from not far away—heavy and rhythmic. At the sound, her heart skipped a beat. Harboring a certain suspicion, she turned her head to look in that direction.
That tall, straight figure, the neat black clothes, the pale face… It was Ryan!
Celia quickly lowered her head, her heart pounding uncontrollably, even her breathing growing rapid. Ryan was here! What should she do? What expression should she wear to greet him? Should she call her mother over?
Before she could figure it out, he had already strode up to her. Celia bit the tip of her tongue, then looked up—her expression was well-behaved and harmless as she stared at the man, a hint of tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
Ryan raised an eyebrow and roughly pinched the soft cheek of the young girl. "What kind of expression is that? We've only been apart for half a day, and you don't recognize me anymore?"
"Whimper… Lord Ryan," Celia blinked, "I do recognize you… You're my husband…"
"Then why do you look at me like I'm some heinous villain?"
Aren't you a villain! she grumbled to herself.
The man glanced down at her arms and asked softly, "How's the baby? You didn't drop it on the floor, did you?"
Celia shook her head. Suddenly remembering the time she had let her mother hold the baby, she chose to murmur, "I let Mom hold her for a while."
"Mm," Ryan seemed rather unconcerned. He glanced over the girl's shoulder. "The house is built. Go say goodbye to your mother first. I'll take you away right away, and when we get back, I'll reluctantly let you visit others."
"Really? Thank you…" Celia's eyes widened, and her two emerald-green pupils lit up instantly.
She turned around, carried the baby in her arms into the house, and went straight to the kitchen to tell her mother that Ryan had arrived. As soon as she finished speaking, Cecil hurried out the door.
"Wait for me…"
Because she was holding the egg, Celia couldn't run too fast. She could only follow slowly behind. When she reached the door, she heard her mother's chattering voice, as lively as a bird's.
She pushed the door open. There, she saw Cecil clinging to the man's arm, pressing her small body tightly against him. She rubbed her head against his sleeve and said in a sticky tone, "Lord Ryan~ My Celia is the most well-behaved child. She'll be willing to do anything you ask of her.
"If you're in a bad mood someday, you can even hit her to vent—just… go easy on her, okay? Celia has been afraid of pain since she was little. And oh… if you have nothing to do these days, it's fine to have another baby too!"
Watching her mother act like this, for some reason, Celia felt a sudden sense of urgency. Besides—hit her to vent? Is this even my own mother! Why is she so biased towards Ryan?
Ignoring the weight in her arms, she hurried over to Ryan's side and used her body to push away her mother, who was clinging to him like an octopus. In her fluster, she inadvertently took her mother's place and pressed against him instead.