With the first meal of the day completed, it was time to resume the class from where they had stopped.
Sian looked at Emily, who was now sitting on his lap with her hands over her protruding belly. "Now that our tummies are full, it's time to continue, so pay close attention, otherwise I won't give you any more strawberry juice, okay?"
"Okay!" She answered promptly, making the most attentive expression she could.
"Very well, then let's get started." Sian said satisfied.
As the class continued, Sian's explanation was simple and straightforward. There are six warrior titles, and to obtain them, it was necessary to complete certain pre-established requirements set by the nobles.
Starting from the weakest, the Exemplary Warrior title, to get it was necessary to have a small control over magic.
Next was the Formidable Warrior, which required the ability to use magic to strengthen some physical attribute efficiently, or to know a small amount of spells.
The third was Superior Warrior, and the requirement was to know a range of passive and active spells or take a simple strengthening spell to the peak. But according to Sian himself, from the first title to the third, all who received them were nothing but sacrificial pawns, and it was precisely here that those without a rich background to support them remained.
The fourth title was Epic Warrior, they awarded it only to those who knew a wide range of spells and could shorten the enchantment slightly.
The fifth was Heroic Warrior, and one had to know several advanced spells.
And last and most important, Legendary Warrior, only Kings can grant this title to people who have reached the highest peak for mortals.
Finishing the explanation, Sian added. "But this rank does not exactly reflect the level of power, because it is a title granted by the nobility in an extremely loose way, they basically granted it according to their will. I've encountered some nobles who were supposedly heroic warriors, but when it came to putting their skills to use, they were at best, a superior warrior."
"Daddy has a title?" Emily looked at him curiously.
"Nope, Daddy doesn't need those useless things."
"But they are so cool." She said with shining eyes.
Clearing his throat, Sian said. "In this case, I'll let my little princess choose one for me to use."
"Really?"
"Really really."
"Yay!" Standing on his lap, she said excitedly. "I want Daddy to be a legendary warrior!"
Placing her standing on the table, he stood up from his chair and placed his hand on his chest. "Then, from now on, I, Duke Sian De Castilho, grant myself the title of Legendary Warrior."
"Yay yay! Daddy is very strong!"
Keeping the jumpy Emily under control for fear that she would fall, Ophilia asked. "Can you really do that? I've heard that a nobleman can't grant titles to himself or it might lead to trouble."
"You don't have to mind the minor details." He answered nonchalantly.
With a worried look, Ophilia asked. "Even if you ignore that, for the title of legendary warrior, don't you need the king's approval?"
"He wouldn't care about such a small thing." Saying that, he took Emily in his arms. "Every time someone gets the Legendary Warrior title, that person also gets a unique title, thus, I want my little princess to choose one for me."
"Me?"
"Uh-huh, you."
Looking at Ophilia and pointing to Sian, Illianna said. "That's what he meant when he said that the nobility granted the titles in a banal way."
"But it's not like I'm lying about my power." He replied while looking at Emily who seemed to be using all her brainpower to think of a title.
Not long after, Emily said. "Daddy's title is going to be The best Daddy in the world."
Not containing his happiness, the corners of Sian's lips stretched to the point where they almost reached his ears. "Why does my little princess think that?"
"Because Daddy always gives me lots of delicious food and plays with me."
Even though he knew that these were superficial reasons, Emily's words still made Sian's heart soar with happiness. This was a completely different happiness than when he discovered a new recipe.
'So this is one of the joys of having a family? It's a very comforting and pleasant feeling...
With Sian lost in thought, Emily tilted her head in a cute way. "Daddy?"
"It's nothing." Sian hugged her tightly as he rubbed his face in hers. "It's just that my little princess is so adorable that I got lost while admiring your cuteness."
With her tail spinning at an abnormal speed, Emily wrapped her little arms around Sian's neck as her legs clung onto his torso.
After spending some more time with Emily, Sian left her playing with Tina and went back to work with Illianna. But something that left him quite surprised was the fact that with each passing minute, she was working faster and more efficiently. Judging by the pace, she would probably finish the wall before nightfall.
While following her instructions, Sian raised the walls and pillars of the underground last floor. Even though he wondered if doing something so unreasonably large was necessary, he still did everything carefully.
As he paused briefly, Tina approached him and lightly tugged at his shirt.
"Do you need anything?" He asked.
"Can I get some toast?" She pointed to the table, where there was still some toast left.
"Sure, feel free to eat."
"It's not for me." She denied with her head. "It's for my mother. She's always working, so I wanted her to taste the yummy food you made."
'What a good girl, it's like she's really the personification of Fran, always caring about the people around her... If I don't misremember, her mother's name is Francionia...'
Forgetting for a moment that Tina was expecting an answer, he propped his chin between his index finger and thumb as he looked up at the sky.
'Hmm... Since it's been a long time, and I never called Fran by her full name, I don't remember her name exactly, but I remember that Fran was a short form of her name. Taking into consideration how similar Tina is to her, maybe Fran is Tina's mother, after all, although I have seen Melinda's corpse, I have never seen Fran's, I only know what those guards told me...'
While Sian was lost in thought, Tina tugged at his shirt again with an eager face. "It doesn't have to be much."
Coming to his senses, he replied. "Oh, that's fine, you can take as much as you want."
Hearing Sian's response, a smile immediately bloomed on her face as she thanked him. Seeing that both of the baskets she carried were full, one with grass and the other with food, Sian realized that she had nothing to take the toasts in. Then, he handed her a small wooden container.
After she finished carefully putting away the food, Sian said. "I have a present for you."
"What is it?" Tina asked with a curious look.
Putting his hand in the magic bag, he pulled out a rag doll similar to the one he gave Emily. The difference was that this one had blonde hair and blue eyes with a dress and tiara of the same color.
"It's a doll, I saw you seemed to have liked Emily's, so this one is for you."
"I'm already grown up, I don't need a doll." Despite saying that, she still received the gift with bright eyes.
"You don't have to be small to like it." He put his hand on her head. "I hope you and Emily can play together in the future."
Nodding her head, she asked. "Does she have a name too?"
"Uh-huh, her name is Kinderella." Pointing to the doll's exquisite tiara, he continued. "And just like Emily's, this one is a princess too."
Seeing what seemed to be a joy contained in Tina's expression, Sian continued. "Remember to come and have breakfast with us tomorrow again, or rather, you can come and have breakfast with us every day, since you will also attend classes, right?"
After that, he handed a gold coin to Tina, saying it was for her to buy new clothes, and said goodbye.
Returning to his rationale from before, Sian thought. 'Hmm... In the past few days, things seem to be happening very favorably and conveniently to me. So, if it continues like this, it's very possible that Fran is still alive, but...'
Crossing his arms, Sian looked up at the sky again and let out a long sigh.
'If that is indeed the case, that brings me to another important point... Something fishy is going on around me, like someone is manipulating everything behind the scenes... It's hard to believe the gods would be benevolent enough to move their fat asses for my sake...'
As Sian spent some time thinking of countless possibilities of something he was still unsure of, Ophilia's sweet voice roused him from his trance.
"Is something bothering you?"
Looking at her gentle face that was filled with concern, he couldn't resist the temptation, and gave her a kiss.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking about some things." He said softly as he stroked her hair.
'I guess I'm thinking about it too much, I'd better not get my hopes up too high, or I might end up being disappointed... But well, confirming doesn't cost anything either, I'll pay a visit to her later.'
"I know I'm not very helpful, but you can always count on me." Ophilia said with a gentle look and wrapped him in a hug.
"Ahem!" Just as their lips were about to touch again, Illianna's voice interrupted them. "I know you're enjoying a good time together, but the work won't do itself while you stand there like lovebirds."
Not in the mood to argue against her, Sian just sighed and prepared to get back to work, but the moment he took the first step, Emily shouted.
"Tina came back to play with me!"
Tina was running towards them. "She came back faster than I expec-"
But before he could finish his sentence, he noticed something strange. She seemed to be covered in mud and even without asking, he could tell something bad had happened, for her cries of despair were becoming more and more audible.
Appearing almost instantly in front of her, he grabbed her shoulders. "What happened?!"
Leaving the dirty mud doll falling to the ground, she held on to his clothes, and in tears, yelled desperately. "Mommy, please save Mommy!"