Adelynn guessed correctly; these people in the room are her relatives. Likely all blood-related, except for the child.
When Bodie finished his words, smiles bloomed on the elder two's faces. Ms.Tayan spoke up again, holding out her hands. "Can I hold her?" She requested.
Bodie stood up and leaned over to pass the child, who let it happen without any struggle. She was being passed to a stranger, but the elder woman and man looked too sorrowful for her to really mind.
It was a little disgusting seeing their almost tearful faces up close, but Adelynn stayed quiet and didn't let her thoughts show on her round-squishy face.
Her delicate green skin was grasped softly by Ms.Tayan's white-velvet gloved hands. Ms.Tayan looked elegant and a bit fragile; with her white gloves long enough to cover her thin forearms, and a bob haircut that cupped her aged facial features. She expertly cradled Adelynn in her arms, looking down at her with a melancholic gaze.
Adelynn was a bit speechless at how much better she felt in Ms.Tayan's arms then she did Bodie's... maybe it was a grandmother thing?
"You have been taking good care of her. I was worried for nothing, than." The elder man said as he glanced down at a healthy baby. He let out a small chuckle, quietly making it known he thought Bodie wouldn't do well.
"I am doing my best, Mr.Tayan." Bodie replied with a tinge of pride.
"Yes.. but a child is truly a handful. Are you sure you don't want assistance?" Mr.Tayan asked as he helped himself to the nutritious snacks laid out.
Bodie shook his head, quickly declining any help. "I assure you, my staff and I can handle one child. It hasn't been too difficult."
"Even so, you are a busy man. It isn't reasonable to leave my niece in the care of salary workers; that could be dangerous. Let me, or mother, come over to watch her when you're busy." The man with bone-colored eyes added. The orange-haired child sat in his lap, playing with his wrist.
Bodie shook his head once again. "I appreciate you willing to make time to leave the capital and stay down here, but I can't allow you to do so regularly. You all are preoccupied, and I can take care of Addilyn alone."
To rebuke, the man with the light purple-colored eyes added an argument for his brother and father. The four— Bodie, Mr.Tayan, and Adelynn's two uncles—argued on the topic as Adelynn's mind focused on more important things.
The woman whose arms she was in, Ms.Tayan, was most likely the mother of the woman who gave birth to her, Emil. The elder man was Mr.Tayan, Emil's father, and the two other men were probably her brothers. It didn't take much to guess that from this short interaction, but she had actually assumed as much beforehand.
Adelynn didn't see much of Emil when she was born, but looking back she noted her hair color. Emil and Ms.Tayan had the same hair color. In addition, from the portraits she'd seen hung on the walls whenever she was brought out of the room, Emil and the people in the room had other similar features.
Naturally, she came to her assumption. Unsurprisingly, to herself, she was right.
The reason for the spell was now clear as the sky through the ceiling windows; Emil's family had no idea Adelynn was born human.
She dismissed her concerns on the people Bodie trusts with that information–maids, butlers, but not family?–and instead thought about what other details she should piece together.
Although she remembered some things from leaving her room, she didn't actually do it often. In fact, this was her first time seeing this room, which she assumed to be the parlour. It's also the first time Bodie ever personally took her out.
What things did he say whenever he'd mention Emil's family? Did he ever mention Emil's family?
Adelynn thought about it, but she couldn't recall much; Bodie told the story of how the two lovebirds met and connected, but all without mentioning either of their relatives.
Now that she thinks about it, why hasn't she been introduced to Bodie's parents?
Her father, Remington, had few relatives. No siblings, one or two uncles and aunts, his dad died before she was born, and his mom died over a decade later. Even her heightened memories didn't reveal much of her extended family.
Was this life going to mirror her previous one?
'Hopefully not', Adelynn thought; she didn't exactly live fulfillingly (hard to make peace when you die before the greatest event of your life-).
She was a little curious about her new blood-relatives, though. Ms.Tayan, for example, looked like her wrinkles told stories. Each deeper and more meaningful than the next. Yet, at the same time, she looked younger than she should, even a bit youthful.
It was contradictory, and Adelynn wondered why. It didn't feel natural that Ms.Tayan was both old and young-looking.. was it magic?
Then, next to them sat Mr.Tayan, Ms.Tayan's husband. He gave the same feeling, but with a weak body and strong aura. He looked as skinny and frail as Ms.Tayan, so why did Adelynn fill as though his muscles were enormous?
Her eyes went from the sofa to a wainscot chair a few feet away. The light purple-eyed uncle sat there with his right leg crossed over his left. His eyes were naturally pointed, making him look a bit harsh and suspicious.
However... he seemed like the kind of guy Adelynn would buy priceless jewelry from; she trusted him not to lie about value or sell a counterfeit.
Maybe she got that idea from the black and boring suit he was wearing, paired with a white shirt that made him bland. He looked bland, but she always grouped bland and professional under the same umbrella.
Her gaze shifted the opposite direction, to a more cushioned armless chair. There sat the man with bone-colored eyes and orange-haired human child. Strangely enough, she didn't feel the same contradictory feelings towards this man. He felt how he looked.
Unlike his brother who had scary eyes but seemed trustworthy, he had a good-natured face with calculative eyes. The middle-aged man also had aged features, such as loose skin and discolored hair. He had a protective arm around the child as he kept her busy with a shiny amber-bead bracelet on his wrist.
Adelynn didn't feel the same emotional, physical, or mental strength from him as she did the other three, but she nevertheless knew she felt comfortable in his presence.
If this was how Emil's family is, what was Emil truly like?
Adelynn couldn't help but wonder. She didn't feel these weird feelings around others, at least not humans or Bodie.
Sigh.. it was strange, but that was really all she could think. She's just a baby right now, only decent at crawling. She hadn't learned a lot of important things, like speaking or reading, if the English here was written differently. She shouldn't wonder too much about these things, it was unnecessarily stressful.
Ah, now that it crossed her mind. Adelynn rolled her eyes in a full circle and came back to staring up at Ms.Tayan, who seemed curious as to why her eyes are wandering.
Magic... Oh, she hoped she could learn it! Maybe, if she was lucky, she could learn it early and make herself into a protege?
If it was anything like the subjects on her world, it wouldn't be too difficult.
Perhaps she wasn't a genius who flaunted their thinking skills and pursued rewards to feed their ego—but she was the only blood-related daughter of likely the world's smartest man.
How could she be mediocre?
Of course, Adelynn was also intelligent like her siblings surnamed Gold. She invented things and explored scientific, mechanical, and medical areas before, but didn't enjoy it, so she gave it up.
She taught herself rudimentary things, often interrupting during lessons to show she was ahead to get treats or praise. She was multi-talented too, having learned over 100 languages from her Galaxy. Which wasn't a lot, unless she mentioned she mastered them all before her teenage years.
There were more achievements, but Adelynn didn't quite consider them, "achievements".
She was younger and temporarily wanted to follow in her father's footsteps—If anything, they were trials. Then, she realized it was boring and too stressful to keep up with.
Why do all of that when she could do nothing and live just as well? She left her father's "legacy" to her siblings. That's what they were adopted for, afterall.
In all honesty, most of her skills dulled by the time she was 28, the age she died. The knowledge she once had should be long gone after years of no practice.
Lucky her, though! The rude spirit's enhancement of her memories actually reminded her of those things.
Would she relearn or polish any skills? Meh.. Adelynn would decide in the future. The only important skill she wanted to remaster was how quickly she used to absorb information.
She was still quick to learn things now, but, as a baby, not many things were really happening. What if written English in this world was actually ridiculously hard? A protege shouldn't struggle to learn it!
Adelynn was thinking about the future, to the point she didn't pay attention to the present at all. The argument between the elven men had already ended, leading to a branched off topic, and the reason the human child came along.
Ms.Tayan was the one to speak, finally using her voice again after letting the men go back and forth.
"I don't comprehend your refusal, but, regardless, we never intended to convince you today." She paused, dragging a cool finger through the baby's small hair puff. She looked at Bodie, then to her oldest son and continued. "If you will not welcome us to watch over Addilyn, then you must accept our protection."
Adelynn heard her name and blinked her innocent violet eyes. Hearing the word 'protection', she immediately listened to what was being said.
She followed Ms.Tayan's eyes, then raised an imaginary eyebrow at the man and child.
Bodie looked over as well, showing a similarity confused expression as he uttered a response. "Yes, of course, Ms.Tayan.."
The bone-colored eyes man smiled a small smile then stopped the child's playing.
Adelynn looked at the orange-haired human child, who she ignored a moment before.
"This is a child I have taken under my wing: Laas Tayan." The man introduced as he tapped the head of the aloof child. She didn't look particularly interested in meeting Bodie, nor did she hide her disinterest.
However, Bodie gasped. '' 'under your wing'... Do you mean-"
"I'm training Laas to become my heir." The man finished Bodie's words for him. His guess was correct.
Adelynn's mouth opened and she too gasped. Could women become the highest rank in a noble's household in Grecira?
"You can't have her become your heir; you're a knight! She can't be a knight, she's--"
'A girl?' Adelynn thought, pretending to know what Bodie would say.
"A human!" Was his continuation, defying Adelynn's expectations.
Why can't a human be a knight? She looked eagerly back and forth between Bodie and the bone-eyed man, hoping one of them would quickly explain so her mind stopped assuming it was because of racism.
Racism was no longer widespread on her Earth, but after exploration of the Galaxy became possible for the public, there was a lot more than earth to worry about. Some planets would be completely off-limits if you have a certain feature; such as her white skin. If she still went there, no one could help her escape discrimination, or even death. Though, the galaxy was too big to worry about not finding a safer place, like Earth.
She just hoped that wouldn't be something she'd have to deal with here, for whatever reason.
Bodie huffed and looked at the human child with a complicated look.
The bone-eyed man chuckled lightly, then explained something. "While true, Laas is much more than human." He paused, then leaned forward towards Bodie with a grin in his eyes. "She can use structured magic!"
Bodie and Adelynn both gasped, this time for the same reason. 'She can use magic already?!'
"She can use magic? How?" Bodie asked. He complicated expression completely changed and he snuck a glance to Adelynn, whose small elf-eyes were staring at the orange-haired child.
Adelynn didn't think about the fact that she, as a human, should be concerned whether ordinary humans could use magic or not. Half because she didn't think of herself as an ordinary human, for obvious reasons; half because the idea kind of blew over her head.
Due to her gaze, Laas turned her head in the man's lap and looked back, her brows furrowed. There was boredom and annoyance in her green eyes.
"We don't know how, but her affinity is undeniable. Her training has already begun, but, alas, the capital has too many eyes. I need to keep her elsewhere for a while." The man leaned back in his seat and spouted words.
Hearing him, Adelynn got the idea more-or-less.
The nobles in the capital were probably very curious about the small human becoming heir to elvish nobility. To not overstimulated her, the bone-eyed man wanted to send Laas to stay with them, right? While here, she could practice her magic and knightly skills, or whatever, to protect Adelynn. It's not likely her protection would be useful, but.. it's the thought that counts?
"I see.. when did you test her, Jove?" Bodie withdrew his gaze and cleared his throat. If it was really possible, he wanted to fortify his daughter's potential.
The man with the bone-colored eyes, Jove apparently, took a second to respond. He looked down to Laas, then replied. "I believe when she was 2. I adopted her for my wife, but Orfeo said he could feel her magic."
Mentioning the name, both Jove and Bodie glanced to "Orfeo", the purple-eyed man.
Bodie nodded, then quickly asked Orfeo. "Can you feel Addilyn's?" He almost perfectly hid the wariness in his voice. Although "feeling magic" didn't guarantee the person could use magic, it was still promising.
Before Orfeo could answer, Mr.Tayan laughed. "Frightened your genes will surpass my daughter's?" He teased.
Bodie shrugged truthfully; it wasn't impossible.
Ms.Tayan half-surpressed a laugh before speaking. "We can, don't worry. What is your decision, do you accept our protection?"
Bodie sighed in relief, then carelessly nodded. He wouldn't throw aside a child in temporary need of a home. Especially not a human child, who Adelynn should be around.
Adelynn was listening, but she didn't completely register that her ability to use magic was just questioned. She did, however, notice the comment on Bodie's genes.
The family related to Emil, besides Jove, had this strange feeling to them. Adelynn wondered whether this was magic. Perhaps it was, but then, shouldn't she have been able to feel magic in Laas?
Hmm.. either way, Bodie didn't have that strange feeling. So.. he can't use magic?
Adelynn sighed in her mind, then stopped thinking about it. At the same time, Ms.Tayan started stimulating her babiness. Instead of the previous comfortable and natural cradle, she started trying to tickle her.
Ugh- Adelynn hated how quickly her silence was replaced by sickly sweet giggles.