The two of the troublemakers that caused the burning of the garden were kneeling on the floor with their heads down with shame inside a living room of the Palace.
Levana was scolding them for their reckless actions then turned towards Selene who was standing beside Theo on the corner of the room.
"I was away for a few minutes and you let your sister get away burning half of the garden??? Selene, I thought you were more responsible than this"
"I'm sorry, mother" Selene
Levana simply placed her hand on her face in frustration.
"I get that you're enjoying the time you have with Theodore, but please pay more attention to your sister, who clearly has done idiotic pranks and trouble the past few days. You can't expect the servants to help you with everything."
"I will reflect on your words, mother.... but I wasn't enjoying anything with Theo... I was simpl-!"
Selene muttered quietly under her breath after answering her mother
"Do you have any complaints with what I've said, Selene?"
Levana with a smile sweeter than honey but with eyes greater than a preying marquis level demon struck fear at the heart of Selene
"No, ma'am! I have taken your words to heart!"
Theo smiled at the reply of Selene, but it was a mistake that he regretted making.
"Wipe that smile off your face, Theodore Ignatius, you also let Helena get dragged into the mischief Kali and Sky were cooking up" Aurora, Theo's mother, who was beside Levana reprimanded Theo for smiling at Selene's scolding.
Am I really that much of an open book to the people I'm close with????
"Yes mother." Theo said almost begrudgingly.
After scolding her child, Aurora turned her gaze to another person who was in the room.
"Do you need anything from me, Empress Aurora?"
It was, none other than Duke Windsor who was leaning beside the entrance to the living room, finding the current situation entertaining.
"You're also responsible for not teaching your new child moderation. I understand that you don't want to enforce too much discipline on him but moderation and common sense should very well be instilled on his head."
The Duke, hearing Aurora scold him, because of his carefree attitude towards Sky, scratched his head and laughed helplessly.
"Hahaha, I shall do my best in the future Your Majesty"
Seeing the Duke's lackluster reaction made Aurora sigh in frustration.
Perhaps Duke Windsor is not fit to raise a child or doesn't have enough experience to see how much this kind of behavior is a detriment to the child's tendencies.
Aurora then turned her attention to Sky.
Sky trembled as he was under the scrutiny of the Empress herself.
"Sky Windsor"
"Y-yes, Your Majesty, The Empress" Sky said, stuttering in fright.
"I understand you were compelled by the excitement of having a new friend and the desire to get along with Kali, but doing such unlawful actions could lead to bad habits and potentially disasters. Please think carefully of your actions moving forward" Aurora sternly said to Sky, who slightly trembled at Aurora's words.
After Aurora finished telling off Sky, Levana turned her attention to her youngest child, Kali.
Kali, despite getting scolded, had a reluctance and boredom written on her face. It looked like she didn't feel guilty doing anything she had
"Kali, look at your mother when I'm trying to speak to you"
"Yeeees" Kali answered in a very apparent nonchalant tone.
"How exactly did you burn the garden? Tell me the exact process and steps on how it escalated in the few minutes your sister had her eyes away from you."
Kali rubbed her knees, feeling the loss of blood on her legs, but Levana ignored this and egged her to speak of her transgressions.
"Ugh, After I gave Helena a gift we...."
To summarize the contents Kali's steps to accidentally burning the garden, She dragged her two merry friends deep within the garden, searched for the guardian bird of the garden, they discovered the guardian bird after an extensive searching in the garden, the bird was sleeping, Kali asked Sky to shoot a small spark at the bird, but ended up shooting a lightning bolt, because of poor ability in handling magic that he was not adept in as of now, the bird deflects the lightning bolt, because it was a Master tier monster, and the lightning bolt that got deflected and went straight into a type of flower that was prone to combust it's surroundings when it comes into contact with lightning.
Levana hearing Kali's explanation held her forehead in disappointment and exhaustion.
"Sigh, you my child will be grounded until the ball of your sister's birthday in a few days. I won't take no for an answer, now go back to your room, young lady"
"WHAT!? Mother, you can't do this to me!" Kali said standing up in protest to her mother.
"Kali, I said I'm not taking any refusals from you. Go now or do you want it to get extended even after your sister's birthday is over?"
"Whatever! I hate you mother!" Kali ran passed Duke Windsor as she shouted
Helena who was standing still beside Aurora and Sky who was still kneeling stood up, both inadvertently called out to the running princess.
"Kali!"
BAM!
The door slams and quickened footsteps could be heard in the hallway.
Silence hung in the air before Aurora spoke in a drained tone.
"Sigh, You're also grounded, Sky. Helena goes take Sky with you back to his room."
The two looked at each other and nodded in understanding.
Instead of the two heading back to their rooms, they went and chased where Kali ran.
Levana notices that the two other children, even Helena, going against their words simply side in resignation.
"Sigh, I'll let them comfort each other, but the Grounding still stands."
Levana and Aurora turned towards the door where the children were excited.
"We'll go back to preparing Selene's venue for her birthday. I hope we can look after the children more so they won't end up hurting themselves or anyone." Levana bid with final words and left with Aurora.
The Duke followed the two, acting as the bodyguard for the Empress of Light.
The people left in the room were Theo, Selene and the previous Duchess of Windsor, who hasn't spoken a single word, until now.
"I'm jealous that all of you have so much energy, especially the young ones. Me and my husband in the past used to cause trouble since we were young. This is only a process in life that the children and parents must go through. Such is the way of life for us humans."
The Old lady was seated on a couch knitting something as she stared outside the window with a peaceful smile on her face.
Despite the fragile appearance of the Old lady of Windsor, she was a genuine grandmaster of the past, though her tier degraded back to master, she was without a doubt stronger than both Selene and Theo combined.
Theo and Selene simply sighed in exhaustion, regretting not looking after their siblings with more care, but what was done was done.
They wasted time getting involved in trouble, when they could be training before the academy exams starts.
Theo and Selene sighed and left the room while bidding goodbye to the knitting old lady.
Theo tilted his head as he saw Selene scurry back to her room.
"Sure???"
Theo, after being left confused by Selene, left and went to his appointed training hall in the Aventus palace.