As they heard the bewildered voice, Lucielle and William turned around to find the one person they least expected to be here, accompanied by a majestic black cat gazing intensely at them with its blood-red eyes.
"YOUNG MASTER!?" They both screamed in unison. Honestly, Lucas would've loved to take a picture or something. Their faces were comical to say the least, but he didn't care. Even if it was a rare expression for both of them, he didn't care right now. His eyes were only on the little girl who snapped out of her drowsiness because of the screams, making her scared.
"What is her name?" Lucas said in a cold voice that made everyone except Luna flinch. His face showed no emotion currently, nor did his eyes.
'He knows...' They both thought in unison as they gazed at Lucas, who had grown so much. Lucille honestly thought that it wouldn't be a stretch to call Lucas one of the most handsome boys alive, while William could sense how much stronger he had gotten. His body was reeling for a fight, yet...
Both knew they had to hold back with everything. All the things they wanted to say, they couldn't right now, as Lucas never even looked at them once.
"L-lena, young master. Her name is Lena Nightstar. Your younger sister," Lucielle said, guilt written all over her face. 'Young master must be hurt and confused...'
"Younger sister, huh."
Lena suddenly wiggled out of Lucielle's arms and landed on the ground. After that, she hid herself behind Lucielle's legs, fearfully watching Lucas.
"Y-young master, please wait and don't misunder-" Before William could continue, Lucas's gaze landed on him, making him shut up instantly.
'Shit, he is mad...'
"Let's go inside and talk," Lucas said as he turned around and went inside, with the cat still on his shoulder.
Both having no choice but to comply with the young master's order, they followed while holding Lena's small hands.
*************
Four people could be seen inside the living room, with three sitting on one couch facing directly towards another where an extremely handsome white-haired boy with blood-red eyes sat, looking extremely identical to the little girl in the middle of the three. She looked at the others with an anxious expression.
[Why are you angry, father?]
[I am not angry, Luna,] Lucas said telepathically, though from the outside, he looked cold and emotionless. The atmosphere in the room was tense, with no one wanting to start the conversation.
[You are, father...]
*Sigh*
[I am not angry, Luna. I am just confused and a little upset... How old is Lena? Why didn't they tell me that mother was pregnant or contact me? I missed her birth even if I wanted to gain experience, I could have done that anytime, but the birth of my younger sister? How many chances would I have gotten?]
[I-I am sorry, father...]
[Don't be, it's not your fault, Luna.]
[mm...]
Deciding that he should start talking and not make them any more tense, he spoke up.
"How old is she?" His voice was less cold this time and a little gentler, but his face was still emotionless. Talking with Luna helped him calm down a little.
"S-she is almost 3 years old, young master," Lucielle said, not daring to meet Lucas's eye currently.
Seeing her and hearing how old she is, Lucas couldn't help but bite down his lips to calm further down.
"Why?" He asked.
"Y-young master?" Lucielle asked, not understanding what he meant.
"Why didn't anyone tell me before I left? Or did anyone tell me after?" Lucas asked with a hoarse voice.
His mother was a grandmaster and a Nightstar; it wouldn't be hard for her to hide the identity of her child and have some spells or artifact hide her stomach's growth. As a grandmaster, your body is naturally superior to that of a master or awakened because of mana, meaning that the time it would take for a child to be born would be much less than that of a master or awakened. A dormant average expectancy is 9 months, an awakened could go to 7 months, and a master could go to 5-6 months, but for a grandmaster like his mother, it would only take 3-4 months. Seeing that Lena is already almost 3 years old, her birth must have happened right after he left.
"Y-young master, madame told us not to tell anyone, including you..." William, who was silent, decided to speak, yet even he didn't want to look at Lucas and meet his eye right now. He felt too ashamed.
sigh
"I see... " If mother said so, then he can't do anything right now but wait until she returns. Before he could think of anything else, he heard a trembling voice.
"S-stop b-being mean to Lucielle and William!" Lena suddenly said, standing up from the couch with her arms spread wide as if shielding William and Lucielle from Lucas while tears were forming in her eyes and her legs were trembling. Obviously, she was scared. A random man came into her home not knowing who he was, and the people she cared about were scared of him. In Lena's eyes, that meant that the man wasn't a good person.
Seeing her act like this, everyone just stood there frozen, wide-eyed, even Luna. They didn't expect her to step in yet when she did, they felt as if a cold bucket of water was poured on all three, as they finally realized they were having such a heavy conversation in front of a mere child who obviously must be scared and confused.
'Great... already failing as an elder brother and scaring my little sister,' Lucas bitterly thought.
He also stood up from the couch, making Lena flinch and her legs tremble even more, yet she had a determined expression on her face, not yielding.
Lucas took a few steps towards her and then he crouched down at her level, as his expression changed to a gentle smile and eyes filled with warmth and affection.
"I am sorry, Lena. I didn't mean to scare you," Lucas said as he made sure to lock all of the painful emotions he was feeling currently and deal with it later.
"Do you know who I am?" Lucas asked in a warm and gentle voice, making Lena feel weird and confused again, but she responded by shaking her head cutely left and right.
"N-nn."
'Damn, she is adorable.'
"My name is Lucas Nightstar, Lena."
"Lucas Nwitstar?" she repeated while cutely tilting her head, while failing to pronounce her last and Lucas's last name properly, making Lucas chuckle a little.
Lucielle and William sighed in relief and relaxed a little, understanding that this problem will be dealt with when his parents return.
"You are family?" she asked hesitantly.
"That is correct. I am your big brother, Lena," Lucas said as he stretched his arm and gently caressed his little sister's head. Lena was scared seeing his hand approach her face and squeezed her eyes shut tightly, yet instead, all she felt was the warmth her mother always has when she also caresses her head. It made her relax and open her eyes again.
She asked again while enjoying Lucas's caress.
"Big browther?" as she looked towards Lucielle and William.
"That is correct, Lady Lena. Master Lucas is your elder brother. Don't you remember your mother speaking stories about him a lot?"
Instantly after those words, her eyes opened wide as she finally recalled that her mother always tells her stories about her supposed big brother.
"Well, Lucielle, is there any food? I am starving. You wanna eat with me, Lena?" Lucas asked as she shyly nodded her head.
'She still needs to warm up, I guess,' Lucas thought as they headed to the dining room while Lucielle went to prepare dinner.