"From Daddy," Lia answered with a bright smile. "Daddy said I'm too small and fragile for such a cruel world."
Harzel paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, unable to contain his amusement. "This little family never ceases to amaze me," he muttered while affectionately patting Lia's head.
Placing a few tomatoes into the basket already filled with fresh produce, Harzel gently ruffled Lia's hair and said, "If there's a chance, Uncle will definitely introduce you to my son someday. For now, you must grow up to be a good child, okay?"
Lia nodded eagerly, but then her eyes widened as she noticed two large shadows behind her. Turning, she saw Nils and Beile approaching.
"What have you two been talking about? It seems interesting," Nils asked with a grin, looking between Lia and Harzel.
Hearing the question, Lia suddenly realized something. Among her three uncles helping with the harvest today, only Nils was unmarried. Harzel was married and had a child, while Beile had been with Sylvia for a long time. With her growing curiosity, Lia asked, "I just realized that Uncle Nils is the only one without a partner. Uncle Harzel is married and has a child, and Uncle Beile already has a partner. So ... when will Uncle Nils have a partner too?"
Nils, caught off guard by the question, was momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter. "Wow, Lia, that question sounds like something an adult would ask."
"Indeed, the questions and answers have sounded very mature," Harzel chimed in, glancing at Nils with an amused smile.
"Maybe it's because she has a father like Yosan," Nils joked, chuckling as he remembered Yosan's knack for surprising and profound thoughts, much like Lia's question just now.
After a brief pause, Nils looked at Lia with a gentle smile. "For now, Uncle isn't too concerned about finding a partner. What matters most to me is living happily with the people I care about," he said warmly, kneeling to gently pat Lia's head.
Meanwhile, Beile, who overheard Lia referring to him and Sylvia as merely a couple, protested. He shook his head and wagged his finger. "No, no, Lia. Aunt Sylvia and I have been married for a long time, you know. So we're not just a couple."
Lia gasped. "Really? But why do you and Aunt Sylvia call each other like a regular couple? Isn't it usually more romantic for married people? At least that's what I've heard from others who are married. Even my friends say so."
She paused, pondering aloud, "Though Daddy and Mommy don't." Lia remembered how her parents communicated in a more formal and usual manner, likely because her father was a royal servant and her mother was a queen.
Beile chuckled softly before explaining, "That's because we want those terms to remain special, just like when we first fell in love. Even though we're married, we prefer calling each other like a couple to keep things sweet."
Lia nodded slowly, though still slightly confused. "Then, how did you and Aunt Sylvia meet for the first time?"
Beile smiled nostalgically. "In short, I met Aunt Sylvia during intense training under Grandpa Elexon. It was there that we got to know each other and fell in love. But to marry Sylvia, I had to ask for Grandpa Elexon's permission, who is now my father-in-law."
Lia's eyes widened. "Ask for permission? Was it hard?"
"Very hard," Beile admitted with a chuckle. "Grandpa Elexon wouldn't just give his blessing easily. I had to undergo a series of tough trials to prove that I was worthy of Sylvia. Only after passing all of them did Grandpa give his blessing. Of course, we only got married after your mother reclaimed her rightful place as Lumina's heir."
Beile looked at Lia with a small smile. "You already know the history of Lumina, right? Or do I need to explain it again from the beginning?"
Lia nodded firmly. "I already know, Uncle. It's taught in school."
How could she not? That event was a major chapter in Lumina's history—when her mother, Reina, returned to the kingdom to reclaim her rightful place as queen. It was known as the Bloody Tragedy and the Rise of Lumina's Glory from Darkness. Every year, the event was commemorated across the kingdom as a symbol of courage, strength, and new hope. Schools even used the story as teaching material, complete with heroic depictions of Reina overcoming various challenges.
However, not all details of the story were revealed. Some parts were kept secret or known only to a select few.
Beile chuckled, seeing Lia's enthusiastic reaction. "Good thing you already know. I thought you'd ask me to retell the whole story again."
He flicked Lia's forehead gently, smiling as the little girl winced playfully in mock pain. The sight reminded him of Reina as a child. Somehow, the two were very similar, even though there was no blood relation between them.
"And don't think of Aunt Sylvia and me as just a regular couple anymore. We've been married for a long time," Beile said with a smile.
Lia pouted but understood Beile's words. She realized that her uncle's relationship with Aunt Sylvia was much deeper and more complex than she had imagined.
Her curiosity grew, and she found herself wondering how her parents had met. Was it romantic or not? She had only heard bits and pieces from others—how her mother had supposedly "rescued" her father from bad people. There were other stories, too, about how her mother was overly protective of her father, which convinced Lia that her mother truly loved her father deeply.
Lia looked up and said, "Now I'm curious about how Daddy and Mommy met for the first time."
Hearing her question, Nils, Beile, and Harzel exchanged startled and slightly panicked glances. That was a dangerous question!
"That's too complicated to explain, so I think it's unnecessary," Beile replied, recalling the tumultuous beginnings of Reina and Yosan's relationship. Their early days were far from smooth, and Beile felt the story was too intense for young Lia to understand.
"At least now they love and understand each other. Unlike before," Nils added, trying to curb Lia's curiosity with a simpler answer.
Suddenly, Elexon and his wife approached them. With a firm yet gentle tone, Elexon said, "That's right. It's unnecessary, Lia."
Lia turned to Elexon, her eyes full of curiosity. She hugged his legs and said, "But I want to know, Grandpa," she pleaded.
Elexon smiled, stroking his granddaughter's head lovingly. "You've been very curious about a lot of things lately, haven't you?" he remarked, gazing at Lia fondly.
"She's still a child, Elexon, so it's natural for Lia to ask questions and want to know," his wife said, patting his shoulder and smiling gently at their granddaughter.
Nils chuckled. "Lia is Yosan's daughter, after all. No wonder she's so curious. Wasn't Yosan the same way? Always questioning everything around him."
"True. So it's no surprise Lia is like this too," Harzel added with a smile toward his niece.
Elexon sighed, acknowledging Lia's natural curiosity, though her earlier question about her parents wasn't something he felt she needed to know now. "Even so, that's not something you need to know right now. When you're older, you'll learn and understand everything," he said gently yet firmly.
Lia looked up at Elexon with a curious gaze. "Then, what about you and Grandma? How did you two meet?" she asked innocently.
Elexon fell silent for a moment, glancing at his wife, who responded with a small smile. He then turned back to Lia. "How did we meet?" he murmured, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Not much different from Uncle Beile and Aunt Sylvia's story. At first, we were just coworkers."
Lifting Lia into his arms, Elexon continued, "Grandma was once a royal guard tasked with protecting the royal family, while I was a knight. We worked together for years before finally understanding each other and getting married."
"After we married and felt we were too old to continue our duties, Grandma chose to retire and became a palace servant while taking care of our children," his wife added, recalling her younger days under Reina's father's reign.
Lia's eyes widened in amazement, feeling proud that her grandparents were anything but ordinary people. Just hearing part of their story convinced her they were remarkable.
"So Grandpa was a knight? I didn't know you were a knight like Aunt Sylvia. And Grandma too, you're both amazing!"
Elexon laughed at his granddaughter's astonished expression, finding her reaction utterly adorable.