Was that really the right choice? Julian thought to himself as he rolled around in his bed, "I really have a soft spot for her, don't I?" He mumbled before falling asleep.
Julian had alway been a noble, since he was a child, his status was confirmed as the head of the family. Since then he has developed into quite the capable noble, quickly rising amongst the ranks, becoming the duke in no time. Being a high class noble, he knew he had a duty to keep the world in check for the royal family, and to that he carried his role flawlessly.
One time, Julian was sent on a mission given by the royal palace to represent humans and discuss the terms and conditions of the renewed peace treaty with the elves. Around 1500 years ago, there was a war, it's really a mystery how war started, but common belief was that there was a rebellious cult within the elven empire which overthrew the royals back then, and the cult has quite an interesting take on the world. They thought elves were the purest race and none should question them as the supreme rulers of the world. Quickly they attacked the kingdoms of humans, war went on for years, it was brutal. The war raged on, until there were finally 6 beings, the beings combined their might and ended the war taking down the cult once and for all, these 6 are known as the six heavenly gods. After the war ended humans and elves discussed over paper and pen, the remaining elves in the cult were soon exiled into the icy continent, Jothurgard, then the humans and elves created a treaty which would last 100 years, every hundred years the treaty is renewed and re-looked upon.
This talk was one that changed the course of Julian's life… During that time, there was a rising problem with slavery, it was pretty bad, humans would raid villages and capture all kinds of people. It's said that they were a problem everywhere, but clearly there was a pattern, elves and beastmen… They were the ones targeted, it doesn't seem like it was the case, but everyone knew it was the truth.
Anyways that was the case and the mastermind of all that was the humans. Julian was well aware this mission was made to destroy his reputation and that the discussion would not end well. Someone in the royal family or in the high class nobles want to take him down and weaken his position. Whoever it was, the royal family or the nobles, Julian knew he had lost once the mission was filed to him.
In the end the discussion didn't go his way, although a peace treaty was created between the nations, it wasn't balanced, all of it was in favor towards the Elven Empire. It really wasn't a shocker after that Julian lost his role as the main lord for castle town.
Julian retained his title as duke, but all his previous powers and rank were all gone, he was no different to a low ranking noble. With his rank now gone, the path of continuing to serve close to the royal family was gone. He knew he could continue to try serving the royals but if he gains too much power again next time he might not come out with his life.
Julian soon moved out of the royal capital, requesting to move to be the lord of a rural land, the agricultural area on the farther east of the continent known as Feris, the land was filled to the brim with wheat fields and grasslands. He loved the place, he no longer wanted to be involved with all the political sangagans, it was the perfect place to do just that.
Julian was still loyal to the royal family either way, but as if now he wanted to get away from the capital as much as possible, away from danger as much as possible.
Finally he was free, maybe he could learn and live as your average civilian, maybe he could even have a pretty wife and start a loving family.
The laughing girl:
After about half a year of living in Feris, Julian understood the area quite well, the region wasn't crowded, the houses were spread out with fields and farms in between each one of them, towns were tiny and there weren't many shops, there weren't a lot of travelling merchants either. Compared to the capital, Feris was definitely underdeveloped.
Feris was a big region, it wasn't like Castle Town or the Royal Capital where you could walk around the whole place in a day or two. It takes over 4 days just to get from one side of the region to another, without taking the time to explore the area or sleep, and this is also on a fast horse also.
Within the region there are hundreds of villages ranging from small to large, even the common race in these villages were completely different from one another, some were home to elves, some beastmen, some even demons. Julian was quite surprised when he found this out, to his knowing all the different races hated each other and the only thing preventing a full out war was the peace treaties.
Julian went around the region of Feris, never stopping down in one place. One day he stumbled upon a forest and somehow ended up in an elven village, it wasn't uncommon by now since he has seen a few of them along the edge of the region, the villages containing mostly other races stood around the edge, while the villages and towns with humans stay in the center, there seems to be a pattern.
The village looks way more underdeveloped compared to even the other ones in the Feris region, it wasn't underdeveloped in a way where the villagers are living uncomfortably, to what Julian saw, it seems that the village was operating quite smoothly, there weren't any beggars nor were there any fights going on. The village was peaceful.
Julian always loved the elven race, not in a weird way but he loved how the elven women looked. That night, Julian walked around the village, he was amazed at how the houses were built atop of trees and how bridges linked buildings. It was quite an incredible sight, it was like a city in the skies.
Julian felt a soft tap on his shoulder, it wouldn't be anyone he came with, as he was travelling alone all this time, Julian didn't feel alarmed by the tap, there wasn't any aggressiveness behind it, it was probably a child playing with him Julian thought to himself as he turned around, his head down anticipating a elven child with a small frame. Julian's head bumped into something, something soft. What is this? Julian wondered as he looked up, what he saw was a beautiful sight— An elven girl, probably 16 or 17, her face blushed, while she had a cheeky grin on her face.
That girl was...
Julian was surprised to see the dazzling sight, the girl was gorgeous to say the least, Julian knew elven women tend to have beautiful looks, some might say he probably has a little too much knowledge on that subject, but this girl felt different from the rest, it's like a spark clicked when Julian saw her. Julian stood there still bent over, slightly blushing and frozen in place, looking up at the girl.
"Hahahahaha!" The girl laughed loudly, clenching her stomach, as she rolled down onto the floor laughing. Breathless from all the laughter, the girl continued, "What's that— reaction? Hahahaha—"
The girl had a head of silky golden blond hair tied in a high ponytail above her head, which glistened in the moonlight, her eyes were like jewels, purplish blue.
"Uhhh— Do I know you?" Julian asked.
The girl continued laughing, tears streaming down from her eyes, not sad tears but tears from the uncontrollable laughter. Julian was confused at what was happening.
Taking a deep breath in, the girl finally spoke, "Now you do. I'm Ava by the way, Ava Estaline, nice to meet you."
"I'm Julian, Julian Notros-Farion." Julian bows as he introduces himself, it's a habit for nobles to bow to whoever they are introducing themselves to.
"Relax," Ava said, "This isn't the royal palace, you can just be yourself here."
Adventurer:
Since that night Julian spent another two weeks at the village, throughout that time he had developed a bond with Ava, who always teased him for being too formal. Ava was a childish girl, although she doesn't look like it, she's actually 23 years old, but being an elf means aging doesn't have the same effect on them.
In the past Julian always thought the elves despised humans, a lot of this came from the fact that when Julian was in the Elven Empire civilians would throw glances of disapproval at him. It was a shocker for Julian how welcomed he was when he first entered this village, the villagers treated him with food for free and such.
It has been almost 3 weeks since Julian arrived at the village, everynight Julian stayed up in the fields where long grass grew, Ava next to him.
"Hey, uhh— Julian, have you ever thought about becoming an adventurer?" Ava asked.
It was a new topic that Julian never thought of, becoming an adventurer would mean losing his status as the duke. "Uhhhh, I have never thought of that before." Julian replied to Ava's question honestly.
"You want to go on an adventure with me?" Ava asked again.
Julian turned to Ava, his face blushed, it wasn't uncommon for elves to become adventurers, it wasn't uncommon for humans and elves to party up in an adventure either. Ava was looking down, fiddling with her hands, there was a slight redness to her face.
"Yes. I do."
"Heh?" Ava was confused. Ava had thought that she would have to do some convincing before Julian would accept her offer, she knew that Julian is a renowned noble, a noble dropping out of his role and becoming an adventurer was definitely rare to see.
Adventurer II:
Well it was a quick turn of events, Julian and Ava left the village soon after the conversation about becoming adventurers. After returning to the city, Julian resigned his role as duke and registered as an adventurer.
The party duo quickly gained fame, known as the Black Sylph, Julian and Ava would fight side by side even against strong monsters. Julian was a great swordsman, he was a master class swordsman, being a noble before this skill was detrimental to prevent assassinations and such. Ava was not far behind either, she was a mage, wasn't any normal mage but an advanced class mage.
Years passed, the party had grown larger, there were other members beside Julian and Ava now, at the time there were six other members outside of Julian and Ava, the Tank Heyrm, the Violent Sheon, the Trap Stark, the Assassin Aqua, the Moonlit Rena, and the Guide Grime. The party had walked through the Central and North Ether Continents.
One day…
"I'm pregnant." Ava exclaimed, looking Julian dead in the eye as she did so.
Julian knew she was being serious, ninety percent of the time if Ava was having a joke around she would blurt out laughing mid sentence.
Throughout their time as adventurers, love bloomed between the two and they did some stuff, they knew it was going to happen sooner or later.
Eldest:
Soon after discovering the pregnancy, Julian and Ava retired as adventurers, without the original core members the party split up, everyone heading their own way. In the center of the Feris region, Julian owned a mansion, the mansion was huge, two stories tall with over 20 rooms inside.
Although the mansion was big, nobody ever lived in it, the walls and the floor was covered in dust after years of being barren. It was a mess and no normal person could live in it.
It wasn't a big problem for Julian, being a noble in the past, he had saved up quite the sum of money, even though adventuring did take a big toll, he could still easily maintain a comfortable life with family. Julian hired 6 maids, all from nearby towns and villages, in no time the maids cleaned up the house and it was finally livable.
And then, the child was born.
The birth was easy, with everything proceeding smoothly and according to plan.
It's a boy.
The baby had dark brown hair like Julian and purplish blue eyes just like Ava's, the infant baby didn't cry at the start, his face had a cold expression, maybe the baby was a stillborn one of the maids thought…
The baby blinked, then in an instant began crying his lungs out.
The baby got a name: Von Notros- Farion. What a strong child he was, right off the bat he was almost double the weight of your average baby, his body was built like a truck. Von learned everything quickly, it was kind of unsettling how smart he was, at 1, he was able to talk in short sentences, at 2, he was able to run around without falling over, at 4, he picked up a book…
Soon after Von's fifth birthday, Julian got a letter from the royal family which offered him a seat as the lord of the Faris region once again.
Julian accepted the job.
Life was peaceful in Faris, there weren't any things happening that needed to be dealt with, Julian pretty much had the same life as before he was appointed, except now he was getting a large sum of money every month.
In the next few years, Julian spent a lot of time at home caring for Von, they had a pretty good father– son bond. Von is seven now.
"Father, I want to learn how to fight!" Von asked Julian when they were walking in town, as they passed a weapons shop.
Julian never liked swordsmanship that much, although he was a powerful swordsman, he didn't love it. It wasn't something he considered to be important in life. This was until he met Ava of course, since then he developed an interest toward the craft and would practice it in the garden sometimes.
Julian rubbed Von's head, "You know, fighting isn't what you think it is, it's dangerous."
"No, father, I want to protect you and mother when I get older, I want to protect my friends." Von said.
Von was always a mature one, he knew what is right and wrong from a young age, his intelligence didn't hold him back either, his ego wasn't sky high where he wouldn't listen to advice. But still Julian would have never thought his seven year old son would think so far.
Julian gave in, and Von trained under him ever since that day.
Finally Von was 11, being 11 means he has to go to school, it wasn't a shocker when Von requested to leave home and study in the dark knight's academy in the royal capital.
Julian allowed his leave.
Second born:
After Von's departure, problems came up in the Faris region, turns out there were pirates hunting down cargo ships going to the Elven Empire. It isn't a huge problem to deal with as Julian had dealt with this sort of a lot in the past when he was still lord of Castle Town. Maybe Von leaving was a jinx on the whole region, it was a funny occurrence how it was the exact day after Von's leave where the news was sent to Julian.
It wouldn't be a big deal, it would just take a few months right?
It turns out Ava is pregnant again.
It was a surprise to Julian also, when this happened, Ava had been worrying about if she could even bear another child, her concerns were logical since it has been 11 years since Von's birth.
The pirates' case wasn't easy to take down, Julian was stuck in the port for weeks on weeks. Even though Julian didn't want to leave his wife in the mansion with no support from him, he had to. Even after the case was tackled, another case came out after it, it didn't get much better, it was like the world didn't want Julian home.
Ava went into labor, it was quite early for the child to be born, at the very least it was over a week early, the birth was unexpected, but there was a good thing in the timing… Julian was home at the time.
It was the same as last time, the birth was smooth, Julian was relieved that he was there for it. There was something which was different from last time, the instant the infant came out it started crying. One of the maids soon confirmed the baby was a girl.
The baby resembled Ava a lot, she was basically a copy, the same silky golden blond hair, the same purplish blue jewels as eyes.
The baby's name? Claire Notros- Farion.
Adoption against the prophecy:
Around five years ago, there was a prophecy made, it was big news.
"The child of god will be a calamity for this world. The child would have mystic rainbow eyes and crimson hair resembling the colour of blood." That was the prophecy told by the priest at the Luminis Church.
A boy with red hair wasn't uncommon, but mystic rainbow eyes were something nobody had seen for themselves, Julian was skeptical of the prophecy, how could one have mystic rainbow eyes? It wasn't possible, right?
Julian signed off the last file on his desk. This week's work was especially grueling, "You pirates just don't know when to stop…" Julian mumbled his body slumped over his desk.
"It's the last day of the week now, I guess I can go home and get some rest." Julian stretches before heading down the spiral stairs towards the front door of the ministry where a carriage pulled by a huge horse awaits.
***
"You WHAT?!" Julian exclaimed as Ava told him about adopting a new baby.
Julian knew Ava's personality was kind of jumpy but when he saw the baby, he saw something unsettling. The baby's eyes were big and round, at first glance you won't see anything, but looking closely Julian saw the thing he thought wouldn't exist… Mystic rainbow eyes. The eyes themselves were beautiful, it wasn't something you saw everyday.
"We can't bring this child into the household… What if… What if it's really the child of god…" Julian wasn't sure what to do, if he saw the child on the street he would have just left it there, but now it's already in his house, throwing it away now just seemed unhuman.
"So what, you are going to leave the child outside in the cold winter letting it just die in the snow, are you really about to do this? Doesn't it seem wrong to you? Even if he's actually the child of god, what there is to it, he's still just a baby." Ava shouted back loudly, there was a slight sadness in her voice. Ava wasn't the kind of person to leave someone, anyone to die, even if the person was sick in the mind or was once a criminal. Julian couldn't argue against Ava, he knew Ava had a point, the child was still a child after all.
Was that really the right choice? Julian thought to himself as he rolled around in his bed, "I really have a soft spot for her, don't I?" He mumbled before falling asleep.