Ancient Empire Calendar, Year 1839
There were only days left until the Coronation Ceremony of Njassar Rappa Ashterah, the 2nd Dynasty Lord of the Ashterah Dynasty.
Ricardo would leave Ashterah and return to the Central Lands shortly after the ceremony. Before that, he went to the Fairy Forest to visit his lovers, whom he hadn't seen for years.
Throughout the journey, Ricardo was very careful not to be followed. He strained his memory to recall the way.
"Where was this path? If I remember correctly, it should be somewhere around here."
As the journey continued, past days came alive before his eyes.
He remembered one by one how three beautiful fairy girls with blue hair—Alessir, Mayyar, and Nilirre—had seduced him while he was hunting in the forest with a pink Aura he had never seen before, and how they had made love as a foursome right out in the open. As he remembered, he felt embarrassed and blushed.
"I really let my guard down, but I won't lie, it was amazing."
As Ricardo continued forward, he saw a familiar face.
"Could it be...?"
Not wanting to lose sight of what he saw, Ricardo channeled his mana into his feet and legs, increasing his speed. Within seconds, he caught up with the figure he had seen.
"Hmph."
Ricardo was disappointed. Although the person he caught was a fairy, it was not the fairy he wanted to see. However, her face closely resembled the fairy women he wanted to see.
"Who are you? Please don't hurt me."
The young fairy girl was begging for her life like a frightened rabbit. Realizing he had scared the girl, Ricardo gently stroked her head to calm her down.
"Don't be afraid, little one. You're a fairy, aren't you?"
The fairy girl, stroked on the head with a father's affection, calmed down.
"He's not a bad person, I think. On the other hand, why do I feel a sense of familiarity from him? And how does he know I'm a fairy?"
After thinking for a short while, the fairy girl asked a question.
"Who are you looking for?"
Ricardo took his hand from the fairy girl's head and answered her question.
"Not one, but several people. Their names are Alessir, Mayyar, Nilirre, and Yurille."
The fairy girl went into momentary shock.
"MY FORMER QUEEN? HOW DO YOU KNOW HER?"
The girl's loud voice rang in Ricardo's ears and made him grimace.
"You didn't have to shout so loud."
Realizing her mistake, the fairy girl began to apologize profusely.
"I'm so, so sorry. I was just startled for a moment when I heard the former Queen's name."
Ricardo had wondered why he kept hearing the term "former Queen." To satisfy his curiosity, he asked the fairy girl.
"Why do you keep calling Yurille the former Queen?"
Ricardo's question saddened the fairy girl. She looked as if she was about to cry. Although Ricardo didn't understand why the fairy girl was sad, he felt that something bad had happened.
"Did she die?"
The fairy girl could no longer bear it and began to cry. Ricardo felt a little sadness for making a young girl cry. Clearly, the fairy girl had loved the former Queen very much.
On the other hand, Ricardo was at least as sad as the fairy girl. His relationship with Yurille hadn't lasted long, but they had liked each other. They had even had a daughter.
Ricardo didn't want to think about the past any longer. At that moment, he approached the fairy girl, who was crying like a child, with a father's compassion.
He gently hugged her and stroked her head. The fairy girl felt as if she were hugging her real father. Fairies never knew their fathers. For this reason, fairies who grew up without a father figure only had their mothers in their lives.
"Thank you. I'm fine now."
When the fairy girl calmed down, she stepped back a few paces, as if wanting to create some space for herself. After wiping her tears, she put on a sweet smile.
"Thank you again, sir. Ah, by the way, we haven't told each other our names yet, have we? My name is Alia. What is your name?"
The name Alia was not unfamiliar to Ricardo. Moreover, combined with the familiarity of her facial features, lightning began to strike in Ricardo's mind.
"Are you Alessir's daughter?" asked Ricardo.
Alia was at least as surprised as Ricardo.
"How do you know my mother's name? Unless... unless you... what is your name?"
"Ricardo. Ricardo Kislavein."
At that moment, Alia understood. The man before her was her father.
"Now I understand why you listed my mother's and stepmothers' names. You are the father of me and my half-sisters."
Alia didn't know exactly what to say. Words knotted in her throat and wouldn't leave her lips.
"Well... pleased to meet you, Father. I suppose that's what I should say. I don't know."
Ricardo was still in shock. The only thing he could do at that moment was to hug his daughter, whom he hadn't seen for years.
Alia flinched at Ricardo's embrace and froze.
"Well..."
Alia was trembling with excitement.
"Aaaaaah!"
Alia screamed silently inside. At that moment, she stopped thinking and hugged her father back.
"So this is what it's like... hugging a man... or rather, hugging my father. It's so wonderful. Haaah... I had always dreamed of it. I always wondered what my father was like. I always dreamed of meeting him one day, hugging him, talking to him. Finally, that day has come."
After hugging for a long time, the father and daughter, reunited after years, involuntarily separated.
"Father... did you come to find us? To find your daughters?"
Ricardo gently held his daughter's cheeks and looked into her eyes.
"Yes. I came to find you."
Alia held her father's hands. His hands, ruined, hardened, and calloused from years of sword swinging and spellcasting, despite all their heaviness, were gently holding his daughter's cheeks. Ricardo couldn't help but think: these hands that had taken millions of lives had now become the most delicate hands in the world. What a great contradiction.
Alia called out to her father.
"Father."
Ricardo immediately answered his daughter's call.
"Yes, my daughter?"
Alia made an offer that Ricardo could not refuse.
"Would you like to come with me? It's obvious from your demeanor that you're looking for our village. If you want, I can take you. You can see my siblings, my mother, and my stepmothers."
Ricardo was very pleased with this offer. He had limited time before the ceremony, and he wanted to spend that time with his secret family.
"Please, take me to your village, my dear daughter."
Ricardo's compliment was enough to make butterflies flutter in Alia's stomach.
"Come, come, come! Let's go!"
Alia grabbed her father's hand and eagerly tried to pull him to her village. Ricardo, dragged by his unexpectedly energetic daughter, went all the way to the Fairy Village.
After a while, under the guidance of his daughter Alia, Ricardo arrived at the Fairy Village.
Throughout the journey, nostalgia had not left Ricardo's side. Memories from his past constantly came alive before his eyes.
"Hahaha, what days they were."
The fairies were watching Ricardo from a distance. Some of them recognized him.
Fiorelia, one of Alia's friends, approached them with a mocking demeanor.
"Oh, who do we have here? Virgin Alia has finally found herself a man. He's a bit old, but I suppose he's handsome."
Alia, being mocked by Fiorelia in front of her father, was both embarrassed and angry. Because she was too shy to approach men, she had no sexual experience and no children.
"Hahaha, everyone your age has one or more children, Alia. Well, better late than never, as they say. But aside from that, Alia, you found a man, good for you, but why did you bring him here? You might like him, but how could I possibly think that Queen Mariella would take such an old man into her bed? I'm so stupid!"
Alia could no longer tolerate being humiliated in front of her father. She clenched her fist and punched Fiorelia's annoying face hard.
"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH, YOU BITCH!"
Fiorelia was sent flying meters away by the punch, tumbling several times. Dirt and stones cut her face and body. When she stopped in a corner, she struggled to stand up. The punch had dislocated her jaw and broken her bones.
Alia was embarrassed for using violence in front of her father. Ricardo, on the other hand, was impressed by his daughter's strength, courage, and attitude.
"Father... well... I'm sorry. You're not angry, are you?"
Ricardo put his hand on his daughter's head and began to laugh.
"HAHAHAH! No, quite the opposite. Always be like this, my daughter."
Alia understood that her father was proud of her. This made her very happy.
On the other hand, when the fairies learned that the man Alia had brought was her father, they were shocked. Because this meant that Ricardo was not only Alia's father but also the father of the Fairy Queen Mariella.
"Are you my father?"
Ricardo looked towards the direction of the voice.
"Yurille?"
At first, he thought he saw the former Fairy Queen, but the person before him was the new Fairy Queen, Mariella.
"No, I am Fairy Queen Mariella. Please answer my question. Are you my father?"
Ricardo replied.
"Yes, I am your father."
Mariella approached her father with slow and graceful steps. She looked at his face and body for a long time, as if wanting to etch his appearance into her mind.
"You match my mother's description perfectly. You truly are my father, Ricardo Kislavein."
Mariella hugged her father and breathed in his scent.
"How long will you stay, Father?"
Ricardo did not want to answer. This silence was the harshest answer he could give Mariella.
"I understand. Can't you stay even for a few days? Don't you want to see your grandchildren?"
When Ricardo learned that he also had grandchildren from his daughters born to the fairies, a huge smile appeared on his face.
"I would love to, my daughter. I was planning to stay for a few days anyway."
Mariella smiled and escorted her father to her home.
When Mariella, Ricardo, and Alia entered the house, several people were there. The fairies who had been with Ricardo in the past—Alessir, Mayyar, and Nilirre—were sitting in the main corner of the room. In another corner of the room, Nilirre's daughter Nora and Mayyar's daughter Angel were chatting.
When Ricardo and his two daughters entered the room, they drew all the attention. Alessir, Mayyar, and Nilirre could not believe their eyes at first.
"Impossible," said Alessir.
"Is it really you?" said Mayyar, her eyes teary.
"It's really you, Ricardo," said Nilirre.
All three stood up and quickly hugged Ricardo, kissed him, and caressed him. All three had waited for the man they had given their virginity to and fallen in love with.
Fairies did not fall in love. They only coupled with men they chose to survive and continue their lineage. But some truly fell in love. Alessir, Mayyar, and Nilirre were among them.
Ricardo thought he needed to say something to calm his lovers.
"Alright, alright, calm down. I'll be here for a few days anyway. We'll spend plenty of time together."
"No, I'm not letting you go. Stay here," said Alessir.
"Please," said Mayyar.
Nilirre said nothing, only hugged Ricardo, but it was clear from her demeanor that she was pleading for him to stay.
"Haaah... well, it seems we'll be like this for a while."
Ricardo was right in his guess. The three women just hugged for a long time until they calmed down. After all three calmed down, they sat and chatted for a long time.
They recounted in every detail what they had experienced over the years.
The women were shocked by what they heard. What Ricardo had experienced over the years was far beyond their imaginations and their own little village.
"You've been through so much, Father," said Nora.
Angel didn't know what to say; she could only remain silent.
Alia hugged her father tightly, wanting to comfort him.
"Alright, alright, I didn't tell you all this so you would get depressed. Come on, now it's your turn. What have you experienced?"
The fairy women didn't have much to tell. Their lives were extremely ordinary and monotonous. Their days consisted of tending to village affairs, increasing their life energy by coupling with men who happened to come to the forest, and getting pregnant to continue their lineage.
"So, where are my grandchildren? Come on, bring them."
"Okay, Father," said Mariella.
"Alright, Father," said Nora.
"Whatever you say, Father," said Angel.
All three stood up and entered a room. They returned with their daughters in their arms. Each had one daughter.
Ricardo stood up, took all three grandchildren in his arms one by one, kissed them, loved them, and breathed in their scent. First Mariella's daughter Gieria, then Nora's daughter Rioniria, and finally Angel's daughter Dirri. He loved all three. Meanwhile, his teary-eyed daughter Alia caught his attention.
"Alia, what's wrong, my daughter?" he asked.
"Waaah... I'm sorry, Father. I wish I had a daughter too. Then you could have loved my daughter like this too."
Ricardo hugged his daughter and consoled her.
"Alright, alright. One day you will have a daughter too. I believe that. Don't cry. Look, when you cry, I get even sadder."
Alia wiped her tears and hugged her father tightly.
"Okay."
Ricardo had calmed Alia down, but he had drawn the jealous glances of many women in the room.
"Alright, alright, you come too."
The women approached with smiling faces and hugged Ricardo. They spent a few days together, and like all good things, these moments also came to an end.
Rappa's Coronation Ceremony had arrived. Ricardo had to return and attend the ceremony.
"Can we see you again, Father?" asked Nora.
"I don't know, sweetheart. There's nothing I can do. I am a ruler. I cannot leave the center without a valid reason. I'm sorry."
Ricardo's lovers and daughters were crying. Only Mariella, because she was the Queen, was holding herself back with difficulty. Ricardo would understand her best. He had felt the great pain of suppressing emotions due to status every moment of his 44-year life.
Ricardo hugged Mariella tightly and whispered in her ear.
"I know best how you feel, my dear. I wish I could do something, but those with status always have to suppress their emotions. Just know that you are not alone in this. Tens of thousands of people in the Five Lands and the Archipelago are experiencing what you are experiencing."
Although Mariella was even more emotionally affected, knowing that she was not alone in her feelings consoled her somewhat.
Ricardo was ready to leave. Before leaving, he decided to ask a question that he had hesitated to voice for a few days. If he didn't ask now, he would carry the regret for years, and perhaps never learn the answer.
"How did Yurille die?"
This question froze everyone. But Mariella answered with cold composure.
"One day, a group of Sapharos soldiers, distant relatives from the same lineage as us, discovered us and attacked us. They massacred some of us. My mother sacrificed all her life energy, killing all the attackers. But because she used all her life energy, she died too."
When Ricardo learned of Yurille's sacrifice, he was both saddened and respectful.
"She was brave, strong, and self-sacrificing. Just as I remember her. She hasn't changed at all. Protect your mother's legacy, my daughter."
Mariella was proud of her father's praise. She puffed out her chest and replied proudly.
"I would have protected it even if you hadn't said so, Father."
Ricardo smiled. He looked one last time at his lovers Alessir, Mayyar, and Nilirre; his daughters Mariella, Alia, Nora, and Angel; his grandchildren Gieria, Rioniria, and Dirri. Then he turned around, and a long separation, whose reunion would never be known, came between them.