Rea flashed Gara a grateful look. Her three children, however, glared at him with pure hostility.

Seeing the murderous stares from the baby squirrels, Gara quickly explained himself. "I’m not planning to let Rea roam freely without limits. There will be rules."

Rea’s expression immediately shifted into protest, but Gara ignored it and continued, "You’re allowed to walk around the academy. But every time classes end, you must come home with me."

Rea tried to shake her head, but Becky firmly grabbed her mother’s head and stopped her.

If the people watching didn’t know how serious the situation was, they might have thought Becky was simply giving her mother a head massage. The scene looked ridiculously comical.

Gara quickly scooped Rea up, rescuing her from her furious children.

He sat cross-legged on the carpet, raised his palm holding Rea until their eyes were at the same level, and stared straight at her.

"Do you really have the heart to leave your children behind...?" Gara asked softly.

Rea’s children immediately chirped in agreement, their earlier ferocity vanishing as they began to sob dramatically.

"And what about me?" Gara continued. "Do you want to leave me too? We’ve been together for two years now..."

He placed Rea down on the carpet and deliberately turned away, pretending to wipe away invisible tears.

Rea fell for the act completely. Her eyes welled up, and she chirped softly while nodding.

Gara instantly hugged the fluffy white squirrel.

Ares, watching the scene, was completely speechless.

He had always thought Rea was smart, turns out she was still vulnerable to crocodile tears.

Still, Ares didn’t dwell on Rea’s drama for long. He had his own matters to attend to.

He had never explored the farm outside the mansion, and he missed training behind the house.

Without Agus Soren, he could freely go outside.

A few days passed. Ares wandered freely, but the mansion slowly began to feel empty.

Agus Soren hadn’t returned to the dimensional home. Gara was busy in the lab. Madha trained at the academy. And Fian trained at the place he used to train with Asta Elfutih.

Even though Headmaster Asta had passed away, Fian still had access to that place. It was probably Agus who allowed him to use the teleportation door.

Wina and Della were busy taking care of the triplets and Bel. Rea’s children helped them, while Rea herself wandered the outside world.

"Everyone’s so busy," Ares muttered, sitting alone in the watchtower while staring at the corpses of mist monsters Agus had slain.

"I hope this doesn’t last long..."

Unfortunately, the silence stretched on for an entire month.

That day, Gara woke up late, the unmistakable sign that the first day of vacation had begun.

"It’s already vacation, so where are Madha and Fian?" Ares asked during lunch.

"They didn’t stay here. They said they’d be training early outside," Gara replied while chewing his food.

That question lingered in Gara’s mind until night fell.

He was feeding Bel in his room while the triplets played outside.

Gara gazed at his small daughter.

"Bel, when was the last time your father came to see you?" he murmured. "I can’t remember him asking to come here these past few weeks."

Unease crept into Gara’s heart. He immediately contacted Madha through his crystal ring.

No answer.

Gara tried again.

And again.

After ten full minutes of staring at the ring as if it might magically turn into gold, Madha’s hoarse voice finally came through.

"I just woke up, Gara. What’s wrong?"

"Just woke up?" Gara frowned at the ring. "Aren’t you at the dorm? You didn’t train?"

"I..." Madha trailed off.

A different sound came through, rustling, movement, then the noisy presence of many people.

Madha was definitely not in his dorm.

"Where are you?" Gara asked again.

Madha stayed silent.

Gara waited patiently, alternating his gaze between the crystal ring and Bel.

"You haven’t seen Bel in weeks, have you?" Gara murmured softly.

That hit its mark.

Madha finally spoke, his voice filled with regret.

"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I’m in a carriage right now, on my way back to Falopo Town, from Raksa County."

"You went home?" Gara panicked. "Why? Did something happen to your family?"

"No... I just..." Madha hesitated. "I missed home."

The vague answer made Gara’s chest tighten.

’We were supposed to prepare for our wedding this vacation. Why did he suddenly leave without telling me? Is he seeking for blessings? Then why hide it?’

Even though disappointment and confusion crept in, Gara chose to stay positive.

"Alright. Be careful on the road," he said gently. "Send my regards to your siblings."

After ending the call, Gara kissed Bel softly, trying to calm his growing worry.

...

As the heir of Duke Eshaan, Gara lived surprisingly freely. He wasn’t required to serve the duchy or handle heir duties. Karon still took care of everything.

However, since his status had been officially announced, Gara still had to introduce himself to the Eshaan family.

That day, he visited Esalavya Duchy to meet Karon’s and Ramun’s family.

Upon exiting the teleportation hall, knights from Eshaan House escorted him with heavy protection.

At least they learned from experience, Gara thought.

At the castle, Karon greeted him and led him to a gazebo in the garden.

"The Duke is in the capital city," Karon explained. "There’s a meeting regarding Headmaster Asta’s death."

So Gara didn’t need to greet the Duke first.

Only then did Gara realize how important Asta truly was. His death had shaken the entire kingdom.

Then Gara remembered something else. "If the Duke is in the capital, what about the person who poisoned him?"

Karon let out a heavy sigh.

"Count Vardhan has been quietly arrested. He confessed to everything, from preparing the poison to manipulating Sir Ramun."

Karon glanced at Gara.

"Sir Ramun is much simpler than you think. He’s easy to sway and deeply protective of those he considers family."

Gara nodded in understanding.

Karon knew Gara hadn’t left with the best impression of Ramun, so he made sure to clarify.

...