Raising Beast Cubs to Find a Husband-Chapter 85: The Dad Who Came Back

"I am not a savior," I said, my voice echoing slightly in the empty, freezing room. "And I am definitely not a Nine-Tailed Fox."

I looked at Lord Bastion, trying to keep my expression neutral. Inside, my gamer brain was screaming. I have zero magic. I can’t even light a stove without a mana-stone.

"I’m just a nanny with a weird birth defect," I insisted, gesturing to my lack of a tail. "I can’t use Divine Magic. I can’t even use regular magic."

Bastion stared at me for a long moment, the frantic hope in his eyes dimming slightly, replaced by a heavy resignation. He slumped back against the mantle.

"Perhaps," he murmured. "Or perhaps the power is simply dormant. Regardless... it is a lead. The only one we have."

"I’ll look into it," I promised, though I felt like I was lying. "But right now, we have an immediate problem. The Void is still out there. And I know... someone else who is infected."

Bastion stiffened. "Another victim?"

"A friend," I said carefully. "The corruption is slow, but it’s spreading. Do you have anything—an artifact, a potion, anything—that can suppress it better than soup?"

Bastion hesitated. He walked over to a glass display case in the corner. He unlocked it with a touch of his thumb and pulled out a small, heavy object.

It was a pendant. A rough, unpolished white stone encased in a cage of dark iron. It didn’t look magical; it looked like a piece of a dead star.

"This is Star-Iron," Bastion explained, handing it to me. It was shockingly cold to the touch. "It absorbs ambient entropy. It will not cure the Void, but it acts as a dam. It will freeze the corruption in place for a time. Whoever wears this must never take it off."

I clenched the cold stone in my fist. "Thank you."

I put it in my pocket. Then, I looked him in the eye.

"Now," I said firmly. "You need to pay for this consultation."

Bastion blinked. "I... beg your pardon?"

"Payment," I repeated. "Come with me. To the Daycare."

Bastion recoiled as if I’d slapped him. "I cannot. She... she hates me. You saw her face in the market. She looked at me with such disdain."

"She didn’t look at you with disdain," I corrected softly. "She looked at you with heartbreak. She thinks you wish she was dead, Bastion. She thinks she’s a monster that you threw away."

Bastion’s face crumbled. "No. Never. She is my heart."

"Then tell her," I said. "Don’t tell me. Tell her."

I held out my hand.

"Come on. The monsters are waiting."

Walking out of the Obsidian Estate with the Grand Duke in tow was a surreal experience.

The heavy iron gates creaked open.

General Rajah, Lord Rurik, Archduke Cassian, and Duke Lucien were standing in a semi-circle, looking ready to siege the castle. Rurik was holding a battering ram (which was just a large tree trunk he had found).

When they saw me walk out unharmed, Rajah visibly relaxed. When they saw Bastion walking behind me, looking pale and shaken, Cassian raised an eyebrow.

"Target acquired," Cassian noted, tapping his crystal slate. "Diplomacy successful."

"Aw," Rurik grunted, dropping the tree trunk with a ground-shaking THUD. "I wanted to kick the door."

Bastion stopped. He looked at the Four Warlords—the most powerful men on the continent—standing guard for a nanny.

"You keep dangerous company, Tutor," Bastion murmured.

"They’re big softies," I smiled. "Usually."

The ride back was quiet. Bastion sat in the corner of the carriage, staring at his hands. The Warlords, sensing the gravity of the situation, kept their usual banter to a minimum. Even Rurik only ate two bags of jerky.

---

Evening at Little Whiskers Daycare.

When we opened the door to the Daycare, the sun was setting, casting a warm, orange glow over the room.

It was peaceful. Luna was reading a story in the corner. Jax was napping on the rug. King Caspian was still in his armchair, sketching on a piece of paper.

And Ellia...

Ellia was asleep.

She was curled up on the sofa, her head resting on a throw pillow. Clover was asleep next to her, using Ellia’s arm as a pillow. Arjun was asleep on the floor, holding Ellia’s foot.

It was a pile of exhausted, happy children.

Bastion stood in the doorway. He stopped breathing.

He stared at his daughter. He saw her messy hair, the sugar on her cheek, and the way she was holding onto the bunny’s paw.

"She looks..." Bastion’s voice cracked. "...so small."

"She is small," I whispered. "She’s eight."

Bastion took a step forward. The floorboard creaked.

Ellia stirred. Her eyes fluttered open.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Primrose? Did you bring more donu—"

She stopped.

She saw the tall, golden-haired man standing in the center of the room.

The air in the room froze. The other cubs woke up, sensing the tension. Arjun sat up, his ears flattening, ready to protect his new pack member.

"Papa?" Ellia whispered.

Bastion didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. He just dropped to his knees.

He didn’t care about his expensive trousers. He didn’t care about the Warlords watching. He kneeled on the rug so he was eye-level with her.

"Ellia," he choked out. "My little Lion."

Ellia didn’t run to him. She stayed on the sofa, clutching the pillow.

"You left," she accused him, her voice trembling. "You saw me in the street. And you kept driving."

"I was a coward," Bastion admitted, tears streaming down his face. "I was terrified, Ellia. I thought... I thought the darkness would take you like it took your mother. I thought if I stayed away, I could keep you safe."

"You didn’t keep me safe!" Ellia yelled, throwing the pillow at him. It hit him in the chest. He didn’t flinch. "You made me lonely! And Mr. Whisper came because I was lonely!"

"I know," Bastion wept. "I know. And I am so, so sorry."

He opened his arms.

"I will never leave again. I swear it on the stars. Please, Ellia. Come here."

Ellia looked at him. She looked at Primrose. She looked at the cubs.

Then, she broke.

She launched herself off the sofa.

"DADDY!"

She slammed into him. Bastion caught her, burying his face in her hair, sobbing openly. He held her like she was the only thing anchoring him to the earth.

"I missed you," Ellia cried into his coat. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Bastion whispered. "I love you. I love you more than life."

In the corner, Lord Rurik loudly blew his nose into a handkerchief. "It’s the dust," he insisted, wiping his eyes. "Very dusty in here."

Luna was openly crying. Caspian watched with a soft, sad smile, his hand unconsciously touching his own shoulder.

After a long time, Bastion pulled back. He wiped Ellia’s face with his thumb.

"We have work to do," Bastion said, his voice stronger now. "The Tutor tells me you have a Debutante Ball to prepare for."

Ellia groaned. "Do I have to? I want to stay here and play ’Floor is Magma’."

"We can play Magma later," Bastion promised. "But tomorrow... the real tutoring begins. I will help you. We will do it together."

He stood up, lifting Ellia into his arms.

"Thank you," Bastion said, looking at me. "I... I do not know how to repay you."

"Just be a dad," I said. "And maybe sign the Treaty when the time comes."

Bastion nodded solemnly. "Consider it done."

He carried his daughter out to his carriage. For the first time in a year, the Grand Duke didn’t look like a shadow. He looked like a Lion.

The door closed. The heavy silence of the aftermath settled over the daycare.

"Well," Jax said, stretching. "That was heavy. Who wants leftovers?"

"Not now, Jax," I said.

I walked over to Caspian. The Warlords—Rajah, Cassian, Rurik, and Lucien—gathered around.

"Did you get info on how to get rid of this void?" Caspian asked quietly.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Star-Iron Pendant. The white stone seemed to glow faintly in the dim light.

"Here he calls it Star-Iron," I said, handing it to him. "He says it freezes the corruption. It’s not a cure, but a dam."

Caspian took it. His large fingers brushed mine. He didn’t put it on immediately; he just held it, testing its weight.

"It is cold," he murmured. "But it feels... stable."

"Put it on," I ordered. "And don’t take it off."

Caspian nodded and slipped the chain over his head. The moment the stone touched his skin, he let out a long, shuddering breath. The tension in his jaw relaxed. The grey veins on his neck seemed to stop pulsing.

"Better," he whispered. "Much better."

I turned to the Warlords. They were watching the exchange with intense curiosity.

"Okay," I said. "Debrief time."

"Bastion told me something else," I said, leaning against the table. "He said there is only one way to truly cure the Void. Divine Magic."

"A myth," Cassian dismissed immediately. "Divine Magic has not existed since the First Era."

"Bastion says it has," I countered. "He told me to look for a specific legacy. He told me to look for Ophelia."

The name hung in the air.

Duke Lucien narrowed his eyes. "Ophelia? The First Fox? The Founder of the Nine-Tailed Clan?"

"The very same," I nodded. "Bastion thinks she left something behind. A relic. A source of power. If we find it... we can cure the Void. We can save Ellia permanently. We can save Caspian."

I looked at the four of them.

"I have a ball to plan. I have a child to tutor. I can’t leave the capital. But you guys..."

I smiled.

"...you guys have armies. You have libraries. You have spies."

Rajah grinned, his tail swishing. "You want us to hunt a legend."

Rurik cracked his knuckles. "I love scavenger hunts."

Cassian tapped his crystal slate. "I will scour the Imperial Archives for references to Ophelia’s resting place."

Lucien melded into the shadows. "And I will ask the whispers in the dark."

"Find her remnant," I said. "Because if Bastion is right... that’s the only hope we have."