Now in such a place, most conversations would go unnoticed as a form of courtesy, but even the most harmless sounding lines would sound all too impactful when heard by particular ears.
Like the Duke, who had overheard everything and was currently being physically restrained by as many staff mbers as possible.
"My son!" he burst out, sowhere between panic and disbelief. "Children?! You’re looking to have children?!"
"Oh! Papa! Hello!" Luca greeted brightly, as if this wasn’t a crisis. Then he scratched his cheek, a little shy. "Maybe after graduating... or when we’re more prepared."
He paused, thinking it through as he spoke.
"I just thought it would be nice," he added softly. "At first, I was worried about being a good provider for any little ones, but I think that’s solved now."
The thought of Luca, of all people, being concerned about providing would probably sound insane to most people. But that was because it really wasn’t easy to undo a mindset shaped by scarcity or the anxiety of losing everything in a heartbeat.
He had been trying to reflect on it, and he did feel better now that he could monetize his skills. But being responsible for young children was sothing else entirely, and it was sothing that had to be taken seriously despite knowing and understanding that he actually had a support system this ti around.
Still, he needed to be able to prove to himself that he could contribute well for his peace of mind.
But suddenly hearing about this, and realizing the extent of support there was...
Luca’s gaze drifted around the room, landing on extrely familiar faces.
"I think it would be great to share this kind of life with them," Luca continued, his smile turning gentle. "Surrounded by such a great family... I feel like most children would like to get to know us too."
A small breath.
"Loving parents, supportive grandparents, interesting uncles and aunts... even pets. I think a child would enjoy growing up surrounded by people like that."
Silence followed.
But not just from Duke Leander because everyone who heard him actually felt it.
That quiet tug and realization that the young lord was inadvertently talking about the life he should’ve had.
The childhood that had been taken from him.
And now that he was finally living it... he wanted to share it.
Duchess Alia adjusted herself and very deliberately stepped on her husband’s foot.
Hard.
Her gaze snapped to him—sharp, dangerous, and very clear.
Say sothing properly, or die.
The Duke flinched, his thoughts scrambling. His throat tightened, emotions catching in ways he didn’t quite know how to process despite reflecting on it daily. There were things they hadn’t been able to give their son before.
Ti they couldn’t rewind back.
But this ti—
This ti, they wouldn’t fail in their roles.
"A-ah, yes! Definitely!" Leander managed, straightening despite the initial internal collapse. "If you do decide to have children, we’ll all be here to support you! There won’t be any shortage of family!"
And he ant it.
Even if the idea of his child (not), having a child felt... overwhelming—
It was equally impossible to deny that any grandchild of his would be loved beyond reason.
Hmph.
So, having lost to his own logic, the Duke redirected his attention.
Straight to the culprit.
The son-in-law.
Who was currently holding his precious baby.
"In that regard..." Leander began, voice tight, eyes sharp. "Y-you work hard!"
Xavier blinked once.
He wasn’t entirely sure what kind of threat that was supposed to be.
But he smiled anyway, unusually bright and unstoppable.
"Yes, Father," he replied smoothly. "I will."
"..."
"!!!"
Soone’s blood pressure definitely spiked.
And they definitely heard snarling sounds as the rabid beast of Kyros was hauled away, allegedly to prepare for departure to Planet Nova so they could drop the cadets off at school.
Though anyone watching would say it looked more like containnt procedures.
But just as they were about to leave, the Duchess suddenly turned back, her gaze sweeping over them with quiet authority and satisfaction.
"If you’re planning on having children in the future," she said, voice calm but pointed, "then all of you—even you, Ollie—should take the Elders’ lessons and inquiries seriously."
"Huh? The Elders?" The blonde who had been called out blinked, clearly not expecting to be dragged into sothing that sounded suspiciously educational.
"Yes," Duchess Alia replied.
"For those of us who can wield spiritual energy, the success rate of having children is closely tied to it. But unlike before, when energy scarcity was the norm, we may no longer fall into the sa category as most."
"And because of that I don’t know if we have enough data to predict what having children would be like."
That was enough to shift the atmosphere.
Xavier reacted first, his expression sharpening almost imdiately as understanding dawned on him. "This... Mother, would it really be that different?"
The Duchess paused, thoughtful, before answering, "I may be overreaching, but just imagine teleporting babies."
"With the amount of spiritual energy available now, and based on what the Elders have explained, how early do you think your children would awaken their bloodline abilities?"
"!!!"
Surprisingly, she only smiled at their stunned silence. "They’d be extrely cute," she added lightly. "I just wonder how many eyebrows they’d burn off."
She tilted her head, clearly entertained by her own thoughts. "Actually, I’m even wondering if Luca—or his children—would inherit sothing from his Soren side. Just like Xavier can command two, would there be a possibility of encountering even more combinations?"
A loud gasp cut through the air.
Everyone turned.
Of course, it was Ollie.
"Co to think of it!" the blonde exclaid, looking completely shaken. "I don’t even know what our child could inherit! Heck, I don’t even know if I inherited anything?!"
He looked genuinely flabbergasted, like this was the first ti the thought had ever crossed his mind.
"Well," the Duchess replied smoothly, "that’s exactly what we’re trying to find out, isn’t it? So make sure you take that session seriously and note down what you can. Who knows if it might be useful for the future grandbabies?"
"!!!"
And just like that, she turned and left the hall, dragging along a thoroughly gagged Duke who looked like he was seconds away from declaring war on fate itself before being forcibly contained.
That left the three of them standing there, caught in the aftermath of a conversation they clearly hadn’t been prepared for.
If those three looked like they’d just undergone an awakening, however, Kyle had it worse.
He had just finished ironing out legal docunts, only to return to his little star in the middle of a full-blown existential crisis about their future children.
"...?!"
"Sorry, what?"
"Kyle!" Ollie grabbed him imdiately, eyes wide with urgency. "What if our baby can burn eyebrows?!"
Kyle froze where he stood, staring at his wife’s panicked expression as if trying to process whether this was real or if he had sohow walked into a nightmare.
Slowly, he turned to Xavier and Luca, hoping—praying—for an explanation.
Instead, he found both of them looking equally dazed.
Which, frankly, did not help.
Well, if only one could just worry about burning eyebrows. But really, that worry was for another ti.
For now, the returning adjutant—who was sohow being implicated in the creation of superpowered children despite doing absolutely nothing—needed sothing, anything, to ground the situation.
Thankfully, Luca spoke.
Calm.
Serious.
"I think we should go ask the Elders."
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