Cha let out a heavy sigh that contained nervousness.
She was uneasy.
She was about to give the details of her failed task. To other else than... Cain himself.
The man unnerved her, not because he was weird or insane, no. It was because of the power he had over her... No. The power he had over everyone involved in Khaos Brigade.
Cain was sane... and somehow charismatic, but that didn't take out the fact that the human was Evil. He was wicked, but he knew how to hide it well below that charisma.
How she wanted him dead... but no one had the power to get it done... until the moment.
Not even the Satan Lords were at his caliber, not even The Seraphs of Heaven.
The only choice she had left was... to wait. Or.. accept what Y/N offered her.
Take the risk to be free...
She still had that on her mind and it didn't seem like it was leaving anywhere soon.
But... she was scared. She didn't dare to go against Cain.
Cha stopped in front of a wooden door. She took a deep breath and knocked only to receive a muffled answer through the door.
"Come in."
A calm yet amused voice gave her permission to step in and she opened the door walking inside the classic-looking office.
The floor was made of rich brown wood and the walls were painted a darker brown. On each side of the office, there were bookshelves filled with books, and a couch was placed in the middle of the office.
At the end of the office, there was a man who had his legs over his desk as he read a book. A man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, but he was way older than that. He had long black hair tied in a ponytail that reached his waist. And a pair of brown eyes that were filled with curiosity upon the book he was reading.
His eyes moved from the book to the female in the room and he smiled.
"Cha-Hae, good to see you in one piece. Tell me, how was your road trip?"
Cha frowned inwardly.
Cain knew that the task he sent her to do was at the border of being suicidal.
Challenging face to face the Black Dragon Emperor was dumb. Irrational, Stupid. Yet he sent her to do exactly that irrational thing... just because he wanted to "recruit" him.
But she knew that was a lie. Cain was knowledgeable about the fact that Y/N would refuse utterly... he just wanted to have fun.
"Rough."
Cha replied with a monotone voice making the man chuckle.
"Oh? That's why you're walking all wobbly?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"Cain. I've come to give your debrief about what happened with my battle against the Black Dragon Emperor of this era."
The woman wanted to get out of here as fastest as possible.
"Sure. Tell me. I bet it must be quite a story."
He said while he smirked causing the young woman to feel as if the man was mocking her, but she proceeded to give the details anyways.
"Lamentably, I lost the direct confrontation neither did I manage to convince him to join us... not even with my telepathy."
Cain hummed, the smirk still over his face.
"Now that's a shame, about him not joining our cause. Obviously, I knew that you would lose. I mean, he is my successor, if you managed to defeat I would have him killed, it would bring such a deception to me if he lost to an angel."
Cha wanted to say something against his obvious insult... But like usual she bites her tongue.
Fear. He feared the Human in front of her.
She wasn't just any angel.
"I... apologize."
"Don't be. I cannot demand what it's impossible, however, is a shame that not even with that power of yours you couldn't get him to join us... I guess he is really that powerful, not only physically but emotionally too."
She actually managed to get into Y/N's head, but she would omit that piece of information along with the fact that she spoke directly to him and formed some sort of friendship.
The man stood up from his seat and stretched a bit.
"Huh... Maybe I should take of this matter myself. Perhaps one of these days."
"Pardon? Are you going to... face him?"
Cain eyed her and grinned.
"Scared that I might lose? No. That won't happen. He may be stronger, stronger than how I was at his age... But I am simply..."
His brown eyes shifted to an orange color as he closed his fist and said grin grew wider.
"I am... well, Me."
"Are you sure that's wise? Maybe he can surprise you... or maybe he can scheme something out-"
Cain looked at her calmly, but his orange eyes made her freeze in fear.
She couldn't even get her words out of his gaze.
"You're acting... Peculiar. As if you're trying to protect him. Are you hiding something from me...? Cha Hae-in."
His words were calm and composed but the instant his voice focused on her name she could feel as if she was dying out of fear.
"N-No..."
Cain smiled as his eyes returned to normal.
"Then we're okay! You can go now. I have to you you know... Touch myself or anything to alleviate this boredom."
Cha didn't bother on saying anything about the off-place sentence and just headed to the door.
As fast as she could she ran away from the entrance wanting to get as far away from the man.
As soon as she left Cain let out a sigh and walked towards the big window. His eyes focused on the outside, with no apparent emotion on his expression.
The door behind him opened but it wasn't Cha the one who entered the room...
It was a woman with long white hair, fair skin, purple eyes, and was wearing a black dress.
She gave off... an unsettling kind of aura.
Cain felt her presence but didn't acknowledge her instead he looked at his left hand focusing his gaze on a silver ring he had on his finger.
A faint smile grew on him something that the woman of white hair took notice of.
"He has grown quite well... don't you think?"
He muttered as if he was speaking to the ring and after hearing his words the woman frowned deeply.
"You're still going on about that woman, Cain? She is dead."
Cain took some seconds to turn over and look at her with a serious face.
"Careful of how you speak. I can twist your neck anytime I wish. Do not overestimate your worth... Lilith."
The woman whose name was Lilith lowered her head after his scold.
"I... I am sorry."
"Whatever, why are you here? I thought you were busy doing what you always do."
"I... just wanted to see you."
Cain wasn't touched by those words, not in the least.
"Lilith, you come here for such trivial matter, is almost as if you're insulting me."
"No! I'm not. I would never do that to you... Not ever."
The man sighed. This woman was a pain to deal with.
She was obsessed with him and that caused him many trouble or annoyances, but he couldn't either get rid of her due to her resourcefulness. But the instant her use were exploited he wouldn't doubt to take her out of the picture.
"Then you're free to go. I'm busy thinking."
"About the Black Dragon Emperor?"
Cain nodded as he returned his gaze to the window.
"He has proved to be... interesting. Quite a powerful individual, I would like to test it myself. How powerful he might be..."
Lilith's face deformed into a deep frown at the mention of the Black Dragon Emperor. She even gritted her teeth below her pursed lips.
"Do you want me... to take care of him? I can kill him if that's what you wish."
Cain laughed at this statement of hers.
"I thank that willful thought of yours, but you are in no way near capable of confronting him. Do not forget that you're weak, Lilith."
"I am strong enough to-"
His orange eyes glared at her causing her to take a single step back.
"You are not. Stay in the area where you stand out, you are not fitting for the battle. You're not like us... We are beings born for the only purpose of battle and war. God created us, Humans to protect, and to protect War is a means necessary therefore battle. And more us..."
That last part he said under his breath.
Cain smirked.
How he missed this feeling, a feeling he forgot a long time ago.
The expectation of incoming battle.
The excitement of an entertaining fight.
It awoke his most primitive instincts within him. He couldn't wait to meet up with the current Black Dragon Emperor.
He didn't feel this way since that time his brother faced him.
Cain sat back on his chair and smirked as he placed his cheek on his hand and waved at Lilith instigating her to get out of the room.
"You can get out now. I want to think for a little bit."
Lilith didn't say anything but his eyes shadowed when she saw the silver ring he still wore for a lot of time.
That woman was dead already... Why is he still using that thing?
Without saying anything, she walked out of the room not before she ate her nails in frustration and anger.
Things weren't going her way.
Cain looked up and his smirk turned into a softer one than the ferocious ones he had.
"Y/N."
...
The soon-to-be father was conflicted.
Y/N was heading toward Valiana's place and he didn't have a proper plan for how to approach her.
He was afraid of talking to her? No. But the thing was that if they didn't fix things up... fix their differences their kid would be raised in an environment that wasn't ideal for a child.
Y/N didn't want his kid to grow resentment toward their parents.
Even if Valiana did what she did to him... he didn't want the kid to take it all against its mother, even if she might deserve it.
The best for their child's future was... to talk things out... And Valiana wasn't the most comprehensive or talkative person in the world, in fact, all the contrary. She preferred to smash his head than to sit down like the grown-ups. And she was the older one, what an irony.
He liked it or not it was mean necessary to leave things clear with Valiana.
His desire was for his kid to have a healthy relationship between him and her. But of course, he wouldn't force it either. If she turned dangerous for his child's growth, then he wouldn't doubt a single second to apart Valiana from the kid's life.
Valiana was unpredictable after all. But she was still the kid's mother.
What a situation he was into.
Out of all this, something was certain, he had to speak things out with Valiana to determine the future of their relationship and their child.
But how on earth he could approach her?
After questioning that, a black shadow formed on his shoulder, the silhouette of a knight helmet coming out from the pitch black.
Y/N looked to the side and saw Igris's head.
"Is something wrong? Igris."
She didn't usually cane out of the blue if he didn't call her first.
"My King. I can see you're having complications. May I give you a suggestion to face this dilemma?"
He raised an eyebrow but he was curious.
"Please."
...
The sweat dripped from Valiana's forehead as she rose her body up with her arms and immediately went down doing a perfect push-up.
Her face wrinkled in effort, it was taking a lot more from her to do a single push-up than previously.
She already had done at least above five hundred, but on other days she could do a thousand without much effort, but now she was panting like a dog with just the half of that number. It annoyed her.
Her white hair got on her face and stuck on her forehead due to the sweat, this made her click her tongue before ceasing her push-ups section.
A Hot breath left her mouth as she stared up at the light on the ceiling.
Working out helped her to free her mind, it was some sort of medication for her... but it wasn't working at the moment.
She was principally working out to forget the words of... the father of her child.
Just imagining it made her let out a dry laugh.
About all things, the last thing that crossed her mind was having a child with that clown.
And just because of that, all the things his mouth left affected her. His words meant a lot to her because of who he was to her... He was no longer a fuck-buddy or unofficial boyfriend or friend with privileges or any of the sort, no. Y/N was now the father of the kid in her womb.
When she realized that she was pregnant the first thing that crossed her mind was... to abort.
As cruel as that might sound it was the only thing that seemed... correct at that point. She couldn't put into words the desperation she went through when she noticed her pregnancy.
She cried.
Crying wasn't something she did with frequency, she hated it. All she did while she was a child was cry because of that bastard of a father she had.
Thankfully, he was dead.
But something in her... told her to not do it. Something deep in her head pleaded with her to actually... give birth to it and care about it.
It was ridiculous, before all this she despised the idea of being a mother, the thought of having a family... But now... she was neutral.
She even protected the baby on multiple occasions.
Yes, she was growing fond of that baby in her womb.
Valiana genuinely wanted to give birth to the baby... and to take care of it. Be a Mother.
The words of Y/N echoed in her head.
'You can even get knocked up by another man if you want, I don't care. The only thing I care about is my child.'
Once again, those words and that cold tone of his rumbled on the woman's head.
She gritted her teeth.
Why did it hurt so much to hear him say those words to her? It wasn't supposed to.
In all her life she had learned to resent more than to care. To distrust more than to understand.
She didn't care about anybody and she preferred it that way. It was way easier.
But why? Why did she care about him? Why in the hell did she care about whatever he thought about her?
And why... Why did she cry in front of him?
Valiana got up from the ground and pressed her forehead against the wall.
She knew why. Of course, she did.
Because even after all, even after all the battles they had, even after he tried to kill her (which she deserved). Even after all the ups and downs they had. Even if he was a clown and an annoyance.
Even after all that... She loved him and wanted for him to be there for her child... no, in fact, she had an even more selfish desire on her mind. She wanted Y/N to be with her and raise together the kid.
But she couldn't bring herself to tell him that.
"God damn it... Why all have to be difficult?"
After muttering that she shook her head trying to drive those thoughts away even though they wouldn't she still tried.
Valiana tied her hair into a ponytail and resumed her workout. She preferred to train than to wine.
With a heavy breath, she started to hit the punching bag, moderating her strength on each strike because if she went all out she might as well destroy her entire house in the process.
After thirty minutes a couple of knocks interrupted her training making her look back. But the instant she moved her head she caught something that was thrown at her.
She looked at whatever she had caught and saw a bottle of water and moved her gaze back up to see Y/N with a smirk looking at her.
"There is your bo' oh' o' wa'er."
After locking eyes with her, Valiana made a bad face and averted his eyes.
"What do you want?"
"Just passing by."
She scoffed.
"Then how about if you pass out."
Y/N chuckled a bit before going a little serious.
"Very funny. How is the baby doing? Is everything okay?"
"Yeah. Everything is okay. You can leave now, I'm busy."
Her voice was cold and cutting making the male sigh heavily.
She was really mad with him and all the plan he had mapped out in his head would be difficult to put into play.
However, he grinned along with a blush after seeing her workout attire and sweaty figure.
"Hm, all sweaty and with such an outfit. Can I join?"
At this bold comment, Valiana glared at him.
"Drop dead, creep."
Y/N laughed in reaction only tickling off her.
But when he finished laughing he spoke to her with a rather serious tone of voice.
"After you're done come to the living room. I want to talk some things with you about pretty much everything."
Before Valiana could say anything Y/N walked out of the mini-gym.
Valiana sighed heavily.
She looked at the punching bag which was moving lazily.
All of a sudden she didn't feel like working out.
...
After taking a shower and mentally preparing herself a bit she met Y/N in the living, he was sitting on the couch watching his phone until he noticed his arrival and put it back in his pocket.
He smiled at her.
Inwardly, Y/N enjoyed the sight of seeing her magnificent body which was still a little wet due to the water of the shower. Those drops of water that fell from her white hair accentuated her beauty.
"I want to talk to you about something."
Valiana crossed her arms with a frown.
"Well, I don't."
A smirk crossed his face after that reply. This smirk meant that he had something planned out making the white-haired girl raise her guard.
Time to put Igris's plan into action!
Y/N thought as he rose a bouquet of white roses.
The face of Valiana was one of confusion yet wonder.
"What in the..."
"I know. I am the best. You didn't see this coming huh?"
Valiana was still looking at the white rose but then she smirked and looked at him smugly.
"Flowers? You must be really desperate."
Y/N shrugged.
"I thought this could work... even if you're not the flower kind of girl."
"And why white?"
"Uhhh... Well, they're a signal of purity and innocence, kinda like you. And well... it also matches with your hair."
Valiana kept her plain face over him before bursting into laughter making him feel a little awkward.
"Hahaha! You must be joking! I am all but pure and innocent. You really are desperate."
Y/N chuckled a bit, her laugh was a little contagious if he might say it himself.
"And well? Will you take them? Even if you're going to toss them into the trash later. Can you at least accept them in front of me to not make me feel ashamed?"
A bit of chuckle remained in her as was about to accept the corny gift.
"I'll take them just to not make you feel bad even if you deserve it."
Valiana grabbed the bouquet of roses and looked at them with a faint smile before putting them on the table.
"But that's not all. I brought another gift, this one is to get you to talk to me. The roses were just an extra."
"Oh? Surprise me, Romeo."
"Igris, give it to me."
Y/N spoke mentally receiving an immediate response from the Knightess.
"Yes, My King."
A shadow came out from his shoulder and from the pitch aura a pint of cookies and cream came out.
Y/N grabbed the ice cream and with a grin offered it to her.
"You want?"
Valiana stared at the ice cream with googly eyes to only look at him with a frown.
"How did you know I wanted this specifically."
He pointed up at the ceiling and she followed where his finger pointed. She opened her mouth a little upon seeing a shadowy figure in the ceiling. She could distinguish the antennas that resembled an ant.
Beru had informed Y/N that Valiana was suffering from these symptoms known as "cravings" A pregnancy thing.
Valiana couldn't understand how she didn't notice the ant's presence before. Her senses were truly numbing.
"You sent the bug to spy on me?"
"Nuh-uh. I sent it to protect you. It's not the same."
She growled before snatching the ice cream off his hand and started digging in.
"I hear."
Y/N sat next to her and found it funny to see how she practically wolfed the ice cream.
He looked up to the ceiling and made Beru return to his body.
Then he looked to Valiana and with a breath he asked.
"How long have you been pregnant? I have an idea but I want to know better."
Valiana stopped eating the ice cream. She took her time to answer.
"It just turned a month this week..."
"I see... How did you react when you found out?"
A dry chuckle left her lips.
"I... was furious. Furious about the fact that I let myself be knocked out. Honestly, I've never liked the idea of being a mother much less raising a brat. But I was also afraid. Afraid of the future."
She looked at her belly and a sad expression appeared on her.
"I... am scared."
Y/N looked at her and let out a sad smile.
"It's normal to feel scared about it, more you that you're the mother. To be realistic, the bond between a child and its mother is stronger than the father. That is just a reality. It's almost poetic. Since is the mother who will protect the baby with her own body and will go through the pain of giving birth to the baby. Is only normal for the influence of a mother to be stronger than any other."
On most occasions of course. There were some occasions when the father figure was more meaningful to the child than the mother's.
Valiana smiled as her blue eyes gazed at him.
"There you go again. With your speeches."
"I always try to give a good impression with my words... But how do you feel? Right now I mean."
"Uneasy, Overwhelmed... But I'm no longer furious. Now, I see this kid in a new light. Instead of an issue, I see it more as... as an opportunity."
"An opportunity for what?"
A heavy breath left her while her soft smile remained.
"An opportunity to actually live. My only reason to live was to fight, battle, and destroy... I want to change that. I'll still love battle and I will keep loving it until I die... but I don't wanna live only for that. I also want to have something more."
Y/N widened his eyes after hearing what he just had heard. He, not even in his wildest dream he had thought that Valiana would say something like that.
He genuinely smiled.
It was heartwarming to see Valiana behaving this way due to their kid.
"When I realized that you were pregnant with my child... I was shocked and like you, I was scared. But I was scared because of my own insecurity. I don't know how to be a good father... I don't know anything about a family at all. I never met my father and my mother was... Well, I can't even call her that way. I am the least indicated person to be a father... But still..."
His hand went to her belly and caressed gently.
"Even if I may don't know anything about parenting... I want to try. Because deep in my heart, I feel like this is the meaning of my whole life. And even if I'm afraid... I want to walk on this uncertain path with you."
Valiana widened her eyes.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Valiana. I don't want to be separated while raising our child... I want for us to be side to side along with the child. Let's be scared together."
Her lips quivered after hearing his words.
She didn't understand why. But she felt so happy, her heart fluttered when those genuine words escaped his lips.
Slowly, her hand moved above his. Both of their hands pressed together over her belly.
"Me too. I want to raise it together."
A single tear fell from her right blue eye as she smiled wholeheartedly.
Both smiling, they got closer pressing their forehead against each other.
"I am sorry."
Valiana barely let out but Y/N heard it.
Maintaining his smile he replied.
"Me too. I'm sorry for saying those things the other day."
The least that mattered now was the mistakes of the past. What truly mattered was their child.
Valiana brought her hands to his face and gently guided his head to her.
They closed their eyes as they got closer until their lips met in a gentle but passionate kiss.
Yes. Nothing from the past mattered. All that mattered was this... His family.
Because what was relevant was the present and the future.
Thank you for Reading!