The days following Lumine's childbirth were hectic for everyone, especially for Lumine, Alice, and the two head servants.

  Lumine was completely occupied with the baby, continuously watching over him and tending to all his needs. With Sophie assisting her and Alice dropping by from time to time so she could rest, things became more manageable.

  For the head maid and butler, these days were exhausting, as they had to manage their usual duties while also assisting Alice in handling guests who came to see Lumine and her child.

  Most guests were not permitted to visit, except for a few close relatives. Managing all of this while politely informing others not to visit was quite a hassle for Alice.

  While the estate bustled with activity, the baby peacefully followed a routine of waking up, eating, relieving himself, and then sleeping again.

  Time went on and eight days flew by in this manner.

  -

  A black sedan approached the estate, hovering slightly above the road as it neared the entrance.

  The car briefly stopped in front of a grey metal gate for identification. The gate quickly opened and the car drove in. Inside the boundary was a huge two-story House in the middle of a beautiful garden, it was surrounded by brick walls.

  The car stopped at the entrance, and a six-foot-tall man stepped out.

  He had black hair and sharp dark eyes. He wore a black turtleneck and a blue jacket over it, paired with slim-fit black jeans. He had a well-toned slim body with no excess muscles and a chiseled face.

  As he approached, the main door opened, and a man with gray hair, a slightly wrinkled face, strong eyes, and a well-maintained physique bowed respectfully.

  “Welcome home, Master.”

  “Thank you, Charles. Also, how are Lumine and the baby?”

  “Both Milady and Young Master are in good health, currently they are in company Lady Alice in their room.”

  “I see. Guide me to their room.’’

  “Yes Master”

  Charles led the way, closely followed by Lucien, both walking at a steady pace. All the servants they encountered cleared the path for them with a slight bow. You can clearly see unbounded respect in their gaze for their Lucien.

  They reached their destination and Charles knocked on the door. When the door was opened, he bowed and gave way to Lucien.

  As Lucien entered the room, he caught sight of his wife and mother sitting on the sofa. He surveyed the room, and when he saw a cute child with platinum-blue hair and chubby cheeks sleeping in a crib near the bed, a soft smile appeared on his face.

  -

  While Lumine and Alice were waiting for Lucien to return and sharing a pleasant chat, they heard a small knock and Lucien entered the room as Sophie opened the door.

  When Lumine saw him enter, a big smile appeared on her, she stood up and quickly went towards him.

  Alice also had an affectionate smile as she saw her son. She left the couple to have some personal time and went towards the baby.

  Lumine shared a soft kiss with Lucien and hugged him. He was mildly surprised by this behavior of her, then he also embraced her.

  As they separated, Lucien bowed slightly,

  “Forgive me Lumine for being so late, I wasn’t by your side when you needed me by you side.”

  She slightly puffed her cheeks and turned her face away.

  “Hmm! If you want to apologize, then bring me a fitting gift.”

  Lucien awkwardly scratched his head and replied while smiling,

  “Anything for you Milady.”

  Then both laughed slightly and then headed towards Alice. When the saw her sheepish smile at them while playing with child, they both blushed slightly and Lucien cleared his throat.

  “I am back, Mother”

  “Welcome dear. It seems you have become careless Lucien. I heard you were going to name the kid, but here you a week late in your duty.”

  “I am really sorry mother, it took some time to handle the issue this time and to make preparations for my absence.”

  “I will accept your apologies if you have chosen a fitting name for my grandchild.”

  “Don’t worry mother. I didn’t forget about that and already found a great name for my sweetheart.”

  Alice nodded slightly as she heard this and gave the baby to him.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  As he received him Lucien closely absorbed his first child with affectionate gaze and poked his cheeks slightly.

  The child observed his father for a few seconds, then he smiled as he saw Lucien’s finger closing on him and caught it with his tiny hand.

  Lumine got closer to them and rested her head on Lucien’s shoulder.

  “You should give him a name, we have already waited a lot because of your stubbornness of wanting to do it personally.”

  “Sorry for my selfishness, but I didn’t want to miss this important moment.”

  “You know normally we name the child as soon as possible. The name should be good or else you won’t be seeing him for the duration your holiday”

  “That won’t be happening, I have researched for a month and have found the best name.”

  Lucien slowly raised the child above his head, his eyes filled with solemn pride. In a tone both resolute and affectionate, he proclaimed,

  “From this day forth, your name shall be Ariv. Ariv Nightveil.”

  The baby continued to smile throughout the process, as if enjoying everything.

  While Lumine and Alice also had a smile on their face as the child was given a name after the long wait.

  Lucien lowered Ariv and embraced him softly and gave him to Lumine.

  As she received him, with a expectant gaze she asked,

  “So… what does his name means, I believe you haven’t chosen the name just cause.”

  “You can have more faith in me you know.” Replied Lucien with a sigh.

  “Ariv means knowledge and intelligence. I thought it was a befitting name for the future leader of the Nightveil family.”

  “Hmmm… that’s a great name for sure, but who suggested it to you. Tell the truth, you weren’t the one who found it.”

  Lucien stared at Lumine with reproachful eyes slightly before replying

  “Huh! I accept that Aether helped me in finding the names, but I was the one to select the name from the list.”

  “Okay, you also worked but we would have to thank Aether, right Mother.” Said Lumine as she shifted her gaze to Alice.

  “You are right dear. Still, you choose a great name Lucien. Good work.”

  “Thank you, Mother.”

  They all sat back on sofa and continued their chat as Alice told him about what happened during childbirth and how Lumine had to sacrifice her life span to save Ariv.

  As the story continued, he made a regretful face. When the story was complete, he apologised to Lumine again

  “I don’t think I could ever make amends for this.”

  “Don’t say that, it’s not you did that intentionally. And losing only 20yrs of life isn’t that problematic if it can save Ariv.” Said Lumine with a smile as she held his hand gently.

  “Also, I am sure you would have done the same.”

  “She’ s right Lucien, don’t beat yourself on this too much and take care of them both to make amends.”

  Lucien has a slightly troubled look he heard them and with a resolute voice said,

  “I promise you Lumine, I would never let something like that happen again and would be always by your side if anything ever happened.”

  Both smiled at each other and then continued their chat while playing with Ariv for a long time.

  As it begun to get late and Ariv also appeared tired, Alice and Lucien stood up and said farewell as they left for him to rest.

  Lumine headed towards bed and lulled Ariv to sleep.

  -

  Both Lucien and Alice arrived in master room of the house. The room had a big table in the back with a black leather chair, adjacent to it was a sofa set similar to one in Lumine’s room but slightly more big.

  As they sat opposite to each other, Charles served them tea and quietly stood behind Lucien.

  They took a sip before Alice started the conversation,

  “So,” she said as while taking a sip and then putting the teacup on table,

  “What happened, it shouldn’t have taken that long for you to complete this task”

  With a serious look Lucien replied,

  “The job was just a front. His Majesty wanted me to track the Cerberus group. He wanted a list of all the important figures.”

  “Looks like there will be a big pest control in the country before long.”

  They both drank their tea before Alice continued,

  “So did you ask for the holiday as your compensation?”

  “Yes Mother, that was the condition for me to personally be involved in the case.”

  “Hmmm…. It looks like something big happened for him to accept your absence.”

  “It was found that they were involved in trafficking of people from other races in our country. Also some substantial evidence was found by a reporter and he was going to make it public before it reached us.”

  Hah…

  Sighed Alice and with a frown continued,

  “Are those people idiots. If it were made public it could have caused a war, and even if that didn’t happen our country would have loosed face. Thank God you were able to stop that reporter.”

  She sighed again and massaged her eyes,

  “So was he a spy other country.”

  “No, actually his child was kidnapped by this group which led to him investigating the issue and his subsequent actions.”

  “I see, so what happened next. And how was he able to find clues of involvement of other races.”

  “They left a clue behind on purpose while kidnapping his kid. Apparently, they wanted to use him to do their bidding by entrapping him, but it backfired and as he believed his kid was dead and went to make it public.”

  “Why did they do that?” asked Alice with a big frown

  “He was apparently well connected in media, and also held quite the sway in his company.”

  “It still didn’t add up. No one would take such a big risk for that reason.”

  “That’s what I am thinking, we wanted to investigate it but there were no clues and he died soon after taken in custody due to cardiac arrest.”

  “Now that’s beyond fishy. So what happened in the end.”

  “I found information related to a few core members of Cerberus. I would have to continue to be the head for investigation to gain information about what happened next.”

  “I see. Did His Majesty put that condition.”

  “Yes, he wanted me to continue but wasn’t that adamant on it.”

  “Okay, good work on coming back safe.”

  “Thank you, Mother. I have informed Charles to investigate and prepare for unexpected situations.”

  “Hmmm… I think you should not tell Lumine about this case or else she would start to worry.”

  “I was thinking the same Mother, I would inform her later when most of the things have cooled down.”

  They continued their chat and then had a meal with Lumine in her room.

  After that they all retired in their room.

  -

  Inside Lucien’s room.

  “Investigate this reporter and his family thoroughly and don’t any stones unturned.”

  “I understand, Master. Is there anything else you would want me to do”

  “Hmmm… increase the security around the estate, especially around Lumine and Ariv.”

  “As you command Master.”