?The scent of fear, helplessness, anger, and desperation permeated the air. Sylvester could understand the pain and fear Isabella was going through. Everyone was so worried and scared that they couldn’t bring themselves to tell her the truth since none really had any answers to give.

But Sylvester had no such restrictions. With her head leaning on his chest, he patted Isabella’s shoulder with one hand, and the other patted the back of her head, caressing her unkempt hair as if she were a little child and he was an old man. She shushed her, trying to calm her down before telling her anything.

“Don’t cry, Isabella. Think of the kids. Do you want them to see you crying?” He asked, using some light magic to make her body feel warm and give her hope. “I know where Felix is, and he will be back here with you by tomorrow night. That is my promise to you.”

Isabella stopped whimpering and looked up at his face. “Where is he?”

“For some unknown reason, he jumped into the portal leading into the Demon World. The portal is somewhere in the Darkpit Sea,” Sylvester truthfully answered her worries. “Don’t worry, he’s strong enough to fight against the four strongest demons there. I’ve met them.”

“How will you bring him back? You just came back… barely alive,” she asked further, not wanting to lose Sylvester either. No matter what, he was like a brother to her now. “I can’t ask you to risk your lif—”

Sylvester stopped her from speaking further and stepped back a little to look at the little bundles of joy in her arms. “Don’t worry about me, Isabella. Much has changed, and even if all Supreme Wizards and Grand Wizards to ever exist in history stand against me, I’d win without moving.”

Gabriel and Isabella both stared at his smiling face, trying to find any hint that he was merely jesting. But they found nothing.

“Now, introduce me to my three little nieces.” Sylvester focused on the babies. “Have you named them?”

“Not yet, I’m waiting for Felix,” Isabella replied. Although not fully calm, having Sylvester there made her anxiety much more manageable. It was a known fact that Sylvester always fulfilled his promises. “They were all born a minute apart, all girls that I’m sure will be spoiled plenty by you and Felix.”

“You got that right.” Sylvester extended his arms and received all three of the babies. They were all placed in a single big blanket, tightly securing them.

Being much bigger and broader, he easily hugged the three warm and squishy babies. Much to his delight, they also began opening their eyes to look at who this new presence was.

‘I can see the similarities with the father and mother.’ Sylvester noticed the three were quite big and heavy as babies. Undoubtedly, Felix’s martial genes had passed on to them. But in terms of beauty, he had no doubt they’d surpass Isabella too. With their blonde hair and blueish-gray eyes, he could see them stealing hearts.

“They have jaundice?” He asked.

Isabella nodded and moved the onesies a little so they could bask in the sun a little more. “They were born with it. But it’s almost gone now.”

“Common in babies,” Sylvester mumbled and smiled like a fool from ear to ear. “But how can I let my little tigresses have jaundice? Your uncle is almost a god.”

Yes, he was boasting now, and he had no shame. However, he was still being humble since ‘almost a god’ was an understatement of grand proportions.

Sylvester perceived every cell in the bodies of the three girls. Just to entertain them, he also made a halo appear behind his head, which made all the onlookers except for Gabriel and Isabella kneel down. The warmth that oozed him was much warmer but not hot. It soothed the mind and body like a potion from the gods.

“My children of an ancient lineage, have my blessing. Healthy hearts, perfect bodies, and supreme talents you shall be possessing.” Sylvester’s voice and magic made the three little girls stare at his face and giggle, “Go ahead and brighten minds with your radiant smiles. Be the pillar of support for this world’s countless future trials.”

“Gaga!”

“Wooo!”

“Bububaa~”

The three girls made different noises, flailing their little arms and legs. A mere look at them was enough to wash away any fatigue. All the hardships felt worth it now. All the oncoming trials felt conquerable.

“I can’t wait to see Felix crying when he holds them tomorrow,” Sylvester commented and started walking, “Follow me, Bella. We’re going to my home. The Council has been invited, and I’m cooking.”

Isabella looked at her three kids happily making bubbles from their mouths and chirping excitedly. It was the first time she smiled so genuinely in the past few months. “Then I’ll follow, Your Holiness.”

“Ah, one more thing Gab. Let Isabella and Felix live in the Holy Land for as long as they want from now on. Give them one of the Cardinal’s villas. I think we had one with orchids. The girls will enjoy life growing up there,” Sylvester ordered his Deputy.

Gabriel eyed his friend with a narrow gaze, “Does this mean I’m going back to being Saint Wazir? No longer the acting Pope? Can I hand you my resignation?”

Sylvester’s brows furrowed, “What are you talking about? You’re the real Pope now, Gabriel. I’m never taking that position back.”

Gabriel stopped in his tracks, on the verge of cursing. “I can’t do this, Your Holiness. I’m not as strong as you nor as wise and experienced.”

“Then learn from me. I’ll be teaching the promising young ones from the next generation too. If there’s something you can’t fix, I’ll help you. You’re confused? I’ll guide you. You can’t win a fight? I’ll stand by you,” Sylvester replied nonchalantly, turning around before entering his stagecoach.

Pat!

One of the three girls in his arms tapped on Gabriel’s forehead.

Sylvester chuckled, “There you go. Now you have my and my nieces’ blessing.”

And the blessing was what Gabriel received. Although he had been healed by Sylvester long ago when he had received a hug, now there was something different. He could clearly feel his magical and knightly limits were the same as before, but he felt stronger, more alert, and sharper.

“What did you do?”

“Removed the impurities in your magic veins that contained solarium. You’ll find many long-term benefits from it.” Sylvester turned back and entered the massive stagecoach, big enough to fit them all inside, even Zenith and Dalgan.

Gabriel looked at his palms after sitting inside, “Why are you doing this, Your Holiness?”

“He’s not sure he’ll survive the next battle.”

Sylvester furiously turned his head and stared at Empress Zenith until she shrank her neck and looked down. “Don’t speak more than what’s required, Empress.”

“I will tell Mother Xavia,” Gabriel exclaimed. “Don’t try to shut up the Empress. What she said is the truth, and you were hiding it.”

“Gab, if I don’t win this battle, we will all die. If I win, I’ll return home. It’s that simple.” Sylvester clarified. “What the Empress said was the half-truth.”

“Then you don’t want to be the Pope after you return?”

“There won’t be a need, Gab. If I win, we’ll enter an era where we need better administrators, not muscleheads. The peace in this world is fragile, and I’m ruling over it with might. I don’t want that to be the case forever. Eventually, we will need to find a way to make this peace permanent, and to do that, I’ll have to step back from the limelight.” Sylvester tried to give an acceptable answer. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll be leaving you alone. I’ll still live in the Holy Land as the full-time Holy Sovereign.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means that my duty is to the world, not just the faith and Sol,” Sylvester said and opened the stagecoach door as they arrived at the Bright Mother’s housing. “Let’s go. I have a lot of cooking to do.”

Sighing, Gabriel followed behind silently. Sylvester still held the three babies in his arms, greeting many Bright Mothers along the way. Just to reach the top floor, it took him an hour since each interaction lasted emotionally long.

Knock! Knock!

Eventually, Xavia opened the door and beamed even brighter than before. She quickly took the triplets in her arms and went in.

“Maxy! Save me!” Chonky’s cry echoed from Ella’s closed room. There was another voice from inside, likely belonging to Rex.

That drama queen. If he wanted to get away, he could have done that easily. Sylvester didn’t bother to look and went straight to the kitchen. Home looks just as I left it… and there’s the jar of honey.

Before starting anything, he washed his hands and took a spoonful of honey to satiate his hunger for its strong flavor. Like a drug addict taking a dose after a long time, he took a deep breath while tasting the spoon.

“Let’s go, Isabella.” Gabriel pulled the Queen to the living room. “Sylvester’s back in his home climate.”

Much calmer now, Isabella giggled and went to see her kids. It was time to feed them.

Alone now, Sylvester went through various cabinets and took out large utensils. Then he walked into the small pantry room and brought out buckets full of onion, potatoes, carrots, garlic, and many more vegetables.

“P-Pope Sylvester…”

Sylvester looked up, seeing Zenith and Dalgan still standing at the entry of the kitchen. “What is it?”

Zenith stepped forward, “I apologize for speaking too much before.”

Was I that angry? Sylvester wondered, But I didn’t even make an angry face.

“Cheer up, Zenith. I’m not angry.” He walked to the tall demoness and patted the side of her arm. “Everything has a time and place, and every word spoken must be calculated when coming from the mouths of people like us. What you did wasn’t calculated. If Mum was there, she’d have shed tears, and I wouldn’t have forgiven you for that.”

Dalgan nodded on the side while Zenith looked down in shame. In the end, she was still new to being the Empress.

“But a punishment is in order,” Sylvester added and dragged Zenith by her armored gauntlet to one of the side isles in the kitchen. “You are going to chop all the onions.”

“…”

“That’s a punishment?” she questioned.

“Without using magic,” Sylvester smirked, “Without your helmet.”

_________________

A

/N: See the triplets here.

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