Marquis Alex was, of course, aware of his wife's worries.
Seeing Michelle's behavior, Marquis Alex had initially refused his wife's offer of help. After all, who would want to let his own wife step onto the battlefield?
It was true that Marquis Alex had won thousands of battles and was indeed very strong, but that didn't mean he had triumphed in all of them without sacrifices.
He knew the pain of losing someone more than anyone else here.
Yet persuasion after persuasion was poured out by his wife, and in the end, Marquis Alex gave in.
He accepted his wife's request on the condition that she must always remain by his side, and when danger came, she had to be ready to leave him behind.
The two of them loved each other dearly, only their ways of showing it were different.
Marquis Alex still carried a sense of embarrassment when it came to showing affection in public.
Just like now.
His wife was clinging far too close to him, holding his hand playfully and pressing it against her own chest.
If this had been during a noble gathering, he wouldn't have felt the slightest objection.
But the problem was—they were currently standing in front of their children.
"Welcome back, Father, Mother!" Michael shouted cheerfully.
In his previous life, the Yuki family had not been harmonious. Since childhood, he had lived and been raised by his mother. His father cheated and abandoned his wife, leaving Yuki without ever knowing the warmth of a father's love.
But in his new life, things were different.
Blessed with parents who loved each other and cherished their children, this was the first happiness Yuki had felt since being born into this new world.
"Welcome back, Father, Mother," Austin greeted, bowing respectfully to his parents.
Unlike Michael, Austin had already been taught noble etiquette. That was why his response to his parents' return was completely different from Michael's freer one.
"Welcome back, Father, Mother," Alvian echoed.
His way of greeting was not much different from that of his older brother, Austin.
"Oh, so you were already waiting for us to come home!"
"We're home, my children!"
Saying that, Marquis Alex stepped forward, lifted Michael into his arms, and swung him in the air while laughing happily.
While holding his son up, Marquis Alex asked, "Hey, Michael. Have you been a good boy while Father was away?"
"Of course, Father!" Michael replied energetically.
"Is that really so? Hahaha."
"It's true! I always went to bed on time, and I often read books too!"
"Good, good. That's my boy," Marquis Alex replied warmly, placing his son back onto the ground.
"And you didn't trouble your brothers, did you?"
Michael shook his head side to side in answer to his father's question.
After that, Alex gently patted Michael's head and smiled warmly at him.
Now Marquis Alex turned his attention to his other sons, Austin and Alvian.
"Hmm… What is it? Do you two also want to be lifted up like Michael?" Marquis Alex asked with a faint smile on his face.
"No, Father. We're already too old for that," Austin replied politely.
"That's right, Father. I'm already nine years old!" Alvian answered, refusing the same way as his brother.
Hearing that, Marquis Alex ignored their protests and began lifting his sons up one by one, swinging them into the air just like he had done with Michael, while chuckling softly.
Deep in their hearts, they did not hate it. In fact, they still wished to be spoiled by their father.
"How is your magic training, darling? Don't push yourself too hard, okay?" Michelle asked Michael.
Before Michael could answer his mother's question, Austin cut in, "Last week, he nearly fainted while practicing magic, Mother."
"Thankfully, one of the servants saw him, otherwise his condition might have gotten worse," Alvian added.
Upon hearing this, worried expressions immediately appeared on both parents' faces.
"Does your body feel all right, son? Do you feel any pain right now?" his father asked.
"I'm fine, Father!" Michael replied confidently.
"Hmph, didn't Mother already tell you to wait until I came back before practicing magic?" Michelle responded with a pouting tone.
"I'm sorry, Mother." Michael could only apologize, lowering his head with guilt written on his face.
Seeing this, Austin and Alvian chuckled softly.
"But Mother… I also want to help our family!" Michael said with determination.
Michael continued, "I want to become strong and help Father and Mother, who have to fight monsters all the time!"
"And my brothers too! I want to help them as well!"
Hearing this declaration, Austin and Alvian were both stunned. It had never even crossed their minds that Michael would say something like that.
Seeing her son's determination to help his family, Michelle could only smile.
"I understand, dear. But you're still three years old. You still have a long journey ahead of you," Michelle replied.
"But Mother… I see big brother Austin and big brother Alvian working hard all the time. Seeing them, how could I possibly just sit still? I want to help them too!"
Michael went on, "I want to grow up to be as cool and as amazing as big brother Austin and big brother Alvian, Mother!"
Michael's admiration for his older brothers was by no means a lie.
Watching them shoulder such heavy responsibilities at such a young age, anyone would surely feel admiration.
It was only that Michael tended to exaggerate in the way he expressed his feelings toward his brothers.
Austin and Alvian were utterly baffled by their little brother's words. After all, they had bullied him all this time, and yet he declared that he admired them.
They began to waver, questioning their own actions up until now.
For Austin, the real reason he bullied his younger brother was because of frustration and jealousy toward Michael.
Ever since he was young, Austin had wanted to become a mage like his mother. His dream was to be a magician and obtain a talent related to magic.
But when the day came for his talent to awaken, what he received was the complete opposite of what he wanted.
The boy who had dreamed of becoming a mage had instead received a talent called "Iron Colossus." A talent far removed from anything resembling magic.
True, his talent was rare and powerful—but Austin still felt unsatisfied.
Seeing his younger brother Michael, who possessed talent in magic, only drove him into greater frustration, and he vented his anger by bullying his brother.
As for Alvian, he never actually harbored any real hatred toward Michael from the start. He merely followed along with his older brother.
"Mother is right, you're still a greenhorn. So you'd better just enjoy your time for now. Don't push yourself too hard," Austin answered in agreement, turning his face away.
Though his words were cold, there was warmth hidden within them.