Lion Head was protecting the door of Lucian's office, acting as a guard.
"You are dismissed for today," Lucian opened the door to his office, "Have a good rest."
"Yes, Master," Lion Head's gruff voice replied, bowing before turning around to leave. His manners were taught by Roland, who insisted on the importance of treating him with utmost respect.
Lucian closed the door behind him and leaned against it, exhaling a long breath. His body was sore, but he pushed the pain aside and walked towards his bedroom.
His son was a troublemaker in the making. There was no doubt his mother's blood boiled in his veins.
Lucian was sure of it as he opened the door to his bedroom and found his son chewing on the crib's wooden bars.
"You're going to get splinters in your gums if you keep doing that," Lucian said, walking over to the crib, picking up the fallen toys, and throwing them into the toy box. "No more toys for you tonight. You have to learn to treat your toys with respect."
The boy turned his head towards Lucian, giving him his best puppy eyes. The same look his mother would give him whenever she did something wrong and wanted to get away with it.
"..." Lucian kept his expression neutral, but inside, he was dying from the cuteness.
His son didn't cry as much as Lady Rose's son did, but he was definitely fussy. He would go into this phase where, after waking up from a nap and if Lucian was not present, he would try to look for him, grunting like an angry bird at the railing that prevented him from escaping, and try to eat the wood.
The moment Lucian appeared, the little rascal would act innocent and try to reach out to him.
"..." Lucian looked away, pretending he didn't see his son. "I have work to do."
The baby made a "Buuuh" sound as if to say, 'How dare you ignore me, you monster?'
Lucian washed his hands in the bathroom sink and wiped his body with a wet towel to remove the sweat from his training session, all the while trying to ignore the big blue eyes staring at him from the bedroom.
His son crawled to the edge of the crib and reached out with his tiny hand, making grabby motions at Lucian, "Buuuh...Ahhh...buuhhhh..."
The baby talk was just too cute, and Lucian had to steel his heart against it.
He went to prepare a bath for them both in the bathroom attached to his bedroom.
The baby started fussing. He sat up, shaking the bars with his fists, wanting to be held.
Lucian stayed silent, continuing his task, filling a basin with water and warming it up with his hands. The silver rank was quite a convenient rank for things like this.
"MAAABUUUHH," the baby called out to him.
Lucian didn't know what his son was saying, but he could feel the 'you are a terrible father' sentiment behind it, "I'm getting the water ready for you. Don't rush me."
"AABBABABB!" The baby pushed his chubby legs in between the crib's bars, trying to squeeze himself through the gap, "Waaahhh."
Lucian tested the water's temperature with his elbow, then turned to his son, who was stuck between the bars, his legs outside of the crib, wiggling in the air.
Lucian picked him up and lay him down on his back. He gave him a bottle of milk he picked up on the way to distract him, and the baby happily accepted it, sucking on the nipple with gusto.
After he was done eating, Lucian undressed him and placed him in the basin of water, letting him splash around with his legs.
He then undressed himself. He already filled his tub with herb-infused water in the morning, so not many preparations had to be made.
"Let's take a dip," he said, gently lifting the basin with his son in it.
His son made a happy "ahh" sound, as if agreeing with his father.
Lucian sat in the tub and hooked the basin into the edge of the tub. He then leaned back and relaxed, letting the cool water soothe his aching muscles.
He grabbed a sponge and squeezed it over his son's head, letting the water trickle down.
The baby closed his eyes, rubbing them with his little fists, already used to this procedure.
Lucian observed his son and wondered if there was more to him than what met the eye.
What was Celine hiding about her bloodline? There were so many talented individuals without blue eyes. It wasn't surely the brilliance that they were afraid of, because there were brilliant minds in every kingdom.
His son blinked a few times, looking up at Lucian with his innocent gaze. He then turned his head towards the sponge and reached out to grab it.
Lucian handed it to him, watching him put the sponge in his mouth and chew on it.
"Did my blood degrade hers that much?" Lucian pulled the sponge out of his son's mouth, wondering if he was also this stupid as a baby, "Did you still not learn not to eat everything you see? You are eight months old already."
He poked his son's stomach, causing him to giggle and grab Lucian's finger with his wet, chubby hands. The baby then leaned forward, trying to bite his finger. It was a game to him.
Lucian let him chew on his finger for a bit. His son was teething. There were already two little teeth growing on his lower gum. Another pair was on the way.
He tried to compare Lady Rose's son and his son, to see whether there was something special about his own child.
Lady Rose's son was sitting up on his own, had four teeth, and was crawling around like a champ. While his son could do the same, there was something different about him.
Just like how Celine could drink from a cup of tea her way, without following etiquette, but still manage to look beyond the ordinary. There was an air around her that made people feel inferior, even though she didn't do anything. And she had to act shallow most of the time to cover it up.
The way his son was looking at him right now was similar, like he was seeing something that others couldn't.
"What do you see, hm? Do you see the world beyond what is shown?" Lucian tilted his head, curious about his son's perception.
"..." He held his breath as his son's eyes moved above his head, trying to reach out with his hand towards something that wasn't there.
Lucian lowered his head towards his son's level, and the baby finally grabbed his hair and pulled.
He let out a sigh, "You almost scared me there."