Stella sat on the sofa, looking at her father with a gaze as cold as ice—it clearly said, "Who is this man? I don't know him."

The dear father was deeply distressed. This reaction, of course, was because the first thing he'd done upon seeing the boy his daughter brought home… was try to axe him.

But Cyllus didn't think he was wrong in the slightest.

After all, when Stella was little, she used to say her favorite person was Papa! How could she now be treating him with such indifference?

His gaze turned toward Charles. Yes, this boy must be the root of the problem. It had to be this brat who pulled some trick to deceive his innocent, pure-hearted daughter!

Charles could feel the killing intent in Cyllus's eyes and gave a wry smile.

He completely understood how the king felt. If he himself had a daughter in the future and some random punk dared get close to her, he'd probably beat the kid's face in too.

Luckily for Charles, while Cyllus was certainly a skilled Blazer, he didn't quite have the strength to blow Charles's head off.

Still, it gave Charles an important life lesson—he must continue to grow stronger. Otherwise, in the future, he wouldn't be able to bash in the skulls of whatever pretty-boy clowns tried to snatch his daughter.

Unlike Cyllus, however, Astrea was more than happy with her daughter's relationship.

Astrea sat calmly as Stella held her hand, smiling as she said, "What a surprise! You didn't tell us how you were coming home, and then you just show up like that—what a unique way to return."

Stella grinned. "Well, if we flew by plane, it'd take at least two days. But with Charles's ability, it only took half a day. I couldn't wait any longer to see you and big sister!"

Cyllus pointed to himself, crestfallen. "What about Papa? Didn't you miss Papa?"

Stella tilted her chin up and gave him a cold "hmph!"

"I would never miss someone who greeted my friend by swinging an axe at him!"

Cyllus slumped in defeat, then jumped back up and pointed at Charles. "It's all your fault, brat! If it weren't for you, my sweet Stella would never treat me this way!"

Charles could only sigh inwardly. Yep, there was no reasoning with a full-blown daughter-con in this mode.

In the end, it was Stella who had to subdue her unruly father. She brought a hand chop down on Cyllus's head and scolded him angrily: "What are you saying?! Charles even prepared gifts for you!"

At the mention of gifts, Charles quickly retrieved the items he'd prepared from his storage ring.

Stella took the two smaller boxes and ran over to Astrea. "Mother, these are gifts Charles specially prepared for you and big sis!"

She opened the larger of the two boxes. Astrea hadn't expected much—after all, as queen of a nation, even if the Kingdom of Vermillion didn't worship extravagance, she had seen her share of finery.

Besides, from what Stella had told her, Charles wasn't from a noble background. The gift was likely to be more about sentiment than substance.

And the box looked like it came from an average gift shop—definitely not something expensive.

But when the lid came off, Astrea couldn't help but gasp, "What a beautiful necklace!"

Inside were two necklaces. The chains, resembling vines, were made from some unknown metal and crafted with countless tiny facets that shimmered brilliantly in the light.

Most striking of all were the pendants—each featuring a massive ruby. From size, color, clarity, cut, and overall craftsmanship, the rubies were undoubtedly of the highest grade—staggeringly valuable.

As an exceptional blacksmith, Charles didn't specialize in goldsmithing, but crafting two necklaces was no challenge for him.

The gems were rare materials collected from dungeons—typically used in making magic tools and enchanted swords.

Indeed, the necklaces were magical tools, capable of shielding their wearers with mana when in danger.

Stella herself wasn't much into jewelry. What she really wanted to share with her mother was something else.

She opened another box and pulled out a small ceramic bottle. "Mother, this one's amazing! Just apply a little and it's really good for your skin!"

Astrea was immediately intrigued. No woman is ever indifferent to beauty-related items.

When they first met, Astrea had noticed how luminous and dewy Stella's skin had become. She had assumed it was the glow of love—but now it seemed there was something more to it.

This wasn't some regular skincare product. It was Charles's special formula.

Originally, Stella had been troubled by the minor scarring left behind even after her battle wounds healed. So Charles made this salve for her. But the results exceeded all expectations—not only did it remove scars, it made her skin progressively better.

So Stella had simply adopted it as her skincare cream.

Of course it was effective—the main ingredient was a diluted version of Elixir of Panacea.

Charles had brought plenty of the divine elixir when he left the Dungeon World, and after mastering [Mystery], he'd even started crafting lower-grade versions of it himself.

Sharing a little of that with Stella for her skincare needs? Charles didn't mind one bit.

Astrea eagerly applied a little to the back of her hand. The cooling sensation as the balm seeped into her skin felt divine.

Seeing the difference in her skin tone afterward, Astrea's view of Charles immediately rose to a new level of satisfaction.

Charles then handed a box to Cyllus and said with a polite smile, "This is a gift I prepared for His Majesty. I hope it suits your taste."

Cyllus accepted the box with the firm intention to criticize whatever was inside—no matter what.

But the moment he opened it, he completely forgot about all that.

Inside was a magnificent longsword. Both the hilt and the sheath were decorated with flame motifs and lion engravings. Large, fiery red gems were embedded in the guard and pommel.

It was the perfect sword for the "Crimson Mad Lion."

Cyllus fell in love with it at first sight.

As king, he often wore a ceremonial sword to major events. Just imagining showing up with this sword next time made him feel ten times more majestic.

Still, he grumbled, "Who knows if it's just like that brat—flashy but useless."

Saying so, he drew the blade—and the glint of the edge made him squint.

He flicked the blade with a finger, hearing the clear, resonant ring that only the finest swords possessed.

Cyllus could tell—this wasn't just ceremonial. Only the top-tier swordsmiths in the world could forge something of this level.

"Hmph! Don't think you can buy me off with a sword! Let me make one thing clear—Stella is the most precious treasure in the world! I won't hand her over to anyone!"

Even as he barked this declaration, Cyllus clung tightly to the sword with both arms, making it painfully obvious he had no intention of giving it back.

Not just Charles—even Astrea and all the nearby maids couldn't help but sigh in exasperation at the disgraceful display of their dear king.

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