"Father." Vera's trembling voice echoed, but Duke Valerin's body remained frozen, his eyes still quivering as he looked in Vera's direction. Then his gaze shifted to the child beside her, a human girl, watching him with curious eyes.

Evin looked at him with an expression that seemed to ask, so this is my grandpa?

Duke Valerin immediately noticed the resemblance between the child and Vera. He connected the dots in his mind on his own. He wasn't a fool, and he knew this was likely her child. After all, he had received news not long ago that Vera already had a daughter.

The others came to the same conclusion, and it was Madam Valerin's voice that broke the silence first.

"Vera," she said, her voice trembling as she walked toward her.

Vera, seeing her mother approaching with tears already falling from her eyes, softly spoke.

"Mother."

Once her mother reached her, she pulled her into a tight embrace. The two of them held each other under the silent gaze of Duke Valerin, who kept watching Vera and the child beside her.

Unconsciously, he took a step forward toward Vera and her daughter.

While her mother and grandmother remained in their embrace, Evin watched everything with wide, innocent eyes. She wanted to comfort the ones who were crying but didn't know how. Her gaze instead was drawn to the man walking toward her, her grandfather.

Moments later, Duke Valerin stopped right in front of Evin. His tall figure made her tilt her head up to meet his eyes, and in that instant, he understood what he had to do. He dropped to one knee so that his height would match hers.

By now, Vera and Madam Valerin had released each other from their embrace. Vera turned to watch her father, who was looking intently at Evin. After a few moments of silence, she spoke to him.

"Father, this is Evin, my child, your granddaughter."

Duke Valerin trembled. He had already guessed it, but hearing the confirmation directly from Vera struck him differently.

"Evin… Evin…" he murmured, repeating her name softly.

"Are you my grandpa?" Evin suddenly asked, catching him off guard.

It was the first time anyone had called him grandpa, and the word struck something deep within him. His heart trembled. His appearance, thanks to the elves' slow aging and long lifespan, was still that of a man in his prime. By appearance alone, the title didn't suit him, yet hearing it from the child's lips made it impossible to deny.

That single word from Evin stirred something different within him, something warm and full of affection. The beliefs he had held for so long about humans and the old ways of elven conservatism faded in that moment.

Truthfully, a part of him still recoiled when he first saw the child. The deep rooted ideals he had grown up with didn't simply vanish even if he had come to accept that those very beliefs were what drove Vera to leave. Letting go of something so ingrained was not as simple as turning over a hand.

And yet, hearing the word grandpa from Evin was enough. It quieted those lingering thoughts and swept away the bitterness he held about Vera choosing a human.

At last, Duke Valerin smiled and gave a small nod.

"Yes, I'm Grandpa…" he said warmly, his voice soft, making Evin's eyes light up with a smile.

"Grandpa," she repeated.

Duke Valerin couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke her head.

Vera had already been crying, and as she watched her father gently stroke Evin's head, her tears fell even more heavily. She raised one hand to cover her lips, trying to muffle the sobs rising in her throat. Her mother, standing beside her, smiled through her own tears as she looked at Evin.

"Evin, call me Grandma," she said. Though she still looked young and graceful, in that moment, all she wanted was to be called Grandma by her granddaughter.

Hearing the request, Evin turned to her with a bright smile.

"Grandma," she said, her voice light.

Madam Valerin gave a small nod.

Vera felt truly happy to see her parents accept Evin so easily. But then she turned to the side, where her older brother was already standing, watching the scene unfold. Sensing her gaze, he looked at her and let out a soft sigh before smiling.

"Vera," he said, then pulled his little sister into a tight hug. Vera returned it, feeling just how much he had missed her.

Aldrian watched the reunion with a quiet smile. From the beginning, Vera had already been in the room with Evin and listen everything discussed between him and the Valerin family. He wanted her to hear their thoughts first, before she continued to hold firmly to her decision about returning home.

He had simply used his light laws to bend the light and hide both Vera and Evin from view.

If the Valerin family had remained firm in their beliefs and reacted harshly toward Vera and Evin, then it would have been better for Vera not to return. She could have stayed in the palace and worked under Sylphia if she wished to remain hidden from her family.

Fortunately, they were still open-minded and not completely bound by old ideals. This was the best outcome for everyone.

After a few moments of reunion, the Valerin family returned to their seats, with Madam Valerin gently holding Evin's hand and guiding her to sit beside her.

"My apologies, Your Majesty, but I am still overwhelmed," Duke Valerin said. "How is it that she met you and survived? When I heard that an entire town was slaughtered by the Pride devil, and no survivors were found during our investigation, we believed Vera had perished along with the rest."

"Well, you could say it was fate that brought us together," Aldrian replied with a faint smile. He then began to explain how he had met Evin and Vera in the Buddhist sect's territory. Vera also shared her story—how she managed to escape from the devastated town and eventually reach the Buddhist sect.

As the three elves listened to Aldrian and Vera recount what had happened, they couldn't help but feel that it was indeed fate. If Evin hadn't caught Aldrian's attention at that moment, everything might have turned out differently. They might never have known that Vera was still alive and injured. Without proper care, her condition could have worsened, and she might have died, leaving Evin behind alone.

Just imagining that possibility brought a deep ache to their hearts. They began to grasp the hardships Vera and Evin had endured after fleeing the town.

"Now, Duke Valerin, as you already know, Miss Vera wishes to return home with Evin. I want to ensure that neither of them will be harmed once they go back. Given that your family was raised in a conservative environment, I assume the elves around you likely share the same mindset. You understand what I mean, don't you?" Aldrian said.

Duke Valerin gave a firm nod. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Especially for Evin," Aldrian continued. "She's still a child, and she may face backlash. I want you to make sure that nothing harmful ever reaches her. She's already like a little sister to me, and I won't allow anything to happen to her."

Hearing that, Duke Valerin bowed his head.

"I will not let anything happen to my granddaughter, Your Majesty. Forgive me if this sounds presumptuous, but even if you hadn't said a word, I would still do everything in my power to protect both her and my daughter from any backlash."

He understood the gravity of the situation—how could he not? He, his wife, and his son might be willing to accept that Vera had eloped with a human and even had a child with him. But the same could not be said for the rest of the elves in his dukedom.

There was no guarantee how others would react. Some might look at Vera and Evin with cold, judgmental eyes. And if there were any extremists, they might even try to harm them.

Now that Aldrian had spoken so firmly, declaring that nothing must happen to Vera or Evin, it gave Duke Valerin even more reason to make sure everything was properly handled when the two returned home.

After that, the discussion continued for another two hours, still centered around Vera and Evin. When Duke Valerin finally realized how much time had passed, he rose and expressed his intent to take his leave.

By the time the elves stepped outside the palace and reached the teleportation formation, Sylphia had joined Aldrian to escort the guests. Evin turned to them with sad eyes.

"Big Brother, Big Sister, will you visit us in the future?" she asked.

Aldrian smiled warmly at her.

"Of course we'll visit you. Big Brother will even take you to see many beautiful places," he said.

Evin's expression lit up with a smile, and she gave a firm nod.

"Then I'll wait for Big Brother," she replied.

Aldrian nodded, then turned his gaze to Vera, who immediately bowed deeply to him.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Your Majesty. I'll never forget it, truly, thank you," she said, her voice full of gratitude.

Aldrian nodded in return.

"Take care, Miss Vera. I hope your life will be much better from now on," he said one last time.

And with that, their figures vanished as they were teleported to the palace beneath the floating land.

After the guests disappeared, leaving only Aldrian and Sylphia near the teleportation formation, Sylphia turned to him with a smile.

"What a happy ending for them. You really are a lucky star, you know?"

Aldrian smiled as he looked at her.

"Is that so? Then—" he suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist."Would you like to experience another lucky part of me?" he asked in a teasing tone.

Sylphia blushed and let out a small shout.

"What are you saying? It's still broad daylight, go do something useful!" she said as she slipped out of his grasp and ran off.

Aldrian laughed.

Another problem, solved.