Unexpected Delivery

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**

Kai is going to attack Nisha while she is on the ground. She kicks him right in the stomach. Although she doesn't want to, she draws her sword.

She says, "I don't know what is happening to you, but I'm going to defend myself."

"That's right. . .," he grins. "just what I wanted."

"Wow. . .," someone boringly remarks from above. It's Lucy in her Angelus Frame and she's carrying something in her arms covered with shiny black silk. "You guys killed Carmilla, huh?"

"Lady Lucy!" Nisha immediately bows.

"Oh, Lucy!" Kai chuckles. "Glad to see—"

"Shut up," Lucy says, healing him instantly as she descends.

**

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*Gasp*

What happened?! Why is Lucy here? How did Carmilla die? Why is there a silver knife on her forehead? There is too much to ask that I can't choose the most important one.

"Lucy?" is the only question I could ask.

"Here, take this," she says, handing me something covered in fabric. "Be gentle. She's sleeping."

Wait, this is. . . a baby. Her pinkish face is surrounded by black fabric as she sleeps. Her cheeks are fat, her eyelashes are long, and has three short horns on her forehead. *Sniff* And she smells nice. This is the first time I held a baby. Feels kinda nice at the same time scary because I've been told babies are very fragile. If I'm not careful, I could hurt her.

"Whose baby is this?" I ask.

"Yours, of course."

"WHAT?!!" I exclaim together with Nisha.

I say, "But that's impossible! You and I. . . had—"

She laughs at my face. "What an absurd suggestion. No, you silly. She's your and Queen Zaori's daughter."

"Our daughter?" I ask, looking at the baby's face. She kinda looks like Zaori.

Oh, I remember that time when I left. We. . . did that "thing".

Anyway, "Why bring her all the way here?" I ask.

"You're gonna raise her, of course."

"Raise her?! I don't even know how! And I'm on a dangerous journey!"

"If we're talking about 'danger', Her Majesty has it the hardest. You might not know but there is always an attempt to assassinate her. I even had to organize very tight security to hide her maternity. I want to raise the little babe myself but she will not be safe with me as well. After all, she's a weakness that our enemies would love to exploit. That's the reason why we agreed to never have any children until you came around."

"Why me?"

"Yeah, why you? Probably because you're the last Anthropa in Shannia. Her Majesty wants more of your kind to defeat the Angeli. However, your daughter is half-Anthropa and half-Daemon. We don't know if she'll ever be useful against the Angeli. There have been no accounts in history of this living breed because this kind of offspring always died at birth. But Queen Zaori spent all of her power to keep your child alive. Now, she's resting and I have to get back there as soon as possible. And by the way, good job in ending this little nuisance in our backyard." She's kicking Carmilla's dead body to check. "Yup, she kicked the bucket. That's one good news to tell Queen Zaori."

How did Carmilla die? Who stabbed her with that silver knife?

There is a lot to take in right after the mess that has happened here, however, "I understand but I don't think I'm cut out for this kind of thing."

"It's called raising a baby."

"I know, but—"

"Good," she nods.

"Wait, what?"

She summons something looking like a baby bottle that looks ancient with intricate wooden carvings around it. She gives it to me.

"The milk in this bottle is good for three years. After that, you can feed her regular food but I'm not sure which food she'll prefer. Daemon or Anthropa? Well, you'll figure it out." She grins annoyingly wide. "Don't return to the Rave Kingdom. Keep her existence a secret. And finally, Her Majesty gives you the right to name her. Give her a good name, okay?"

"She doesn't have a name yet?" I ask. With a gust of wind, she takes flight. "Hey!" She's already far away from the dark sky.

This is not good. No doubt I'm gonna run into trouble soon and I have to keep this baby safe.

"So," says Nisha with a soft voice. Her head bowed down. "is this the princess?"

Since Zaori is the Queen, "I think so."

"Can I hold her?"

"Go ahead."

I give the baby to her and I'm quite worried because she's sniffing her face. "She has both Daemon and Anthropa blood. She's so pretty!" she giggles. "What do you want to name her?"

"I don't know." I don't have any idea so, instead, "What do 'you' want to name her?"

"Me? She's your daughter, you should name her."

"I don't know a name that—"

"Helena," she says, smiling as she holds the baby closer to her face.

Well, so much for that "She's your daughter, you should name her".

"Okay," I say. "her name will be Helena."

She smiles, cradling Helena. "What should we do now?"

"Let's find a place to rest and talk."

"Talk about what?"

"Anything. I feel it's the right thing to do for now."

For a moment, she gives it a thought. "Alright, then." Then she looks at Carmilla's carcass. There is an underlying sadness written on her face. "What should we do with her?"

"I don't wanna do anything with her," I say coldly, hoping that it will change her attitude. Carmilla was the enemy, after all. It is right that she died.

"You're a Frame User, right? Maybe you can take her Frame and learn new things."

I'd rather not look into Carmilla's life. I don't even need to do that to know the atrocities she has done throughout her lifetime. Nevertheless, Nisha is right. Carmilla might have things I need to know if I want to get stronger. Plus, I think her Frame has some cool abilities since she was the Vampire Queen. So, eventually, I take her Frame but keep it in my inventory for now. I'll look into it later.

I lead the way and keep my senses sharp. This is weird, why am I so scared? Is this my paternal instinct kicking in? A thing like this exists in this world too? I don't like it one bit.

We reach the shore and sit around a fire I started using magic and flammable scraps I could find. The wind is still cold and Nisha knows that. She holds Helena closer to the fire to get all the warmth. Meanwhile, I eat to replenish the energy and blood I lost from that whole fight. Then I notice her staring at the fire, deep in thought.

"I can't believe he's gone," she says, talking about Algron.

"Yeah, me too. He was a good man." I think I should tell her everything I know. "She cared for you a lot, you know as if you're his little sister."

"He did?"

"Yeah. And he even told me to take care of you before he died."

"Oh. . ." She's out of words, taking those words meaningfully.

"And I'm gonna honor it. I will take care of you, Nisha."

Her eyes widen in surprise as she stares at me. I recall what I said and. . . the heck? I can't believe what I just said! She misunderstood!

Hesitantly, I say, "Uhm. . . I'm just. . . I will fulfill his last wish even though it looks like I can't. I'll do what I can."

She's stronger than me and it should be me that needs protecting. I'm dead by now if not for the people around me and that includes her. Well, that's another reason why I should focus on getting stronger. I have to protect her and Helena. *Sigh* Things just got harder.

"So," I speak. "about the Eternal Blood Chalice. You told me that it can be found at the Edge of Shannia."

"That's right," she answers, tired.

"Then that means we'll—"

"Do the Divine Trinity Quest."

"Yeah, so. . . are you in?"