Chapter 3753: Third Place (Part 2) "Are you sure?" Orion looked unconvinced. "Are you really sure that three consecutive das don’t mean dad?" "After the d-word surprise, no." Jirni had to admit. "I’m your big brother, Morok." Morok said, ignoring Orion’s grievances. "Say Morok." ’I swear to the gods, if she says Morok as her second word, I’m going to kill someone. I don’t know who, but someone is going to die.’ Orion inwardly snarled. "Da wah!" Dripha said with a smile. "Not even close, but thank you for trying." Morok tickled the baby girl, who laughed in joy. "Can I play with her later?" "You don’t even have to ask." Jirni replied. "Much to many people’s chagrin, you are Dripha’s favorite uncle." Lucky snarled at the Tyrant to underline the concept. "Really?" Morok lit up with joy. "See you later, pumpkin. Your Dad, big sister, and I are on a mission today." "See you soon, baby girl." Orion hugged and kissed the baby girl. "Daddy will come back soon, but he misses you already." "Dada!" Dripha said, extending her little arms as soon as Orion stepped away from her crib. "She said dada! Congratulations." Morok patted Orion’s shoulder, whose knees were wobbling and his eyes watery. "Nonsense. That’s just da said twice and quickly. She has no idea what dada means-" "Dada!" Dripha called again, staring at Orion. "What did you say, baby girl?" He leaned heavily against the crib, needing sheer willpower not to stumble. "Dada!" Dripha smiled and extended her little arms until Orion picked her up. "I’m sorry, can you tell Quylla I need a bit longer to prepare?" Orion stood frozen like a statue. His voice was steady, but he kept his face turned so that no one could see it. "I’ll come to you as soon as I’m ready." "Take your time." Morok looked at his pocket watch and pretended to be late for something. "Oh, gods! I’ve got to run! It’s time for Quylla’s twelfth morning snack and third bowel movement. You know she gets cranky when she’s hungry." "She’s always cranky of late." Jirni opened the door and nodded a thank you at Morok as he bolted out of the room. "Dada! Dada!" Dripha kept saying as Jirni moved a chair for Orion to sit. "Yes, baby girl. I’m your dad." He held the baby girl to his chest, feeling his heart swell with joy and tearing up for the void left by Phloria’s death at the same time. It had been a long time since Orion had heard a small voice calling him like that, but it felt like yesterday to him. His feet refused to move away from the crib while his blade, Grimlock, begged the Mad Queen to come back from the dead so that it could slay her. "Dada!" "Congratulations, dear. Another daddy’s girl." Jirni smiled softly. "I am so happy for you that I could cry." Despite her words, her voice was warm but steady. "Thanks, my love." Orion allowed himself to sniffle. "I’m sorry for you. I’ll work hard to make sure that Dripha says mom next instead of Morok." ’This does it!’ Jirni inwardly roared. ’All those months carrying her in my womb, all the fear and preparations against the Gernoff, and I get third place in Dripha’s heart after an exclamation and Orion? If Dripha doesn’t say Morok first, of course. ’I don’t know who or how, but I need to kill someone. Someone must die to relieve my anger!’ *** "Dripha said dada?" Quylla was flabbergasted. "Yep. Heard it with my own ears." Morok nodded. "Multiple times." "I don’t know whether to be more impressed or scared by how fast my little sister is learning to talk." Quylla ate her fourteenth morning snack and could feel the fourth bowel movement coming. "I hope you don’t mind waiting a bit." Morok said, refilling her plate with bagels with cream cheese. "Are you kidding me?" She devoured the bagels and licked her fingers. "If one of our babies just called me mama, I’d be on my knees, bawling my eyes out. Anyone who dared interrupt me would die quickly only because I’d want to rush back to our kid." "Let’s make a deal." Morok said. "The baby girl has to say dad first, and the baby boy mom. What do you say?" "That I love the idea, but as we have seen, babies rarely follow a schedule." Quylla chuckled, gesturing for the bathroom. "Well, we can try." Morok lifted her. "I warn you, if they both say mom as their first word, you’ll have to deal with a third Tyrant crying like a baby." "I can manage." She smiled. "But I don’t think it’ll happen. I have the feeling you are going to be an awesome father." *** Half an hour later, Orion knocked on their door. He wore an impeccable high uniform up to the standards for a Royal Parade. His eyes were sharp and his smile warm, without any trace of the previous emotional turmoil. "Sorry for the wait. Let’s go." He said. "No problem, Dad." Quylla replied. "How’s Dripha?" "She’s perfect, like always." Orion’s stern tone contrasted with his words. "It’s your mother I’m worried about. She’s fuming. I already alerted Friya and asked Tulion and Gunyin to come here as soon as possible. "Your mother will need your help too, Little One, or she’s going to kill someone." "First, how can you call me Little One even now that I’m this close to becoming a mother, Dad?" Quylla said. "Second, we are at the Verhen Mansion. There are only friends here, and Mom would never hurt them." "First, you’ll be my Little One even when your children have children and you’ll be this close to becoming a grandma." Orion replied. "Second, once I’ve seen your mother set up a ploy with one hundred pawns just to fetch herself a glass of water. "I wouldn’t be surprised if she lured someone she doesn’t like here just to imprison and torture them to death." "This is not funny, Dad!" She said. "What’s not funny, dear?" Orion looked at her in confusion. "I don’t think he was joking." Morok whispered in her ear, sending a shiver running down Quylla’s spine. *** Under normal circumstances, reaching Cerea would have taken them but a few minutes. The village was located in the Distar Marquisate, and after walking out of the nearest Gate to Cerea, Orion used his DoLorean to cover the rest of the distance. "We are almost there." Quylla recognized the area and opened Tyrant’s eyes on her palms and face to look around. "How can you have so many eyes yet see no further than a human?" "Because they are human eyes." Morok snorted. "Lith’s are bird eyes, instead. Besides, our powers are based on the elements, not on perception." "Bummer." She replied while squinting. Cerea resembled the Lutia from twelve years ago. The core of the village was comprised of a few dozen wooden houses as big as their respective owners could afford, and none of them was made of stone. The local blacksmith had to place his forge in the middle of the room to avoid fires. There were no roads or sidewalks, only solid ground, pebbles, and mud where someone had recently thrown dirty water or emptied their chamber pot.