"Love?" Adeline asked in a stunned voice.
Raphael laughed and teased Zach. "Don't tell you fell in love, Zach. You're just a baby!"
"I'm not talking about !" Zach defended himself, but he turned red even when he was not the one who had fallen in love. To save himself from being further embarrassed by his uncle, he pointed at the culprits and shouted, "I'm talking about them!"
Everyone at the table turned their gazes to look at the people whom Zach was pointing at.
"Ramon?" Nigel exclaid, and so did Adeline. "Ariel?"
Ariel covered her face in embarrassnt while Ramon looked daggers at Zach. "Zach! What are you blabbing on about?"
"Am I wrong?" Zach cheekily folded his arms as if he was challenging Ramon to deny him.
Ramon inhaled deeply to scold Zach, but he controlled his bubbling anger and sighed. "Well… he is not wrong." He looked at his shocked parents and since he had already given it a thought, he revealed what was in his heart. "I found soone I would like to spend the rest of my life with."
"You did?" Rhea's jaw was wide open and so were her eyes.
Nigel was also surprised, but more than that, he was happy for his son. "Who's the lucky lady?"
"Her na is Grace. She is Prince Kenneth's cousin." He shifted his gaze between his father and his mother, trying to figure out if they were happy or if they would oppose his choice. To his relief, Nigel got up from his seat and attacked him with a tight hug.
"Congratulations, son! I had always thought we would need to find prospective brides for you, but you found her yourself."
Ramon frowned and pouted. "Wait, you thought I wasn't capable of finding soone myself?"
The hall filled with laughter after Ramon said that.
Nigel also laughed and playfully ruffled his son's hair. "Can you bla ? You had never shown any interest in won until now. You're busy fighting with your sister and running around with your cousins. So, I'm happy to hear that my hopeless son fell for soone."
"By the way, does she also feel the sa way about you or is it one-sided?" Rhea asked with curiosity.
"The feeling is mutual." Ramon smiled with pride.
Rhea clapped her hands in excitent. "That's even wonderful!"
While everyone was celebrating Ramon's happiness, Ariel felt relieved that Ramon was the center of attention and not her. She didn't want to be teased by her uncles and aunties because she knew her face would turn redder than the ripe tomatoes.
However, just when Ariel thought that she was safely off the hook, her mother looked at her with unquenched curiosity. "So, Ariel, would you like to say sothing too? I believe Zach had also pointed at you. Did sothing happen during the trip?"
Adeline's gaze subconsciously lingered on Damien, her eyes trying to detect any change in the young lad's expression.
Ariel, on the other hand, glared at Zach with disdain and stuttered, "Umm… I j-just realized that I f-forgot sothing." She quickly got up on her feet and said while crossing the hall, "I'm going to check on Herbert and Arion."
"Ariel! Get back here! You are blushing so, sothing is definitely up!" Raphael shouted from behind, but that made Ariel pick up her pace and vanish from their sight.
Ariel didn't stop running until she reached the extravagant stable where Arion lived these days.
"Ariel! Is that you?" Arion happily greeted her, rubbing his head on hers and neighing.
Ariel felt calm in Arion's company. At least, no one was pestering her here. "I'm back. How have you been, Arion? And where's Herbert?" She darted her eyes around but didn't see her familiar.
"I'm doing good now that Herbert isn't a pain in my arse anymore," Arion casually answered and sat down.
A flicker of panic rushed through Ariel's eyes. "What do you an? Did sothing happen to Herbert? Did he run away by any chance?" She also thought that Herbert was a little too much to handle at tis but she hated the idea of not seeing him again.
"No, he didn't run away. Relax." Arion pointed his muzzle towards the window at the back and said, "He must be lurking around in the forest. He heard that you were back and said he wanted to prepare sothing to welco you."
"He wanted to prepare sothing for ?" Ariel raised her brows, surprised that the baby she left in Arion's care was sohow behaving maturely. "It looks like you trained him well, huh?"
"I only gave him a few lectures. He was surprisingly attentive when I scared him a little saying that you would abandon him if he kept misbehaving." Arion snickered as if admiring himself.
"Oh, Arion! You shouldn't have scared the poor baby." Ariel silently hoped that Herbert didn't actually think that she would abandon him.
She waited for Herbert for a couple of minutes, chatting with Arion as she waited. However, she felt restless in Herbert's absence. "I think I will go look for him. I will find you later, Arion." She rushed towards the forest like a gust of wind.
She didn't have to go far to see Herbert. He was picking wildflowers of different varieties.
"Herbert! There you are." Ariel looked at him with a wide grin on her face.
Herbert's boyish face instantly lit up upon seeing his master. "Ariel!" He ran to her side, his hands behind his back. "Why are you here?"
Ariel subconsciously patted Herbert's head and replied, "I ca to find you of course."
"You ca here to find specifically?" Herbert sounded surprised.
"Yes." Ariel smiled. "Is it that hard to believe?"
The poor boy innocently nodded his head. "Since I had been nothing but rude to you and your friends, I thought you would still be angry with ." He brought his hands to the front, revealing the flowers he was hiding. "That's why I ca here to pick flowers. I thought it would make you less angry at ."
"Oh my goodness!" Ariel suddenly pulled Herbert into a tight hug, her eyes full of tears. "I'm so sorry that I made you feel unwanted, Herbert. That was never my intention. I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at myself for leaving you alone when I was busy roaming all around. I'm so sorry for getting mad at you, Herb."
Herbert's pointy ears drooped. He felt strange and new emotions in his chest. A few drops of tears trickled down his big baby eyes. And he confessed while sniffling and hiccupping, "I was so hurt when you left here. And I was afraid that you would kick out once you returned."
"I'm sorry I made you feel that way." Ariel's heart ached when she heard that. It hurt her even more when she recalled how Herbert was practically a baby with no experience around real people. The only interaction he probably ever had was with her grandparents, so naturally, he didn't understand how to behave in front of people on earth.
She gently caressed Herbert's head. "I promise I will never do that again. I will always cherish you and our bond. So, you don't have to feel insecure. I would never kick you out or think of severing bonds with you. So, do you forgive ?"
"Yes." Herbert pulled away from the hug and wiped his tears with his long sleeve. He then presented the flowers he had gathered. "Forgive too, okay? I will not be rude anymore."
"Okay." Ariel accepted the flowers with a happy smile. "Follow . I've brought sothing for you." Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire
"A gift?" Herbert's ears suddenly perked up, and his eyes lit up.
Ariel laughed at Herbert's sudden change in mood. "Yes, a gift."
As Herbert followed her to her quarter, she made a promise to herself. 'I will teach him about the way of life on earth and turn him into a respectable being.'
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