Not knowing what was coming at him, Richard ate voraciously after getting back home. Ki usage depleted the energy of the body and required food consumption that was equivalent to it.

It also meant that strong warriors couldn’t fill up from weak animals and plants. Every warrior needed a diet of animals and plants filled with Ki or they would be unable to function on an optimum level.

The animals hunted by Noah and Richard were put to good use, their skin, claws and fangs utilized for weapons and armor while the meat was used as food.

The Fire fox was filled with strong life force, so it was good enough for people at the Ki refining stage. Noah hadn’t used much energy during the day so he was fine with it as well.

After eating, Richard sat down with Rex. He checked his body for any cuts or issues one more time. With all the work done, Richard felt really tired but it definitely helped him to cope with his emotional problem.

Nonetheless, sitting alone at night only reminded him of their absence. He tapped his pants multiple times unconsciously to check his phone.

Rachel would always call him when he was late or just to hear his voice. She was the only woman that had loved him in a true sense.

She had taken interest in the cold block of ice and unearthed the warmth inside. From a young age, Richard lacked understanding of emotions and didn’t feel like others.

He felt awkward and weird because of it, so he copied others. His emotions were limited to his parents and siblings.

Richard worked hard to fix that issue by manually thinking about others and increasing interactions. It only made a minor change while the big changes came with Rachel.

He still didn’t understand what she found in him.

He understood that love was like that, it just happened but still.

He knew why he loved her, it was her shining persona that made life interesting and made him understand love.

‘I am sorry that you have to suffer so much because of me.’ Richard felt pained knowing that Rachel would be devastated.

She was a very emotional person and had a very high level of attachment to Richard. He knew she would blame herself.

‘I know that it will be hard, but I know you will be strong for our child. I believe in you.’ Richard made a sad smile as he covered his face with his hands.

‘You always said that the child would help lessen your loneliness caused by the distance between us. I am sorry that it has been put to the ultimate test, but I know you will pass like always.

You are a strong girl. You are an intelligent girl, my girl.’ Richard felt a tear and stood up to avoid getting emotional.

He decided not to think much about home for awhile to avoid such episodes. He would come back to them once he built a path in Pandora.

Richard fell asleep beside Rex and had a weird dream. He was sitting on the sofa inside his villa when two demons arrived.

The red one was wide and buff while the blue one was slim and tall. Richard let them enter his house and sat down with them.

Rachel and his parent’s were also sitting near him. In the dream the creatures towered over him and spoke unknown things.

Richard felt immense pressure and fear from the creatures. He was subdued and couldn’t even move while the evil looking creatures continued to stare at him.

It was a weird dream and suddenly, Richard felt like he was falling from a skyscraper and woke up.

Richard heard the excited voices of Noah and Lala while reeling from the dream of falling to his death.

He couldn’t really remember clearly the demon dream but knew it meant something. Richard believed that dreams had a meaning.

Sometimes it was just the body giving shape to the functions taking place inside. It could be made from memories and things that the person was thinking about.

But, there were times when the dreams showed what could take place. Richard had such dreams once or twice where he dreamt of the next day, and felt déjà vu.

Sometimes it was easy to guess what the dream could mean and there were times, it was just too vague.

Then there were the scary encounters with the shadows, also called the sleep paralysis. It was the state where the body was still half asleep. The mental function was on normal while the rest was still in a dream, so the body was unable to move and the person saw scary apparitions.

Richard also had such encounters and still found them scary, because of the paralysis issue.

Getting back to the dream, the demons in the dream most likely represented his fears and worries that were overpowering him within.

Richard didn’t care about the dream and turned to his parent’s as they walked towards him. Seeing their happy expressions, Richard also felt happy for them.

“What happened, did father breakthrough?” Richard cleared his eyes and stood up while still feeling extremely sleepy. He yawned after asking.

“Better, Lord Charles wants you to marry Rosalina.” Lala replied as she hugged Richard and kissed his cheeks.

She was overjoyed for her son. He was going to climb the ladder and get a better life.

Noah also agreed to that sentiment and was actually smiling.

Richard was shocked by those words and closed his eyes before opening them again.

“Really?”

“Yes my boy, Charles wants us to become a family. What are you looking confused about, show some happiness.” Noah replied as he hugged them both and gave Richard a slap on his back.

Looking at their blissful expressions, Richard knew they would feel betrayed and angry with his denial.

“That is great, but can we marry later. After 8 years, should be fine. Rosalina is just a child in my eyes, so I can’t really do this now.” Richard managed after a short moment. He was careful about his tone and body language.

He was obviously not going to marry Rosalina or anyone else. He was married already and that was it. Richard didn’t deny polygamy, but it was not for him or for most people.

He was satisfied with Rachel.

Even without Rachel, marriage and romance would never enter his mind until someone reminded him.

His words broke them out of their fantasy and reminded them of the cruel reality. Their son was an alien.

“Do you understand what you are saying? Lord Charles isn’t some farmer, boy. You are in this world and you are our son, and you will marry Rosalina.” Noah separated Lala from them and placed his paws on Richard’s shoulder, pressing them hard.

Richard felt the pain and the pressure from the gaze. There was anger in that gaze and if he said another wrong word, he was going to fly the Knuckle Sandwich airlines.

Richard gulped and licked his lips as he stared back. He could feel his instincts telling him to back down.

He felt like running away in the night but that would be a stupid move. Noah would hunt him down very easily.

“Fine, but I am not fucking her.” Richard responded as he found a way out. He wasn’t going to take the marriage seriously. He wouldn’t sleep with the kid and once he was strong enough, he will get Rosalina a real husband.

“That’s not a problem. Lord Charles wants you to wait until you are 20 years old. Your child will have more power that way… Now, I don’t want to hear any denial anymore. If you mess this up, I will break your limbs.

Remember what you said, you are our son. So, act like it.” Noah spoke coldly as he held Richard’s jaw and shook him.

It was a scary experience.

Happiness was crushed by the boy so Noah walked away with heavy steps. It seems like the man was a curse on the family since his arrival.

He had made them stressed and invited problems when they had been living a comfortable life.

Noah left while Lala stayed for a while.

“Don’t worry, your father will understand. Remember my words, and don’t be cruel towards Rosalina.” Lala patted his head.

They both knew that he was married but to them it didn’t matter. Rachel was in another world. Richard was their son and they wanted to see him with a wife. They wanted to see children before their death.

Life was unexpected, so death could happen anytime.

Leaving Richard to his new worries, Rosalina wasn’t having a good time either. She was a 12 years old girl with grand dreams, becoming a duchess.

Of course that was too outlandish, so she was fine being a baroness. Unlike her flame like brother, she was calm and collected. She didn’t like fighting and the training.

She was happy with learning academics and noble activities.

Even though she was 12, Rosalina looked like she was 16 to 17. People matured faster and even their bodies followed through, especially with Ki helping out.

Rosalina wasn’t strong as Lance, but she had also gone through the same training. Charles wouldn’t allow weakness.

Getting back to the problem, Rosalina also didn’t want to marry.

“Father, I don’t believe that Richard is worthy of such an honor. We definitely have better alternatives. One of the Knight’s heirs should be possible and if we wait, we can get a link to a Baron.” Rosalina argued in a calm manner.

She knew her father very well. Charles was friendly but he was very crafty and took steps to achieve his dreams.

Emotions wouldn’t work on him, logic was required.

She had learned her lesson years ago where she had been slapped senseless.

Charles was sitting at the head of the table in the dining room where he had shared the news. Lance was going through the implications in his mind while Rose wasn’t happy with it.

Charles wife Angelina was also questioning the decision. She was a beautiful woman from the Knight’s house in Hymn village, the reason for their strong support.

Angelina had long brown hair and green eyes. She wore a white dress that came to her feet and had some leather slippers.

She was adorned with golden accessories that made her even more attractive. To many people she would look like a pretty vase, and they would be very wrong.

Angelina was a partner to Charles, one of the strategic minds so she knew his plans. She was aware of Noah’s importance but giving up on better link seemed illogical.

“We don’t have the time to worry about such possibilities. People have started to move, so we need a strong assurance. With this marriage, Noah will treat this like a family issue. And, Richard isn’t so bad. He is much better than the son’s of other Knights, besides you won’t have to leave the village this way.

In addition, Richard will join the family. Therefore, with his potential we will have more pieces to utilize.” Charles explained so there was no confusion in the family. Unlike his father, Charles wanted all of them to move together.

His father Edward was close to his fifties, but still looked very much fit and was a strong piece.

Listening to his words, everyone was alarmed as they understood that danger was approaching them.

Angelina understood and agreed to his actions while Rosalina still wanted to argue. She really didn’t want to marry someone lower than her family.

“But, father…” Rosalina was unable to stop herself from sounding like a child whining about the unfairness of it all.

“Sit down and eat, your marriage is final. You will listen to Richard and follow him. This is for the benefit of the family.” Charles muttered in a cold authoritative tone that caused the little girl to shiver and sit down. She wanted to cry but that would have made it worse.

To Charles the marriage was a compromise that he had to make due to circumstances.

Lance looked at his sister and remained quite. There was helping the situation. He just needed to make sure that Richard always remembered his place.

With that topic out of the way, the family finished the dinner and the children went to sleep while the adults discussed about the problems on the way.

Rosalina was unable to sleep and cried into her pillow.