Chapter 119: Baron Vance

Her lower lip began to tremble again.

She couldn’t help it.

The logic was there, but the emotional trauma was raw.

"I didn’t keep him away fast enough," Seraphina whimpered, her voice cracking as fresh, hot tears welled in her dark eyes. She looked down at the handsome Baron, her face crumpling into an expression of pure, heartbreaking misery. "I’m sorry, Mr. Baron. I was right there. I was in the cage with Leo. But I was scared the clown would see my magic. If I had just been braver faster, Leo wouldn’t have gotten bitten."

"I let him get hurt. I’m so sorry."

She buried her face into Kaelus’s shoulder, softly sobbing, unable to look the father in the eye. But Baron Vance did not look angry or resentful.

Elian Vance looked devastated by her words.

He reached out, his movements incredibly slow and gentle, and lightly rested his large, warm hand over Seraphina’s tiny, trembling fingers where they gripped Kaelus’s shirt.

"Oh, you sweet, brave, foolish little child," Elian whispered, his voice thick with tears.

Seraphina sniffled, slowly turning her head to peek out from Kaelus’s shoulder.

The Baron was looking at her with a gentle, fierce compassion that radiated warmth.

"Look at me, Lady Seraphina," Elian said softly, waiting until her teary, dark eyes met his emerald ones. "You are only a child. A tiny, precious child. It is the fundamental law of the universe that children are meant to be protected. It is never, under any circumstances, the responsibility of a six-year-old girl to shield another child from a monster."

He squeezed her hand gently, his thumb brushing over her knuckles.

"You did not let my son get hurt," Elian stated, his voice ringing with unwavering conviction. "A demon chose to hurt him. And I, as his father, failed to protect him from being stolen from the market. The guards failed to secure the city. The adults failed to find you all soon enough. But you, my little lady... you stood up in the dark, when every grown man in this city was blind to the danger, and you held the line until the Vanguard arrived. You are the only reason my Leo is breathing today. There is no apology to be made. Only my eternal, undying gratitude."

The earnest warmth of his words washed over Seraphina like a soothing, magical balm. It didn’t just target the logical part of her brain; it targeted the emotional wound she suffered, stitching it closed with pure, fatherly kindness.

She stared at his face.

She stared at the genuine, glistening tears in his emerald eyes, looked at his perfect, angelic jawline.

Her tears stopped.

Her adult mind, having successfully processed the emotional closure, hilariously rebounded back to its previous, shallow crisis.

’He is so nice,’ Seraphina thought, her eyes widening slightly, staring blankly at his handsome face. ’He is emotionally available, incredibly handsome, and possesses high-tier communication skills. He is literally a walking green flag. Papa Duke, you need to take notes. This man is a threat to my sanity!’

Seraphina sniffled one last time, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. She continued to stare at Baron Vance in utter, spellbound, slightly stunned silence.

Kaelus, holding her against his chest, noticed the abrupt cessation of her tears. He looked down.

He saw Seraphina staring at the kneeling Baron, saw the slightly glazed, wide-eyed, completely mesmerized look on her small face.

The Archduke of the North possessed an intellect capable of unraveling century-old political conspiracies. It took him exactly two seconds to recognize the expression on his daughter’s face.

It was the exact same expression she had worn when Marquess Julian Myer had first stepped onto the balcony at The Golden Stag.

It was the expression of a child being entirely, shamelessly distracted by a pretty face.

An incredibly dry, exasperated sigh escaped Kaelus’s lips.

’She is doing it again,’ Kaelus thought, the terrifying Reaper of the North feeling a sudden, ridiculous pang of petty, competitive dad-jealousy. ’She dropped her cake for Julian, and now she is stopping her tears for the Baron. Does she possess zero aesthetic loyalty? I am the one holding her! I am objectively terrifying and magnificent! Why does she keep swooning over these soft, Southern dandies?!’

Kaelus subtly shifted his weight, gently but firmly turning his torso just a fraction of an inch, breaking Seraphina’s line of sight with the handsome Baron.

"The Lady accepts your gratitude, Baron Vance," Kaelus rumbled, his voice dropping an octave, carrying a faint, warning edge of territoriality. "But she is exhausted. She requires mundane, boring, completely unstimulating rest."

Elian Vance, possessing his own sharp intellect, blinked.

He looked at Kaelus’s stiff posture, the subtle way the Archduke had angled the child away from him.

The Baron’s lips twitched.

A slow, knowing, incredibly amused smile spread across his handsome face.

"Of course, Your Grace," Elian chuckled softly, standing up and brushing the dust from his velvet knee. "I would never wish to overstimulate the Young Lady. I am simply relieved to see her recovering well. We have been waiting anxiously for her to wake."

Seraphina, annoyed that her view had been blocked, leaned around Kaelus’s shoulder to look back at Elian.

"We?" Seraphina asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Ah, yes," Elian smiled warmly, his emerald eyes crinkling at the corners. "I am not the only Vance currently occupying the Emerald Crown. My eldest son, Cedric, was at our country estate when Leo was taken from the market. The moment the magic towers relayed the news of the rescue, Cedric rode a horse half to death to reach the city. He arrived an hour ago, completely frantic."

Elian glanced toward the heavy oak doors of the dining room.

"He is currently pacing a trench into the floorboards in the hallway," Elian laughed softly, shaking his head. "He refused to enter until he was certain Leo was stable, and he has been begging the Bastion guards for permission to properly thank the ’tiny hero’ who saved his little brother."