Konarot remained deep in thought as she stared at the board before her. This time, Jarot had decided to py dragon chess with her. The one armed Iyrman’s py was slow against her, taking his time thinking about moving the pieces, and also moving the pieces themselves.

  Konarot held her , hiding her lip, the way her baba did. Her eyes sed the battlefield on the board. Her greatfather pyed differently to Tohe old man makihan optimal moves, allowio press forward, though he was still an adult who had pyed at least a hundred games, and so didn’t make it too easy for the girl.

  “Which piece would you like to move?” Jarot asked.

  “The priest,” Konarot said, pointing to the priest and then to where she wants to put it.

  “It is a good move to make, but will it be protected?” Jarot asked.

  “Knight protect,” Konarot said.

  Jarot grinned wide. “My greatdaughter is so smart! Hmm! babo threaten the priest?”

  “Yes,” the girl said, pointing to the knight on his board.

  “So I will take your priest with my knight and you take my knight?”

  Konarot nodded and reached for her piece, while Jarot reached for her hair to brush it behind her head.

  “You will lose your priest and I will lose my knight, but which is more important?” Jarot asked, brushing the girl’s cheek, feeling how cool her skin was pared to her younger siblings.

  Konarot pced down the pied looked up towards her greatfather, furrowing her brows in thought. “Which?”

  “There are four knights and two priests. If I lose one knight, I have three knights. If you lose one priest, there is one priest left. I will have many knights, but you will only have one priest.” Jarot took the priest with his knight, before the girl used her knight to take his knight. “It is a better trade for me.”

  The girl pced her finger over her mouth once more, falling bato thought. “It is bad trade?”

  “It is not a good trade, but my greatdaughter ake bad trades!” Jarot replied, ruffling her hair before brushing her forehead with his thumb tenderly.

  Konarot’s lips formed a shy smile, squirming slightly against his touch, befiving in with her head, allowing him to rub her head. When they had first met, the girl had been so aggressive towards him, ready to fight him, but now she was so meek at his toubsp;

  “You are spoilioo much,” Mulrot called, holding a sleepy Jirot and Jarot within her arms. Upon seeing their grandfather, the waking children smiled, rubbing their eyes lightly. They waited to be dropped so they could go and hug their greatfather’s side.

  “This ot be true, I am their greatfather!” His lips formed a wild grin before he pulled the sleepy twins against himself.

  “Babo!” Jirot called, with little Jarot calling for him a moment ter.

  “Did you miss yreatfather?”

  “No!” the pair replied before cag.

  “Hmph!” Jarot replied before brushing their hair, allowing them to settle themselves on his p. “Where is my Larot?”

  “Sleeping peacefully.”

  “Who ot sleep peacefully within the Iyr?” Jarot almost cackled, before noting Kirot and Karot had approached, awaiting his affe. He reached out to rub their heads and their hair too.

  “Babo! You are pying chess?” Jirot asked, leaning over his arm, her eyes squinting towards the pieces.

  “Yes.”

  “I am pying too.”

  “Okay, you may py,” Jarot replied, watg the girl as she picked up the piebsp;

  “This is priest?” the girl asked, pig up the piebsp;

  “Yes.”

  “Is Suh Vonda?”

  “Perhaps it is?”

  “Hmmm.” Jirot stared at the board but then clutched the priest in hand. “Suh Vonda is pying with me now.”

  “I see.”

  “Lucy?” Little Jarot asked, pig up a soldier piebsp;

  “Perhaps it is?”

  Little Jarot blinked, before clutg the piece tight in hand. “ying now.”

  “I see…” The older Jarot smiled. “Konarot, I will withdraw this time.”

  “I win?” Konarot asked, her brows raising almost to her horns.

  “Yes.”

  Konarot let out a satisfied snort. “Yes.” She hopped off her seat and rushed treatfather’s side, embrag him tight.

  Jarot returhe embrace, allowing his greatchildren to pletely drown him in their affe. His heart melted within his chest, ahought about going to sy another dragon for them.

  Jirot and Jarot slipped away to py with the dragonchess board pieces, and Karot followed after them. Konarot and Kirot abaheir greatfather soon after to py too.

  Mulrned herself beside her husband, p him warm tea. “Will Jurot return with a child?”

  “It is Adam who will return with another child,” the old man replied, chug lightly.

  “That does not o be said,” Mulrot joked. “How many children will he bring?”

  “It should be at least four, so that I have techildren,” Jarot said.

  “I will bet less than four.”

  Jarot grinned wide. “Okay.”

  There were two things one could bet on Adam for. Trouble and children. The bets for trouble were too easy, so now the bets have bee about the children, and the new children Adam would bring back.

  ‘What kind of trouble will you cause this year?’ the old Iyrman thought.

  ‘Quite the order,’ Adam thought as the pair rode back from their meeting with the Duchess. ‘It’s not like we had brought gifts to meet her, so it’s a pretty solid order. We should ent something small as a gift once we’re doh her order.’

  Kitool decided against asking Adam what he was thinking about, leaving the young man to his thoughts while there were still ears glued to their versation. Her eyes fell to Sir Vonda, who remained eerily silent.

  ‘…’ Vonda’s thoughts were focused on a sihought, the thought which had pgued her for some time. She pushed away the thought, leaning back to notice Adam was once more thinking deeply.

  “What trouble are you thinking of now?” Vonda joked, before her brows raised in arm at her own words.

  “I’m just thinking about how the business should reward the Duchess for her patronage,” Adam replied. ‘Plus, there’s so much more to do this year when it es to enting.’

  “The Duchess will surely appreciate whatever the Enter will do.”

  “Yeah,” Adam replied, cutting himself off from saying any more.

  “…”

  “What’s wrong?” Adam asked, his eyes falling over Vonda. She seemed to be taken by her thoughts stantly, something Adam wasn’t used to.

  “…” Vonda remained silent for a long moment, before inhaling deeply. “Will you both assist me tomorrow m?”

  “Sure,” Adam replied, gng over to Kitool, who bowed her head. “What do you o do?”

  “I wish to meet my family.”

  “The Eastkes?”

  Vonda nodded, her eyes staring through the carriage, looking off to aime.

  Adam tried to recall what he knew of the Eastke family, but realised hadn’t heard much from the woman herself. ‘It’s not like I give her enough time to talk about her family when I’m always droning on about mine…’ Although Adam’s joke ran through his mind, he could feel the heaviness within the air.

  When they finally returo the guild, Adam slumped within the er, letting out a soft sigh. He rubbed his stomach, remembering the taste of all the desserts and cheese he had ed within the Duchess’ estate. ‘All those cakes, man. How is she not fat? Does she have her own gym or something?’

  “You’ve returned,” Dunes called, noting the young half elf in the er as he returned from his own business. “Did you enjoy yourself?”

  “ime I’ll try and take you with me,” Adam said. “She has someone from Aswadasad who makes desserts and they’re so good.”

  “Do they sprinkle uts across the cakes and call them Aswadian?” Dunes replied, taking his pce opposite Adam.

  “No, no, well, yes, but they have legitimate desserts too, apparently. There’s this thick, dense, dessert with ut fkes all across the cake. It’s messy, got some kind of syrup, but damn, it’s so good.”

  “Kalum?”

  “Whatever it is, it’s delicious,” Adam said, trying not to drool.

  “One day, wheravel through Aswadasad, I will take you to the Dakun Manzil, and there you will see what Aswadasad truly offer.”

  “Dakun Manzil? That’s the…”

  “The Great House.”

  “That’s the one.” Adam slowly nodded his head. “One day we’ll pass through Aswadasad and we head to the Dakun Manzil. I’ve heard only good things about it.”

  “It is a pce which treachery dares not to step foot within,” Dunes said, almost smiling. “When we go, I will pay for drinks.”

  “Pay for drinks? Pay for the dessert!”

  Dunes chuckled. “You pay for the dessert, since you will eat so much.”

  “They’re that good?”

  Dunes bowed his head gently. “You will see whether I speak any lies.”

  “My expectations have been raised.”

  Dunes chuckled once more. His eyes fell across the rest of the party, before he leaned in. “How did the business with the Duchess go?”

  “Well enough,” Adam replied. “She made quite the order.”

  Dunes raised his brows.

  “I’ll tell you aime,” Adam said, gng around the guild, where people were no doubt pretending not to listen. ‘I hope we head back soon.’ His eyes theo Vonda, who had yet to tell them what she really needed help with.

  What's this? Time for the side characters?