Chapter 99 [Children are the most troublesome creatures (...)]
When Sylvia was born, Silas stood on the cradle, gazing at her peaceful sleeping face for a long time, feeling his heart melt into a pool of honey.
There is no child more adorable than Sylvia in the world, Silas thought.
Although she inherited neither Mela's red hair nor her deep green eyes, but instead had the same blonde hair and golden eyes as her father, Silas still thought that Sylvia's gold was as sweet as honey.
Of course, Sylvia's incessant crying day and night quickly changed Silas's mind.
It thought with a somewhat gloomy expression that perhaps, as Mela said, Silvia was not a well-behaved and obedient baby.
She was even getting a little annoying.
If things don't go her way, Sylvia will open her small mouth and let out a heart-wrenching cry.
Even though Silas hid far away, on the rooftop, he still couldn't escape the terrifying sound.
However, Sylvia is a very easy child to coax.
As soon as Mela picks her up, she will obediently shut her mouth and gaze steadily at her mother with her beautiful golden eyes.
Unfortunately, Mela's patience with children doesn't last more than fifteen minutes.
Therefore, the task of calming Sylvia down naturally fell to Sylas.
At first, Silas simply stood on the edge of the cradle, letting Sylvia observe it curiously, and Sylvia was content to stay quiet all day.
Later, Sylvia started to push her luck, wanting to hug Silas and spit on his wings. Silas could only look helpless and give up, letting Sylvia do as she pleased, as long as she didn't cry.
Later, Sylvia's interest in Silas waned, so Silas had to rely on toys that Hall brought him to distract her.
However, Silas didn't expect that the real nightmare would finally begin once Sylvia could crawl.
The moment Silas loses his sight, Sylvia will use her powerful arms and legs to quickly climb out of the cradle and head in any direction that interests her.
Sometimes she would crawl under the bed, sometimes under the chair, but the scariest time was when Silas found Sylvia crawling to the edge of the stairs and almost falling off.
Ignoring her screams, Silas swooped down and grabbed Sylvia by the back of her collar, forcefully pulling her back.
Sylvia was unaware that she had just narrowly escaped danger, and thought that Silas was just playing a game with her, so she laughed happily.
They were practically clapping.
Silas sighed, panting, feeling that there was nothing more troublesome than taking care of a child.
Perhaps when Sylvia grows up a few more years, she will naturally become more sensible?
Silas, like every unrealistic elder, fantasized.
The truth is, Sylvia, who can run and jump, has become even more amazing.
Her boundless curiosity drove her to run outside every day, either chasing after cute little deer or squatting in front of rabbit holes, trying to catch a rabbit to play with its long ears.
If that were all, Silas, who had endured so much hardship over the years, would be able to calmly watch Sylvia run wild like an old man in his twilight years.
As long as she doesn't put unfamiliar flowers and plants in her mouth, it's fine.
"Sylvia, what are you doing! Don't you dare eat that thing!"
When Silas saw Sylvia put the obviously poisonous flower to her lips, he couldn't hold back any longer. He screeched and rushed over like an arrow, snatching the flower from Sylvia's hand.
“I just wanted to taste if it tasted the same as the purple cabbage I ate yesterday,” Sylvia said matter-of-factly.
After all, they are all purple.
Little Sylvia is full of a strong desire to explore.
“It’s different…it tastes bitter…” Silas said weakly.
"How did you know?" Sylvia asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
Because... Silas had accidentally wiped his mouth with the pollen-covered wings, and an indescribable bitterness instantly assaulted his taste buds.
Meanwhile, Silas stood motionless, as if paralyzed.
“Silas, I feel like I can’t move.” Sylvia said as well.
She was holding the flowers just now, and perhaps she also inhaled a small amount of pollen unintentionally.
But Sylvia, who was encountering this situation for the first time, did not panic; instead, she found it extremely interesting.
She could still excitedly say to Silas, "Silas, let's see who can last longer! You have to be like a wooden doll and not move at all."
Upon hearing this, Silas felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, a sense of utter helplessness washing over him.
Whoever can take this child away, let Sylvia go and wreak havoc on others, it really can't hold on much longer.
Unfortunately, with Mela's indulgence, similar things continue to happen.
Faced with Silas's accusations, Mela shrugged and said indifferently, "Let the child explore the world freely. Curiosity will be the best gift I can give her."
"Aren't you worried about something happening to her?" Silas said angrily.
The outside world is so terrifying; there are wild beasts, poisonous snakes, and all sorts of seemingly beautiful but actually dangerous plants.
“I believe that with you by her side, you will protect her, right?” Mela smiled slightly, reassuring Silas with just one sentence.
Silas thought awkwardly, "There's nothing I can do. Sylvia is Mela's child, so I can only grit my teeth and continue taking care of her."
Of course, as a mother, Mela didn't completely leave the responsibility of protecting Sylvia to Silas.
She somehow managed to get Ducwato to come over.
Ducwato, with Sylvia by his side, wielded short wooden swords and drew their specially made small bows and arrows toward their chosen prey, setting traps along the paths the roe deer would take, thus exhausting her extraordinary energy.
Sylvia gradually learned how to protect herself.
Occasionally, she would rest her head on Mela's lap and listen to Mela teach her about all sorts of herbs.
This can stop bleeding, and that can detoxify.
Sylvia remembered this knowledge very well.
Then, like a warrior, she bravely saved Silas from falling into the crocodile's mouth.
It was a sunny afternoon when Silas accompanied Sylvia on her adventure, watching her crawl into one tree hole after another, large and small.
Silas yawned lazily.
It thought that there were no animals nearby that could harm Sylvia, so it might as well find a tree to hide in and take a nap.
Just then, a thin branch floated down from upstream. Silas stopped on it, and the branch stopped drifting downstream.
Soon after, Silas yawned again.
However, just as it was about to close its eyes and take a short nap, something unexpected happened.
A crocodile quietly emerged from the riverbed and opened its blood-red jaws towards Silas.
At this critical moment, a sharp arrow was shot towards the crocodile's eye.
The crocodile cried out in pain.
Startled Silas from the tree branch.
Silas quickly flew to a safe mid-air before daring to look down at the crocodile's head, still shaken.
It was just a hair's breadth away from becoming this crocodile's meal.
Thanks to Sylvia!
Silas lunged at Sylvia, who was still gripping her bow and arrow, and nearly burst into tears.
"Waaah, Sylvia, I'm so scared..."
Sylvia stared intently at the crocodile, watching it sink back to the bottom of the river, before pulling her hand away to touch Silas, comforting him, "Don't be afraid, I'm here. Neither the crocodile nor anything else can possibly hurt you."
Sylvia was only six years old, but she seemed so reliable, just like Mela. Silas thought to himself for no apparent reason.
However, the thought that Sylvia would have to be taken back to the palace in two years to take over the duties of the crown prince and receive the proper education made Silas feel reluctant for the first time.
It didn't want Sylvia to leave.
Why can't Sylvia stay in the Dark Forest forever?
"Alright, Silas, Sylvia is my daughter, and she's Lex's daughter too. Letting her spend her childhood freely in the Dark Forest is already a compromise Lex made."
That night, hiding from Sylvia, Mela hugged Silas and comforted him.
Just as Lex comes here every summer to reunite with them, but can never stay here and live with them, Sylvia can't stay in the Dark Forest forever and be a happy little witch.
After all, she still carries half of Nurenger's blood in her veins.
Immediately after Sylvia's birth, Lex announced to the world that he had a noble and lovely heir.
However, due to witch tradition, Mela required Sylvia to stay by her side until she was eight years old, so Lex endured the pressure and didn't let anyone disturb Mela and Sylvia.
“We should also be understanding of Lex,” Mela said, gently combing Silas’s feathers.
“What if Sylvia doesn’t actually like life in the palace? Can we bring her back?” Silas asked eagerly.
"Well, that's up to Sylvia to decide," Mela said, not giving a definitive answer.
But based on her observations of Sylvia over the past few years, Sylvia seems to possess an extremely formidable natural political acumen.
She was eager to become queen and lead people to a better life.
At that point, she probably won't be the kind of pure witch Silas hopes for.
Seeing Silas's dejected look, Mela began to think for the first time: what if she had another child for Silas to take care of?
With an even more annoying presence around, Sylas might not have time to grieve over Sylvia's departure.
At that moment, Lex, far away in the palace, couldn't help but sneeze.
Strange, is something bad about to happen?
Klex racked his brains but couldn't figure out where the accident might have gone wrong.
He had already arranged for people to deal with the sudden flood in Redcliffe Territory last month; with Mela's help, his uncle, Duke Dusser, finally had a healthy heir the year before last. If Sylvia does not want to become queen in the future, at least they have left her with a backup plan so she can leave at any time.
Could it be something else he hadn't noticed? Lex frowned.
Hopefully, he's just overthinking things.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
