Family Ties (Part 1)

Ignoring the surging sense of power in the distance, Romon and Bell, who had finally let go, entered the inner courtyard.

After turning past the vine-covered partition standing in the yard, a tiny, pink and adorable child appeared before Romon. She wore a little pink outfit, with tiny arms and legs, and looked utterly delightful.

What was more, she had a round, rosy little face that made anyone who saw her unable to resist the urge to knead and pinch her.

Romon had rarely paid attention to children before—at least, he seldom noticed children too young even to speak.

But things were different now. This little one before him, who could only babble, was his child! His daughter, his bloodline. He actually... had bloodline in this world!

Though, as someone from Earth, the education he had received since childhood had made his notions of carrying on the family line faint to the point of almost nonexistence, this world that had once felt so foreign to him now held a bloodline that belonged to him. Romon's feelings were completely different.

"Yah, yah, yah..." Baby Alice had no idea that the man staring straight at her was her father. Yet a child's instincts could not be ignored. The moment she saw Romon, she suddenly felt an intense closeness to him. Never one to warm up to strangers, she immediately broke into a smile, dimples appearing on her cheeks.

At the same time, her two short legs and two chubby hands paddled back and forth against the ground as she crawled toward where Romon stood, laughter spilling from her mouth.

Romon took a few steps forward, and her little hands caught hold of the hem of his clothes.

The instant she succeeded in grabbing him, the little one was overjoyed, giggling happily. She