The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 791: Dynamic Duo

With Alexis gone, the daddy daughter dynamic duo was unstoppable.

For two straight days they played in the forge, petted goats, went jogging along the walls to say hi to Dave, and even sat together to discuss the day’s paperwork.

Alas, all good things were bound to come to an end, and on the fourth day, Alexis returned with her Paladins, in a much better mood than when they had left.

"Something good happen?" Dominic asked as she stormed into his office and grabbed Katerina with a smile.

"Nothing in particular. We did stop on the way back to go hunt some Hobgoblins, though."

That would explain the good mood.

"Well, I will have you know that Katerina and I had an absolutely wonderful time. We even found a new snack that she absolutely loves."

"Oh?"

"Peppernut cookies soaked in milk until they’re mushy. Watch what happens when you give her one."

Alexis sighed. "You haven’t just been letting her eat cookies all day, have you?"

"Of course not. I’m not in charge of the meals. She just happened to discover that she liked the combination after grabbing one of the cookies."

Alexis turned to the maids. "He dunked the first one for her, didn’t he?"

The maid shook her head, clearly smiling behind her veil. "No, he dunked his cookie, and she copied him."

"Seriously? Just teaching her bad habits?"

"Milk is better with cookie crumbles in it. Though technically, mine was coffee with cream liqueur. Hers was milk."

Now, that shouldn’t have surprised Alexis. She had seen many strange things in the past, and knew that the same spices used in the cookies were good with eggnog and other creamy drinks.

Wouldn’t that give the milk a flavour similar to milk tea?

No wonder Katerina liked it.

"Other than that, everything went well enough? No troubles from her about not having me around for a few days?"

"Nope. She’s been a perfectly adorable daddy’s girl."

The maid scoffed, and Alexis smiled. "So, she’s been a nightmare for everyone but you?"

The maid nodded. "She insisted on napping in the forge because that’s where he was. She didn’t even care about the noise."

In her arms, Katerina napped happily. She was back in her favourite safe spot, and Alexis was warm. It wasn’t quite the same as the forge, surrounded by the heat from the fires, but it was pretty good, and it smelled better.

Alexis watched the little one fondly as she slept, making happy noises occasionally.

"It’s good to be back. You know, being back in the Palace really should feel more like home, my room is the same as it has always been. But being back alone just feels wrong now. Like I’m a guest in the house I lived in my whole life."

Dominic nodded and gestured around the Manor.

"I know the feeling. I used to play here when I was a child, though I never lived here. It felt like I was intruding, but now this is home, and I don’t regret at all giving up my old house."

"I never thought of that. Obviously, you had a house in the area. Who even lives there now? Or was it destroyed?"

"I put the Witch Coven in it. It was the only one suitable for their use."

Alexis nodded. The witches were a quiet bunch. Their potions were always around, the Manor kept a supply for emergency medicine. But it was rare that anyone ever saw one of them, except the girl who did their shopping.

"Well, you know that they will keep up the maintenance at the very least."

Dominic laughed at the thought. "That they will. And they’ll keep up the garden. If there is one thing that a Witch Coven hates doing, it is relocating. Even with all the nature magic here, it will be years before they are happy with the quality of all the plants they grow for medicinal ingredients."

The house settled back into peace for a moment, before Katerina woke up and decided that she simply needed to be mobile again.

So that she could beg Dave for snacks.

"Don’t you dare. She has just eaten, no more snacks."

Dave nodded. "Got it, no more snacks."

However, when he picked her up to return her to Alexis, Dominic noticed that the troll slipped her a piece of dried fruit. There was a clear pecking order in this household, and the baby was at the top.

"You know, now that she’s gotten so attached to the Trolls, you can start to go back out on hunting missions. I mean, when you can actually get time to go out," Dominic suggested.

"That’s a good point. It will be good to keep everyone fresh and in practice.

They haven’t been doing a lot of actual fighting lately, and we can’t have the Royal Guards getting rusty. What about yours?"

Benedict chuckled. "We go out in teams of five so that we can hunt monsters that escaped the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s part of our morning intelligence report prep."

"So, you’ve been sneaking out to do the fun stuff instead of keeping a full team with the Duke?"

Benedict shrugged. "For Battlemages, three is considered a full team. So, even if we have four or five out on a mission for a few hours, it’s not an impact on our combat effectiveness."

Alexis nodded. That was reasonable. The teams for the Paladins were five people. So, if you went anywhere, you needed all ten. However, if you counted Amie, there were eleven Battlemages around Dominic. With five gone, they could still field six, making two shifts.

"Alright, we will plan regular outings as well.

Are there any other pressing matters?"

Dominic shook his head. "Everything is under control. Go ahead and make your plans to give the Adventurers a reason to keep working hard. My mages are only cleaning up things that got too close to the city, or ones that might be a threat if they’re allowed to escape too far into the wilderness."