Weapon seller in the world of magic

Sylvandria’s entire body went rigid.

Her lips parted before she could stop herself.

”What do you mean…? It’s the same… thirty-eight to forty weeks…”

Mark didn’t blink.

”And if I go to your world right now,” he asked, voice tightening, ”and ask any elven elder the same question… will they give me that same answer?”

Sylvandria’s pupils began to tremble.

Her silence was the answer.

Mark’s jaw tightened. Slow, controlled. The baby in his arms blinked up at him innocently, unaware of the storm brewing.

Then Mark spoke again, but this time his voice carried a sharp edge of accusation.

”If I take a drop of blood from the twins,” he said, ”and place it beside mine in Liquid White Jade… do you think the blood will mix? Or won’t it?”

Sylvandria flinched like she was struck.

”Lu Zhen… please...”

Before she could finish, Mark stood up abruptly, lifting Faenya protectively against his chest. His expression, once warm and steady, was now carved from ice. A deadly stillness radiated from him. He turned slowly to face Sylvandria fully.

”Sylvandria Searvale,” he said, using her full name with the authority of a king.

Her breath hitched.

He took a step closer, eyes boring into her.

”Is this why you tried so desperately to keep me away from seeing them? Because the moment I saw their faces… I recognized them?”

Sylvandria swallowed tightly, her throat constricting as tears gathered in her eyes. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Mark continued, voice softening only when he looked down briefly at the child staring up at him.

”Because these babies… are mine?”

His words were not loud. They didn’t need to be. The truth struck harder than any shout could.

Sylvandria’s tears finally spilled. She hugged Kaelen closer to her chest as if the infant could shield her from the truth.

Mark lifted his gaze back to her.

”I asked you a question,” he said, voice carrying the weight of command. ”Why did you hide it from me?”

She closed her eyes, silent.

Mark’s voice hardened. A deeper coldness entered it. ”Sylvandria Searvale, answer me.”

Her shoulders shook. She had been caught. Completely. The act she had upheld for months… the distance she had kept… the excuses… all of it shattered like thin glass.

Mark pressed further, the pieces clicking sharply in his mind.

”You’ve been pregnant for over two years,” he said. ”You used disguise skills to hide your body. You stopped attending banquets. Every time I tried to visit you, you were ’sick’. You avoided wine. You avoided me.”

His eyes narrowed as the full picture finally formed.

”And this is why, isn’t it?”

Sylvandria clutched her daughter desperately, tears streaming silently down her face, unable to run, unable to hide anymore.

Mark stepped closer, lowering his voice, pained, betrayed. ”Why did you keep my children away from me, Syl?”

The question lingered between them like a blade pressed to the heart.

Sylvandria’s breath trembled as she looked at the two sleeping infants. Their tiny chests rose and fell softly, completely unaware of the storm swirling around the adults who created them.

With a gentle sweep of her hand, an elven sleep-spell wrapped around the children, soothing their cries into silence. She carefully lifted Kaelen from her shoulder, placed him beside his sister, and smoothed their blankets with trembling fingers.

Only after she was certain they were asleep did she turn back to Mark.

”Let’s… talk outside,” she whispered.

He followed her out into the courtyard, the soft moonlight casting pale shadows across the stone floor. The quiet night made her confession feel heavier, the weight of months, no, years, pressing down on every word.

Sylvandria exhaled, long and strained, and finally spoke.

”Lu Zhen… back then, you weren’t married to Shen Ling. You were madly in love with Song Yue. And I was even Lu Shan’s godmother.” She gave a bitter smile. ”All of that made me feel guilty. It made me feel like I had already stepped somewhere I shouldn’t have.”

Mark said nothing, letting her continue.

”When I realized I was pregnant… You had just become a father. You were full of joy, full of focus, full of love for your family. How could I bring this into your life then? You would have shifted your attention to me, and I didn’t want to take anything away from Song Yue or from Shan.”

She looked away, guilt settling like frost over her expression.

”And elves… we don’t have multiple pregnancies like humans. We give birth once. Only once. My one chance came with two babies. I didn’t know how to face that. Then time kept running ahead of me. Before I could gather the courage to tell you… You married Shen Ling. She became pregnant. Then she gave birth. Then you were thrown into wars, then into responsibilities… and then you left for your clan.”

She rubbed her arm as if the memory itself stung.

”Every time I tried to tell you,” she whispered, ”life pushed you somewhere else. And I convinced myself that staying silent was the kinder choice. When the twins were finally born… You were already gone.”

Her voice cracked.

”I didn’t know what to do. Or how to tell you. Or how to justify it. So I decided to bury it. To let it be my own burden.”

She finally lifted her eyes to him.

”And when you came back yesterday… the way you held Lu Shan… the way you looked at Song Yue…” She swallowed hard. ”I panicked. I thought if you saw the babies, you would drop everything and chain yourself to responsibility again. And I couldn’t do that to your family. So I kept you away… even if it hurt.”

Mark let her speak until her voice faded into silence.

Only then did he step forward, gently taking her hand, not harshly, not accusingly, but with surprising steadiness.

”Syl,” he said quietly, ”I know what it feels like to hold onto the truth until it’s too late. I know what it’s like to look back and realize the perfect moment for honesty has already passed.”

He held her gaze.

”But this time… you are not too late.”

His thumb brushed her knuckles in a slow, soothing circle.

”And after knowing I have children, do you really think I could leave them fatherless? Even in the eyes of strangers? Even if no one else knows the truth, I know. And that alone is enough.”

He squeezed her hands gently.

”We were already engaged. This changes nothing. If anything… it makes it clearer.”

Sylvandria’s breath hitched, her eyes widening as he continued.

”Let’s marry, Syl. Officially and Properly. Not because of guilt or obligation… but because the children deserve a father, and you deserve a partner who will stand beside you. Come with me. Let’s tell the others together.”

Sylvandria tugged her hand back, overwhelmed, fear flickering across her face.

”I… I’m afraid,” she whispered. ”I don’t know how Song Yue will feel. Or Shen Ling. Or the others. I don’t want to be hated… I don’t want to be the woman who stole something precious from them.”

Mark stepped closer, placing his hand on her cheek with gentle resolve.

”You won’t face them alone. I’ll handle everything. I’ll explain everything. I’m with you, Syl. Always.”

Her lips trembled, tears filling her eyes, relief, fear, love, guilt, all tangled together.

Soon, the palace servants moved through the harem quarters and side wings with hurried steps, knocking gently on every door.

”His Majesty requests everyone to gather in the common chamber.”

Those busy packing stopped one by one.

Song Yue looked up from folding clothes into a small travel chest. ”Again? Did something happen?” She carefully set Shen Yi’s dresses aside, frowning in concern.

In another room, Shen Ling paused mid-writing on a jade tablet. Her brows tightened. ”He just gathered us earlier. What now?” Still, she rose with a composed breath and began walking.

Lan Jingyi, who was instructing maids on what medicines to prepare for travel, blinked in surprise. ”Again? something must be serious.”

Shang Fu, Mark’s father, tightened the sash on his robe. ”We should go quickly. He wouldn’t call twice without reason.”

Lan Jing, already halfway through packing, muttered, ”What is that brat planning again…?” But despite his grumbling, he went immediately.

One after another, the family members entered the chamber, Song Yue first, Shen Ling shortly after, then Mark’s parents, Lan Jing, and even little Lu Shan holding his grandmother’s hand. Shen Yi toddled after, half-sleepy, clutching a stuffed dragon toy.

But every step they took slowed as they saw who was waiting in the center.

Mark stood beside Sylvandria.

Both of them stood straight, tense, hands intertwined.

And the room fell into absolute silence.

Song Yue’s steps faltered. Shen Ling froze. Lan Jing narrowed his eyes. Even the children sensed something strange, Lu Shan tightened his grip on Jingyi’s hand, and Shen Yi clung to Song Yue’s dress.

For a long heartbeat, no one spoke.

Then Song Yue drew a breath and asked, voice trembling, ”What… did you just say?”

Mark met her gaze and nodded slowly. ”I only found out today.”

Song Yue turned her head toward Sylvandria, disbelief and hurt flashing across her expression. ”Sister Syl… why? Why did you keep something like this away from us?”

Sylvandria lowered her head, guilt radiating from every inch of her posture. ”I… I have no excuse, Yue. I thought… I thought it would only complicate things. And I didn’t want to cause harm between you all.”

Shen Ling exhaled heavily, folding her arms as understanding and irritation mixed in her eyes.

”I see,” she murmured. ”No wonder you reacted strangely when I joked about marrying my daughter to your son. It all makes sense now.”