3 Chapter 2

When the sun set to the west, Asteria's father, Matthew finally arrived home after dealing with the matters of his business firm.

Paula happily welcomed him back and called the children down.

The twins were very happy to see their father after a week of being away for work. Seeing their father sitting on the sofa right after coming downstairs, the two little dumplings immediately pounced onto him as a greeting.

"Papa!"

"Papa!"

Already used to their overly-enthusiastic greetings, Matthew heartily laughed and caught the two carefully, rubbing their fluffy heads with his hands. "Oho, my beautiful angels~ Papa missed you two so much. Did you miss papa too?"

"Lynn missed papa so sooo much!" Lynn spread her hands and gestured how much she missed him which made Matthew laugh in amusement.

"Len missed you more than that! Like, thiiiis much!" Len glanced at his sister and was not willing to be outdone so he also made a bigger gesture with his small hands to his father.

"Aww, my little cuties~ you missed me so much? I'm so happy!" Matthew pulled the two in his arms and hugged them with a big smile on his face.

Right at this time, Asteria, who had somehow fallen asleep after taking a bath, came downstairs while rubbing her eyes with her hand, still appearing to be half-asleep.

"Mm...is it dinner time already?"

Matthew turned to the stairs after hearing her soft voice and warmly replied, "Ah, Ria is here too. Your mom is setting up the dishes. Did you get a good rest?"

"Eh? Dad is home. And so I wondered why Lynn and Len were so excited. I was woken up by their loud footsteps and nearly fell down from my bed." Finally getting a clear look of the person sitting on the sofa with the twins, Asteria greeted the man very naturally and plopped down on a couch beside him.

"Ahahaha, then I really feel guilty. I'd be very sad if my pretty little Ria got hurt because of me." said Matthew in a fawning manner.

"It's nothing. That little fall isn't enough to hurt me at all! I'm very strong." said Asteria while puffing up her chest and showing off her little non-existent arm muscle. "When I grow up, I want to be tall and strong just like dad so that no one can win against me in a fight if things go wrong in a business deal! Hehe."

"Hahahhaha!" Matthew guffawed loudly at her words and the little twins also followed along, giggling; though they didn't really understand why their father was laughing.

Upset at his laughter, Asteria pouted and grumbled. "I'm not joking! I will definitely become very tall and strong, even stronger than dad someday! Hmph!"

"Hahahha, alright then. Dad will wait to see that day. If you can even reach upto my chin, I will grant you any wish you want." Amused at her words, Matthew went along with her to not upset her further.

"Okay, deal! Hehe, I will start thinking about what wish to ask when that day comes~." Asteria flashed a bright and confident smile after getting his promise.

Matthew was very tall, around 185cm and had a sturdy build which was quite the opposite of the thin and sly image of a merchant that most people would imagine. He had a head full of light brown hair and neat facial hair of the same colour on his square face. Just from his appearance and build, he was more likely to be mistaken as a mercenary instead of a merchant.

In spite of his looks, Matthew was quite a shrewd man when it came to business. He had single-handedly built up his business from the scratch after moving to the city with his wife and was now quite a well-known figure.

His business firm was mainly involved in buying and selling of magic beast fur and valuable body parts as well as working as a middleman for small business trades. The services provided by the firm was decent and the fees were also priced accordingly so it was quite famous with adventurers and other small merchants without credit to sell their valuable goods. 

Apparently, the adventurers' guild was in a partnership with his firm as well.

Asteria really admired and respected her father so she always followed him around to learn from him.

Just a week ago, she had followed him out of the city to a  nearby city for a big business deal. Although she didn't know the exact details for she wasn't allowed to accompany him as usual when meeting the clients this time; he said that the clients this time were quite important individuals, she could tell that the deal was successful from the look of relief on her father's face.

When she becomes an adult, she really wanted to become a great person like her father and learn more things from him. Then she could also travel around the world for business purposes or just for pure adventure together with her family. It'd definitely be fun.

Getting out of her thoughts, Asteria listened to the twins cutely pestering Matthew about their birthday presents. Letting out a small laughter, Asteria glanced at Paula who was busily setting up the dishes in the dining room then got up from her seat.

"I'll go and help mom." Saying that, she quickly ran to the dining room to give a hand.

After setting up the dishes, the small family of five had a hearty and warm meal. In the dark night, the lively chatters and laughters constantly rang out from inside the house, picturing a warm and harmonious image of a loving family.

***

A few days later, the twins' birthday was finally here. Standing besides the bed of the two little dumplings, Asteria had a huge smile on her face as she suddenly pounced on the two who were still sleeping while shouting,

"Lynn, Len, happy birthdayy!! It's time to wake up~!"

"Oomph! Uwaaa!?"

"Kyaa-?!"

And what followed were the surprised screams of the little twins which startled away the poor birds tweeting on the tree outside the window.

"Wuuu, big sis Riaaa!! You scared Lynn!"

"Uwaaa! I hate you, big sister Ria!"

With startled tears in their still drowsy eyes, the twins unhappily glared at Asteria. Meanwhile, the recipient of their glares, Asteria, was on the verge of rolling around on the floor in laughter.

"Hahaha!" With her hands clutching on her stomach, Asteria laughed at the twins' reaction after successfully pulling a prank on them.

"Grrr! Big sis!! Stop laughing or Lynn will really get mad!" Lynn angrily pounced on her, trying to stop her laughter with her small hands.

"I won't stop laughing. Bleehh~" Pulling a funny face, Asteria instead laughed even more.

"Len! Why are you just sitting there? Come and help me!" Seeing that she couldn't stop her, Lynn finally turned to her brother for a hand only to see him dumbly staring at them.

"Ah? O-oh! Okay!" Saying that, Len quickly jumped off the bed and joined the two on the floor, tickling and throwing soft punches at each other.

And with that, the three children rolled around on the floor while letting out strings of happy giggles as they frolicked with each other until the whole floor was a big mess.

Later that morning, the three troublemakers were punished to face the wall and reflect on their mistakes after Paula saw the mess they made and only let them off after a few rounds of coaxing from their saviour, Papa Matthew!

When Paula wasn't looking, Matthew flashed a victory smile and secretly thumbed up to the three who immediately showed a look of worship and admiration.

.....

After starting their morning in such a lively way, the little twins were full of energy. The pitter-patter of their footsteps constantly rang around the house, showing how excited they were.

Asteria was currently helping out Paula in the kitchen. She was only 7 so Paula only had her do some easy works like washing the vegetables, etc.

Because today was the twins' birthday, Paula wanted to throw a small feast to celebrate it like usual. Her cooking skills were very good so any dishes she made tasted delicious. Without exception, Asteria and the picky little twins also loved to eat the food made by her, not even leaving out any extra veggies.

Sniffing on the tantalising fragrance wafting out of the pot on the stove, Asteria couldn't help but salivate. Her small tummy also let out a 'gulu-gulu' sound as it grumbled in protest.

The sound wasn't low at all and Paula heard it clearly. Letting out a soft chuckle, she picked up a huge piece of fried chicken leg then gave it to the little girl.

"Have this for now and wait for a little longer then you can eat all you want, okay?"

"Mm-Mm!" Accepting the fried chicken leg, Asteria furiously nodded her head like a small chick pecking on seed, looking extremely cute with her round eyes glowing brightly.

The attack power of her cuteness was too lethal that Paula felt an arrow pierce through her heart, dealing immense damage! Clutching her heart in her mind, Paula couldn't keep herself from squeezing the cute little girl in her arms.

"Aww~ My Ria is just too cute!" Rubbing her head full of silky light brown hair, Paula smiled in satisfaction at the soft feeling under her palm.

Asteria patiently let her rub and squeeze her chubby cheeks while helplessly wondering when she will be able to eat the fried chicken leg in her hand.

After a few minutes of rubbing, Paula was finally back to her gentle mother mode from her fangirl mode and went back to preparing the dishes in satisfaction.

Finally getting out of her clutches, Asteria released a huge sigh of relief then excitedly looked at the fried chicken leg in her hand and bit into it.

Mmm~ so tasty~~

Mom's cooking is still the best!

Revealing an engrossed look on her face, Asteria quickly finished off the piece of fried chicken leg and went back to helping out her mother.

It was already noon when they finished preparing all the dishes. Setting up the dishes on the dining table, it looked especially crowded and sumptuous. The tantalising smell of the delicious looking dishes immediately caught the attention of the just-arrived Papa Matthew and the little twins who came in after playing outside in boredom.

"Wow, it smells so good!" Lynn smacked her lips in fascination and ran to the dining room.

Len also wanted to follow her in when he saw Matthew coming in from the front door. Excited, he ran to him and shouted: "Papa!"

Picking up the little boy in one of his arms easily, Matthew smilingly went to the direction of the smell while carrying him.

"It looks like I'm right on time?"

Looking at the sumptuous feast after entering the dining room, Matthew carefully dropped Len on his feet then moved towards Paula and hugged her from behind.

Slapping away his naughty hands, Paula sent a warning glare at him. She whispered: "Watch your hands. The children are watching."

Obediently withdrawing his hands, Matthew made an aggrieved face and pouted cutely, saying in a sad voice, "My wife is so fierce~ I can't even show my love in my house in front of my children~ So sad."

The aggrieved face on his manly face covered with neat beard and moustache as well as his cute way of speaking combined with his deep, manly voice and his huge stature dealt huge impact upon anyone who saw this indescribable scene.

Feeling a shiver go down their spine, the four dumbfounded people in the room stared at him speechlessly.

Lynn: "...Papa, you are scary..."

Len, echoing his sister: "Scaryy~"

Paula: "...Please don't make such a face ever again, dear."

Asteria: "...I suddenly don't want to become like dad anymore."

Faced with their weird gazes and exaggerated reaction, Matthew guffawed and didn't tease them anymore.

The family of five joked and laughed as they ate to their hearts' content and finally handed the birthday presents they each prepared for the little twins.

From Matthew, Len got a wooden sword that suited his current small stature which made him very happy to the point that he didn't even want to part from it whenever or wherever he went. While Lynn got a small wooden bow for her to practice archery that she always showed interest on, making her cute face bloom in happiness.

Paula gave both of them a pair of hand-sewed gloves to go along with their wooden sword and bow to protect their hands from getting hurt while training. Trying out their gloves, the two little twins curiously fiddled with their gifts, letting out happy noises and cheers.

And finally when it was Asteria's turn, she handed them the presents she'd prepared a few days ago. The two small necklaces with the same star but different coloured gemstones laid on the palms of the little twins; the pale pink on Lynn's and the yellow on Len's. The two were once again fascinated by the gemstones which had the same colours as their eyes, examining it from every side in curiosity and wonder.

"Do you like it?" Asteria asked expectantly, a bit nervous inside. She didn't know if they would like what she gave them so she felt a bit anxious in her heart.

Hearing her question, the two fascinated twins finally stopped looking at the necklaces and furiously nodded their heads.

"Mm-mm! Lynn likes it! Lynn loves it so much!"

"Len also likes it! The gem is so pretty and it is also like my eyes. Thank you, big sister Ria!"

"Thank you, big sis Ria!"

Len and Lynn thanked her sincerely and flashed bright smiles at her which completely dispelled her nervousness. Feeling happy and a bit proud, Asteria laughed in delight as she said, "I knew that you two would like them! Come, let me help you two put them on."

The twins happily assented and let her help them put on their necklace.

"Done~" saying this, Asteria backed away a bit and looked at them in satisfaction. She praised them: "They look good on you guys!"

"Oh my! It really does!"

"As expected of my little angels!"

Paula and Matthew also sincerely expressed their appreciation which made the twins even more delighted from their praises.

"Big sister Ria is still the best! Lynn loves this present very much." Lynn caressed the small star hanging on her neck and hugged Asteria.

"Mhm! Len loves it too but Len thinks that papa's present is still the best! I love you papa!" saying this, Len ran over and hugged Matthew's leg with a smile.

"Hahaha, that's my boy!" Feeling immensely happy, Matthew picked up the little boy and spun him around in the air which drew out peals of laughter from the boy.

Paula gently smiled while looking at them from the side and the two little girls also followed in asking their father to pick them up and spin them too.

The warm and peaceful day was filled with their joyful laughters and endless happiness.

However, this short peaceful harmony was destined to be broken by the hands of fate, completely changing their whole lives.